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The mark of a weak singer is lack of control with your breath which creates weakness and feebleness in the voice. To strengthen your breath support is easy to do. Having a solid support system when you sing lets you produce clear and solid notes without any wavering. It’s not about inhaling enough air, it’s about controlling the air as you release it to sing. That’s all it is, controlling the release of air. This does involve all the muscles…

There are five important things to do when you are preparing to sing. Whether it’s a gig, choir, theater or just a singing lesson. You want your vocal cords and muscles in your throat to be in tip top shape! Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth. This gives the air a chance to warm up and moisturize before hitting your larynx and lungs. Do not lose body heat. 70-80% of body heat-loss happens through the neck…

There is nothing more exciting than a state of “flow” when you are singing or playing the piano. This happens when your inspiration and hard work align. Playing or singing the right notes can make or break your performance. Do you make the same mistakes in a song? Hit the wrong notes it that specific place over and over? Whether it’s singing through a section of notes that move from one register to another or playing a few measures in…

One of the most important characteristics of a singer is vocal control and the ability to listen to yourself and sing “on pitch” (singing right on the note)! A good voice embodies fine technique, which requires you to sing notes with good pitch, not singing a little higher (sharp) or lower (flat). If you have ever heard someone sing and thought, they can’t sing. That’s because they are not on the note, they are flat or sharp. From time to…

Singing and accompanying yourself by playing piano time takes practice. It can be hard because you are multitasking, doing both at the same time. The key is to understand the chords you are playing on the piano. There are many ways you can do it. The simplest way to come up with your own version is by pulling up the chord on Ultimate Guitar Chords or another website that will give you the chords for the song. Make sure it…

Have you ever watched Billy Joel perform? As he sings and plays piano at the same time, it seems so effortless. But behind the scenes it takes an enormous amount of time and practice to master that accomplished performance. It’s very easy to lose concentration on one, while focusing on the other. It’s a delicate dance trying to focus on your voice and playing the right notes on the piano simultaneously. Mastering this skill will take plenty of practice. The…

Many artists have jumpstarted their careers by singing a hit song from another artist. In order to really do the song justice, you have to make it better than the original version. That is not so easy to do! How to make a song your own and really make it pop? You can start by choosing a song you love and know well. Now choose two of your favorite artists (Christina Aguilera and Ariana Grande). Let’s use Sam Smith’s song…

A good hook is the high point of a well-crafted song. It should be the capstone of the melody and lyric. The hook is normally the title of a song. It is usually repeated in the chorus and sometimes placed in the first or last line of a song.  For instance, Stevie Wonder’s song “Superstition” has the hook in the title, melody and lyrical hook as well. The hook can be the answer to all of the verse questions. As…

Voices are as distinct as a person’s face. Every voice is uniquely different and no voice is exactly alike. The vocal acoustics can be described as the attributes and qualities of a voice. It’s also the way sound is transmitted from it. A singer should use the natural acoustic properties of their voice to sing louder and resonant in a performance. The vocal qualities are affected by the harmonic structure, frequency vibration of the vocal folds (cords), timbre, power and…

A singer’s vocal tone is like wine, there is a variety of ways to describe them. There is no wrong way to describe your vocal tone. Every singer’s voice has their own unique color and quality of that tone. It’s a distinctly different “something” that sets your voice apart from others. There are all kinds of vocal tone types. The color of a voice’s tone can be bright, light, dark or brassy. There are voice types like: baritone, tenor, alto,…