Tuesday 26 August 2014

So You Wanna Sing - Do You?

Why Do We Sing?



Since the beginning of man's history people everywhere have enthralled their voices in song to communicate, remember, mourn, pray, or to give praise. A singer is the colorful storyteller, using song and their voice to express the feeling that needs to be conveyed. From a few friends around the campfire to fans flocking to a sold out concert, singing and music bring people together.

History Of Singing


Before the invention of drums, flutes, or pianos, the human voice was and still is the first and foremost instrument. Through history, music and singing voices were a part of religious ceremonies of the Egyptians, later by the Greeks for entertainment. After the rise of Christianity, monks sang single lined chants, that would eventually form the foundations of classical music. It became more popular to add voice to instrumentals. Later, singers called minstrels traveled across Europe telling their stories before kings.

Today the love of music and singing is a major part of any and all cultures around the world. From the invention of the phonograph to digital downloads and YouTube.

Styles Of Singing

In the United States you will find a huge variety and blend of musical styles. There's rock and roll, heavy metal, pop, blues, folk, country, rap, hip-hop, gospel, and the list goes on. You can be singing gospel hymns in your church choir and rapping in the shower. Giving karaoke singing a go or reciting a jingle from your favorite T.V. commercial. Your possibilities for learning to sing any style are endless. 

The Basics Of Singing

Simply put: when air is exhaled through the lungs and pass over the vocal cords, causing them to vibrate, your singing voice is created.

There's a little more to it than that, if you are looking to set singing goals. 
There are four important parts you must learn about are: breathing, voice, rhythm, and listening.
  • Breathing is absolutely essential to singing. Breath control is the basic foundation of singing. Learning to control your diaphragm and muscles in your abdominal area -  in and out of your stomach, not your chest. Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose. Allow for the breath to fill your abdomen first and then rise through your chest to your throat. Exhale from your chest to your belly, then out. Practice inhaling for the count of five, holding for five, and then exhaling for five. Keep your stomach relaxed.

  • Voice control follows proper breathing. This means working on pitch and voice register. Pitch is how high or how low the sound is when you sing a note. Correct pitch will depend on your singing voice sounding in tune with the rest of the music. There are many singing voice types such as soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. The ranges run from soprano(high) to bass(low), for example. You voice changes as it resonates in various parts of the body. This is known as your registers - a chest voice, a head voice, and middle(or mixed) voice.Try sliding your voice up and down a scale of notes, from low to high making an "ahh" sound. Notice where your voice resonates. High notes are generally created in your head(throat and nasal cavity), lower notes resonate in your chest, and mid range note resonate in the middle or from the back of your mouth. There you have it!

  • Rhythm is the song's tempo or beat that sets the pace or the mood. Think of it like dancing. When the rhythm is fast, the faster you feel like dancing and vice-versa. It's extremely important to keep the timing of the song when singing. Singing out of sync with the song, whether too fast or too slow lacks flow and sounds separate from the song as opposed to being part of it. Try tapping your foot when singing a song to help you keep time with the beat and transitions.

  • Listening to yourself is the best feedback you can get to get an idea as to where you are at in your progress. Especially if you are still building your singing confidence. "But I sound so different!", you say after listening to a recording of yourself. This is because you usually hear our voice through our bones and cartilage in our head, so it sounds different then hearing it through the air. Questions to consider: Are you in tune? Is your breathing natural or forced? Are you in tempo? Do you like what you hear? Listening to the honest opinion of others can also prove to be valuable. Be prepared for honest criticism and you will quickly improve.

Learning To Sing



Many ask why some are so "naturally gifted" and others can barely hold a tune. The truth is that we all have different aptitudes in life, but we all have a very special and unique voice. that's how your loved ones can identify you on the phone. Can anyone achieve super stardom? Who knows? Even the greats have made and make mistakes. But through practice most anyone can improve their singing voice. It starts with having a voice and learning how to train it. One fun and easy way to begin training your voice is through online singing lessons. If you would like to learn more free singing tips, click the link above or visit www.vocaltips.net


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Tuesday 12 August 2014

Helpful Hints To Better Pronunciation When Sing



It's quite obvious that singing and speaking are very different. Although you may be an effective speaker, you may like some others, still have trouble pronouncing certain words when you are singing.

 This can be due to the tempo of the song or the flow of words that are slightly different than reciting normal sentences using our speaking voice. Don’t worry, this can be a fairly common problem. The good news is that it is that can be fixed with a little practice.

 All you really need to do is practice the right singing techniques and before long you will be master all of the words when you sing, including those more challenging words and the flow of them. Your confidence will begin to grow and people will begin to pay closer attention to the beautiful sound of your voice instead of your strange pronunciations. 

The questions is how? Please review the following suggestions and try practicing these, and soon it will become more natural:


Have fun with tongue twisters

Tongue twisters can be a fun and effective to prepare your mouth for a variety of shapes, in order to form different pronunciations. As you get the hang of them while you start singing them, this will afford you the opportunity to pay more attention to how you pronounce words, which in turn will aid you in determining which letters and words you need to work on to improve your sound.



Try to avoid pronouncing “R” sounds when followed by consonants.

Replace the “R” sound with an “ah” sound. Rather than curling your tongue, drop your jaw into an open position. You will find it so much easier to sing the next sound, and prevent you from creating a nasally sounding tone with a nice open mouth position.
  

Remain relaxed when singing

When your body is tense, your words will become muffled and unintelligible, to the point where your listeners will not be able to understand what you attempting to sing. By staying calm and relaxed, all of the words in the song will be much easier to pronounce.


Form an oval shape with your mouth open, when making “ah” sounds

This will allow the sound travel from you in an even and clear way. Thus enabling you to pronounce the entire word correctly.


Start by speaking the songs prior to you singing them

This is a simple way to prepare you to get you used to the words that are in the song. Again making it will be easier for you to pronounce them. Be mindful of how they will sound when you sing them, as you speak them.


Avoid splatting your vowels

When people reach for higher notes, sometimes they end up making a distorted sound. If this occurs, try keeping your larynx in the proper position when you sing high notes. To learn more please see the article on how to sing high notes.

     Relax your tongue on your front teeth

      You will have trouble enunciating, if your tongue goes back in your throat, causing         pronunciations to sound funny. Focus on keeping your tongue in its rightful place, making sure it remains relaxed in order for sounds to vibrate properly.
  

Sing entire phrases with one breath

 Stopping between phrases to breathe, you will make it much more difficult to have pronounce some words. Learning to sing an entire phrase, you won’t have to concentrate so much on what you are singing, supporting your ability to pronounce the words with much greater ease.

Breathe steadily and evenly when you sing

Start by pronouncing words with evenness and flow, while avoiding gasping for breath or exhaling too strongly while singing. Your vocals will end up much smoother, and less choppy. The idea is to able to sing more notes on a single breath. This really differentiates singing verses from simply speaking sentences.

Practice songs that contain lots of different words

Keep challenging yourself wile practicing your music. Explore songs that contain lots of consonants and vowels, enabling you to get used to pronouncing them clearly and evenly.

In Conclusion

It’s no secret that if you are going to have a nice singing voice, you need to pronounce words properly. If you do not master the ability to pronounce words incorrectly, it will take your listeners out of the song. They will be encouraged to focus more on how you sounded funny when you put that “R” at the end of the word or when you attempted to sing the word “Over” in a high pitch and splatted the vowel. Singing better means taking the time to rehearse these techniques, before you know it, you will be ready to sound great with less distraction. Happy singing! For more free online singing lessons, please click the link provided or visit www.vocaltips.net