Brighter Day by Kendall Hunter

Singing Tips: How Can I Increase My Vocal Range- 3 simple tips

Ever wondered how Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, and Beyonce sing with such a wide vocal range? If you have ever wanted to learn to sing the really high notes? Here's five easy steps to do that.

1. Breathe deeply- Great singers have great deep breathing skills. They have learned how to expand the lower part of their abdomen which allows for more support of the air while singing.
   

   
    

2. Move the Air- Learning the proper way to exhale when singing is vital to increasing your range. You have to allow the air to really feel like its moving quickly out of you. Don't hold it in, or else you won't have momentum to hit higher notes.
   

   
    

3. Sing in the Mask- Whether you're belting, using a falsetto or head voice, or singing in your chest voice, finding your voice's best resonance point will increase your range by an octave or more!
   

   
    

   
    

   
    

Singing Tips: Vocal Fatigue: What to do when Your Voice Is Hoarse- 3 Remedies

Singing, whether at a chorus concert, church function, or in a nightclub can be so fulfilling! However, it can also wear down on your voice. Here are 3 tips for singers who occasionally lose their voice to help them keep singing.

 

1. Talk less. Keep in mind that whether you speak or sing, you are using the same vocal chords. You do not want to fatigue the voice before you have sung a single note!
   

   
    

   
    

2. Drink lots of hot tea. Not only will this keep you hydrated, which allows your vocal chords to be more 'pliable', the steam from the hot tea will much more quickly provide moisture for your vocal chords than will cold or room temperature water.
   

 

1. Sing in the Mixed Voice- This is also called 'Singing in the Mask'. This technique allows you to sing 'off' the vocal chords which will significantly lessen vocal fatigue and hoarseness while you are singing while simultaneously dramatically improving your resonance, volume, and eliminating that breathy tone quality.
   

   
    

   
    

I Used To Smoke, Is My Voice Ok?

The effects that smoking can have on the human voice can, for some, be quite catastrophic:

• Smoking 'thins' your vocal cords and take the elasticity out of them. This creates a limited vocal range and tone color. For some, it also means complete hoarseness.
  
• It also enhances or brings on symptoms of asthma, which creates breathing difficulties, which often result in lack of breath control and breath support.
  

  
   

  
   

  Once you've quit smoking, CONGRATS! But now the work begins
  

  
   

  Be aware that while, with training and practice, you can 'oil' your voice back up and get it in great shape, some damage may ne irreparable.
  

  
   

  In that case,
  

1. get with your ENT doctor to check your current status.
   
2. Take the time to learn keys that will keep your voice its healthiest as you embark on this new chapter!

How Long Should I Take Private Voice Lessons?

Voice Lesson needs vary from person to person, of course. I've learned that 1 ½ to 2 years of consistent lessons makes a powerful difference in your voice.

Literally, it can take you from having potential to being studio- ready, with the right teacher, of course.

Here's my timeline:

• 0-6 months: we're getting over shyness and insecurities and getting adjusted to new technique. For many voice students, this is THE BIGGEST hurdle to overcome. Once they are comfortable making mistakes with their teacher, they're confidence rises and everything falls into place rather quickly.
  
• 6-12 months: we're generally locking in technique, and working to close major gaps in technique.
  
• 13-18 months : we're 'tying up loose ends'. You have overcome your major hurdles and are now polishing your technique, to have consistency throughout your range. You're new range opens up new posibilites with repertoire. You are finding your voice
  
• 19-24 months: You are becoming an artist. This takes you from being mechanical and skilled, to being an artful performer.
  

  
   

  *This is coming from the perspective of becoming a pop/ gospel/ country/ r&b performer. Of course classical singing takes 6+ years of ongoing training to be an artful performer!

All About Vocal Cords

Firstly, just as we are all different on the outside, we are likewise different on the inside. We all have different vocal cords. Some of us have thin, long vocal cords, and others of us have short thick ones. The difference between the two is the sound they produce, and the effort it takes the singer to produce that sound. The long, thin ones produce a lighter sound. These voices tend to have a naturally fast vibrato which allows more ease with runs and coloratura. Their voices, even at the strongest, are characterized as ‘light and thin’ and quite often ‘high’. They also tend to be very flexible in the upper registers of their voices.

The short, thick ones produce a heavier, meatier sound. These voices tend to produce a mid- tempo to slower, wider vibrato and are remembered more for their power and ‘color’ rather than vocal tricks. Even at their lightest, their rich tone color is always present. Their voices tend to also have the most flexibility in the middle to lower registers. While these voices can master the same ‘tricks’ that lighter voices can, it may simply be more of an effort.

Think of it as the difference between a race car and a heavy duty truck: A race car is smaller and lighter, thus it has an easier time maneuvering tight corners at fast speeds. It also can go from 0-60 mph in 5 seconds flat. The heavy duty truck on the other hand does not have as easy a time in tight situations and although it is able to go at monster speeds, the weight its carrying causes it to exert more effort to perform that task.

Make sense?

*No need to run to the ENT to find out what type of vocal cords you have! Just listen to your voice and decide which is easiest, Michael Jackson, or Anita Baker? Learn to gauge yourself and what is most comfortably ‘you’.

Tessi- what? Explaining Tessitura

In short, tessitura is the range of notes that your voice 'sits in' most comfortably.

I can sing a Bass A to a High Soprano E flat, but I won't be auditioning for any Bass solos or light coloratura roles anytime soon!

Why?

Those extremes are not in my tessitura,

Sometimes we get so caught up in increasing our range that we forget to make music. Never forsake your musicianship for skill. Just because you can hit the note doesn't mean you should

    Find your tessitura. For me, it is my midrange. It's the

1. Most flexible,
   
2. Most full,
   
3. Most natural sounding.
   

 

Everything else is skill, but that mid range …. Is where I make music!