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: 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.

Singing In Color vs Black & White

I have heard many technically amazing singers who wonder why they don't have record deals or much of a devoted following. Very often, it's because they are singing in black & white instead of color. It makes me sad to hear a technically great vocalist who leaves me numb, and I fear has wasted a lot of energy, time and money. What do I mean?

Black and white singing:

• This is caused by the lack of an authentically communicative face and body language. The eyes are usually rather numb, body language closed off.

• This singer sings everything with the same tone of voice. It can be beautiful, strong, technically flawless but without subtlety of tone, it's just sound with no meaning. This voice may have dynamic changes but they are predictable, not nuanced and fresh. Listening to it you get the feeling that the singer is not present with anything other than the technical aspects of their voice. The connection from the singer and the song to the audience is weak or altogether missing.
  

• This type of singing is common in amateur singers who don't have much live experience with an audience. They don't yet know how to truly connect with people listening to them, thinking their job is to amaze the audience, judges, industry with their vocal ability to hit high notes, long notes, strong notes. And/or they have stage fright issues, fearing any contact they could make with the audience.
  

• Friends and family may attend concerts and buy CDs, the singer may have a small following but the emotional response will not be much. If they continue a black & white approach, the singer usually moves on to other things in life- not to a sustained music career.
  

Color singing:

• This is singing with varying degrees of vocal tone and inflection, as is authentic and appropriate for the meaning of the lyric.

• This singer communicates with eyes, face, hands, body language. They are holistically committed t0 delivering message. Dynamics are sometimes surprising, full of power but also infinitely controlled. There are subtle nuances everywhere, but no "over-acting". The listener gets the feeling the singer is singing directly to them.
  

• This is the sound of the true artist. The goal of such sounds are to cause someone to understand a message, in such a way that they respond with emotion.
  

• People will... 1. pay money for... 2. develop a loyalty to and ... 3. tell others about the experience of being moved in this way. Sometimes this devoted audience is a small niche market, sometimes a mega-market, but there is emotional satisfaction for artist and audience, and if wisely planned and monitored, a financially sustainable career.

Can singing in color be learned? You bet it can! Just like actors can be trained to go deeper into character, artistic singing can be be studied and learned until it is second nature. Some people get it easier than others, but then the question becomes, "how bad do you want it?" Real singing is not for the squeamish. You must commit, heart and soul ... to color!

So have you heard a black & white or color singer somewhere lately? How did that performance hit you?

Vocal Training: Reasons Not To Do It

There are many reasons people choose not to take vocal lessons. In the spirit of good-faith debate, I'd like to offer my rebuttals for some of these reasons I've encountered.

• REASON NOT TO:

It costs too much and I'd rather use the money to hire another musician/mixer/soundman/get hair extensions.

• REBUTTAL:

I would suggest the prime definition of 'The Music Business' as the selling of sound - more accurately: the selling of messages delivered by sound.

We put time, money and effort into care of our musical instruments, computer software, mixing engineers, cranky musicians, managers, attorneys and bus drivers. But the care and feeding of the voice is many times the last on the list.

So... we stay all night up overdubbing studio musicians, rehearsing for our show or hanging out with people after our gig, and at the last minute a nagging thought occurs to us that we should really get some sleep since we've scheduled lead vocals for 10am the next morning...

Then we'll get up too late to eat breakfast so we eat vending machine food and drink cokes for the energy we lack.

When we put together our musical project budget we do not factor in pre-production vocal lessons or a vocal producer, and we book as little studio time as possible to record our vocals (hey, most songs are less than 5 minutes long anyway, how long could it take?!)

We look great but the only vocal contest we could win would be something like the spot on Can You Duet where they needed something truly horrible for viewers to gasp at.

Clearly we need to examine our financial priorities. If you have a vocal career, your voice is your MAIN ASSET.

• REASON NOT TO:

It would take too much time to make a real difference.

• REBUTTAL:

The truth is, with a great coach, ONE HOUR-LONG LESSON can change your life.

If you can't take the time to come in for lessons because of traveling distance, work or family situations, you can train by vocal training materials available such as my Power, Path & Performance CDs. Even if you never take a lesson, by studying the right materials you can radically improve your vocal abilities. You can also take lessons by phone.

• REASON NOT TO:

It will change my natural style.

• REBUTTAL:

From Willie to Andrea, Colby to Carrie, Sting to Stevie, Bonnie to Allison, vocal training should only enhance natural sound and enable your best performance within your chosen style. With the right training...

The sound of your voice is more resonant, highs and lows not weak, strained or hollow, musically multidimensional and dynamic rather than sterile, numb, with everything sung in one color (even if it's a powerful color) eliciting no emotion. This, I believe is a reason American Idol winners seldom go on to any lasting, artistic success.

Your voice also records way better without having to be unduly compressed.

As to your Style: licks and embellishments are more fluid, precise and easy (and actually possible!), ceiling and floor: highs are not strained, lows are not hollow. You voice doesn't crack unless you're yodeling on purpose.

You should not be able to hear 'vocal training' in a performance... only an emotionally connecting delivery of the material. When a voice is straining, the audience experiences the strain. When you are thin, weak, harsh, tight, hooty, your 'natural voice' has unnatural and unnecessary limitations.

• REASON NOT TO:

If people find out, they will think I have vocal problems.

• REBUTTAL:

To protect their investment, I know it's been the policy of some major labels to have new artists get their cords scoped at medical facilities specializing in voice, such as the Vanderbilt Voice Clinic in Nashville, before they will sign them. They consider vocal study evidence of the seriousness of the artist towards their craft.

I get clients from referrals of industry insiders all the time. The 'anti' has been 'upped' as to the general vocal quality required for true commercial success. Vocal training is now the norm instead of the exception for professional working voices. My students are proud of their dedication and have talked about their vocal training in public on many occasions. It's not something to hide under a rock any more.

• REASON NOT TO:

My producer/friend doesn't think I need a vocal coach.

• REBUTTAL:

Most people have no idea how much better a voice can be with training. Vocal ability can be increased dramatically, vocal 'issues' like pitch, tone, control, range, volume, etc. can be dealt with successfully. Hearing the resulting final vocals can truly convert the cynical.

There is also the matter of protecting your most important musical asset from harm!

Have you ever heard of a singer losing his or her career because they lost their voice? One of my student's producers once told him at a frustrating vocal session that he didn't think the artist's voice would ever come back. Now there's a real boost to the confidence! This producer should have sent the artist directly to the best vocal coach he could find. Another young girl's handlers told her mother that her husky young voice was just 'natural for her'! I sent her to Vanderbilt Voice Clinic where she was put on voice rest for a month and told not to sing for a year.

It doesn't take long for the beginnings of damage to occur. This is sobering: you can get the first signs of nodes from just 20 minutes of screaming. The sooner vocal damage is discovered and dealt with, the more likely it can be healed with corrective vocal training instead of surgery or extended, career-interrupting voice rest.

Surprising to almost everyone, with correct vocal training, a voice NEVER has to become strained, baring laryngitis caused by a respiratory infection.

Many times an artist who has done a lot of live performance needs help getting the magic of their live vocals into their studio vocals. It's easy to hit the talk-back button in the control room and tell a singer "give it more passion on this pass", "you're out of tune", "your voice is sounding thin and weak", "I don't believe you yet", etc. The poor singer can be left emotionally, physically and vocally exhausted and experience a loss of confidence. An in-studio vocal coach, also called a vocal producer or consultant, can help even a modestly talented singer get amazingly effective vocals in the studio... and can help a great vocalist maximize studio vocals for commercial hit potential.

If you truly can't afford a vocal producer or consultant, or if your producer's ego would be crushed, at least grab a lesson or two before you go into the studio.

• REASON NOT TO:

I'm just a songwriter... or I've already screwed my voice up to badly... or I'm too old to learn new tricks.

• REBUTTAL:

When your vocal ability increases, you write better songs. The melodies are more interesting, you can focus on better lyrics because it feels good to sing.

As to veteran singers learning something new... I'd already been singing professionally for about 13 years. I got sick and lost 1 & 1/2 octaves. Re-training my voice with Italian Art Songs and then pro coach Gerald Arthur, I got it all back and then some, and then I went on to have a hit career as a recording artist.

• REASON NOT TO:

I don't want to sing. I'm a speaker/actor/teacher/preacher/teleseminar host, not a singer.

• REBUTTAL:

You're using the same voice people sing with!

If you experience vocal fatigue after speaking you need to know that a little vocal training could really help. I've worked with public speakers, preachers, acting coaches and teachers who talk all day... now they never feel strain.

• REASON NOT TO:

I'm as good vocally as I want or need to be in my life, and I'm not experiencing any strain that bothers me.

• REBUTTAL:

I have none. This is the only legitimate reason I can think of!

What are YOUR reasons?