Welcome Songbirds!
If you are reading this you are probably a singer, a musician, learning how to sing, or just interested in the art of singing. No matter what your level of expertise and interest in the vocal arts I want to thank you for reading. This is my first "vocal tips" blog and I am so excited to share all that I know and have experienced through my own singing, coaching others and studying the masters.
I indeed have quite a bit to share. I have taught many voice lessons to every type of singer imaginable and well there are quite a few topics that come up constantly. One of the major issues that I have encountered with students, friends who are singers and with my own voice is the topic of vocal health. As I started writing this I realized that there are so many sub-topics under vocal health that I am just going to have to pick one for today!
So my lovely songbirds.... Topic of the day!
VOCAL WARMUPS!!
Ok very important, I know a million singers, (ok not a million) but many that neglect to warm up their voices before they sing. They find it challenging to hit some of the notes they would like to or lack the agility and flexibility they need to put on a great show and sound their best. I was one of them at one time in my life and I can tell you I got into big trouble with my voice! I now WARMUP MY VOICE EVERY DAY! I have to! I warm-up every day even before I talk. This is what I do for a living and what I want to continue to do for a living. So I have just accepted that my voice is my gift and my instrument and I must take care of it daily and well... so should you!
EEASE INTO YOUR WARM-UP
With warm-ups it's best to warm-up softly! NEVER WARMUP LOUD OR SCREAM! One of my vocal coaches always said "Let the voice come to you." As a singer, you are sort of an athlete, their are little muscles around the vocal chords that help them to work and those muscles have to be eased into singing and not blasted into a vocal workout.
HOW LONG SHOULD YOU WARM UP?
If you are going to be singing for a long time it is recommended that you do a shorter warm-up. So let's say you are about to do a 2 hour concert well 10-15 minutes might be a bit better for you, or until you feel good to go. Listen to your body, listen and be aware of what you are feeling, if you are doing too much save it for the show! Now if you are going to do a shorter show, let's say a one song spot, I recommend you warm-up a little longer, about 15-25 minutes.
WARM-UP IN THE MIRROR
When warming up your voice try to have a mirror handy where you can look at your posture and mouth positions. Make sure your body is aligned and you are standing up straight, breathing down low using the diaphragm and using rib breathing. (We will talk more about diaphragmatic breathing and rib breathing in another blog, so stay tuned) While in the mirror make sure you are dropping your jaw to about a two finger distance. I see lots of singers try to sing with a closed mouth, open up folks and let that sound out for the world to hear!!!!!
CARNEGIE HALL... IN YOUR MOUTH?
In the back upper part of your mouth you will notice something called the soft palate, when you yawn the upper roof of your mouth or "soft palate" lifts. You want to try to attain that lift during vocalizing. It creates a wonderful open space for the sound to resonate and vibrate. I always tell my students, think of your mouth as if it is Carnegie hall, It’s a beautiful open rounded space for the sound to resonate. I've performed at Carnegie hall and I can assure you the acoustics in that place is AMAZING! So make the acoustics in your mouth amazing so that sound can project and sound AMAZING!
YOUR BODY
Keep your shoulders down and relaxed. You never want to lift them up to breath or create a note. The more relaxed your body is the more the sound will be effortless and sound relaxed as well. Actually here is a little experiment...put pressure on your throat using your hands...now try to talk or sing...ewww sounds strained huh? Well imagine if your muscles are tight and tense around your neck and it's not your hands putting pressure there but the tension from the muscles. If this is going on, the sound will be strained. Don't forget to stand up straight with confidence as you are warming up. Get your self into good habits now... I mean would you pay $100 to go see someone perform who is slouching and doesn't seem really confident and excited about what they are doing? NO WAY!
WHAT DO I WARM UP WITH?
Now you may ask well what do I warm up with? Well that's where your coach comes in handy. Setting up a consistent weekly or bi-weekly schedule with a vocal coach is important because they will show you how to warm up properly and avoid vocal injury. Those of you who are my students already know the importance of this and I would love for you to share your own stories of how your voice has changed through training and warming up. Your coach will also create warm-ups that are adapted to your vocal range and vocal type. I will also post some basic warm-ups on a video on you tube so please stay tuned and subscribe to my sites for updated info! Normally I start off my warm up with some lip trills, then move on to some major triad chords on the word KA... there are quite a few more I do so stay tuned for some demonstrations! If you are interested in setting up a session with me email me at vickienatale@gmail.com
If you enjoyed the tips in this blog and found them usefull, please share with others and repost. Feel free to add your questions or comments as well. If there are any topics you would like for me to discuss please let me know.
UNTIL NEXT TIME...HAPPY SINGING.
Your vocal trainer!
Vickie
Some of my links!
www.vickienatale.com
www.youtube.com/singingsiren2007
www.cdbaby.com/vickienatale2
