Singing Dangerously

This article is goi ng to focus on vocal health, and in particular we will be talking about the first out of the two most common vocal damaging flaws: Glottal Shock. If I were to make a list of the most common factors that contribute to vocal chord injury, high on the list would be glottal shock and glottal stop. Both of these improper techniques are often addressed by voice teachers as well as throat doctors and both have ruined more voice careers than probably any other physical factor next to gastric reflux disease and vocal fatigue. Many times it will not just be apparent within the act of singing but in speech as well and can be a commonality amongst many school teachers, clergyman, lawyers and basically anyone who relies on there voice in there carriers.

Let’s now look at the first of these two dangerous singing techniques again called glottal shock. Glottal shock is a clicking in the voice that can be heard at the onset of words that do not begin with some sort of consonant. An example of this would be when we sing or say words such as apple or every, or only. these words of course begin with a vowel rather than a consonant. And, as you hopefully could hear, there was a sort of clicking noise in the beginning of those words.

This is glottal shock. You see what happens is this. If I were to place my vocal chords together before I sing, when I actually do go to sing the vocal chords are then forced open and then unfortunately slam shut, slapping themselves together causing the click heard on the words onset. This is known by the way as the words ‘attack’, and this particular attack is not only unhealthy to our vocal instrument but is very unmusical as well. This sound can be very distracting in speech as well especially when someone is clicking every other word. Imagine if you were listening to someone sayaaI always entered into their apartment upstairs and I understand why everyone else does the opposite.a When you start noticing this in others you can almost feel the damage that they are causing themselves.

Find out more about glottal shock with online singing lessons at VirtualVoiceLessons.Net.

There are always reasons for doing what we want to do. For some of us it is all about fun. That should be an incentive that is enough for children to take music lessons. However, some parents need a bit more prompting as far as reasons go. Here is what every parent needs to know when it comes to music lessons for children – benefits.

There are many aspects that as a child grows, these areas need to be trained. One of those is the cognitive and motor areas. This helps them so that they can manipulate their mind and their body. Other areas include problem solving. All of these can be worked with when a child does music lessons.

It has also been stated that those children who take music lessons throughout their life will be better in some areas as they are exercising certain parts of the brain. It is said that children do better verbally. They also do better at math. These areas are the ones that more and more schools are finding children having difficulty with. For whatever reason, much of it is because kids are trying to learn so much at one time, this is great news for children as they will do better in school. This is what we all want from children. Is it not?

The same is true for kids in high school. A study has been done by the Board of Education that has proven that while a child is in high school and is involved in either band or choir; they double their chances at doing well in math. This is the hardest sort of math that is out there as well.

We all know that school can be hard. Many kids who do not do well have found that they just want to give up. Music has been the thing to keep some kids who are ready to give up the incentive they need to keep going. There has been a relationship between music and kids staying in school that is.

There are social impacts that music lessons hold as well. Not only do children learn to have a mentor and to listen to their mentors, but they learn to work along side with people. They learn to talk things out.

They also learn to channel the negative emotions that sometimes run along with what many kids face from day to day. They are the racial injustices, the social economic standings, and much more. It is really interesting what all music can help children with.

As you can see, there are many things that can help children, but music lessons are just one thing you do not want to miss out on. The things that you can give your children just by allowing them to do this are amazing. The sad thing is, these are usually the first areas that schools cut when the budget gets too low. Look at all the things that can be accomplished just by letting them do this.

Take a Deep Breath:

Teaching the Inhalation for Singing More Effectively – Releasing Abdominal Tension

According to Gillyanne Kayes ‘awhen you breathe in, you will feel that your lower abdomen moves out as a result of the diaphragm pulling downa’1 This is true, but does assume that the student already breathes efficiently and correctly. It also assumes that the singer has a good awareness of the detrimental effect abdominal tension has on the inhalation. One of the main breathing challenges I have encountered in the studio is that students find the concept of letting the lower abdomen go into neutral difficult, hence the diaphragm does not depress fully and subsequently the lungs do not fill to capacity. The following are several methods and ideas proposed by both me and my students for helping to release abdominal tension.

1. Inhaling against a wall

A Kinaesthetic Approach

A student can gain insight into the deep breath required for singing through observing the mechanism when they are lying down. In this position the body naturally resorts to effective breathing. However I have found that not all students are comfortable with being asked to lie down on my studio floor during a lesson, albeit with a cushion to support their head and a throw to preserve their clothes. Occasionally students have back and knee problems and such a suggestion is simply inappropriate. As a teacher I do feel that breathing needs to be introduced within the first few weeks of lessons, yet a trusting relationship may not have developed sufficiently to permit what could be a vulnerable situation for the student.

As an alternative I have found that getting a student to check their breathing mechanism while leaning against a wall very effective. The student allows the wall to support them, turning their head to the side so that their cheek is flat against the surface. Arms are relaxed at their sides. I then ask them to lever themselves from this position by releasing the abdominals and allowing the diaphragm to depress, lungs to fill, rib-cage to expand and epigastrium to move forward. If the student ‘chest-breathes’ there is no leverage and this, due to the lack of release of the abdominal muscles, is immediately apparent to them.

I have found this to be an effective method because the student is already upright and experiencing the deep breath. One of the difficulties with breath work on the floor is getting the student to maintain the deep breathing they have so readily discovered when they return to a standing position.

This technique has been effective for about 75% of my students thus far. Effectiveness has been evaluated by how quickly and independently the student comprehends what is required and why i.e. the technique’s place within singing. One of the positive aspects of this exercise is that is allows students to self-evaluate immediately.

2. Abdomen as an Elastic Band -Visualisation

A Visual and/or Aural Approach

Students’ reactions to my explanations of breathing anatomy vary widely, ranging from eyes glazing over to keen interest. I have had to ask myself the question: just how much anatomical information do students usefully need to know and how can I accommodate these different levels of interest within different learning styles?

One of the less orthodox responses to my survey was that of a student who is a hypnotist by profession. This lady recorded a visualisation exercise, coming up with the image of the abdomen as a brightly coloured elastic band which released and expanded with the inhalation. I played this guided visualisation to a cross-section of students and the response was encouraging. Most found it immediately useful, helping them to clearly imagine the abdominal muscles’ activity. Several were very interested in the idea and stated that they would like to experiment further with it. One student who had long-term difficulty getting away from shallow breathing habits deepened her inhalation within one lesson of listening to this visualisation.

Only one student found it categorically unhelpful and preferred to visualise conventional anatomy when inhaling, unsurprising as this student normally approaches tasks intellectually.

The guided meditation was an antithesis to thinking conventionally about anatomy in that it used the imagination and was concerned with the essentials. I was interested to note just how many students related well to this. The recording was not a definitive guide, but a starting point for students to use their own imaginations in visualising the abdominal release.

3. Using Imagery

A Visual Approach

I suggested that several artist-singers in my group class create an image of how they understood the inhalation, in particular bearing in mind the release of the abdominals. The ‘spec’ I provided was that the image could be figurative or abstract and use any media. I also participated in this exercise.

The following week the selected students presented their works, which turned out to be figurative and concerned with the breathing mechanism in general. Given the interconnectedness of inhalation and exhalation this was understandable. Both drawings acknowledged the need for abdominal breathing. The images showed an appreciation of colour and movement which provided information about these students’ learning styles, i.e. visual and kinaesthetic. Interestingly, both drawings revealed a misunderstanding about the breath creating head resonance.

My own contribution was more abstract and based on how I visualise the experience of a deep inhalation.

The group proceeded to practice the inhalation while looking at each of the three images. Several of the group connected well to the latter image with one student stating that it was ‘asimple and had movement and energy’. The two figurative images were well received as interesting drawings, but less effective as stimulators of abdominal breathing.

Encouraging students to do drawings of the inhalation was very useful as the resulting work showed strengths and weaknesses in their comprehension. However, in distilling a method from images I would need to experiment further and ‘achoose them carefully and appropriately for each pupil’2, using my discretion regarding students’ personalities and learning styles. This would suggest the need for having worked with the student for some time.

Further Use of Imagery

I agree with Meribeth Dayme (nAe Bunch) when she states that referring to the inhalation as ‘abdominal breathing’ is less misleading than the term ‘diaphragmatic breathing’. While the diaphragm is acknowledged as being the most important muscle of inspiration the release of the lower abdominal muscles is vital for maximum functioning of the former.

During the past few months of my research I have collected several phrases evoking images that have helped facilitate ‘abdominal breathing’. They are as follows:

1. ‘Bellyful of breath’

2. ‘Pregnant with breath’

3. ‘Imagine a hole in the abdomen through which breath enters’

4. ‘Balloon filling the abdomen’ (student contribution)

5. ‘Sea rolling in and out’ (student contribution on inhalation and exhalation)

The use of imagery has proven very effective for most students and I would not hesitate to develop this method further. I have been very interested to hear students’ own creative ideas. If an image is personal it is likely to be effective.

4. SPLAT! (Singers Please Loosen Abdominal Tension)/ The Recoil Breath

A Physical Approach

Gillyanne Kayes talks about her own study of breathing, being advised by one instructor that ‘athe secret of breathing in was to breathe out.’3 My understanding of this quote is that if a singer has an insight into what their abdominal muscles are meant to do during the exhalation, they will learn what these muscles are not meant to do during the inhalation, i.e. contract. Janice Chapman is also an advocate of SPLAT!, incorporating it in her ‘Primal Sound’ technique.

SPLAT! involves exhaling at any given moment, a special preceding inhalation not being required. The singer draws their abdomen in towards their spine, pushing any lingering scraps of air out of their lungs. At the point when the exhalation has reached its limit the body will reflexively release the abdominal muscles, allowing the diaphragm to depress and lungs to fill to their capacity, i.e. the recoil. As with the wall leaning exercise I demonstrated SPLAT! in the first instance and students subsequently practiced it under my supervision. The exercise was attempted in a standing position.

SPLAT! had a diverse response. Some students grasped it well and others found it frustrating and strenuous. Over a period of several weeks it was clear that not everybody was releasing their abdominal muscles as a result of this work. In asking students for feedback I found that this was due to the power of old holding habits or simply a lack of clarity about the mechanics of the exercise*.

*The exercise revealed that a number of students had previously assumed the abdominal muscles were contracted during inhalation and relaxed during exhalation. I attempted to remedy this misunderstanding with the following phrase:

‘In=Out’ and ‘Out=In’

Simplified from:

‘Inhalation = Abdominals Out

Exhalation = Abdominals In’

I have noticed recently that when students get confused during SPLAT! they start to repeat this phrase to themselves before re-attempting the exercise. It does appear to help them focus their efforts.

Conclusion

My research demonstrated just how vital it is to fathom a student’s personality and learning style when teaching technique. Having several tools available is necessary and this requires a teacher to be open-minded while simultaneously grounded in facts of anatomy and physiology. I am pleased to come away with alternatives to my original teaching method of demonstration and use of anatomical drawings, a more intellectual approach. I won’t fully abandon this but nor will it be my default method in the future. Though traditional and time-tested, I was never entirely comfortable placing my hands on my students. It is timely to have more options that enable students to clearly practice and self-evaluate abdominal release.

Opposition to abdominal release came in several forms. Unsurprisingly many of my students were uncomfortable with having to release their lower abdominal muscles. The learned response is to hold these muscles tight and all of the above exercises focus on the necessity to ‘reduce the holding patterns in the abdominal wall’4. One student told me that the release was in direct opposition to maintaining the ‘central core’ required for Pilates, another activity she engaged in. Several dancers had the same concern. I was alarmed that so many students interpreted releasing the abs as an instruction for the whole body to slouch. It was vital to pause and address posture during the work.

Several students consistently contradicted my research, those who engage in shallow breathing without their capacity and control being compromised – and apparently without the usual resultant tension on the larynx. I am still considering how I need to go about advocating the benefits of abdominal breathing to these students, so my research continues.

As with any investigation there are as many questions raised as are answered. Svend Smith’s ‘Accent Method’ merits more research as does Janice Chapman’s work with ‘Primal Sound’ which interestingly combines deep, reflexive breathing with emotion. There are many other studies of technique that are not singing related such as breathing for yoga, re-birthing, Chi Gung and athletic activities, to name a few. I feel that it would be useful to have a working knowledge of these, if not to apply directly to singing then for the purpose of achieving a rounded understanding of the power of the breath in different situations. In short, there are many worthwhile and interesting avenues that can be followed for developing a thorough pedagogy for breathing.

Bibliography:

Kayes, G (2004) Singing and the Actor (Routledge)

Dayme, M (1997) Dynamics of the Singing Voice (Springer Wien)

Chapman, J (2006) Singing and Teaching Singing:

A Holistic Approach to Classical Voice (Plural Publishing)

Harris, P (2006) Improve Your Teaching! (Faber Music)

Footnotes/ Indices

1 Kayes, Gillyanne (2004) Singing and the Actor (Routledge)

2 Harris, P (2006) Improve Your Teaching! (Faber Music)

3 Kayes, G (2004) Singing and the Actor (Routledge)

3 Chapman, J (2006) Singing and Teaching Singing: A Holistic Approach to Classical Voice (Plural Publishing)

Cathryn VM Robson 2009

Learn How To Train Your Vocal To Sing

Are you dying to become a professional singer? Is it your dream to become the next American Idol? Are looking for ways to train your voice to sing? Well, do not worry here are some of the ideal tips to fulfill your dreams.

Online vocal exercise:
Now-a-days with the expansion of internet facility everything can be easily available. You can easily avail the services of online vocal exercise and utilize the various tools to train you voice to sing. Online vocal lessons are so methodical that they easily teach a mediocre singer to sing in perfect tune. Learning singing through internet is a very good idea for the beginners as it will help to attain knowledge over singing techniques. By going online you also save your precious time and effort.

Hiring a vocal instructor:
One can also learn singing by hiring a vocal instructor. A good and professional vocal coach can help you a lot to learn the nuances of singing. You can always get feedback of your performance. Experienced vocal coach can even teach you the right singing technique so that you might not hurt your vocal chords. Moreover you can learn the correct breathing technique while singing.
Opting for dance lesson programs:
Singing lesson programs are of immense help to the beginners. You can easily train your voice to sing without the help of a coach or anybody else. Singing lesson programs like ‘Singorama’ and others can help to you convert yourself in to a singing sensation with in short period of time. Moreover you can learn singing by maintaining complete privacy. These programs are well prepared keeping in mind the needs of beginners. They are very methodical and follow correct singing steps which are easy to learn.

Keep patience:
Singing is an art so it requires lot of time to attain mastery over it. You need to keep patience and keep on practicing regularly. It is difficult to have an attractive voice unless and until you go for regular rehearsals. Practice will not only make you perfect but also enable you to dig out your hidden talent. It is very important that you find out adequate time to continue your practice sessions time and again.

Singing is not as simple as it looks. To train your voice to sing perfectly, besides your talent you need to have a strong determination. If you have made up your mind to do something then definitely you would achieve that. The above tips will surely help to train your voice to sing and accomplish your dream.

If you’ve ever had a recording session early in the morning (many of you who are on-air talent will identify with this), you’ve really got to warm up those pipes to sound professional and alert.

Coming from a classical singing background and years of 7 a.m. choir rehearsals, I find it really helps if you are up at least one hour before you are expected to perform.

If you’re awake 60 minutes before you hit the mic, you’ll be alert (hopefully!) and also may have already spoken to someone, using your voice a wee bit to prepare for your warm up. During that interval, you may have possibly eaten breakfast, had a drink, showered, and dressed for the day.

Waking up earlier for an ‘early’ session does more than stabilize your vocal folds, it gets you in form mentally as well.

OK, so that’s getting up an hour before. How about these ones?

Have you ever tried humming?

A loose, gentle modulating hum is a nice way to ease in your facial muscles as well as create space for resonant sound. It gets your resonators going which in turn will help restore your vocal tone quality after sleeping for several hours.

One of the favorites at the Don Wright Faculty of Music was The Hum closely followed by lip trills.

On one occasion, a classmate of mine had to run from her residence at the main gates on Richmond Street over the bridge at UWO doing lip trills in the dead of winter as she scrambled to get to her lesson in the Music Building near Talbot College. She sounded great! Now, that’s a feat.

Also, another good trick to open up the passages is to descend on a nasal consonant sound. If you are a fan or student of IPA (the International Phonetic Alphabet), you know that there are a number of ways you can warm up your sinuses and nasal passages.
Take the English word onion for example. It’s quite nasal, particularly the second syllable. The ‘gn’ sound, as in the Italian “gnocchi” is precisely what I’m thinking about.

Take that ‘gn’ sound and lovingly stretch it, slide it, and descend glissando style. Go from the fifth down to the root of a scale on that with an ‘ah’ sound.

Another favorite warm up is voicing anything that ends in a Z, like buzz or fuzz. Linger on the Z to get resonating as well.

Back to some more ideas.

Articulate, articulate, articulate. This is one of the most important aspects of your performance. If you don’t articulate or enunciate clearly, no one is going to understand a word of what you are saying.

Here are five tongue twisters that are old hat for some but may be new to your repertory:

1. Unique New York, Unique New York, Unique New York…. (repeat and speed up as necessary)
2. A big black bug bit a big black bear
3. She sells sea shells by the sea shore
4. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers
5. How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

One trick to see if your diction is clear is to ask someone who doesn’t know you to listen to you speak. If they have trouble deciphering your message, it’s time to go back to the drawing board and really start spitting out those consonants.

Well, that may be good for resonators and articulators, but what about range?

Yawning is a good thing. Yawning naturally drops your jaw and regulates oxygen while extending your soft palate. With more oxygen flowing up to your brain, you’ll also find that you are more alert. Yawning is one of those involuntary responses produced by your autonomic nerve system.

Have you ever heard of the ‘yawn-sigh’?

You open your mouth as if to yawn and slide all the way down from the top of your vocal range to the lowest grumble you can muster. You’ll know when you bottom out. Only do this a few times tops per warm up and never start with this one – leave it until the end when you have already exercised your voice.

Now, those are just a number of things you can do to get going with your voice.

It may go without saying, but a good sleep the night before, about eight hours if you can swing it, and a well conditioned, lubricated voice is the best preparation for warming up at the crack of dawn.

If you’re a multi-tasker, you could probably fit your warm ups into your morning shower routine. The acoustics will be great and warm water is also a plus.

Just so that we’re all aware, these warm ups are not solely reserved for early risers but for any vocal activity at any time.

Also, please note: The sillier you sound and the better a warm up makes you feel, the more elastic, agile and comfortable your voice will become. Have fun with it!

Learn How to Sing a Song

How Beginners Can Sing a Song Like a Professional

People of all ages have wanted to sing a song like a professional they’ve seen or heard especially if it’s their favorite singer.

Even natural born singers have to get vocal training at some point in their life so they don’t wear out or damage their vocal chords altogether by using them incorrectly. If you are willing to put in the work and patience that it takes as a beginner, then singing will eventually feel natural to you also.

Getting Voice Coaching and Instruction

If you can afford a teacher for private lessons or can join some singing classes, this will be very beneficial to you in the long run. Only choose a teacher who specializes in the genre of music you want to sing or who has a variety musical background.

Most of them will usually start you singing the note scale of do, re, mi, la, fa, so, la, te to get you used to doing shifts in your tone. You may get tired of doing the same thing over and over again but singing the notes can help train your throat also.

Establish Your Vocal Range

An instructor should be able to tell you if you are an alto, tenor or soprano so you will know how high or low you need to sing a song. They will also show you how to breathe correctly so you sing from your diaphragm rather than through your nose.

Learn to Sing in Front of an Audience

Prepare yourself tosing a song in front of an audience so you get a feel for how professionals perform in the limelight.

The good thing about singing camps, classes or an instructor is that they may have you perform in front of an audience to showcase your talents and to overcome any stage fright that many beginners have. They also may pair you with other students if any who can give you some tips that work for them or to make you feel more comfortable singing.

Secrets of Professional Singers

There are tips that can help you sing a song better and that many professionals use. Singing or breathing slowly and deeply in a shower can open up your lungs more.

Also drinking water in between breaks or hot tea with honey will help the throat while soothing any strain from singing long hours. So you see, with the right training you can be singing professionally in no time.

Practice and Determination

But remember, none of these singing tips work unless you do! Get started and keep at it if you expect to make progress.

Learn to Sing Better: Tips on Better Breathing

Breathing studies have found that you can actually have peak health and a longer life, depending on how well you learn to breathe! Sounds silly, doesn’t it? But it is true as you will see below. Breathing properly is really healthy for you overall, as well as developing your ability to sing better!

Breathing properly for singing is the single most important factor in obtaining good solid technique in order to sing better. Every singing sound we make, at least, is dependent on consistent and steady airflow. If you have more control of this air flow, you will have more singing control and thereby have better quality of your singing, including strength, duration, and capacity.

Breathing for better singing should always include relaxation techniques for quiet inhalations, specifically. Exercises and stretches, include some yawning, yes you heard right, yawning exercises, as you inhale and exhale, to help relax the muscles surrounding the vocal cords.

First, stand relaxed yet tall and with good posture. For more information on this, go to www.breathing.com. They have some excellent details on breathing and posture.

Since breathing is a three-dimensional process, try this. Breathe in deeply to connect with the diaphragm (muscle that lies underneath the lung sacs, as the lungs are not muscles). Your rib cage should expand and you should have a sense of “expanding” clear around the rib/abdominal area, as the diaphragm lowers, thus, filling the lungs. Exhale completely.

Do the above for 4 counts in and 4 counts out….all the while thinking of not only the three-dimensional expansion, but the silent intake of air, using that “yawning” sensation, which is only a helper for this training…yawning may not work perfect for other vocal techniques, like voice placement, but it does help relax the muscles for a quieter, quicker intake of air. Push out with the belly muscles as you sing or do your vocal exercises. You can even lie on the floor for this one with a book or a couple books on your belly to see how your breathing is doing. Can you raise the book while inhaling? If so, that is just one aspect of the three-dimensional aspect of proper breathing. This is just to demonstrate how you should be breathing. A coach online or offline should assist you in keeping track of these, to make sure you are developing proper habits. Poor habits are so hard to change, so give yourself some time, training, and practice. Do the above everyday (except the book part) for better control of your breathing and forming proper breathing habits.

There are, of course, things you should not do while learning the above techniques, and that is you should not move your shoulders, head, or neck while learning these habits. Your chin should not go out or up or down to low, but be level. To breathe properly, specifically for singing, you will want to keep “the instrument” in the appropriate position. You should appear natural and the breathing should seem effortless.

There are also exercises that will assist you in developing better breathing control and stamina without hurting your singing voice. This includes exercises like breathing in through a pretend straw for better breath control and development. Try this. Pretend you are breathing in through a straw (a small pressure hole created by your lips) and perform the above 4-count breathing exercise. This will help strengthen your breathing strength, control, and stamina for those long “tah-dah” notes or just sustained notes that always seem to fall short. There are also many breathing exercises for assisting in developing breath control, strength, and stamina, such as inhaling (yawn) your breath, then “ha-ha-ha-ha-ha” exhaled for 5 times and seeing if you have any breath left, which you should.

Learning to sing better through breathing is such a critical step in developing your better singing voice. I just cannot stress that enough. I do hope these tips have assisted you in obtaining some breathing techniques to take with you for your overall healthier lifestyle and in singing better! Let’s march onward to assisting you in continuing your onward progress in taking care of your voice, breathing, and coming soon…warm-ups!

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

Are you a young hopeful singer looking to make your mark in the music business?

Whether you are a solo singer/songwriter , rehearsing your first band, singing karaoke, or just wondering about how to get it all going here is some advice that you might find useful.

Let’s start with the central issue. How good you sound is much more important than how good you look. This will sound like crazy talk to some but it’s essentially true. Singing is an aural art form and your success as an artist will rest mostly on how well you communicate with your listener. The best visual presentation in the business will not help you if you sound like crap. Or put another way, a blind person will not think you are a great singer no matter how well you are dressed!

Many wonderful singers started out with only the very basics of a good singing voice, perhaps just the raw ability to sing confidently and more or less in tune. Along the way they learned to bring out the best in their voice and to create a kind of vocal charisma, a unique musical identity that is instantly recognizable to the listener.

Firstly, don’t think of yourself as a singer. Think of yourself as a MUSICIAN. The human voice is merely an instrument like many others and it takes dedication and skill to use it effectively. If you want the kind of voice that will stop traffic, the kind of vocal range that lets you sing in almost any key, the sort of voice that most people would die for then you have to build it yourself. Lots of raw talent is not enough in most cases and it can sometimes be a disadvantage.

Why? Because it can make you a complacent low achiever and lead you to believe that the world revolves around you and the greatness you are destined to enjoy if only the world would listen. A great natural singing voice is one thing but it’s what you DO with it that counts.

As a singer you must develop your musical judgment. You will need to make good musical decisions every time you open your mouth to sing. Deciding how to sing a phrase, whether to build up a particular section or to lay back your timing into the bridge or if you should sing out the end chorus an octave higher with lots of licks all takes musical taste and judgment that nobody is born with. If you think of yourself as a musician first then you will be able to recognize these judgment skills in other musicians and be able to learn from them.

Singers should always be looking to push themselves. Expand your horizons by learning other instruments like guitar and keyboards or bass, drums or saxophone. The mere act of learning to play a bit on another instrument will teach you much about singing. It will also help immensely with your songwriting, but that is another rave.

Expand your horizons in other musical directions. If you sing hip hop then try singing a bit of country or jazz. Force yourself out of your comfort zone into areas you know nothing about. Throw yourself into the deep end of the pool until you feel the water flow over your head! Most musical styles borrow on the same vocal techniques but differ in how they are applied. For example, listening to how Michael Buble sings can give you an insight into phrasing and how to create tension and release in a vocal performance. Your understanding of this can be applied to almost any contemporary musical style you wish.

Don’t fall for the old lazy argument that you are an original artist and you don’t want to dilute your ‘sound’ with outside influences. The truth is that influences are what make you the singer you are and the great singer you will become. You must absorb all the information you can, pick as many brains as you can find, listen to the old players and try to figure out how they did what they did. If you have a favorite singer then learn everything you can from that person and then move on. Do not try to sound like them even if you can. You must learn to move beyond mere copying and into forming your own sound.

Above all, make this journey your passion. Leave no stone unturned in your quest to be a better musician and a great singer.

So, should you rush out and get singing lessons I hear you ask…

Initially no. What you should be doing is hanging out with other musicians, preferably better ones than you. Don’t spend all your time with friends who are hacks with no intentions of doing anything meaningful with their music after the school holidays. This can be difficult if you have strong relationships with people you enjoy making music with but it is a necessary step in your musical education and growth. You must find great players to learn from. Most accomplished musicians actually enjoy mentoring young hopefuls with ability and drive. Finding some good players to learn from is the single most important thing you will ever do for your musical career.

Then, when you are ready, look to improve your vocal technique with some singing lessons. We can always use better technique but remember this. Vocal technique is important but it is a relatively small part of becoming a great singer. Most singing teachers teach similar techniques. They can correct technical problems and get you to sing exercises that help expand your range, improve your vocal control and agility which ultimately helps increase your confidence to sing. In an ideal world you will be able to find an excellent singing teacher right around the corner from where you live and you will be able to easily afford the lessons. This, unfortunately is not always the case.

Finding a singing teacher can be a difficult and time consuming problem. Don’t forget that you are the one who decides if that teacher is right for you. It’s important to have a rapport with that teacher. They need to be someone you can learn more from than just technique. Remember that ‘musical judgment’ I mentioned earlier? Find a singing teacher who can not only guide your vocal technique but can give you some insights into improving your musicianship, some advice in making those musical decisions.

Remember to be humble and realize that singing is an art that you can master with patience and great guidance. It’s critical that this process brings out your own unique voice, not what your singing teacher wants, but the voice that you have inside of you.

If you cannot find a good singing teacher then consider doing an online singing course. Online singing lessons are more abundant now and there are a some good ones and some poor ones. Just steer clear of things like singing review sites – they usually recommend only the products they get commission for selling and are not to be trusted.

Above all, set your sights high but your expectations low. You must strive always to be better and not be afraid of change. Test yourself with new challenges and concepts, meet lots of like minded people and don’t waste time. It’s a precious thing that you cant recover and your willingness to set goals and achieve them will help create that singing career that you desire.

www.budurl.com Buy my premium video lessons. This is Part 1 of my Youtube voice lesson series on Vibrato. When I give lessons as a voice coach I get asked about it all the time. In this video, I answer the following questions: – What is vibrato? – What are wrong ways of producing it? – What is good approach for getting it in my voice? Buy Eric’s Video Lessons system.aapproach.com Holla at me on myspace www.myspace.com