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An insane amount of work goes into making a performance look easy. Whenever an artist performs there is a lot of preparation that goes into the performance. People want to hear a singer or pianist who will make it sound easy. The words and notes need to flow out from them effortlessly in a natural way. This helps the listener feel relaxed. If the singer is straining their vocal cords and throat, or a pianist is trying too hard playing…

There are different ways to add variety and create your own sound when you sing or play the piano. If you use inflections, dynamics, accents, staccatos and emotion into your performance it takes you to a whole new level. If you are singing or playing in a band, timing is essential! For voice using inflections is related to a change in pitch or tone; the rise and fall of a singer’s pitch. Adding inflection into your singing voice adds variety…

When you begin to sing, you will inhale causing the diaphragm muscles to constrict, which causes the lungs to expand and fill up with air. As you exhale, the diaphragm muscles contract causing increased pressure and creating a vibration of the vocal cords (folds). The exhaled breath is then forced out of the lungs along the trachea, passing through the vocal cords, which are capable of vibrating at an incredibly fast rate. For singing to exist, the vocal cords must…

A chord is also called a triad, which is typically a group or a set of three (or more) notes played simultaneously. A chord can be three notes or more, whereas a triad is always three notes arranged in thirds. Any chord can be inverted, when you arranged a chord in a different order it’s called an inversion. What is an inversion? Webster’s Dictionary defines it as “the process or result of changing or reversing the relative positions of the…

Diction is the art of speaking (rap) or singing so that each word is clearly heard. It is the way in which you enunciate our words as you sing them. Good diction includes the accent, inflection, intonation and the sound; how you sing your vowels sounds and close out your words. Closing out words is very important. For instance, “important” people tend to leave off the “t” at the end. Another word “listen,” make sure you enunciate the last letter…

A motif is the smallest possible group of notes encapsulating an idea or theme. A motif is a molecule of music, reoccurring throughout the song in different variations. It may have melodic (melody), harmonic (harmonies), and/or rhythmic aspects to the music phrase. A motif can be played on a piano, sung by a singer or played with other instruments. A composer will use a motif to build a larger piece of music by duplicating, modifying and combining it with other…

This method is basically a way to learn how to write a song by using a “template” guide. Choose one of your favorite songs and use it as a template to build and write your own song. Learning from successful songwriters will give you a good understanding of the process. This method is to help you put a song together and to get your creativity juices flowing. You will begin by taking the song apart. You want to figure out…

Your voice is your calling card; it has the power to communicate confidence and emotion in your singing. Your singing voice can make you sound like a professional singer or a nervous Nellie. Have you ever had someone comment “you have good tone?” The tone of your voice is the unique sound, color and timbre qualities that give you a distinctly different sound than anyone else. It is the overall sound of your voice. For example, Joe Cocker had a…

It helps to understand how all the pieces fit together and what is going on inside your body when you sing is amazing. Singing is the air flow from exhaling breath as it passes over the vocal cords. The air flow causes the vocal cords to vibrate and the sound is the made louder and modified by the resonance spaces located in the mouth, throat and behind the nose. There are three basic elements to produce sound when singing: air…

To put emotion into your singing or playing piano, you must feel the emotion yourself. Whether it’s joy, sadness, longing, pain, love, etc., you must feel it in order to release it to others. For a singer or pianist, it could be the music or the lyrics that draws you in or it could be both. Have you ever listened to a song and the music moved you. Then you found out what the lyrics were saying and thought “wow,…