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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.

It has always been my understanding that correct support of the diaphragmatic region is a direct result of right breathing. In my experience I've noticed that most instruction has been about manipulating this region of the body in attempts to control the flow of air, unaware that the vocal cords are responsible for controlling the flow and compression. The vocal folds, and proper placement in the mask, have just as much to do with support of the singing mechanism as the diaphragm. Through extensive study and research over the last 15 years, I have discovered a little-known secret. Proper use of the diaphragm is an automatic result of having learned how to inhale the air correctly. In my latest book, Vocal Strength and Power published and released by Hal Leonard Corp., I have included a glossary of the most commonly used words by instructors to describe how to employ and gain support with this region of the body. Frankly, when looking up some of these words, I was quite surprised myself by the true meanings. This forced me to change my own vernacular when instructing after realizing that all the faulty perception with regard to how to engage this region of the body properly came down to the true meaning of words. In my first two books, I purposely stayed away from instruction on the diaphragm and focused on how to get the other two support mechanisms (the cords and the mask) to work together. At the time, I still did not have the words to describe how to engage the diaphragm correctly. I only knew what was wrong: Singers were squeezing the neck and belly muscles, pushing up the belly muscles, and putting strain on the neck muscles. Squeezing of any kind only results in feeling like you must force and blow the air out for sound. This habit not only feels unnatural and strained, but after a few years of singing this way, many singers find themselves in doctor's offices trying to uncover the reasons why they are no longer able to sing like they once did. Unfortunately, some will require rehabilitation and in other cases, surgery. About the Inhale Air is already in the lungs and body from natural breathing and inhales. Because of this truth, it is a misconception that more is needed for singing. In fact, if you take in too much, the vocal folds will be unable to control the flow for sound and compression. There is an art to inhalation. Taking in heaps of air can be not only be damaging, but it also brings on fatigue. See for yourself. Take in as much air as you can and then exhale it. Repeat this action over and over again for about five minutes and you're bound to feel a little tired if you don't faint from hyperventilation in the meantime! Now imagine breathing heavily and hard like this, but with sound, over and over again between words and phrases of songs. A tired singer's instinct will say, I need to take in more air in order to keep that power going, hit those higher notes, and sustain the note (or notes) if needed. Not so. This is literally exhausting, especially on a gig. The more air you keep losing, your head will keep telling you to take more and more in. This will set you up for a no win cycle. Important to remember but not so easy to employ is the idea that the vocal folds do not need much air to produce a strong tone, or to prolong one. In my latest book I have created exercises to re-train how to take the air in properly through use of the staccato. This staccato is a bit different than most. It requires that you take tiny puffs of air between each note of the exercise. However, a tiny bit does not mean to hold the breath in any way. Nor does it mean to blow it all out on every phonated pitch. It's tricky but once learned, all three-support mechanisms will work as they should: naturally and automatically. You will not have to manipulate by tensing the muscles of any region of your body to achieve what you have wrongly perceived as support of the diaphragm. Natural and Automatic Going from one way of breathing to another is difficult; it takes the ability to focus one's efforts on re-training and requires repetitive practice of exactly how much air should be taken in for each phonation. For engaging natural support upon inhalation during a staccato run, the belly (below the navel) will automatically become firm. It should stay nearly unmoving until after you have finished the last tone of a run. You should not have to strain it for this region to remain firm. If you strain to hold the belly out, you'll be holding the breath. Because it is internal, it's hard to feel the movement of the diaphragm itself. The only part of your body you should feel moving is the upper abdomen (above the navel) jumping out and in as it is indirectly compressed by the moving diaphragm inside your rib cage. You can place your finger just below your breastbone to feel this movement. On an inhalation, the diaphragm will automatically move down a bit. As it goes down, it pushes the upper abdomen out. On exhale the diaphragm and upper abdominal muscles very slowly return to their starting positions. (There is no need to blow out the air for this. You only need to relax your belly and leftover air is automatically expelled. Try it. Take in a breath and then just relax the belly. You should feel the air having left by itself). Only when the diaphragm relaxes completely do the upper abdominal muscles move back into their normal position. Squeezing the lower belly muscles at this point only fights the diaphragm's natural action). Through the use of the new exercises I created to re-train the inhale/exhale action, the movement is much faster because the point of the repetitive exercises is to do everything in rapid succession. This will help to get the air and sound producing as if it is one continuous action, and working like a single unit. www.denamurray.com Books: Vocal Strength and Power, published by Hal Leoanrd Corp, 2009 Advanced Vocal Technique: Middle Voice, Placement and Styles, published by Hal Leonard Corp, 2008 Vocal Technique: FInding Your Real Voice published by Hal Leonartd Corp 2002

Urggg, that dreaded cold. If you are like me most humans these days, there are times when you feel like you're a flu magnet. But, there are precautions that you can take to battle, prevent, and flush a cold right out of your system. The following excerpt is from my book, Raise Your Voice Second Edition, to aid you in your fight against infection: Nothing is worse than having to deal with a cold. Many singers refrain from singing (and speaking in some cases) with a cold, due to the fear of damaging their voices. Singing with a cold is quite possible, although uncomfortable. If you use proper vocal technique, your voice will be fine. A cold is an infection in the sinuses, the throat, or the lungs, or it could be a combination of all three. An infection of the upper throat is referred to as pharyngitis. Your throat will be sore but you will still be able to speak or sing. Pharyngitis may be very painful, but as long as there is no infection in the vocal cords, you'll still be able to make it through a performance, although it won't feel that fun. Keep the sound out of the throat and focused into the resonant cavities of the head. The only time you should avoid speaking or singing is if you have laryngitis, which is an infection of the vocal cords. Your throat will feel swollen and sore. It could be so painful that you might not be able to speak. Swallowing will be difficult. The vocal cords are swollen due to the infection and enlarged blood vessels. In this state, the cords will not vibrate correctly. Do not speak or sing with laryngitis. You could damage your vocal cords. This includes whispering and gargling. Whispering is a quiet shout and gargling forces air past the irritated cords. The best remedy for laryngitis is plenty of water and absolute silence. Try a warm mist umidifier at night to moisten The air. Give your voice time to heal. Visit your doctor to see if antibiotics could help. If you are developing a cold, this is a signal that your body is full of toxins and needs to cleanse itself of toxin overload. Once you notice cold symptoms developing, there are several things you can do to help the cleansing process along and shorten the duration of the cold: When you notice the first signs of a cold's supply of vitamin C and Calcium are rapidly depleted. Bothsore throat, congestion, coughing, etc., you must take immediate action. If you are under physical or mental stress, your body are important nutrients in fighting infection. At first sign of a cold, I've been told that if immediately increase your vitamin C and Calcium/Magnesium intake, it will help to speed up the cold-elimination process. Both can be purchased at any drug store. Magnesium helps to increase the body's absorption of Calcium, so it is wiser to take a combination of the two. Zinc lozenges are beneficial during a cold. Zinc is proven to fight infection and to relieve a sore throat. An herbal combination of Goldenseal and Echinacea is excellent for fighting infection in the body. A few drops of Colloidal Silver under the tongue will be absorbed into the blood stream. Colloidal Silver is like a natural antibiotic and fights all forms of infection. Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs. If you feel you might have pneumonia, see your doctor. To break up chest congestion, tap repeatedly on your chest to loosen phlegm in your lungs. This will enable you to cough up and expel the mucus. Cup your hands and tap on your chest as if it were a drum. If you have someone tap on your back, the results will be better. Breathing steam or using a vaporizer helps to keep your lungs hydrated and will also loosen mucus. Choose wisely any over-the-counter drugs you might take to fight a cold. Many only mask the symptoms, slowing down the healing process. There are several herbs listed in the next chapter that relieve pain, loosen congestion, and aid the healing process. A throat gargle is beneficial for a sore throat. These methods are discussed in the next few chapters. Now you have the means to fight off a cold. Jaime Vendera Author of "Raise Your Voice", "Mindset: programming Your Mind for Success" and "Online Teaching Secrets Revealed" jaimevendera.com theultimatevocalworkout.com

Many singers can sing like an angel, but have horrible breathing technique, if any. Correct breathing is a basic principle that is often absent in a performance, and that is tragic. If one learns to breathe correctly, they have to ability to greatly improve sound and also expand stamina and range. Also, breathing and relaxation go together like a hand and glove when done the right way. What is "A Singers Breath"? A singers breath is a term that I coined to make this type of breathing distinct from the shallow breathing that we do in everyday living. When a singer takes a breath to sing a note, it should be very calculated and technique driven. When I was growing up, I was always told to "sing from you diaphram", but correct breathing is so much more than that. Your diaphram is only one of the muscles involved with singing. In acutallity, your entire abdomen should be engaged when you sing, not just "the diaphram", as many people think. How to breathe Shallow breathing is the only thing essential for maintaining life. It is what we do everyday without any thought. It involves part abdominal muscles, part chest muscles. However, when a singer is performing, they must learn to think differntly about how to take a breath, and how to let that breath out. A short excersise: Stand upright and when you breathe in, fill your abdomen with air (Your abdomen shoud look and fill up like you are blowing up a balloon). Do this as slowly as possible. When you have completely filled your abdomen with air, slowly blow the air out. Maintain as much control as you can using your muscles in the abdomen, and no other muscles. Your objective is to take in as much air as you can, but you don't want to involve your chest muscles at all when taking in the breath. When letting the breath out (which is what happens when you sing), you want to be as controlled as possible, using only your abdominal muscles to allow air to seep out (Imagine that you are letting the air out of the balloon that you just blew up while pinching the entrance of it. Only allowing the air to leak out, not flow out). The focus is filling with air the right way by isolation of the abdominal muscles(breathing in), and exhaling with a strong and controlled motion(Singing with control). Do this repeatedly by counting to ten while you slowly fill your abdomen with air, and also when you are letting the air out. If you look into a mirror, there should somewhat of a butterfly motion going on only in your abdominal area. The rest of your body should be as relaxed as possible. If you have been breathing incorrectly for years, this is something that takes work, but don't be discouraged. You must retrain yourself to correct something that you have been doing for a long period of time. That is where a Professional Vocal Coach comes into play. If you are a serious singer, seek one. You will only get better at your art if you do! I hope that this will at least start you on a quest to become the best singer that you can be. Angelia Williams Professioal Vocal Coach "Where Voices are Developed"

As I previously mentioned, the tongue is often a source of unwanted tensions for singers. It is important to be aware of the engagement of the hyoid or digastric muscles at the base of the tongue, near the chin. Just the awareness of their activity helps in loosening their grip. Place both thumbs under your chin and sing an ascending passage. If you feel pressure from the tongue pushing downward, those muscles are getting in the way of efficient tone production. Also, if when watching yourself in a mirror you notice your tongue pulling backward in your mouth, it is being disruptive to good singing. WE DON'T WANT THAT!!!!! I like to start my warmup time with some tongue stretches before I actually vocalize. This routine I learned from Nate Waller, who was my speech pathologist when I was preparing for vocal fold surgery. Since then, they have become a regular part of my daily regimen. So here goes: 1) Stick the tongue out of the mouth pointing upward. Hold for 3-4 seconds and release. Repeat 3 times. 2) Stick the tongue out pointing downward for 3-4 seconds then release. Repeat 3 times. 3) Stick the tongue out to the each side of the mouth for 3 repetitions, holding for 4 seconds each time. 4) With the tip of the tongue behind the lower front teeth, extend the body of the tongue forward and out . Hold for 4 seconds. Repeat 4 times. Make this a regular part of the vocal warmup process. You will be so very glad you did!! I like to monitor the activilty of the muscles under the chin throughout my practice time. If I feel that my production of sound is getting more difficult, I place the thumbs under the chin to check for tightening of those evil tongue muscles. Often, that is the source of the imbalance. If you're like me and had a lot of problems in this area early on, you must remain vigilant in self-monitoring.

Much is written and talked about breath control for classical singing, and the related tension it can lead to in the abdomen, the jaw and the tongue. I have many enquiries and new students who talk about learning the control required for singing. They seem surprised when I start by getting them to release and de-control. They can be scared of it at first, but many go on to find it an exhilirating experience. So, where does this idea of control come from? Surely it must be all of those old texts, translated from Italian, that seem to hold no place for singing in the modern world? Well, here are a couple of snippets from Giovanni Battista Lamperti (of course translated into English) that may not be what many expect. The degree of loudness of tone depends on the quantity of breath released by letting go muscularly. There is no attack, no mouth position, no tongue control, no voice placing,no fixed chest, no relaxing this or that muscle, no stiffening any part of the body, in fact, nothing that would not spring from instinctive utterance. And, from Mathilde Marchesi on the concept of Coup de Glotte It should be understood that the Coup de Glotte is a natural movement of the vocal organs, and that the pupil has only to bring under the control of the will this spontaneous action which has been developing since the first cry at the moment of birth. It is, in fact, the possession of this same natural faculty that enables us to form unconsciously all the vowels in speaking. So, there is mention of release, of instinctiveness, and of relating singing to being as easy as talking. So, maybe the concept of control came with the well intentioned introduction of science into vocal teaching. Well, Oren L Brown, teacher for 19 years at the Juilliard School in New York, was always held up as being someone who kept up with the latest research into voice science. His book Discover Your Voice contains chapters on resonance, overtones, vocal registers, laryngeal anatomy, and perhaps most interestingly Neurology and the Brain. Because, after all, we may sing with our bodies, but the impulses to do so come from our mind. When it comes to teaching how to sing, rather than what is happening in the body, what does Brown instruct us to do. The opening of the chapter on program thoughts reads Your voice knows how to sing. it knows how to sing better than you do. Think the music and your voice will sing it for you. Elsewhere he states that an efficient and natural supply of air is needed for voice production. I would emphasize natural  here, because the fact is that we all breathe. We all need to breathe, and we breathe without thinking about it. From the moment we let out our first cry after birth, our diaphragms descended to draw in breath, and then relaxed to let it out. It will continue doing the same until we breathe our last, and it is mostly unconscious precisely so that we don't need to keep thinking about it. So, why would we want to artificially control that which nature has provided for so well? It seems that much of it surrounds trust, and vulnerability. Our breathing is bound up in our emotions, and by freeing our breath we often free emotions that many of us would prefer remain hidden. However, it is those very emotions that move audiences, and so by freeing our breath we will increase our communication with the audience. By controlling the breath we put an artifical barrier between ourselves and the audience. Finding the connection between our voices and our emotions is not always an easy journey. Some are more comfortable than others in laying their emotions bare for all to see. However, it is this connection that many great singers display. Pavarotti had it, Callas too, and Ponselle, Flagstad, and many others. Their singing grabbed our guts and had us on the edge of our seats. It's not just classical singers either. Sinatra could excite and sway, as could Billie Holiday, reaching directly into our emotions and pulling at them. In order to do this, they had to let their voices and breath be guided by their bodies and emotions, rather than imposing control upon them. I'll leave a last couple of thoughts to my late teacher Howard Milner. Joining is what singing does for us. It joins us with the audience, with each other and inside ourselves. The diaphragm, breathing, works beyond volition, doing what the body feels rather than what the mind thinks. The only thing you can consciously do to breathing is to mess it up. The only way to make it better is to let go of it more, to de-control it, to agree to let it take its course. This is the principal of allowing. It is about setting free the unconscious movement that enables us to sing. Your job is to find where and what it is and connect with it.