Drink up to 8-10 glasses of pure water every day (any caffeinated drink does not count). Water thins your mucus and lubricates your vocal cords like oil lubricates a car engine. Thick mucous causes friction and trauma to vocal cords. More water, less friction, less trauma, better voice.
Warm up your voice regularly. Simple warm ups are recommended, especially for auditions and performances (just as runners warm up for a marathon). Better yet, take a classical music approach: do glissandos (descending scales) and staccatos (punctuated breathing exercises) and messadivoce (controlling intensity of volume).
Take vocal "naps". Your voice needs a rest, just like you do. So, find quiet time everyday - especially when on tour.
Get adequate sleep. Sounds like common sense -- and it is. The more sleep you get, the more you will be awake and have more energy for a show.
Do not smoke anything. No finger wagging here, it's just that smoke is an irritant that swells your vocal cords. And a reminder: New York bars are smoke free, so you can play in any venue without the damage of second hand smoke.
Use your microphone. There is no need to sing to the back of the room. Let the microphone be loud for you. Using the microphone prevents straining your voice.
Have good monitors. You need to hear yourself for vocal feedback. Use a floor monitor or ear monitor to be aware of what you sound like, what the band sounds like. You may be singing louder than you need and straining your voice.
Develop good singing technique. Vocal training will not change your style. It will strengthen your voice and allow you to sing longer, louder, more often and without fatigue. Vocal training will help make you a vocal athlete.
Develop a speaking voice to go with your singing voice. You speak 99% of the time and sing 1%. A poor speaking voice often leads to vocal strain that will carry into your singing voice. This is true especially on tours, when giving radio and other media interviews.
Most importantly, listen to your voice. Like any athlete, you will be the first to know when trouble is starting. If you voice hurts, back off. Change your set. Chose songs you can sing without straining your voice.
By Michael J. Pitman, MD, New Director, Center for Voice and Swallowing.
Showing posts with label Vocal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vocal. Show all posts
THE KEY TO GETTING A GOOD RECORDED VOCAL
BY ROBERT DENNIS, ADMINISTRATOR, RECORDING INSTITUTE OF DETROIT
The Key:
Vocals sound good only when they are “in tune”. If a singer is “flat” (or sharp) the vocal performance doesn’t sound as good and can even sound poorly recorded.
The Problem:
A singer sings in tune when he/she gets a good “pitch reference.” The ears, however, are not always correctly “hearing” the pitch.
When music is played loud, a person hears the bass frequencies flat. How Flat? A lot flat as much as the pitch difference of the next key on the piano and even more. In recording the singer hears the band through headphones. If these headphones are loud and bass-heavy, the singer will try to “tune” to what he/she hears and usually sing flat.
Its interesting to observe that if a singer is off during recording, it is usually because they are flat - not sharp.
The Solution:
The solution is simple. If the singer sings flat, reduce the headphone volume and reduce the amount of bass-frequencies in the headphones. This may require a little “training” for singers to get used to using lower volumes and less bass than they want in the headphones.
When singers insist on loud bassy headphones and always sing flat, I will suggest an experiment:
1. Have the singer sing a verse with the headphones loud and bassy. Record this on a track.
2. Have the singer sing the same verse on with the headphones much lower and with less bass. Record this second performance on a different track.
3. Without telling the singer which track is which, play each track with the music and ask which one the singer likes best. They will always choose the track done with the lower-volume, reduced bass headphone mix.
Conclusion:
Two rules to record vocals by:
1. If the singer is having problems with intonation (being in tune), use different headphones volumes - usually turn down the volume and turn down the bass.
2. Use the minimum amount of reverb possible when doing vocal recordings.
Vocals sound good only when they are “in tune”. If a singer is “flat” (or sharp) the vocal performance doesn’t sound as good and can even sound poorly recorded.
The Problem:
A singer sings in tune when he/she gets a good “pitch reference.” The ears, however, are not always correctly “hearing” the pitch.
When music is played loud, a person hears the bass frequencies flat. How Flat? A lot flat as much as the pitch difference of the next key on the piano and even more. In recording the singer hears the band through headphones. If these headphones are loud and bass-heavy, the singer will try to “tune” to what he/she hears and usually sing flat.
Its interesting to observe that if a singer is off during recording, it is usually because they are flat - not sharp.
The Solution:
The solution is simple. If the singer sings flat, reduce the headphone volume and reduce the amount of bass-frequencies in the headphones. This may require a little “training” for singers to get used to using lower volumes and less bass than they want in the headphones.
When singers insist on loud bassy headphones and always sing flat, I will suggest an experiment:
1. Have the singer sing a verse with the headphones loud and bassy. Record this on a track.
2. Have the singer sing the same verse on with the headphones much lower and with less bass. Record this second performance on a different track.
3. Without telling the singer which track is which, play each track with the music and ask which one the singer likes best. They will always choose the track done with the lower-volume, reduced bass headphone mix.
Conclusion:
Two rules to record vocals by:
1. If the singer is having problems with intonation (being in tune), use different headphones volumes - usually turn down the volume and turn down the bass.
2. Use the minimum amount of reverb possible when doing vocal recordings.
Improving vocal resonance
Of all the acoustical instruments, the human voice is by far the most versatile in creating different tonal colors with its resonance. It has more flexibility than any man-made instrument. Here are two ways to increase the richness of your resonance.
Stand in front of a mirror and sing an "ah." Use an "n" or "ng" preceding the "ah" for a good forward focus on a comfortable tone and notice the back of your throat. Then, with your mouth still open, gasp as if you have just been startled and look into the mirror to see what happens in the back of your throat. Your soft palate should lift and you should be seeing more of the back of your throat.
Now sing the "ah" vowel with that "n" or "ng" preceding it for good forward focus and keep the soft palate up. You should hear a bigger, more resonant tone. Remember, none of this will work unless you keep warm air with good breath support under your vocal tone at all times
Now, let’s lift the soft palate another way. Open your mouth as much as you can comfortably, then sing the same "ah" with the "n" or "ng" preceding it for proper forward focus. However this time, slowly open your throat as you sing. This time, believe you are trying to swallow a piece of hot potato or think of a "yawning" feeling as you do this exercise. Do this until your tone becomes fully resonant and bright. Remember you must keep the tone focused forward and must not swallow the tone at any time during this exercise.
Always try to imagine that you are spinning the tone and releasing it as opposed to muscling the tone and pushing it out.
Stand in front of a mirror and sing an "ah." Use an "n" or "ng" preceding the "ah" for a good forward focus on a comfortable tone and notice the back of your throat. Then, with your mouth still open, gasp as if you have just been startled and look into the mirror to see what happens in the back of your throat. Your soft palate should lift and you should be seeing more of the back of your throat.
Now sing the "ah" vowel with that "n" or "ng" preceding it for good forward focus and keep the soft palate up. You should hear a bigger, more resonant tone. Remember, none of this will work unless you keep warm air with good breath support under your vocal tone at all times
Now, let’s lift the soft palate another way. Open your mouth as much as you can comfortably, then sing the same "ah" with the "n" or "ng" preceding it for proper forward focus. However this time, slowly open your throat as you sing. This time, believe you are trying to swallow a piece of hot potato or think of a "yawning" feeling as you do this exercise. Do this until your tone becomes fully resonant and bright. Remember you must keep the tone focused forward and must not swallow the tone at any time during this exercise.
Always try to imagine that you are spinning the tone and releasing it as opposed to muscling the tone and pushing it out.
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