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Not to mention two very different things. With the hair brush you hear yourself any way you want.  Rather like Biebs? LAROI? Grande?

The microphone however, tells no lies…

Testing, testing, 1 2 3 …

Thus it pays to master the skill of using the microphone to support the delivery of your unique sound and style.

The right choice of microphone adds to a confident, polished performance. But which microphone? And how far should a microphone be from your mouth?

Eeeny Meeny Micro

There are many microphones to choose from, depending on the need. From vocal (stage & recordings) to podcasting, voice-overs to broadcasting, to the simple speech at an event.

There is a mic for every gig. Lets take a look at the qualities to consider for a vocal microphone, once you’re ready to move on from the hairbrush

The main consideration when choosing a microphone to showcase your voice is a no-brainer.

It’s the sound. A vocal microphone’s only job is to capture and present an authentic version of how your voice sounds. And so – distinguishing its eminence.

Live stage setting

A live vocal microphone or Dynamic mic is commonly used in a live stage setting.  This is because it is robust and sensitive only to the sounds in very close proximity.

How far should a microphone be from your mouth? Very close.

Hence why you will notice performers get so up-close and personal with their mic on stage. Some seem to kiss it and others actually put it in their mouths! [Noticeably Kurt Cobain in his rendition of ‘Smells like teen spirit’ on Top of the Pops (1991)]

Home studio setting

In a (small) home studio setting a Condenser microphone is best used. Much more sensitive than the Dynamic mic, it picks up all sounds within the environment.

So, beware the hum of your computer, the jingle jangle of jewellery or the turning of music sheets! That same sensitivity also cleverly picks up more subtle distinction from a human voice ensuring the recording sound is as good as can be.

Now – Find Your Sweet Spot

So you’re standing in front of your mic, ready to kill it – but wait! Just how far should a microphone be from your mouth? Well, the choice of microphone is one thing, now you need to discover your sweet spot…

Your sweet spot is where you, or more specifically where your mouth, needs to be in terms of proximity to the mic, to sound your best. The following tactics with the microphone should not only help you spot but sweeten your sweet spot in no time!

• Placement – depending on the microphone it is generally advised placement of the mouth to be between 6” to 10” away from the mic
• Set-up – speak/sing directly into the mic without turning away
• Control – position the mic above or below your mouth
• Filters – use to reduce other sounds from your mouth like popping your p’s. They also help to guide the distance of mouth to mic

Once you make it innate, singing from your sweet spot with the right microphone allows for the finest version of your distinct voice, to be gloriously heard.

Singing is a skill. With proper training from a vocal coach, a lot of effort and practice, you can excel. Your vocal cords are a muscle. And, like any muscle, the more you work it, the more you build it. Any aptitude, inherent or learnt, like nailing pitch, tone and rhythm will hasten the process. So anybody can learn to sing and sing well.  That is, if you want it bad enough.

Practically Singing

The winning combination of passion and persistence will motivate and propel you through the hours of dedicated training and practice. Along with a disciplined approach, the right coach will help you improve and shine.

From a standard singing form to breathing exercises, voice warm ups and mastering the three voices – chest, middle, falsetto. And, even to knowing what and when to eat (and not eat!), there’s quite the range of tips and techniques involved.

This one is a given – never smoke as it dries out your vocal cords. However another, taming your mind to convince it you can sing, before you even begin, might prove the hardest. For example, one early learning exercise includes recording your voice and listening to it over and over. This is with the aim being to get used to and accept it. (How many of us wonder, upon playback and almost always with  incredulity, “Is THIS how I really sound?!”)

GET YOUR FREE 5 PART SINGING COURSE HERE!

Can anybody learn to sing well?  No doubt, the immense amount of time, devotion and practise required are among the reasons many singers, would-be and actual even, don’t reach their full potential. In honing any craft, burning passion, awareness and correction of our shortcomings, repeated valid application of methods and apparatus (vocal cords), ingrains in our consciousness the caliber and depths of our capabilities.

Soulful Singing

Then again, not all of us feel a need to sing like Mariah or Whitney. Like cooking, gardening, painting or dancing, singing is another manner of creative expression. Some of us do it only in the shower. Some while driving in the car – windows rolled up but careless of who can see. Still others more bold and brave at a karaoke session – daring anyone to take the mike away before they are done…

Like many a creative outlet, singing lays bare the soul. Through a myriad of songs written so eloquently, it allows you to spend emotions. Regardless if they relate to your personal circumstances, current or past. Happy or sad. Commiserating or celebratory. Joyous – with or without a religious bent. Angst, frustration, bitterness, anger. Sing. It. Out. With flair.

Can anybody learn to sing?  If they wish to – yes – they can!  For a taste of how sweet it can be to lift your spirits with your voice, try this 5 part Singing Course – absolutely free:

GET YOUR FREE 5 PART SINGING COURSE HERE!

So – What IS Perfect Pitch?

Perfect Pitch, or the technical term absolute pitch, is having the skill to identify a musical note correctly upon hearing or to sing it, without having heard it. It is not to be confused with the commonly heard term ‘pitch perfect’.  Pitch Perfect, or singing in tune, is something which many talented singers can initially struggle with. First thought to be an inherited ability, further research suggests perfect pitch is a skill that can, albeit with a lot of hard work and practice, be acquired.

It is rare more so in the Western world with 1 in 10,000 having the ability of singing with perfect pitch. However it is a little more prevalent in some Asian countries. Particularly those speaking a ‘tonal’ language such as Mandarin and Vietnamese. Tonal languages require a different tone on many a given word to convey its varied, and thus intended, meaning.

Tone Deaf

Interestingly and as an aside, having the condition amusia or being ‘tone deaf’, which affects about 4% of the population, leaves you unable to learn the skill of pitch recognition…

Relative Pitch

Related to the Perfect/Absolute Pitch is Relative Pitch.  Relative Pitch is the ability to identify musical notes but only in reference to one another. An example is using solfège. That is: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do to determine how much higher or lower a note is in relation to another. This is a method of ear training and most commonly used among musicians as in “playing by ear”. Developing relative pitch is more easily attainable, with less effort, and definitely a crucial requirement for a serious musician.

Which to Pitch?

It might prove advantageous to focus on mastering both the Perfect and Relative Pitches.  Focus on the singing with perfect pitch to a small degree and the Relative to a greater degree.  And in so doing, fusing them both to complement your unique capabilities. With considered time, effort and training, perfection may just be achieved.

Singing With Perfect Pitch

As the saying goes, practice makes perfect and it is possible to develop your pitch. With regular, constant practise, singing with perfect pitch is achievable. Here we list some helpful steps in the process.

• Choose a musical note from your vocal range that you are confident with. Play it on a well tuned piano or guitar or digital tuner – and even a recording of it if that’s most convenient.
• Try to “auralize” or imagine/hear the note in your head. Take your time, then sing the note matching it to the note/pitch you ‘heard’.
• Correct the pitch if you need to, listen to your voice as you continue and don’t be discouraged!
• If you notice a ‘flatness’ to the tone, sing higher to match the note. If you notice a ‘sharpness’ to the tone, sing lower. Most times a slight adjustment is all that is needed to hit the note right.
• Record (mindfully) that feeling of singing with perfect pitch! It will help you to learn how to recreate it at your next training session and beyond.

Good luck!

Ask the expert is a new service here at MyVoiceExercises, where users can submit questions to our panel of vocal experts. Today’s expert features Teri Danz,a professional singer/songwriter and recording artist with numerous record credits, national press (Women Who Rock Magazine), and over 15 years of performing and recording experience.
[MVA] Could you tell us a little bit about your background and how you got into the vocal coaching industry?

[Teri] I’m a recording artist and songwriter, had a club hit in the early 90’s, national press (Women Who Rock Magazine), headlining gigs, and also write articles for music magazines. Classically trained as a flutist, I was fortunate to study voice with great people, have a master’s in education, and a BA in Speech Therapy. I started coaching after doing a trade with someone who wanted to improve her voice and have been coaching ever since.

[MVA] Do you specialize in helping people develop a specific type of voice? For a certain genre of music?

[Teri] Yes, only pop technique -meaning no opera or classical. I coach all pop genres – pop, rock, R&B, gospel, jazz, country, folk, etc…

[MVA] Knowing that you’re based in Los Angeles, have you worked with any big names out there that we might recognize?

[Teri] I’ve worked with some names that you will know – Jared Lee on Chrysalis and Adam Bones on Merrifield Records (started by one of the guys from The Bravery)

[MVA] In your experience, what is the most common bad habit that novice singers develop?

[Teri] There are many, but expelling all of their air when they start to sing. This happens when you pull your air into your throat creating a gag reflex, and you then have to expel your air. The result – you’ve just started to sing, you’re out of air, and the gag reflex creates a panic feeling. Not good… You also lose vocal tone that way. Another is pushing air to hit notes or for more volume rather than dropping the jaw to hit the correct placement.

[MVA] If a novice singer came to you looking to transition into a more professional role, how would you coach them out of this bad habit?

[Teri] First, get in control of breathing and air supply (do breathing exercises). Second, your chest should be held up (with shoulders comfortably back)so that you can support your air. Then learn to drop your jaw and not expel to get correct vocal placement.

[MVA] Our readers are always looking for easy wins. Can you suggest one exercise that they could do today, which would improve their singing voice?

[Teri] Practice dropping your jaw and not expelling air when you sing. You get more volume and resonance with this technique.

About our expert
Teri Danz, Ed.M. is a pro recording artist, LA premier vocal, audition and performance coach with record credits, national press (Women Who Rock Magazine), and a degree in Speech and a Master’s in Education. A published writer and author, her new book “Vocal Essentials for the Pop Singer: Take Your Singing from Good to Great”, has just been released by Hal Leonard Corporation. Her articles have appeared in Electronic Musician, EQ Magazine, Roland and Boss Users Group Magazines, Guitar Player, and many more. www.teridanz.com

If you’d like to learn how to sing high notes without compromising your vocal quality, use these tips to get started:

How to Sing High Notes: Finding Your Upper Limit

You can find the upper limit of your vocal range by slowly singing higher and higher notes until you can no longer sing in comfort. The highest note you can sing without straining your voice is the upper limit on your natural vocal range.

Use a guitar, piano, or other properly tuned instrument to help you identify the notes in your range. Play a note, then match your voice to it. Keep doing this until you reach the top of your range.

Any notes above the top of your vocal range will require some practice. The goal is to learn how to sing high notes with good vocal control and without straining your voice.

How to Sing High Notes: Spanning Your Vocal Break

As you reach the top of your range, you will notice that there is a point where your voice changes in quality. The deeper notes are sung in your “chest voice”, which is close to your regular speaking voice. This is the voice that resonates deep in your throat or chest.

At some point, your voice will shift to a lighter, airier sound that reverberates in the top of your throat or back of your mouth. Some people describe this voice as nasal, but that’s not accurate. This higher, thinner voice is known as the “head voice”, because it resonates higher in your head.

The point where this switch occurs is known as your vocal break. Beginning singers find it difficult to sing notes immediately above and below this break, but with some practice, you can learn to bridge this break and sing most songs seamlessly.

How to Sing High Notes: Improving Your Head Voice

There are two major steps you can take to improve the quality of your head voice. First, you’ll need to develop your “mixed voice”, which is a combination of your chest and head voices.

The mixed voice is the result of practice; most people don’t come by it naturally, but experienced singers incorporate it so smoothly that it’s impossible to tell when they switch from chest voice to head voice.

To strengthen your mixed voice, you need to sing the notes around your vocal break. As you sing progressively higher, you should practice using a bit less of your chest voice and a bit more of your head voice. You can practice this skill by paying attention to where each note resonates in your throat and mouth, and putting slightly more emphasis on the “head” notes as you go along.

Over time, you will learn to place the notes where you want, making the transition from chest to head voice very smooth.

How to Sing High Notes: Breath and Diaphragm Support

The second part of singing higher notes with ease is learning to use your breathing and diaphragm to support the high notes. Without breath and diaphragm support, your head voice will sound thin and reedy. With breath and diaphragm support, it will sound rich and strong like your chest voice.

Practice rationing your voice as you exhale a note, not letting it out too fast. This will help you sustain high notes and give them just the right amount of breath support.

Your diaphragm is the muscle in your stomach area that flexes when you laugh or exhale sharply. Practice flexing it as you sing to give extra support to your high notes for a more powerful sound.

With your full vocal range and the power of your breath and diaphragm behind you, you’ll soon learn how to sing high notes like a pro – and how to belt out money notes your audience will never forget!

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