♬
Oh hello!
Welcome once again to Mutual of NYVC's Wild Vocal Kingdom.
As Justin Stoney and I continued our travels
we learned that some of nature's beasts
inspire awe in our minds, bring a laugh to the belly,
and even bring affection to the heart.
But regardless of how an animal makes us feel,
many animals can help us to sing.
Isn't that right, Justin?
That's very true, Marlin.
And I've been so thankful for our travels together.
I've learned that animals make a lot of strange sounds.
And that those strange sounds can transform the singing voice
far more than I ever realized.
But we need to explore, we need to take risks.
We need to open ourselves up to new noises,
to new ideas and especially, like you say so beautifully,
to new feelings.
So I await with great anticipation, Marlin,
the last stop on our journey together.
Today's journey starts with a varmint
that every New Yorker knows, whether they like it or not.
But while these pests might always seem to be underfoot
they also take our voices to the skies.
The pigeon!
Great point, Marlin.
The pigeon is one of the most valuable animals for stretching the voice.
And they make the sound [pigeon trill].
Now here's how that works.
It's a tongue trill, plus a tiny OO or especially a W sound.
Now the trill portion promotes breath support.
But the W promotes head resonance and flexibility.
That makes the pigeon trills one of the best exercises out there
for flexibility, breath support, range extension,
high note development, and vocal health.
What is not to love about the pigeon?
So we're gonna make this sound, the pigeon trill, on an 8-5-1.
♪ [Trill] OO ♪
And you'll just take it as high as is comfortable.
Here we go!
♪ [Trill] OO ♪
♪
Very nice.
♪
Keep it spinning.
♪ [Trill] OO ♪
That's it.
♪
Beautiful.
♪
Way up in the skies!
♪
Excellent.
♪
♪ [Trill] OO ♪
♪
Very nice.
♪
Last one...
♪ [Trill] OO ♪
♪
What beautiful pigeons soaring into the skies.
What's our second animal Marlin?
Our next critter is one of the most annoying in all of nature.
In fact you could even say they really suck.
But Justin Stoney seems to find the good in everything.
So let's see what he found in the mosquito!
Ha!
You're right Marlin,
I do try to see the positive in all things.
And well, I'll admit I don't enjoy a mosquito bite.
But I do like what they can do for the voice
with their "nyeen" sound.
This "nyeen" can give us flageolet, stretching out the voice.
Lots of flexibility.
This can actually really help us to extend our range.
We're going to use the N, that gives us our nasal resonance.
The Y sound gives us our tongue-fronting
so it doesn't fall back.
And the E is of course one of two headiest vowels.
This also helps us take bright resonances
all the way to the top of the voice.
So the mosquito can actually help us fly quite high.
This is going to be NYEEN on a 1-5-1 slide.
And once again, only go as high as is comfortable for you.
♪ NYEEN ♪
Here we go...
♪ NYEEN ♪
♪
Right, keep it whiny.
♪
That's right.
♪ NYEEN ♪
Very good.
♪
Use that little N...
♪ NYEEN ♪
Good.
♪
Nice. Bright E...
♪ NYEEN ♪
Great.
♪
Two more!
♪
Last...
♪ NYEEN ♪
♪
Nasty little mosquitoes.
So back to you Marlin!
We didn't have to go too deep in the wilderness to find our next animal.
In fact it was just a walk in the park.
Or should I say a row in the park.
It's the duck!
You look real sexy rowin' that boat Marlin.
And yes the duck is one of the most helpful sounds of all
with its "kwak" sound.
"kwak" is iconic for a twangy voice
with a lot of bright resonance to it.
The KW is also helpful, it brings the sound through
some looseness, some decompression.
The K also helps with tongue retraction.
It keeps the tongue forward and tall.
The AA is our twangiest vowel.
And then we've got the K at the end, once again, for the tongue.
So that's KWAK.
Now this is another sound to really make sure you're doing crazy enough.
Make sure it's really twangy, really really bright sounding.
We're gonna start off with guys right here...
♪ KWAK ♪
And ladies in the same spot.
It's gonna be low for the ladies and middle for the guys.
So here we go with KWAK.
♪ KWAK ♪
That's right.
♪
Very good.
♪
♪ KWAK ♪
That's right.
♪ KWAK ♪
Stay bright.
♪
That's it.
♪
Use your twang...
♪
Excellent.
♪
♪ KWAK ♪
That's right.
♪
A few more.
♪
And last...
♪ KWAK ♪
♪
Very, very nice twangy duck.
Excellent.
Next animal, Marlin!
Whether you're talking about animals or about singing
most people would say that Justin Stoney and I
continue to make real asses of ourselves.
And they're right.
But it's never been more true than right now,
when we visit the donkey!
Uh.
Speak for yourself, Marlin.
But the donkey makes a sort of "hee-yaw" sound.
And this is really great for us because it helps with vocal registration.
It's a kind of yodel effect.
The hee-yaw, head moving to chest.
Or if you're a guy, falsetto moving to chest.
This really helps the mix to move
back and forth between registers.
It helps us to have greater control over our voice.
And it gets us more aware of the events
happening at the level of the vocal folds.
So we want to try this "hee-yaw" sound
and we're gonna put it two pitches on a 6-1 pattern.
Guys and gals on the same notes here.
♪ HEE-YAW ♪
And here we go...
♪ HEE-YAW ♪
That's right.
♪
Very good.
♪
And let it break.
♪
That's right, head to chest.
♪ HEE-YAW ♪
Good.
♪
Excellent, head to chest.
♪
Nice.
♪
And come on back.
♪
A few more.
♪ HEE-YAW ♪
♪
♪ HEE-YAW ♪
And last one...
♪ HEE-YAW ♪
♪
Wonderful donkeys!
So what do you got, Marlin?
You animal you!
The final stop on the Wild Vocal Kingdom
is a favorite of both myself and Justin Stoney.
This big boy has been part of the
New York Vocal Coaching family since the beginning.
In fact, this cat holds the Guinness Book of World Records
for most voice lessons ever observed by a member of the feline species.
It's the Maine Coon.
That's right, Marlin.
Manny Cooner is definitely very dear to the heart.
But Maine Coons, of course, say "meow".
And we're kind of saving the best for last here
because what a perfect setup for the voice.
M for the nasal resonance.
The E is a bright resonance that gets the tongue fronted.
Then we open from that head E to a chesty O vowel.
Moving through the resonance.
And then it ends with OO, a heady dark vowel.
So it's really the ideal resonance balancer.
So we're gonna use that "meow" sound and it's gonna be this...
♪ MEOW ♪
We're gonna start off with the guys
and then we're gonna bring in the ladies as we go.
Only go as high as you're comfortable.
Here we go!
♪ MEOW ♪
Right.
♪
Very nice! Bring in the ladies...
♪ MEOW ♪
Beautiful.
♪
Keep it legato.
♪
Correct.
♪
Mhm!
♪
Coming back down.
♪
Keep using the M.
♪
Right.
♪
Good.
♪ MEOW ♪
♪
A few more.
♪
And last...
♪ MEOW ♪
♪
Well Manny would be very proud, so thanks Manny!
And thank you Marlin, because that's the end of our look
into all the ways the Wild Kingdom can help transform our voices.
I hope that these creatures have all helped you to grow
and have increased your passion and your joy.
Be sure to find a great voice teacher in your area.
Or you can study via Skype
with some of the finest voice teachers in all the kingdom
by visiting www.NewYorkVocalCoaching.com.
If you're looking for a vocal course you can do at home,
feel free to check out the voice Voice Lessons To The World Vocal Course
at VoiceLessonsToTheWorld.com.
And if you'd like free vocal tips sent to you each day
sign up at DailyVocalTips.com.
Marlin, it's been such a pleasure to work with you.
Any final words for our singers?
As we worked with these wonderful creatures here
we realized that of all the animals that dwell in the land
the singer remains supreme.
Truly the singers of the world are mother nature's most precious gifts.
We hope that all these animals we visited on our journeys together
have helped you to master your singing voice.
I'm Marlin Perkins.
Thank you for watching Mutual of NYVC's Wild Vocal Kingdom. [♪]
♬