The Voice Club

Strengthen a Wimpy Voice

admin — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 08:00:54 +0000

Soft, breathy singing is for children and angels. So what do you do it that’s all that comes out? Whether it’s just certain notes or all of them, here are some simple tips to start discovering your vocal strength.

How to Sing with Emotion

admin — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 08:00:41 +0000

There is a difference between singers and true performers. One of the most notable is their ability to personalize the emotion of every song they sing. So how do you do it without looking like a bad actor?

CLICK THE ARROW TO PLAY…Then leave a comment and tell us what you think.

How to be a Power Singer

admin — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 08:00:32 +0000

Wanna sing like a rock star or just project power in your next musical theatrical debut? Here are the right… and wrong ways to do it.

Are you a power singer? Tell us your story below.

What’s YOUR Excuse? (and how to get rid of it)

admin — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 08:00:36 +0000

Vocal instructor Kim Snyder and an associate talk about the most common excuses singers use and tell you what to do next time yours come around.

CLICK THE ARROW TO PLAY…THEN leave a comment and tell us your excuse story.

The Difference Between Technique & Styling

admin — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 08:00:38 +0000

Learn what even most voice teachers don’t understand and why it can make the difference in guessing how to sing or knowing.
Then tell us what you think.

Sing from the Diaphram…NOT!

admin — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 08:00:36 +0000

Kim Snyder and a fellow vocal instructor tackle the myth of singing from the diaphragm and why it won’t do what you’ve been told to believe. Agree? Think we’re full of it? Let us know below.

CLICK THE ARROW TO PLAY

How Do I Find a Good Voice Teacher?

admin — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 10:29:45 +0000

How to find the good, when to run from the bad…and do away with the ugly

Double click the play button to hear the podcast:

(double click to stop or pause)

Helpful Links:

Get Voice Lessons Online from Anywhere from The Voice Club

Look for a Speech Level Singing instructor in your area

Recording on the Cheap

admin — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 08:21:35 +0000

Ever wanted to know how to start recording yourself at home without shelling out big bucks? Whether you’re recording for fun or to make your own vocal demo, Voice Club coach Kim Snyder explains the basics of recording at home and gives recommendations for doing it on the cheap. Download this video.

LINKS TO HELPFUL RESOURCES:

Download Audacity for Windows or Mac here

GarageBand Tutorials from Apple

How to Record Multiple Tracks in GarageBand [video]

How to Use a Snowball USB Mic to Record in Audacity [video]

MY PICKS for best USB mic and recording accessories

Worlds Best Vocal Warmup

admin — Thu, 27 May 2010 21:43:16 +0000

We stretch before we run. We even warm the car before we drive on a chilly day. But more often than not most of us are guilty of singing without ever warming up. I’m guessing the reason we do it (or DON’T do it in this case) is that we don’t understand why we should bother. Well, just like the other physical functions of our bodies, our voice relies on a web of muscles to work. And just like we warm up other muscles before we expect them to do a task, a good vocal warm up prepares your voice and the muscles it depends on to give you it’s very best. What does that mean to you?

A good vocal warm up will:

Get you singing with maximum range much sooner in your set or even immediately (kind of extra important if you only have 1 or 2 songs!)
Decrease or eliminate that awkward first few lines when your voice can be shaky
Dramatically increase your ability to stay in your mix voice (if you’re not sure what I mean, check out this video
Increase your confidence level on stage (without the need to worry about when your voice will ‘kick in’ you’ll have time for other things… like noticing those people out there.)
Make you appear more professional (no achy – no breaky – no fakey – all takey)
Allow you to better enjoy your own performance making it more fun, which makes you want to do it again… which gives you experience and makes you better…. which makes you want to do more………you see where this is going.

So you’re convinced warming up the ‘ol pipes may just be a thing you should be doing. So HOW do you do it? How LONG should you warm up and what’s the BEST way to get the most out of your warm up without wasting time or energy? I thought you’d never ask!

A vocal warm up has one purpose; to warm up all of the components that are involved in making quality sound. It doesn’t need to be long or complicated or even rely on any certain golden combination of notes. It just needs to get the anatomy rolling and prepared to mix like crazy and THIS one does is faster and better than any other.

The Bubble

Ever seen a baby do ‘the motorboat’? That’s basically the bubble. Get’s THEM ready to make real noise an it’ll do the same for YOU. You can think of it as a ‘motorboat’ (without drool preferably) or as a lip roll, but the bubble is basically humming while blowing the air through loosely closed lips. But we’re not done just yet. Now we have to take our boat out for a drive.

Choose a relatively low note – any one will do. While making your glorious bubble sound slide from that low note up to a comfortably high note and back down again. Keep the tone hollow, like Jeffrey on Spongebob Squarepants (for the younger set) or the big dumb giant from Disney’s classic ‘Mickey and the Beanstalk’ (for those of us over……let’s say 25).

Now do it again but this time aim a little lower on the bottom and higher on the top each. Shampoo, lather, rinse, repeat.

You can bubble to any combination of notes and get the same result. Have a favorite vocal scale? Bubble it. Bubble the song you’re about to perform. The beautiful thing about the bubble is that it’s easy and, when done correctly (which is usually not a problem) it has the unique distinction of putting your vocal mechanism in the position to mix throughout your entire range, even if you usually strain (pull up too much chest voice) or have a weak or whispery voice (too much head voice).

How long should you do the magical bubble? Really a minute or two will do. Even better, do the bubble sliding notes low to high and back down, then bubble the tough sections of your song, then sing through your whole song. You can easily do that in the car on the way to your gig. Right? Right.

Warm up your voice and it will return the favor by forking over a more balanced voice that’s ready to go and almost as hot as that coffee you wouldn’t dream of not warming up. So no excuses! Go forth and bubble!

What is “Mix Voice”?

admin — Mon, 24 May 2010 13:57:32 +0000

What’s the difference between the ‘head voice’, ‘chest voice’ and ‘mix voice’? The Voice Club’s Kim Snyder explains common vocal terms and what they really mean.