Vocal Technique!!!  This is a touchy subject for a lot of singers as well as voice teachers.  As a voice teacher for 18 years now and a singer myself, I have had many experiences along the way that have helped me to decipher Vocal Technique and whether it was or was not working for me. Here are 10 tips to help you decide whether your singing technique is working for you:

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Ariella Vaccarino

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

Want a professional opinion of how you sound?  Sign up for myVocal Assessment. Then send me a link or mp3 of you singing (audio/or audio visual) with your questions and I will get back to you with my feedback right away.

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Just because you don’t have something set on the calender to sing does not mean you shouldn’t be training regularly.  You never know when you are going to get that call and how much time you are going to have till your first rehearsal or performance.  You want to have your voice “locked down and ready to go” at any moment.  Your last minute energy should be put into prepping material for a performance, not prepping your instrument.

I’m speaking from my own experiences on this one.  I can remember numerous times in my life when I was slacking in my vocal training and received calls for vocally demanding gigs.  It is very stressful.  I would be stuck learning and memorizing new music while desperately trying to get my voice into pristine vocal shape for it- sometimes with only days to do so.  The feeling of dread comes to mind when I think of those times and the stress I was felt.   The outcome was often frustrating, because I knew that I could have been better.  Remember, nobody is out there thinking how good you could be if only you had some more prep time.  They are judging you in the minute they hear you.  Your audience will think that you are performing to the best of your capacity whenever they hear you.  Make sure they hear you at your best.

It’s time to start building your vocal stamina.

Don’t get caught out of shape.  If you are, you will not give your best performance, and you will stress your voice, body, and emotions out trying to get through it.

Rather then waiting till you get hired for a good gig to get into vocal shape, get into great vocal shape so you are ready when you are hired for that great demanding gig!

Singing opportunities will not check your training schedule first. If your hope is to book the “marathon” role, tour, gig, or show- then you need to be prepared vocally for it when it comes.   Big singing requires big training.  Put yourself in training for that vocal marathon now so you are not off  ”your game” when the singing work does come.  The healthier and stronger your voice is, the more stamina you will have.  The stronger you are as a singer the more able you will be to bounce back from the blows, strains, and over taxing you will be  put through in a heavy performance schedule.

Don’t just get in vocal shape, rather, train to be in fantastic vocal shape.  Think about all the football, basketball team movies we see,  they take the underdog team bring in a new coach and work them to an insane degree, run them, make them do weights, eat healthy, pile on practices  that no other teams are required to do.  This makes them ready for anything.  You can do that for yourself as a singer slowly building stamina with longer vocal warm ups and healthier practices.  Start three times a week, then 5 times, then start adding second practices in the evenings etc… Singing through 5 songs then increasing…You will as a result be prepared for anything.  Your body will be strong.  You will be able to sing out longer.

Prepare yourself for the big.  Why do anything less.  You will stand out with your great singing and radiate confidence as a result.

Now go Vocalize!!!

Ariella Vaccarino

Thank you for subscribing to my blogs!  I am working hard to bring you great content and free singing advice.  Please take a moment to spread the words via the social book marking links below to help me build my readership.  Thank you!

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

Want a professional opinion of how you sound?  Sign up for myVocal Assessment. Then send me a link or mp3 of you singing (audio/or audio visual) with your questions and I will get back to you with my feedback right away.

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Sometimes it is good to just slow down and concentrate on doing something of high quality in our vocal warm up rather than just singing through a lot of exercises, (a lot of exercises is also good for different reasons of course- try Voice Lessons To Go).  To help fine tune your voice and your ear, I created the attached video.  Keep in mind what is key in this exercise is to take your time through it and really be sure that you are matching the pitches you sing to the pitches on the instrument you are playing along to.

click here to watch the video:   singing voice lesson- ear training

Sing in the center of the pitch is something I say in this video.  It becomes especially evident when singing something like a Major scale filled with both half and whole steps that precise pitch is imperative.  Think of each pitch as a bullseye- you want to hit the center target point.  Don’t let your sound go under or over the central point.  That is what people refer to as singing flat or sharp.

Other then centered pitch, pay attention to the sound quality of each tone of the scale.  Is it to far back, to swallowed, to bright, to breathy?  Work on your sound quality with each tone through the scale.

Something as simple and common as a Major scale is a great way to work on your tuning and improve your vocal quality.

By the way, expect regular new instructional short videos from me in the future!- Please pass them on.

Happy tuning!

Ariella Vaccarino

Thank you for subscribing to my blogs!  I am working hard to bring you great content and free singing advice.  Please take a moment to spread the words via the social book marking links below to help me build my readership.  Thank you!

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

Want a professional opinion of how you sound?  Sign up for my Vocal Assessment. Then send me a link or mp3 of you singing (audio/or audio visual) with your questions and I will get back to you with my feedback right away.

Friend me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/voicelessonstogo

Follow me on twitter:http://www.twitter.com/singingvltg (I love a good retweet!)

It is something all of us singers consider when putting together the performance of a song.  Should we be adding in some high notes to show “what we can do” and impress the audience?  I say if you have them all the time, then go for it.  But if you are not consistent with your high notes, why should you put the stress on yourself and the audience of getting them done right?  They will put your whole performance in jeopardy and it is not worth it.

Shania Twain said it recently on American Idol- “go with the note that is comfortable”.

I say,  if you can only get something right 50% of the time, don’t risk it in your performance.  The last thing you want to be worrying about in a stressful performance situation is whether or not you can reach your high note.  And as an audience member it is one of the worst, most uncomfortable things you can put us through. No one wants to hear strain. —-     So if you can’t do it don’t risk it.

Where you should be going for the high notes is in rehearsal and in your vocal warm ups.  That I completely encourage.  They are something that you need to practice in a healthy safe environment for your vocal chords.  Once you really get them “in your body”, then you can start bringing them to the actual stage.  And remember, often times when we sing out our nerves can get in the way of how well we perform.  So your body really needs to have memorized the exact execution and success of those high notes before you take them out for a walk or you may find that your body will clam up due to nerves and cause you a “bad reach”.

Singing should never feel like a reach rather a rooted or anchored stretch.

When approaching a high note in your vocal practice, imagine that you have set an anchor down through the middle of your body straight into the earth that is heavy.  This anchor is your muscle support, don’t let it go. Now open your mouth to sing and stretch your mind to make space around the height of your high note. You should be grounded in your sound but stretched through the back of your head, top of your head, through your upper palate, and straight through your eyes to let the space free to release your sound.

Also, practicing hitting your desired notes from different directions so that you are used to getting them out no matter what is a great strategy.  Sing the note just below and then that note.  Sing the note just above and then that note.  Practice coming from the octave below, fifth below etc…  In your vocalizing focus on getting up to that note well and then pass it getting up well to higher notes so that you know the note you want will be a sure thing every time, even in a performance.

Please check out a recent post I wrote on achieving success with your high notes.

We all love the wow factor of an incredible high note.  But that is only for an Incredible one.  No one wants to hear you screeching.  Many times the safer choice of not adding in the high note is better.  You want people to remember having an enjoyable experience watching you.  Don’t fixate on the importance of particular notes. Overall you must have a good show with out any negative drama.  Keep practicing!

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

Want a professional opinion of how you sound?  Sign up for my Vocal Assessment. Then send me a link or mp3 of you singing (audio/or audio visual) with your questions and I will get back to you with my feedback right away.

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Today I want to share of you one of my Idols.  Joan Sutherland was really one of the most amazing sopranos ever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ2L_B7VOWs&feature=related

I have spent many an hour listening and glowing in her vocal beauty.  She is a lyric Coloratura Soprano and really absolutely amazing.  Her instrument is a gift from God and her technique is incredible.  I have often been moved to tears when listening to her beauty.

I know that many of you are not Opera singers, but as singers we can learn from all types of singing genres.  Today when you watch this link and listen to Dame Sutherland, I want you listen and feel the line of her voice.  This is something that I always talk about in singing.  How important it is to have a beautiful line.  She is the epitome of it.

You can skip the first minute and a half of the video which is a bit cheesy 60′s Opera.  She starts to sing at about 1:30 into it by 2:30 into it you can hear this line I am talking about.  There are no single notes or syllables.  Every thought and sound is leading somewhere in her sound and voice.  Her breath control is INSANE and her sound glorious perfection.  Few can even begin to touch the line that Joan Sutherland achieved over and over again.

Just thought you might enjoy listening to one of my favorites.  Please enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ2L_B7VOWs&feature=related

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

Want a professional opinion of how you sound?  Sign up for my Vocal Assessment. Then send me a link or mp3 of you singing (audio/or audio visual) with your questions and I will get back to you with my feedback right away.

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Watching Idol last night – third episode of Hollywood week, I was inspired to write after watching Jessica Furney’s rejection from the judges along with her plea to them.  She had lost her voice from over singing during the group rehearsals and had to battle that throughout the competition.  As a result she pleaded with the judges to keep her saying that she didn’t have a fair opportunity to show herself since she was battling with her voice and it was not fair to compare her to others who weren’t dealing with that.

Well, whether I felt her plea to them was too dramatic or not, I do feel for her.  It is one thing to be rejected after showing your best performance, at least then you know they made a choice after seeing the best you.  But to have to perform sub par and then to be rejected leaves you filled with regret and frustration, if only they saw what I can really do…

I would imagine that if they were crazed about her from the beginning they would have found a way to keep her fighting vocal strain or not, but it still has got to be a harsh reality for her when she looks back at that group rehearsal and the strain “she allowed ” to be put onto her voice.

Did I say “she allowed” the strain to be put on her voice?  - (that’s pretty harsh Ariella Vaccarino the empathetic voice teacher that you are…)

Maybe it is harsh but it is true.  We need to protect ourselves as singers.  No one will do it for us, no one knows our limitations except us.  It is so important singers that you save the juice for the right moment. Like any athlete, we can only use our correct muscles for so long before we strain and thus compromise them.  Singing has its limitations, you as a good singer need to learn to feel them and to listen to them, no matter the circumstance.

“Marking“ is a term that we use when not singing out.  Some people are better at it than others.  Essentially you sing down the octave, or with half a voice, or speak gently in tempo to mark the vocals while learning the harmonies, dance moves, blocking, or trying to memorize lyrics. I am not referring to whispering which is very harsh on the voice, rather, gentle singing- no powerhouse sound.

This is what you need to do in a situation when you are repeating a song to get through a rehearsal. Especially when you have a lot of important solo singing coming up.  I am not saying you should be marking your chior rehearsals.  If you are rehearsing to work on the sound then by all means sing.  But, when a performance is pending you have to be protective and only give when the judges are listening.

I am sure that was a hard thing to do for the singers during group rehearsals on American Idol- they want to be impressing everyone around them, make their mark, stand out to be filmed etc… but, like Jessica Furley, they needed to weigh the whole week of singing- not just the moment of singing.

As a professional singer, you need to learn how to “mark”, but like everything, it takes practice.  If you don’t do it right you could strain your voice.  So practice it every once in a while by singing light, half voiced, with no pressure on any muscles when learning or going through your own music.

I feel for Jessica Furney because she will never have peace in her mind that she was rejected for a fair reason-”if only they knew what I could really do...”  That will play in her mind for a long time- a really horrible feeling that I am sure most of us performers have had.  Hopefully she will find a way to take the experience as a positive for all her exposer and be dignified about the results.

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

Need help with your own voice?  Sign up for Your Vocal Assessment through my site to get professional feedback on your own voice.  Send me a link to or mp3 of your voice with your questions and I will get right back to you with my Assessment.

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Just a quick reminder to all my football fans out there.  If you are interested in singing, then you need to think about protecting your voice.  That means all the time, even during your favorite Super Bowl party.  And if by any chance you actually have tickets to the event, amazing, but you are in triple vocal danger from the average party goer.

In general if you are at a super bowl party, just watch the screaming.  Make sure you are supporting your voice at all times from your diaphragm even during the craziest play.

Yelling or talking over a crowd to be heard is really one of the worst things you can do for your voice.  It completely knocks your voice out of wack and swells your chords.  Don’t try and yell over people to be heard.  Either wait for a quiet moment to speak, or speak at a normal volume closer to someone, instead of across the room.  Also, seriously, why not warm up your voice,  www.voicelessonstogo.com, before you go so that you are in a good spot vocally when you get there.

This advice is even more important if you have a singing gig coming up.  Your voice will recover from the event within a few days, but if you have some big singing to do afterwards, you could start the beginings of a bad problem.  If your chords are swollen and you sing on them you will use your throat muscles more than normally and create more swelling, maybe even vocal noduals.  So be careful.

Support with your voice when you show your team support singers!

A friendly reminder from:

Ariella Vaccarino- creator of of Voice Lessons To Go (singing lessons on Cd), and author of Vocalize!

www.voicelessonstogo.com

Need a professional opinion of your voice BEFORE your next audition, or just curious how you measure up in the singing world? Sign up for Vocal Assessment on my site- you send me a link or mp3 of your voice with your questions and I get back to you with a professional opinion right away.

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It is one thing to sing  your line to a piano part or to a CD.  Often when we sing to other music we are able to sing freer because we can loose our inhibitions somewhat in the accompaniment, but we can also be using the accompaniment as a crutch for our ear…

I was hit by this the other day when I was at a rehearsal for an upcoming concert of new music.  The piece I am singing is new to my voice and I have been learning it by playing the piano part of the voice out on the piano and singing to it.  Since the piece was so new I hadn’t had much time to look at the orchestration to see what everyone else was going to be playing while I was to be singing my line.

I really felt insecure on my part at the rehearsal.  My vocal line was no where to be heard except coming out of my mouth.  Nothing in the accompaniment played or really supported my part.  My part had been written like one of the instruments in the chamber ensemble, standing completely on its own like the flute, violin, or viola.

I hadn’t sung something like this in a while and honestly I had forgotten to prepare correctly for it.  Often I am singing to orchestration or piano accompaniment that is supporting my voice part, playing predictable chords underneath and giving me a real cushion to the melody.

I was able to pull off the rehearsal, but I was not secure on my line.  I immediately came home and “re-practiced” the piece singing out my lines acapella and playing the piano parts of the other instruments learning their cues. It was not a completely pitch centered line when I first started and I kept having to check my starting notes, but after a bit, I was prepared.

So don’t forget, not only should you learn your music with accompaniment,  you should turn off the accompaniment and sing through your lines making sure that you are secure on your intervals in your phrases and your starting notes on new ones.  This will give your line more beauty as you are more confident to sing them correctly without any sort of crutch.  (I forgot to head my own advice on this one, but I am glad I got through it so I can be prepared better next rehearsal, and hoping help you all avoid the same situation!)

A practiced singer is a professional one!

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

Want to find out what you need to work on before your next audition? Sign up for my Your Vocal Assessment, where you send me a link or mp3 to your voice with your questions and I get back to you with my professional feedback right away.

www.voicelessonstogo.com

You may find as a singer, you tend to favor a particular vowel in your daily singing warm up routine.  Such as Ahh, or eee.  There is probably one or two of the vowels that seems to work best freeing your voice up the fastest so you use it all the time to get your voice into that good spot.  I definitly know that I do that.  Even me  ”the big voice teacher” favors an ee vowel, there, I said it!

When I was younger I used to favor the “Ahh”, but over the years have turned to the trusty “ee”.  Well, even I should be careful with this.  I have been singing through my book of vocalizes, “Vocalize!” these past few weeks to prepare my voice for an upcoming concert, and I have been forcing myself to “face all the vowels”.

My third volume of Voice Lessons To Go entitled Pure vowels is a great resource for developing all your vowels seperately.  I have been singing through all the exercises in volume 3 from start to finish and I have noticed such an improvement on every vowel.  The first day, my favorite vowel, “ee”, was great, but I wasn’t pleased with the placement of my “ey” or “i”.  But i kept doing it everyday.  Working with the sound, mouth positioning, placement in my resonance playing with the forms of the vowels, adding a little “aww” in my “ahh”, and everyday I noticed I was getting better faster.

The only way to improve your weaker vowels is to work on them, not run from them.  Always start with speaking the vowel to help you find the natural speech point to work from.  You want your singing to sound natural like extended speech. Make sure you practice warming up your singing voice on all the different vowels regularly.  You never know when you may be standing in an audition and be asked to site read a new piece on an “ahh”.  If you haven’t worked your “ahh” out you could be really uncomfortable.

Also, if you are not used to practicing all your vowels.  Don’t start just before a performance.  Do your regular warm ups before you have to sing so that you don’t throw off your voice by trying something different.  The time to work on this is a normal warm up.  Remember, on all my CDs for Voice Lessons To GO, you can always try different vowels with the piano accompaniment for variety.

Now, FACE ALL YOUR VOWELS SINGERS!

written by: Ariella Vaccarino- creator of Voice Lessons TO GO (singing lessons on CD), and author of Vocalize!

Need a professional opinion of your voice before your next audition?- Sign up for Vocal Assessment.  You send me a link or mp3 of your voice with your questions and I get right back to you with my Assessment!

As an American woman, I come from a group of people who speak a language with “lazy lips”.  I mean no critisism to my people when I say this, it is just a fact.    In general, Americans barely use their lips to aid in pronunciation when speaking.  Think about the French.  When you watch them speak their lips (mainly referring to the upper) are moving like crazy back and forth between their oohs like a little pucker, probably part of the reason we find the French irresistable when they do speak to us.

What they are doing is engaging the muscles on their upper lip to create a good diction.  As a result they develop the upper part of their musculature in their mouth and face.  Americans just don’t have this.  So as a singing exercise on your next vocal warmup, www.voicelessonstogo.com (my singing lessons CDs), I ask you to engage your upper lip.  Use it to come forward for your “ooh”.  This is a resource of strenth in your face that will help you in creating a rounder more flushed out sound in your vowels and ultimately your voice, giving more definition to each individual trait of each individual vowel.  I also find that it helps to get the sound out more “in front of your face”, and out of your throat.

Start off by exaggerating the whole process.  Sing though the exercises in a mirror and make sure your lips are moving to create the vowels.   Each vowel should have its own particular look.  Mimick the french in some fake french speak and see how it feels and looks.  Then try and transfer that same feeling into English.  Take note of each vowel and its shape in the mirror.  Find the shape in your face that creates the ultimate sounding version of each vowel.  Then put it into your Vocal exercises.  Exaggerate your lips at first singing a Vocalize that uses more than one vowel so that you can practice changing from one vowel to the other. This should really wake up your face and engage the musculature in your sound production.

Now I am in no way suggesting that you be making strange faces when singing through a song, just engage your upper lip.  Getting to that point though, after years of “lazy English speak”, may take some strange faces in the mirror to find it during your singing warm-ups!

Now think French and go use your upper lip!

written by:  Ariella Vaccarino creator of Voice Lessons To Go- singing lessons on CD, and author of Vocalize!

Need a professional ear to assess your Voice?-  sign up for a Vocal Assessment on my site www.voicelessonstogo.com- you send me your voice and questions, and I get back to you with my assessment and advice within the week!