Ask any professional athlete and they will stress the importance of a proper warm-up and stretching regime before the start of any strenuous workout. In their own way, singers are athletes, too – vocal athletes. So before you start belting out those show tunes or rock out on a retro Pat Benatar song, you need to warm up your voice. Just as you ease into a hamstring stretch before a gym class, warming up your voice needs to be done in stages. Here are seven techniques to safely and thoroughly warm up your voice.

Relax. Tilt you head to the right while gently lowering your left shoulder. Then tilt your head left while pushing down the right shoulder. Open your mouth and stick your tongue out as far as it will go. Shrug your shoulders, hold then slowly release. Repeat several times.

Get your diaphragm prepared. The diaphragm is located under the lungs and causes them to inflate. To warm up your diaphragm, take some deep breaths and slowly exhale. Concentrate on letting your stomach expand and contract.

Pay attention to your breathing. Take a deep breath, hold it, then exhale in short bursts. Repeat several times. Remember to be mindful of your posture.

Hum. Don’t go for any extreme – stay midrange to start and keep the volume moderate. Don’t hum melodies; hum sounds and do it with your mouth closed.

Perform vocal exercises. Make vowels sounds such as ahhh, ooooh exaggerating your mouth movement.

Do scales. First go slowly, holding each note as long as you can. Then sing up and down a scale, gradually increasing in volume.

Vibrate your lips. Purse your lips and make a motorboat sound so that your lips vibrate.

Singing is an expression of your body so pamper your voice by getting enough sleep, eating right, exercising and staying hydrated. If you take care of yourself, you voice will stay strong and healthy, too.

Philippe Jaroussky is perhaps the most prominent French counter tenor of the century. He has a voice of great power and beauty – “the tone of an angel and the virtuosity of the Devil,” one French critic wrote.

But a counter tenor? It’s important to note that this is a conscious choice for the male singer. He could sing baritone or bass, but chooses to, as voice teacher David Jones phrases it, sing what is a female sound in a male body.

What does it take to enter this field? One must be both courageous and gifted, adventuresome, forward-thinking and extremely agile. The music demands consummate artistry and high hurdles for the voice. Jaroussky “seems to have endless breath, singing long extended lines with total ease,” writes one reviewer.

An Aquarius with Gemini rising, Philippe Jaroussky seems to have what it takes.

According to voice teacher, David Jones, the counter tenor is a voice type often misunderstood, sometimes thought as a ‘freak of nature.’ As to why someone would choose to do this, Jones postulates: “Perhaps this gets attention. It is certainly the aspect of the counter tenor that fascinates audiences.” Jones feels there is a definite personality type connected.

Counter tenors must develop the falsetto voice with such strength that it has power and resonance similar to a full-voiced sound. The lower the original voice, the stronger and more beautiful the falsetto. To do this, they must “hold back tremendous amounts of breath pressure with the body” and have tremendous agility.

Take a look at Jaroussky singing a Vivaldi aria as he wins 2007 Best French lyrical award. This happened at his Saturn Return – of course. Here it is: http://youtube.com/watch…

Biography: Duane and Darleen Waterman ( White Dove Band)                                   For Duane gospel music is genetically programmed into his DNA. As a member of a musical family Duane’s  Father Earl Played Country and Gospel music around Maine in the early fifties and sang on the radio in Belfast. Brothers David, Everett, and John played with Ghost Riders Country Band in the early seventies with Duane on lead guitar. Duane continued playing into the nineties and added his wife Darleen on bass & vocals with a country band called Gone Country. In August of 2000, both were called to the worship ministry for Victory Christian Church under the anointed leadership of Pastor Fred Loewe. Darleen changed to Keyboard and they played worship music for the last eight years for Victory as well as playing Country Gospel Music at fairs and parks in Maine. In 2007 they added a female background vocalist Belinda Winter who sang background vocals with the anointed worship team at the Emmanuel Assembly of God in Livermore Me. She has been with White Dove Country Gospel band ever since, adding to the special blend of Country Gospel Music.

 Music   Accomplishments

·         Songwriter Duane Waterman (MCMA 1998)

·         New Gospel Male Vocalist 3rd place ( DECMA 2005)

·         New Gospel Female Entertainer 2nd place (DECMA 2005)

·         Female Entertainer Rising Star (DECMA 2006)

·         New Gospel Male Vocalist Future star (DECMA 2006)

·         New Gospel Female Entertainer Future Star (DECMA 2007)

·         New Gospel Vocal Duet of the year (DECMA 2007)

·         New Gospel Male Vocalist Rising Star (DECMA 2007)

·         Vocal Group Traditional Gospel Rising Star White dove Band (DECMA 2007)

·         Male Vocalist of the Year New Gospel (NACMAI North America County Music Associations 2007)

We would be honored to play at your church, if you are interested in having a night of Christian fellowship. We are also available to provide anointed worship for special functions. Let us be the bridge to take you into the presence of God. Please contact: Duane or Darleen Ph#207-897-2198 or email us at: duanewaterman@roadrunner.com

Love offerings accepted.

‘Self-Designing’ with the Singing Voice

By Cathryn Robson BA Ho ns, CT ABRSM

www.singshop.co.uk

Close your eyes. Imagine taking a deep breath, opening your mouth and releasing your singing voice. You have no idea what is going to happen next, if you are going to be in tune, singing high, singing low, singing quietly or loudly – or in fact singing at all. Imagine making up this ‘song‘ in the moment, as you go along, with no rules, nobody to guide you and no backing or accompaniment to hide behind.

Sound terrifying? Great! Read on.

The word ‘improvisation‘ will make many of us uneasy. Make that ‘singing improvisation’ and most of those will be struck with a feeling akin to dread. Yet improvisation is something we do regularly. Take a conversation amongst friends for example. Somebody starts it, another adds their bit, someone else changes the subject and so forth. In short, it flows in the moment without predictability. A conversation can be stilted, authentic, full of subtext, captivating or plain uninspiring in much the way singing can be.

Many people will be alarmed at the idea of freely improvising with their singing voices for the simple yet powerful belief that they do not consider themselves singers in the first place. While it cannot be denied that some possess more natural singing voices than others or that professional singers will have more developed instruments than beginners singing is not exclusive, nor should it ever have become so. Singing serves different functions for different people.

As for improvisation, it guides a developed singer to the outer limits of their current technical and expressive ability. At the other end of the scale it puts a beginner singer in immediate, unedited contact with their singing voice, always an exciting moment! Many of my on-line and studio students are terrified at the idea of improvising but once they start they are hooked, always surprising themselves with their ability to be so creative with their voices. They become all-round more confident singers.

Vocal improvisation is an important touchstone and release for singers of all levels of experience because it directly taps the hidden worlds of poetry, life experience and expression within each of us. And no question about it – your vocal world is unique and unrepeatable by anyone else on the planet. Improvisation also teaches us to be absolutely in the moment – because there is truly nowhere else you can be if you are just following your voice where it wants to take you, right now.

Improvisation has many benefits but to name a few:

• Very good for singers of jazz or pop repertoire – it helps you to find your original sound (do you really want to remain a karaoke imitator – didn’t think so!)
• A good way to let of steam, to release and to practice being ‘in the now’ which is where all the best music happens.
• Improvisation helps you put into practice where your voice is now, i.e. technically and expressively and this in turn helps you identify areas you need to work on.

Should your motivation be curiosity, cultivation or confidence-building playing with your voice can truly be a revelation. Incidentally, the Greek word for improvisation is ‘aftoskediasmos‘ which translates as ‘self-designing’. I think that says it all!

Here are a few simple exercises to get you going:

1. Start with a few rules – for example choose three or four notes to play with, maybe a phrase from a favourite song.
2. Sing your chosen phrase several times, limbering your voice into the singing,
3. Start to play with your phrase, see where it wants to go. There are no rules here and if you hit a ‘bum’ note don’t worry – just move on!
4. Start adding ingredients such as different dynamics (quiet, loud) and tempi (faster, slower) to your phrase. Maybe play with whispering the phrase, or repeating one word or trying out different vocal colours in the phrase. Anything goes.
5. From this point build up a free improvisation based around your chose phrase or notes. If you get lost come back to the original musical idea and take off in a different direction. If you feel you are getting stuck in a rut consciously add another ingredient (dynamics, tempi, colour) to help your voice move in another direction.
6. When you are ready try recording yourself and listening back. Learn the art of being objective. Hear what is good and interesting in your voice as well as the areas you feel you can improve.

To name but a few from popular music inspiring vocal improvisers include Bobby McFerrin Christina Aguilera and Ella Fitzgerald. Meredith Monk and Cathy Berberian are great examples from experimental/ classical music.

Get your on-line vocal evaluation and lessons by professional voice coaches online at our site www.singshop.co.uk. Check out the ‘Student Profiles’ and free ‘Weekly Tip’ while you are there.

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Head Voice

What precisely is the head voice? This musical term is used with regard to a singer’s vocal scale, the vocal register, or the vocal resonance.

The head voice is commonly confused with falsetto.

Head Voice and the Vocal Register:

When discussing the vocal register, experts distinguish among men and women. They look at the chest register, middle register, head register, and falsetto register for men.

Woman’s voice is distinguished as the chest register, the middle register, and the head register. Each men and women experience the resonance of singing in their head – this is the head voice.

Men and women travel from one register to the next at the same pitch. The tenor will move from the chest to the head voice around E flat.

At the exact same pitch an alto voice and a soprano voice will pass between registers – from the chest register to the middle register.

To make awareness the head voice easy, I have found it simple to think about E4 to be the common where most voices change into the head register.

The simply exclusion is the soprano voice which is more likely to make this change at F4.

The Head Voice and Resonance

The head voice is usually confused with the falsetto register. Instead, it is helpful to think of the head voice as having resonance.

Particular areas of your body let you to feel resonance when you sing. In addition to the head, the nasal cavities and the diaphragm resonate.

Think of it by doing this: As you sing from your diaphragm you force the sound out through the uppermost portion of your mouth – almost to your nasal cavity.

The feeling provides you is your head voice and it is a very unique feeling. Many artists really enjoy accessing it because it is so unique.

Getting to Your Head Voice

It takes practice to get to your head voice. First, don’t attempt to access it by raising your larynx. This is not the correct technique and will feel wrong from the start.

To ensure you are not making this common error stand in front of a mirror. If you can see your larynx – your Adam’s apple – rising while attempting to reach your head voice you are not using the correct technique.

Draw back and make an effort to really learn how to reach the head voice before you upset your vocal chords and your throat gets too sore to sing.

The first rule is to keep your larynx still. Secondly, you have to keep your throat open. When attempting to develop the head voice it is natural to ‘close up’ your throat channel when you reach for the higher notes.

Because you move up in pitch you can actually feel the notes moving up inside of you. If you make yourself conscious of this feeling you will gain from the resonance when you reach high notes.

Don’t Make a Falsetto Mistake

While resonance is the key attribute of the head voice it is not strictly the falsetto register.

In music circles the terms are often used interchangeably but if you want to correct in your usage of the terms the ‘head voice’ is any high note that is not strained or falsetto.

Do not allow the head voice scare you away from high notes. The most effective way to reach high notes is to develop your vocal range slowly.

As you start to gradually sing higher and higher notes you will see that you feel more resonance in your head.

If you are looking for free online violin lessons it shouldn’t take you long to find some fantastic resources. With the explosion of learning online there are endless possibilities to learn, enjoy and master pretty much any subject you can think of including the violin.

If yo u wish you can hunt around the Internet to find some lessons and a teacher that will suit your style and personality. However, if you look for lessons that come from the teachings of someone famous or well-known in the violin world then you won’t be able to go wrong.

The lessons would probably be delivered in an e-mail format and will include tips, techniques and maybe a few downloadable products for you to get your teeth stuck into and add another string to your bow! Sorry I couldn’t resist!

What’s great about these online lessons?

• Well first and foremost they are free.
• You can take the lesson anytime you like, even if it’s 2 AM
• You can repeat the lesson as many times as you like
• Some people collect all the e-mails and create their own intense learning course

But my favourite benefit of all is that you are learning a fantastic musical instrument from the comfort of your own home.

Hopefully you can find some great free online violin lessons that perhaps are linked to a website or blog that has loads of information and resources for you to use. Personally I love e-mail teachings that eventually lead on to a full programme from a professional violinist. This adds great continuity for the student and provides good targets to work towards.

In Private Music teaching the teacher often is forced to teach small groups or one on one lessons at low fees, which are sometimes fixed by the school or association they teach within.

In a private studio or in a school, the monetary arrangements for this kind of music lesson involves the parent paying the teacher “per lesson” and it is these kind of teachers that this article hopes to help increase their income.

In this article are four strategies for increasing income as a private music teacher – some of them may not be suitable for every teacher, but hopefully they will give you some insights on how private music teachers can improve their income.

Strategy #1 – Never refund or credit a lesson because its in the clients best interest

Students miss lessons. It’s a fact. People get sick, there are special sporting events that happen, there are times when for whatever reason students are going to miss their music lesson. The fact is that this is unavoidable. What you can do as a music teacher is have a policy that says that “lessons are always made-up, they are never refunded or credited to your account”, however the important thing that is often missed in this is the WHY of that statement… it should be because it is necessary for the student’s progress on their instrument.

If you use this philosophy you won’t ever have to argue with parents over it – because its in the students interest, not yours! If you start the arrangement with this agreement in place you’ll find it much easier to enforce it – the parents will make the effort to make up the lesson rather than you having to insist on it. If you have outcomes for the student (such as an assessment or exam) in place it makes it even easier to make sure that it happens.

You will need to make time to make the lessons up – it might be necessary to allow one or two days in the holidays or during non-contact time to do it, but you’ll find that the ability to do this will be worth it in extra income. Very often the parents will not bother making it up, and you’ll not have to credit or refund any money!

Strategy #2 – Find your Niche and make yourself exclusive in that Niche

If you have something special about your teaching you’ll find that you’ll attract more and better quality students, and you’ll be able to charge more.
For example, lets say you teach the guitar.

If you teach anyone who comes you’ll probably end up with some young children, some high school children, and maybe one or two adults and you’ll have to teach a variety of styles depending on the type of music that the students like.

If however….. you start a niche business, specializing in only one area you’ll eventually find that people will seek you out because you are a specialist, and you’ll be able to charge more for your services and you’ll be able to only take on the students you want.

Examples of a niche business for guitar might be: – A business that specializes in guitar for young children – A business that helps adults fulfill their dreams of playing guitar in a band – A business that specializes in heavy metal guitar

These are just examples – there are literally thousands of possibilities, but the niche must be something that customers actually want, it cant be something that you think might be good!

Strategy #3 – Increase your retention rate and don’t take on every student

Increasing your retention rate is vital for all businesses – but particularly for music teachers – where your income is determined by the number of students you are teaching multiplied by the dollars that you charge.

If you can cut down on the number of students you lose, while you simultaneously increase the quality of those students you’ll have a better income, and a more satisfying teaching career as well.

There is no way you should accept every student that you get offered. Not every student is going to be right for you – they often are looking to learn different things to what you offer, and they might not be as reliable in terms of paying their fees and attending lessons as your regular students, so you should always meet and interview prospective students before you agree to teach them.

By avoiding “problem” students in the first place you’ll be able to spend your time with more productive activities and better quality students.. and this will increase your income in the longer term.

Most of the problems with retention can be traced back to one thing – the students lack motivation because they don’t practice enough. We have various strategies for increasing retention rate by encouraging practice at the Fun Music company teachers blog, which you’ll find a link to at the end of this article.

Strategy #4 – Add passive income streams to your business

Teaching income is active income – if you stop teaching the income stops. That is ok.. because it is like any earned income. What you should be looking to do is also add passive income to your business.

Do you write any teaching materials which can be used in music classes or lessons?

If so you are in the perfect position to add passive income to your income mix. All you have to do is find a way to publish your materials so that your students and others can access them. It can be as simple as getting the materials printed and bound at a copy shop just for your students only.

Do you purchase books and music for your students and pass them on to them?

If so you may be able to negotiate bulk discounts from suppliers and then add the full retail cost of the books to the students account. Parents will appreciate the convenience of not having to go into a shop to purchase the books if you put it through your business.

Can you sell leads to other teachers or businesses?

For example students all need to purchase instruments. Sometimes possible is an arrangement where you can can get a monetary commission from a music store if you refer your students to purchase their instruments there. This is certainly possible on the internet, via the use of affiliate programs.

I hope this article has given you some ideas of ways that you can improve your income as a private music teacher. I was a private music teacher for over ten years, and I’ve used all of these strategies during that time. Private music teaching should be fun and rewarding, and it gives you freedom to practice what you love, which is sharing the joy of music with others.

How To Prepare For The Misconceptions Of Taking Piano Lessons

How to prepare for the misconceptions of taking piano lessons will never get rid of the misunderstandings out there, but if one is informed of what these are, the truth can at at least be exposed. Some distorted views come from hear-say while others come from not having all of the facts. It is very hard for a piano teacher to help a student that has been give the wrong information.

Expectations are a normal part of taking on something new, but it must be done moderately, without harsh judgment. Playing the piano fluently does not take place in a day or even two days, for that matter. Patience goes hand in hand with progress and one can not have one without the other. Every student must learn at their own pace to retain knowledge and understanding of the skill.

Before making the final decision to take lessons, parents much evaluate the schedule of a student to make sure they will be able to invest the time necessary for lessons and practice at home. If one is too involved in too many activities, time and money will both be wasted. It can also be frustrating when attempting to juggle so many tasks, only to find that something will have to be dropped just to get through another week.

Just because one may not be born with a natural talent to play the piano, doesn’t mean they will never play. It is a skill and can be developed and learned over time and although not as flowing as a more experienced pianist, one can still play well within their level of ability. Take piano or even drum lessons to improve your musical talent.

A common misunderstanding is when parents can not accept the fact that their child is not playing like that of a seasoned professional after only 2 lessons. This expectation is simply unrealistic and can harm the child’s ability to do their best and feel good about it. If a student feels as if they are letting a parent down by not meeting their expectations, they are likely to give up and discontinue putting forth an effort. In fact, hiring a singing coach may help your child blossom into a talented young musician.

One wrong idea about taking lessons is that a student can take on more responsibility in extra curricular activities and just make time for whatever one feels like for that particular day. If a person cannot fully commit to taking lessons, and will be canceling their lessons every other week, they are better off not taking at all. Money and time are of the essence and will be completely wasted if a student has this sort of ethic.

Practicing piano throughout the week is vital to the overall success of a piano student. Doing so only one day per week or as leaving the house to go to their lessons is simply not enough and will not allow ample time to perfect anything. A few days per week, a couple of hours per day should be set aside for serious practicing.

Some have said that they feel they are too young or too old to begin playing the piano. Of course, this is not true because of the many students, all different ages, have shown their success through taking lessons. When starting at a young age, parents can determine whether or not their child is physically and mentally mature enough to begin. The older student is not restricted to a certain age either and can freely take lessons just as long as they are willing and able to commit to their obligation.

Once all misunderstanding and fears are taken away that involve taking piano lessons, students and parents alike will benefit from their faithfulness to the skill. Possessing a positive attitude with strong will and determination will help a student become successful and eager to learn more as they grow in their abilities to play the piano well.

Article from: My Family UK

Music educat ion classes can enrich the life of an adult or child in many ways. Children who learn a musical instrument or sing usually perform better on test scores at school.

Music and the family

Learning a musical instrument is a great way to help focus your child’s mind, and start unlocking new channels of creativity. The whole family can benefit from this sort of musical education, as you will watch your child learn and develop, but also be there to encourage them and help them practice. If you’re still unsure, read the following explanations, and see if you feel differently.

1) Self-confidence

For those who have music education classes in school, learning an instrument and playing in a band can be lots of fun. Children as young as eight or nine can be taught how to play a variety of instruments. Bands usually have concerts on a regular basis where the children can play for their parents and others in the school. Interaction during classes and a performance in front of an audience allows the child to build their social skills, and be rewarded with praise for their efforts.

2) Quick thinking

Learning about the value of notes, time signatures, and exits and entrances helps develop the rapid response system of the brain. Translating the notes into hand positions and the beats into seconds will also improve focus, add to mathematical skills, and improve the brain’s analytical faculty.

3) Stress Reduction

Music has widely been regarded as an effective mean to reduce stress. In fact, this is one of the reasons that make music education so popular. Many people actually feel calmer and cheerful when playing music, including children. However, heavy metal or rock music tends to have the reverse effect on many people and it is generally not suitable as a mean for stress reduction.

4) Independence

If there is no music education program offered at a child’s school, their parents can opt to send the child to private lessons. This are just as beneficial, but in a different way. Instead of being part of a band, the child will have to learn to rely on themself when it comes to getting notes right, timing, and the discipline of practising. Of course, their parent can play a large role in this particular area.

Further Information

For further information, and for more great ways to have fun with your family, log on to www.myfamilyuk.com. With a huge collection of articles covering everything from child safety to rainy day activities, you’ll find all the help, guidance and entertainment you need to be a great parent. Go now!

Many beginners in singing always have trouble with high notes. They always asking – how to sing high notes easily? And I must say that it is simple when you get that technique right, but when you can’t find right way it will be a struggle.

So, you need to understand that powerful high notes in singing are produced not by falsetto. They produced by your head voice, but when it’s blended with chest voice. It will be a mistake to say, that powerful high notes in singing could be reached only by professionals with nature talented voice. Everyone could reach them with right practice and right techniques.

Physically, high voice is creating by other work of voice cords. They are more stretched than in normal speaking voice and because of that sound is more higher. Bridge between normal voice and higher voice is intermittent, but goal of the professional singer is to mask that bridge and make it almost invincible. So, if you want to learn how to sing high notes easily, you need to find that bridge between your normal voice and your high voice. Start to sing notes with your normal voice and make your way up until you sense that voice is starting to tense. Then you need to sing those high notes with your head voice. You will find that singing them is easy. After you done this, start to sing that bridge back and forth, trying to combine both of your voices – normal and high.

Soon, you will find that you can sing without breaking your voice before high notes. Now it becomes clear the importance of mastering middle register voice, because on that bridge your chest voice goes to the head.