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www.vocalizing.com By Karen Oleson and Timothy Strong The genesis for this article comes from a workshop I was asked to present for a local chapter of NATS (National Assoc. of Teachers of Singing). It is only in very recent history, that performance studies in vocal jazz have been offered in academic settings. Prior to this if one wished to be a jazz singer they learned by listening to, following and copying other singers and experimenting and performing at every opportunity. Now that jazz styles have been codified it is easier for modern educators to expose jazz singing to students at almost any age. It can be confusing for both student and teacher to try to translate the voice building techniques and exercises needed to produce desired results for both classical and jazz singing. The vocal choices one makes for singing jazz are quite different from a classical singer. My students love singing jazz and are thrilled when they are accepted into their jazz choir or ensemble but are challenged to bridge the differences between techniques. So what are these differences? Can we bridge these diverse techniques? Can they be compatible? Have we been allowing style differences to interrupt the goal of voice building? The following chart suggests some of the presumed differences in vocal technique and style. Classical Technique Voice Quality: Resonant, full bodied, clear. Breath Management: Fundamental building block for voice development. Opera singers need to sing for hours over symphony orchestra with no mic(rophone). Articulation: Pure vowels, clipped consonants, years of study in at least four languages Range: Wide range, 2 1/2 to three octaves, top notes of prime importance no matter what voice type. Flexibility: Desirable for keeping voice fresh and healthy. Necessary to negotiate challenging cadenzas. Registers: Blended, seamless connection between registers Posture: Very important consideration for breath management and voice projection. Dynamics: Requires large dynamic range from pp to ff. Messa di voce important study for voice building. Vibrato: Used extensively, integral part of the vocal quality. Jazz Technique Voice Quality: Can be earthy or breathy. Close to speaking voice. Breath Management: Singers also required to sustain long phrases and scat. But since the sound doesn’t need to as resonant, or as powerful, learning nuances of mic technique becomes essential. Articulation: Very close to speaking voice. Diphthongs are used according to singers’ choice. Range: Ranges of more than an octave unnecessary but often desired. Vocal improv takes the singer to the extremes of the voice both low and high. Flexibility: Desirable for improvisation. Registers: Breaks in voice often dramatically emphasized. Posture: Appearance often cool, dispassionate Dynamics: Fewer vocal extremes required. Vibrato: Often used minimally and at end of phrases. Classical Style Pitch: Often taught to come in on top of pitch, but to sing in middle of pitch. Rhythm: Precision is important. Runs done as meteronomically accurate as possible. Rubato done at specific places in music and according to era of music and composer. Attack: The onset of the pitch is executed gently. Letting the breath lead. The pitch needs to be precisely in tune. Musical Accuracy: Do not deviate from composers apparent intent. Sing rhythm and pitches according to what is written in the score. Improvisation: Improvisation is dictated according to current trends. Improv is allowed only in certain styles and periods of music Other features: Acting and presentation skills are important in classical singing. The quality of the sound, communicating the text and music are prime considerations. Jazz Style Pitch: Sing on lower part of pitch. Enter or scoop from under pitch. Rhythm: Fluidity within the meter is allowed and desired. Sing against or after the beat. The pause is strictly kept by the drummer so that the rest of the group can play with the rhythm. Attack: Sometimes hard onset in used, other times soft. Enter from below pitch, strong blues influence. Musical Accuracy: The whole point of singing jazz is to be a co-creator with the composer in that particular moment in time. Next time it will be different (hopefully). Improvisation: Scat syllables and improvisations are influenced by current trends. Improv is the name of the game. Other features: Presentation is secondary to listening and responding to other participants while performing. Everything is new, so that cultivating awareness of what's going on around you is of primary importance. Being in the musical moment. The chart shows how singers make choices about how they use their voices depending on the style of music. So how does this affect their training? How do we bridge these diverse techniques and can they be compatible in voice building? Most music educators will agree that we want our students to sing well, no matter what the style. Breath management is an essential part of voice building and good singing. However, because classical singers sing without a mic and have to maintain a fuller resonance they are unable to play with the subtle vocal nuances that the jazz singers enjoy. The microphone assists the jazz singer in singing with a breathy tone, growling, and singing very lightly if they wish. Still, all of those choices need breath management. Articulation is an important ingredient for both types of singing. The jazz singer can be more speech-like and casual in their approach. Ex. My = ma-i. They can play with diphthongs according to their will. Classical singers are more formal in their use of language most often stay longer on the first half vowel of a diphthong. Ex. My=mah-i. It might seem that clarity of text and understandability should have priority but both classical and jazz singers may sacrifice this for a certain type of vocal sound. Classical singers spend years learning to blend the natural occurring register breaks in the voice. Although somewhat important in the jazz singer, it is minimal. The mic can assist the jazz singer with this so that they are able to play with subtle qualities and ranges that wouldn't be heard if a classical singer tried it. Today when students enter my private studio, I ask them about their musical goals. As they are exposed to voice building techniques their goals may change but the important thing for us is to help them find their way efficiently. I've experienced having younger students wanting to be country singers develop into prize winning classical singers. I've also encountered classical trained singers who were relieved to find that there are other techniques that would help them sing musical theatre or jazz. If they are interested in both aspects of singing, the lesson time needs to be subtly managed to address different musical goals. They will need to educate their ear about pitch, vibrato, and the volume of sound and resonance of the voice. A classical singer needs to hear their voice in a natural acoustical environment without artificial support. Jazz singers needs to become accustomed to hearing themselves through amplification. As pointed out in the chart, the use of vibrato, dynamics, pitch onset, voice coloring, rhythm, and many other aspects of these two diverse styles are for the most part at odds with one another. When these considerations are pointed out to the students, they have a better chance of making appropriate choices without confusion and with an appreciation of the differences. Our studio has developed publications that present voice building exercises encompassing various musical styles.* In the example presented below, the purpose of the exercise is rich and deep: ear training, pitch accuracy, flexibility, and singing in contrasting styles. In my opinion, you get the best of both worlds here - a classical warm-up, learning to sing in a major and then a minor key (great ear training), and then scat improv in both major and minor keys. With this exercise, you have an opportunity to show off your classical voice and quickly switch to jazz. These contrasting styles require different ways of using your voice. The classical style requires a more fully resonant sound including vibrato, whereas in jazz vocals, a more speech like quality is appreciated. In conclusion, clear and meaningful communication as to the differences in vocal usage and styles can make all the difference in your students’ abilities to enjoy and perform different styles of music. I have found that presenting them with practical models for bridging the gap can do wonders for their understanding and enjoyment of music making.

It always floors me when a Voice Therapy Client or Singing Student comes in with something unusual. I've dealt with Vocal Nodule Rehab cases to Chronic Laryngitis cases to Vocal Fold Paralysis cases over my 28 years of practice. So when one of my students went haywire during a vocal practice session when hiccups ailed him, I found it interesting. They wouldn't go away and there he was getting agitated, progressively nervous and he basically got so flustered that the hiccups would not go away. I instantly blurted out the "Old Wives Tales" cures one after another that we all know, but really it all came down to relaxing the abdominal muscles and doing a lot of deep breaths, yoga breaths, meditation, self hypnosis to get those abdominal muscles to stop the spasms. Drinking water obviously helps along with deep relaxed breaths and sometimes even holding your breath. If you combine all of the above and literally weed out all of the potential things that might agitate the symptoms and simply relax, you're out of the woods. Ironically, I looked in my various Vocal Pedagogy Textbooks and Bibles and found nothing on hiccups. Nerves can trigger them, but it's horrible when you're on stage performing and they hit. One preventative measure I think that you can take is to watch your diet and don't eat too close to a performance. I always have Brioschi, a lemon flavored Sodium Bicarbonate that is always handy to have. But one thing I think that everyone should be also aware of is Acid Reflux cases(GERD). Acid Reflux must be treated or patients suffering with GERD can do severe damage to their voice, esophogus and upper respiratory tract and can even cause throat cancer when the acid comes up into Upper Respiratory Tract chronically. A tell tale issue is chronic sinus infections that are also caused by stomach acid coming up. 50% of the adult population in the United States has Acid Reflux. A Startling Statistic!!! So get a GERD test from a good specialist. Many of these specialists can also do a Colonoscopy as well. If you have Colon Cancer as I have in my family history, you need to get those done when you're over 40. If you've read this article, I would love some feedback about your methods of curing hiccups. I am going to webmd.com now to do further research on this case for my Voice Student.

Hi, I thought you might be interested in this new guide for singers of all abilities. It can be used as you own guide to become a professional singer or even as a teaching aid for others. If you want to sing and/or make it in the music business then you cannot afford to miss out! The book is 'How to be a Pop Sensation' by internationally recognised voice coach Pete Moody and the website for more information is http://www.makemeapopstar.com Visit the links below (or why not carry out your own search on the internet) to find out what other people are saying about this book. Teachers & Organisations please email ultimateguide@makemeapopstar.com for details on bulk sales or recommendation based commission. Warm Regards Sensation Web Team 'HOW TO BE A POP SENSATION - The Ultimate Guide For Vocalists' by Pete Moody Published in the UK by Gibson Publishing ISBN 9780956710116 Recommended by www.xfactorliveusa.com Read Reviews on Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/0956710115/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1 Internationally Recognised Voice Coach

The life and unexpected death of the legendary comedian, Joan Rivers. Would she be alive today if she did not submit herself for a vocal operation? What a beautiful article written about the legendary Joan Rivers! When I came to Canada almost 35 years ago I was trying to watch as much TV as I could to learn the language. Although I didn't fully understand her humour at the time, I was impressed by comedian Joan Rivers. Joan had beautiful energy and a very animated personality, and she spoke very loudly with huge command and conviction in her voice. However, being a voice specialist, I immediately noted that she was using her voice incorrectly, as her voice was obviously coming out from the back of her neck and the very bottom of her throat. In all honesty, I am amazed that her voice lasted as long as it did! That said, it is evident that, genetically, she was a very strong woman with a very strong personality. In a general sense, no human voice could withstand such pressure applied onto the vocal box for a prolonged period of time. However, you could clearly hear in her performances in recent years that her voice was getting raspier and quite often she simply sounded hoarse. When that happens to a human being, especially one whose livelihood depends on his or her voice, that individual, quite often, emotionally disagrees with the situation. However, most of the time, that person intellectually understands that something has to be done about it, as there is no change without a change, so to speak. While disagreeing, however, they are trying to continuously push that voice out on the surface when, by that time, the voice has usually already been drowned deep inside in their throat. So by pushing it vigorously, they are, unfortunately, accomplishing the opposite result, as by drowning and straining that voice exponentially could bring it to the stage of no return. However, like you are stating in your article, people with voice challenges should notice the change sooner rather than later and first try to conquer it non-surgically by finding a qualified voice specialist who knows how to conduct the voice repair in a holistic manner. We live in a very fast-paced world and to accomplish something we have to move pretty fast. So the thoughts of people like John Rivers and even just of ordinary people are Let's do it now, and let's do it fast. She was probably thinking about her next upcoming performance and, nevertheless, wanted to sound nice, clean, and crisp. However, she did not realize that surgery is not necessarily the solution. The instrument might be tuned and fixed, but the player is still applying the wrong technique, trying to extract the sound from said instrument. If the greatest pianist of all time, Liberace, had been hammering his beautiful pink Grand Piano he would have broken it to pieces and would have no instrument to show his best piano skills. It takes two the instrument and the player. The instrument has to be sound and the player has to be adequate. The player also must be able to extract the maximum capacity of that given instrument. So in the case of the voice, the speaker or singer has to be able also to extract the maximum capacity of their voice and with no pain or strain on the vocal anatomy. I always say, work smart, not hard, and with minimum effort accomplish the maximum result. Also, work upon the design and do not play it by ear. That said, be professional on every level.

Vocal Health Care with Eucalyptus Oil Using essential oils to care for the voice can be extremely helpful for any voice professional. Essential oils work with the body to help heal whatever issue the body is dealing with. There are oils for almost any ailment a voice professional deals with. One difficult and pressing issue that happens to almost everyone, including voice professionals, is the issue of clogged sinuses. We may go to sleep feeling fine and the next morning wake up with a completely clogged sinus passage. If you have a performance, rehearsal or presentation that day, you need to open your sinuses quickly and safely using a clearing agent that will not affect your voice adversely as prescription medications and over the counter drugs can do. Eucalyptus oil is an excellent way to do this. Vocal Health Care Tool If you wake up in the morning with a clogged sinus passage and need a very powerful agent to clear out your sinuses, here is a way to immediately clear out your sinuses and stay clear for your presentation or performance. This is what you will need before you begin: 1) 1 bottle of quality Eucalyptus oil. 2) 2 Q-tips 3) A warm shower Turn on your shower to a heat you can handle without it being to hot on your skin. Put a number of towels at the bottom of the door so the steam from the shower does not escape under the door. Just steaming alone is excellent and essential for proper vocal health care and when your vocal apparatus is under siege; however, this procedure will speed healing even more. Before you get into the shower, take each Q-tip and dip it in the Eucalyptus oil making sure it is covered completely and soaked. Put the Eucalyptus oil and Q-tips on a clean towel or tissue on the counter next to the shower or somewhere close so you can reach them from the shower. Before you get into the shower, spill a few drops of Eucalyptus oil on the floor of the shower. Be careful how much you use; if you use too much, the oil may burn your feet, so just a few drops. Get into the shower and breathe deeply and slowly allowing the mixture to fill your lungs. Take a few minutes to let the steam and mix of Eucalyptus oil begin opening up your sinus passages. After you have begun to allow the steam open you up, take one oil-soaked Q-tip and insert it into one nostril. Very gently and slowly, slide the Q-tip up into your sinus passage, making sure it goes all the way up into your sinus passage as far as it can go. Next, slowly and even more gently twist and turn the Q-tip so it coats your entire sinus passage. Now slowly pull the Q-tip out as you feel the openness in your sinus cavity and the energy of the oil working. Take the other oil soaked Q-tip and do the same thing to your other sinus passage. Within 30 seconds (or sooner) you will probably begin to sneeze longer and stronger than you ever have before! This is the clearing power of the oil and your sinus passages expelling all the mucus and bacteria that has been clogging you up. In addition, the oil will slide down into the back of your throat opening, cleaning, and clearing out any mucus or bacteria. If you are a voice professional, someone who uses their voice to make a living, this clearing is something I recommend you do every couple of weeks. It is another tool in the tool box of your own personal vocal health care regimen.

Foods to sleep by for Vocal Health Getting enough sleep is one of the most important things a voice professional needs. When we get the proper amount of sleep, at least 7 hours, our body is refreshed, strong and full of energy. The strength, power, clarity and focus of our voice is very dependent on our body. If we feel weak and depleted then our voice will more than likely sound the same way. A good nights sleep is crucial for quality vocal health. While exercise and mental clarity are definitely important for a good nights sleep, diet is equally important. Vocal Health and Eating before sleeping The body needs to rest while sleeping. If we eat up to three hours before sleeping, then our digestive system is working very hard digesting our meal, taking energy that should be storing up as we sleep. This energy is also needed to restore and heal whatever our body and voice is going through even if it is just basic repair from the days normal activities. In addition to, and even more important is the effect of eating before sleeping on the voice. Eating before sleeping is one of the most common reasons voice professionals have GERD, also known as acid reflux. Many times because of eating before sleeping and lying down while digesting, food is not able to digest properly and excess acid from the stomach can move up into the throat and sit on the vocal cords causing a myriad of problems ranging from waking up with mucus on the cords to inflammation and even vocal cord deterioration. Eating the wrong foods before sleeping can also lead to a difficult nights sleep due to the effects on the brain. Sugars, white flour, processed foods, dyes, fried foods, glutens and carbohydrates all effect the brain negatively not allowing it to slow down and rest while sleeping. Tryptophan for Vocal Health It is important for voice professionals to know what to eat before they sleep to get a good nights sleep. One amino acid that is very useful in helping the body to slow down and rest peacefully is tryptophan. Tryptophan helps to combat depression, stabilize moods, and insomnia. It also helps to alleviate stress, is good for migraine headaches, and aids in weight control by reducing appetite. If you must eat within three hours of going to sleep, try eating smaller amounts of food and eating foods with high levels of tryptophan. Some excellent sources of foods containing tryptophan and have a low potential to create mucus include: Alaskan salmon Asparagus Baked potatoes with their skin Beans Brown rice Chicken breast Cod Eggs Halibut Hazelnuts Hummus Kelp Lentils Meats Nuts ( sprouted not roasted ) Quinoa Seaweed Sesame seeds Shrimp Snapper Soy protien Spinach Spirulina Tuna Turkey Winter Squash Certainly this list is not all inclusive and there may be some foods that do not digest well in one person and are okay for another. Each person needs to know what works for them and their vocal regimen. As a voice professional your vocal health must be one of the top priorities in your life. Get the right amount of sleep and eat properly to insure your voice delivers for you when you need it to. As always, I wish you the best on your quest for Superior Vocal Health David Aaron Katz

Recently a new platform for music professionals called Music Gateway was launched. Music Gateway is a business platform connecting music professionals from around the globe in one simple, easy to use website. It's not so much a LinkedIn of the music industry as a complete collaboration solution where you can post and receive projects and collaborate on them in a secure environment. If you are looking for ways to find paid session work or find new talent to collaborate with beyond your direct network, Music Gateway might be just the thing you need. You can reach out o n a global scale and provide your services to other professionals, equally you can hire & source other music pro's and develop your career with feedback following each project. Your profile acts as a portfolio for other users to review. Interview With Jon Skinner, Managing Director Music Gateway To find out more about Music Gateway and how it could benefit individual musicians, we met up with Jon Skinner, Managing Director of Music Gateway and initiator of the platform. Q: Tell our audience something about yourself and your personal relation to music and the music industry My name is Jon Skinner, I have been in the industry since 1987, so getting on f or 27 years. Very similar to most people's stories, music at an early age was a passion and I got a drum kit when I was 6 years old. I've always had a good ear for music and was so lucky that the DJ's around where I lived as a teenager introduced me to Motown, Northern Soul, Two Tone and a wide variety of musical styles. When hop hip and break dance broke in 1983, I was hooked and started buying underground records & US imports from the states, those were special times for me. As far as Industry goes, I set up my own independent record shop in 1991 and I never looking back. Q: What made you decide to start Music Gateway? My experiences in the industry became the backbone of the system, it was very clear to me that there was this big hole in the industry regarding the connection between all the creation roles, especially on a global scale. I've felt the pain & struggled through that journey, I know the pitfalls and barriers people face and still face to this day. For me, Music Gateway is about empowering people to A&R their own projects, as relying on others most of the time doesn't work. Q: What sets Music Gateway apart from social media platforms targeted at musicians? First and foremost we aren't a social media platform, this is a fundamental point. We are strictly a business to business website and you only make a connection to another user if there is a purpose, a goal and end result for your recording. You don't built up followers or connections, we are about generating work and connecting professionals to the right people and their music projects. Q: Can you explain how music gateway will be a unique service especially for singers? Producers need singers, singers need producers. The key issue is finding the right person who is first of all, like-minded musically, and can work either to your budget or wants to co-write and or collaborate with you. Music Gateway is a targeted way of connecting to the right person for your project. You can receive work opportunities free of any charge, we only charge a fee if you receive paid work or a meaningful connection to another pro. Furthermore, reaching out to other singers, songwriters and professionals is essential to learn and develop your experience and skills in the industry. Finally, it's important that people understand we are in the bu siness of music and therefore if you are new to the industry you need help, guidance & support, this is what we offer. Q: You have received support for Music Gateway from many big names in the music industry. What is it you think that won them over? How did they respond when you first contacted them? The main response has been, wow OK it's so simple why didn't I think of it? I think there will have been hundreds of people who have had the same idea, that's the easy bit, the hard bit is developing such a system, which handling transactions, files and pretty complex functionality in the backend, whilst keeping it ultra simple for the users. In a word 'Unique'. We are the only website which is focused on the creative process, hooking up like-minded musicians on a global scale. We are a very clear benefit to the industry as a whole and this is why I believe we have received so much support from the core industry organizations. Q: Tell us something about the technology behind the platform and how it sets you apart from other platforms? We are very functional, it's about project management and allowing anyone on the site to Post a Project defining their need. When you create a project, you can define what it is you want to get done or who you want to reach out to, for example as a singer, you may want to connect with a producer to record a song, or look to hire a remixer to remix an existing song. You may need a song from a songwriter or seek to co-write with a musician. The options are endless. Equally, when you set up your profile and define your skills, we notify you of relevant projects which you can review and decide to PITCH (apply) for the work, this whole process and project management is unique. When a project starts the users are granted access to a workspace area, which is where you can manage your project files, this makes it easy to manage any project with anyone in the world, with message systems for communication and timeline feedback on audio files. Q: What is it about the unique community of singers at The Modern Vocalist World that interests you? Having spoken at length with Robert the founder and reviewing the resources on the website, it's clear that there is a great community of singers engaging through the forum and seeking advice & support. We feel that Music Gateway compliments the site perfectly, as we are focused on session work and music creation, which is a natural progression for anyone new to the world of singing and the industry. Q: Last but not least: why do you feel individual musicians should sign up for Music Gateway? What are the direct benefits? It's free for starters, it's free to pitch for project work and free to receive work opportunities. If you want to further your career, receive targeted and relevant work based on your skills, there is no other website like Music Gateway. For protection, you can manage any client work via the site and receive secure payments through the system and your account wallet. Reaching out and developing your own projects is fundamental if you are going to get ahead in the industry, staying local all the time, doesn't cut it anymore, you have to look further afield and work on a global scale. We only make a charge if you benefit through project work, so it's 100% fair. Without question Music Gateway has just shifted the power to the independent and helps remove industry barriers, register for free and create a Music Gateway Account. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - And if you want to improve your vocal skills, we have the right product just for:

This article is 2nd in a series on the Male Voice Passaggio. Introduction In the first article in this series, I explained the acoustic basis of the male voice passaggio experience. In short, the passaggio is a place in the range where the resonance characteristics of the voice are 'between' those of the so-called 'chest voice', and 'head voice'. Of particular interest is the relationship of the first hamonic of the sung tone with the lower vowel resonance. In this article, we will examine some of the resonance strategies available to the male singer in this range, and how those strategies help consistency of vocal tone, power and ease-of-singing. 'Chest voice' power... to a point As mentioned in the prior article, a great deal of the power of the voice, and the sensation that the voice is 'in the chest' comes from the strength of the lower harmonics. This situation continues during the upward scale until the the 2nd harmonic passes F1, the location of which varies by voice type and vowel. Singing upward from there, the 2nd harmonic rapidly loses power halfstep-by-halfstep, and since the fundamental is an octave below it, there is now no strong resonance in either of them from the lower vowel resonance. The 'bottom' (powerful low resonance) has fallen out of the tone quality, and the sensations of that resonance in the chest and other tissues, becomes rapidly much less. The sensation for many is that the voice has 'left the chest'. Also, since the middle harmonics are farther apart in frequency now, F2 has not yet been of an advantage to make up for the missing power of the lower harmonics. In another way of putting it, the singer is no longer in the chest voice, but not yet in the 'head' voice. Passaggio effects This change in resonance character and power does two things to the singer, one at the laryrngeal level, and the other in tone quality: 1) it removes the cushioning provided the vocal bands by the inertive vocal tract, and 2) it causes a tone quality change which favors the brightness (singers formant component) of the tone. Item 1 makes the voice less stable (sensitive to disruption, for example, cracking, blips, etc), and item 2 makes it brighter by comparision to the notes immediately below it, without having any satisfying vowel resonance. Arriving in head voice Continuing the scale, the male singer reaches a point where F2 finally aligns with the 4th or 3rd harmonic (depending on vowel) and F2 greatly strengthens this harmonic, to the point that it is the most prominent in the entire voice. Very often, this circumstance is accompanied by pronounced sensations in the bones of the front of the front of the face, and very often elsewhere. For the singer, the voice is now fully 'in the head'. In effect, the passaggio is the section of the voice between these two distinct areas of resonance characteristics, above the area where F1 helps the 2nd harmonic, and below the area where F2 helps the 4th and 3rd. When the word 'passaggio' is used to mean an active technique, it means whatever is done to keep the vocal quality consistent in this area, and also keeping it from becoming unstable. In other words, to connect the secure, powerful lower and upper voices in a manner that makes the voice as consistent as is possible. Passaggio resonance strategies A) Principal among these is the use of epilaryngeal resonance, in either the form of twang orsingers formant, which we might describe as twang with classical vowels. This has several desirable effects. 1) The use of this resonance boosts vocal power by ~20dB (that is, greater than 8 times as loud to a listener,) particularly by increasing the volume of harmonics in the 2500 to 3500 Hz region, the most sensitive range of human hearing. With this resonance, the singer gets much more sound, and much more audible sound, from the same amount of effort, and can thereby be heard effectively without having to push vocally. More sound, more apparent volume, less work. Sounds like a winner to me. 2) Epilaryngeal resonance, which occurs in the small space immediately above the larynx, before it continues on to the upper parts of the pharyx, provides a cushioning acoustic feed-back to the vocal bands, so they do not take so much stress as they go through their motions. For the techies out there, it can be thought of an impedance-matching layer between the vocal bands and the pharynx. In common parlance, 'riding the vocal ring' across the weak area. For the classical singer, its often the region where vowel darkening (via modification, discussed later) is done to counteract the brightness of the rising-voice tone quality, a technique which to some extent increases the intertive character of the vocal tract, providing some helpful cushioning. An epilaryngeal resonance strategy is not only helpful in the passaggio, it has these effects in the lower and upper voices as well. However, in the passaggio, it provides much-needed tone quality consistency while the vowel resonances are 'between gears' so to speak. Vowel Modification can be used to advantage. There are two approaches here to be mentioned. 1) Because the passaggio starts and ends at different notes for different vowels, the singer can benefit from shading a vowel which has become unresonant toward a related vowel that is not. For example, the first vowel resonance for /i/ (ee) is lower than it is for /I/ (ih). The passaggio for /i/ starts lower than it does for /I/ in a given voice. If done gradually, the singer can shade the /i/ progressively toward /I/, which the listener will not notice because it sounds so well. Acoustically, the effect of this maneuver is to raise the first vowel resonance, and lower the 2nd vowel resonance, bringing them closer together. This technique can be used by singers who use low, medium or high-larynx approaches. The vocal tract retains most of its inertive quality because vowel resonance is being maintained with these alternate vowels. 2) Vowels can also be modified by changing them to more 'closed' or 'darker' forms on the ascending scale, so that both the vowel resonances are lowered. In some circles,this technique is called 'covering', and if done well, is not noticable to the listener. If it is noticed, it was overdone :-) In this approach, vowels such as /a/ (ah) are modified to aw, and /o/ (oh) toward /u/ (oo) through the passaggio. Other vowels have their own series of similar modifications. The technique is generally usable with classical vowels, and with lower-larynx technique, without objection by a listener. If done by a mid-or high-larynx singer, the tone quality variation would likely be more obvious if not done very subtly. The effect of this type of vowel modification is twofold: ---to create a lower position for the first vowel resonance, and to bring the second vowel resonance downward so that it will align with harmonics 4 or 3 sooner than it would otherwise, and ---to increase the inertia the air in the vocal tract, making it more cushioning for the vocal bands Either, or both of these vowel modification techniques can be used by the singer to create the tone quality effects that suits their artistic expression. Passaggio Width and location As a practical matter, the passaggio region for any vowel is about a perfect fourth wide. The starting point will vary by voice type and vowel. /i/ (ee) and /u/ have the lowest passaggio entry points. /e/ (ay), /I/ (ih), /o/ (oh) and /E/ (eh) have the next lowest, and /a/ (ah) has the highest. Other vowels are spaced between these. Passaggio locations are a general indicator of voice type. Bass has the lowest passaggio point, baritone somewhat higher, and tenor highest. Conclusion, or the Benefits of Passaggio technique Why bother with all of this? It makes singing more consistent, powerful, enjoyable to do and pleasant to hear. It reduces vocal strain, and increases tone quality stability in a region of notes that can be fraught with problems for the male voice. There are several approaches from which to choose, and the singer can combine them in whatever way makes sense for their vocal endeavors.

Introduction In the male voice lower and mid ranges, (what has been traditionally called the "chest voice"), the harmonic structure of the sung tone contains many partials - harmonics, which fit nicely into the pattern of resonances for any particular vowel chosen. Throughout this range, the strong, lower harmonics are reinforced by the first vowel resonance corresponding with Formant 1, (F1), midrange harmonics are reinforced by the second vowel resonance from Formant 2 (F2), and higher harmonics are emphasized by the higher "twang" or "singer's" formant resonances. The combination of multiple, powerful low, midrange, and high harmonics present in all vowels is a distinctive characteristic of this section of the male voice. In contrast with this, in the male high range, (what has been traditionally called the 'head voice'), the harmonics produced by the voice are higher in frequency and more widely spaced. Here, few of the harmonics fit into the vowel resonance pattern. For one particular span of notes in the head voice, there is no significant resonance available to amplify the lowest two harmonics produced. To achieve vocal power and consistency of tone in the high voice, the male singer uses what he has available, "twang" (singer's formant) and the resonance from F2 strengthening harmonic 3 or 4, depending on vowel. Between these two resonance strategies is a region of transition, too high for the 'chest voice' strategy, and too low for the F2 alignments of the 'head voice' strategy. This transition region is the passaggio. Acoustics of the rising fundamental Throughout the voice, as the fundamental frequency moves, the alignment of harmonics and resonances for a vowel changes. On an upward-moving scale or leap, the fundamental and all the overtones rise in frequency. Since the harmonics are spaced at multiples of the fundamental, the harmonics also get farther apart, too. For most of the chest voice range, this is not an issue, as the resonance from F1 covers a wide frequency range, and midrange harmonics are close enough together for at least 2 or 3 of them to get some benefit from F2. These conditions apply to all the vowels. However, in an upward pitch pattern, as the voice passes middle C (C-F, depending on voice type) eventually the scale reaches a region in the voice where the alignment of harmonics to formants is no longer advantageous. Overall vocal power and tone quality will be lost if an adjustment is not made. The particular point in the male voice where this occurs is as the 2nd harmonic passes F1. Visualizing harmonics and the /e/ vowel in a spectragraph As illustration of this, what follows is a series of spectragraphs made with different fundamentals sung to the vowel /e/ (ay), made using my own, baritone, voice. As representative of a lower chest voice tone, the first is of the A natural just a bit more than an octave below middle C , also known as A2. Each vertical blue line represents the intensity of a particular harmonic, where 'up' = louder. Low frequency harmonics start on the left side. The leftmost peak is from the fundamental, and if you look at each peak to the right of that (increasing frequency of harmonic), you can see that the 4th harmonic is the very tallest, and then the peaks become successively shorter. This peak volume for the 4th harmonic, and the emphasis of those surrounding it, is the result of Formant 1, F1 in its position for /e/ in my voice. Harmonics to the 'left' of the formant center get progressively louder as they get nearer to it, and those to the 'right' of the formant center get softer. Proceeding to the right is a section of quite harmonics, not so tall in the display, and then there is another build up to the 13th harmonic. This is the area amplified as a result of the location of Formant 2, F2. The spacing of F1 and F2 is what makes this vowel sound like 'ay' to the listener. After another gap, there are two more areas of emphasis, which are the result of F3 and F4, clustered together. These formants move very little vowel-to-vowel, and form the high frequency 'brightness' resonances of the singer's formant. The reason we start with this: for any given vowel pronunciation, (like /e/) the formants stay at the same locations even while the fundamental (and the associated harmonics) are moved during the production of different notes. Especially important in the understanding of the male passaggio is the relationship of F1, F2 and how the harmonics align with them. A2 on /e/ vowel. Harmonic spacing As mentioned earlier, for any given sung note, harmonics are always the same frequency distance apart. That frequency spacing is the same frequency as the fundamental... the note being sung. So, if a fundamental is 110 cycles per second (like that A2,) all the harmonics will be 110 cycles apart from their neighboring harmonics. You can see this equal spacing in the picture above. Because of the closeness of the harmonic spacing, you are able to see pretty well the 'shape' of the formant regions. Up an Octave The next picture is of the same /e/ vowel, but singing the A up one octave, the A just below middle C, A3, which is 220 cycles per second. Notice that the peaks are farther from each other than in the prior picture... now they are 220 cycles per second apart. Looking at the peaks for a moment, you can see that the amplification effects of F1 and F2 are still in the same place (left to right), but now different numbered harmonics are boosted, and fewer harmonics are affected by each individual formant. In the case of F1, the 3rd harmonic is now the most emphasized, with the 2nd harmonic also getting some help, while F2 is emphasizing the 7th harmonic tremendously, but not much else. This excellent alignment of F2 with a harmonic makes it really ring distinctively, and is an example of 2nd-formant tuning, which will get discussed later. Finding the exact location of F1 for /e/ Are you curious about the exact location of F1? Look at the bottom of this next picture, right beween harmonics 2 and 3. See the blips? All voices have some soft, non-harmonic noise. When that noise falls under a formant, it gets amplified enough to measure. These low blips on the spectragraph are the giveaway to the location of the formant. A3 on /e/ vowel Continuing the scale upward As I continue up the scale from A3, three things happen due to the musical intervals represented by the harmonics: 1) My 2nd harmonic gets closer and closer to F1, strengthing that harmonic. This makes the warmth of the voice 'bloom' in this region, and the resonance makes it possible to oversing some and still get away with it. 2) My 3rd harmonic gets higher above F1, and so it gets progressively softer. In combination with #1, this changes the tone quality somewhat. 3) F2 tunes to successively lower harmonics. These three trends are very important in understanding the male passaggio. More on 'What happens when a harmonic rises above a formant'? As a particular harmonic rises above a formant center, it rapidly decreases in intensity. In this next picture, now singing Bb3 (up just one half step from the A), you can see the effect on the 3rd harmonic. It is quite softer now when compared to the 2nd harmonic. For this note, the principal power of the vowel is being carried by the 2nd harmonic. You may also note that the F2 tuning is emphasizing harmonics 6 and 7 more or less equally. That is because F2 is between them. Harmonic 7 is no longer in the 'ringing' position, and harmonic 6 is not yet high enough to be there. Bb3 /e/ vowel The male upper chest voice My voice is now in the 'fattest' part of the upper chest voice, where most of the vowel power is coming from the 2nd harmonic. This range is just about a perfect 5th wide, because that is the spacing of the 2nd and 3rd harmonics. The region begins as the 3rd harmonic passes F1, and ends as the 2nd harmonic passes F1, in other words, for my /e/ vowel, from the Ab below middle C, to the Eb above middle C. This is what makes my voice a 'low baritone' quality. (Note, you can still see the noise blip.. its getting closer to the 2nd harmonic the higher I sing) Now, the Db in the following picture. Notice that there are little noise blips on each side of the 2nd harmonic. This indicates optimum alignment of the harmonic with F1, the place where the 2nd harmonic is exactly aligned with F1. Db4 /e/ vowel The effects of strong resonance on ease-of-singing Through the entire compass of my voice, up to this point, lower harmonics have been boosted by F1, which has provided for some cushioning effect for the vocal bands. That situation is about to change significantly as the fundamental rises past this point. A very important challenge to the singer as this happens is to resist the temptation to maintain vocal power via pushing. And now to the Eb. The 2nd harmonic has just past F1. Its still very strong, but will lose ground very rapidly as I proceed upward. This is the beginning of the tricky section of the passaggio, where the resonance provided to the 2nd harmonic decreases rapidly, and I must, to retain vocal power and tone quality, find another way to shape the vowel. Eb4 /e/ vowel My next post, 'Male voice passaggio 102' will discuss the various strategies that can be used to retain resonance through the passaggio.

Quarryman by Gustave Courbet "Stonecutter" is intended as an anthem to perseverance and is based on the following quote byJacob August Riis : It's one of my favourite quotes and it has helped me on several occasions. The composition counts exactly 101 hits on the snare drum, with the 101st corresponding to the climax, the hammer hitting the rock one last time and breaking it. The Music Of Poligraf series are reposts of writings and audio clips that have been originally published on The Goal Was So Near from November 2008 to April 2009, made available for those who missed the original Clip Of The Day series. If you enjoy what you hear, you are invited to visit the Music section of our website and support our efforts by pre-ordering our first album entitled Samsara.

Ashram by Nicholas Roerich An instrumental in 4 movements (The Ordinary, Running Out Of Breath, Dweller On The Threshold, Jambudvipa), the composition aims to evoke the progress of an individual getting fed up with their day to day life to the point of taking an extended time off for reflection and introspection. In the cosmology of Buddhism, Jambudvipa is the name of the continent of the terrestrial world where ordinary human beings live. From Wikipedia : In a way, both the ordinary and Jambudvipa can be taken to be coextensive, or sharing the same spatial extension if you prefer, as it is the mindset or attitude of the individual that determines in which they abide. In other words, the ashram that is referred to isn't necessarily a physical location, for instance some building located in India, but can also mean a mental construct, or a way of doing things. In that sense, the piece depicts an inner journey beginning from over-activity and ending in temporary seclusion, where reflection and healing can take place. The Music Of The Goal Was So Near from November 2008 to April 2009, made available for those who missed the original Clip Of The Day series. Poligraf series are reposts of writings and audio clips that have been originally published on If you enjoy what you hear, you are invited to visit the Music section of our website and support our efforts by pre-ordering our first album entitled Samsara.

Which Is The Best Vocal "Method"to Study? A unique look at the approaches, challenges and insights of being a singing teacher. Advice from Vocal Coach Kathy Thompson © 2009 Request permission to use in whole or in part by email: admin@purevoicepower.ca We study singing to get better at it just as we would study any skill. We are studying this art form in order to improve our ability. One of the foundations of voice work lies in building confidence. But more than that, we should study singing in order to acquire healthy technique when we vocalize. Notice that I said healthy rather than good. I try to avoid words such as good or bad, because they imply judgment. When you sing with correct and healthy technique, you are in fact maintaining your voice for longevity and stamina, as well as optimum performance. Good technique involves understanding your instrument to some degree, and employing recommended, safe habits when it comes to warming up or working out with your voice. Beyond that, continued study and vocal maintenance (regular practice routine) is recommended. Regardless of my teaching methods, there are constants and truths such as: Progress does not - and will not - happen instantly, overnight. As with developing any physical skill, developing one's voice takes time without force. If you practice regularly, you will see results. Everyone progresses at a different rate. In order to create something artistic, it helps to know the rules. That's the same with anything you want to excel at in life! We shouldn't assume that just because you know how to use your voice to talk and have sung songs, that you know all there is to know about how to do it better. Think of it this way: Just because you know how to run doesn't mean that you can automatically run a marathon. Just because you can use a sewing machine doesn't mean you can sew high fashion clothing. Just because you can talk with your voice doesn't mean you can sing expertly. Just because you can sing without studying doesn't mean you have the ability to sing like a seasoned professional with heavy usage demands on one's voice. I think we can agree that someone just learning to paint can paint any old picture without knowing what they're doing or studying it. Maybe they will get lucky and it will look fine. But it's usually short-lived. Pretty soon that passionate novice painter will want to know how it all works. So they study. Great painters know all about painting and understand how the great masters created such classic, unique and timeless art. I think it's the same with singing. What is a method? My dictionary defines METHOD as: A manner of procedure, esp. a systematic or clearly defined way of accomplishing an end; system or order in thought or action; the plan of procedure characteristic of discipline; logical or scientific arrangement. A method is the way in which we do something. Most everything we do has a method of some kind. You might have your own method of stacking the dishwasher or your own method of folding your towels. Use of a method simply implies that there is a systematic or specific way of doing something. If a singing teacher advertises that they are certified in a particular method of teaching singing, it's possible that they will be only able to deploy only that one method when teaching voice. They may not be allowed to utilize any aids, exercises or approaches that they as a singing teacher created themselves. I prefer not to work like that. To just use one method created by someone else would be stifling to me, no matter how popular that method is, or which masterful teacher developed it. I am the sum of my parts. All of my experiences as a singing student, actor, voice over artist and vocalist made me the performer I am today, and also the teacher I am today. I have studied voice with many singing teachers myself, taken workshops, and I was a voice major in college. I have experienced various styles of teaching voice as a singing student myself. I have developed my own approaches on how to connect with students as individuals over the years and I customize lessons to the way in which a student will learn best. (BTW- I myself, will continue to learn, read, research, develop, take workshops and classes for the rest of my life. We are never above learning anything new.) Which Teaching Methods does Kathy use? I believe that there are so many different approaches to teaching voice because there is no standard. That is a lengthy discussion which is best had elsewhere. When I teach voice, I use mostly my own “method”. That means I use partial things from a variety of other methods, or systems of teaching voice, along with exercises, games and handouts that I created. I draw from information from all forms of media, and my own personal experience as a singer. I would work differently with someone who is very soft-spoken and shy than I would with someone who is a high-energy extrovert. There are different kinds of learners and I take that into account. I never plagiarize anything from other singing teachers. I might take a seed of an idea I learned and tweak it, just as you would a classic food recipe. If I learn something related to singing from a science book, I will incorporate that. If I use a scale from another method such as the Seth Riggs SLS method, Frank Sinatra method, the Alan Greene workbook, or the Bel Canto method, I am sure to tell the student where that exercise came from and that they can pull on those resources. (The source is always quoted on their printed handout). I frequently tell my students about other singing courses! If a student is doing something incorrect during singing, I can imitate it in my own voice, identify where the error is occurring during the process, and then show the student how to approach singing that one thing with more correct technique or more economical way. Kathy's Approach I insist on visiting the basics at first and spend time accordingly on the usual things such as correct breathing, posture, vowel formation, etc. It's ongoing. I devote a part of every lesson to performance. I want you to be an original. I want to help you discover the leader within you. Every moment that we are singing a song, we are making decisions about how to sing it. The lyrics will mean something. The beat will mean something. How you phrase, deliver words, the volume or power you apply will shape the song. The vocal nuance or the boldness you choose will come into play. I think there is an actor in each of us and we can adopt characters for our songs. How you connect with your audience whether live on stage, or from a recording booth - will matter in the end. The main goal of lessons is not to CHANGE the inherent way your voice sounds. My goal is to take the unique sound of your voice and add to it; enhance it. We work towards uncovering and empowering the artist within you. We develop the voice you have and build upon that with a spirit of joy. You will discover new sounds. You can't force your voice to grow or do things it can't possibly do until you have trained to do it. (And yes, there is a difference between belting and yelling!) To me, singing is both science and art at the same time. I never try to change someone's natural sound. We only enhance it, help it flourish, take a holistic vocal evolutionary path and keep adding new musical layers. At the end of every lesson, I hope that these 4 questions will be answered yes: 1. Did your voice get some good exercise / workout? 2. Did you learn something interesting and new? 3. Do you understand the assignment for next time; are there any questions? 4. Do you feel motivated to sing and practice? I research. I test. In truth, science is still learning about human behaviour and how the brain works, which is paramount to the mind-body connection not only when it comes to singing or playing an instrument, but is related to learning and executing ANY physical skill. Science is still learning about the voice. What Makes a Great Singing Teacher? Let us pose this question to anyone who teaches a skill. For example: In order to be a fantastic football coach, does that person have to be a fantastic football player themselves first? In order to be a fantastic auto mechanic teacher, does that person have to be a fantastic auto mechanic themselves first? In order to be a fantastic singing teacher, does that person have to be a fantastic singer themselves? It's my opinion that the answer to that is yes. Ideally, at some time in their career the teacher, trainer or coach would have excelled at performing that skill themselves, which they are now teaching. If they themselves know what it's like to hit a home run on stage or in the studio, they can bring that experience to you through their coaching. Don't be too quick to judge the style of your singing teacher. If you are a raspy rock singer and you need to learn how to sing more healthy easy sounds during practice, you might not want to study with a person who only knows how to rock hard with their voice. You probably need warmer, richer, healthier exercises to sing; not more of the same. You need a little something in the way of therapeutic singing. Look to a variety of styles to study: R&B, folk/roots, classical, SLS, theatre, pop, etc. Internet Misinformation About Singing Methods There is so much misinformation on the internet, it's hard to believe what's true and what's not! Just because something is in writing doesn't mean that it is entirely accurate and absolute. There are literally hundreds of people out there calling themselves singing teachers, vocal coaches, starting schools and calling themselves experts. Should a singing teacher have academic credentials only? A degree? Stage experience only? What credentials does someone need to be a valid singing teacher? Suppose someone has performed on Broadway stages for years but has never been in a hit musical, is not famous, and they decide to teach singing. Does that mean they won't be a good singing teacher? Maybe maybe not. Don't be fooled by fame. Fame can be a result of luck and good networking skills. It's rare that anyone becomes famous by accident, including singing teachers. They have usually sought their station. That's not good, bad, right, or wrong just fact. A few times, a parent has asked me if I have taught anyone famous. Would that make a difference to the quality of my teaching? Not necessarily. Keep an open mind is all I'm saying and try not to think in absolutes. There are singing methods out there with certified coaches who are fanatical with the notion that they have the ONLY and the BEST method of teaching singing on the planet. Some attach to celebrity endorsement. Well there can be many, many amazing and valid approaches to working with people on their voices. I think that some popular methods are far too technical and the student gets hung up on the mechanics of singing. Some methods recommend things like warming up with very high quiet tones, or never talk about vocal mechanics, and assorted approaches. Here’s something that made my eyes pop wide open. I saw video of a celebrity voice coach working with a famous rap superstar that I found to be very disturbing. He had his female rap star actually moving her jaw sideways, quickly sweeping it back and forth, fast and hard, as a part of the vocal warm-up! You can almost guarantee TMJ medical issues from that. In fact, it could possibly warrant litigation. This NY singing coach was charging an astronomical hourly fee into three figures (but included back massage). I like to base things in fact. I have kept a log of internet untruths about singing. Here is just one of many, and more benign than most: There is a website I saw which has the word musician and university in the name of the site. Under singing, it says, Singing is easy. Anyone can do it. But what most singers do not know is that your voice is just like an instrument. I don't think that's true. No, singing is not easy for everyone. Some people are very challenged with vocally interpreting and recreating sound as they hear it (* research the word amusia), and require different amounts of, and approaches to- ear training for accurate pitch placement. Some people are in poor physical condition and have a hard time understanding breathing, believe it or not. Some people were raised in a culture where silence was encouraged and they are ashamed to use their voice in a singing fashion. And so forth. The human voice is the only musical instrument located within the body. It is prejudiced with emotion. A piano is not. A violin has no emotion. A guitar has no emotion. It's the players of these instruments who can bring emotional interpretation to sound production. But our voice is within our body; the player and the instrument are one. Furthermore, I can see all other instruments as I play them. But you cannot see your voice as you play it. You feel it. You operate this instrument of voice as your brain sends neuromuscular impulses to your voice and various other muscles and systems in the body. For fascinating information on this, I encourage you to investigate The Alexander Technique for Singers. (FYI, it's a little technical.) I don't mean to scare or intimidate anyone. Connect with the person you want to work with. See if they make sense to you. Use your instincts and common sense when it comes to information at large. If something sounds astonishing or weird, perhaps try searching university and academic websites which are usually loaded with true and verified information. When we sing, let there be unconditional joy. Kathy Thompson, Vocal Coach, Toronto

Deliberation by Ronn Boef "Polygraph" is a portrait of human relations turning from sweet to sour, hinting at the necessity and difficulty of constant genuineness. The suite lasts about 10 minutes and is composed of the following four sections : Exposition, Confrontation, Deliberation, and Vindication. "Confrontation" aims to depict the often difficult yet cathartic experience of having to stand one's ground and defend one's views when criticism or outright attack threatens one's balance and inner peace. "Deliberation" is intended to evoke the following phase during which the contents and effects of the aforementioned exchanges are assessed and reflected upon as the heat of the confrontation slowly subsides. The Music Of Poligraf series are reposts of writings and audio clips that have been originally published on The Goal Was So Near from November 2008 to April 2009, made available for those who missed the original Clip Of The Day series. If you enjoy what you hear, you are invited to visit the Music section of our website and support our efforts by pre-ordering our first album entitled Samsara.

Introduced by Dr. Weiss, was designed as a voice coaching technique for singers and actors, This relatively new fascinating technique may become a powerful weapon against stuttering as well since it features not one good voice but a thousand of good voices...the patient is learning how to control his vocal output using minimal movements of his speech muscles, making it possible to change the voice output in thousand different ways, so you could have a different speech pattern every day...! Recommended for: Professional voice users, actors, singers, choir singers and opera singers, Professors, lawyers, teachers, secretaries, telemarketing people, salesmen, cheerleaders, rabbis, cantors, preachers, bartenders, waiters, and anyone with a hoarse, harsh voice that is using voice to make a living. Some limitations do apply: Since this is a highly sophisticated technique, not easy to grasp and demands between 30-45 minutes a day exercising - the patient should be at least 15 years old, should have undergo a successful previous full-length voice therapy technique or undergo a full-length voice coaching/singing/diction class…In some rare cases, a full length Yoga class would be sufficient (if a full scale of breathing exercises have been implemented). As an introduction let me explain the idea using a non-vocal muscle: Gravity exercise: Sit on the edge of the chair from the upright position curve your back to the right 10cm then go back to the start upright position curve your back to the right 5cm then go back to the start upright position curve your back to the right 2cm then go back to the start upright position curve your back to the right 1cm then go back to the start upright position curve your back to the right 0.5cm then go back to the start upright position curve your back to the right 0.1cm then go back to the start upright position (the last one you almost moved only in your mind is a specialized minimal movement ! Now, do the whole process to your left side !.....In MMSM, you will learn to do this sort of highly sophisticated voice changing designated movements with the main 5 speech muscles: Belly, chest, larynx, jaw, tongue works like magic for professional voice users! Best of all, you don't have to be a voice patient, you can learn this technique as a part of advanced singing or acting curriculum. Also, you don't have to undergo a follow-up period to get used to this when you finish the technique you can actually use it immediately on a daily basis

The 2009 Voice Foundation Symposium featured a half-day session on the speaking voice, with special emphasis on public speaking. Nancy Pearl Solomon, Research Speech Pathologist at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC, organized and moderated the session, with wonderful advice and guidance by Lucille Rubin, Director of Professionally Speaking in New York City. Solomon began with a challenge to the audience to search for the science behind the art of public speaking. She outlined general approaches that have been taken in speech and voice science, noting that typical speaking, singing, acting, and vocal loading have been well represented in the literature, but topics specific to public speaking have been virtually ignored. To educate and inform the attendees of the Symposium, the Foundation invited speakers to address various aspects of public speaking. Diane DiResta, founder of DiResta Communications, Inc., in NYC, gave a powerful presentation about how to speak confidently. She outlined the 10 most common mistakes made by public speakers and demonstrated how to avoid them. DiResta provided practical tips, flawless demonstrations, and an entertaining start to the morning! Deborah Rosen, Director of Healthcare Outreach at Temple University Health Care System, addressed the psychology of public speaking. Rosen explained that the fear of public speaking, or glossophobia, is based on the brain's error in judgment that public speaking is a potentially catastrophic event, thus invoking the fight/flight or freeze/faint response. As an existential psychologist, Rosen framed her approach to dealing with this phobia in terms of exploring one's personal meaning related to the event. Susan Miller, founder of Voicetrainer, LLC, in Washington, DC, and Clinical Associate for the George Washington University Voice Treatment Center in Washington, DC, provided valuable information about ways to assess and advise the public speaker from a variety of perspectives. She introduced an extensive questionnaire that delves into the goals, message, and style of the speaker. Her typical evaluation follows with acoustic and video recordings. As a speech-language pathologist, Miller pays particular attention to enhancing the use of the vocal instrument. A panel discussion followed, including the podium speakers as well as three invited guest panelists. Panelists were selected to represent various factions of the Voice Foundation membership: Donna Snow from the Theatre Department of Temple University provided the acting coach's view; John Rubin from the Royal National Throat, Nose & Ear Hospital and University College, London, invoked issues of importance from the laryngologist's perspective; and Ronald Scherer, Professor at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, provided the speech scientist's perspective. Scherer wrapped up the session by presenting a framework from which the scientific voice community might begin to develop programs of inquiry to address the topic of public speaking. Questions amongst the panelists and from the audience clearly revealed the broad and intense interest in this topic. Lively discussions continued into the coffee break and the lunch hour, and evidence for the effectiveness of the morning's sessions popped up throughout the symposium as scientific presenters reminded themselves to slim down content on their slides, not to look at the slides while addressing the audience, and to pause more effectively. Individual coaching sessions to enhance presentation style at the symposium have been provided by Lucille Rubin and Susan Miller for the past several years, and were especially popular this year. Just another perk of attending and presenting at the Voice Foundation Symposium!

Before to get started with the article I want to apologize for my bad English!!! Recently i received a letter (automatic) from Hilary Canto where was written: "We would like to see you raise your profile more and be seen! This can be done with your page, videos, music uploads and blogs. Tell a story and promote your unique talent! Enter into discussions on other posts and let members see who you are." That's gave me a courage to write something here, at last, instead of just reading. I decided to share my own approach for developing , but you will not find any advices about "How to sing" or something about the vocal techniques. I will share my way of THINKING about singing and to be a singer. I don't know whether this article will be helpful to somebody, but is written with love to all!!! So, let's get started: I. If you want to be a singer you must need to sing. If your mother or father wants to make you musicians - excellent - TRY, but if you don't like it - stop here. II. Оn the first place singers sings with his soul and on the second place with his vocal mechanism. When you become a professional singer and sing every night the things become a little bit different but you must try to keep the fire. III. When you try to find a vocal coach, - go, meet him and think about him not only like a person who will show you how to sing, but you must see a person who has the abilities to teach you how to think about the art of music, and the art of living. IV. So, you feel you want to sing, you have found a teacher - so... Of course, you must sing - when you're walking,, when you are at home, when you take a bath (it is not good for the vocal cords, but you get the idea;)). If you don't practice, and sing only when you have vocal lessons, you will not achieve too much. V. You will find many singers who are better than you - don't worry, may be some day you will become good like them. You must understand, that not everybody is born for the big stage (imagine if everybody become "stars"). The music is not competition, which is different of the music industry. The art is a way to to express yourself, to send message, to make somebody happy (including yourself). It's not need to be great even good singer to sing. I'm telling you this, because if somebody tells you "You can't sing good, why are you doing this?" - first of all, no professional will tell you something like that, the second - you make it for your enjoyment (you fill happy when you sing, etc.), and once again - nobody knows how good you can become . VI. You must listen different kind of styles. This will help you to find the best fitting genre for you, which depends on two things - whether you like it, and how capable are you to represent the songs from this genre. To choose the right song for singing is very important thing and as the number of the songs you have listened is growing up, your choice will be bigger, you will improve your technique (trying different songs, from different styles), your knowledge base will become wider and your self-confidence will growing up too. VII. Try to be good person as it possible. The hygiene of the soul is such important as the hygiene of the voice. Think about the problems of the world, about what you can change, help the others. Try to find inspiration for singing and writing your own lyrics and songs. And if someday you become a great singer, don't forget from where you started! (I wanted to add a point "Try to find friends - musicians", but obviously if you are here, so you want to do this ) Good luck to all, and God bless you! Yours Sincerely!!! Dimitar (active working singer)

So you've chosen an image. You're decked out from head to toe in a carefully-manicured fashion statement to express the persona you want to project. But while you're peering in the mirror, checking out your looks from the outside, now look if you've checked inside. Image is crucial in the music marketplace. It gets you gigs, fans, dollars. Without it, you're just another indie wannabe. But do you know what's going on in that private space of yours on the inside? That place where your hopes and dreams are brewing, loves and fears bubble, and life story lives? Do you take time to look at that stuff? If not, you should. I once had a friend who sang back-up vocals for a talented musician in a local band. One memorable gig was on a snowy evening where the audience consisted of two friends of the band, the girlfriend of the leading singer-guitarist, the soundman, and me. I couldn't figure out why the lead guitarist wasn't attracting larger crowds. Okay, blame it on the snow. His songs were well-written and even compelling, his guitar playing admirable. Now after some reflection, I remember that his vocal expression, as well as the voice of the lyrics themselves, were one-dimensional. It was as if he hadn't yet explored the tremendously rich landscape of personality and experience lying underneath the monotone of image he was trying to get across. Perhaps he would have projected a more colorful and multi-dimensional image on the outside if he had done the work of honest self-introspection and self-discovery on the inside topped with a heavy dose of self-appreciation as well. Think of some singers that have earned your admiration, and chances are they really know themselves inside-out. A singer is an actor and a storyteller. Give over that story with your entire mind, body, and spirit. Understanding your own story will allow you to give yourself over in the truest sense to your audience. And it will be a more meaningful experience for you as well. With blessings for your personal transformation, Devora-Gila Berkowitz

(Polygraph from U.S. Patent 4,333,084) The first part of "Polygraph" is entitled Exposition and aims to evoke a somewhat peaceful and relaxed dialogue, before the relationship slowly degrades to the point of sourness as personal values and beliefs are questioned and subjected to criticism. The Discipline-era King Crimson influence is undeniable here, and to my ear the second variation sounds like something from Steve Reich's Drumming. I have a particular fondness for that piece of music. One fine evening many years ago I stumbled upon the main motif while trying some tapping on my classical guitar. The TV was on to Robert Lepage's movie Le Polygraphe so when I got to sequencing the motif, I named the file Polygraph. The band was looking for its name at the time, and so I also added the word to the list of potential names that I would submit to the boys at rehearsals. An awful lot of names were suggested during that period, but “polygraph” was the first to which nobody voiced any objection, so we jumped on it. The Music Of The Goal Was So Near from November 2008 to April 2009, made available for those who missed the original Clip Of The Day series. Poligraf series are reposts of writings and audio clips that have been originally published on If you enjoy what you hear, you are invited to visit the Music section of our website and support our efforts by pre-ordering our first album entitled Samsara.

A client and I were talking about communication yesterday, marveling at how seemingly simple conversations sometimes go so wrong, the meaning getting incomprehensibly lost in translation. The language we use is so crucial to communication that I spend an entire chapter of The Art of Singing discussing the many ways that it can help or hinder learning and understanding. On the surface it seems obvious, but in fact it's often an incredible challenge to be certain that what you sayis an accurate reflection of what you truly feel and think. More important than the language you choose however, is ascertaining the actual number of people involved in a conversation. It sounds like simple addition, but look closely. When two people are talking, they are not alone. Both bring to the table not only their current, conscious selves- the part of them that hopes and longs for specific things in the specific present- but the aspects of themselves that have been formed- often unconsciously- by their conditioning and past experiences. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, consider the last important decision you made see if you can recall the distinct- and likely disparate- messages from your brave and centered self, and your fearful, uncertain self the part of you that knows who you truly are and where you stand in the world, and that which is still caught up in less than ideal thoughts and patterns from long ago. Two people are talking, but four entities are communicating and reacting to what is being said (and not said), each with their own very distinct agenda No wonder things get so confusing! In singing it's even more complicated, as there are actually three energies wrestling for the spotlight when a single person steps up to the microphone: the present-day person, the collection of that person's past pains, fears and experiences, and the voice. Certainly singing is about the physical instrument, and its development and training are obviously important. But the voice is only one aspect of the entity that is The Singer. Truly effective vocal training- if it wants to be holistically integrated with long term results- cannot only be about isolated technical development. It must also involve and listen to the hopes and dreams of the person actually standing before you, as well as the fears and issues that oftentimes push that person both forward and back. It's a powerful lesson for all of us: we must become aware of every message we're sending out as well as hearing, giving space to each aspect of ourselves and others. When all of who we are feels acknowledged, listened to and understood, communication- and learning- are effortless.

YOUR INSTRUMENT - UNDERSTANDING THE WHOLE VOICE: A 4-PART SERIES Co-authored by Dena Murray & Hilary Canto The series is presented as downloadable pdf files below so that you can easily print them. We'd love you to have a discussion thread here in the comments section. Please add any questions/comments below. We hope you enjoy the series! Thank you Dena & Hilary Left-Click here to download Part 1 Left-Click here to download Part 2 Left-Click here to download Part 3 Left-Click here to download Part 4 Dena Murray teaches in- home and online beginners as well as professionals with her own style technique for correct placement of the voice as well the art of breathing. Books available are: Vocal Technique: Finding your Real Voice (Hal Leonard Corp. 2002), a beginner's book separating the voice before teaching how to bridge the passaggio. Advanced Vocal Technique: Middle Voice, Placement & Styles co-authored with Tita Hutchison (Hal Leonard Publishing 2007) focuses strictly on placement and a unique technical approach to bridging the passaggio. Vocal Strength and Power: Boost Your Singing with Proper Technique and Breathing to be published By Hal Leonard Publishing, end 2009. You can find her on the TMV Directory Of Experts. www.denamurray.com Hilary Canto teaches in-home and online and developed the TRUE VOICE COURSE specially for allowing the voice to flow freely from the heart and to teach healthy vocal technique for performance singing. The course is available as mp3 files with written sheets to download. You can purchase it through and see her training videos to accompany the course on her TMV, youtube and myspace pages. You can find her on the TMV Directory of Experts.

The 38th annual symposium on the Care of the Professional Voice took place June 3-7 in Philadelphia. Our hosts were Bob Sataloff , Chairman of the Board, and the staff of the The Voice Foundation. Ray Miller and I spent the evenings with our good friends from Maine who now live on the edges of Fairmount Park in the extreme northwest corner of the city -- a truly beautiful, tranquil place on the banks of the Wissahickon River and the bluffs overlooking the Schuylkill River. We arrived after our 8-hour drive down from Maine just as the conference opened, with Dr. Sataloff's traditional warm welcoming and his overview of the complex physiology involved in phonation. This background proves essential to understanding and participating in the rest of the week, and establishes a common framework of language and understanding between speakers and listeners. Christy Ludlow, TMV member Ron Scherer, Rahul Shrivastav, Johan Sundberg and Sten Ternstram followed with a variety show of practical and delightful explanations of how the voice is produced and how we perceive it with our ears and brain. This afternoon session is alone worth a million dollars for the neophyte, and hundreds of people -- PhDs, grad students and men-on-the-street -- learn and share new ideas in the field of voice -- a tiny subsection of overall medicine, but a very personal and important one to those of us who sing or speak for a living, or who have lost our voice at one time or another. Thursday was an all day sharing of the latest scientific findings presented by the researchers themselves, with a lot of give-and-take and audience questions followed by truly expert answers. This is a pricless opportunity for young researchers to share the limelight with seasoned and recognized experts, and out of it comes entire new ideas for further -- and new -- research. Midday is an opportunity each year for a major presentation by a keynote speaker presenting extremely current and relevant research findings. This year's speaker was Chuck Larson, who's spent a large part of his career studying the control systems that affect the voice and the laryngeal system as a whole. Through research in monkeys, he's traced the mechanisms of control, from the brain to the larynx, and today he presented all-new work on the role of hearing in pitch control -- an obviously critical aspect of singing. Needless to say, he went home with a set of HearFones to include in his future studies. Thursday afternoon is a time for viewing and asking questions about posters representing research from a host of researchers, many of whom could not be afforded the opportunity for live presentations. All sorts of really interesting topics are presented, and the researchers are right there to discuss their work with anyone who drops by. Are all Breathing Strategies Equal? a Field Report on Children's Voices Acoustic and Physiological Properties of Yodeling, One-Year Follow-Up of the LAX-VOX Tube Therapy, What Do Professioanl Voice Users Learn about Vocal Use, and a hundred other topics were presented. Thursday night was the opportunity to attend a master class given by famous voice teacher and singer John Burrows who's established numerous programs for young professional singers including the Lyric Opera of Dallas. Witnessing how such a person can coach singers of great talent to be even better, right in front of your eyes, is an amazing experience! Friday opened with an all-morning session on What You Need to Know About Speaking in Public -- an excellent presentation on the psychological as well as physiological factors that affect peoples speaking experience, and Friday afternoon was filled with half-hour workshops over at the Academy of Vocal Arts including master classes, rehabilitation of the injured singing voice, body movement (Alexander technique, etc.) and dozens of other vital topics. Saturday is a hectic jam session of dozens of 15-minute medical presentations, broken at lunch by a full hour presentation by this year's G. Paul Moore lecturer, who this year was Michael Benninger -- a long-time researcher and currently Chairman of the Head and Neck Institute in Cleveland. Dr. Benninger offered us a priceless inside view of Evidence-Based Medicine including the research and the people who perform it as well as the people who control it. Everyone was rolling in their chairs with laughter as he related the language of PhD-speak and stories of medicine not-so-research based. My favorite was the parachute-use research which, due to the lack of randomized double-blind clinical trials, was deemed inconclusive and thus contraindicated the use of parachutes. A great citation of this story, extracted from the British Medical Journal, appears at: http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=parachute+use+to+reduce+injury+due+to+gravitational&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8 After Dr. Benninger's talk, the day continued with similar jam-sessions on Speech-Language and Vocal Pedagogy, including a study from Hong Kong on whether there's any relation between the resonance we feel while singing and any actual vibration that takes place in what music teachers have come to call the mask. Sunday was a continuation of Saturday afternoon. There was a great session presented by Johan Sundberg together with TMV member Lisa Popeil on analyzing five different musical theater belting styles, giving all kinds of data and examples of these -- heavy, brassy, ringy, nasal and speech-like. Who would have thought it? And who better to explain it -- and demonstrate it -- than Lisa herself with her ear-to-ear, bright-eyed smile? This group of people is surely among the best, most friendly and welcoming groups in the entire world. Both Ray and I have enjoyed every year we've attended, and learned more than we could have imagined. The recent mutual recognition of this TMV community and the Voice Foundation has tremendous potential for all of us who sing, and who love singing, and we couldn't encourage you each enough to consider joining the Foundation. Their dues for Associate Membership are very reasonable and offer you the opportunity to truly get involved in the world of the vocalist at the highest level. Pete Mickelson -- 25JUN09

Another article on a show not too far back. If you're looking for a great place for the action, education, the fun, and flat out good time, then you're here: The Modern Vocalist. Vocals Magazine - The Modern Vocalist go together like the Beach and Sunshine! Get on board, join TMV and get the discounted subscription to Vocals Magazine. VM

Sorry I've been gone for so long. I'm having physical health complications. if you would like to inquire, PM me. Otherwise, accept my apologies. I'll be giving you an article a day starting today until I am where I feel I should be. Please understand that moderation policy for posts may make them take longer than a day to show and be approved.. Thank you. Singing has three main pieces: Air Flow, Phonation, and Resonance. Poor Air Flow, or Air Production, or Breathing, or Support, or WHATEVER WORD YOU WANT TO USE, WILL toss Phonation and Resonance out of balance. Just because you "don't believe in it" or "don't suggest/teach it" doesn't mean you AREN'T DOING IT SUBCONCIOUSLY. To me, GREAT Air Flow HAS to be subconcious or it's not good and "natural." Speaking of "natural," what IS "natural"? Oh, quite simply it's just what you are accustomed to. To a REALLY "good" singer, it's "natural" to sing correctly. To someone who is just starting as a "horrid singer," however, "natural" IS what they are doing, poor functionality and performance on a vocal level. What exactly IS "vocal level"? It's how the instrument is functioning. "Vocal Level" is misleading, because the ENTIRE body is actually your instrument. Most people ignore that and run into "Vocal Folds/Cords" are the key. Then they leave off everything that matters, except the Phonation. No air, no phonation, too much air, no phonation. It will cause constriction if the Air Flow isn't balanced. Now, balanced Air Flow HAS to be met with a BALANCED Phonation pattern, meaning the larynx and everything connected to it (again, leads to practically the whole body) must be used efficiently. Take "efficiently" how you will, as you're going to be doing that anyway. That just creates the frequency. The Resonance, quite frankly, SHAPES the sound into what comes out. If that's a very shrill, "ugly" sound colour, that's how your Resonance has shaped your sound. If it's an overly dull sound, again, it's how you shaped the sound with your Resonance. Resonance doesn't have to make a huge Opera sound. Actually, you'd be quite surprised how much Opera has in common with Rock, but I won't go into that. So, yes, Breathing IS important, but on it's own, it does nothing. If you want to "train" it, I have a suggestion. Get a balloon that is approximately nine inches (9in, or 23cm) in diameter when inflated. The goal here is to SLOWLY blow the balloon up in as few breathes as possible. Don't tie it, don't let it go. Next, do this part over a period of time to avoid lightheadedness. Slowly INHALE the air out of the balloon so it is completely deflated again. AGAIN, inflate the balloon by exhaling into it, and DEflate the balloon by INHALING it's contents. Do so slowly, and don't inhale it in one breath to avoid lightheadedness/nauseousness. As a side note, if a singer is missing good breathing, but has a great control over phonation and resonance, they can "cover up" their shortcomings, if they know how to use their available sounds properly and effectively. It's all in how you know to use your voice, and song choice.

Aged about seven & hugging an over sized acoustic guitar, I remember my cousin getting quite agitated with me because I wouldn't sing the melody line along with her there I was, happy in my way, doing what I always did picking out harmonies to anything I could and to this day, there are some songs from childhood, which I would struggle to remember how the melody went, but I could sing you any one of several harmonies to it I was only 12, when I did my first paid session job. I remember the feel of the warm Beyer headphones as they cupped my head & the clean, dry, smooth sound of my voice, completely filling my head with my sound. I had never been in a vocal booth before, let alone in a proper recording studio, complete with engineer and huge desk today I was being paid handsomely to do something I did all the time for fun to sing harmonies. I was hired to back up a fairly poor band from Manchester on their first album Today these guys are famous throughout the World. And so in that little dark room, I began my life time love affair with the microphone Today, I have more than 20yrs experience as a session singer, having thousands of studio and live credits including Celine Dion, Anastacia, The Rolling Stones, Robert Palmer, Sugar Babes & many, many others. In my role as a vocal coach, I am often approached by singers who are keen to enter the industry & one of the questions I am so often asked is How do you become a session singer? I read somewhere recently, that only 1 in 1000 singers, has what it takes to become a session singer. Session singers are regarded as the best of the best of the best, the premier league if you like their musical skills & intuition having been carefully honed, primarily through experience, involving long hard hours in the studio and an overwhelming desire to deliver a perfect product. I'm always amused when singers will tell me that if they can't make it as a lead singer, they would consider being a backing/session singer. A session singer is required to be a vocal chameleon and a more generic sound is often the most desirable. A singer who has a particularly distinctive sound will find it harder to get work as the vocal will stick out in the mix. A good session singer is content to remain anonymous & blend in to the background. Sure, they are occasions when a more stylistic vocal is required, but this is pretty rare. Blending is one of those essential skills, learned through experience & a backing singer will be required to match tone, phrasing, intonation and blend effortlessly with the lead singer. Most of my own work has been as a lead singer, performing my own lead and harmony vocals for a variety of projects, from video games, to commercial jingles, to demoing songs for named artistes and occasionally for release. From time to time I am also hired as a background singer, performing backing vocals for tours and studio sessions. Much of the recording I do is on overseas projects and I am able to do this from my own recording studio. Producers like to have the choice of whether you will record for them in their studios or your own. If you are recording in their own studios, the standard varies enormously – I have sung in multi million pound studios, in converted attics & on one memorable occasion, in a guys bedroom, with the mic gaffa taped to the side of his bunk bed! When asked what you need to be successful in the session world, first and foremost, you need talent & the confidence to know, that you really CAN deliver the goods. Many singers come to me for assessments, with the belief they can make it as a session singer, because they are good singers. Most will have never stepped foot in a studio & when asked to locate a simple harmony, they can't find it. They may have range issues or technical issues, more often than not, they can't think on their feet They flap you can't flap in a studio…You just need to deliver, every time & when producers & song writers are paying for your time, they expect perfect delivery (often anticipating their needs) FIRST time. Being a good singer just isn't enough you need to develop skills and nuances, the ability to ad lib on the spot, sing in virtually any key, harmonise and improvise endlessly you need to be able to do everything that is asked of you vocally and without too much thought and often preparation. Your skills are honed to perfection and vocally you must be in complete control of your instrument. You will have wonderful, natural instincts and the ability to take a song and craft it, in just the way the writer or producer has imagined it. Of course, vocally you need to be very healthy. You need to be a vocal athlete & able to sing without fatigue for many hours at a time. While a lot of it is about your talent not just your voice, but your sense of musicality, it is also about your personality. A session singer needs to be the consummate professional, the quiet man, the humble man (or woman) studios notoriously record late into the night & often you are often working alone or with just a producer it can be a very lonely job, with very long hours (it is not uncommon for me to sing for 8hrs straight) and the relationships you form with the people in the control room are extremely important. When there is serious work to be done and time is money, they need positive, dependable, professional singers to come in and discreetly do their job. It is nice to be important, but it is much more important to be nice. What I'm saying is there is no place for egos. There is so much more I could write, but just before I go, I want to say, if you really think you have what it takes, you are the real deal, then totally go for it why live an ordinary life, when you can live an extraordinary one Blessings, Sally Rivers www.thesessionsinger.com www.coachingwithsoul.co.uk