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Hey Singers!
I'm Justin Stoney the founder of New York Vocal Coaching
with you for another episode of Quick Singing Tips.
Today were together checking out the Flatiron Building.
This building was built in 1902
and is 20 stories tall.
When it was built it was considered to be
one of the tallest skyscrapers in the world.
Wow!
That ain't nothing compared to what we've got a century later.
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But even though it's no longer a big building
the Flatiron is still a beautiful building.
It's a site that still invigorates my soul
no matter how many times I see it.
Yep, it's true.
The Flatiron never falls flat.
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And that leads us to our question for the day
from Naomi C. in Sapporo, Japan.
Naomi writes, "Dear Justin, I've been told I sing flat.
How do I avoid singing flat?"
Well Naomi that's a sharp question
and something that 100% of singers struggle with.
But what does it mean to sing flat?
Does it mean singing dull, heavy, and boring?
Not necessarily.
Singing flat just means that you're
singing lower than you meant to.
When you try to sing a pitch but you don't quite reach it.
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Let's remember how pitch works in singing.
You've got two vocal folds
and they've got to vibrate at the same frequency
as the pitch you're trying to sing.
That means if you sing A440
your vocal folds have to vibrate 440 times per second.
If you sing a queen of the night F6
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your vocal folds need to vibrate 1400 times per second.
Now don't worry, you don't have to be a miracle worker.
This is what your vocal folds are designed to do.
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But if you're singing flat something's going wrong.
Your vocal folds aren't moving fast enough.
Most of the time that's caused by two factors.
One is breath, and the other is vocal registration.
First, breath.
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Adding more breath pressure is one way
to get those slippery little devils up to speed.
And this is particularly true if your tendency
is to not sing strongly enough.
Some singers lack energy, volume, commitment, intensity.
If this is you then you're likely going flat
because you're simply not giving your voice
enough breath energy.
The second factor is vocal registration.
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Some singers know how to give their voices
plenty of breath energy.
So much in fact that their voice has become
thick, loud, heavy, weighted down.
This causes the vocal registration to be too massive.
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It's like the vocal folds are too thick for their own good.
And since they're so thick, they're sluggish.
Remember, if the cords are fat
the pitch will be flat.
Flat notes often happen at the ends of the phrases
when the breath intensity wants to die out.
They also occur in descending phrases
when the notes end up going too low.
They also might happen when the breath management
matters the most.
Like on the highest note of a phrase
or a long sustained pitch.
So what can be done to solve the problem?
First you've got to identify the issue.
Are you a singer that doesn't sing with enough intensity?
If so, then make sure you connect with
your breathing system
and don't be afraid to give your sound a little more gusto.
Or are you the kind of singer that sings with
a thick vocal register?
If so then work with the lighter gears of the voice
like flageolet, falsetto, head voice, and head dominant mix.
If you don't know what those things are
go back and review the Vocal Register World Tour
that we went on together.
After you've identified the source of the problem,
make sure you keep yourself accountable.
Record your vocal exercises and your songs.
Listen back and see if you hear notes that are
falling short of the pitch.
Or use a musical instrument.
If you can, get near a guitar, a piano, or another instrument.
This will help you begin to hear whether or not
you're matching the pitches accurately.
Finally, if you can afford a voice teacher that you trust
then you can use their professionally trained ears
to help you know if you're going flat, and why.
Here's some other ways that you and I
can make sure your vocal journey isn't falling flat.
For voice lessons or Skype lessons with the NYVC staff
visit us at NewYorkVocalCoaching.com.
If you'd like a vocal course that you can do at home check out the
Voice Lessons To The World Vocal Course.
This twelve part program takes you on a singing journey
from beginner to master level vocal exercises.
You can find it at VoiceLessonsToTheWorld.com.
Or, if you'd like free vocal tips sent to you each day
sign up at DailyVocalTips.com.
And now, here's Justin with this week's vocal benediction.
Work on your pitch
but also don't go insane about it.
After all, it's possible to sing perfectly in tune
but have pretty poor vocal technique.
Always put your technique first and pitch will follow.
No skyscraper and no voice was built in a day.
But some things, well...
get more and more beautiful over time.
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