Tag Archive for: voice teacher

THREE SECRETS TO HIGH NOTES

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  1. DON’T STRAIN OR PUSH
    When it comes to high notes, most people think that if they just try a little harder, those notes will come out. Singers often sabotage themselves by straining to hit a note that they could probably hit if they weren’t straining to hit it!
    Start by relaxing through your shoulders, neck and jaw. Take this to another level by trying this bent over with your arms hanging down while singing- at least until you can be just as relaxed when you’re upright.
  2. TRY A SPOKEN SOUND
    Strangely enough, many people hit those high notes in their everyday speech, free from strain. Then they go to sing the same pitch range and it’s suddenly much harder. (It’s a Right Brain VS Left Brain thing – but I’ll cover that in a future tip).
    Try this: say “Woo-hoo!”, really excited, like you’re cheering for your favorite team. You just hit some fairly high notes, free from strain and effort. Now go back and forth between the spoken and sung sounds in that range until your sung notes feel just as easy.
  3. OPEN UP
    Technically speaking, one of the biggest obstacles to reaching higher pitches is the position of your larynx (pronounced LAIR-inks) or voice box. Most singers instinctively raise their larynx as the pitch goes up. This puts strain on the vocal cords by needlessly stretching them, actually inhibiting the pitch (usually causing the note to go flat).
    So open up. Start a little extreme by dropping your larynx like you’re about to yawn. Holding your hand on your throat to feel the bump of your larynx, and see if you can sing without the voice box moving back up. This takes some practice. Notice where your body really wants to fight it and work to control those areas. Once you’ve proven to your brain that the larynx doesn’t need to come up when you sing, you can try singing with it neutral (which is the goal) rather than dropped (in the yawn position).

VOLUME WITHOUT EFFORT

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Many singers aren’t aware that singing louder doesn’t mean more effort. Surprised? I didn’t always believe it either. Yet the more I experience good singing the more I realize that, when I want more out of my voice, I need to relax and get out of the way!
Ironically, when you want more volume from your voice, the first step is to start with as little volume as possible.
I liken it to the experience of weight-lifting. Imagine a beginner weight-lifter walking into the gym and attempting to lift 200 lbs right off the bat. What would happen? Lots of straining, bad form and trips to the chiropractor.
When working with a trainer, the first thing they will do is to make sure your FORM is correct using little or no weight. Once the form is correct they will gradually increase the weight until, someday, their protege is lifting 200 lbs like a pro.
When it comes to the vocal cords weight equals air pressure (air that the vocal folds are resisting), which results in an increase in volume. Getting the form correct, then gradually adding weight is the key to singing effortlessly loud.

Working with an experienced teacher who knows how to guide you towards a louder sound with less effort is the best way to get there. Book a lesson now to get started.

PERFECT PRACTICE

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I don’t agree with the adage, “practice makes perfect”. I prefer “PERFECT practice makes perfect”. The reason being that the brain will gravitate towards whatever it has done the most. Repeating something correctly or incorrectly will lock it into your muscle memory exactly the way you practiced it.
Inevitably, when I begin to make changes in a voice, the body/nervous system resists at first. When it comes to muscle memory, the brain’s job is to keep the status quo and defend it’s established neural pathways. My job as a teacher is to use the tools I have to prove to the brain that another way exists, then take the voice there often enough that this new way of vocalizing becomes what the body now naturally falls into.
At first, a student may feel unsure of how to find a new coordination on their own – that’s why I may not be too quick to encourage them to practice what we are learning until they can find it independently. There is a moment I watch for when a singer does it incorrectly, then self-corrects before I have a chance to redirect them. This is when I encourage them to practice their hineys off. When I know they are repeating a technical exercise correctly at least 90% of the time (and they correct themselves the other 10%), this is when we start building it into their muscle memory.
Ideally I would have a “beginner” voice come for shorter durations of lessons so we don’t overload the brain with new sensations – but vocalize them multiple times a week . Once the momentum of “self-correction” kicks in we can lessen the frequency of lessons and increase practice time. As we advance through technique and move on to song application, a singer will often need to increase their lesson time to provide space to apply the technique.
When you practice correctly, your “perfect practice” will be rewarded.

WHY TAKE SINGING LESSONS?

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The first questions I often ask new students are: “What do you wish your voice was able to do?” and “What do you wish your voice would stop doing?”. Many singers assume they are stuck with the default setting on their voice and don’t realize (until they take lessons) that there are often easy solutions to the things that have been bothering them about their voices for years. Of course, some of these solutions can take minutes and some of them need months or more of consistent work. Nevertheless, almost anything they can think of has a do-able fix. Working with a teacher can open up a world of possibilities for their voice.

Even professional, working singers sometimes are unaware of how much they have shaped their singing around their vocal limitations. When pro singers are sent by their agent or record company to work with me, they often express a concern that voice lessons might change what is unique and marketable about their sound. As a teacher, I feel it is ultimately my job to keep a singer working, so I agree I don’t want that to happen either. Instead, I explain it this way: some artists can make something beautiful with only a few, limited, colors on their palette; but what if they had access to every possible color? They would still have the tried-and-true colors but would now have the choice to add in more if needed.

I’ve often asked students, “Did you do that interesting thing with your voice because it was your choice as an artist, or because that’s the only thing your voice could do at that moment?” Inevitably those same artists observe that they like their voice more and feel more “at home” in it after we’ve worked together. Adding more artistic choice will always benefit any singer.

So now, let me ask you those questions:

  • What do you wish your voice was able to do?
  • What do you wish your voice would stop doing?
  • If you have an answer to either or both of those, book a lesson with me so you can find all the colors available to you.

3 SECRETS TO A GOOD VOCAL WARMUP

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A SHORTCUT TO MIX VOICE

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left-brain-right-brain

When it comes to teaching someone to find their mix voice I’ve observed that I can often use a “short-cut” to get a singer there much faster: with some singers, all of the sounds and sensations I need them to feel are already present in their speaking voice – however, that particular coordination of the vocal cords simply isn’t accessed when they are singing.

First, a little context: our “Right Brain” is where our musical abilities primarily live and so, when we’re singing, that hemisphere is dominant. When we are speaking, our “Left Brain”, or logical side, takes over. Interestingly, research has shown that stroke victims, when robbed of speech due to damage to their Left Hemisphere, can often be taught to use the singing ability still intact in their Right Hemisphere to communicate their needs – even while they are still unable to form spoken words. (Click here for article).

By using a spoken sound (with pitches ranging in the mix voice area) that is easy and free of strain, and technically in a mix coordination, I can take a voice through steps that incrementally build a pathway between the Left and Right Hemispheres of the brain, until they are able to physically coordinate that range in the same way, regardless of their dominant area of the brain. Sometimes, by the end of a first voice lesson, I can have someone singing strong in their mix voice for the first time.

I have to be sneaky about this “short-cut” in order to build a neural pathway between the two hemispheres. The nervous system will always resist the change at first because the brain’s job is to keep the status quo: when the brain senses we are trying to make changes to it’s neural programming, it will momentarily sabotage our efforts in defense of what it’s used to. My strategy is to go back and forth between spoken and sung sounds until they are able to make the same sounds in both contexts. These singers are always surprised to find just how easy and effortless it feels to sing in mix if they’ve never done it before. Then, since most singers assume (wrongly) that singing beyond chest voice has to involve a lot of strain and effort, I spend a lot of time affirming through vocal exercises that the strong, yet “too easy” sound is the right one.

This is not a trick I can use with every singer but I am surprised just how many people it works for – and I will say that it tends to work a little more often with female voices than with male voices. (There are reasons for this – send me an email if you’re curious).

There are some singers, of course, who have never experienced a mix coordination in their voice, whether speaking or singing. I, personally, was one of them. I had never spoken or sung pitches beyond my chest-voice that weren’t in a light head voice and so, had to take the long road and spend time building that coordination into my voice from scratch. For those singers like me, there is a very effective – though longer – journey to build a solid mix voice. Consequently, as a side-effect, once I was able to experience a clear, easy sound beyond my chest voice I found that my speaking voice became much healthier and I began to use much more vocal range to express myself in daily life.

Whichever path your voice is ready for – whether a short cut or the long way round – a healthy mix-voice is within your reach.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR – AND WHAT TO AVOID – IN A VOCAL TECHNIQUE INSTRUCTOR

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For so many people the road to finding a vocal instructor begins with a “Google” or Craigslist search.  From there singers are inundated with ads promising that working in their studio will make dreams of stardom come true.  Some of these instructors may actually have the skills to help you on your way – and some, although well-intentioned, but may not be the best fit for your singing goals.

Keep in mind as well that there is more than one type of vocal instructor out there: my own strength is as a Vocal Technician, meaning that my job is to bring the most balance and ease possible to a voice so that we can then apply that ease to whatever musical genre a singer wishes to sing.  My students are made up of singers of rock/pop, musical theater, jazz, classical, country….and everything in between.  I’m not the teacher with a musical library filled with every possible book and recording of the perfect musical theater audition pieces simply because I apply what I do to so many different styles.  You may want to work with a technician like me to get the most out of your instrument but keep your musical theater or genre expert on the side to assist you with song/audition choices and proper interpretation of their genre of expertise.

When looking for a vocal technique instructor you may have to “audition” several teachers to find one who can help you but here are a few tips to keep in mind:

Here’s my list of what to AVOID in a vocal technique instructor:

  • They insist that learning classical/operatic repertoire is the basis for every style of singing – even if all you want to do is sing pop (or any other style)
  • They use imagery to try to meet your vocal goals:
    • “place” the tone into your eyes
    • “sing into the mask”
    • sing “forward”
    • “cover” the tone
    • use more support
    • sing on the air
  • The may use “results” oriented teaching:  they describe to you how a sensation feels to them  and then let you flounder around trying to find it on your own.  If you knew how to find it, you wouldn’t be there in the first place!
  • They hear you sing and just keep telling you “That was great!” – unless you are perfect already (then why would you seek out a vocal instructor) there is always something that can be worked on.
  • They assign you song after song but are unable to help you improve vocally.  Often this is what you’ll experience with a “Vocal Coach” – again, a very valuable asset for their expertise in a specific genre but first things first.
  • You feel like you are losing the elements you used to like in your voice or you can do less vocally than you could before the lessons
  • Your vocal goals are not being met
  • You are told to only sing in “head” voice
  • They instruct children to only sing in “head” voice until they reach puberty
  • They teach children to only “yell” in their chest voice (in a way that causes vocal strain)
  • They teach adults to “yell” in their chest voice (in a way that causes vocal strain)
  • Your understanding of your own voice hasn’t increased and/or they respond to your technical questions by giving you more songs to sing.
  • Singing doesn’t feel comfortable and/or feels strained or tense
  • They ask you to just sing like them – but don’t give you any clue how to accomplish that

Here’s what I would recommend you look for in a good vocal technique instructor:

  • They assess your voice at the first lesson and give you a plan of action
  • They are able to explain to you what your voice is doing and why
  • They are able to identify your vocal “defaults”:  recognizing what your voice tends to do and know how to fix it
  • They should be able to balance your voice through the bridges – no cracks, flips, breaks or strain  (depending how far a voice needs to go this could take from a handful of lessons to a year’s worth of consistent, hard work – but they should know how to get you there).
  • You should experience something new about your voice in the first lesson
  • They should help you become more “you” in regards to your voice
  • The vocal technique they teach should be relevant for whatever musical style you are singing
  • They don’t tell you what sensations to feel, rather they place your voice in exercises that cause you to experience what you need to feel – then ask how YOU would describe it
  • You find that singing feels easier, without strain – anywhere in your range

Don’t be afraid to leave an instructor who isn’t giving you the results you were looking for (within reason – we can’t turn you into Beyonce…there already is one).  Loyalty to an instructor whom you’ve been paying for years but haven’t seen any real results from will not help you meet the goals you sought them out for in the first place.  While I do understand that times are tough financially these days, understand that paying a “bargain” price for a teacher doesn’t always pay off.  Consider:

  • $30 for an hour/week over 2 years ($3120) with a teacher who is sweet and well-meaning but gets you nowhere
  • $100/hour weekly for 6 months ($2600) with a teacher who helps you understand your voice, overcome it’s tendencies and have you doing more than you could have imagined as a singer.

There are a lot of good-hearted and well-meaning people out there who are teaching singers – just be sure you find one that will deliver the results you are looking for.  Happy singing!

BELT VS MIX

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BELT  VS  MIX

(*To understand the following explanations about Belt and Mix Voice, I would recommend reading my blog explaining “Chest Voice and Head Voice”.)

Whichever style of music you sing, you may have experienced a sensation in your voice where you felt you had to push your “chest” voice (the voice you use to speak with) to it’s limits in order to reach higher pitches. In many musical genres this ability is highly valued and a singer is given much praise for their ability to do this.  They work for years with teachers who train them with techniques to take this type of vocal production to it’s furthest possible extreme. Of course, the ability to belt is a useful skill and there are ways to do it fairly safely – to a point (I’ll cover that in a future post). 

And then there are those voices you hear who seem to be able to effortlessly take this powerful vocal quality up into the stratosphere without breaking a sweat – for example, Barbra Streisand, Josh Groban, Adam Lambert, Patty LaBelle, Beyonce, Pavorotti (OK so he was a little sweaty at times), 

Most people believe that either you have this ability or you don’t. Somehow these effortless voices have a God-given miraculous ability to sing in a gifted way you’ll never possess. In fact this ability is available to most singers if they have the right instruction.   

To simplify, when a voice hits a chest voice “ceiling”, I would refer to that as a “Belt”. When a voice can take a strong, balanced sound effortlessly throughout their range, I call that a “Mix” or “Blended” sound. Now for a more detailed explanation.

BELT

When a voice is coordinating in a true “belt” the vocal cords are attempting to take the chest voice coordination up as high as it can go without allowing the vocal cords to make the switch to a thinner vibrating mass (For further explanation see my “Chest Voice and Head Voice” blog). And when a singer takes it to that limit they will often find that, when they do make the switch, it flips into a falsetto or “heady” sound that is very different from the power of the chest voice.

If you’re a guitarist, imagine trying to play your higher notes all on the bass string – it would only be possible to take the pitch up so high before you’d have to shift up to the next string….but now the shift to the next higher note will be more abrupt because you have to travel so far back down the neck of the instrument. It makes much more sense to make the shift earlier when it’s easier and less abrupt. 

Also, in order for the vocal folds to create higher pitches in chest voice coordination, the Thyroarytenoid (TA) muscles must ad extrinsic muscles (muscles not necessary for healthy vocalizing) to pull and stretch the vocal folds to make them thin enough to make higher pitched sounds. As a result the Larynx (pronounced “LAIR-INKS”, the cartilage that houses the vocal folds) – also known as “Adam’s Apple” and “voice box” – physically starts getting pushed up along with the pitch by those extra muscles. At this point, the only option to keep the note vocalizing in that way is with a lot of volume and a lot of extra muscle strain.

There are also specific ranges of Harmonics this sound production is limited to, commonly leading to a “splatty” tone quality.

 

MIX

When a voice is coordinating in “Mix”, the vocal folds are making a transition at the top of the chest voice range to a thinner vibrating mass and transitioning to adding the Cricothyroid (CT) muscles around those shifts known as “bridges” or “passaggi” while maintaining a similar “closed quotient” to the chest voice resonance (*see “Closed Quotient” explanation below).

This is different than head voice because, rather than an abrupt switch (known sometimes as a “vocal flip” or yodel) from TA muscles (chest) to CT muscles (head), this is more of a gradual hand-off, allowing for a seamless sounding transition.

In an ideal mix there will be no strain present as the singer vocalizes throughout their range: only the action of the vocal cords vibrating and resisting the air.

The larynx should stay neutral, meaning that it should stay comfortably in the middle while vocalizing – not moving up or down with the pitch. (Take a moment to find your larynx with your fingers – if you swallow you’ll feel it moving up, if you yawn you’ll feel it move down. Now say the sound “ahh” from a low pitch to a high pitch and back again. Does your larynx move up and down with the pitches?).

The transition from chest to mix means that the resonance, while starting in the mouth will begin to move behind the soft palate (where your uvula hangs) causing you to experience a phenomenon known as “split resonance” – where the resonance sensation is felt both in chest and head voices at the same time. 

This type of sound production also creates the possibility for more Harmonic range, allowing more “warmth” and fullness to the sound.

 

Most people need guidance finding their Mix Voice. I highly recommend finding a voice instructor who has the skills to walk you through the process. I will describe some of the steps to finding mix in an upcoming blog but can’t recommend enough that you find an instructor who has the tools to get you there correctly. Everyone comes with their own unique set of vocal issues and there may be some work to do before your voice is ready for this step.

 

*Open Quotient/Closed Quotient
The vocal cords are attached at one end, like a “V”, and vibrate quickly together while resisting air pressure from the lungs to create what we hear as pitch. Like when you pull the end of a balloon together with your fingers and gradually allow air to escape the balloon, creating that high-pitched, “eeeeee” sound. (Interesting aside, that is how your vocal cords sound all on their own, without your throat and mouth as resonating spaces). The greater percentage of time the vocal folds stay closed between vibrations – the more air is resisted – the clearer the vocalized sound is (Closed Quotient). The lesser percentage of time the vocal folds stay closed between vibrations, – the more air escapes – the “breathier” or more air is heard in the sound (Open Quotient).