Vocal Bliss

2011-06-24T19:39:00.000-07:00

Greatest Results with the Least Effort
By Fabio (Ramesha) Nani

It’s an interesting fact that when babies are born they’re able to use their voice correctly. They can (definitely!) be heard from afar; they cry with their mouth wide open, the tongue flat and relaxed; they automatically use their vocal apparatus correctly.

So, what happens when we grow up? Bad habits, physical and emotional tension, or simple laziness, cause us to use our voice unnaturally. We start to believe that in order to produce a loud sound, we have to push our voice.

Another interesting fact, however, is that the more you push your voice when you sing, the more it loses the ability to be heard from a distance. It might sound louder to you, but that’s only because, instead of projecting out to the farthest listener in the room, the sound waves come to a stop near you!

So what to do?

Instead of trying to be loud, relax your throat and sing more softly. Pronouncing the vowels as clearly as you can will help you place your voice correctly and create a fuller sound. If you don’t pronounce the vowels clearly enough your sound will be “breathy”. Good placement is what makes your voice clearly audible from afar, whereas pushing your voice only puts your vocal cords under useless (and potentially harmful) stress. You can compare pushing the voice to turning up the volume of a radio that’s not perfectly tuned to a radio station, hoping to get rid of the static. It won’t work. First, get rid of the static by tuning the radio to the station and then you can turn up the volume.

For more details about Vocal Bliss and to request a FREE introductory voice lesson go to:
http://vocalbliss.net

Vibrato

2009-12-28T12:33:00.000-08:00

by Fabio (Ramesha) Nani

Vibrato is a powerful means of expression. Used in the right way, it can enrich and embellish even the voice , even a mediocre one. If misused it can ruin even the most beautiful voice.

Before we get into the discussion of how to develop a good vibrato, I want to mention that the definition of a “beautiful” vibrato varies, depending on the taste of the singer as well as the style of the time period they live in.

Many singers think that you can’t learn vibrato.They reason that you should follow the natural inclinations of your voice. I think this is only partly true. The vast majority of singers I’ve met who didn’t work on their vibrato, relying only on their “natural inclinations”, sounded like their vibrato was out of control. Either it was too fast (sounding a bit like a sheep) or too slow and wide, to the point where you couldn’t tell what note they were singing.
An uncultivated vibrato usually sounds irregular, giving the listener a sense of instability in the sound.

Before you start working on your vibrato I suggest making sure that you sing with relaxation. (Refer to my previous blog post “Singing Made Easy”, November 10, 2009). If your throat is tense your vibrato will tend to be narrow and fast, making your voice sound nervous and shaky.

How To Proceed

Pick any note in your low range that you can sing comfortably. Hold it for a few seconds, and as you hold it, shift back and forth to the note a whole step higher. For example, if you’re singing a C, move from C to D and back several times: C D C D C… Do it slowly enough that you can count the number of oscillations (sound waves) you make. Make sure that both notes are on pitch. Gradually increase the speed of the oscillation. If the oscillations become irregular, slow them down again. The purpose is to train your voice to move quickly and evenly between the two notes in a steady rhythm.

Once you feel comfortable with the process, you can decrease the width of the oscillation, according to your taste. There are no rules as to how fast or wide vibrato should be. It’s entirely up to you.

Repeat the same process on different notes using different vowels.

For more details about Voice Lessons Online and to request a FREE introductory voice lesson go to:
http://musicandconsciousness.com/voicelessons.html

Creating a Round, Smooth Sound

2009-11-25T21:47:00.000-08:00

by Fabio (Ramesha) Nani

One of the characteristics of untrained singers is the tendency to push their chin forward when singing higher notes. This happens when the larynx (the “Adam’s apple”) is forced upward toward the chin due to tension in the throat. A screechy and harsh sound accompanies this process, making it impossible to control the volume of the voice. The singer feels like they need to shout in order to sing at all.

The way to avoid this problem is to train the voice to switch to a higher register. This switch allows the larynx to lower and the vocal chords to stretch, so they can produce higher sounds. The same thing happens when tuning a string instrument: increase the tension of the strings and the sound gets higher.

We’ve discussed the importance of switching to a higher register, in order to avoid tension and use the entire range your voice. Even after learning how this mechanism works, it usually takes a while before the switch between registers happens smoothly and seamlessly.

The process is greatly helped by rounding the last few notes before the break point (point where we switch to the higher register). Rounding a note is done by expanding the throat, similar to when we yawn. The vowel sounds become less bright and more resonant. Don’t overdo though, or it will sound like a bad caricature of an opera singer!
Rounding makes the sound of the notes in your low and high registers more similar and consistent. It becomes easier to maintain the same sound from one register to the other.
It also greatly decreases tension in your throat as you approach the break point.

Another advantage of rounding up your vowel is that you will use your face (technically called “mask”) more as a sounding board. All the face cavities, including the nose and sinuses are engaged to amplify the sound and make it more resonant.

If you want to learn more about singing click here.
To sign up for a FREE introductory online voice lesson with Fabio Nani click here.

Increasing Your Range

2009-11-17T11:10:00.000-08:00

People often ask me how they can increase the range of their voice. While range can be worked on and increased, it’s actually more a matter of discovering the range inherent in each individual voice. All that is necessary is to learn how to access that range.

Our voice has two main “sections” called registers: the low register, also called chest voice, which most of us use when we speak; and the high register, called head voice, which some of us (mostly men) are completely unfamiliar with.

In trying to develop their high range, singers usually have the experience of hitting a “ceiling” they can’t go beyond unless they push and force their voice up. This is accompanied by tension, discomfort and, if continued long enough, a sore throat and possible loss of the voice.

How to proceed?

Before I talk about what you can do to develop your higher range, I want to mention that these are merely suggestions to give you an idea of what is possible. However, if you want to learn the delicate art of switching from one register to the other seamlessly, it is recommended that you find a voice teacher and have one-on-one sessions. A good teacher is capable of hearing even the subtlest nuances of your voice and guiding you through a process that can otherwise be difficult and frustrating.

· At the beginning, use an arpeggio exercise (1-3-5-8-5-3-1) rather than a scale.
· Start on a low note (typically low A) and move your way up a half step at a time.
· Sing fast and soft. This will prevent tension in the throat.
· The first note is the most important: make it as full as you can.
· As you go higher, try to consciously create a round sound by expanding your throat (like when you yawn) but in a relaxed way.
· When you are approaching what seems to be the top of your range, sing very softly, open your mouth wider by lowering your jaw, and stay as relaxed as possible. Your voice may sound “airy” and weak, almost like falsetto. It will naturally become fuller with practice, as long as you don’t push to make it sound fuller.
· Stop as soon as you feel pain or discomfort.

It may take some time before you’re able to switch between registers seamlessly. Be patient! The most important point is to practice without tension and to not overdo.

Feel free to post any questions you might have.
If you want to learn more about singing click here

Good luck with this!

Singing Made Easy

2009-11-10T12:55:00.000-08:00

by Ramesha (Fabio) Nani

One issue that most singers run into is tension and strain in their throats. For some reason, we often tend to do things with more effort than is necessary. As a result, we may get tired and discouraged. We may even quit doing something that is supposed to give us joy.

In my experience as a singing teacher I can say that 80% of the problems my students encounter are resolved by learning to sing with relaxation; this entails learning a whole new way of placing the voice. This may be harder for experienced singers to learn than for beginners; it takes effort, courage, and trust in the teacher to change ingrained bad habits.

How Can You Learn To Sing Without Tension?

One of the best ways I know to learn how to sing in a relaxed way is to practice long tones:

Pick a low note in your range that you can hit easily and sing any vowel (ee, ay, aah, oh, oo); hold the note long enough to give yourself time to gradually relax your throat more and more as you keep singing.

Experiment with how much you can relax and still be singing. If you relax too much, your voice will sound weak and “airy”.

Practice with different vowels and different notes; go up a half step at a time and repeat the same procedure.

As you hold your notes and relax, you might notice that your voice will wobble a little. This happens because you’re gradually releasing tension from your throat and relying more on your diaphragm for support (this is supposed to happen).

Try also to sing any warm-up exercise more softly. The need to push your voice out and sing loudly comes from the false concept that if you don’t push, your voice will not sound full. If you place your voice correctly, you should be able to sing very softly and still produce a full, resonant sound.

If you want to learn more about singing click here

Why Singing Lessons?

2009-11-03T09:55:00.000-08:00

I started taking voice lessons when I was in my early twenties; I wanted be a singer and I was frustrated because whenever I would try to sing the songs that I liked, I realized how limited my range and resistance were. The next day my voice would always be sore (if I had any voice left at all!) and it would take me days before I could sing again.

One day my mom told me about an old acquaintance of hers, Giovanna Zaugg-Casella, who was an opera singer and might be willing to help me. Excited, I pushed her to call her friend and find out if she was available for voice lessons. Giovanna seemed interested in helping me and we arranged an appointment.

A few days later I drove through the winding roads to Giovanna’s house, which was on top of a hill overlooking Lake Lugano. She was very nice and warmly welcomed me; she was in her early sixties at the time and was retired. In spite of her age, her soprano voice was still amazingly powerful and pure; she sounded like she could be twenty years younger. She led me into a beautiful large living room with windows showing the gorgeous view of the lake and, off to one side, a baby grand piano.

Giovanna asked me to sing something for her so she could get a sense of how I was doing, vocally speaking. I sang an Italian pop song, accompanying myself on the piano. Afterwards, she looked at me quite seriously and said: “You have a nice voice but you don’t use it properly; you think you’re making a loud sound but all you do is force your voice out and it still doesn’t sound full at all! There are two different approaches that we can take here: I can give you a few tips and help you improve your voice a little bit, so that you’ll be more comfortable with it. OR we can start from scratch working on your vocal placement, as if you’ve never sung before, but it will take time, dedication, and patience, because you’ll have to unlearn what you now know about singing and learn a whole new way. Which option do you choose?”

I will never forget that moment and one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, as I replied: “I want to start from scratch, it doesn’t matter how long it will take.”

As I studied with her over the next seven years, I gradually discovered a tenor voice that I really didn’t know I had. Even though Giovanna was an operatic soprano, she understood right away that I wasn’t interested in singing opera—all I needed was to learn how to place my voice correctly, so that I could use it for any style of music.

I came to realize that, just like with a musical instrument, there is a specific way to use your voice that, once you’ve learned it, will make singing easy and enjoyable, no matter what type of music you choose to sing. Now I do my best to pass Giovanna’s techniques and this realization on to my own students, helping them to find their true voice so they can enjoy sharing it with others.

If you want to learn more about singing click here