Speech Level Singing

When should I start singing songs?

2008-09-02T23:48:00.000-07:00

The first thing we do in at the start of a first voice lesson is have the student sing a series of five tone scales on the vowel "ah" throughout their range. We do this to learn a few things about the student, such as their vocal range, how they navigate their bridges, whether they are connected to their chest voice, if they tend to disconnect or "flip" at one or more of their bridges, if they tend to force the voice or "pull chest," and so on. These are all technical issues. As soon as a technical issue has been discovered we are motivated to give them an exercise or series of exercises that will immediately address and eventually assist them to overcome the technical difficulty. In the process of discovery and correction we effectuate the actual building of the vocal instrument.

This building process can take a long time; in fact the voice continues to be built in one manner or another during the entire life of the singer. That said, the idea of vocal exercises being sung for many years at the exclusion of all else is one that is archaic at best, and counterproductive at worst. The moment a student can show at least some signs of being able to cross their bridges in a relaxed speech-level manner, it is imperative that songs (or at the very least some phrases from songs) be introduced.

If the singing of actual vocal music is delayed for too long a condition develops in the student that they are able to vocalize at an advanced level, but are singing songs at a beginning or intermediate level. Why? because they have not yet learned to apply this new-found technique to music. I have found that many students who seem to enjoy the building process of scale singing can be extremely hesitant to start singing actual music. There may be many reasons for this, but if left unchecked in can develop into a pattern in which they don't ever feel ready to or comfortable in singing anything other than vocal exercises. This pattern is neither desirable nor easy to overcome; so it's best if vocal teachers never let it happen in the first place. It's important to start application of technique to songs as soon as the technique will allow it.

There are students however on the other end of the spectrum who don't want to vocalize at all, they only want to sing and perform. To these students it must be made very clear that vocal technique and solid form is not built from the songs they are singing. They must commit to a minimum of solid, healthy vocalizing every day if they are to ever expect progress in their development of a professional caliber vocal sound.

Have a great week!

Guy

Voice Lessons

Why do I Need Vibrato?

2008-08-20T09:48:00.000-07:00

Many singers who study with me who sing styles of music not associated with a full vibrato wonder why I insist upon developing a smooth steady vibrato in their lessons. Why bother if they aren't every going to use it? This is an excellent question. I can't remember who said it, but I love the analogy of vibrato being like the idle of the car. If the car is idling too quickly or too slowly you know something is wrong.

A good vibrato comes at a rate of approximately 6 to 8 beats per second. The actual cause of vibrato is a point of controversy among many vocal professionals, but we do all tend to agree that it is the result of a balance of air flow and cord closure in a vocal environment where the extrinsic laryngeal muscles are in a neutral posture. As I state often, when a singer is vocalizing, the style is completely stripped from the voice as we are building pure technique. Good vocalizing is essential for achieving and maintaining optimal vocal health and longevity.

If a singer is engaged in singing styles that do not use vibrato, this means that the style of singing is farther away from vocal balance than styles which use vibrato. It is imperative that these singers have a clear sense of what balanced vocal production is in order to know how far they can healthfully take their styling before getting into danger.

If a singer is needing to sing in a "vibrato-free" manner, I first want them to develop a balanced singing technique where the vibrato is spinning freely at a healthy rate. Then, rather than "eliminating" vibrato from the voice, I prefer that we begin to reduce vibrato to the point that it is almost imperceptible. The difference in the presence of overtone frequencies and intensity of sound between a voice with vibrato and one with a straight tone is quite stark. By reducing vibrato rather than eliminating it, a singer will maintain a healthy voice with much more resonance and power than a singer who strains to sustain pitches on a straight, flat tone.

Until next time!

Guy

Voice Lessons

How Long Will It Take?

2008-08-12T21:41:00.000-07:00

The one question that wins out as the most frequently asked question of all is "How long will these lessons take before I can sing well?" My answer is always the same: "I have absolutely no idea." It really depends on many factors such as, the student's inherent talent, How well they practice, how deeply set their current vocal habits are, etc.

The only thing a voice teacher can offer a student is the ability to assist a student in training themselves to operate the vocal mechanism as efficiently as possible. Inherent talent cannot be taught, but skill can. Anyone can improve and get better. What matters is that the student trains with a qualified teacher, that they practice every day, and that they practice mindfully. Also, I always recommend that a student who is serious about dumping bad singing habits fast abstain from singing along to the radio, CDs and MP3s. Remember, what we are training here is habits. If you practice your vocal exercises for 20 minutes a day and sing poorly along to the radio for 4 hours a day, which set of habits will win out?

All art-forms take great amounts of skill, training and practice to approach a level of mastery that rises above mediocrity. A good singer is both an artist and an athlete. They spend a good deal of time training and singing scales, practicing phrasing, analyzing lyrics and finding a balance between a solid vocal line, phrasing and emotional distillation of the pieces of music that they interpret. Singing is an art, a skill and a physical discipline. Just like any artist or athlete, a good singer never stops training.

In popular music, there is room for many different types of voices. Traditional "vocal talent" is not necessarily a prerequisite for success. Barbara Streisand and Anthony Kiedis are each artists of high calibre. They are very different types of singers; yet each of them must be in good vocal shape to perform well. Hayley Williams and Josh Groban each have demanding performing schedules regardless of the vast difference in the styles of their singing. Each has trained hard and continues to train.

The answer to the question, "How long will it take," is that it takes forever. Art has no end. There are no perfect singers. All excellent singers keep improving and keep training. And that's a good thing!

Voice Lessons

Frequency of Lessons

2008-08-01T08:02:00.000-07:00

I do apologize for the tardiness of my blog post. I got back from a fantastic two weeks in Scandinavia and have finally shaken the jet lag!

I sometimes hear a new or potential student tell me that they, as beginners, would like to come in for a lesson every few weeks and then once they are more advanced bump it up to a weekly lesson. This is backwards. It is important to remember that a voice teacher is there to help you train your neuromuscular habit patterns. That is to say a voice teacher is there to correct and guide the student to the point where the technique becomes second nature.

Habits are the most powerful things there are. Singing is a very complex process. The only way that a good singer can stop thinking about their voice and start thinking about the songs they are singing is by training their neuromuscular habits to the point where healthy vocal technique is on auto pilot. Habits are developed very quickly. Therefore, a new student needs to be under proper guidance as often as possible, whereas a more advanced student who already has good singing habits established doesn't need lessons as frequently.

In the 19th century and probably prior, it was customary for a student to have daily lessons with the maestro. It was common that they trained daily together for upwards of eight years before the singer made their debut on the operatic stage. These days, we have the ability to record lessons on CD or MP3; and with these recordings the student can practice the specialized lesson plan the teacher has developed for them between lessons. These recordings make it no longer necessary for a student to have daily lessons; however, I recommend that a beginning student have a minimum of one lesson per week with a qualified instructor. Twice per week is ideal if time and budget can allow it. As the technique becomes more developed the student can taper off the frequency if desired, but only to the extent that they are able to maintain a healthy speech-level posture during singing at all times.

Until next time!

Guy

Voice Lesson

Vocal Balance and Performing

2008-06-25T07:58:00.000-07:00

When I am vocalizing a rock singer and the technique is sounding very balanced, the question often arises, "how am I supposed to sing a rock song like this?" That is a valid question. Very few styles (including opera by the way) sing with perfect technique. Good singers of all styles must move away at least somewhat from perfect balance in order to give the appropriate sound necessary to the song or aria they are singing.

Let's think of singing as a clock. Perfect balance we will call 12:00. Perhaps some church soloists and oratorio soloists might sing at 12:00. A singer who is singing a Mozart aria might sing at 11:00, or 1:00, whereas a singer in a Vagnerian opera might sing at 10:00 or 2:00. A musical theater singer who is singing "legit" may sing at 11:00, while a "belter" may be at 9:00. An R&B singer may sing at 8:00, while a heavy metal singer may sing all the way at 6:00. Singing a hard core rock style at 12:00 would sound ridiculous.

All that being said, if I were to walk in on a voice lesson and hear a singer vocalizing, ultimately I shouldn't be able to tell what style of music they sing; all I should hear is perfect balance. The job of a voice teacher is to assist the singer in getting back to 12:00 (perfect balance) and vocalize them through their range using a perfect balance of air flow and cord closure with the larynx at a stable speech-level posture.

Sometimes a good voice teacher can feel like a chiropractor. The student goes out and performs well, but in an unbalanced manner; when they come into the studio for a lesson we have to get them back in balance. Also, we have to make sure that they are able to sing in their style in a believable manner using as much balance as possible.

The important thing to understand here is that the first step is building the voice in a balanced manner. If you don't have a decent "12:00" then finding style is only going to cause poor singing habits and inhibit the building of good technique. If the voice hasn't been built properly it is difficult at best to maintain vocal health while maintaining a professional performance schedule. Start building technique now, so you have versatility and stamina in the future.

Until next time,

Keep singing!

Guy

Voice Lessons

A Mixed Voice

2008-06-10T21:35:00.000-07:00

If you look inside a piano, you will see a set of strings that looks like a harp. The low notes are created by the hammers hitting strings that are very long and thick. The strings gradually get shorter and thinner until the very high notes are sounded by the hammers hitting strings that are very short and thin. This demonstrates acoustic law. Low notes are sounded by a larger vibrating mass than high notes.

In the bottom part of a singer's range the vocal folds are thick and long. As the singer moves up a scale the folds start to stretch and thin out a bit; this is a similar concept to a guitarist using a tuning peg to stretch the string in order to raise the pitch. In the lower and lower middle parts of the voice as the folds are in this long position, the resonance seems to travel out of the mouth while sympathetic resonance is felt in the chest of the singer. This is why this lower part of the voice is also known as "Chest Voice." When the singer reaches the top of the chest voice, they have three choices, only one of which is desirable in order to sing pitches which are higher.

1. The singer can continue to stretch the cords and continue to try to pull the resonance out of their mouth. This results in a strained, yelled type of sound which is commonly known as "pulling the chest voice," or simply "pulling chest." Over time this pulled type of production can be very irritating on the folds and can cause several types of damage to the voice.

2. The singer can allow the vocal fold adduction to stop and allow only the outer edges of the folds to vibrate. While this does reduce the vibrating mass and allows the pitch to rise, massive amounts of air rush through these "oval-form" folds causing the voice to "break" into a very breathy production, accompanied by a sudden loss in intensity. This is known as "falsetto" or a "disconnected" sound. This type of production is not acceptable in most types of professional singing, as it doesn't blend in quality with the low notes, and the sound has no carrying power.

3. The singer can keep the stretch and adduction of the vocal folds while at the same time allowing the vibrating length of the folds to shorten. This is a similar concept to a guitarist fretting up the strings to raise the pitch.

This third condition also creates a split resonance feeling in the singer. Some of the resonance continues to come out of the mouth as in the chest voice, yet some of the resonance begins to rise up behind the soft palate. This mixed resonance has the potential to have a great deal of power. This is known as a "mixed voice," or simply "the mix."

The mix has the potential to sound like a belted chest voice, a strong head voice or a soft yet powerful pianissimo. The mix is extremely versatile and very resilient. The mix is not easy for most singers to find on their own, and it must be built very carefully. Once a singer has built a solid mix they sound like they have one voice from the bottom to the top of their range with no apparent breaks in their voice.

There is a lot more to discuss in regards to the chest voice, the mix, the head voice and the balancing of the different bridges in the voice. More shall be revealed!

Until next time,

Keep singing!

Guy

Voice Lessons

Breathing and Singing (For Beginners)

2008-06-03T20:36:00.000-07:00

Very often I hear beginning singers tell me that they heard some voice teacher tell them that singing is 90% breathing, and that if you can master your breathing you can master your voice. Yet, if it were all about breathing, then we would be able to recruit the best singers from the swim team and track team; every aerobics instructor could be a diva, and yogis from all over the world would reign supreme on the operatic stage. Obviously breath control is important for singing, but it is not the panacea it is often made out to be.

Breathing exercises are often a staple for beginners in modern vocal training methods. Yet, I have found that it is actually a hindrance for most beginning singers to attempt to increase their lung capacity, or to learn to "support" the tone with the rib cage and abdomen as a part of their early vocal training. What is important in the beginning is for a student to learn how to do the following two things:

1. The student must learn how to sing through the different parts of their vocal range while maintaining a relaxed laryngeal posture. The outer, or "extrinsic" laryngeal muscles are trained to not involve themselves during the pitch-making-process. These outer laryngeal muscles are responsible for things like swallowing, chewing and yawning, but their involvement in singing actually inhibits a free vocal tone.

2. The student must learn how to sing through the different parts of their range while maintaining a balanced ratio of air flow to vocal fold resistance.

These skills are developed by practicing specialized exercises at a medium volume under the supervision of a well-trained instructor. These skills enable the student to begin to free their voice and eliminate any breaks or registration events which often occur as a result of either an imbalance between air flow and cord adduction or the activation of the extrinsic laryngeal muscles.

If the student is instructed to focus on breath support before the inner muscles of the larynx have gained strength and coordination, he or she will invariably use more air than the vocal folds can resist comfortably and the tone will either become forced (which will often also result in outer muscle activity), or the cords will lose adduction (which will result in the voice breaking into a breathy production often called "falsetto").

I'm not saying that teaching breath support is never appropriate; however I am saying that it is almost always inappropriate for a singer who has not learned the two skills I have outlined above. Using larger amounts of air pressure will be of immense importance to a singer who has gained a certain level of mastery in maintaining a speech-level posture and who has balanced their bridges from the the bottom of their range to the top, with no apparent breaks or sudden changes in vocal quality.

The metaphor I often use is this: Suppose you decided you wanted to build really big muscles. You found a personal trainer and showed up for your first session. The trainer then told you to lie down on the bench and immediately started to pile a bunch of plates on the bar and said, "OK, lift!" Would this seem prudent? Of course not. A good trainer would take the empty bar and have you go through the motions of the exercise with no plates at all in order to train you in proper form. Once your form was correct, they would add a little bit of weight onto each side of the bar. The minute your form faltered, they would know they had added too much weight. Of course a trainer might let an advanced lifter work with a lot of extra weight at times even if their form faltered in order to really start building some serious muscle, but only when they were absolutely certain that this advanced lifter could handle it.

The same principle applies to singing. Extra breath pressure and vocal fold resistance are added only after the student has demonstrated they can handle it properly.

Until next time, keep singing!

Regards,

Guy

Voice Lessons

Vocal Technique vs. Style

2008-05-27T15:56:00.001-07:00

I know people don't like to hear it when I say it, but the truth is that inherent talent and facility have a lot to do with a singer's success or failure within a particular style. Voice lessons can teach technical skill, but they can't create vocal talent. Yet every voice can find a style that is appropriate to its own strengths and persistent training can continue to build on what nature has given the singer.

Some metaphoric examples that may make some sense are as follows. Anyone can go to a personal trainer and lift weights, but very few will ever have the genetic disposition to compete as body builders. Does this mean that they shouldn't train? Of course not. Weight bearing exercise can help everyone become healthier and more attractive. Anyone can take ballet classes. Does this mean that everyone who studies ballet will become a professional ballet dancer? Obviously not; however a good foundation in ballet can make a dancer proficient in other dance forms and can help a lay-person achieve poise, posture and confidence.

My point is that no matter where a student starts when they train, they can always continue to improve. But a good teacher will also need to be honest with their students about their potential to become professionals within a particular vocal style. In my own case, I am very fond of singing classical music; however I don't have a voice that will make it in heavier operatic repertoire. It is, however, very well suited to lighter opera, oratorio and lieder.

Some voices are small. Some are big. Some voices are very high. Some are deep. Some have inherent "flaws" in them. Yet every voice can find its niche if both the singer and the teacher work together and are continually honest and realistic with their training regimen. Any singer can become technically proficient in balancing their bridges from the bottom to the top with no apparent breaks in the voice. But good technique can't alter a voice's inherent timber, nor should it attempt to do so. So continue to train, and build your technique, then find the style or styles that are best suited to your voice and sing, sing, sing.

Until next time,

Guy

Voice Lessons

What to Eat and What to Drink Before Singing

2008-05-19T20:08:00.000-07:00

I often get asked questions like, "Doesn't tea with honey help the voice?" "Does drinking olive oil and water make you sing better?" "Should I avoid dairy products before singing?" etc. Since the topic of what to eat and drink before singing is on the minds of many singers, let me give you my perspective now.

First, let's talk about the ideas of lemon, honey, teas, throat sprays etc. While all of these things can help the throat feel good, the only way that any of them will actually come into contact with your vocal folds is if you breathe them, and this is not something I would recommend. The only thing that you can breathe that is beneficial is steam. I recommend that each of my students purchase a steamer. You can find steamers at your local drug store for about $35. A popular steamer is the Vick's Personal Steamer. This is not the same as a vaporizer which puts moisture into the air of a room.

A steamer actually has a little mask that goes over the nose and mouth. Water is put into the basin beneath the mask, the unit is plugged into the wall and powered on. A heating element then heats the water to just below boiling. The steam rises from the heated water through the mask and is breathed into the lungs. The steam passes over the vocal folds on its way into the lungs and has a very hydrating and healing effect on them. Steaming is much preferred over gargling. I find gargling to be somewhat irritating and don't recommend it.

As far as food is concerned, it is important to avoid singing on a completely empty stomach. Singing can be athletic, and you want to have plenty of energy for your performance. However, it is also important to avoid singing on a completely full stomach. When the stomach is too full, it is difficult to take the low breaths necessary for healthy singing. Also, singing tends to cause burping when it is done too soon after eating, and burping is an activity that is usually frowned upon by many audience members during a vocal performance.

A rule of thumb is to eat a healthy "singers meal" about 2 hours prior to a performance. A singer's meal would be balanced in 1) lean meat, chicken, fresh fish, eggs, or a high quality vegetable protein such as tempeh or tofu; 2) a complex starchy carbohydrate such as whole grain bread, brown rice or potato (not much butter, and no sour cream); and 3) plenty of fresh vegetables and/or fruits (citrus fruits however seem to cause mucous or dryness in some singers). Make sure to never stuff yourself, especially before a performance.

Some foods and beverages to avoid prior to singing are mucous producing foods such as dairy, stimulants such as caffeine and spicy foods, soft drinks, refined sugars, chocolate, iced drinks and alcohol (including wine and beer). Be aware also of any foods which you may be sensitive to or allergic to prior to singing (for example, some singers have trouble with citrus fruits, wheat, nuts, shellfish or soy).

It's also important to keep the body well hydrated with water the day of a performance, but please remember to lay off on the water intake several hours before you go on, since there probably won't be too many bathroom breaks. Some performers will chew a bit of sugar free gum or suck on a sugar free hard candy prior to going onstage to keep the saliva flowing in lieu of drinking water.

I hope that answered some of your questions. Please keep emailing me with more!

Talk to you real soon!

Guy

www.voice-lessons.com

Volume vs. Intensity

2008-04-01T17:05:00.000-07:00

It sure has been a long time since I have posted on my blog. I hope to be more punctual in the future.

I have worked with many types of singers who sing in various styles. There seems to often be a bit of confusion between intensity and volume. Often a singer will try to belt or get volume by pushing more air, or pulling more weight and chest voice higher and higher through the range. This will more often than not result in a worn out voice which is prone to long-term damage. On the other extreme, I often hear singers who try to sound intimate or soft by using absolutely no energy at all in their voice and the result is a dull, breathy and lifeless sound.

It is important to remember that an intense sound is a released sound. A well produced vocal tone is rich with overtones and all the frequencies necessary to be heard over an orchestra, a band or a mix on a recording. Regardless of the amplitude (volume) which is being sung, the same ringing full sound can be heard. There is nothing similar in sound (or feeling on the part of the singer) between a pushed voice and a full voice. In fact, one of the comments that I have heard more than once when a singer discovers a released, full sound is that "it is so easy that it feels like cheating."

The ease described above has to do with the release and freedom of the larynx; yet freedom is not to be confused with laziness. A well produced vocal tone, is an athletic accomplishment. The entire body is involved in the production of sound. Good singing is real work, but it is not strain. Remember the larynx remains in a comfortable speech level at all times. This is where confusion is very common. This is also the reason I never use words like "support." Telling a singer to give the tone more support can often lead to the erroneous assumption that what is desired is extra abdominal pushing. While it is true that the abdominal region does become involved in the workload, this abdominal resistance is a by product of the intention on the part of the singer to produce the tone, and is not the cause of the tone.

Only after the release of tone has been accomplished by a singer is the next logical step for them to begin to add more intensity to the tone. This adding of intensity is done by increasing the resistance of air pressure by the vocal cords which produces a stronger sound wave. This resistance is built over time and under the direction of a well trained instructor. The stronger sound wave is also known as "The Singer's Formant," and it can be present (and is desirable) at all volumes from ppp to fff.

www.voice-lessons.com

www.vocal-products.com

Young Voices

2007-08-21T12:04:00.000-07:00

I just got back from Italy, Greece, Croatia and Malta. It was fantastic. I haven't been able to post much lately due to travel, but hope to be online more regularly now that I'm back in town.

There are many opinions about what age is appropriate for young singers to start studying voice. The truth is that the technique that I teach (speech-level-singing) can be used by singers of any age, even very young voices. A child is not physiologically at a disadvantage due to their age; however, the problem that does seem to show up among very young singers is one of attention span. Vocal technique can be very boring to a child. Often times a child wants only to sing songs, not scales. My recommendation is that children under age 10 study an instrument such as piano as well as working with a youth chorus until they are of an age where they are able to focus for longer periods of time on the often abstract principles of vocal technique.

Occasionally a very young child can be quite precocious and focused, and such children can benefit greatly studying vocal technique. Please remember that Speech-Level-Singing is a very safe technique and no harm can come to any voice of any age who studies the technique under the supervision of a qualified instructor, and who practices and sings responsibly. I suggest that a parent of a young child who is interested in voice lessons bring the child in to a qualified teacher for a lesson or two and see how the child does. If the child can commit to practicing each day according to the instructions of the teacher, then all is well. However, a child should never be forced to commit to singing; they should be committed to the art themselves if they are to study.

Until next time,

Guy

www.voice-lessons.com

www.vocal-products.com

Application of Technique to Repertoire

2007-06-24T09:29:00.000-07:00

The development of Speech-Level-Singing technique involves the use of specialized exercises which, under the direction of a well trained instructor, assist the student in finding and maintaining a balance of airflow and vocal cord adduction while maintaining a relaxed speech-level posture in the larynx. Most students discover that once they have found this posture in the exercises, there is another hurdle to jump when applying the technique to songs. There are several reasons for this.

First of all, the exercises usually use only 1. 2 or 3 vowel sounds on a repetitive scale pattern. Songs are not like this. Songs have many difficult vowel and consonant combinations and melodies that can skip through many challenging intervalic and scale patterns.

Second, when singing a song there is also the question of style. Each style of singing has its own challenges. A singer must be able to find a balance between good technique and authentic style on his or her songs or arias.

Third, we must remember that all singers possess muscle memory. Usually a singer has been singing long before coming to the SLS technique. All the habits the singer had prior to training seem to come "screaming" back to life as soon as the singer starts to stray from the exercises. This seems to be especially true when the singer tries singing songs they have sung prior to training.

The singer must be very patient. Hopefully they are working with a certified teacher who has been trained to help them through this phase of training. Careful attention should be paid to the vowels that are being sung especially when singing through the bridges. Vowels have a tendency to widen which can cause an immediate loss of speech level posture. Specialized vowel modification may be necessary in order to avoid this widening of vowels.

Often there is a particular SLS exercise that the student is more comfortable with than others. It can be helpful to sing the melody of the song or aria on this exercise and then repeat singing the melody with the problematic text. This exercise can very frequently yield good results.

The topic of application is a very complex one. It is the crux of this technique. We aren't singers because we want to sing exercises, we are singers because we want to sing music. Singing songs and arias well can prove to be quite challenging. It takes time, work, patience, and the guidance of a good teacher. Remember, if it were easy --- everyone would be doing it! It's well worth the time, effort and practice it takes to get it right.

www.voice-lessons.com

www.vocal-products.com

Power

2007-04-24T08:16:00.000-07:00

Singing with more power is a goal of many new students in my studio. Commonly, students will come for lessons because they are trying to sing in "full voice" up in the higher ranges of their singing voice. The mistake that is usually made is that they try to drag their chest voices up past their first bridge and into where the mix should occur. This usually causes discomfort, hoarseness and ultimately damage over time. It is important to remember that when we are first building sound in the mix and head ranges, that the fullness and power that is desired is limited at best. This is because the necessary strength and coordination has not been attained that can manage larger amounts of air pressure that are required for the more powerful sounds.

Blasting a bunch of air through the voice is not the answer. It is necessary that a light, yet connected coordination be found first. This can be "leaned into" more and more over time provided that the larynx stays stable and relaxed, and that the vowels stay narrow through the bridges. The narrow vowels ensure that the resonance moves more and more behind the soft palate as the pitches ascend, rather than "splatting" out of the mouth resulting in a pulled, and strained sound and feeling.

More soon!

Guy Babusek
www.voice-lessons.com
www.vocal-products.com

Legato

2007-04-12T07:51:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's taken so long to post, but I had some time off for Spring Break and my birthday, and just haven't gotten to it!

The ability to sing a legato line is something that seems to be slowly falling by the wayside for many singers today. A legato line is a smooth vocal line with no bumps, breaks or "h's". One of the most effective ways to get a smooth vocal line into a song is to practice the line on a gentle "edge" type of sound, usually on an "M" or an "NG." Recording oneself and listening to the playback while practicing in this fashion is usually quite revealing. A singer should work on the line for as long as needed until the melody is as smooth as "oil on glass."

The next step would be to practice the melody with the text of the song or aria (recording the practice session again, of course). The singer is usually surprised at the degree of choppiness the words have brought back into the legato line previously established. If this is the case, another very old but effective technique is to remove all the consonants from the text and sing the line from vowel to vowel of each word. Then the consonants are added back into the words bit by bit without disturbing the silky smooth line.

Obviously, if the singer has not gotten to the place in their technique where a relaxed speech-level posture can be maintained while working in the manners described above, than these techniques are too advanced for the time being. They should instead work on establishing a strong vocal technique using speech-level exercises and return to the legato processes at a later time.

More later

Guy

Guy Babusek
http://www.voice-lessons.com
http://www.vocal-products.com

Coloratura and Riffs

2007-04-02T20:06:00.000-07:00

I get so many emails asking how to develop the ability to sing riffs and other quick and florid types of passages. In classical vocal music this florid singing is known as coloratura. Any type of quick singing obviously requires flexibility in the vocal instrument. The only way to develop the ability to sing quickly and dramatically is to first train the voice to remain in a --you guessed it-- relaxed speech-level posture throughout the range. Once some degree of proficiency in basic technique has been gained, then flexibility can be practiced.

In all styles of singing, the quick riffs should sound natural and spontaneous. The only way to develop this sound is to practice the passages at more moderate speeds, note by note, and gradually increase the tempo. The goal is to maintain your speech-level posture, feel no strain or excess breath pressure beneath the cords, and feel as though the passage is connected from bottom to top (rather than flipping into a disconnected, falsetto type of production in the higher ranges).

Once the flexibility and balance are established, the singer can then begin to "lean into" the passages a bit more and invite more air resistance at the cords (being very careful not to lose the relaxed floating speech-level posture, or invite any outer muscle involvement).

It's perfectly reasonable to expect to practice certain difficult fast runs and trills for quite some time before they are performance ready. Once they have been perfected they will sound very natural and spontaneous. Each style of music has certain patterns that seem to be repeated with slight variations. Therefore as these certain patterns have been mastered they can be used in many different song applications and in improvisations.

More soon.

Guy Babusek
www.voice-lessons.com
www.vocal-products.com

Dynamics

2007-04-01T23:29:00.000-07:00

One of the oldest tests of vocal technique is called the "Messa di Voce." In English the translation would literally be "placing the voice." Basically, the Messa di Voce is performed as follows: a tone is begun at pianissimo (very soft) and then slowly and smoothly swelled to fortissimo (very loud) and then diminished slowly and smoothly back to a pianissimo.

With the Speech-Level-Singing technique, a singer never places their voice at all; they allow the voice place itself. When a singer is first training and developing their technique, it is suggested that they vocalize at a medium (mezzo forte) volume. Once the larynx has been stabilized, and the bridges have been balanced they can find dynamics in singing. When a singer is performing any dynamic changes they don't physically try to "do" anything. They maintain a comfortable speech-level posture and then intend to sing at a particular volume and allow the voice to swell or diminish accordingly.

The intention of the singer to sing louder sends a signal from the brain which causes a symbiotic increase of air pressure and equal increase in resistance to the air pressure from the vocal folds; this results in a stronger sound wave (louder tone). Obviously, the intention to decrease volume would cause a decrease in air pressure and cord resistance and a softer tone. The muscles that cause changes in volume are involuntary. The singer's job is not to create volume, their job is to maintain a speech-level posture, and resist the temptation to assist the tone in any way. Beyond this, the intention to get louder or softer is all that is required. Some signs that a speech-level posture has not been maintained during a change in dynamics are: the tone becomes unsteady, vibrato is absent (or the rate of vibrato changes), the pitch falters, the vowel widens, the larynx rises, too much air pressure begins to build up under the cords, or the tone breaks into falsetto.

More tomorrow!
Guy Babusek

www.voice-lessons.com
www.vocal-products.com

Finding the Mix

2007-03-29T07:29:00.000-07:00

As discussed in a previous post, there are points in the vocal range when the muscular mechanism which operates the vocal cords changes while the resonance sensations in the body shift. This is where most people experience a break, or a sudden shift in vocal quality. The biggest and most prominent break point for most people is the first bridge, which is the transition from chest voice into the head voice. The first step in beginning to smooth out this transition is understanding that at this first bridge a mixing must occur. The singer must find a place that is not pure falsetto, and not pure chest voice. We call this the middle voice or the mix.

As we have described, the larynx must stay down in a relaxed speech-level posture, and the vocal folds must maintain a balance between cord adduction (closure) and air flow. Although the vocal scientists disagree on what actually happens physiologically, the following model tends to be a good one for singers who are developing their mix and learning to balance their first bridge.

In the chest voice, the vocal folds are stretching longer in order to rise in pitch, much like when a guitarist uses a tuning peg to raise the pitch on the string of a guitar. As the singer rises up to the top of their chest voice, they have three different options, only one of which is desirable.
1. They can continue to stretch the vocal folds beyond what is healthy, which causes too large of a vibrating mass, resulting in the rising of the larynx and the sound to "splat" or "spread" out of the mouth. The resulting sound is strained. It feels strained as well.
2. They can let go of most of the adduction of the vocal folds in order to sing on a smaller vibrating mass using only the outer edges of the cords. This is called falsetto. It sounds very airy with no carrying power and usually is accompanied by a very obvious break. Falsetto cannot blend with the rest of the voice.
3. They can keep the cords stretched, and keep the adduction muscles active thus bringing the folds gently together, while at the same time shortening the vibrating length of the folds. This can be likened to a guitarist fretting up the fret board.

The third option is the only desirable option for the singer to move from chest voice into the mix. The shortened cord condition results in an ability for the singer to stay at a relaxed speech level posture using a comfortable balance of cord closure and air flow. There is also an accompanying response of a "split resonance." Some resonance continues to come out of the mouth as in chest voice, but some resonance begins to travel up behind the soft palate into the head.

Finding the mix is important for singers of all styles. Over time the mix can be built into a very solid and full sound. The mix is versatile. It can be used to sound like an extension of the chest voice (i.e. a belt), or like a downward extension of the head voice. Either way, the mix offers an amazing opportunity for the singer to move through their voice with no apparent breaks of any kind.

More tomorrow!

Guy
www.voice-lessons.com
www.vocal-products.com

Vibrato

2007-03-28T08:35:00.000-07:00

Vibrato is necessary in order to sustain a tone at a comfortable speech-level with a balance of cord tension and air flow. We must remember that there are two types of compression which occur in the vocal folds during phonation. One pressure comes from the closure (adduction) of the vocal folds themselves as they are drawn together. The other compression is the air pressure which comes from the diaphragm and presses against the adducted vocal folds. In order to sing in a healthy manner, there must be a constant balance which exists between the two pressures: one pressure blows the cords apart and the other pressure brings them back together, then the first pressure blows the cords apart again, and then the other pressure brings the cords back together again. This process happens over and over again, and thus a sound wave is emitted from the cords and into the resonating chambers of the voice. As a result of the balancing of these two pressures, a "spinning" type sound occurs called vibrato.

The types of sounds which can occur when balance during phonation is not maintained are breathy (whisper), yelled (or pulled), falsetto (disconnected), wobble (wide and slow vibrato), or tremolo (quick vibrato like a machine gun or a goat bleating). An occasional use of one of these unbalanced sounds can be used as stylistic devices, but the majority of singing should be done in a balanced manner at a comfortable speech level in order to maintain optimal vocal health. There are styles of singing where a full-bodied vibrato may not appropriate, but that does not mean that vibrato should be removed from the voice. The only way to sing without vibrato is to sing without balance. A good vibrato not does need to call undue attention to itself, but some vibrato is absolutely necessary for healthy singing. The balance described here is a primary focus of all good vocal technique, and is a major factor in giving singers who use the Speech-Level-Singing technique the feeling that they are singing with the same release and freedom as when they are speaking.

More tomorrow!

Guy Babusek
www.voice-lessons.com
www.vocal-products.com

Vocal Registers

2007-03-27T08:08:00.000-07:00

Have you ever looked inside a grand piano? The strings look similar to a harp. The strings that produce the low notes are long and thick, and they gradually get shorter and thinner, until the strings for the very top notes are quite short and thin. This demonstrates an acoustic law. The low notes are produced by strings which vibrate at slower rates per second than the strings for high notes. Every note that is produced by every instrument must vibrate at a specific number of vibrations per second in order to have the resulting pitch be in tune. In order for the voice to sing through a scale from the bottom of its range to the top, the vibrating mass must become smaller as the pitch ascends, just like in the piano or any other instrument.

The vocal folds (or vocal cords) are operated by a very complex system of musculature. Some sets of muscles cause the vocal folds come together (adduct), some muscles cause the vocal folds to stretch (like a tuning peg on a guitar), some cause the vocal folds to thin, some to shorten, and so on. Do you see how the voice is a very versatile musical instrument? With all this versatility a certain degree of expertise is needed to play this instrument well.

To sing low notes, a group of muscles must be used which cause a thick and long vibrating mass. As the scale is ascended the work load must be gradually given to a group of muscles which cause a thin and short vibrating mass. There is usually point at which an untrained singer sings up the scale using only the thick mechanism and then suddenly must change over to the thin mechanism. This results in an abrupt gear change with which we are all familiar called a register break. In the old Italian school this point in the voice was called a passaggio or passage. In SLS we refer to these passaggi as bridges. Our goal is to balance the bridges in the voice (yes, you actually have more than one bridge or passaggio point in your voice-more on this in another post). This way we have a smooth sound from the bottom of our range to the top with no apparent breaks.

The terms head voice and chest voice come from the old Italian school as well. The names are derived from the fact that each size of cord described above has a correspondent resonance in the body. Ceasari called these resonances "sound beams." The low notes (caused by a long, thick vibrating mass in the cords) seem to come straight out of the mouth, with sympathetic resonances booming in the chest cavities. The very high notes (caused by a short, thin vibrating mass in the cords) seem to come straight out of the back of the head. So what about all the notes in the middle? We call the middle voice the mix. This is because it seems like part of the resonance is coming out of the mouth and part is coming behind the soft palate up into the head areas. It is a mixture of both resonance sensations. It is not surprising why many singers have trouble in the middle parts of their ranges. So much is going on at once. Cord mechanisms are changing while the different resonances are blending. While all this is happening we of course must stay in a relaxed speech level posture. Only good training and excellent vocal technique will solve all these challenges!

More tomorrow!

Guy
www.voice-lessons.com
www.vocal-products.com

What is Speech-Level?

2007-03-26T07:33:00.000-07:00

I sometimes hear people who haven't studied SLS say things like, "Speech-Level-Singing simply means singing the same way you speak; it's just bringing your chest voice up throughout your whole range." WRONG!

Let's put this myth to bed once and for all. I'll help you find your own speech level right this minute! Place your finger gently on the thyroid cartilage of your larynx. This is also known as the Adam's apple (uh, Eve's apple for women???). Now swallow. It goes up right? Now yawn. It goes down. Now simply count to five in a comfortable speaking voice. It pretty much floats in the middle? This floating area is your speech level. Now try swallowing while counting to five. I'm sure you discovered that this doesn't really work too well.

When you swallow, the larynx rises and the epiglottis closes over your wind pipe to prevent food from entering your lungs. Often what happens is that as a singer sings pitches up a scale, their larynx will rise up as well (let's save the many reasons for this for another post) and thus the sound cuts out. What we want to do is train your larynx to stay at that floating, comfortable Speech-Level throughout your whole range. This gives the voice freedom and power with no strain whatsoever.

As you rise through your range you will move out of your chest voice and into your mid range voice (mix) and up into the head voice. We will be dealing with these concepts on other posts, but just suffice it to say that singing at your speech level does not imply that you drag your speaking voice, or chest voice up; it simply means that your larynx stays at a comfortable speech level throughout your entire singing range.

See you tomorrow!
Guy
www.voice-lessons.com
www.vocal-products.com

Breath Support

2007-03-25T08:20:00.000-07:00

Breath support is a main focus of most vocal training methods. I think most singers over-do it. The voice needs balance between the flow of air and the resistance of air by the vocal folds. This balance can only be achieved by allowing the breath to be regulated automatically by the body while maintaining a relaxed speech-level posture. The breathing mechanism doesn't need large amounts of specialized breathing exercises in order to function properly for singing.

Breath support happens automatically. If you dig your thumbs into your waist muscles at the same level as your navel and cough, you will notice that your abdominal muscles support the cough. Now keep your thumbs there and call out emotionally "Hey!!" as if you were trying to get some one's attention who is about to accidentally step in a puddle. You will feel the natural support that your voice already calls for when using the voice.

So "more support" is not what is actually needed by most singers. What is needed is the maintenance of a speech level posture. In fact asking a singer to give support to a sound is like asking the fuel gauge to move toward full without putting fuel in the car. Support is the natural product of balanced vocal production. Asking a singer to monitor their support can occasionally be of some value however, because when support is not being felt, they realise that they have fallen off of their speech level and must reestablish their posture.

More tomorrow!

Guy
www.voice-lessons.com
www.vocal-products.com