Have you ever wondered why the way you STAND affects your singing? For example, leaning your body weight back into your heels makes vocal production more DIFFICULT. Sitting back in the heels causes muscle contractions in your legs, hips, and lower back to help keep your balance and stand upright. This kinetic chain of muscle contractions eventually leads to an increased need for abdominal pressure. Excessive abdominal pressure usually leads to excessive subglottal pressure which can cause a “pushed” or “squeezed” sound. Keep your weight distributed evenly into the floor, making sure to not lock the knees, torque the hips, or press the abs. These subtle adjustments to the way you carry yourself will put you in alignment with greater flexibility and freedom!
Did anyone tell you? That your voice is absolutely beautiful? If they failed to say it, then they clearly weren’t paying close enough attention. Didn’t anyone tell you? That your voice is one-of-a-kind. If they did, then they heard your SOUL loudly and clearly. Did anyone tell you? That you should stop singing and give up on the love inside you. If so, then it's good that you ignored them. Didn’t anyone tell you? That your voice is a MIRACLE. If they did, then you should believe them. Because it’s true. And even if they didn’t, you should sing anyway. With all that you are. And you should tell the whole world. About your passionate love for singing. About how much it has meant to you. And how it has helped make you the miraculous person that you are today. Did anyone tell you? Did you tell them?
Think of your larynx like an elevator. How many levels does it stop at? Maybe you feel like it has two stops: up and down. Maybe there are three: up, down, and neutral. What if there were four? Five? Ten? There are no physical limits to how many levels you can imagine this larynx elevator stopping at. Try to visualize as many as are helpful or useful to you in developing new sounds and greater control. If you're struggling with larynx position in a song, experiment with adding a few levels to your elevator or taking a few away. Or, maybe you've been jumping levels - not moving smoothly from one level to the next. Experiment with these visualizations until you arrive at where your voice feels freest! Next stop - vocal control!
Appreciate not only good singers, but also MEDIOCRE ones! Did you know that studies have shown people are able to lift more weight when they are next to someone lifting just a little less? We would think it would be the opposite! As it turns out, though, we get a confidence boost when we aren’t always comparing ourselves to others with a superior skill-set. Listening to out-of-tune singers won't do the trick - the disparity is too great. However, by staying aware that there are singers who aren't quite as proficient as you actually results in BETTER singing! Remember, it’s not about judging others negatively. It’s about recognizing how far you've come on your vocal journey, rather than constantly focussing on how far you have to go. Celebrate ALL singers! Yourself included!
“Sing from your DIAPHRAGM!” That's something every singer must do! Right? Hmmm. WRONG actually. In fact, it’s impossible to sing from your Diaphragm! The Diaphragm is a muscle that mainly inhales. It's active during inhales and passive during most exhales. Singing happens when we exhale. So, instead of singing from the Diaphragm, we instead need to ISOLATE our Diaphragm when we inhale. How do we do this? It's as simple as making sure our inhalations are deep, calm, effortless, and free of upper-body tension. It may come as a surprise to you that "singing from the Diaphragm" is a myth. Yet, even though you cannot sing from your Diaphragm - nobody can stop you from singing from your Soul!
Practice the PROCESS - not the product! Everyday we are new and different human beings. Our bodies and minds shift slightly. So do our voices. It’s part of the beauty of being human. This is the same reason that delivering a perfect performance is an impossible challenge. Even if you ever gave one, it would change immediately. So, when you’re feeling down before a show or audition, keep in mind that the process is always more beautiful than the product. Strive for your ideal performance, but remember that true art is created in the soulful and audacious efforts you give each day. Falling slightly short may be the very thing that makes you a lovable performer... and a lovable human being.
We often forget that casting directors WANT us to succeed at auditions! In the back of our minds we think, "They don't want me"..."They don’t like how I sound"..."I'm wasting their time." It's important to remember that casting directors DO want you to succeed because their job DEPENDS on it. They would LOVE to have too many amazing singers to choose from. This just means that their production is going to prosper since they’ve found droves of wonderful people for its success! You only have a couple minutes to show who you are and what you’ve got. Will you allow negative thoughts to take over? Or, will you walk into that room believing that your gifts and your JOY are in high demand? If you remember that you are WANTED - you’ll start to change your energy and confidence in the audition room!
Practicing Riffs SLOWLY can be embarrassing. If you’re just starting off, your Riffs will be a far cry from the rabbit-like speed of Mariah or Stevie. Should you just give up then? No way! In the proverbial tradition of being a patient tortoise - going SLOW is the best way to succeed! Fast Riffing is all about "letting go." Yet, usually when we Riff too quickly, we tighten up and attempt to “hang on” to every little note. In order to let go, your body needs to understand the required coordination first. Going at a tortoise-like pace can help your mind and vocal cords understand what needs to happen. Try your Riffs at PAINFULLY slow speeds and then gradually increase that speed each day for a week. On the 7th day, let go! The control and precision will be there! Slow and steady wins the race!
Did you know that the simple act of looking down at our phones can impact our posture? We tend to lean our heads forward by as much as 60 degrees as we scroll through a smartphone or tablet! This act of tilting forward and downward becomes a burden on the cervical spine, creating excess tension in the back of the neck. Our bodies habituate this position so quickly that straightening up can actually cause discomfort! It then becomes difficult to sustain vertical alignment while singing because the body simply isn’t used to the proper position. Ideally, phone and computer screens should be placed at eye level. If this isn’t possible, be mindful of how far you’re jutting forward. Avoid looking down or leaning forward for extended periods of time or make sure to take breaks. This subtle change will relieve the muscles in your neck and encourage ideal alignment!
Keeping a healthy and POSITIVE perspective before performing or auditioning is critical to success. While we should always strive to do our very best, it can be tempting to exaggerate the STAKES in our minds. One helpful strategy for combating performance anxiety is to recall some of your favorite memories - a late night laughing with friends, a favorite vacation, or maybe your very first concert. Be as specific as possible and take yourself to this Joyous place before taking the stage for your performance. Summoning imagery that fills your body and Spirit with positivity and peace can help alleviate pressure and nerves. Always remember that there’s MORE to your blessed Vocal Journey than any ONE single performance!
The music industry can be competitive and tough, especially as a new singer trying to get your first gig. To increase your chances of getting performance work, it can be useful to have auxiliary skills that COMPLEMENT your singing. Playing a musical instrument so that you can accompany yourself is one great skill. Dancing and acting skills can be valuable even if you don’t do Musical Theatre. Learning to sing harmonies can help with backup vocals or with singing in a choir or ensemble. You could also explore Music Theory skills, such as composing and arranging music for yourself and other artists. Even technical skills like operating a sound board or recording demos can help. Whatever the complementary skills you choose to develop, your versatility as an artist will help lead you toward success!
HEAR what you FEEL! At NYVC, we always encourage our students to record their Voice Lessons. Listening back to these recordings is an important part of understanding how what you FEEL connects to what your listeners HEAR. When you’re practicing at home, recording is an important discipline as well. Especially if you’re developing a new skill or rehearsing a song. Once you’ve finished a song or exercise, listen back objectively and evaluate what you heard. This will help you progress faster and will make you a better self-teacher. As a bonus, when you’re listening to other singers, you'll naturally begin to understand the mechanics behind how they make their sounds as well. HEAR what you FEEL!
LISTEN. Do you hear it? Music is all around you all the time! The car horns honking. The front door squeaking. The neighbor’s dog barking. The crunch of your lunch in your mouth. The cacophonic cadence of every conversation careening up and down. You don’t have to be practicing your singing to be practicing your LISTENING. Opening up your ears can be a truly spiritual and artistic experience. All the sounds that we hear are just vibrations of air. Yet, these vibrations have the power to make us think, feel, act, react, and love. Don’t limit your aural life to just your singing and music alone. Give thanks for the fact that each and every moment we can lift ourselves to Higher Vibrations. All we have to do is open up our ears and our hearts. The exact answers you’ve been praying for could be in the air right now! LISTEN.
Singing is a SPORT! It’s truly a MUSCULAR event. And, any muscular improvement requires training, workouts, personal wellness, rest, and a healthy diet. Thus, as Vocal Athletes, we must not neglect the whole of our Athleticism if we want our voices to excel. Singers are often astonished after beginning a workout program that involves cardio, stretching, weight training, dietary changes, and overall physical fitness. Almost as if by magic their VOICES improve suddenly by leaps and bounds! Why? It's because singing really is a SPORT! So, try becoming a “two-sport athlete” by getting your body AND your voice into their finest forms! See you at the gym (and in the practice room)!
Breathing Technique can certainly make you a better singer. But, it can also make you a better PERFORMER. In life, we often take a breath to create anticipation for words to come, while thinking, or for emotional or dramatic effect. In performing, you can also deliberately choose where you breathe to bring your text to life! As an exercise, try changing WHERE you breathe in a song that you’re currently working on. Observe how this alters the delivery of the text. Does it make it more believable? More interesting? How does it affect the mood of the piece? Be intentional with your breathing not just in technique practice, but also in your songwork. If you do, you’ll breathe LIFE into your performances!
Could TENSION actually be the secret to relaxation? In fact, YES! A helpful way to eliminate tension is to contract a muscle group for 10 seconds or so and then release this contraction. Sustained contractions allow muscles to release in an exaggerated way. Take a minute to contract and release muscles in your feet and legs, then your abdomen, followed by your arms and shoulders, and finally your neck and head. Do you notice any difference? Do you feel looser? Is your awareness of muscle relaxation heightened? Functional muscle tension is necessary for maintaining optimal body alignment. Yet, unwanted muscular tension hinders optimal vocal production. So, make tension the victim of its own trap! Use TENSION for newfound vocal freedom!
Remember to REWARD your singing! Singing involves muscle coordinations that only get better with practice and time. Yet, we often refuse to reward ourselves until we sound “perfect” or until we achieve something that we perceive to be a monumental accomplishment. Remember though - every time you practice or take a lesson, you're taking a step forward on your vocal journey. Every time you study a new artist, you're developing your stylistic potential. Every time you show up for an audition (even when you don’t get cast), your career is moving forward. Every time you sing to make someone else happy, you’ve given a precious gift. Don’t wait to reward yourself. Celebrate the amazing steps forward that you're making each and every day! If you do, you’ll soon remember that singing is its own reward!