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DEVELOP VOCAL VARIETY WHEN YOU SING! The singing voice needs to have a few areas working well to sound great! You never want to put your audience to sleep with a boring singing voice. As a singer, you want your voice to stand out and have people take notice. You are more likely to keep the audience’s attention with the use of natural vocal variety. Vocal variety happens naturally is you are really passionate and connect to a song. Singing…

Vibrato is a musical effect from an instrument or a voice. It is a technique used to add expression to a piece of music. Vibrato is the rhythmic pulsation, vibration and/or bending a pitch (note). If you are not able to use vibrato when you sing, you can develop it. Vibrato can happen very naturally with a singer. If it doesn’t happen naturally, it can be a learned technique. There are two ways to hold a note, with vibrato or…

Listening to great music is something everyone loves to do! When you listen to a great song, try not to move your body. This is so unnatural your body wants to move to the beat. Keeping a certain posture when you sing is really counter-productive to what you want to accomplish as an artist. You need to be physically and emotionally invested to create a great performance. In order to really sing a song with soul, emotion and feelings, you…

When I’m working with a client, I will do a few vocal exercise warm ups. This tells me how high and low a person can sing. There have been many occasions where a client will tell me I cannot hit a certain note in a song. But I know they can because they hit the same note in their vocal exercises many times. Why do some notes seem higher than they really are in a song? Well, the artist in…

When a singer works on a cover song, it’s important to change it up, add your own spin on it and make it your own. I teach my clients how to put their own unique spin on a song. Putting your own spin on a song will take a little time and creativity. The more you do it the easier it becomes. Here are three steps to help you make a song your own. First, you can change the original…

There are three basic elements to produce a quality singing voice: air supply (breath support), phrasing and resonance. The amount of air-flow and pressure passing through the larynx will determine the strength, loudness and control of the voice. The first step is air pressure (breath support which is the controlled release of the air) and it is converted into vibration, which is called phonation. As the air passes through the vocal tract and the air pressure causes vibration. This breath…

Many singers struggle to make the distinction between speech sounds and correctly singing resonance, resulting in a lack of resonance and other issues such as strain, tension and a lack of range.  Resonance in singing is the true key to vocal health, along with allowing a powerful and sustained vocal tone. Resonance can be defined loosely as prolonged vibration and continuous resonant frequency. It is the intensity and quality of your tone when you sing. When your vocal cords vibrate,…

Why are there double sharps and flats in music? Double sharps and flats are used in advanced music. The double sharp looks like an X and the double flat are two flat signs bb. Why can’t you just call it by the note you are playing. For instance, “F double sharp,” why not call it G instead of “F double sharp?” It has to do with the diatonic nature of the music that is in a specific key. This means…

The voice box is also called the larynx which controls your breathing, swallowing and singing. The voice box is a tube-shaped organ in the neck. It is part of the respiratory or breathing tract and actually houses the vocal folds (cords). It is called the voice box because it houses the vocal cords. When you sing, you want the air to flow freely through the voice box and not be restricted by muscles trying to close the airway. When you…

Your stylistic choice will determine your phrasing. Your ultimate goal is to be able to sing and play the song the way you feel the song. This gives you the ability to communicate the song and evoke those feelings to your listeners The voice is one of the most expressive instruments. Good musical phrasing and shaping of the words create a very unique sound. What does it mean to phrase each line? It means the singer is shaping each word,…