Trouble Singing? Breathing Creatively Will Help

Having problems singing? Breathing may be the first issue you want to examine.

We all know that we need to move some air in order to sing, but why are the particulars so important? What's the big deal with breathing? You would think since you've been doing this on your own from the moment you were born, you would have it down by now.

You can use your mind to direct the incoming air flow into almost any part of your body. But in order to do that, you need to exercise your imagination and be well acquainted with your body. You would be amazed at how elusive these two disciplines can be to some people.

Many of my new-to-singing students appear to never have been properly introduced to their own bodies. "Joe, meet your body." "Body, this is Joe." They seem to have little conscious control and a serious paucity of imagination. Not surprisingly, athletes and dancers are among those who seem to relate most quickly to the concept of specific singing breathing.

Now you might ask why this matters. It matters because wherever you imagine your air reservoir to be in your body, is where you will tighten to push the air back out again when you are singing. Breathing high up into your neck and shoulders forces you to tighten your throat to push out the air in order to sing.

Try this: put your thumb on your navel and imagine a ping pong ball resting just below that. This is your target area -- the reservoir that will hold your air. Direct the air flow down as low as you can without actively pulling it in. It should still be part of your torso.

An important word of caution: Don't ever fill your lungs with air. Never let them fill beyond your resting capacity. When you fill past that point, you must tighten your throat like a throttle valve to hold the air in. The more air you build up, the more your throat will tighten. The effect this has on a singer's tone and pitch can only be negative. How much easier it is to simply open your throat and let the air fall into your lower abdominal area.

We put the air there so we can utilize the strong muscles of your lower body to push the air back out again for easy, free, singing breathing. It's not so hard. Simply say "hello" to your body and use your imagination.

  

Nashville vocal coach Renee Grant-Williams reveals the trade secrets that have already helped hundreds of aspiring singers become celebrities: Tim McGraw, Martina McBride, Dixie Chicks, Miley Cyrus, Huey Lewis, Kenny Chesney, Faith Hill, Jason Aldean, Christina Aguilera...

Check out this video on Passive Breathing.

Like me on Facebook at or follow me on Twitter @MyVoiceCoach. My blog can be found at MyVoiceCoachBlog.com.

Go to CyberVoiceStudio.com and sign up to receive my free weekly Video Voice Lessons.

For more information go to MyVoiceCoach.com or call 615.244.3280 to schedule a private voice session in person, by telephone or by Skype.

Wishing everyone Happy Holidays!
Renee
If you are looking for that last-minute gift
for the singer in your life check out my
Free Video Voice Lessons.

Free Singing Online Lessons - Good Idea or Futile Fantasy?

Free singing online lessons initially sound like a perfectly sane concept. And indeed, they could be just the thing for those singers who don't have easy access to an urban center teeming with singing coaches. These singers are forced to reach out beyond their home base in order to find good vocal teachers.

On the singer's side of the equation, we know the price for free singing online lessons is right. Free is free, after all. Voice lessons are expensive and not all aspiring singers are living on a trust fund. So maybe free singing online lessons could be a solution to the problem of finding inexpensive voice training?

Maybe...

Let's start with the discipline issue. Not everyone is a totally motivated self-starter. Learning in a vacuum via a one-way communication may not be the most realistic approach for many of us. When you have little accountability and no pressure to demonstrate progress, it's easy to lose focus and commitment. However, you could probably use online singing lessons to good advantage if your obsession with music is sufficient.

There is also the question of which system to use. Concepts of technique and training vary widely (and wildly) from voice teacher to voice teacher. And you can bet there are about as many types of free singing online lessons as there are people to teach them. How do you know which is right for you? Yes, they are free, but you are the one who will be making a personal investment of your time -- something many of us value more than money.

As you search for a free singing online vocal guru, find out the following:

            What formal musical education they have had

            What professional experience they have had

            Whether they are used to working with beginners or professionals

            If they can describe their philosophy of learning with clarity

            If they can point to successful clients they have trained

            Whether they have endorsers who are available to speak to you

And from your personal perspective, try to define your level of commitment:

            Will you truly make time to give the lessons a chance

            How you will avoid simply collecting a mish-mash of conflicting ideas

            How you will evaluate your progress

            How you will find and build a relationship with a musical mentor

            Whether you will actually value and use something that is free

Because I travel a lot, I often find myself in the company of strangers who come to learn through conversation that I do vocal teaching. Inevitably they have questions they want to ask. I used to answer their questions freely. But, you know what? They would invariably argue with me.

So I took a new stance. Now I tell them that I would be happy to answer their question, but that first, could they give me 50 cents? Or a quarter. Or a dollar. Something -- anything -- that would put me in the professional position of "teacher." Once money changes hands, people rarely argue with what I have to say.

You will need to evaluate your level of commitment. There are few totally free lunches to be had. Free singing online lessons may be the perfect plan for highly-motivated individuals, but the rest of us should look out for the slippery slope on the down-side. Good learning cries out for a balanced synergy of student and vocal coach.

 

Nashville vocal coach Renee Grant-Williams reveals the trade secrets that have already helped hundreds of aspiring singers become celebrities: Tim McGraw, Martina McBride, Dixie Chicks, Miley Cyrus, Huey Lewis, Kenny Chesney, Faith Hill, Jason Aldean, Christina Aguilera...

Like me on Facebook at or follow me on Twitter @MyVoiceCoach. My blog can be found at MyVoiceCoachBlog.com.

Go to CyberVoiceStudio.com and sign up to receive my free weekly Video Voice Lessons.

For more information go to MyVoiceCoach.com or call 615.244.3280 to schedule a private voice session in person, by telephone or by Skype.

Vocal Ranges - Coach Has Tips for High Notes

Concerns about vocal ranges are not to be taken lightly. A singer's high notes are like gold -- they're the singer's "bling." But they often come at a cost; a singer can't simply take them for granted. They must be planned in advance so these notes at the far end of normal vocal ranges can be executed with precision. Here are five tips that will help ensure that both the high and low notes hit the jackpot.

Set up the high note with an early consonant.

In order to sing the vowel of the word where it belongs, which is directly on the beat, you must sing the consonant before the word, during part of the time space of the previous word. And also, you must sing the consonant on the pitch of the word before the top note. It is especially important to make the articulation of the consonants very rhythmic.

Go a little early to the high notes.

When you are faced with a high note, don’t come to a pause and hesitate while you gather up your strength. Slowing down is the worst strategy here. Instead, sing the note right on the front side of the beat. Let the music carry you up. It gives your top notes "loft."

Try simply speaking the uppermost note.

Often you will encounter what I call a “pop-up” note. This is a short top-of-the-arc high note that returns immediately to a lower register. Most singers tend to make even these short notes a destination. They aim for the high note and sing it way too loud and way too long.

This high note is not the destination. You are just passing through it and the less fuss you make of it the better. So why not imagine you are speaking it, instead of singing it? The mind is a powerful force when you sing and, as strange as it sounds, sometimes if you imagine you are speaking, the top note will just pop out easily -- and right on pitch.

A note about low notes.

Don't forget about the low notes. As you stretch the boundaries of your vocal ranges, you will see that many of the little techniques I use on the upper range notes work equally well on the low notes. It's especially important to go early to the low notes and equally important to imagine you are singing in your speaking voice.

Bonus tip for the highs and lows.

When you are at the extremes of your vocal ranges, special tricks come into play even more. Here's one you can use -- but, please, use it sparingly. As you are about to land on a high note, shift your jaw inward, like a like a buck-toothed rabbit. Execute the note(s) and return your jaw to a normal relaxed position. For a low note, try the opposite. As you approach the note, jut your jaw forward slightly, as if to catch the note in a basket as it falls. And, of course, return to normal.

But, as always, support is the magic bullet. So dig into those legs and dip even lower as your vocal ranges expand.

 

Nashville vocal coach Renee Grant-Williams reveals the trade secrets that have already helped hundreds of aspiring singers become celebrities: Tim McGraw, Martina McBride, Dixie Chicks, Miley Cyrus, Huey Lewis, Kenny Chesney, Faith Hill, Jason Aldean, Christina Aguilera...

Like me on Facebook at or follow me on Twitter @MyVoiceCoach. My blog can be found at MyVoiceCoachBlog.com.

Go to CyberVoiceStudio.com and sign up to receive my free weekly Video Voice Lessons.

 
For more information go to MyVoiceCoach.com or call 615.244.3280 to schedule a private voice session in person, by telephone or by Skype.