- If you're like me, then I'm guessing you don't like
to wait too long for things to happen.
And when it comes to your singing
and the development of your voice,
I know you don't wanna waste your time doing things
that might sound good in theory,
but in practice provide limited if any results.
So today, I'm going to quickly step you
through five singing activities
that will give you immediate improvement,
both in your singing and your performance.
I hope you'll stick around to learn more.
♪ Sound check ♪
♪ Check one ♪
♪ Check two ♪
Good day there.
Welcome back to Voice Essentials.
My name is Dr. Dan,
and I'm a contemporary singing voice specialist.
Every day I help singers just like you
get the absolute most out of their singing voice
and I do that using the very same activities
I am going to share with you today.
Now if you're a regular subscriber to my channel
and you're already enrolled in my 10 module online course
Voice Essentials 1, then much of what we'll cover today
will be an excellent opportunity to revise
and refresh some of what you've already learned.
But if you're new to Voice Essentials,
then this is going to be a fun ride
because your voice is about to experience vocal freedom,
like never before.
And that's what great singing is all about.
Freedom, freedom to clearly and confidently
communicate the message of the song you are performing.
Sounds too good to be true?
Well, let's see, shall we?
As we get started, I wanna give you a free worksheet
that will outline all of the activities
we'll cover in the video.
You can download the worksheet
via the link in the description section below.
Take a moment to grab it
because it's going to come in handy for weeks to come.
The first area of your technique to address
when seeking immediate results in your voice
is your body alignment.
Muscles have high tendency towards tension,
that is our muscles all too easily gather attention,
but don't always then release that buildup
of tension as readily.
And this can lead to your body, your instrument
getting tighter and tighter and tighter, until
there is no easy movement in your muscular systems
of your body.
So here's what I want you to do.
Stand with your feet, your shoulder-width apart.
If you're right-handed,
bring your left foot forward slightly,
and if you're left-handed,
bring your right foot forward.
Tilt your back foot inwards approximately 45 degrees,
unlock and soften your knees all
while you balance forward onto the balls of your feet.
Now using a five note scale,
sing the scale while slowly bending up and down,
let me show you.
♪ Yah ♪
The track you heard me singing along with was exercise one
from the Voice Essentials 1 exercise collection.
This track exercise one is free to download,
so please take a moment to grab a copy,
if you don't already own one.
I'll leave the link below.
When doing the exercise, I want you
to pay particular attention to how your body feels
throughout the activity,
taking note of any tendency towards tension
as you sing higher.
You may feel a bit weird as you bend up
and down during the scale,
but this movement will provide you with immediate results
by activating your lower support muscles
like your thighs, buttocks, abs, obliques and lumber.
In turn, the muscular scaffolding around your shoulders
and neck area will be released,
enabling your larynx to sing
with a greatest sense of freedom.
In par, this at first activity gives rise
to the second area we can develop in our singing,
which in my experience of 20 plus years of teaching,
provides the singer with immediate benefit
and that is mindfulness.
You know many singers and you may be one of them,
simply open their mouth and hope for the best.
Becoming a mindful singer is about staying alert
to all that your body is doing while you sing.
I often encourage singers to remain present in
their practice because I know how easy it is
to have your mind wander off and think about everything,
but the task at hand.
The practice of mindfulness is essential to great singing.
And although it will take a lifetime to master,
you can start implementing a more present state
of mind today for immediate impact in your singing.
Actually, another activity that
will offer exceptional outcomes for your singing
is breath management, and a breath management activity.
But it also enables an opportunity to practice mindfulness.
Let me show you how it goes.
♪ Inhale ♪
♪ Two ♪
♪ Three ♪
♪ Four ♪
♪ Five ♪
♪ Six ♪
♪ Seven ♪
♪ Eight ♪
♪ Suspend ♪
♪ Two ♪
♪ Three ♪
♪ Four ♪
♪ Five ♪
♪ Six ♪
♪ Seven ♪
♪ Eight ♪
♪ Exhale ♪
♪ Two ♪
♪ Three ♪
♪ Four ♪
♪ Five ♪
♪ Six ♪
♪ Seven ♪
♪ Eight ♪
♪ Ten count ♪
♪ Inhale ♪
♪ Two ♪
♪ Three ♪
♪ Four ♪
♪ Five ♪
♪ Six ♪
♪ Seven ♪
♪ Eight ♪
♪ Nine ♪
♪ Ten ♪
♪ Suspend ♪
♪ Two ♪
♪ Three ♪
♪ Four ♪
♪ Five ♪
♪ Six ♪
♪ Seven ♪
♪ Eight ♪
♪ Nine ♪
♪ Ten ♪
♪ Exhale ♪
♪ Two ♪
♪ Three ♪
♪ Four ♪
♪ Five ♪
♪ Six ♪
♪ Seven ♪
♪ Eight ♪
♪ Nine ♪
♪ Ten ♪
If you let the track play on,
it takes you all the way through to twenty count,
twenty in, twenty suspend, twenty exhale.
If you're just starting out though,
I recommend mastering eight, ten and twelve
before moving on to the high accounts.
Did you notice how I was continually checking
my shoulders, neck and jaw for any tension?
When you do the activity be sure to manage your air
via the abdominals and obliques.
And you wanna make sure that you're releasing
your abdominals for balanced inhalation
so that you don't take shallow breaths
into the upper parts of your chest.
The whole point of learning better breath management
is about empowering better sound production.
Now some singing teachers refer
to balanced sound making as flow phonation.
I have another excellent singing exercise
for you that not only helps your voice develop better flow,
but also workshops a skill called forward placement.
Here let me sing it for you now.
♪ Mmm ♪
♪ Ah ♪
♪ Mmm ♪
♪ Ah ♪
♪ Mmm ♪
♪ Ah ♪
So here we have an exercise
that combines virtually everything
we've looked at in this video this far.
It's a double five note scale
with the first five notes being sung on a hum, followed
by a second group of notes sung using a vow.
The length of the phrase requires good even breath flow,
but to be sure, we don't overdrive the voice.
I don't want you to push the hum.
If you're doing the activity well,
you should feel a buzzy sensation in behind closed lips
during the hum section, all while your tongue sits
comfortably in behind your bottom front teeth.
You should also experience immediate results
from this forward placed sound.
Physically it should feel freer through the larynx
and your voice should in turn sound smoother
and less strained.
And it's right about now that your song is LVM
but how does this all apply to singing a song?
I'm glad you asked.
In a minute, I'll show you how it all applies
to this singing of a song.
But first, let me set you some homework.
For the next two weeks, I want you to do the following
things in the order that I give them.
Number one, practice the five note scale I showed you
at the beginning of the video,
implementing the bend throughout.
Again, you can download the backing track
to practice with for free from my website
via the links in the description section below.
Number two, workshop your breath management
with the eight, 10 and 12 count activity
we did earlier, practicing your mindfulness
while you develop better supervision of your airflow.
And number three, then sing the double five note scale
like I showed you, paying particular attention
to your placement and the sense of total freedom
throughout your sound.
Now all of that technical preparation
should take you about 10 minutes
and that lays the foundation for the practice
of your chosen song, but you're not just going
to sing the song now.
Firstly, we're going to remove the lyrics
and hum our way through the melody.
While you hum the melody, you'll be bending
through each phrase in a slow, methodical manner,
just like we did during the first exercise.
Remember, the bending is teaching your body
to remain well aligned and maintain muscular balance
with your instrument remaining free from tension.
It's likely that while you hum the melody,
you'll notice different points especially
when the melody travels higher in your range
that your air pressure may want to increase.
So work towards managing this tendency,
because it may lead to unwanted tension
around the shoulders and neck
if the air pressure becomes too high.
The key is to remain mindful of your practice
so that your voice can beat it,
navigate the melodic patterns of your song.
This mindfulness prepares you for a second sing through
of your chosen piece,
because now you're going to practice the song
with the lyrics.
But you're going to do so while you look
to implement the same sense of alignment, breath management
and the forward placement you experienced
in the hum through.
It will take you another 10 minutes
to practice the song twice through, give or take.
So all up your singing practice will take about 20 minutes.
And in my books 20 minutes every second day
for the next two weeks is very doable
if you want to see immediate results for your voice.
And don't forget to grab a copy of the free worksheet
from my website to help track your progress
and guide your development.
Now don't get me wrong.
The quick five benefits you'll experience
from this short, easy process won't be all you need
if you're looking to develop a reliable vocal technique
that will stand your voice in good stead for years to come.
Remember Rome wasn't built in a day,
and your voice won't be built in two weeks,
but I know you will enjoy immediate benefits
of today's workout if you can apply a little bit
of attention to what you are doing and how you are doing it.
But before you rush off tip, stop practicing, take a quick
moment to check out this video about voice care.
I want you to get the most out of the next two weeks,
and this video has heaps of helpful tips
that'll protect your voice from wear and tear.
I'll see you again in a moment.
I'm Dr. Dan, sing well.