♬
Hey singers!
It's Justin Stoney the founder of New York Vocal Coaching
joining you for another episode of
Quick Singing Tips.
I'm finally taking a break from the bustling streets of Broadway...
"In Times Square!"
"Have a voice that sounds"
"People, traffic, and congestion"
to visit the peaceful streets of my hometown in Michigan.
I'm so glad that you could join me here.
I love this time of year.
It's that moment at the end of summer
when the haranguing heat of August
turns into the hopeful harvest of September.
The moment when you realize it's no longer the dog days of summer.
No siree!
This is what I call the cat days of summer.
♬
That's right.
This is the time when everything starts to calm down and cool down.
Which leads us to our question for the day
from Chad G in Perth, Australia.
Chad writes, "Dear Justin, can you recommend a vocal cooldown?"
Well, hang right in there Chad.
Because today we're exploring vocal cooldowns.
What are they?
Why do we need them?
And which are the best ones?
But let's start with the question, what is a vocal cooldown?
♬
A vocal cooldown is quite simple.
It's the opposite of a vocal warmup!
As you know, a warm up is what we do before we sing.
Be sure to revisit episode 68 of Voice Lessons To The World
for a good one.
But a cooldown is what we do after we sing.
Especially at the end of a rehearsal,
a performance, or even a really athletic practice session.
But Justin, why bother?
I mean, why not just stop singing and rest?
♬
Well, as you know, high level vocal tasks
can be a... pressure cooker.
Remember, singing isn't merely
our souls coming forth through song.
Singing is muscular.
Hopefully you wouldn't run a marathon
♬
and then flop down afterwards.
Or you wouldn't bench press to your maximum,
♬
only to just veg out.
In the same way, it's not sensible to perform your hardest vocal tasks
only to follow it up with pure silence.
It's important that we take time to undo what we've done
with our larynx muscles, our breathing muscles,
and the vocal folds themselves,
with a little vocal cooldown.
We're gonna do this today, but first keep in mind
these five tips.
♬
Number one, breathing.
Take time to enjoy your inhalations
and complete your exhalations.
Number two, range.
With vocal cooldowns you don't need to go
to the extreme top of your range.
Stay in the most comfortable parts of your voice.
Number three, volume.
You don't need to be loud!
Soft and moderate volumes are the best.
Number four, registers.
Let your registers be what they want.
If they want to crack let them do it.
And five, self care.
Every vocal cooldown is the completion
of something that you've accomplished.
So while you're cooling down be sure to celebrate yourself,
your hard work, and your God given instrument.
Well, if you're ready, we'll step inside
and try some vocal cooldowns together.
♬
Honestly, I'm so honored to do this with you.
This is my childhood piano.
I learned to play piano on this guy
right here in mid-Michigan.
If you're a fan of the show, you know that in New York
I usually use my fancy pants digital grand.
But it's always nice to slow down and get back to your roots.
So I think this old friend of mine
is perfect for us today.
Our vocal cooldown exercise sounds like this...
♪ HM ♪
The little staccati at the top help to lighten the top of your voice.
And the octave slide helps to smooth things out
between the high and low notes.
♪ HM ♪
With this exercise you have a choice.
You can do a nasal...
♪ NG ♪
A fricative...
♪ ZZ ♪
Or an HW...
♪ HW ♪
Or you can alternate between the three.
Guys will be down here...
♪ HM ♪
And ladies up here...
♪ HM ♪
And here we go!
♪ HM ♪
♪
Very nice!
♪
That's it.
♪ ZZ ♪
Good for you!
♪
Right on!
♪ HW ♪
And breathing...
♪
Very nice!
♪
I like it!
♪ HM ♪
Nice and gentle.
♪
And here's the highest!
♪ HM ♪
Nice.
♪
Take a good breath...
♪
Good for you.
♪ VV ♪
♪
And a few more...
♪
That's right!
♪ HM ♪
Good.
♪
And last one....
♪ HW ♪
♬
Well my cool cats, I hope that helps you
to get some peace and restoration
after an intense vocal session.
Stay tuned for today's vocal benediction.
But first, here are some things that I hope
help you keep calm and carry on your vocal journey.
We are pleased to announce [♪]
the upcoming release [♪]
of Justin Stoney's new book [♪]
"Sing Like Never Before". [♪]
For more information [♪]
visit SingLikeNeverBefore.com. [♪]
For voice lessons or online 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. [♪]
If you're like me, then you love the fire of life.
You thrive on the goals, gusto, and glory,
found in the heat of the day.
But maybe we can also learn lessons from
the cat days of summer.
Maybe we can take time, not just to unwind,
but to appreciate all the gifts in our lives.
Many times we're flailing our arms and shaking our fists
wondering why is it not happening fast enough?
In those times, maybe we can just cool it a bit.
After all, so often when we do,
some of the biggest blessings and miracles just kind of...
curl up in our arms.
♬