Dynamics: Managing Your “High” Notes

Here’s one way you can tell if someone’s had voice training: the dynamics they choose in a song are intentional. The phrasing makes sense; tells a story; is fluid.

Let me explain. After we’ve learned a song, smoothed out technical problems, and decided upon our phrasing and breathing - after all that, then we’re ready to interpret the song emotionally.

Some of the first decisions we make include how to “build” the song - where to lay back, where to push, what to push. These are the decisions that must be made to make the song interesting. Without planned dynamics and emotional motivation, we’re simply reciting a song rather than “styling” a song.

There are many considerations when choosing dynamics for your song, and I discuss them in detail in my book, Vocal Vibrance. But one thing I want to stress here, is: be careful not to use volume as a way to hit a high note. If you can’t hit the note without a sudden diaphramatic push and / or a sudden rise in volume, then you MUST lower the song’s key.

High notes must flow, as part of the lyrical phrase. They can’t be just belted, out of the blue, with no motivation. Doing so ruins the continuity of the song’s story.

Singing a high note just for its own sake (oh my gosh, she hit a high C) is not musical. It’s impressive, perhaps, but it’s not song singing. Lower the key!

Other indications that the singer has not had enough training in dynamics: standing on toes when trying to reach a high note (I know, it’s funny, but I’ve seen people do it), going for the high note with a grimace or with eyes shut tight, or making a register change that is noticeable rather than smooth.

(I seldom rant, but I guess this was a rant.)

Wedging Vocalizing Into Your Day

A few tips, if you’re having trouble finding an hour of uninterrupted time:

Keep a pitchpipe with you at all times.

While you’re waiting for the shower water to warm up in the morning, or the tea kettle water to boil, use your pitchpipe and sing scales.

In the car, you can practice the lip trill and the tongue trill - two excellent warm-ups, that won’t take your eyes or your mind off the road.

Say you’re watching TV. Do it standing up, and practice your diaphragm strengthening exercises, or your rib expansion exercises.

Always breathe deeply. Too often, in daily life, we forget about this, and fall into shallow, “just get by” breathing.

When speaking to someone during the day - anyone - make sure to consciously use your most beautiful speaking voice. We can all speak beautifully - it’s just a matter of remembering to do it.

More to come…

Copyright (c) 2008. All rights reserved.

Singing Lesson from “The Manhattan Transfer”

If you can sing jazz - including impeccable pitch, scat (creating on the spot), a style that’s your own, a supported tone, a wide range, seamless movement between registers, and a well-worn working knowledge of modal theory - it’s my belief you can sing anything. (Except perhaps classical opera.)

Take the singers in the jazz vocal group, The Manhattan Transfer. These kids are so experienced, so confident, so pure in their vocal timbre and emotional intention, that when they do a piece like On the Boulevard, you don’t hear separate voices. You hear a story; you hear about love; you hear hearts describing their pain meeting at night, in secret, on the grand boulevards in Rio or Paris. Listen deeply enough, and you may even weep.

How do They Do It?
To get to that point, each singer works out daily on their own material, their individualized warm-ups and practice sessions. They also get together as a group at regular intervals to work on their blend; their sound as “one”; their complex harmonies and counterpoints that must be done smoothly so that the listener only hears the intended emotion. They work on blending the timbe of their voices - not trying to sound alike, but rather blending their differences to create, well, a new “singer” - a new “whole” - not Janis Siegel, Tim Hauser, Cheryl Bentyne, and Alan Paul - but instead, The Manhattan Transfer.

Then there’s the other aspect of ensemble singing. Often one singer will be showcased while the others will act as backup. In groups like Manhattan Transfer, each singer gets showcased at one time or another. But even in these situations, there is no “lead” and “backup,” not in the artistic sense. Yes, Janis sings out front in Boy From New York City and the others do a lot of do-waps. But when you hear them or see them in concert, they’re still one group. One sound.

That’s something else we can learn from Manhattan Transfer - you’ve got to leave your diva, your ego, and all your complexes at home, locked in the closet. Bring with you to rehearsal and to performance, your best voice, your most “tuned-up” vocal instrument, and your ability to blend. Your heart’s desire is to be a part of something bigger than yourself.

Birdland
One of their most stunning pieces is Janis Siegel’s vocal arrangement of Weather Report ’s performance of Joe Zawinul’s Birdland. This is the definition of each member of the team having a different chore, putting those chores together, listening to each other so tiny modifications can be made at any moment, and in this way, creating a masterpiece.

You can almost feel what it was like to be frequenting the hot New York clubs back in the day, how everyone knew each other. You feel like you’re a member of that select group with Bird, Trane, and Miles. Why? Because Manhattan Transfer let’s you experience.

You don’t just listen, you feel. You’re there.

Some Technical Practice Points:
1) Practice unusual interval jumps. For instance, instead of doing an arpeggio on, say, 1, 3, and 5 (perhaps C, E, and G), do it on 1, flat-3, and #5 (C, E-flat, and G-sharp). Go slowly enough that each note is hit with precision. That means no swooping up to the note, and no hitting above and swooping down. You must hit each note right on, with no faltering. Repeat a little faster each time, going up and down your range, until you can go fairly fast very accurately.

2) As a group, practice unusual interval jumps in harmony. With the complexity of some jazz chords, you’ll find that anyone who’s a quarter of a note off in pitch will tumble the whole sound.

3) Work on switching registers evenly and non-detectably. A jazz singer’s range can be 3 octaves. (It doesn’t have to be, but that often seems to be a side effect of vocalizing every day. Try the exercises in my book Vocal Vibrance - they’ll get your range expanded.) That means that you’re going to be switching from chest to head and head to chest all over the place. It’s got to sound effortless.

Hear Here It’s hard to find a YouTube vid that has great sound. That’s why I recommend listening to their CDs. But in the meantime, here is a link to a fairly decent YouTube of The Manhattan Transfer singing Duke of Dubuque.

Their “best of” album has some great stuff on it, including Birdland. Click here for details: The Very Best of the Manhattan Transfer
 
Copyright (c) 2008. All rights reserved.

Instant Sheet Music Gratification

I found the coolest thing - if you need sheet music, and you need it now? Well, for heaven sakes, you just download it.

That may seem obvious to Generations X and especially Y, but us Boomers spent hours and hours of our youth browsing and carousing around sheet music stores. Not only didn’t they have what we wanted (”But we can special order it for you. Should take only a week or so to get it in, and then we’ll call you.”), but the stuff was expensive! Sometimes I’d have to buy a whole book of songs just to get the one I wanted. Other times I’d buy the sheet music for one song and it would cost almost as much as the “album.” (Boomer-speak for what is now called CD.)

I ramble only because I’m amazed. Today, you just download. So I found this place and became an affiliate. It’s called Virtual Sheet Music, Inc. Although they specialize mainly in classical music, it’s worth browsing around (cyber-browsing) to see what else they have. Their prices are excellent and the best part is … well, instant download gratification.

Here’s your virtual store door:

You can search by composer, title of piece, instrument, or skill level. They’ve got single titles or collections. Plus they have specialized collections for professionals, like a wedding book that is available for various instruments or ensemble types. You can join their membership program and get discounts, or you don’t have to - and the prices are still low. Some of the music is free. I don’t know how they do that, but oh well. Cool, huh?

So, happy hunting. Let me know how you liked it.

Vowels - The Sounds that Carry the Music

One thing you learn in classical music is how to pronounce each vowel. Why? And what relevance does this have to pop or rock singing?

Experiment: Try going through a song only on the sound “ah”. Okay? Nothing unusual. Now go through the same song using the sound “b.” It can’t be done.

Songs are sung on vowels. The consonants have to be flung in there so we can understand the lyrics, but they’re a terrible inconvenience. Now here’s the thing. If songs are sung on vowels, wouldn’t it make sense to shape your vowel sounds so they sound gorgeous?…. So your voice sounds gorgeous?

And that’s why voice teachers totally flip out if someone is mangling their vowels.

Here’s another experiment. Sing “ah” on one, comfortable note. Look in the mirror. Is your mouth open? Is your face relaxed, is your jaw dropped to form the “ah” sound? All of these elements will help your sound be beautiful.

On the other hand, if you’re singing “ah” and your mouth is not open wide (You should be able to fit at least 2 fingers in your mouth when you sing on “ah”. ), you will not be able to project the full tone of the sound.

Here’s how to sing “ah.”

Stand in front of the mirror. Relax your body, and even smile slightly. (The smile often brings the sound up out of your throat, if that’s an issue.) Inhale (we’ll get into breathing later) and sing “ah” on one, comfortable note in your midrange. Keep your jaw dropped and your mouth open, still maintaining that slight smile. And stop singing before you run out of breath.

Do you hear a difference?

Sometimes we feel awkward standing there with our mouth wide open. But on stage you’ll have the microphone to keep you busy, or with the chorus, everyone will be catching flies, so you won’t feel like the only one. But we must get used to it, one way or another. A vowel sound can’t be blocked from its full beauty because it can’t get out of your mouth.

Note: Don’t open the mouth so wide that the sound falls back into your throat. Play with it. Get your mirror and try different sounds with different levels of the dropped jaw (vocalese for “open mouth”), and with different mouth shapes, such as the slight smile. Find a sound you like and remember what it feels like to make that sound. Remember the way you used your mouth - its shape, its level of open-ness. When you get a sound you like, practice it every day. Keep notes, or even a singing journal, so you don’t forget.

I’ve just had a book published, Vocal Vibrance, that goes into detail on vowel sounds and pretty much every other aspect of producing a great voice. My site’s still under construction, but there is a link there to where you can get the book. The site is VocalVibrance.com. More on that in a later post.

Singing and Exercise

To get your best singing or speaking voice, you’ll want to be in good shape physically. This doesn’t mean the usual beauty magazine look. It just means for you, the best you can do, at this time. To aim for perfection in anything is to set ourselves up for failure, because perfection simply doesn’t exist down here on this earth. Or if it does, it’s brief, like a sunset.

Personally, I’ve found yoga to be an excellent discipline for singers because it teaches relaxation while stressed. It teaches us to slow down and pay attention to details. And, like singing, it’s all about breathing.

But any exercise will do. Walking, going to the gym, working out with a DVD, bellydancing. Why? Because singing is physical. It requires muscle isolation and the strengthening of those particular muscles (the diaphram, the intercostals). And singing requires physical grace when you’re on stage.

Being aware of your body through exercise is a great thing you can do for your voice.

What’s the Cure for Stage Fright?

Many singers feel it, even celebrities. And the problem is, stage fright can literally make your hands and knees shake, and tighten up your throat. What this means to a singer is that if the stage fright continues, the vocal quality will be compromised. Tension anywhere in the body can usually be heard in the voice. Not only that, but stage fright can cause mental confusion as well, resulting in forgotten lyrics.

The good news:  in most cases, there are ways to make pre-performance anxiety less catastrophic. Here’s how:

1) A singer or public speaker needs to be “over prepared.” That means you can sing your song backwards in your sleep. That means you’ve rehearsed your song or speech to the point where you almost can’t stand it anymore. You’ve gone over every detail of the lyrics and cross-memorized potentially tricky parts. (Cross-memorization simply means you think of more than one way to remember.)

2) Do as many “dress rehearsals” as you can manage. Sometimes it’s hard, especially if you have backup musicians who must be paid for rehearsal. At the very least, get yourself dressed up in your gig outfit and drag the neighbors in and sing for them.

3) Check in your local paper or musicians’ website, and go to as many auditions as you can find. Auditioning is terrifying. Do it a lot and the terror subsides.

4) Finally, gig as much as you can. The more gigs you have in a week, the more your stage fright will disolve. It’s amazing, but it so works. If you can’t get paying gigs that often, perform for free at parties or coffee houses. Our local Seattle’s Best has live music every Friday night. Usually it’s one person, unpaid. If you’re a singer who needs an accompanyist, then you may incur some expense - unless you can find a piano player who has the same problem and wants to solve it the same way!

It’s True: Anyone Can Sing

If you can breathe, you can sing. I’ve taught voice on and off for 30 + years, and during that time there was only one person who seemed doomed for monotone-dom. And I keep thinking that if I could have had him for a little while longer (and got him to practice every day), I could have turned him.

Some of us need more training than others. Many of us are not “born” or natural singers. That doesn’t mean we can’t learn, and that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun doing it.

I’ll be talking about singing details on this blog - technical details that can make your voice gorgeous.

And for you speakers, I’ll have some (hopefully) helpful posts, too.