The very techniques employed by the “Stars” themselves are taught RIGHT HERE! This “secret” method was developed employing the same tec hniques that only today’s top performers use. Have you ever wondered just “How do those Professional Singers SOUND like they do?” It seems so “effortless” yet when you hear yourself try it – it is difficult and does not sound anything like that “sound” that the pro’s project. That’s because you don’t “know” the trade secret vocal exercises and routines that they use everyday! This simple yet effective system will improve the quality of your voice – in the very first session. * Through guided study using video demonstrations, animated illustrations, and hours of recorded examples, this system explores how to sing with more freedom, range and expression than ever thought possible! Visit http://www.voxercise.com today!

Through guided study using video demonstrations, animated illustrations, and hours of recorded examples, this system explores how to sing with more freedom, range and expression than ever thought possible. You will learn how to have better breath control, and understand how to nurture your voice. With each session you will work with specific vocal exercise tracks designed to teach you melodic independence as well as develop your voice methodically. You’ll learn effective warm-up and practice routines, and ways to address performance anxiety through physiology, psychology, stage presence and microphone placement. You will learn how to sing in any style in any key without difficulty!

The Singer’s Secrets Vocal System is a Proven System where you can have access to the “best” one on one vocal coaching anywhere! Over 50 hours with more being added avery month – of One on one Vocal coaching – employing techniques used by today’s professional singers!

Visit my site for FREE 8 High Impact Online Vocal Coaching Videos!

‘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.

The Vocal Cords

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The vocal cords are the critical system in a healthy functioning voice. Singers who injure their voices generally have damaged their vocal cords, while singers who project with ease and power have vocal cords that are healthy, strong, and coordinated. Many singers are unaware of the simple and effective techniques that can be used to keep their vocal cords healthy:

1. Stay hydrated, drinking at least two liters of water daily
2. Avoid clearing your throat
3. If you feel your voice getting tired with a scratchy or tingly sensation, stop singing
4. Avoid using a glottal attack
5. Engage the the vocal cords by actively speaking the words of your song

The Structure of your Vocal Cords

Your vocal cords are capable of amazing feats. They can vibrate at more than 1000 cycles per second, and resist large amounts of pressure and energy with great speed and, dexterity. The vocal cords are surrounded by three layers of mucous that act as a lubricant; a special protective coating that allow the vocal cords to contact each other and cycle through the sound waves at very high speeds and volume. It’s helpful to consider the “water structure” of the vocal cords, and recognize the essential role that mucous plays in the health of the vocal cords. In order for them to function properly, you must drink enough water!

Similarly, clearing your throat is to be avoided, because it scrapes off this precious mucous so necessary to the high speed vibration of the vocal cords. When you clear your voice because of “phlegm”, your body will immediately send more to continue to protect the vulnerable layers of muscle that lay beneath the outer layers of mucous. If you continue to clear and sing, these inner layers of the vocal cords will swell up, preventing an even closure and resulting in a broken sound. That is why if you feel your vocal cords starting to get inflamed with a scratchy or tingly sensation, it is important to stop singing right away. Sometimes it only takes a minute or two for them to recover, but sometimes longer, much longer to recover depending on the extent of the injury to the inner layer of the vocal cord.

Adduction, or Vocal Cord Closure

When you make a sound, the vocal chords begin to vibrate, or adduct, The opposite of adduction is abduction (when things are taken apart from each other). The critical moment for a singer is when adduction is initiated after breathing, because the first wave of vocal cord closure requires the most energy, and sets up the dynamics for whatever notes follow. In other words, when you start to sing, don’t blast your vocal cords with too much air, but try to engage them gradually on the flow or air, avoiding any muscular motion in your throat. When you initiate adduction properly, your voice flows effortlessly with power and emotion. This we will refer to as balanced initiation, where air meets vocal cord in perfect balance and energy.

The chief enemy of this balanced initiation of the vocal cords is the glottal attack. A glottal attack happens when the epiglottis closes and releases at the moment of initiation. This can be a little subtle to detect at first, but the easiest way to learn and understand it is to watch my video describing the vocal cords. You can feel the epiglottis closing when you swallow or cough, but the most dramatic feeling comes if you pretend to throw up (Yuck!). The epiglottis closes the throat and protects the voice and lungs from liquid intrusion. When you sing, it’s easy to use a glottal attack to initiate adduction, but it will lead to damage of the vocal cords, limit your range, cause you to run out of breath and sing of key. In other words, it’s simpler for the brain to figure out pitch with the glottal attack, but everything that happens after that first split second of initation is doomed! This is why:

• Immense pressure can be restrained with the epiglottis, much more than the vocal cords can handle generally. Once the epiglottis is released, the vocal cords become overwhelmed with air pressure, and cannot sustain the adduction for very long.
• The action of the glottal attack scrapes the mucous off of the the vocal cords, causing strain and inflamation.
• The closure of the windpipe at the epiglottis causes the resonant spaces above the larynx to become blocked, preventing the pharynx and head voice from resonating, and preventing an even blend between chest voice and head voice.

Engaging the Vocal Cords

Singing is not all about relaxation. If you completely relaxed everything, there would be no sound! The art of singing well is the proper engagement of the “little” muscles that control the vocal cords, while relaxing the “big” outer muscles that interfere with proper functioning of the voice. The “Big Muscle” groups that can interfere with the functioning of the vocal cords are :

• The jaw
• The neck
• The tongue
• The epiglottis (when initiating with a glottal attack)

Some of the “Little Muscle” groups inside the larynx that control the voice at the Balance Point are the:

• Thyroaratanoid (TA) muscle (primarly controling the chest voice and making the pitch lower)
• Cricothyroid (CT) muscle (primarily controling the head voice and making the pitch higher.

It is an oversimplification to describe the workings of the vocal cords limited to these two muscles, because in reality there are several sub muscle groups working together to control the vocal cords, and the way in which the operate is highly complex. But for the purposes of understanding, it is helpful to imagine just two, with the TA muscle grounding you to your lower, chest notes, and the CT muscle grounding you to your higher, head voice notes. Here again, the video is most helpful to hear the action of these muscles. The key to the health of the vocal cords is the effective engagement of the TA and the CT muscles, without tightening the Big muscle groups that constrict the muscles surrounding the larynx and vocal cords. This engagement I refer to as “Good Grip”, and makes the voice have a somewhat reedy or edgy quality. It is the quality of speech, which I refer to as the Balance Point.

There is a misconception among many singers about the notion of grip, because many singers mistakenly believe that there should be complete relaxation in the voice box. If you sing this way, your voice will be very breathy and airy, and you will run out of breath quickly. The result of this insufficient adduction is a very tired voice, because inevitably, the lack of grip at the vocal cord level results in an activation of the big outer muscles, or a “Bad Grip” of the voice. All of this can be simply discovered by watching your face as you sing. Are there tendons sticking out in your neck? Is your face wrinkled as you sing high? Is your tongue shriveling up as you sing? Work to relax the big muscles you can see with your eyes, and engage the little muscles inside the larynx that give the voice the spoken, edgy quality of adduction.

The master concept behind the control of the vocal cords is the action of speech, or the Balance Point. When you talk with a sincere, natural voice, your vocal cords adduct. Singing requires a wider dynamic range of pitch and volume, and so it can be difficult to maintain adduction of the vocal cords. But the moment that the vocal cords stop adducting, whether due to too much air pressure, tension in the outer muscles, or some other imbalance in the voice, the listener can perceive that the artist is no longer “sincere”, and the song looses it’s meaning. Therefore, the quest for the proper vocal technique is a quest for sincerity or honesty, where the message of the song comes through you with power, clarity, and emotion. Having good coordination of the vocal cords and surrounding muscles is the key to this goal.

With the availability of information on the internet increasing each year, it has become the number one resource for answers. Many are even turning to the web for voice teachers and online lessons. Consider this, just as you would never teach someone to drive a car online or via skype, it isn’t the best way learn to sing either. Great singers rely on a real, live voice teacher for vocal development. Here are the top five characteristics of a good teacher.

A good teacher sees your weaknesses and works to eradicate them

Encouragement is very important, but if your teacher only focuses on what you already do well, your growth as a singer will be stunted. Look for a teacher who clearly and respectfully exposes your weaknesses while providing practical ways for you to work on them.

A good teacher helps you to develop a language for what to do, so that in performing situations you know how to stay on track.

Singing is a natural ability, so often, you will not be able to put into words how you do what you do. A good teacher will help you close that loop. Personal language is very important to develop since it is unlikely that your teacher will be by your side during every performance. Knowing how to correct and encourage yourself before and during performance is a trait of all world-class singers.

A good teacher uses techniques that encourage more and more vocal freedom the longer you study.

Consistent study should make you more confident in your vocal abilities and less dependent upon your teacher. The ultimate goal of study is to develop the connection between mind and body as such a high level that you are able to navigate any vocal terrain you encounter. In advanced study, your teacher should offer minimal correction instead, he or she should suggest ways to expand the boundaries of the voice.

A good teacher nurtures your strengths.

If you begin vocal study with fantastic high notes, phenomenal breath control or a beautiful vibrato, these qualities should not diminish due to vocal study. Everything that is already good about your voice should only get better and easier under the guidance of a good voice teacher. You should never leave a voice lesson hoarse, in pain or with an otherwise strained voice.

A good teacher communicates clearly and effectively.

A good teacher will explain things in various ways until you “get it.” Some singers learn best by doing, others by watching first then repeating. Still other singers must hear or have a detailed explanation before grasping a concept. Read More Voice Teacher Secrets.

Music and It's Influence to Our Life

We are all aware that music and “atmosphere” go together. We might put on relaxing music for a quiet romantic dinner, but listen to something livelier while doing some physical work or exercise or when out socializing in larger groups. You might have heard of farmers who increase production by playing music to their animals. Recent studies showing that listening to fast music while driving increases the rate of car accidents and the Mozart Effect claims to increase intelligence. While some claims may be exaggerated, there is no denying that music can be suggestive and affect our state of mind. But the reason for this is very mysterious. Why should organized sounds affect us to such an extent that billions are spent annually making music? The main aspects of music which influence us can be summed up as:

Tempo and rhythm

Pitch Melody and Harmony

Music suggests movement as it moves in time. Tempo and Rhythm is combined to have an immediate physical impact on our perceptions. The rhythm of an object suggest more or less frequent movement to qualify the repetitive nature of the underlying beat, even though the tempo of a piece of music might be slow and relaxed. The tempo of a piece of music roughly equates with the heartbeat associated with corresponding state or emotions that the music suggest. A high frequent of notes can suggest a degree of contained excitement within that relaxed state. Music tends to have a steady tempo to it, often measured in “beats per minute “. Most of the music based on simple observation is in the range of 50-200 beats per minute, the same as the extreme range of our heartbeats.

Anything in the range 60-80 beats per minute is calm and relaxed, less than 60 often very relaxed, introspective or even depressed. 80-100 is moderately alert and interested. 100 upwards is increasingly lively, excited or agitated and, since we crave some degree of excitement from our entertainment, 80-120 is quite a common tempo, and even 120-160 is common in some energetic situations, since there is a strong degree of suggestion between the heartbeat and music tempo. Music moves in time and suggests movement, and we tend to associate music unconsciously with movements made by our bodies while talking, walking, running, dancing, riding, etc.

Pitch Melody and Harmony

Pitch on its own affects our perception on how we perceived sounds and music providing a basic scale from high = light, happy, carefree to low = dark, sad, ominous. As part of our evolutionary heritage we tend to find large things more threatening than smaller things. Generally bigger objects make deeper noises whether long column of air or long strings in a musical instrument, big chest, large animal footsteps, or large objects banging together. Conversely smaller instruments, short columns of air, short strings, small animals or objects make higher pitch noises.

Harmony is the combination of tones with different pitches, Even though some are seem to be close to the combination of notes is completely the natural set of different notes produced by something vibrating and easily demonstrated musically of brass instruments. Those “natural “(without keys) instruments such as bugle, octaves, fifths and thirds produced are a series of notes. That is so well together to make “harmonious ” sounds like major chords. String instruments can be demonstrate the lowest notes of the harmonic series by playing the strongest ” harmonics” of the strings which divide the length into fractions like halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, etc. All that varies in degrees within all notes, and their proportions help to make sounds their unique color or tones, is always presented by harmonic.

Harmony is that when we combine tones with different pitches, even some that that seem to be close to the combination of notes is completely the natural set of different notes produced by something vibrating and easily demonstrated musically brass instruments. Those natural (without keys) instruments such as bugle, octaves, fifths and thirds produced are a series of notes. These notes are well placed together to make harmonious sounds like major chords. String instruments can be demonstrate the lowest notes of the harmonic series by playing the strongest harmonics of the strings which divide the length into fractions like halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, etc. These harmonics always present to varying degrees within all notes, and their proportions help to give sounds their unique color or tone.

How To Sing High Notes Quickly

Singing high notes takes a little time to get good at but it’s definitely something that you can learn to do. Singing is a skill and singing high notes is probably the hardest part of that skill.

Most singers taking vocal lessons and doing vocal training can sing high notes initially but they wind up doing it with a lot of tension and strain. Some people when they’re learning how to sing can sing high notes right away but they need a lot of polish to get the proper control and tone.

The first set of singing tips I’m going to give you involves some very basic principles. The first and most important things that beginning singers have to learn is how to keep a low larynx.

The larynx is just a fancy name for the voice box. Whenever you’re singing, it’s absolutely critical that you learn to keep the larynx low throughout your entire singing range. This isn’t simply an issue of how to sing better but it’s an issue of how to sing freely and have a healthy voice that doesn’t tire. That’s how important this thing is.

The way to keep a neutral larynx, initially, is by yawning. If you place your hand on your throat and then you yawn, you’ll notice that your larynx sinks back and down. A vocal coach can help you figure this out but it’s something that you can probably handle on your own. Once you become familiar with the sensation of lowering your larynx, you’ll have to learn to keep it down at all times during singing. This is really hard when you’re first starting out but eventually the larynx will settle and you’ll hear a tremendous upgrade in your tone, range and pitch accuracy.

If you want to learn to sing high notes, the other important factor is learning to place the sound in the mask. The mask is the front part of your face. If you close your mouth and hum, you’ll feel a buzz in the mask. Now keep humming and slowly open your mouth. Try and keep the buzz in that same frontal location. Once you learn how to do this, you’ll find your ability to sing high notes will also increase.

Learn to sing with the sound in the mask and with a low larynx and take a few voice lessons and you’ll wind up being able to sing high notes pretty quickly.

If you want to learn to do this SUPER quickly, another thing you should do is get some voice training software such as Singing Success which is the most widely used singing course available online. Singing software is something you can use right on your computer so you can work from your home on improving your voice and not spend hundreds of dollars on voice lessons (yes, they cost that much!)

The good news about singing is that ANYONE can learn how to sing. And not just how to sing, but how to sing really well!

Singing is a skill just like playing tennis or riding a bike and it’s going to take a little bit of time and effort to get it right, but you can definitely do it.

So where do you begin if you’re brand new to singing? The best way to learn to sing quickly is to find a really excellent vocal coach and take voice lessons from him or her.

Finding a good teacher is actually harder than you might think because there are just so many bad teachers out there. If you wind up with a teacher who has no business teaching singing, the consequences are this: You’ll pay a lot of money (voice lessons are pricey!), spend a lot of your time and energy, make little progress and feel frustrated. The worst case scenario is that your teacher can have you doing things that will permanently damage your voice.

So let me tell you how to get a really kick-ass teacher right from the start. If you have a university or college close to you, and they have a music program, pop in there and ask the secretary to put you in contact with the head of the voice department. Also get the info of a couple of the voice teachers on staff there. Contact each of them and set up consultations. These shouldn’t cost you anything. If the teacher tries to charge you, do a little negotiating and say that you’re considering paying a lot of money for lessons and you just want to be sure that you’re a good fit for each other.

When you meet with each individual vocal coach, you’ll want to ask them to sing. Seriously! The voice instructor should sound nothing short of incredible. If they sound so-so or just OK, then you should definitely move on. I mean, if THEY can’t even do it, how are they supposed to teach it to you?

Now this next little trick is really crucial. Good singing requires the singer to keep the voicebox (the larynx) in a low and stationary position during singing. Ask your prospective vocal coach what their opinion is on the position of the larynx. If they give you an evasive answer or don’t know or seem indifferent to the issue, you should absolutely move on. This is the most fundamental thing that vocal students learn in prestigious vocal programs worldwide and if they don’t know or care about it, they probably won’t be able to help you in the long term.

Now assuming you don’t have the money or time to pay for voice lessons and drive to a university once a week, there’s another great option.

If you’d rather work from the comfort of home and still make excellent progress, Singing Software is a great choice. The most widely used learn to sing course in the world right now is Singing Success, which has been used by top celebrity singers like Keith Urban and Hayley Swift to improve their singing. This is truly singing for dummies and probably the cheapest option available to you as a beginner singer.

If you work hard, practice and keep growing with an open mind, you’ll find yourself singing more beautifully than you ever thought possible. I’ve seen it happen a thousand times in my voice studio. You can do it. Take action today and good luck!

The muscles controlling and surrounding the larynx represent one of the most important control system affecting the human voice. For most singers, learning to stabilize the larynx is essential for vocal health, the increase of range, and the proper blending of chest and head voice. In this article I will attempt to shed some light on larynx position and offer some exercises that can help you improve your voice by stabilizing your larynx. Keep in mind that full time voice students may spend years on this! But a little awareness goes a long way in saving your voice from the harm caused by singing on a high larynx.

The Problem of a High Larynx

Consider the larynx to be a basket floating in a complicated web of tendons and membranes inside your throat. Your goal is to not allow the larynx to rise too much as you sing from low notes to high notes. To find your larynx, put your finger on the V that you feel in the front of your throat (commonly, the adams apple: the original problem ?) If you swallow, you feel it rise. We refer to this as constriction, because you are squeezing the space around the larynx. Good for eating, bad for singing!

You can tell if you’re singing on a high larynx if you notice:

A heavy chest voice and a large break between your chest voice and head voice
Vocal cords that feel scratchy and producing a lot of mucous
Your voice feels worse the next day after singing
Your head voice feels breathy, airy, and unfocused
There are some differing views on whether or not a high larynx is harmful or not, with some techniques suggesting that it’s acceptable (even desirable!) , and others suggesting that your larynx should be as low as possible. I base my findings on eighteen years of teaching, and constant study and testing of new ideas. I believe that advanced singers can learn to sing with a high larynx, provided that they are working with a professional who knows what they’re doing. For most beginning singers, however, a larynx that is too high and surrounded by tense muscles can lead to significant problems with the voice.

Keep in mind that larynx control is only one of the five control systems I describe in my vocal method:

All of these systems function in concert, with stability of the larynx representing a long term goal of the method. The larynx houses the vocal cords, and operates in relationship with the whole voice (body, mind and Spirit), and is not in any way isolated. Each system effects the other systems in a structure of balance and coordination.
How to Stabilize your Larynx

There are a lot of techniques to help stabilize the larynx, but the first step of this long journey begins with awareness. Keep in mind that professional singers spend years getting this right! With your finger on the V of your larynx (or adams apple) sing along with a scale and notice if it is rising and falling with pitch. Notice the difference between different vowels: Sing oo (like boot), and then sing Ah (like Father). I refer to this as the kinesthetic approach: which means that you feel what’s happening with your body. Gaining awareness of the position of your larynx is the first step

Next, consider your larynx to be a basket floating in a network of attachments, some reach up into the jaw, tongue,and head, and some reach down into the chest, sternum and lower body. We want to relax the neck, jaw, and muscles around the larynx, so we can avoid the unconscious reflex that pull up on the larynx when we sing high. As you sing your scales, place your hands on the back of your neck and notice if there’s tension. Next, place your hands on your jaw, and check to see if your jaw is clenching at all. The more release you have in these muscles, the easier it will be to stabilize your larynx.

Proper breath support is also important in order to stabilize your larynx. The basics of this are

1.Breathe in without motion in your neck, shoulders, or face
2.As you inhale, feel your stomach inflate
3.As you sing a scale or song, keep some gentle pressure out against your abdominal wall
4.As you’re singing, try not to let your stomach contract suddenly

If you have any questions about the larynx, or singing generally, feel free to contact me at john@jdsvoice.com

Can Anyone Become a Great Singer? Or Are We Just Born That Way

Can anyone become a great singer or is it true that you are either born with the gift or not? This is one of the most common questions that I hear as a professional vocal coach, and there seems to be a lot of confusion about it. Is it true that with training and practice you can fulfill your dream of being a great singer or do you just have to limit yourself to your concerts in the shower? If you are dying to know the answer to this, read on and discover the truth about developing a great singing voice.

To begin with, being a great singer has more to do with having a good ear than having a good voice. True, a great voice helps and the voice you are born with is the voice that you are born with, for better or worse. However, even if you have a beautiful sound, you still have to be able to hear when you are signing off key and adjust to hit the right tone and color.

The good news is that you can easily develop the skill of being a good listener; you just have to know the right steps to take.

Now a lot of people hear this and say: “Well, I think that I am hopeless then, because I am pretty much tone deaf.” Believe it or not, being tone deaf is rarer than most people think, and if you were tone deaf it would show up in your speech. You would speak in a monotone and would have little or no voiceinflection because you were unable to hear it and duplicate it.

Believe it or not, it is possible to go from not being able to tell when an instrument is completely out of tune to being able to transcribe orchestra scores by ear. Again, all it takes is the right kind of practice.

So if you are convinced that you are not tone deaf, you may be wondering: “What are some of the fundamentals to being a good singer?” The first one is being aware of what is actually happening in your body when you are producing certain sounds, and being able to duplicate that feeling or position.

Your voice is dramatically affected by the way you breathe, your posture, the shape and position of your mouth and many other details most people are unaware of. Becoming aware of these things is the first step to controlling them.

The second fundamental has to do with your ability to listen to yourself and to adjust your voice in order to correct the things that you are doing wrong. This is not always so easy and this is the primary reason why you need to have a good voice coach if you are going to be a singer. You cannot improve what you cannot measure, and the way you measure your voice is by listening.

The problem is that your voice is going to sound different to you, than it does to someone who is not living in your body. It is also important that the person who is listening is trained to know what to listen for.

So you can absolutely become a great singer just by practicing these fundamentals. But like any other development of your body, the human voice and the muscles involved in creating it are not going todevelop overnight.

Perseverance, the ability to act on constructive feedback and even to take somenegative feedback are going to be your greatest tools in your journey to fulfilling your dream of becoming a great singer. So if you are ready to make it happen, go ahead and get started today.

Why Do I Need Professional Singing Voice Lessons?

Picture This:

It’s your birthday. It’s late afternoon and the sun is on its way down. Nothing is happening at the moment because you’re sitting down in the company of friends trying to entertain yourself hoping someone would make a suggestion like, “Hey, let’s do something!” Just as you’ve had enough of doing nothing, a group of friends surprise you from the rear, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!” What a treata.you hug each onea then out the blue, one of them decides to sing a special song just for you on your special daya.

Your eyes and everyone else’s eyes are looking at each other questioning, “Why is this person with this unattractive voice singing NOW or EVER in his life?! We were nice. We survived it. Nobody died but, boy, it would have been nicer if that person could have sung that special rendition two days earlier before anyone could have had the chance to hear it.

Do you think you would continue to sing if you knew everyone else did not think as highly favorable of your singing voice as you do?

The “everyone else” category includes:

1.) Empathic persons – those people who will want to give support of your singing just because you’re just another human being

2.) Relatives – they like the thought of someone in the family who not only sings but also becomes famous by their singing [so they can borrow money from you when you become rich ] “and it might just happen if we cheer him on strong enough…”

3.) Friends – those acquaintances that will give an opinion of your singing voice that you would hopefully flatter you; even if it were not fully the truth. They want your friendship.

4.) Associates – those whom you have some sort of business relation and will not express any negative feelings concerning your singing voice so that they won’t jeopardize any personal future benefit you might offer them

5.) Church members – wonderful people but their spirituality may interfere with their honest judgment concerning your singing voice

6.) Nice, unknowing people – they may or may not speak the truth to you about your singing voice since they have no investment in you not to mention that they may not know what they’re talking about.

So who or what can you trust?

Answer: Unbiased, vocal music professional instruction. Someone who’s had the training and experience. A professional voice teacher with solid teaching experience. You want to entrust your singing voice, your time, your financial resources to a learned, well trained singing voice teacher that can explain step-by-step how you can maximize your singing voice ability without hurting it.

When you find the rightvoice lessons, you and others will hear and become impressed with the consistent improvement of your singing voice.

To try to teach yourself how to sing and be successful is tricky and usually frustrating. It can be very discouraging to fail to make the strides with your singing voice you knew you could if you had the proper singing voice instructor.

Sing to Feel Good About Yourself

Sing to Feel Love From Your fans

Sing and Hear Their applause!

To Your Singing Success,

Houston Simmons

4 Simple Steps to Singing