Helpful Article #02

Singing Techniques - Facial Expressions Can Hinder Your Singing
By Al Koehn

Did you ever notice how easy it seems for good singers? Even when they are singing loud rock songs or the big endings of pop or country songs, it almost seems like they are just acting like they are working hard to produce the volume or high notes. That's because much of how they look is actually acting.
They really aren't pushing and shoving nearly as much as they try to make you believe Much of what they are doing is for show.

Audiences are very perceptive when it comes to recognizing whether a singer is having to strain and stress, or whether he is in complete control of the song. The singer who actually has to push, shove and strain is subconsciously labeled an amateur by the average listener. The audience may not know why, but they can feel that this singer isn't very good.
I'm going to list and discuss a few of the causes of the singer having to work too hard.

1. The song is simply too high or low in range for them to handle well. Much of the time this can be solved by choosing the right key, but all too often singers perform songs they just shouldn't be singing in public. At least not until they've increased their range, etc. through working with a voice teacher or a recorded singing course.

2. The singer should be practicing the song WITHOUT USING ANY FACIAL EXPRESSION. This also applies to any vocal warmups or exercises they may be working with. Nothing you do with your facial and throat muscles is going to help your singing. In fact such muscle activities get in the way of all aspects of good singing.

Does this mean you should never perform using facial expressions? Of course not. But consider the guitar or piano player whose facial expressions mirror their emotions. Do they really need those expressions to play better?

3. Poor inhalation and breathing techniques are prime causes of the singer having to push and strain. Breath is your singing fuel. Just as good driving habits can save fuel (keeping the speed down, not gunning the motor, etc.), so good breathing techniques can save singing fuel and put it to better uses. Do some research, and you will find a treasure of information on good breathing techniques.

4. Stay in good physical shape, and eat right. The stuff you put in your body has a direct bearing on how well, and how easily you sing. Think about this: your body is your instrument. No other musicians can claim this. The guitar player is not the guitar, the sax player is not the sax. But you are your voice. Take care of your instrument.

5. Don't take your work, family and other stresses to performances. If you really get into the songs there will be no room for other thoughts. Keep your thoughts and emotions where they should be: in your song and performance.

If you feel you are having to stress and strain your voice, you are, and the audience can tell.

Want to learn more easy techniques to improve your singing? Download my powerful new FREE eBook: "TIPS & TOOLS FOR ALL SINGERS" at: http://vocalvision.com/ebook1

Al Koehn is a nationally recognized voice teacher, known for achieving amazing results with simple and highly effective techniques.

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Helpful Article #01

Singing Lessons - How To Get The Most Out Of Them
By Aaron Lim

Singing lessons are very useful for those of us who love to sing and would like to improve our vocal technique as well as our overall pitch and rhythm sense. However, some singing students may be a little overwhelmed whenever they attend lessons, and may not know how to best make use of the time that they have with their vocal coach or singing instructor!

Here are some important tips for all singing students, so that you will be able to make the most out of your singing lessons, and be able to improve quickly in your singing and vocal technique:

Get A Good Vocal Coach

For your vocal lessons to be genuinely useful to you in developing a better singing voice, you will need an experienced vocal coach who is able to 'diagnose' your voice and know exactly what exercises you will need in order to improve your singing! For example, you may need more exercises to strengthen your chest voice, or more pitching or rhythm training, or even some basic lessons in pronunciation and diction. Your vocal coach should be able to tell you what you need, and be able to communicate these ideas to your clearly!

Always Come Prepared For Lessons

Every singing lesson is an opportunity for you to talk to an expert in singing and to learn as much as you can from your vocal coach! So, always come prepared with questions that you may have had during the past week or are genuinely curious about. This will show your vocal coach that you are motivated about learning how to sing, and he or she will be more inclined to teach you even more! Your instructor will also be able to understand better what are your main concerns and how best to answer them so that you will be able to improve even more!

Practice, Practice and More Practice

Make sure you practice whatever vocal drills or pitching exercises that your singing instructor has given you during the singing lessons. Learning how to sing is just like learning how to play any musical instrument, and as with any instrument, practice is absolutely essential if we want to improve in our playing or singing skills! Also, pay attention to how you practiced during your lesson with your vocal instructor so that when you practice at home, you know how to do it correctly and certainly not inadvertently harm your voice during your self-practice!

Be Patient

Learning how to sing well takes some time and effort, and certainly does not happen overnight. Just like how it takes a piano player many years before he or she is able to be great at playing the piano, so it will also take us a certain period of time before we are able to master our singing voice! Even professional singers take regular singing lessons to keep their voices in top form, and to keep improving in their vocal technique!
One reason for a longer learning curve is because our voice learns through what we call 'muscle memory'. Many of the functions of our vocal cords and voice box are involuntary reflexes that we cannot control consciously. In order for us to correct our singing habits, we need to practice positive reinforcement through muscle memory, using the correct singing methods often so that our voice and our brain remembers them and uses them each time we sing!

Enjoy The Learning Process

One great thing about singing is that it is fun and enjoyable even during proper lessons, and we would certainly be able to enjoy the learning process that we must go through in order to get a better singing voice! Once we accept the long learning process, we will certainly be more relaxed during our lessons and be able to improve our voice even more! It is a virtuous cycle that singing students will be able to benefit from with the correct mindset and attitude.

With these important pointers in mind each time we attend our singing lessons, we will certainly be able to get the most out of our lessons and achieve a great singing voice through practice and patience!

Singapore-born Aaron Lim has been a Vocal Coach for the past 8 years, and has taught a variety of vocal students ranging from teenagers to mature adults. He is the founder of an online singing guide: http://www.your-personal-singing-guide.com , which provides a wealth of resources and tips available for any singer! Find out everything you want to learn about singing from this useful and comprehensive website!

Aaron is also the director of Intune Music School, a dynamic and vibrant music school in Singapore that provides professional music programmes in singing, songwriting, keyboard and guitar sing and play, music arrangement and audio engineering! Find out more by visiting the school website at: http://www.intunemusic.com.sg

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The importance of sounding you

Okay, now I'm going to pass on to you a little piece of wisdom that has been taught to me so many times by teachers and online material that it has turned into a preset mentality and expectation of mine.

You have gotta sound like you when you are singing!

"Duh," you might say, but you'd be surprised how so many people manipulate their voices while singing, to the point where they don't even notice it anymore. It's a little sad, to be honest.

Have you ever heard the saying,

"Copycats will never be number one,"?

Especially if that particular style you're trying to imitate was created or made famous by a great artiste, copying it may bring you closer to that singer emotionally, but it's going to be really hard to succeed as a singer that way. You have a unique voice of your own, a one-of-a-kind combination of your physiology, personality, predispositions, sense of style, habits, even a native accents etc.. Use it to chart your own territory in the music world! Don't trap yourself in someone else' shadow.

Let OTHERS copy you! Be the one leading the trend!

Still, while that's all well and good, how does one know if he or she is singing with their unique voice? That's simple. We have already covered that in our first post. If you're singing the same way you speak naturally, that should be your own voice that you're using. It's important that you get a vocal coach to help you with that, just to be safe.

It takes a little practice, but over time, if you have seen enough vocal lessons and heard enough singing from professionals with sound vocal technique, yours ears will learn to anticipate a person's singing voice from his or her speaking voice. I don't know how, but I'm somehow able to tell if a person isn't using his or her natural singing voice. My guess would be that if one is imitating another singer, apart from him or her sounding strikingly similar to the original, there tends to be inconsistencies in the tone as the singer goes up and down their vocal range. And of course, the sound of a strained or tense voice on top of that just confirms suspicions, lol.

Hmmmm, what do you think?