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Vocal Tips
 

10 Vocal Tips     Vocal Health     Breathing     Vocal Technique     Performance Tips

Warm-up Exercises     Acapella Warm-ups     Vocal Strengthening     Vocal Workout

Top 10 Things a Vocalist must do and know in order to succeed!

 

1) Hydrate! - Drink at least a half gallon a day. Many vocalists drink up to 2 gallons, depending on exercise and daily routine.

 

2) Warm-up EVERY time you get ready to sing. This includes humming, vocalises or scales, physical warm-ups - such as stretches and minor cardiovascular workouts, tongue stretches, motor sounds and jaw release techniques.

 

3) Learn your anatomy - know what your diaphragm, vocal cords, and the muscles surrounding those areas look like.

 

4) Relax - learn deep breathing, stretching, and various techniques to get you focused and relaxed.

 

5) Sing everyday - even if it is just for a few minutes. Never let your instrument get out of practice.

 

6) Know your limits - don't sing so much that you will be hoarse the next day. Don't mistreat your voice: talking too loud, screaming, being in smoky environments, etc.

 

7) Pick songs that challenge you - there is no use in rehearsing a song that you can sing in your sleep. Pick one that stretches your range a bit and gives you some goals to work towards.

 

8) Buy and start learning another instrument - such as guitar or keyboard. You may or may not become proficient in it, but it will help you understand music a bit better and you may end up writing a song with that instrument.

 

9) Don't be a snob - Listen to all kinds of vocal styles: opera, musical theater, jazz, blues, rock, sacred - just to get an appreciation for what they do. You may be surprised at what you end up liking.

 

10) Get help - if you feel you are at a standstill in your progress - seek a teacher that will help guide you and your voice to the next level.
 

Vocal Health Care

 

  1. Warm up:  Just like an athlete, warming up is key to becoming a successful singer.
    1. Good Food
    2. Sleep
    3. Stretch

 

  1. Avoid dairy products:  Dairy products cause phlegm

 

  1. Drink lots of water.  Your vocal chords are like  a big sponge – wet pliable – dry brittle
    1. Best is room temperature to warm.  Remember you’re trying to warm up the voice.
    2. Avoid Ice
    3. Avoid soda’s and carbonated beverages
    4. Caffeine hard on the voice. -  restricts blood flow

 

  1. Warm drinks excellent for voice. 
    1. Some herbal drinks are especially good for the voice:

                         i.      Licorice Root tea especially good for voice

                         ii.      Throat coat

                         iii.      Ginger tea

    1. Avoid extreme temperatures.  Too hot or too cold not good for voice.

 

  1. Sore Throat Care
    1. Glandular Sore Throat (Glands are swollen or sore)

                         i.      You can sing over a glandular sore throat.

    1. Raspy Sore Throat (Seems like you might be losing voice)

                         i.      Don’t sing unless absolutely necessary.

If you must sing:

1.      Drink Teas

2.      Use Steam – Pot of hot water with towel

3.      Don’t talk

                        ii.      When you get well, it is important that you use the warm ups and vocal exercises to get your voice back to good health.

 

  1. Don’t eat 2-3 hours before singing.
    1. When you’re full, you can’t breath as deeply.
    2. Eating cuts energy in half because body is spending half it’s energy to digest.

 

  1. Warm up before EVERY performance.
    1. Without warm-ups your voice will get tired after a short time.
    2. With warm-ups you can sing for several hours before tiring your voice.

 

  1. Limit AM speaking: In morning, when you first wake up, don’t talk a lot for the first half hour.  Do warm-ups instead.

 

*For optimal Vocal Care, do as much of this as you can, but don’t be overly obsessive if you can’t do it all.
 

Breathing

 

Your breathing is the source of life.  In singing, the breath comes up and flutters the vocal chords to produce sound.  There are a couple of things you should always be aware of for proper breathing:

  1. Relax:  Especially around area of vocal chords. neck, shoulder, jaw, etc.
  2. Be aware of your Shoulders:
    1. Do not lift shoulders when breathing – too shallow
    2. Keep shoulders loose but back slightly (Avoid hunching forward)
  3. Breathe into Diaphragm area:
    1. Concentrate on lower body – tummy, lower back, diaphragm, etc.
    2. Fill lower body with air
    3. Lungs will take care of themselves

 

Breathing Exercises

 

Laying Down Exercises:

Find comfortable place on floor or couch (can do sitting [like in the car] up, but laying down much more effective)

 

  1. Relax body
    1. Legs: Squeeze muscles in legs – tight, tight, tight, Relax
    2. Arms:  Flex all muscles in arms.  Make rigid.  Then Relax. 

*As you relax, breathe out.  Breathe in through nose, and out through mouth. Mouth breathing will tend to dry out mouth. Also, as you breathe out, make a kind of kissing shape with the mouth.

    1. Shoulders:  Squeeze shoulders. Take shoulders up nice and tight.  Relax
    2. Jaw:  Open mouth up wide and roll around
    3. Face:  Any tension left in face, let it go.

 

Do the next four exercises 5-10 times each:

 

  1. Deep Breathing: Place one hand on tummy and breathe deeply into belly.  Should feel tummy expand quite far.  Exhale and relax

 

  1. Belly-Chest Pattern: Place one hand on tummy and the other hand on chest (lung area).  Push all your air out. Now breathe into your belly, then lungs.  Now exhale from lungs, then belly – In that order.

 

  1. Belly-Chest Ten Count (Increase breathing stamina): Use same pattern as Belly-Chest Pattern, however this time perform with the following reps:
    1. Breathe in for 10 counts (Belly 5 – Lungs 5)
    2. Hold for 10 counts
    3. Exhale for 10 counts (Lungs 5 – Belly 5)
    4. Hold for 10 counts

 

  1. Balloon Leak:  (Timed – Longer you can leak out the air, the longer you can hold a note).  Push all air out.  Breath in using Belly-Chest Pattern then let out smallest, most consistent bead of air possible. (Sounds a little like a snake hissing).  (Try to get to 60 seconds or more after a few months)

Stand Up Exercises:

 

            Quick Breath (Repeat 10 X’s) (To help get the air you need in as short a time possible): Concentrate only on expanding the diaphragm area (tummy area).

    1. Put hands slightly above hips.
    2. Fill tummy with air
    3. Feel for thumb and fingers expanding
    4. Act surprised as you breathe in quickly.
    5. Exhale

 

Application:  When the next word in a song starts with the mouth open (i.e. honor), breathe through the mouth.  If the next word starts with the mouth closed (i.e. mother), breathe through the nose.

 

            Dog Pant:  Put hand right underneath rib cage (right over diaphragm).  Take deep breath and pant like a dog until you run out of air.  You should feel the diaphragm bouncing back and forth.

 

*Remember to keep hydrated! Sip water when mouth gets dry.

 

Vocal Technique

 

Proper vocal placement:

On most instruments, one can show another person how to play.  With singing, it is a little different.  You have to hear and feel to get proper placement.  Proper placement will help you to sing much longer without tiring so quickly.

 

Correct Position:

Sound should be concentrated in the mask of the face (Think of a rhino horn)

 

Wrong Position:

Sound is down on vocal chords.  This pinches the sound.

·        Throw neck back so nose is facing ceiling

·        Speak a little about anything

·        Should feel the sound on the vocal chords.  It will be rather pinched feeling and sounding.

 

Achieving Correct Position:

·        Put head all the way down – chin on chest

·        Speak a little about anything

·        Should feel

o   Sound in the mask of the face

o   Almost buzzy feeling in nose (right below eyes)

 

Proper Body Position:

Relax: 

Make sure body is not tight.

          Drop shoulders, and move back slightly

          Loosen jaw

Mouth:

          Open Mouth wide

          Avoid closed mouth singing

Head:

          Tilt head slightly down (helps open air passages)

Hands:

          Hold hands to the side. Keep relaxed

          May hold hands in front or back of you, but keep relaxed.

Tongue:

          Tuck tongue behind bottom teeth.

          Let tongue rest there

 

*Make sure that you pay attention to annunciation.  This is key to being understood when you sing.

Pattern for Playing the Vocal Instrument

 

·  The Breath breaths (fills) you from the outside.

 

·  The diaphragm then will descend and you feel the stomach expand.

 

·  The lungs will swell and the glottis will open—you will feel like you’re almost yawning.

 

·  You’ll also feel oxygen when you’re ready to sing.

 

·  Then you place the voice on the breath which is the blowing principle.

 

·  The chords start to vibrate.  The vibration which becomes sound, goes up the back of the throat, through the top of the head, into the forehead, then into the mask and then across the roof of the mouth and against the teeth.

 

·   You feel the tip of the tongue touching the bottom teeth forming the vowel upon the tongue inside the mouth and then you feel the famous string of pearls which is the striking and binding of tone at one and the same time.  That means that you feel the pitch changing at the same time you feel the vibration continuous.
 

Performance Tips and Tricks

 

Mic Techniques:

          Equipment: Make sure equipment is all ready for you.  Mic should be your height and the cord is loose.

          Holding the microphone: Move mic depending on what you are doing.  Bring mic in when you are singing soft, and pull back when you are loud.  How far away should you hold the mic?

                   Soft sound: ½“ – 1“ away

                   Med loud: 6 inches away

                   Belting:  1 foot away

 

The Show Must Go On:  No matter what happens, keep going, make it up, keep smiling.  Do not let audience see that anything has happened in your face.  Think Duck mentality:  Water rolls off back.  If you think about it, you will throw your concentration off.

 

Eye Contact:

Direct Eye Contact: Use your eyes to tell the story the song is telling by looking the audience straight in the eye.  People will trust you more if you look at them.

          Sweeping Eye Contact:  Move eyes very slowly from left to right to center so everyone feels included in the performance.

 

Emotion:  (Look at song line by line to figure out what emotion you want to convey)

Face: Use your facial expressions to convey the message of the song.  Sing with expression on your face.

          Hands:  Use your hands to make your body come alive.

          Vocal Tone:  Change the tone of the voice to match the emotion.

          Body:  Move body to rhythm of the music.  Especially upper body.  Practice being comfortable walking with the song.

 

 

Have Fun

Believe in what you are doing

Try to connect with your audience.
 

Warm-ups

To warm up and prepare the Vocal Chords

 

MOTOR BOAT 1-3-5-3-1: Make motorboat sound going up and down a simple chord in progression up the keys.

 

MOTOR BOAT with OCTAVE: 1-3-5-8-8-8-5-3-1 Make motorboat sound going up and down chord with Octave added.

 

TONGUE TWIRL: 1-3-5-8-5-3-1  Flutter the tongue like a purring cat while going up and down the scale.

 

HUMMING TICKLE: 5-4-3-2-1  Hold lips loose and hum so that it tickles your lips.  Continue up as high as you can keep the tickle going.

 

EE-OH-EE-OH-EE-OH-EE-OH-EE: 5-3-4-2-3-1-2--8-1: Make EE-OH sounds by exaggerating mouth (for stretching lips)

 

HUM & SLIDE: 1-5-1 Start low on a hum and slide up.  Think of circular motion not up and down motion.  Progress up and then back down the keys.

 

OCTAVE JUMP: 1-8-8-8-+1-5-3-1  On an Aah Drop the jaw and jump an octave.  Then while on the octave change to and EE and back to Aah then up ½ step and back down (you will end up a half step higher than when you started.

 

AAH-AAH-AAH-EE-AAH-AAH-AAH: 1-3-5-8-5-3-1  Place your hand over your diaphragm while doing this exercise to make sure you are working the diaphragm muscle.

 

NG PLACEMENT:  1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1 Put tongue on roof of mouth and go up and down scale making ng sound.

 

CRESENDO/DECRESENDO: Pick a note.  On an Aah, start very softly then crescendo as loud as you can then back to very soft without taking a break

 

ME Exercise: 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1 Make E sound keeping lips forward.  Go up and down scale. (Jazz it up a little bit)

 

WE WE WE WE: 8-5-3-1  Start at octave and work down to root.  Lips forward saying We-We-We-We

 

YE-YEA-YOH-YAH SCALE: YE 1-2-3-4, YEA 5-4-3-2, YOH 1-2-3-4, YAH 5-4-3-2-1  Go up and down scale changing between Ye, Yea, Oh, & Yah

 

MAH-MAY-ME-MO-MOO:  On same note, sing mah-may-me-mo-moo…….hold

 

YE-YEA-YO-YAH JUMP: 1-5-3-1  Lips forward sing Ye-Yea-Yo-Yah  on 1531

 

A-E-I-O-U: 1-1-1-1-123454321 Sing A-E-I-O-U on same note the go up and down the scale on the U.

 

MAH: 1-3-5-3-1  Sing Mah (not mah, mah, mah) with forward voice holding the Ah and going up and down keys.

 

MAH-MAY-ME-MO-MOO SCALE: 1-3-5-3-1 Sing MAH-MAY-ME-MO-MOO going up and down scale

 

MAH-MAY-ME-MO-MOO YAWN:  1-5-3-4-2-1  Open mouth wide and make yawn sound to help go between chest voice and head voice.  Make this a dark tone.(Makes it easier to switch between chest, middle & head voice)

 

VHOO: 1-3-5-8-5-3-1 (buzzy)  Make VHO sound while gong up and down scale.
 

Acapella Warm-ups:

 

*Do at least these warm-ups when you don’t have time to warm up properly.

 

SIGHING AH:  Open mouth and make Ah sound starting with head voice first (Guys drop and octave if too high)

 

MOTOR BOAT: Make motor boat sound.  Go back and forth between two notes for as long as you can without taking a breath.

 

BACK & FORTH HUM:  Hum back and forth on any two notes.  Try low notes then high notes.

 

VHWOOO:  (massage the vocal chords)  Back and forth on two notes.  Nice and buzzy.

 

FULL SIREN: Think of bell curve.  On an Ah, start low in chest voice with a speak/sing sound and go up and back down

 

GHOST Oooo:  Head voice say Ooooo up and down like a ghost.  Then repeat with Lower voice.
 

Vocal Strengthening Exercises

(Do at least 3 times a week)

 

Exercises for strength.  If you have a performance tonight, these are not the exercises to do.

 

Meh-Nee-Ahh – Straight Line:  Sing on one note.  Hold Ah without spin or vibrato. Make sure you drop your jaw. Move up the scale to C above middle C.

 

Meh-Nee-Ahh – Vibrato End: Sing on one note coming back down the scale.  Hold Ah – Add spin or vibrato at the very end. Make sure you drop your jaw.

 

Meh-Nee-Ahh – Vibrato:  Going up – Same as above, but put vibrato on the whole last note instead of just at the end.

 

Nay-Nay-Nay – Up in chest voice, down in head voice: 12345-54321 Slightly nasal. (When you get up fairly high, it will have to be all high)  Go up as high as you can, then start back where you were and go down.

 

*Remember if you are feeling stress on your vocal cords, you are placing the sound on them and could damage them

 

Nay-Nay-Nay – Bent over:  Nasal forward placement 13531.  Bend over at the waist.  Start low and move as high as you can while bent over.  Then start back where you were and move on down.

 

Nay-Nay-Nay – Chin down:  Nasal forward placement 1358888531.  Going up, then back down.

 

Hey You – (Make sure you project):  Think about yelling “Hey You” from 3rd story building.  If you can yell it, you can sing it.

  1. Yell it
  2. Yell/sing – On same note then go up.  When it gets too high, go ahead and switch to head, but keep it nasal to prevent damage to vocal cords.  Go up then back down

           

Hey You with Jazz Down:  Sing Hey You on same note then Hey 54321 with a little jazz to it.  Go up then down the scale.

 

String Octave Exercise: Aaah (nasal) – Picture string on voice.  Start on low note – shoot out and hit the octave above then back down.  When it gets high do a chest to head switch.

           

Cool Down:  You need to cool your voice down after these exercises. 

 

Sighing Ah’s:  Start high and sigh down

 

VWHOOO:  (massage the vocal chords)  Back and forth on two notes.  Nice and buzzy.

 

*Note:  When coming off of being sick, so all exercises that you can on ng placement.
 

Vocal Workout Exercises

(Do at least 3 times a week)

 

Exercises for strength.  If you have a performance tonight, these are not the exercises to do.

 

Meh-Nee-Aah – Straight Line:  Sing on one note.  Hold Ah without spin or vibrato. Make sure you drop your jaw. Move up the scale to C above middle C.

 

Meh-Nee-Aah – Spin (vibrato):  Going up – Same as above, but put vibrato on the whole last note instead of just at the end.

 

Meh-Nee-Aah – Combo: Sing on one note coming back down the scale.  Hold Ah – Add spin or vibrato at the very end. Make sure you drop your jaw.

 

WEE – Up in chest voice, down in head voice: 12345-54321 Slightly nasal. (When you get up fairly high, it will have to be all high)  Go up as high as you can, then start back where you were and go down.

 

 

Hard Hitting Exercises:

 

Nay-Nay-Nay-Nasal:  Nasal forward placement 13531.  Start low and move as high as you can.  Then start back where you were and move on down.  Stay in chest as long as you can, but then move into head.

 

Nay-Nay-Nay – Bent over:  Nasal forward placement 13531.  Bend over at the waist.  Start low and move as high as you can while bent over.  Then start back where you were and move on down.

 

Nay-Nay-Nay – with Octave:  Nasal forward placement 1358888531.   Same as above with Octave added.  Going up, then back down.

 

STRING OCTAVE -AAAH:  (Nasal) 1-8-1 Picture string on voice.  Start on low note – shoot out and hit the octave above then back down.  When it gets high do a chest to head switch.  Keep connected. Don’t worry about making it pretty.

 

AH-AA-EE: 18531  AH on 1,  AA on 8, and EE on 531.  Vocalize going up and down with jaw dropped and lips forward.  Watch support as you get higher.

 

OO-EE-AA: 1853   OO on 1,  EE on 8, and AA on 53.  Vocalize as above using these vowel tones and progression instead.

 

MAH-MAY-ME-MO-MOO WITH SCALE (minor): 1-1-1-1-123454321 Sing MAH-MAY-ME-MO-MOO on same note the go up and down the scale on the OO.

 

EE-AA-EE: 1358531.  EE on 135, AA on 8, and EE on 531.  Go up and down scale on EE changing to an AA on top and then back down on the EE.

 

WE-AA: (Minor)153421.  WE on 1, then AA on 53421

 

GOOSE: (Nasal) 1538531538531  On a very nasal Aaah like a goose call (Watch break point)

 

 

HEY YOU – (Make sure you project):  Think about yelling “Hey You” from 3rd story building.  If you can yell it, you can sing it.

  1. Yell it
  2. Yell/sing – On same note then go up.  When it gets too high, go ahead and switch to head, but keep it nasal to prevent damage to vocal cords.  Go up then back down

 

Hey You with JAZZ Down:  Sing Hey You on same note then Hey 54321 with a little jazz to it.  Go up then down the scale.

 

 

Cool Down:  You need to cool your voice down after these exercises. 

 

VHOOO:  (massage the vocal chords)  Back and forth on two notes.  Nice and buzzy.

 

SIGHING AAH’s:  Start high and sigh down

 

SIREN: Think of bell curve.  On an Ah, start low in chest voice with a speak/sing sound and go up and back down

 

NG PLACEMENT:  1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1 Put tongue on roof of mouth and go up and down scale making ng sound.

 

*Note:  When coming off of being sick, do all exercises that you can on ng placement.