VOCAL TIPS
Many students of Voice try to sing in the manner of their favourite singers trying to duplicate
the same accent and sound of others .Your voice is Unique to you ! So why try and sound like
someone else.
Studies have shown that children who take music lessons do better in maths and achieve better grades across the board.
Music develops motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and engages multiple parts of the brain.
Breath support is vital to having control of the voice and the quality of the sound produced.
Vocal technique is really important
Most singers are not born with incredible voices but they train the voice and develop it.
Learning correct vocal technique solves issues singers may have and allows the singer to
approach and utilize their voice to the fullest extent.
The Importance of correct practice
It is important to realise that a singer will not just automatically improve by attempting exercises over and over again if applying incorrect technique! If you lack the basic technical skills then repeating exercises incorrectly will be a waste of the students time and will only lead to incorrect muscle memory and inevitably lead to vocal fatigue.
Warming up the voice will increase blood flow to your Vocal Cords. The muscles will then find it easier to operate more effectively .You will then be able to sing with much less tension in your voice resulting in being able to sing much better .
A Tickle in the throat !!
When we sing loud and for any considerable time, it is crucial that we
use proper breath support to avoid abusing the voice. Always measure
the amount of air needed for each phrase. As you sing and release air,
hold back and don't allow all the air to escape at once. A tickle in the
throat can be because you have strained and sung using your throat
muscles or maybe you are dragging air into your throat instead of
sipping the air in, thus causing drying out of the vocal cords. Keep
your throat hydrated by drinking plenty of water and use the correct
muscles in your body as you sing, this will keep your throat relaxed
and alleviate vocal strain.
Singing in Tune .
For those people who have difficulty singing ”in tune”, When starting to sing a song try hearing the first few notes in your head silently before singing them, then hum the pitch. You can also practice some ear-training exercises. Try playing a note on a keyboard or other instrument. Nowadays you can download a tuning app for your mobile phone which would work well if your not a musician . Before trying to sing a note , first practice just remembering it and ”hearing” it in your head. Now try singing that note,then test the note with your instrument or app to see if you were correct. This helps to stimulates the development of your auditory memory.
What is a Register Break?
This is the part of the voice which is situated between one register and another, when the voice breaks or glitches a note consistently in the same area, it is usually considered to be a transition point or Passaggio between one register and another, eg: from a mixed voice to a head voice or chest voice to mixed voice.
What is Chest Voice or Chest Register?
Usually a deep or rich full sound that is most commonly used during speech. Air flows over the vocal cords which are blown fully apart and the vibration or resonance can often be felt in the upper chest area. This is the part of the voice where you should be singing the lower notes in your range.
The chest voice is the register used in everyday speech. When you speak you can feel that the sound seems to be coming from your upper chest. This is because lower frequency sounds have longer wavelengths, and resonate mostly in the larger cavity of the chest. When you sing notes at the bottom of your vocal range, you are using your chest voice. The tonal qualities of the chest voice are described as being rich, deep, full, loud and strong.
The chest register is generally in the range of vocal notes below middle C (C4). Technically, it is said that its the lower half of the vocal range. It is called the chest register because the pitch resonates throughout the chest cavity, creating a deep and rich sound, particularly in lower voices.
Warming up.
The effective way to ”warm up” the voice is to hum in a comfortable (middle) range. When you hum see if you can sense a vibration in the nose and cheekbone areas of the face. Correct humming feels very relaxing to the voice with no pressure in the throat. Your lips and face should be relaxed when humming. Try humming a song you normally sing , use this as a warm-up before actually singing the song, keeping the humming light and free. You can also try humming louder and softer on the same pitch, keeping the same vibrations and tension-free feeling in the voice.
Vocal Cord Closure
the vocal cords to come together correctly is the first step in creating a smooth, rich and controlled chest voice. The proper amount of vocal cord closure implies proper breath support as well. Breath support is also key for developing your chest voice. Breath support is not the focus but rather a supplementary element of vocal cord closure. When you fill your diaphragm with the proper amount of air and control it correctly with cord closure, you have the ability to produce that rich and controlled sound.
Phrasing !
This is working out where to breathe in a piece of music, which sounds complicated but is pretty much common sense. Read through lyrics before you sing them to see where the natural pauses fall. And, however obvious it seems, make sense of what you’re saying:
You can also identify any long or complex phrase and make a note reminding you where to breathe accordingly. (This is a good tip when rehearsing , always have a pencil, and mark down all the breathing places You will forget them otherwise!)
This is a Tip I was given from a seasoned professional singer when I was in my twenties that really worked and still works for me .
" When you sing imagine opening every orifice in your body "
Blending the Registers
Vocal teachers and singers will often talk about “bridging the registers” or “blending the registers”, which simply refers to a technique or method of making the transition from one vocal register to the next smooth and seamless, and thus removing all noticeable signs of a register break, which requires an adjustment of breath control and vowel modification .The term “passaggio”, (which is Italian for “passage”), refers to the place (i.e. the absolute pitch) within a vocal range where the voice “shifts” or transitions into a different register. In other words, a passaggio marks the end or boundary of one register and the beginning of the next.
Range
An untrained singer typically has a more limited range than a well-trained singer, who has learned how to gain access to more notes through correct technique and through regularly exercising and using the vocal instrument for singing tasks. Every instrument has its own unique range capabilities, as well, with some voices being able to develop more extensive ranges than others. So the Motto here is ”Time Patience & Practise”
You’ve got to be able to wear different hats for different gig situations . Over the years I’ve gigged in many different situations, for example Hotels , Golf Clubs .Private Parties, Piano Bars , Working Men’s Clubs, Pubs, Bingo Halls, Masonic Functions, Mayors Balls, Dinner Dances, World Championship Rally Driving Ball @ Cardiff Arena, etc etc the list goes on !! And every venue requires a different attitude to your Audience.
Swallowing Muscle
A lot of people suffer from tension in the jaw , this is usually caused by the digastric muscle also known as ” The swallowing Muscle ”
The digastric muscle is the small muscle located under the chin that is activated when swallowing. So that you may see and understand for yourself, place your finger under your chin and swallow. As you swallow, do you feel something pushing down on your finger? If you didn’t, then you are quite lucky and do not suffer from digastric muscle tension. However, if you did feel tension and pressure on your finger (most of us do), then you suffer from some sort of digastric muscle tension. This excess tension under the chin causes singers to tighten up the jaw and raise the larynx when attempting to sing high notes, which helps give way to a very squeezed and painful sounding tone.
Since we must swallow everyday, there will be no way in which we can completely disregard the digastric muscle. However, we can use different practices and techniques that can remove the digastric muscle from the singing process. Since tone is produced at the vocal cords, it becomes vitally necessary to strengthen these folds so that the burden of tone falls upon them and not the digastric muscle or outer throat muscles. While exercising the vocal cords by using scales is beneficial, it is not sufficient enough to teach the vocal cords how to function to their full capacity.
The digastric muscle can be a pain to disengage. You may need to practice singing with your fingers under your chin and trying to keep the swallowing muscle as still and relaxed as possible and practise this for some time to get used to the feeling of not using your digastric muscle. Train yourself to sing without this muscle unneccesarily moving down and your vocal cords will reward you for it.
Tip of the day ………
Drink up to 8-10 glasses of pure water every day (any caffeinated drink does not count). Water thins your mucus and lubricates your vocal cords like oil lubricates a car engine. Thick mucous causes friction and trauma to vocal cords. More water, less friction, less trauma, better voice.
Preparing For a Performance ………
Quite a lot of my friends are singers and they tend to skip meals before they perform. But if your body is starved, then so is your mind and you simply won’t be able to give your best performance. Your mind and body need fuel to be able to give you the energy and creative power you need to show people what you can do. So, don’t skip the meal before a show. But then some people can’t sing on a full stomach !!!!!!………….
One of the easiest things to forget and yet one of the easiest things to control is your breathing. If you find that your nerves are really starting to wreak havoc than take a minute or two and just breathe. Slowly in and out until you start to calm down.
Imagine the things that help you feel calm — put those images into your head and let yourself relax.