The difference between my Blog and my Newsletter

I recently put out a short questionnaire, which I sent to my "Judy Rodman Productions" newsletter database. One of the many things I learned from the valuable answers and feedback of the survey (if you took it, THANK YOU!!) was that several people were asking for me to write more about vocal technique. This let me know that these respondents probably didn't know about this blog, and the difference between it and the newsletter. So... let me explain so that YOU can be sure you're subscribed to the right thing for YOUR interests and needs:

WHY YOU SHOULD SUBSCRIBE TO MY "ALL THINGS VOCAL" BLOG (if you haven't already)

This blog is called "All Things Vocal" for a reason...if you've been reading it a while, you know:) Here's what I write about on this blog:

• Tips and insights on things concerning the singing and speaking voice.
  
• Free vocal lessons with "Power, Path & Performance" vocal techniques that you can instantly apply to your next live performance, recording session, public speech.
  
• News flashes about upcoming auditions, events or other urgent news for vocalists.
  
• Frequent updates... two or three times a week.
  

If you have not subscribed to this blog and would like to, go to the main blogpage HERE. Look on the left hand side of the page under the words "Subscribe to this blog". Click your choice to sign up via either email or reader.

WHY YOU WOULD ALSO WANT TO SUBSCRIBE TO MY "JUDY RODMAN PRODUCTIONS" NEWSLETTER:

My newsletter's purpose is to actually deliver news which will encourage mutual support, community connection and networking. For this reason, I use this publication to talk about what I am, and my clients are, doing.

Here's what I've been writing about on the newsletter:

• Who I'm working with and links to their webpages
• News about my vocal students and recording clients
  
• Projects I'm currently working on (studio, songwriting, multimedia, live engagements, etc.)
• Breaking news and upcoming events (sometimes on both my blog and newsletter)
• Links to other places where you can connect with me.
• Short vocal tips
• Links to blogposts you might have missed on this blog.
• Main newsletter is a monthly publication, special short notices are sent from time to time.
  

If you want to subscribe to my newsletter, please go here

I will be tweaking both this blog and newsletter from the information I'm gathering on the survey. I'm still looking for about 45 more people to respond before closing the survey. If you'd like to take the 10 question survey, please go here.

And thank you again for your readership, your feedback and your friendship. Let me know what I can do better... for you!

Newsflash: Mat Kearney plays Nashville TONIGHT

Hieveryone...

I just found out late last night that my friend and vocal student Mat Kearney will be playing the Cannery Ballroom tonight (Thurs Oct 14th). He just sold out the Fillmore, and has obviously been enjoying a great tour for his new album.

I know it's last minute, but wanted to get the word out, because we don't see him in Nashville much. This venue requires only 21 yrs old and up, and tonight's tickets are for standing-room-only. But I'm going... if you're interested here's the link to buy tickets.

Venue: The Cannery Ballroom
Time: show is at 8:00pm, doors open at 7.
Tonight (Oct 14th)

Let me know if you're coming and I'll look for you. If you're not in the area, do look for Mat Kearney on tour near you... you'll be so glad for the experience.

Vocal Warm Ups: Two Vital Reasons To Do Them

I believe there are two reasons to warm up your voice.

1. To coordinate your body/mind/voice... practicing and developing the muscle memory that enables the basic vocal technique triangle of breath/throat/communication synergy.
   
2. To give your voice a physical workout... get blood flowing through the tissues, interstitial fluid pumped out, and muscle stamina increased.

To accomplish these two things, "form is everything". Doing vocal exercises wrong, just like other physical exercise, will not help and can harm your voice. You can do ANY vocal exercise incorrectly. If your voice doesn't feel BETTER after your vocal workout, stop doing it!

Train your voice, yes, but train it correctly. Make sure your vocal teacher shows you not only what to do, but how to do it.

For information on Power Path & Performance cd vocal training products, go here.
The third cd of my 6-cd course is completely on the subject of HOW to do my vocal exercises.

For more info on my personal lessons, go here.

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?

I recently performed in Las Vegas, which was a blast, and here's what I came away with: great memories with my husband, my clients and friends, and... Perspective on why I sing. I told this story to a vocal student/friend and she suggested I put it in my blog here for you.

As always, when I perform, I end up looking for lessons I can use for you. I'm like a mad scientist, experimenting on MYSELF! I was doing live bgvs (background vocals) for a client of mine (Jim Wilkes) at the House Of Blues, and he also asked me to sing a couple of solos. One of my songs I chose at the suggestion of Ron Oates, who wrote a terrific arrangement of "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" -- the Carol King classic.

As I worked myself into it (and yes, it took 7 days to get my full voice in shape because I haven't been singing out much lately), I looked for my usual motivation . I ask myself what the lyric meant to me. It came as a bit of a sudden surprise. I found myself singing to -- my audience. Why is this odd? Because the lyric goes...

Tonight you're mine completely
You give your love so sweetly
Tonight, the light of love is in your eyes
But will you love me... tomorrow? (by Carol King & Gerry Goffin)

... and the answer came to me... "Probably not". Wow. What a splash in the face. But it is the truth, and in this truth there is great protection and power for an artist. That's why I want to share it with you. Let me explain:

Earlier in my life's journey, I was having hits on the radio, national awards, on TV and in stadiums all the time, etc. and when I sang, everybody loved me. It was the strongest drug I can imagine, all that validation. Then came the day when I wasn't on the radio or TV much anymore, and guess what... when I sang, the audience reaction wasn't nearly as strong, finally trickling to an appreciative pat on the head. I was devastated. What was I doing differently? Can I tell you how common this is for artists - both now and since the "music business" began?

I finally got my bearings, my journey took some wild turns and I'm amazed and thrilled with where I am now. Getting back to the present: I happened to take a ride in a parking business limo to the airport on this trip. While I was in there I had a brief surge of unexpected sadness... I was remembering when I used to spend a lot of time in limos. Then the antidote to this silliness was sent to my heart: Jesus never rode in a limo.

Hmmm. So I'm already more blessed in this life than Jesus was? If I am really a follower (as I want to be) of Jesus, why is the limo important? Here's the thing: it's really, really true that it is better serve than to be served. I will always enjoy a limo ride, an audience cheering, a thank you from someone I can help... but motivation is everything. When I do what I do out of the sheer joy of performing the act... and out of a desire to truly serve someone with my best ability... that's when I really win.

Fans must always be important to an artist. Without them, you won't have much of a career. In Power, Path & Performance parlance, the audience is the endpoint of your performance, after all. For your voice to work best, your motivation should be to make the listener feel something. But paradoxically, the safest way to have a public career is to be careful how much importance you are attaching to public fame. A good way to check yourself is to ponder if you'd still want to sing if you fell several rungs down the ladder. George Strait says he'd go back to singing in Texas bars.

That's what I took away from Vegas, and it felt good. I had a ball... and the truth is, I would have had a ball just feeling my voice sound with a full band and horns and Ron Oates playing piano behind me... even if there were only one person in the audience to listen, and that was just God clapping.

Singing In Heels (not just for the girls)

I had to wear heels last week to sing in Vegas and I have to tell you that I don't spend nearly as much time in those pedi-torture devices as I used to. It was actually fun to be back in 'em, but I had to use my secret to make it work for me instead of against me. Dear beloved readers, I shall share it with you. Ready?

• Balance yourself on your HEELS when you sing, instead of the BALLS of your feet. Press down on your heels for the hard stuff.

Everything should line up nicely, and it's easy to lean back a bit for the high long notes or the tricky vocal licks (those of you who train with Power, Path & Performance know what that's about). Your heels go right up your spine to your neck and your skull. Balancing your body weight on your heels like this will help you open your chest for both breath support and control, and open your throat as well.

Guys, the truth is, we all need to sing from our heels no matter how high they are. Plant those heels firmly into the floor and you'll feel the difference.

Feedback anyone?

Problems Singing Phrases: Uncontrolled Beginnings and Dropped Ends

We all too often focus on the high or long or otherwise difficult notes of a phrase. But the secret to getting the hard stuff right is often how we begin and end the whole phrase containing the hard stuff.

Without getting the beginnings and ends right, we will not communicate the message within the phrase, either. So we miss engaging the heart of the listener.

Beginnings:

We must prepare... intend... to sing the very first syllable of the very first word. Furthermore, we must prepare and intend to sing that beginning syllable on the right pitch with the right emotion. Making the communication of this beginning word and note important will cause us to breathe in such a way as to accomplish the note. It will also cause us to position ourselves without thinking much about it to open our throats, if we have trained our voices with correct muscle memory.

I had the great pleasure, thanks to the generosity of my vocal client Jim Wilkes, to see Glen Campbell and Jimmy Web in concert with the Nashville Symphony this week. While Jimmy is a magical and master music creator (and oh my gosh did I and all present just melt in the symphonic arrangements he brought to his legendary hits), Glen is the master singer. In his 70s, I've never known him to sing better. I watched his posture change, his spine elongate, moving his head back and his chest open when he was getting ready to sing more difficult phrases... and this happened BEFORE he began the phrase. It works, folks. In fact the only note in a phrase he didn't get was a pesky "ee" vowel for which he DIDN'T prepare adequately. He sang everything else so well it didn't matter... not even to the musicians among us!

Endings:

I don't know about you but when I hear a phrase delivered almost to the end, and dropped to a disappearing act before I understand the last word, I feel cheated. Not supporting the ends of phrases will also sabotage the hard notes in the middle. And again... the intention to communicate the last word will usually cause a singer to take, support and control enough breath to do so. This is partly because when it truly is our intention to communicate, we will create a more confident, resonant tone instead of leaky, breathy sound. Amazing how the mind works for or against the voice. A master performer like Glen Campbell will not stop til he's done with a phrase.

Try it next time you sing: make the beginnings and endings of phrases the most important notes and lyrics to communicate. I think you'll like it:)

And by the way, if you haven't heard the Nashville Symphony lately... you are missing an experience that will leave you truly breathless, but in a very good way!

Singing With Headphones: Pitch Issues

OK, another question and answer... this time about singing with headphones.

Question:
I usually don't have pitch issues when recording, but on occasion I do. I've tried using just one ear piece on the headphones, but on this particular song, still had trouble. Can you explain the science behind finding pitch when using headphones?
Thanks!

Answer:
First of all, I hope you mean you just took 1/2 of that one ear off when using headphones. I do not find that taking a whole ear off will not help you. To clarify, take one closed headphone (not "open" headphones... ones used in the studio are usually closed to avoid feedback) and slide it half off your ear. It should cling to your head in such a way as to avoid feeding back to the mic.

Rarely, I will come upon a singer who does better with both "cans" on, but by far most singers do best with one earpiece half off. You'll also find that you'll favor one ear over the other for this maneuver. Experiment to see what works best for you. Try the left ear, then the right ear half off.

Lastly... DO NOT hold your cans with your hands. This will cause your arms to weigh down your ribcage. Instead, raise your hands above your waist and either "talk with them" or press fingertips into each other to open your chest, stay tall and flexible.

For the best discussion on the "science" of headphones and hearing pitch, see this link. You'll see I've contributed my two cents to the discussion, too.

Power, Path and Performance... the difference is real.

Voice-Over Career: How to get started

I get questions from time to time about a specialty vocal career: Voice-Over. If you work in this area, you are known as "voice-over talent". It entails speaking over multimedia platforms like radio, TV, movies, Internet. It includes such things as commercials, news casting, narrating documentaries, reading books-on-tape, and even voices over animated movies. To be successful in this business, you need vocal ability to do as many things as possible. You can also specialize in niches like foreign language copy, cartoon voices, tone of voice (Tony the Tiger low voice, car-salesman type fast talk, etc).

Getting work in voice-over requires three main things:

• expert ability and training to expand your vocal tone and timing choices,
  
• a working knowledge of the business practices in this field
  
• a great voice-over demo (which is a specialized demo and needs to conform to what will instantly tell producers you are professional-grade talent),
  
• smart networking and the energy to do it. This includes systematically researching and getting your professionally created demo out to potential clients/producers every week; the audition process never stops for this career.

And here's a beautiful thought... one of the things that makes this a great career is that neither age nor looks matter! Only ability and professional knowledge.

I do use Power, Path & Performance to train voice-over and public speakers' voices; here is what I can help with:

• I can increase your tone color choices so you can choose and change the applicable tone quality that would best communicate specific copy
• I can coach you to choose the right timing ... how fast you speak, where and how long you should pause, etc.
• I can show you how to protect your voice... your most important career asset.
  

Here are a couple of other interesting links for expert advice and training... there are many others but these stand out:

http://www.greatvoice.com/
http://www.voiceacting.com/index.html

Taming Tongue Tension

A question about tongue tension was asked at The Modern Vocalist this month. I thought I'd share my answer and elaborate it with you, dear reader of this blog, because it is a very common problem. Tongue tension equals soft palate tension, equals... throat tension!!

Tongue tension happens when you use the wrong end of the tongue too much! The tongue is said by some to be the strongest muscle in the body for it's size. It is literally connected by the hyoid bone to the top of your larynx. Tensing the root of your tongue raises the larynx uncomfortably. NOT GOOD. You need to be able to keep the mighty base (or root) of the tongue relaxed while you use the tip and front sides of the tongue to articulate.

Some things I suggest that have helped my students loosen tongue tension:

1. Wake up the face and do tongue tanglers, trying for clarity and not allowing the voice to "fall into the gravel" at the ends of phrases. Act like you are speaking to deaf people... make your lyric show in your face. This gets it out of the back of the throat and stiff jaw.

2. Speak or sing with the jaw moving in sort of a slight chewing motion. Tongue tension and jaw stiffness go together.

3. Put your knuckle inbetween your molars (not the front of your mouth) and sing. It will sound weird, like trying to speak with the dentist's hand in your mouth, but your jaw and tongue will experience having to relax.

4. Sing only on the vowels for a while, again allowing the back of the mouth and throat to fall open. This is harder than you think, you have to concentrate on NOT forming consonants. Then allow yourself to slightly let the consonants sneak back in, but keeping the back of the tongue feeling the same and letting the jaw relax flexibly.

5. Put two fingers under your chin. You are feeling the base of your tongue. Speak or sing, telling yourself not to tense there (bunch the muscle up).

6. DO NOT OVER-WORK the tongue in specific vocal exercises. Sometimes I find that exercises designed to stretch out and loosen the tongue can have the opposite effect. If you do these, be sure and note how they actually affect your tongue root's ability to relax.

By the way... some people can do tongue trills and some people can do lip trills and some people can do both. Just like rolling the tongue, forming French or German syllables, for some people it is easy and some hard, because there is a learning curve that makes it easier in childhood, and I believe, subtle muscle coordination differences in people. It doesn't matter if you can do these things or not. The main thing is to get your articulation out of the back of your throat, and there is more than one way to accomplish this goal.

Let me know what works for you!

Power, Path & Performance vocal training: The difference is real.

Vocal Control For Studio Singing

A large part of vocal training involves learning vocal control. Without vocal control, any vocal recording will suffer dreadfully. With it, you can do things you can only dream about without it.

Another problem with lack of control is that if you are singing with any degree of power, you are going to experience a lot more vocal fatigue and risk damage to your instrument if you sing too long. With it, you can sing all day and not experience vocal strain. Yes, it's true! And a lack of control will cause you and your recording team frustration -- or you'll just give up and settle for the best you and they think you can do. Usually, it's a huge waste of time and resources.

So what am I talking about? For a great recording, you need vocal technique skills that will enable you to:

• Control volume. (Without it, your engineer will have to use excessive compression to even out volume, control distortion and bring soft sounds up so they can be heard. Some degree of "riding the faders" and compression is normal and usual, but the less the better ...and the richer the resulting sound of your less compressed recorded vocal.)

• Control vocal lics and embellishments. (Without it, you will not be able to sing some vocal lics you attempt; "scats" or phrasing nuances will not "turn" well or flow evenly.)
  

• Control vibrato. (Without it, your vibrato will be too much, too little, uneven or inappropriately applied.)
  

• Control tone color. (Without it, the tone color of your voice will be too "covered", "hooty", "edgy", harsh, numb and boring or just plain wrong for the message. Your choices of tone of voice will be seriously limited, and your voice will sound small and/or unpleasant.)
  

• Control articulation. (Without it, you will over- or more usually under- pronounce the lyrics. There are differing degrees of articulation appropriate for different genres and tempos and types of lyrics, and singers must be able to know and apply the proper way to form words for their songs. For instance, blues music is pronounced more slurry, hip hop generally has sharper attacks, pop is usually articulated clearer. Musical theater diction usually needs to be very crisp, but if you try to use this kind of diction in a pop song you will sound fake. But ALL songs should be understood, or the connection to the audience is not going to be made well.)
  

• Control sibilance. (Without this, recording your vocal can be a nightmare because too much sibilance hurts the listener's ears! And fixing excessive "s" sounds with de-"ss'ers always limits the quality of sound. A related problem is the popping of "p"s and other consonants. You must be able to control your consonants even while you clearly form them.)
  

• Control dynamic expression. (Without it, you will over-express and sound fake, under-express and bore the listener out of their minds, or bring too many changing emotional levels to the song to sound authentic and really move the heart of your listener. You have to know how to express the emotion of the lyric like a great actor delivering lines that invite an emotional response to the message.)
  

• Control the beginnings and ends of each phrases. (Without it, you will have trouble getting the beginning of the line right. You will drop off the ends of your sentences, robbing the listener of the complete thought. You will also find yourself with a lack of other kinds of control of initiating and ending lines, because you didn't set yourself up properly before entering the phrase or you've dropped your controlling support too early.)
  

• Control rhythm. (Without it, you will not be singing with the groove. You will be too early, too late or have inappropriate placement of lyrics via the beat. Again, different genres ask for different places the lyric should fit with the beat, but you have to know what your genre norms are and have the ability to sing with the beat that way. For instance, hip hop usually has the lyric slightly behind the beat, pop usually right on top of it, gospel and big band "Sinatra" types are flexibly in and around the beat, but you really have to sing with a lot of the masters to get this authentically right.)
  

• Control pitch. (Without it, your engineer will have to tune the vocal too much, resulting in a machinistic, artificial sound. You may be so inconsistent and inaccurate that tuning becomes almost impossible, because the tuner "grabs" the wrong pitch or can't draw the lic well enough to sound natural. Your bended notes may be so far off there is no way to make them sound in tune. Fact: The less you have to tune a vocal, the better. Don't get complacent here and think you can just have your engineer fix it in the mix. You'll be unpleasantly surprised.)
  

Can you think of other types of control issues you've found in the studio? Which of these would you like most to know more about?

Vocal Training: Should We Train the Intellect or the Senses?

There is a point and counterpoint dancing among teachers of voice. Some say it's best to teach the intellect, using facts, logic, the left brain, so to speak. Others say the way to go is to teach the sensory system... with imagery and subjective "feeling" of concepts. Like many, I think the answer lies in the mix. Teaching is always a team sport, and needs the input and energy of both teacher and student to really make a lesson come alive. This becomes especially true in the art and science of teaching voice. Observation of the student as he or she tries to apply teacher's suggestions, insight and creative approaches to problem-solving are vital as factual knowlege of anatomy and effective, healthy and proven effective vocal technique.

I believe it is healthy, protective and empowering at vocal lessons to train on two fronts: Intellectual and sensational.

1. Intellectual vocal training deals with our thinking brain...the hemisphere commonly referred to as "left brain" ... which uses a mathematical and analytical processes to learn a technique such as vocal support.
   
2. Sensory vocal training deals with more abstract "right brain"... more visual and artistic in it's processes... which considers feelings and sensations that go along with ways to do something. Paradox: The sensations our nerves present us with often do not correlate with anatomical movements, i.e. a vocal break is "felt" in the back of the soft palate, but is happening in the larynx. The power of breath, when properly applied, should be "felt" as coming from the pelvic floor instead of the diaphragm or lungs. Consider the phantom limb syndrome, when a felt body part is not really there.

Some reasons both intellectual and sensational training is needed (and I speak from experiential success with my students and clients and my own professional vocal experience) is that both hemispheres are necessary for working the voice. In fact, according to Natasha Mitchell's webpage;

Every single cognitive function has right hemisphere and left hemisphere components. - neuropsychologist Associate Professor Michael Saling

When you use the intellect to understand how your anatomy is supposed to function, you can use the imagery that goes along with sensation to much better effect. You can protect yourself from what your intellect knows is damaging, even if you sense no damage (pushing when you're so used to it you don't even feel it).

But intellectually studying and understanding anatomy is not enough. Case in point: A math geek who understands the science behind throwing a ball might make a poor baseball player due to limited muscle coordination and under-rehearsed (or wrongly repeated) muscle memory.

For sensory training I find it often very effective to find out what physical activity is familiar to my client's body. Many times performing an athletic skill can be correlated to a vocal technique. If the singer plays basketball, golf, baseball, does karate, etc, I can suggest that they power their voice from the same center that they do their physical activity. This unlocks the naturalness of good support without eliminating the necessary effort for breath support and control. At the same time, I teach the student what should be going on vocally, and I call attention to a harmful sensation that might be right in a physical skill, such as tightening the neck and shoulders for dance or weight training.

Even though there is tension involved in low abs, butt & back for breath support, I call it a "power center" instead of a tension center. It is also not like a solid foundational stone; the vocal power center has to change shapes to support our voices, because singing is not static. It is a living, moving thing. It should become so natural to power our voices from this center that one is not aware of even using it. It should feel instead that our voices just resonate out of us, even when we up the volume or scream metal.

This dance of teaching both sides of the brain is a tricky and sometimes sneaky thing. Sometimes I still get puzzled as to where the source of the incorrect tension lies in my student. This is where, as a voice teacher, I find concepts and insights from the Alexander Technique, as well as the Feldenkrais Method, highly useful. When mysterious vocal inabilities don't respond to my usual methods, I try to be creative. I constantly study other reputable teachers' techniques. I am always looking for new ways to defeat vocal challenges. Sometimes it can be as simple as addressing the other side of the amazing brain!

Singers: What To Do When The Flu Is After You

OK, admit it (check title)... I'm a poet!

H1N1, H3H4H5abcdefxy, whatever the name of the dang flu bug trying to jump on you, if you need to use your voice, your fear and justified paranoia is the same. I have it this week; you don't want it. (Don't worry, you can't catch it from a blogpost:) Here are some random thoughts:

1. The best offense is defense. In public right now, assume everything you touch has just been touched by a virus shedder (how's that for a visual?) If you must touch it, don't touch your face until you wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds, or with an alcohol based sanitizer til it dries. In my opinion, grocery store carts would probably be biological wonderlands! I know, ewe.
2. If anyone sneezes or coughs close to you, assume those tiny little droplets drifted towards your mucous membranes and you've been exposed. That's the hard truth. (Read the next tip)
3. If you've been exposed to the flu, try Tamiflu prophylactically (which means for prevention). My doctor and brother-in-law Charlie Ferguson says it may prevent you from getting it or shorten it's severity and duration. The drawbacks...it requires a prescription and it's about $100 a package. Of course, Dr. Ferguson and I would both tell you to consult with and follow your own medical professional's advice. All I know is that it's working great for me.
   
4. If you get the flu, cover your mouth when sneezing or coughing to protect others. Also, use alchohol wipes on surfaces you touch and wash your own bedding (from all that sweating). I'm in the guest room till I'm bug free :<
5. If you have the flu, take Tamiflu, use acetaminophen or ibuprofen for fever reduction, drink lots of fluids and sleep. Trust me, it's all you'll want to do anyway. Also, my sister Pam Hubbard made me some of her precious tonic which I put in tomato or orange juice and makes my throat feel great. For the recipe, click on "Master Tonic" on this page. Correction... use jalapeno peppers instead of ceyenne, sorry bout the mistake. You have to let it steep for a couple of weeks so you might want to make it NOW.
6. When can you go back to work? If you have the flu, CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.) Even if you do go out after this, err on the side of caution and continue covering any cough or sneeze, don't touch people or shake anyone's hand, don't breath in anyone's face, wash your hands frequently, especially after you sneeze or cough on them.
7. And finally...a great site for more information is the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) page here.
   

The flu. Don't panic, singers. But it's out there waiting to get you!

Vocal Training: Change Habits, Then Strengthen Weaknesses

It's so much fun - for both of us - when a student comes to me for the first Power, Path & Performance vocal lesson. There is such an amazing leap in vocal ability that can be made by some simple changes I can suggest from watching a student do "their thing".

The first plateau of vocal training is reached by changing some breath, throat and communication habits, both physically and psychologically. I do this by giving some suggestions, then having the person sing again. When the student can feel (and hear) the difference, I show why these suggestions help, by teaching some basic anatomical principles and putting it all together where the training makes immediate sense.

The student's job will then be to practice these new habits. In this first plateau of vocal training, new habits are effected by choosing to do things a different way, and by correctly doing special exercises designed to develop new muscle memory to connect the mind-body-voice.

The next plateau is reached by gaining strength in vocal and breathing muscles, and coordination among the parts of the whole instrument - which really includes the whole body. This strength can increase the vocalist's ability beyond what was possible to improve at the first vocal lessons.

I'm enjoying watching my more regular students bloom with special exercises to strengthen the breath and coordinating and focusing exercises to enable better bridging of the vocal registers. Some of these exercises are the sirens along the right voice path, bouncing belly breathing staccato runs and paradigm shifts in how to make performance more authentic.

People wonder how vocal training works to improve the voice. I hope this illuminates some of my process. If any of you have thoughts from your experiences, please chime in. I would especially like to know of any frustrations you've had with vocal lessons. This is how all vocal coaches can improve their services... by listening to your feedback.

Considering taking vocal lessons? Contact me here.

Vocal Range... What It Is, How Much Of It You Need To Sing Great

How can you increase your vocal range? It's a question I hear all the time. Many times, this question is uninformed. There's no need to sing in whistle register if you're not doing Maria Carey style vocal runs, or singing the part of "Tony The Tiger" in those commercials. Why people have contests over this eludes me. Here's a more informed question:

How much vocal range do you need?
Answer: You need enough range to sing the songs you want to sing... without straining your voice.

So, if you experience vocal strain or weakness trying to hit the low or high notes in the songs you want to sing, you may indeed need to extend your range. But wait...what does this mean?

Extending vocal range has two meanings, the way I see it.

• Extending voice as low and high as you possibly can without strain.

You do this with vocal exercises designed to work your voice lower in chest voice and higher in head voice or falsetto than you would ever really sing in a song. This is very good for working the vocal apparatus out, flexing and strengthening the vocal muscles and adding to their ability to change the thickness and length of the vocal cords to the extreme. The cardinal rule is that this training and exercising must never be undertaken so far or so fast as to cause vocal cord strain. Ever pulled a hamstring? Can you imagine doing that in your throat? If it hurts it's wrong! As in other athletic endeavors, form is everything, and patience is the key to improvement.

• Extending your middle, or mixed, voice where you will be singing in practical application.
  

This involves vocal exercises that enable the coordination of musculature within the vocal apparatus, so that changing the thickness and length of vocal cords is done with great finesse, which involves such things as the tilting of the thyroid cartilage and the balancing of strength in the thyroarytenoid muscles with that of the crycothyroids. It also involves a lifting of your soft palate. These vocal exercises must be designed to carefully go over the "break" point(s) in your vocal range until they erase that break and your voice blends in one seamless register.
A little understood fact: Extend your ability to mix your chest and head voice registers and it will have the practical application of extending your vocal range when you sing. I used to have the worst break of anyone I've ever heard; Power Path & Performance method cured it.

Hope this helps clarify. If you'd like a vocal lesson to learn safe and effective vocal range extending exercises, let me know.