Confused by varying vocal techniques? - 10 tips to evaluating which vocal technique is right for you.

As a voice teacher for over seventeen years, I’ve had a lot of singers confide in me about their confusion on vocal technique.  How are they supposed to know as novices of the voice what singing technique and voice teacher to study with?

I may be a bit of an odd bird in the vocal teaching profession with my views on this subject, because I often find that I like many different types of singing, styles, genres, even techniques.  I may be solid on my own teaching ways but I appreciate that every voice and singer is different, and different techniques and variations there upon work for different people.

All I care about it that the final outcome is healthy singing- the variations in which to get there are all interesting to me as well as inspirational.  There are many teachers that are extreme about their opinion on their own technique being the only option period, which can be a tough bit of brain washing on the novice singer who may not be getting the results they want from their training, but yet are afraid to try anything else that their current teachers may have told them is awful.

Vocal technique is the way in which you produce your sound.  There are different schools of thoughts and teachings on the “ultimate technique”.  Some push out the diaphragm and lock, others try and hold the larynx down, some want you to sing through a ‘honk’ ( a nasal resonator), others build off of a belt or head voice, some teachers tell you to do sit ups to strengthen your support, while others think sit ups will lock in your muscles and hold in your sound, some people like a dark sound, or a warm sound, others only want to hear a bright voice that pokes out at you like a pin, sometimes people use covered vowels to attain vocal beauty throwing away diction for the sake of sound while others do the opposite for the sake of diction.

It is all very overwhelming, and no matter what you choose to do, there will probably always be someone out there judging your technique and thinking you could be singing better if you studied with them or their teacher.  It is actually a real bummer that singers are put through all this pressure to make the correct decisions for their technique and teacher, it really can effect their own future in singing.  If you are studying voice in a college and you do not get put with “the right vocal teacher”, you can often times miss out opportunities ( I’ve seen it happen).  ”Well, how do I handle this and what choices do I make?”, you may be asking.

Rather then look at all these techniques as black and white, think of them in shades of gray.  What works great for one voice and one body may not be good for you or vice-versa.  You also may need to pull a few concepts from different sources to blend the perfect “technique cocktail” for your voice.

Someone with a natural forward placement in sound may do much better with a certain teacher then a warm toned voiced person.  TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS!  You will never please everyone.  The sooner you as a singer stand up for your voice and figure out what You Need for it, the less of a student and more of a professional you will become.

Here are 10 tips for evaluating your Vocal Technique:

1. If it hurts- its bad.  (period)  There is no “sing through the pain to get a result” in singing.  If you are hurting your voice, you are putting undue pressure on muscles, which could be putting pressure on your vocal chords.  This would not work for any athlete on any muscle. (There is a difference between pain and a challange, I am speaking of pain or strain- don’t do it).

2.  Does it feel natural to you?-  Beautiful singing should not be produced out of trickery.  You have the voice, someone just may need to guide you on how to get it out beautifully and easily.  Your singing voice should come out like a natural extension of your speaking voice, not strangely affected.

3.  Does you technique make sense to your brain? – Many teachers and techniques are explained differently;  some teachers are perceptual-  ”imagine your voice is free like leaves in the wind”, others have a number system-  ”I need you to turn on 4, and 7 hold back 3 (referring to different areas of resonating”, others clinical- refering to specific muscles by name in the body, while others teach by vocal example.  They can all great for certain people.  Make sure which ever technique you are in speaks and rings true to your brain.

4. Is your stamina improving?-  Can you sing a bit more everyday, challenging (not straining or hurting yourself) further with positive results?  Are your correct muscles strengthening to support your larynx which should feel free as it releases sound?  Are you tired by the end of a song, a few songs, or the end of a performance?  Do you find that you are ready to sing the next day or do you need a day of vocal rest in between?  As the student of singing you need to learn how to monitor your own progress or regress.

5. Is your range extending? – The stronger and freer you become in singing, meaning that you are using the correct support system physically through muscles in your body to protect your larynx from any vocal strain, the easier the next quality note down or up should become.  You will never be able to sing the whole keyboard but a good 1 1/2 ultimately to 2 octaves would be fabulous.

6. Are you getting good feedback?- Do people like what they hear?  Are you being complimented in your vocal improvement or singing beauty by others? Are you being asked to sing more often?  Getting more roles, gigs?  (Step outside your parents and teacher for an accurate call on this one).

7.  Do you like what you hear? – Are you playing back recordings of yourself and liking your sound? Are you surprising yourself by new things that you can sing, or lines that you can add beauty to?

8.  Are you better than when you started?-Did this technique, teacher do anything for you?  Has the money and time been well spent?  Do you feel on your way to your goal?

9.  Do you feel more confident?-  Are you finding that you are volunteering to be heard more often or are you still hiding that voice out?

10. Do you feel in control of your voice?-  This is your voice.  Not your teacher or techniques voice.  You would not have it without your own vocal chords in there and remember that. Your technique should only help you to be in charge of your own sound.  Your technique should give you the tools to control what comes out when you go to sing.  If it is still unpredictable, your technique is not working for you.

Sing well people!!

Ariella Vaccarino

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written by Ariella Vaccarino creator of Voice Lessons To Go(singing lessons on CD) and author of Vocalize!

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It may take more to just a vocal warm up to prepare you for your performance or audition.  Think of your body as a machine.  Each machine is a little different and works best under its own specific conditions.

Warming up with Voice Lessons To GO is a great start for your “vocal warm-up’, but there is more you can do to get everything working its best.   Develop a routine that works for you by trial an error so you have something you can count on.

Here are some ideas try a few out and see what works for you:

1. Do a physical warm up before your sing- yoga, walking, biking, swimming are all great for getting the muscles warm and the breath engaged.  If you are physically warmed-up before you do your vocal warm-up you all ready have a head start on your singing.  Your body will be there to support your singing.

2. Do breathing exercises:  Whether as a result of a physical warm -up such as swimming or just 15 minutes of breathing exercises (I have great ones on volume 1 Vocalize & Breath of Voice Lessons To Go. The sooner you get your diaphragm coordinating with your breath the faster you will sing better, as well as develop more stamina and power.

3. Take a hot shower- this helps to break up built up phlegm, open up nasal passages and your sining resonators.

4. Humming and yawn sighs-  These are great “pre-vocal-warm-ups”.  Keep them light ans easy, just to wake things up.  Great to do in the shower since your acoustics will be favorable so you will be less likely to push.

5. Find a warm-up song that fits your voice like a glove. – After you do your vocal warm-up, sing through some pieces that really work for your voice everytime, so that you can “set the standard” for your practice ahead.  Your song selection for this may not be obvious.  For example I am a lyric coloratura the highest type of soprano, yet I often warm-up with an aria from Carmen which is for a lower voice.  It seems to set my middle voice solid so that my regular songs float freer.  Sometimes I do the opposite and sing my hardest aria, queen of the night, right after the mezzo aria because it “shocks” my system into working since it is so hard.  This is a very individual decision, but really can be a great lead into practice.  Warming-up should not just be my CDs or your own vocalizes, it should include a transition song into songs.

6. Drink something warm with honey- I love Roibos tea!  There is no caffeine and it and it is smooth with the honey, not necessary but a good ritual for me.  It helps keep all my vocal muscles calm.

7.  Listen- play some recordings of singers who sing well to open your mind to singing well to.  We learn by listening.  Hearing someone with great placement can have a great influence on your own voice.  (make sure they are good singers!)  Good songs, and good singing are two different things.  Make sure you pick the ladder for this one.

8. Play through your music- sometimes I just play the piano parts through on my pieces to get into the piece and familiarize myself with the other aspects of it, other than my vocal part.  I think it really helps my to get comfortable with being part of the work.  We have to remember that a sing has many elements and we are only the singing element.

9. Speak your lines-  Get the lyrics into your body as speech.  This will really help your diction and vocal placement.  Remember singing is extended speech- it should sound natural and easy like you are speaking.

10.   Give yourself time-  A good vocal warm-up takes some time.  Some people need longer than others.  Some performances and styles need more time as well.  Prepare some time for yourself to sing properly.  When you try and push through a practice, often you end up doing just that, pushing.  there is no pushing allowed in good , healthy singing.

I hope some of these ideas inspire or help you.  I would love your feedback on anything you do for your best warm-up!

Ariella Vaccarino

www.voicelessonstogo.com

creator of Voice Lessons To Go- singing lessons on CD, and author of Vocalize!

This is for singers in bands on stage:  Please make sure to stand up to the sound man and turn yourselves up and if you have a monitor turn it on as well.  As audience members we want to hear the singer well over the music.  Also, someone worked really hard to write the lyrics, we would like a chance to understand them.

So often your sound guy is someone you don’t know at a club who turns up everyone in the band evenly.  I think it is so important to make sure that the voice stands out enough to be distinguished from the rest.  Plus, it will save you vocally to be heard well since you won’t be straining for volume over your band.

Grab someone with ears you trust to stand out in the club to hear your sound check.  You can also have that person there for the performance.  Just tell the sound person ahead of time that your friend has your permission to ask the sound guy to make adjustments.

Save that voice band members!  The more success you experience the more often you will be singing out.  So learn how to stretch your voice that extra mile.  (and of course don’t forget to warm-up).

Ariella Vaccarino  www.voicelessonstogo.com

Smoking is harsh on your voice, there is no getting around it.  If you care about the preservation of your voice and you like the way you sound now, don’t do it.

Some people smoke to effect the quality of their sound, and smoking will do that.  It tends to make you sound huskier and over time it lowers your singing range.  So certain rockers, basses and altos do receive these benifits.  But what is also does is shorten your breathing capacity.  As a result you do not have as much stamina when holding out notes or even creating volume because the breath is weaker and the lungs are all messed up inside.

I had a rocker voice student once, he was a really nice guy, in a band, hip etc…  Some weeks he would come in for his lesson and his voice would be wrecked-  just ugly sounding with shallow breathing as well.  Other times, he would come in with some real potential; a clearer sound, more power, and the ability to sustain notes longer.  I kept asking him if he was smoking cigarettes at bars or after his shows and he always denied it.  I was perplexed and frusterated as his teacher.  Making headway one weak and nothing the next.  Finally one day I thought to ask him a different question during a bad voice day.  “Have you been smoking anything other than cigarettes?”  (Who knew I needed to clarify this…)

Turns out, the guy smoked pot pretty regulary but never thought to tell me.  Thought cigarettes were the only problem causer.  As you can imagine, smoking pot is extremely harsh on the voice and lungs.  It actually is much worse since  there  are no filters when you inhale it.

-I am not making a judgment call on marajuana here.  Rather, I am addressing the voice- because that is what I am concerned about as a voice teacher.  Inhaling any type of smoke is hard if not harsh on your voice.  Pot being much worse then cigarettes.

If you are looking to keep your voice healthy and clear, stay away from the inhale of any kind .

Hey everyone, I was inspired after seeing some singers this weekend in a musical to write the following.  Something vital to healthy beautiful long lasting singing is keeping the emotions out of your larynx.

In “real Life emotion”, often our emotions express themselves directly through our voices.  If we are mad we scream or bear down on our throats in anger in a sort of growl, when sad our larynx’s rise and choke up as we cry, when elated our voices raise.  That is fabulous for real life and even for straight acting.  The crazy thing is that when you sing you can’t do any of that.  Instead you need to show emotion through your face, eyes, and body.

This is actually much harder then it sounds especially if you are a realistic “actor”.  Somehow in singing you need to divorce your larynx and all the muscles around it from the emotions that you need to display.  Try to transfer all tensions into your limbs and face when expressing strong emotions to your audience. If not you will risk that your voice will tense up and you will loose your freedom when going for high or powerful notes causing you to crack and make less then beautiful sounds.

A great example is in Opera. The heroine is most likely preparing to die at the end, but yet, even overcome with the most extreme illness she lays there singing the most exquisite purest sounds “pre” her death.

Or the Tenor who finds out that the Baritone is trying to steal his Bride and kingdom, through the sword fights and all, they sound magestic and powerful.  Not grovelly and tight.

Something to keep in mind.  Great emotion in singing is not necessarily a natural process.  Put a safety box around that larynx and emote around it instead.

Sing well!

Ariella

As I sit here and blog today, I am joined by a most sultry husky voice…mine.  Not my usual sound I assure you being a coloratura soprano. Even though I am secretly enjoying my va va voom sound, it is a pretty serious problem if a singing engagement was on hand.

My advice, don’t sing if you have any semblance of laryngitis. There is no “singing through it”, rather you will damage your voice if you persist to sing when you have this virus.  Of course if you do have a performance coming up you can get steroid shots from a ear nose and throat specialist who could probably get you through the experience.  I had that happen to me once singing for LA Opera in Journey To Cordoba.  I got through the performance but it was at about 45% of my usual ability, it took weeks to get back on track after that.

Actually try and be as silent as you can during such a trauma to the voice, this way you will not risk over speaking or singing on swollen shut chords.  I’ve said enough!  I hope many of you are enjoying healthy singing voices this week.  Keep sending your vocal assessments through, I would especially love to hear some new pretty voices this week after listening to my own!

It is important to remember that singing is is an athletic job in the body.  The voice is there at all times sitting in your larynx ready to come out, but the body needs to be warmed up so that it supports the laryngeal muscles to produce the sound correctly in the body.

If you were a runner you would start slow, stretch- the same goes for singing.  Otherwise, the risk is that we can hurt our voices.  We can put pressure into our vocal chords instead of support into our abdominal muscles and legs to produce a  projected sound which can result in vocal strain or worse (over time) vocal nodules.

Even the smallest amount of singing warm-ups can make the difference.  Humming or gentle singing for a few minutes will get the body working.  Full vocal warm-ups are fabulous for not only warming up the voice, but vocal training.  As you do your vocalizes you work on good support, extending your range, and proper vowel production.

I have four volumes of Vocal Warm Ups called Voice Lessons TO GO on CD that can be a great help ranging from beginner to advanced and are available on my website www.voicelessonstogo.com if you are looking for some options they are great.

So warm up every time you sing out.

Sing healthy people!

Ariella Vaccarino

www.voicelessonstogo.com

Oh, so I have been sick…coughing or should I say choking throughout the night.  Some virus that has knocked me off of my feet.  I have turned the corner though and see the light to good health.

But my voice!!!  I sound like a man.  Thank God I don’t have any performances right now.  I remember I was singing with LA Opera on a lead role in their out reach program just out of college and I got something similar.  I had to go to a laryngologist who gave me steroid shots to get through the performances. (It kept the swelling in my chords down), but that is extreme.

If you get sick and it is in your throat, (not just a runny nose but pain when you speak).  You should NOT sing.  There is no “singing through it”,  You can really damage your voice or at least extend the amount of time till you regain your healthy voice.  Essentially coughing is one of the worst things for your voice.  It literally slaps the vocal chords together every time you cough which causes swelling.  So do your best to reduce the cough, drink lots of liquids and keep it quiet till you are healthy again.

This from a sick voice teacher… wishing you an easy cold and flu season.

Ariella Vaccarino

www.voicelessonstogo.com

Some of you may have a large one some may barely have one, some of you may not know what I am talking about.

Vibrato.

Vibrato is a slight pulse in sound that create in your singing voice as you sustain your pitch.  Some people’s may move very quickly like a bell, or flutter, others may have a real slow wobbly vibrato, while others may have a minimal one with a straight tone.

Different genres may call for different vibratos.  For example a boy soprano will have nearly no vibrato while an operatic soprano’s vibrato may be a great interesting addition to her sound.

A vibrato is a natural occurance in your singing voice.  You want to have a vibrato, but it needs to be something that is released naturally.  Some times we find that it is too excessive due to some vocal technical issues, whether they be tension in the tongue or throat muscles.

You can see this when people sing: their jaw or tongue flapping.  Ideally our mouths, jaws, and tongues should be relaxed while we sing.  There is a certain amount of tension, or energy needed lower in the body for well supported sound so if you can keep the stress in your legs and abdominals- that is ideal (over jaw and tongue).

If you do have some jaw or tongue tension, that is not necessarily bad, unless it is excessive.  It also depends how your vibrato is coming out if it an addition or distraction to the beauty and character of your voice.

You can work with your teacher on taming or releasing your vibrato.  Don’t be afraid of it.  I would be happy to evaluate any questions that you may have about your vibrato in my Vocal Assessment program on my website: www.voicelessonstogo.com.   (Where you send me a link or mp3 of your voice and I send you back my evaluation within the week.)

Sing well!

Ariella Vaccarino

creator of Voice Lessons TO GO and author of Vocalize!