Hi, Max from Sonic Crew London here.
The song I'm going to cover in this video tutorial is "All Of Me" by John Legend.
If you've already given it a try, I'm sure you'll agree with me this is an amazing song to sing,
but also a tough one. Well, I'm going to share with you some tips and vocal exercises that
hopefully will make your life easier and help you to master this emotional ballad.
In my opinion "All Of Me" presents two main challenges: there are lots of embellishments
spread throughout the song, some of which extend to as much as 5 notes, like in the
bridge for example when he goes like: "Give me all of you". Some of the top notes are
pretty challenging too and the exercises I'm going to cover will help you to hit those high
notes without straining your voice and to increase your vocal agility so that you can
nail all the licks John Legend sings so gracefully.
There are some pretty high notes in the chorus and bridge of this song, the top one being
Ab4. Now, there are a few things that need to happen simultaneously in order to be able
to sing those high notes in a comfortable way: first of all we need to make sure that
our breathing is under control, using our diaphragm, making sure that the sound is kept
away from our throat. The easiest way to control that we're breathing properly is to place
our fingers under our last rib and to expand out when we breathe in, and come back to the
start position when you breathe out, keeping chest and shoulders relaxed. Also, we need
to make sure that the muscles around our larynx are as relaxed as possible and that we lift
the soft palate when we're hitting the high notes, so that we can create more room for
our voice to resonate and also stabilize our larynx, which shouldn't move too much when
we're singing. Now, if you're wondering: "how do I move my soft palate"? That's exactly
what happens when you're yawning: the roof of your mouth goes up, your larynx moves down.
You can also think about swallowing a whole apple, the effect that you get is pretty much
the same: your larynx is going to drop slightly. OK? And the exercise I recommend to work on
all this are the arpeggios. This is how an arpeggio sounds like [arpeggio demo].
What I want to show you is that if I put into practice what I mentioned before I'm going to be able
to sing an arpeggio hitting the top notes in my range without getting tense or without
straining my voice. Listen: [high arpeggio demo]
There are quite a few spots in the song where being able to rely on a good vocal agility
can allow us to sing some pretty lovely licks, the way John Legend does. The exercise I recommend
to practice for this purpose is this one [Agility Exercise Demo].
In this case too, we need to make sure that when we hit the high notes
they sound as relaxed as the bottom ones.
"All Of Me" is a moving ballad, and in order to give a credible performance it's very important
to create a connection with the lyrics. Read them carefully, find a memory or a personal
experience that can help to relate to the song, to mean the words you're singing and
ultimately to convey the emotions through your voice.
Enough talk I guess, let's give it a go.
[Song Demo] What would I do without your smart mouth?
Drawing me in, and you kicking me out And I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me,
but I'll be alright
My head's under water but I'm breathing fine
You're crazy and I'm out of my mind
'Cause all of me Loves all of you
You're my end and my beginning Even when I lose I'm winning
'Cause I give you all of me And you give me all of you
Give me all of you Cards on the table, we're both showing hearts
Risking it all, though it's hard
'Cause all of me Loves all of you
Love your curves and all your edges All your perfect imperfections
Give your all to me I'll give my all to you
You're my end and my beginning Even when I lose I'm winning
'Cause I give you all of me And you give me all of you, oh
OK, I hope my tips and techniques will help to improve your singing. And if you've found
the tutorial helpful, please like it, share it and subscribe to our channel, there are
more tutorials on your way! If you want to download the full version of
the exercises I've covered in this video or if you'd like to know more about my singing
lessons, please click on the links in the about section of this video.
Thank you for watching, happy singing and see you next time!