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Hey Singers - I’m Justin Stoney,
the Founder of New York Vocal Coaching welcoming you to Ep. 10
of Voice Lessons Online.
The show where passionate Voice Teachers from all over the world
help us LEARN from some of the greatest singers of all time.
Today we’re studying a singer with among the smoothest vocals
in the pop music world today.
With his rangy mix, effortless falsetto, instrument skills, songwriting talent,
and a big dose of charisma, there’s really nothing holding him back.
Shawn Mendes…
♪ I can't write one song that's not about you ♪
♪ Can't drink without thinkin' about you ♪
♪ Can’t get you off my mind ♪
♪ I can’t seem to get you off my mind ♪
♪ Let’s get lost tonight ♪
♪ Yeah, it was the summer ♪
♪ Love, love ♪
♪ it was the summer ♪
♪ Nobody knows the way that I know her, said ♪
♪ She got it bad, she got it bad ♪
I can’t wait to hear what our team of experts
have to say about Shawn’s many gifts.
First, David McCall is here to talk about Shawn’s use of texture…
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Let’s talk about Shawn Mendes and his vocal fry.
Now vocal fry is the register below your chest voice.
It's the lowest notes you can make, your cords are short and thick,
and they’re vibrating at a much slower rate than if you were singing what you might
consider to be a “real” note.
Vocal Fry is a compression coordination but it’s light.
The air should be passing slowly through the vocal folds.
If it feels too tight, it is too tight.
Shawn often uses vocal fry at the beginning of a phrase.
And here’s a great example - listen for “your”.
♪ Your voice cut deeper than a knife ♪
♪ Now I need someone to breathe Me back to life ♪
♪ I got a feeling that I’m going under♪
Vocal Fry is a foundation of Shawn’s technique.
Vocal fry helps him to connect in any register.
Like I said, it’s a compression coordination.
So it can help you to make your Falsetto sound edgier,
and make your chest voice sound fuller.
Shawn is also great at transitioning out of vocal fry.
After a fry onset he can move in either direction he feels,
either more compressed or less compressed.
Listen to this clip of Monster and you’ll hear what I’m talking about.
♪ You put me on a pedestal and tell me I'm the best ♪
♪ Raise me up into the sky until I'm short of breath, yeah ♪
♪ Fill me up with confidence, I say what's in my chest ♪
♪ Spill my words and tear me down until there's nothin' left ♪
♪ Rearrange the pieces just to fit me with the rest, yeah ♪
♪ But what if I, what if I trip?♪
♪ What if I, what if I fall?♪
♪ Then am I the monster?♪
♪ Just let me know ♪
Check it out.
He gives us phrases that begin with vocal fry and then
soften to breathiness.
That happens for each line of the verse.
But he compresses a little more each line
to create intensity before we drop into the chorus.
Fry can connect, compress, and convey emotion.
If you wanna fry, listen to one of the best - Shawn Mendes.
Awesome David.
Next, Zac Bradford.
How does Shawn make those high notes sound so easy?
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It's no secret that Shawn Mendes has some serious vocal skills!
Among his impressive skills is his ability
to belt out big money notes with ease.
What may be less obvious are the vocal maneuvers Shawn uses to
prepare himself to sing in the vocal stratosphere.
The two main maneuvers that Shawn takes advantage of are
stretching and un-pressing.
Let's unpack these terms.
Stretching has to do with stretching the vocal folds,
which is essential for pitch change and for pitch to go higher.
Decompression refers to positioning the vocal folds in a way where they are not forced,
or pressed together too tightly as they vibrate.
So how does he do it?
There are four main techniques that shawn uses:
The first is that by using Falsetto regularly Shawn simultaneously
achieves the stretching and the decompression maneuvers.
♪ Right before I close my eyes ♪
♪ The only thing that's on my mind ♪
♪ Been dreamin' that you feel it too ♪
♪ I wonder what it's like to be loved by you ♪
By riffing he achieves rapid stretching which promotes vocal flexibility.
♪ And I wonder if someday you'll be by my side ♪
♪ And tell me that the world will end up alright ♪
♪ I wonder, I wonder ♪
Shawn often uses breathy phonation
which is a great tool for decompression.
♪ It's a fairytale I can't explain ♪
♪ Full of words I don't know how to say ♪
♪ And without a little twist of fate ♪
♪ I know I'd still be searching, baby ♪
♪ I swear that you've been sent to save me ♪
Shawn also likes to use vocal fry which is a fantastic technique
for reducing the subglottic pressure (that is the air pressure),
while also finding a balanced amount of vocal compression.
♪ Wouldn't it be nice To live inside a world that isn't black and white? ♪
♪ I wonder ♪
With these vocal maneuvers the voice is primed to
belt out big money notes with ease,
and Shawn Mendez demonstrates this masterfully.
The great news is that you too can take advantage of these priming strategies.
Thanks Zac.
Next, Kristy Bissell.
Tell us what you notice about Shawn’s Breathing.
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It is a common misconception that there is one optimal breathing for all.
We are humans, we can talk about this!
I know it’s a bit of a controversial topic but I’m ready!
Here are all the breathing types in case we need a little refresher:
Abdominal, Intercostal, Appoggio, which is a mixture of the two.
And then, Clavicular breathing.
Let’s take a look at what Shawn does:
♪ She pulls me in enough to keep me guessing oh ♪
♪ And maybe I should stop and start confessing, confessing, yeah ♪
♪ Oh, I've been shaking I love it when you go crazy ♪
♪ You take all my inhibitions Baby, there's nothing holdin' me back ♪
He’s using clavicular breaths.
Now I know some of you might be losing it here saying,
“oh my gosh that’s wrong!!!
He shouldn’t be breathing like that!”
But hold on, hold on.
What type of vocal registration is Shawn using mainly?
He is using chest dominance - short phrases, sounds like speaking.
What type of breathing do you use when you're talking?
He is amplified so he doesn’t have to go past 100 decibels to make
these sounds in an arena setting.
Hmmm.
Let’s see another example.
♪ I can't take anymore, I'm saying ♪
♪ Baby, please have mercy on me, take it easy on my heart ♪
♪ Even though you don't mean to hurt me, you keep tearing me apart ♪
♪ Would you please have mercy, mercy on my heart? ♪
♪ Mmmmm ♪
♪ I'd drive through the night, just to be near you, baby ♪
♪ Heart open, testify, tell me that I'm not crazy ♪
Okay, did you
see those back angles?
So grateful to that videographer.
That’s clear as day that it’s clavicular breaths.
Is the sound suffering from an up breath?
No.
The truth is, for professionals that sing as much as him,
they do have more cause for concern, yes.
But it is okay to breathe like this.
In the long run, could he benefit from deeper breathing methods?
Could you benefit from some deeper breathing methods?
I don’t know.
Here are some other things to consider when deciding whether
the clavicular breath is right for you.
It doesn’t bear down onto our viscera like the abdominal breath.
Why might that be important?
For dancers it’s very hard to get a supportive breath from down below.
But if you took a breath up maybe you actually
have a shot at getting some support.
What about GERD?
Do any singers out there have gastric issues?
The clavicular could be fantastic for you.
These are all just things to consider for yourself and know that
there’s not one right answer.
Play around with them and see what works for you!
Excellent Kristy.
And Arbender Robinson.
What about Shawn’s ability to perform…
just about anywhere!
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Hey, so if you're watching this video we can probably assume
that you may already be a fan of Shawn Mendes.
As am I.
So, I wanna talk about something a little different today.
Have you noticed how some artists have this ability of altering
their performance based on their audience and the size of the venue?
So we're gonna take a look at two performances of the same song by Shawn Mendes
to see if we can understand the slight adjustments
that he may make in the performance to accommodate for the audience
and the size of the venue.
Here's the first clip, check it out.
Sing it with me!
♪ Oh, you waited so long ♪
♪ Sometimes it's hard to stand out ♪
♪ But you don't have to do anything else ♪
♪ But be yourself ♪
Alright so, great performance.
But this clip doesn't sound like the recording.
What's different?
The diction is different, the words are clear,
the words are sharp and extremely rhythmic,
and he almost sounds like a teacher at points when
he's performing this song.
Why do you think that is?
He is simply encouraging the audience to sing along with him.
There are thousands of people in this audience
and we wanna keep them together, in time,
we want to encourage them to sing with us,
if they forget a lyric here or there we wanna deliver it to them
as clearly as possible so they feel excited to sing along with us.
Now same song but completely different approach because
of the size of the venue and the audience.
Take a look.
♪ Oh, you waited so long ♪
♪ Sometimes it's hard to stand out ♪
♪ But you don't have to do anything else ♪
♪ But be yourself ♪
Ah!
This is closer to the recording
but still a little different right?
The words here are softer, we're leaning more into the mic,
we're celebrating the guitar.
The lyrics are blending together just a little bit more.
Why?
Because our audience is much smaller.
In fact, this is a recording so some of the audience may be
one person at home alone watching on the video screen.
So this allows the audience to feel like Shawn Mendes
is singing directly for them.
So as you start watching more live performances or going to live performances,
see if you can find little adjustments that we make in our technique,
little adjustments we make in our performance,
to match the venue and the audience.
For those of us that are actors, we do this in the audition room as well.
So take a look, watch more videos, see if you can see these tiny adjustments,
and see if you can understand why.
Alright, thanks bye!
Thanks Arbender!
And thanks to all our experts!
I’m going to share what I’ve learned from Shawn in a moment, but first -
here are some more ways to add some wonder to your vocal journey!
To get to know the Voice Lessons Online team or schedule a lesson,
visit VoiceLessonsOnline.com.
To get your copy of Justin Stoney's book
"Sing Like Never Before", visit SingLikeNeverBefore.com
If you'd like a vocal course that you can do from home,
check out the Voice Lessons To The World Vocal Course.
Our 12 part program takes you on a journey
from beginner to master level vocal exercises.
Find it at VoiceLessonsToTheWorld.com.
If you're a voice teacher looking to master your craft,
join our worldwide community at VoiceTeacherTraining.com.
Finally, if you'd like free vocal tips sent to you each day,
sign up at DailyVocalTips.com.
In today’s pop world, it’s easy for folks to say -
eh, it all sounds the same.
And, to be fair, many times it does.
But when I hear Shawn Mendes, I hear a standout.
I mean, sure -he’s a sort of “Model of Excellence” for a pop singer.
Solid technique, beautiful tone, great stylizations.
But, that’s not what makes him stand out.
It’s something else.
And it all comes down to this critical question:
“Do you believe him?”
Do you believe him?
Because I can tell you I TOTALLY believe him.
But let’s see what you think?
Take a quick listen and ask yourself: “Do I believe him?”
♪ Help me it’s like the walls are caving in ♪
♪ Sometimes I feel like giving up ♪
♪ But I just can’t, it isn’t in my blood ♪
♪ Laying in the bathroom floor Feeling nothing ♪
♪ I’m overwhelmed and insecure give me something ♪
♪ I could take to ease my mind slowly ♪
♪ Can't take my eyes off of you ♪
♪ You're just like Heaven to touch ♪
♪ I wanna hold you so much ♪
♪ At long last, love has arrived ♪
♪ And I just thank God I'm alive ♪
♪ You're just too good to be true ♪
♪ Can't take my eyes off of you ♪
Well, did you believe him?
I’m guessing you did.
You see, Shawn has somehow figured out something
that we all need to learn as artists.
What you sound like is not as important as what you say.
It’s easy for us as artists to hide.
To hide behind our technique.
To hide behind riffs and runs.
To hide behind a “cool” or “modern” way of pronouncing our words -
or a sort of all-purpose “emotional sound”.
But that’s not what we hear with Shawn.
We don’t hear hiding.
We hear that honesty and sincerity are his number #1 priority.
That’s what sets him apart.
And so let’s let Shawn inspire us to do the same thing.
Challenge yourself to say:
“Well, I’ve warmed up.
I’ve practiced my mix, my riffs, my runs, my belt.
But have I practiced my honesty today?
When I sing, am I saying what I mean and meaning what I say?”
Yes - you can literally practice that - just like you’d practice anything else.
So, may you practice the truth.
And may the truth set you free.
We’ll see you next time for more Voice Lessons Online!
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