BACK TO SCHOOL!!!

Well, tomorrow is the first day of school for many of you. I know I have a lot of high schoolers going back tomorrow and some college students back tomorrow or next week. What are the feelings you have associated with starting "back" to something? I know many students who take lessons and then need to take a break for one reason or another. The "coming back" seems to be a nervous experience for most.

A few helpful hints when going to (or BACK to) lessons:
*Remember, your voice is with you all the time. And even if you haven't been singing, it is still there to be used and it is unique. No one on earth has, has had, or ever will have a voice like yours.

*Remember, nerves only create tension and tension closes down your ability to sing freely and with flexibility. Before walking into your lesson, take a few deep breaths and remind yourself to relax. You can also do some light stretching, neck and shoulder rolls as well as "shaking off" any tension or nerves.

*Remember how much you LOVE to sing. Remind yourself how it makes you feel to express yourself through music. Think of all the times you were able to release your emotions through a great song. If you need to, before walking into your lesson, sing through a little of your favorite song.

*Remember that this investment will be beneficial to you for the rest of your life. Maybe you will find a lifelong profession in music such as becoming a recording artist or teacher. You may find a paying or non-paying hobby like community theaters or church presentations. Maybe you will sing your children or grandchildren to sleep. You might even find the love of your life through a special song! As long as your voice stays healthy, you can sing at any age, in any circumstance - even if you find yourself in a hospital bed one day, singing can bring relaxation and release. The time and financial investment might weigh on you a little now, but will more than pay for itself when you are able to use music to its fullest potential!

Keep on singing!!!

Vowels, Breathing and Pronunciation - Have Patience! :)

I'm Still Singing!

Well, hello there!

Yes, I am still here, still singing and still teaching. I have been quite busy this past year, so though I am sorry I was not able to update this, I am glad to blame it on being busy with great students!

So, what's on my mind? Nothing technical. I'm actually thinking about all of you. If you watched any of the show "Why Not? With Shania Twain," you probably noticed that what happens with you personally can truly affect you musically.

I'll leave you with a simple word. Think about yourself. Think about your life. Is there anything tragic now or from the past that haunts you and keeps you from becoming what you are meant to be? What is it? What emotions does it bring up? What physical reactions does it bring up when you sing? Write down your thoughts. Make an action plan. Get some input, maybe some counsel or coaching, and get some support. No man is an island - we all need people to help us be better people. Be free to move. Staying where you are will keep you from becoming. Then.....sing. Sing, sing, sing! The more you use your body, mind and spirit in cooperation, the more you will become the most authentic and purposeful version of you!

Do you have questions - abstract or concrete - about singing or music? Feel free to comment here. I WILL be checking in.

believing in you - your coach,

rachel

EMOTIONS

The latest poll proved what one might suspect - your favorite aspect of singing is the emotion! Ahhh, me too! It's an odd thing though, most of us enjoy the emotional expression, but when it comes down to it, we tend to hold back. And any audience can pick up on a performance that is lacking in emotion or even one that is overly dramatic. So, how do you maintain control of all the technique and still emote effectively?

I don't have a simple checklist for this one. This is a very personal aspect of singing. But there are a few things you want to keep in mind:

- the audience wants to feel something

- the audience will NOT receive if you have nothing to give

- constantly closing your eyes is a way to close yourself off from your audience and have a personal experience without allowing them to participate

- the audience will feel offended if there is too much drama and not enough technique to accompany it

A concept I tend to use is the internalization/externalization method of expression. This means that first, you must know what your lyrics mean and what emotions you personally can attach to those words. Try to find a way to personally connect with the music for your own emotions. When you truly connect with your own feelings attached to the song and "LIVE" that moment, your body will automatically respond to your inner emotions and outwardly express what you inwardly feel. In addition, remember to use your eyes as tools of expression and find faces to look into in an attempt to externalize or "give off" the same emotion to your audience.

Take note, if you are not accustomed to outwardly showing your feelings or "opening up," performance might be one of your most difficult tasks. Don't be afraid to cry, or laugh, to get angry or excited as you practice, but practice lots so that those emotions don't override your technical ability. Technique and performance are best as balanced equals.

Breathing Warm-Ups

Breathing is probably one of the most important parts to singing, yet many times one of the most neglected. Here are some warm-ups you can do to increase lung capacity and strengthen muscles that support your breathing.

1. Stretches -

a. Clasp your hands with your fingers intertwined out in front of you. Turn your palms outwards. Stretch arms forward and take deep breaths. This should stretch out the intercostal muscles of your back and as you breathe you should feel your back "expand."

b. Clasp your hands with your fingers intertwined behind your back. Turn your palms to the floor. Stretch arms back and take deep breaths. This should stretch out the intercostal muscles of your chest and as you breathe you should feel your chest "expand."

2. Ab Toning -

a. Laying flat on the floor with your knees slightly bent and your hands cradling (NOT pulling) your head, crunch upwards. Ab crunches can truly strengthen and tone the muscles needed for support of your sound.

3. Breathing -

a. While sitting or standing in a tall position, take deep breaths in. The inhalation should make your lungs fill in the LONG, downward position which in turn will make the belly "pooch" outwards. (Note: Your shoulders should NOT move when inhaling.)

b. After taking a deep breath in, allow it out through a very small circular opening in your mouth while contracting your abs. (Hint: It feels like you're blowing up a balloon.)

c. After taking a deep breath in, "punch" it out through your mouth with a quick and strong contraction of your ab muscles. (Hint: It feels like someone punched you in the stomach.)

d. Count in your mind from 1 to 10 and back to 1. First count quickly and each time you start over count a bit more slowly. While ascending in the numbers (1-10), inhale. While descending in the numbers (10-1), exhale. Each time you arrive at 1, you should immediately start the next count. Beginning with quick numbers and slightly slowing down at each repetition means your lungs are being forced to fill with more air (in other words, it takes more time to inhale and exhale) which stretches your lungs and diaphragm.

e. After a few of these breathing exercises, feel free to repeated them while singing any given COMFORTABLE note. The note should be in your mid-range.

f. After becoming more comfortable with these exercises, try regular melodic warm-ups (such as going up and down, i.e. 123454321 or Do Re Mi Fa So Fa Mi Re Do) while singing the syllable "Ha" on each note. Make sure the "H" is a HARD "h" where you hear air escaping because of a quick contraction of the ab muscles. You can also substitute other vowel sounds, such as: "He, Hih, Hee, Hoh, Hoo."

VOWELS AND PLACEMENT

In my last post, I wrote about bright and dark placements. I want to expand on placement a bit to the concept of "vowel placement."

Vowels and combinations of vowels (diphthongs) are usually categorized in two basic categories:

vibration of sound created by placement of tongue - forward, central or back

position of jaw - closed, mid and open

(a third sub-category is also lip shaping)

Most vowels lend themselves to a certain placement, but the most common English vowels are:

A (as in day) = diphthong (moves positions from central mid to forward closed)

A ( as in bad) - forward open

Ah (as in father) - back open

E (as in see) - forward closed

Eh (as in fed) - forward mid

I (as in fight) =diphthong (moves positions from back open to back closed)

Ih (as in sit) - forward closed

O (as in fought) - back open

Oh (as in pole) - back mid

Ooo (as in too) - back closed

U (as in cute) - back closed

Uh (as in puddle) - central mid

Practicing placement can help to get a more specific idea of where sounds are being created in your mouth as well as which sounds are the best for your overall quality. It helps to look at the piece of music you are singing to pick up on which sounds will be "nice quality" sounds and which ones you might have to spend a little more time on.

Back open vowels give nice, round sounds. Closed sounds can be more directed, while closed forward sounds feel more pointed - like an arrow with a specific bull's eye. Central mid sounds tend to be the most difficult to hold on to and keep a good quality.

HELPFUL HINT: Make sure you SOUND OUT your vowel completely, because the written vowel might make you think it has one sound, but sung actually has another. Diphthongs are infamous for this - a combination of vowel sounds.

For example: the word "night" does not only have an "i." When singing this long note, you can take advantage o the "ah" and add the"ee" sound at the very end of the note. This will create a much nicer, more open, thick and powerful sound.

Forward/Bright vs. Back/Dark

REMEMBER: You can still vote in the poll on the right-hand side!

Even though your mouth might seem like a very small cavity to you, the effects of its positioning on your sound can create hundreds of differences. Depending on how open or closed, rounded or flat, the position of your tongue and all the myriads of slight variations on those can truly take you from one sound to another. I will touch on 2 extremes here.

Forward/Bright:

A forward or bright sound is one that resonates more around the lip area. An extreme version of it would be to imitate a young child. You can also practice it by pursing your lips and singing: "ooo" as in the word "you." You'll hear it very obviously and in higher pitches, it can be almost an "in your face" sound. The forward/bright sound happens most often when the mouth is more closed and can be hightened by the tongue raising in the back and lowering close to the teeth (touching the tip of the tongue to the roots of the bottom teeth). Some singers even push the bottom of the jaw bone a bit forward to get an even brighter sound.

Back/Dark:

A back or dark sound is one that is created more towards the back of your mouth close to the throat. An extreme version of it would be what I refer to as the "Kermit the Frog voice." This extreme sounds very "cartoonish." This voice resonates toward the back almost going "down" the throat. You can practice a more back/dark sound by opening wide and singing "ahhhh" as in the word "father." And, depending on the positioning of your tongue, you can make it a more "open dark" sound or a "closed dark" sound which is sometimes referred to as "velar" or "glottal."

(photo taken from: http://www.zompist.com/kitlong.html)

Of course, the positioning of the tongue, jaw and soft palate greatly affect the sound. And there is neither a good or bad in these 2 categories - the one most desirable highly depends on the type of voice the singer already has as well as the genre of music, vocal category, and performance style.

It's always good to have another GOOD "set of ears" listening to your sound and giving you feedback on what kind of sound you have and/or need (i.e. dark/back vs. light/forward). Since the singer hears their voice within the confines of their own skeletal structure, someone else hearing the "real" voice should be able to assist the singer in recognizing what is actually amplified on the outside. Vocal coaches should not only give advice, but be trained listeners to be able to instruct based on the reality of the sound.

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