Tuesday, December 22, 2015

How to Sing Adele’s Record-Breaking Song Hello, like a Pro!

While Adele continues to conquer the world with her brand new album 25, something rather interesting happened the other day. A record producer stepped into my studio wanting to learn how to sing Adele’s smash hit song Hello, because he’d been recording himself but felt his voice needed an extra something to nail Adele’s incredibly powerful range. I listened to the track he’d recorded and yes, too right he was. His voice would need some work to get there. If this sounds like you, then this article will talk you through the simple steps you need to take to get your vocals to those dizzy yet powerful heights that have now become synonymous with our darling songstress, Adele.

Now let’s agree on one thing, singing any of Adele’s numbers isn’t child’s play. Not by any stretch of the imagination. Without proper training, chances are you’ll be puffing and panting, and screaming and shouting through her songs… and going nowhere. So how does SHE do it? Do you want to know the truth? Well, talent alone certainly doesn’t cut it. However, training in speech level singing technique does. So now that we know what the solution is, let’s get you started with acquiring the skill to cut the mustard with Adele’s Hello. Let’s begin by analyzing the chord progression of the song and what needs to be done to deliver the song.

Adele’s Hello begins with a warm low note that sticks to the heavier, edgier side of the chord. How to achieve this is to hum your scales with that edge in your sound. But you shouldn’t feel any build up of air pressure. Your tone must remain even or connected all the way up and all the way down. If too much air pressure starts to build, your voice will get stuck and you will start to squeeze your tone. You should feel as if you’re using just a little piece of the chord—just the inside edges. As you learn to do it better, you can involve more and more air and chord, as long as the muscles outside your larynx don’t start to interfere. Try doing intermittent checks under your jaw with your finger, to make sure those muscles aren’t tightening up.

"Hello from the other side, I must have called a thousand times" takes the song to a whole new dimension all of a sudden. Have you ever heard the term ‘sounding chest in your head voice’? To achieve this, you’ll want power that resonates in your upper range inside your head, but with the same strength and tone as you would in your lower range. Vocal training exercises that begin with the lip rolls and tongue trills will prepare the voice to navigate your range with more ease and comfort. When you’re well developed using these, you can step into humming and working with single vowels like AAH, wherein AH becomes UH (UUH/EER) to begin with, to help induce the head voice. Once you’re working comfortably with this, the next step is to work with the straight AAH sounding vowel.

Now let’s take a look at Adele’s impressive high pitches. When her octaves kick in with “To tell you I'm sorry for everything that I've done” and “But when I call you never seem to be home,” you’ll need to pay close attention to the way she delivers her octaves with “Tell, I'm, I and Anymore,”  the latter appearing towards the end of the song. The surest way to achieve this is to do vocal exercises with octaves, to develop that fluid connection from chest to head. It really is that simple. But you have to do these exercises regularly. To give you an idea, if you train every single day for 10 days (well, no harm if you took a break on Sunday), chances are you will be able to nail Adele’s song Hello like a pro.

If you want to improve your singing voice, read my Vocal Training Product Review for Home Learning article in which I recommend vocal training programs that cover the entire spectrum in voice training to include: Pitch, Tone, Vocal Agility, Head Voice, High Notes, the Mix, Vibrato and MORE. Click Here!

You are the instrument, learn to sing like a pro!

JOETT

Vocal Coach & Author "Letters from a Vocal Coach"
Private Singing Lessons
BUY Online Singing Lessons Course


Sunday, December 20, 2015

Adele Concert Ticket Sales of Up to $9,000 a Seat Sell Out in Minutes

In the United States, tickets for Adele's back-to-back shows next July (2016) went on sale to the public at 10 a.m. Thursday – both online at Ticketmaster.com and in-person at the Xcel Energy Center box office. Not long after, all tickets to both the July 5 and July 6 shows were gone. Mike Nowakowski, a partner with Ticket King, said he's never seen demand quite like this.

"Today has been crazy," he said. "Ticket King has been in the Twin Cities for 25 years and I have never seen a ticket that has been sought after as much as these Adele show tickets." Fans even looked at neighboring concert venues but didn't have much luck there – Chicago's three shows sold out in less than an hour. Better yet, tickets to Adele's 56 date North America tour were all gone in an hour.

Other ticket brokers like StubHub! showed Adele tickets selling for anywhere between $350 to the are-you-kidding-me price of $9,000. Tickets on craigslist and eBay are going for as high as $48,000. He said their previous biggest seller -- the Hannah Montana concert -- "pales in comparison to the demand for Adele." And according to a report on ABC Action News, there is a ticket war that has outraged Adele fans across the country.

I was having an interesting conversation with one of my pupils the other day, and our chat pretty much centered on how times have changed in terms of what music industry pundits THINK is good for the final consumer—the fans—and how they would do all they can to enforce their will and half cookie products upon us (well, it certainly doesn’t work on me!).

Snide remarks from people in the music industry that goes, “who cares if an artist can’t sing, it’s all about the packaging and perception” make my skin crawl. Well, WHY then is Adele everybody’s favorite? Is she ultra slim and parades around in skimpy clothes? Is that it? Is that why they’d pay up to $9,000 a seat to see her in concert? Is it because she lip synchs in concert? Get real! Her voice is her power. And that’s what the people want. They want something that is real and authentic. I’m sorry to burst your bubbles, guys. But let’s call a spade a spade.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the advancement in technology. It is good for the industry. Hey look, I make music in London and LA without even stepping on a jetliner, that’s thanks to technology. But if you want to be a singer, go out there and BE a singer. Don’t depend on technology to fix it for you. And if you’re dumb enough to think the public don’t care, well, Adele is your wake up call. People do give a damn!

If you want to improve your singing voice, read my Vocal Training Product Review for Home Learning article in which I recommend vocal training programs that cover the entire spectrum in voice training to include: Pitch, Tone, Vocal Agility, Head Voice, High Notes, the Mix, Vibrato and MORE. Click Here!

You are the instrument, learn to sing like a pro!

JOETT

Vocal Coach & Author
"Letters from a Vocal Coach"

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Letters from a Vocal Coach: Airtel Trace Music Star Season 2 (2016)

If you're planning to audition for Airtel Trace Music Star Season 2, then you've certainly come to the right place. If you're in media and looking for great content, then once again, this article is most definitely for you.

My name is Joett. I trained Tanzania’s Mayunga, the winner of Airtel Trace Music Star Africa 2015. Mayunga went on to cut a record on Universal Music, and just recently, he returned from a week-long mentorship program with mega star Akon in Los Angeles, California; where he also recorded a song with Akon and shot the music video. Season 2 is upon us, coming up in the New Year, and I thought it would be of great help to youths and would-be contestants across the African continent, to get a little more information and technical know-how on how to train the voice from the comfort of your own home, in preparation for the upcoming 2016 auditions.


I’ve written many articles on this topic, but I think the best way to get started is with my article Top 3 Steps to Successful Singing Lessons for Beginners. This article will guide you through the process of vocal training from home, and it will also provide you with a link to my Product Review article wherein you can download some powerful piano scales to work with. If you want to improve your singing voice, badly enough (to get in with a chance to win the competition), then this is exactly what you need to do. I cannot be all over Africa at one and the same time, but I surely can share some of my learn-to-sing products to help you achieve your goals. The only thing you need to do is to get started TODAY! To begin downloading vocal training piano scales, click here.

NEWSPAPERS IN AFRICA

My column, Letters from A Vocal Coach, which is published in Tanzania’s Business Times newspaper every Friday, is linked back to my blog, social media, YouTube channel and my free helpline on WhatsApp. The reason I started this column just over year ago, was to avail information appertaining to the art of singing like a pro. I am currently inviting newspapers from across Africa to get in touch with me. On request, I will send out a zip file containing some newspaper clips to help you get the feel and look of my column, and the direction of my content; with a view to print media consideration for the syndication of my column. I am confident that this will greatly benefit your readership in your respective local communities. I feel it would be the perfect vehicle to helping readers across Airtel Africa, gather information and tools for learning how to sing, from a vocal coach who has done it for Tanzania and made a huge success of it—with Mayunga—Airtel Trace Music Star Africa Winner 2015.

In Conclusion: for those of you singers out there that have often wondered what the best ways to preserve the voice were, I've got you covered. And this is especially key for those of you planning to enter the Airtel Trace Music Star Season 2 singing competition. I'm certain you will find most helpful, my most recent article on vocal health... How to Boost Your Vocal Health with POWERFUL Antioxidants And EFFECTIVE Vocal Fold Hydration. Do feel free to contact me, should you have any questions or require any assistance.

You are the instrument, learn to sing like a pro!

JOETT

Vocal Coach & Author
"Letters from a Vocal Coach"
Private Singing Lessons
BUY Online Singing Lessons Course

Monday, December 7, 2015

Learn How the Acai Berry Benefits Your Voice and Overall Wellbeing

As a vocal coach and a mad-about-health enthusiast, I would often take it upon myself to give information to others to help them get their house in order. Oftentimes, people would consult me on how to preserve the voice. In a recent radio interview, the first and only thing they asked me was how to look after the voice. Well, today I want to talk about an all-the-rage antioxidant-rich fruit called the acai berry. There are numerous healthy berries out there that would indeed be a great addition to your diet, but an indigenous berry commonly found in the rain forests of the Amazon, is one of the healthiest berries you’ll ever find. The acai berry benefits have been heralded for centuries as healing, immune-stimulating and energy-boosting.

Research has shown that this antioxidant-rich berry may be able to fight the health problems associated with oxidative damage (responsible for aging the body), and it also has many other health benefits. Similar to red wine, research has established that acai berries are extremely high in anthocyanins, a form of plant antioxidant associated with the ability to lower cholesterol levels in the blood stream. They also provide cardio-protective benefits to our cells because they’re rich in plant sterols. It does this by preventing blood clots, improving overall blood circulation, and relaxing the blood vessels.

Known by nutritionists as a super-food, not only can the acai berry help us maintain a healthy weight, it can also help us lose unwanted weight. I don’t know if you are aware that, currently, many modern beauty products are carrying acai oil due to the oil’s high antioxidant content. A great natural alternative to chemical based skin-care products, acai oil does wonders for the skin and does not harm it in any way. Ingested, the berries are known to give your skin a healthier glow (this has happened to me, so I am a walking, talking, breathing testimonial of its incredible power). You will be amazed to discover that Brazilians have been eating acai berries for centuries to treat skin conditions.

Some of the other acai berry benefits include: keeping our digestive system clean and in optimal function. (The berries have powerful detoxification capacities in the human body and are a well-known traditional source of dietary fiber); reducing typical irritation associated with respiratory distress; improved Cellular Health to help keep cells strong against the invasion of free radicals (the little monsters that age our body); immune boosting benefits including the reduction of cancer cell proliferation by 56-86%. The acai berries are not a cure for cancer, but do play a potential role in the fight against cancer. Extremely high in many forms of plant phytochemicals (antioxidants), acai berries may contribute to an ability to slow or even reverse typical processes of aging related to oxidative damage. And so with all of this nutritional value added to your daily diet, your voice is also preserved and protected. Isn’t that wonderful?

And you don't have to ship in the acai berry from South America to harness everything it has to offer. This day and age, where science is moving forward with unprecedented speed, they've managed to wrap everything up for us in a bottle.

Contained in a small bottle, SuperSeven—which includes Acai--Anti-aging, rich in Anthocyanins and Flavonoids—blends seven potent antioxidant super-fruits into an antioxidant herbal tea that promotes healthy and radiant skin, and preserves your vocal instrument. For more information, and to purchase this amazing product, click here!

JOETT
Vocal Coach & Author
"Letters from a Vocal Coach"
Private Singing Lessons
BUY Online Singing Lessons Course



 tripleclicks.com
★★★★☆SuperSeven Skin Support— $23.75
SuperSeven blends seven potent antioxidant super-fruits into an antioxidant herbal tea that promotes healthy and radiant skin. Great for diabetics! CALORIE FREE, SUGAR FREE, CAFFEINE FREE! Ingredients: * Acai--Anti-aging, rich in Anthocyanins and Flavonoids. * Goji Berry--Strong immune support with Cartenoids such as beta-carotene....


SuperSeven blends seven potent antioxidant super-fruits into an antioxidant herbal tea that promotes healthy and radiant skin. Great for diabetics! CALORIE FREE, SUGAR FREE, CAFFEINE FREE! Ingredients: * Acai--Anti-aging, rich in Anthocyanins and Flavonoids. * Goji Berry--Strong immune support with Cartenoids such as beta-carotene. * Black Cherry--Includes the antioxidant compounds queritrin and iso-queritrin. * Pomegranate--Assist in maintaining a healthy cardiovascular system and prostate health. * Mangosteen--Contain strong antioxidants called Xanthones, which fight free radicals. * Indian Gooseberry--Enhances microcirculation which can lead to smooth, youthful skin. * Grape Extract--The source of all benefits associated with the popular antioxidant "Resveratrol." * Stevia Extract--A sweetener and sugar substitute. Usage instructions: Shake Well. Mix one full dropper in 6oz. of water at any temperature. Drink as often as desired. Servings per bottle: 60 Other ingredients: Vegetable glycerin, purified water, natural flavors, citric acid
4.25 60
23.75 USD InStock

Sunday, December 6, 2015

How to Boost Your Vocal Health with POWERFUL Antioxidants And EFFECTIVE Vocal Fold Hydration

Your voice is not something isolated from the rest of your body. Singing involves the coordination of many muscles—whether it's the muscles of breathing, or the muscles in your larynx. These muscles can get tired, weak, and out of condition from lack of general physical exercise and/or poor nutritional maintenance.

The overall health of your body is always the primary consideration for good vocal health. To give your voice the best opportunity to function at its maximum level of efficiency, your body must always be functioning at its maximum level of efficiency.

As a singer, you should maintain a daily program that not only conditions your voice, but also helps to keep your body fit, rested, and well nourished, for both your health and physical appearance. You must also use good posture, avoid bad vocal habits, and be aware of any other factors that may affect the well-being of your voice.

According to a report on the role of hydration in vocal fold physiology, recent findings suggest "Systemic, superficial, and combined drying challenges increase aerodynamic and acoustic measures of voice production in speakers. Emerging theoretical and clinical evidence suggest that increasing both systemic and superficial hydration levels may benefit voice production."  In summary therefore, according to this report, "Increased systemic and superficial vocal fold hydration as a component of vocal hygiene may improve overall health and efficiency of the vocal apparatus." 

Your larynx, like any other organ of your body, is composed of living tissue, which makes it susceptible to injury and abuse. Often, you can abuse your voice without even realizing you are doing so. Things you do can directly or indirectly affect the healthy functioning of your voice. They can be just as harmful as using poor singing technique.

Stimulants and depressants, whether or not prescribed by a physician, can disrupt your neuromuscular system, reducing the ability of your vocal cords to function as you would normally expect them to.

Smoking: Besides containing chemicals that can cause muscle and nerve problems, smoking dries out the mucous lining of your vocal cords. Without this natural lubrication, the edges of your cords can swell, making vibration very difficult and allowing air to escape unused. And it doesn't matter whether it's your smoke or someone else's.

Eating before singing: It is suggested that you don't eat before you sing. After a meal, your body tends to slow down, because the body's energies are directed toward diges-tion. This inhibits your mental alertness and the vocal coordination you require during a rehearsal or performance. Also, the excess mucous that secretes onto your vocal cords can interfere with the vibration process itself.

Shocking your cords: Excessive coughing, sneezing, forced throat-clearing, and starting your tone with a sudden burst of air can strain or even damage the delicate muscle tissue of your vocal cords.

Using excessive volume: When you can't hear yourself sing—or talk for that matter—there is a tendency to overcompensate by using more muscle to control your larynx, which in turn requires that you use more air to move your cords. A muscular "battle" soon begins to take place between your vocal muscles (in your larynx) and your outer muscles to resist the escalating air pressure. This leads to hoarseness and added tensions that cause the muscles in and around your larynx to become sore and painful.

When people ask me what the best ways to preserve the voice are, my answer is always nutrition nutrition nutrition and DON'T abuse your body! Excessive alcohol consumption, drug abuse, cigarettes and freezing cold drinks will do damage to your voice. So avoid damage to your vocal folds, by eliminating any of those excesses. Try to focus more on getting some good nutrition to boost your vocal health, and remember that good hydration--drinking lots of water, a minimum of 2 liters a day--is great for the vocal chords. And I've taken the liberty to share with you the highly effective nutritional antioxidant supplement I like to add to my water every day because it tastes delicious and ads a lovely flavor to my drinking water. It also has a lot of nutritional benefits, not only for the vocal folds, but also for your entire body. At a glance, preview details below, or click here!

To your health and prosperity,

joett

 tripleclicks.com
★★★★☆SuperSeven Skin Support— $23.75
SuperSeven blends seven potent antioxidant super-fruits into an antioxidant herbal tea that promotes healthy and radiant skin. Great for diabetics! CALORIE FREE, SUGAR FREE, CAFFEINE FREE! Ingredients: * Acai--Anti-aging, rich in Anthocyanins and Flavonoids. * Goji Berry--Strong immune support with Cartenoids such as beta-carotene....


SuperSeven blends seven potent antioxidant super-fruits into an antioxidant herbal tea that promotes healthy and radiant skin. Great for diabetics! CALORIE FREE, SUGAR FREE, CAFFEINE FREE! Ingredients: * Acai--Anti-aging, rich in Anthocyanins and Flavonoids. * Goji Berry--Strong immune support with Cartenoids such as beta-carotene. * Black Cherry--Includes the antioxidant compounds queritrin and iso-queritrin. * Pomegranate--Assist in maintaining a healthy cardiovascular system and prostate health. * Mangosteen--Contain strong antioxidants called Xanthones, which fight free radicals. * Indian Gooseberry--Enhances microcirculation which can lead to smooth, youthful skin. * Grape Extract--The source of all benefits associated with the popular antioxidant "Resveratrol." * Stevia Extract--A sweetener and sugar substitute. Usage instructions: Shake Well. Mix one full dropper in 6oz. of water at any temperature. Drink as often as desired. Servings per bottle: 60 Other ingredients: Vegetable glycerin, purified water, natural flavors, citric acid
4.25 60
23.75 USD InStock

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Top 3 Steps to Successful Singing Lessons for Beginners

I’m going to draw inspiration for this article from my personal experience with giving singing lessons to my pupils via my free WhatsApp training program. It has given me a lot of food for thought as it were, because for some reason, some of my pupils’ inability to follow instructions, as it happens, is the number one challenge I face. Don’t get me wrong, not ALL of my students are like that. However, an increasing number is, and this is reason enough for concern. In this article, I will aim to analyze the reasons why I think this is happening in the first place, and how—if this is happening to you—turning things around for yourself can be as easy as three simple steps.

Let me begin by reiterating one small detail that some of you home learners may be overlooking. Doing the scales isn’t about shouting your way to the top of your range—in fact you don’t get there by shouting. It’s about working with the piano—in key—to ascend and descend through your range. So if this isn’t happening, then spend as much time as is necessary to figure out what the demonstration tape is illustrating with voice and piano. So be sure to have a good listen to ensure you have full understanding of what is going on. I’ve received hideous voice notes from some of my students—quite alarming to say the list, and completely off the rails. And that’s putting it mildly. So use your ears. Listen and observe, in order to understand what you’re required to do.

I’ve mentioned this before on numerous occasions. If you’re doing your scales off the headset on your phone, don’t expect results. Because you’re training a couple of things at the same time here, your voice and your ear. Your ear has got to hear the sound of the piano for the voice to replicate, and vice versa—in that you need to also hear your voice in order to know whether or not you’re singing in key. So imagine what you’re going to hear when your ears are plugged. Oh yes, you’ll be missing out on one of the most essential elements in voice training—your ear.

And here comes the solution. Use a sound system. But be careful. The last thing you want is a large PA system. It’s too big. Something like a home theatre or a boom box would suffice. Because the decibels have got to be on the level of a human voice for you to get the full benefits of your vocal training with the prerecorded piano. And do your workout inside a room. Never do your training outside, in open spaces, like the beach. That would be the fastest way to ruin your voice. Imagine not hearing yourself at all because of the wind and the sheer vastness of the space you’re in? You would end up shouting.

If you’re the kind of person that wants to acquire my recommended vocal training programs to guide you to successful singing lessons, read my article Joett Vocal Training Product Review for Home Learning.

You are the instrument, learn to sing like a pro!

JOETT

Vocal Coach & Author
"Letters from a Vocal Coach"

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Singing in the Mask: Some Recommended Old School Exercises from Italian Teachers

If you have wondered what singing in the mask was all about, then this article will show you some recommended old school Italian singing exercises to help you experience the "mask." The more you do these vocal exercises, the more you’ll discover your true voice and the power that only singing in the mask can give you. So how then are you meant to feel when doing these vocal exercises? Let’s take a closer look.

Try singing in a comfortable tone with the "m", "n", "v" sound. But the key is to feel the vibration in the nasal bridge, on your lips, your upper teeth and most importantly, your throat should feel free and open. If, however, the tongue is tense or raised, then these feelings cannot be experienced. The best way to get accustomed to doing this correctly is to do this exercise with an open mouth, with an "n-sound" and then with a closed "m-sound."

These exercises will help to get rid of the guttural sound, and the best way to achieve this is with the "n-sound" and the "m-sound." You’re going to be amazed to discover just how powerful this little old school singing exercise is for you. If you stick this into your vocal training regime, and you do it regularly, you will quickly notice a significant improvement in sensations experienced when singing in the mask.

And when you combine the "m-sound" with vowels in your exercises, they’ll help to project the sound forward. Make sure you’re pronouncing syllables ma, mi, mo, mu, whilst concentrating on the sound "m" in the mask. You should feel a slight tickle in the upper lip, and in the root zone of the upper teeth. When you open out to the vowel sound, make sure you do this without changing the sensations and sound-direction, and that that remains consistent. And one more thing: There mustn’t be any strain or stress caused to your throat. If you’re the kind of person that wants to experience the full potential of singing in the mask, then your vowel sound must sound easy.

My affordable, all new and exciting private lessons Speech Level Singing Program will help you get started with discovering the incredible power of singing in the mask. Why not take advantage of my current End-Of-Year Sale (closes December 31st),

You are the instrument, learn to sing like a pro!

JOETT

Vocal Coach & Author
"Letters from a Vocal Coach"
Private Singing Lessons
BUY Online Singing Lessons Course


Sunday, November 22, 2015

Top 3 Vocal Training Insider Tips to Quadruple Results

If you have ever had the desire to quadruple your vocal training results, then I’m sure you will want to know what insider secrets there are that will quickly shorten the learning curve for you. The more you get to understand your own vocal ability in training and what you can and can’t do, the more you’ll want to discover the secret to getting the best results possible in training. So let’s take a closer look at the 3 most common shortcomings in vocal training, in order to find a quick and simple solution to your problem.

The three most basic must-do-vocal-exercises ideal for developing a connected tone are the lip roll (which I like to call the lip bubble); the tongue trill and the hum.  However, you’re going to be surprised to find how many people are unable to do these exercises. And I’m going to be very honest with you. Being unable to perform any of the above exercises puts you in a position where you don’t get to develop the desired connectivity. I’ll give you one quick example. When the above exercises aren’t working for you, like you cannot maintain the bubble or the trill, and your tone is rather withheld with the hum, then chances are you’ll find it very difficult to maintain a connected tone when doing your scales with vowels or when singing a song. Some people say that a connected tone will develop over time, but in all honesty, until you’re able to evenly connect your tone in training, the prospect of that happening would be farfetched at best. So let’s take a look at the three alternative workouts to the above, that almost anybody can do.

Depending on what scales you’re doing, you can quite easily replace the lip rolls with WEE (as in half the word WIN); the tongue trills with the consonant “N” (as your tongue is in the same position as when you run your trills with R). And to replace the withheld tone on your hum, switch that to a ZZZ. There is absolutely no way anybody can withhold their tone with ZZZ. After trying any of the above alternatives, I’m sure you’ll notice a world of difference in your tone production. If you’re the kind of person that wants to learn to sing with a well connected tone, then this will be exactly what you’ll want to do. My affordable, all new and exciting private lessons Quick Start Program helps you get started with reprogramming your neuromuscular system to eliminate all of the obstacles that come in the way of your singing. To take advantage of my current End-Of-Year Sale (closes December 31st).

You are the instrument, learn to sing like a pro!

JOETT

Vocal Coach & Author
"Letters from a Vocal Coach"
Private Singing Lessons
BUY Online Singing Lessons Course

How to Get Your Voice to Work for You: The Training Process

Training your voice, as you may have guessed, means learning to coordinate and strengthen the muscles in your larynx so you can sing with speech-level posture over a wide pitch and dynamic range. Coordination and strength are most easily developed by doing special exercises. You don't control your voice directly by working on or thinking about breath support, vocal cord adjustments, or resonance. These things are all by-products of speech-level singing. They happen automatically when you condition your larynx not to move, by relaxing your outer muscles and by allowing your vocal cords to thin and then shorten for higher notes to insure that your outer muscles stay relaxed.

As you do the exercises in the training program, you will memorize the physical sensations you experience in your voice as you do each exercise correctly. Everything else will take care of itself.

Developing coordination—the first step: Coordination of your voice at your speech level must be developed before you can begin to build strength in your voice. As you do the exercises, don't feel you have to sing them loudly. That's not important. If you try to sing too loudly (using too much air) too soon, your outer muscles will never give up their pulling and tightening reflexes. Have patience.

You must first eliminate any outer muscle activity that interferes with your tone. This will free your tone and, consequently, free your ability to produce words easily and clearly.

Your body's neuromuscular system, however, has been programmed by years of poor singing habits to activate every muscle it can to help you control your voice. It will attempt to resist any changes in muscular coordination you try to make. For a while you may feel tension in the muscles under your jaw, in your neck, in the back of your mouth, and in your soft palate. These tensions are caused when the "wrong" muscles (your outer muscles) are reluctant to give up control to the "right" muscles (the muscles of your larynx) in producing tone.

Never work around these tensions by doing things like changing the position of your tongue and jaw, raising your soft palate, making more space in your throat, or changing the pronunciation of your words. You will only create other tensions. Just do the exercises correctly, according to clear and concise instruction. Once you have successfully reprogrammed your neuromuscular system to accept your voice's functioning at your speech level, these tensions will disappear. You will then be able to sing with release, a condition in which your voice works without your having to think about it, or do anything to it. My affordable, all new and exciting private lessons Quick Start Program helps you get started with reprogramming your neuromuscular system to eliminate all of the obstacles that come in the way of your singing. To take advantage of my current End-Of-Year Sale (closes December 31st),

You are the instrument, learn to sing like a pro!

JOETT

Vocal Coach & Author
"Letters from a Vocal Coach"
Private Singing Lessons
BUY Online Singing Lessons Course

Monday, November 9, 2015

The Secret to Feeling and Sounding Natural When You Sing (Part 3)

In my last article I talked a little bit about your singing approach to the high notes. Today, I want to discuss the inner workings of your voice—or shall we say the more technical side of singing. When your vocal cords are stretched, they begin to thin. And the thinner your cords get, the less cord "weight" there is for your exhaled air to move. When the thinning takes place at your speech level, however, your cords are able to thin without disrupting your tone or words.

When your vocal cords shorten, something very interesting takes place when your vocal cords reach the point where they can't thin (be stretched) any farther—the vibrating length of your cords begins to "shorten." Let me explain why and how it happens.

Your vocal cords never open all at once and then close all at once when they vibrate. Even in your lowest tones, your vocal cords open from front to back and close from back to front. That's because they are more flexible the closer they get to where they attach to the inside front of your larynx (where your Adam's apple is), and air breaks through that point first.

If you continue to use less and less air past the point where your cords have thinned as far as possible, the back ends of your cords stay together, with less and less of the front part opening and closing. This also means, however, that they open and close much faster, increasing the frequency of vibration which continues to raise the pitch of your tone.

If, like the initial thinning, this shortening can take place at your speech level, you can continue to sing easily through the rest of your passage areas with your tone and word production intact. You will be able to extend your range far beyond what most singers can only dream about.

As your vocal cords begin to thin and shorten automatically when you sing, you become less aware of your passage areas. Eventually you come to think of your chest, middle, and head voices as a single voice—connected in the way it's produced and connected in quality!
Speech-level singing is a "natural" technique in which your voice is produced without effort. When you don't allow the muscles outside your larynx—your outer muscles—to interfere with your tone-making process, your vocal cords are able to more easily balance with your breath flow. Also, when you free your tone-making process, you free your word-making process as well, letting you produce all your words easily and clearly. A relaxed and stable larynx results in a stable resonance system in which your voice always contains an appropriate balance of top, middle, and bottom harmonic qualities, no matter where in your range you sing.

You are the instrument, learn to sing like a pro!

JOETT

Vocal Coach & Author
"Letters from a Vocal Coach"
Private Singing Lessons
BUY Online Singing Lessons Course

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Vocal Coaching End Of Year SALE Starts November 5th 2015

The reason I’m writing this post is because 2015 has been an amazing year for me. Kicking off with me on the judge panel of pan African singing contest Airtel Trace Music Stars and Tanzania winning the competition with Mayunga; to new training module introductions to my vocal coaching programs throughout the year, I feel truly blessed. And so to celebrate, I’ve not only added a couple more programs in addition to my standard 10-hour programs, I am also offering an end-of-year SALE to boot VALID from November 5th till December 31st 2015. And here’s how it works: | OFA YA KUJIFUNZA KUIMBA. Jifunze Kuimba na Joett inawaletea OFA ya punguzo la ada kwa kufunga mwaka kuanzia tarehe 5 Novemba hadi tarehe 31 Dec 2015. Fuata maelekezo yafuatayo:


SPEECH LEVEL SINGING 10-Hour program on my SPECIAL end-of-year sale is selling for $150 (Shs 310,000) [normally $200]. Sale ends December 31st 2015. | Programu ya masaa 10 kwa $150 (Shs 310,000) {Kwa kawaida $200).


I recently introduced the Quick Start 3-Hour program, which gives you all the basics in just three hours, and now goes on sale for $45 (Shs 90,000) [normally $60]. Sale ends December 31st 2015. | Programu ya masaa 3 kwa $45 (Shs 90,000) {Kwa kawaida $60).


And the EXTRA SPECIAL highlight for this month is the ALL NEW 1-Hour program for Shs 30,000. What this entails is a once off one-hour private vocal training session in my studio, with free vocal training CD and instructions on how to learn from home. I also offer FREE support on WhatsApp to help you make the most of your training. | Kwa mafunzo studio kwa lisaa limoja tu Shs 30,000 pamoja na CD yakujifunzia nyumbani BURE na msaada zaidi (bure) kupitia WhatsApp.

HOW TO BOOK

See above fliers for program details and get in touch with me with your preferred option to make an appointment. | Kupangiwa ratiba, anaglia maelekezo kwenye vipeperushi hapo juu, alafu wasiliana na mimi.

You are the instrument, learn to sing like a pro!

JOETT

Vocal Coach & Author
"Letters from a Vocal Coach"
Private Singing Lessons
BUY Online Singing Lessons Course

Monday, November 2, 2015

The Secret to Feeling and Sounding Natural When You Sing (Part 2)

In my previous article I touched upon the low notes, and in this article I want to focus a bit more on singing high notes. It doesn't take a genius to know that a singer's biggest problem, at least from a vocal standpoint, is singing high notes. Therefore, we will be most concerned about extending your range upward. As you free your upper range, your lower range will also increase because, when your outer muscles are relaxed in the vibration process, they allow your larynx, thus your vocal cords, to relax as well. 

Now let’s take a closer look at the passage areas of your range. As you sing higher into your range, you quickly encounter areas where muscular and/or resonance activity, make it difficult to negotiate smooth transitions between vocal cord adjustments. Most singers know these areas all too well. They are places where the voice jams up, suddenly shifts in quality, or even breaks—things that can discourage someone from ever exploring the full potential of his/her voice.
We, however, refer to these areas as passage areas. That's because, when you approach them the right way, they become passage ways between where you are coming from and where you want to go in your vocal range. 

And now let’s explore the art of singing through the passage areas. Your first passage area is the most critical. It's where your outer muscles (if they haven't done so already) are most likely to enter into the adjustment process. When they do, they pull on and tighten around the outside of your larynx in an effort to stretch your vocal cords to get the necessary tension for the pitch or dynamic level you require. But, as we have said, stretching your cords in this manner causes your entire singing mechanism—tone and words—to jam up! Fortunately, there is a better and much easier way to stretch your vocal cords to achieve the necessary tensions without disrupting your tone-making process or your word-making process.

The key is to do less in order to do more. To be specific, the higher you sing the less air you should spend. However, this does not mean you should stop breathing. Just control what you spend. When you reduce the amount of air you send to your vocal cords, you make it possible for the muscles inside your larynx to stretch your vocal cords by themselves. Your outer muscles are less likely to interfere because there isn't as much air to hold back. Your outer muscles will interfere in the vibration process whenever you use more air than your vocal cords and the other muscles inside your larynx are able to handle. 

You are the instrument, learn to sing like a pro!

JOETT

Vocal Coach & Author
"Letters from a Vocal Coach"

The Secret to Feeling and Sounding Natural When You Sing (Part 1)

When you talk, you only use a limited pitch and dynamic range of tones, so it doesn't require a great deal of cord tension to create those tones. In order to meet your needs for the higher pitch and greater dynamic levels often required in singing, however, your vocal cords must be able to achieve greater degrees of tension. Increased cord tension is what brings your cords back together more quickly each time they are blown apart, when you need to sing a higher tone. Increased cord tension is what enables your cords to hold back that extra bit of air pressure before they finally blow open, when you need to sing a louder tone.

If your vocal cords and the other muscles in your larynx are unable to provide the required tension themselves, you can be sure that your outer muscles will volunteer their help. But, that's the kind of help you don't want! Any outer muscle participation in the vibration process will only cause you vocal problems by pulling you off your speech level.

Speech-level singing—feeling and sounding natural:  You should be able to sing through your entire range—from the lowest notes of your chest voice, up through the highest notes of your head voice—in a smooth, even, or what we call connected manner, and still maintain a relaxed speech-level posture.

Singing low notes: The lower part of your range is never a problem as long as you are careful not to press down with your larynx in an effort to scrape the bottom of your range to get your lowest notes, or do anything in your throat or mouth that alters your speech-level posture. An example of the latter would be "creating more space" in your throat or mouth, to achieve a "deep, rich, resonant" quality. (Some descending exercises on a hum will illustrate that none of the above is necessary).

To begin with, the lowest note in your range should be the lowest note you can sing easily while still maintaining your speech-level posture. As far as the resonance quality of your voice, it should be whatever results naturally from that same speech-level posture. You should never try to make your voice resonant. You should never try to make it do anything. In my next article, I will talk a little bit about singing high notes.

You are the instrument, learn to sing like a pro!

JOETT

Vocal Coach & Author
"Letters from a Vocal Coach"
Private Singing Lessons
BUY Online Singing Lessons Course

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Top 3 Reasons Why Diaphragmatic Breathing is #1 for Preparing Your Voice for Training

If you have only experienced difficulty with your breath control when you sing, then you might be missing out on a very simple technique that only deep diaphragmatic breathing exercises can help you develop.

I hate to have to sound like a broken record at times, but breathing is everything—if you want to hold your notes like a pro. I know it might sound a little basic, AND predictable, but it will make a world of difference to your singing.

The more your breathing gets in the way of your ability to sing flawlessly, the more you’ll want to learn the secret to good breath control. In this article, you’re going to be amazed to find just how effective a simple breathing exercise is for preparing the voice for training.

The most common complaint with novices is “I just don’t seem to have enough breath!” Well, it only takes regular breathing exercises to correct that.

I wonder if you’ve noticed how nervous and somewhat anxious you feel with the prospect of running out of breath when you sing. Which brings me to point number one: when you do your deep diaphragmatic breathing exercise before you train, it not only relaxes you so that the anxiety and tension go away, it also prepares you to breathe correctly for the exercises you’re about to do. And the second reason why it is so important for singers to build this into their training regime is because it opens up your breathing system so that it functions the way it should—when you sing.

I always tell my students—and this is the third reason diaphragmatic breathing is of critical importance to preparing the voice for training—it quintessentially enables your breath control.

When breathing comes naturally, it becomes the last thing you ever need to think about when you sing. I would liken it to removing the roadblocks so that you travel free of worry on the highway. The less you have to think about breathing the easier it is to sing with good breath control—because your mechanism to breathe-to-sing is functioning optimally.

My favorite breathing exercise, therefore, is breathing in to the count of eight, holding your breath for the count of eight, and then exhaling with a hiss for sixteen. And you could either sip it in (in the first couple of rounds), and then gradually drop the jaw to let it in nice and easy into your abdominal area in subsequent rounds. You'll find sipping in is especially effective for quickly building your capacity. A little challenging for some, but the more you do it, the easier it gets. To get started with your deep diaphragmatic breathing exercise, click here!

You are the instrument, learn to sing like a pro!

JOETT

Vocal Coach & Author
"Letters from a Vocal Coach"
Private Singing Lessons
BUY Online Singing Lessons Course

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Top 3 Reasons for Songwriters to Invest in Intellectual Property

If you are a musician or songwriter, and you think you’ve got what it takes to write great songs for the international market, then it’s about time you consider investing in intellectual property. This article will not only aim to expound on the term intellectual property, it will also elaborate on the three reasons why creating music is a perfectly viable business proposition in itself. And then in keeping with the thrust of my newspaper column “Letters from A Vocal Coach”, I will tie all of that in with the advantages of learning the basics of singing to expand your musical horizons. So let’s begin.

You will probably be wondering why I specifically mentioned ‘international market’. The reason is pretty simple. It is for the copyright laws in place that protect your work, and performing rights societies that pay you royalties on your works. That is reason number one for you to, especially, target creating music for markets that protect your musical work and by so doing, your bread and butter. The second reason why intellectual property is key to your success in the music business—even when you do not perform your own songs—is because you get to earn residual income. One of the big sources of publishing revenue you’ll earn as a songwriter is performance royalties. But an even bigger income stream comes from music publishing in mechanical royalties. In other words, every time a song you’ve written is manufactured to be sold on CD, downloaded from a digital music retail site, given radio airplay, streamed through services like Spotify, television, film and even played in bars and clubs, you are owed a mechanical royalty.

So how does all of this tie-in with the advantages of voice training for songwriters? Being a trained singer myself, I can tell you this for nothing: with a trained voice your ability to craft the songs you envision becomes a whole lot easier and helps bring your imagination to life in dimensions way beyond your wildest dreams. I suppose the simplest way to put this is to say, if the magic is in you and your vocal instrument is able to deliver what you visualize, the sky truly is the limit. An even more brilliant way to explain this is to compare an artist who can only imagine beautiful images but is unable to draw that on canvas, with one who can.

And now here’s the third reason for songwriters to invest in intellectual property. Not everybody is of the ideal age or visual appearance to make it as an artist, but that doesn’t mean you should give up on your dreams. Writing great songs for other artists is another, perhaps more subtle way, to a splendid income doing what you love best, creating music. I hope this article has helped shed light on what else you can do to achieve your dreams in the music business.

You are the instrument, learn to sing like a pro!

JOETT

Vocal Coach & Author
"Letters from a Vocal Coach"
Private Singing Lessons
BUY Online Singing Lessons Course

Friday, September 25, 2015

The Top 3 Simple Ways to Prevent Vocal Strain When You Sing

If you have only experienced vocal strain when you sing and want to get out of that hell hole, then you will need to first understand the way your voice is actually meant to travel... especially when you sing. We normally speak from the throat, and when we shout (see some politicians), we would usually feel the strain in the throat also. So let’s move away from talking and screaming for a moment. Let’s say you now want to use your voice to sing. Now because we don’t murmur when we sing, your natural reflex would be to shout because you want to be heard. This article will aim to show you how to retrain your voice to prevent vocal strain when you sing.

The more you think of the pain to your throat caused by your attempts to sing like a pro, the more you’ll come to realize that there has to be a better way. Don’t you ever wonder how the stars do it? Well, it all comes down to training the voice so that your larynx muscles stay relaxed when you sing—which brings me to my next point—the top 3 ways to prevent vocal strain.

You’re going to be amazed to discover just how effective a small and simple training exercise is able to completely transform the way you use your voice, so that pain and strain become a thing of the past. Some experts say that until you’ve applied speech level singing technique to your vocal training, complete control over your vocals will for always be nothing but an illusion to you.

I will begin by recommending that you do the lip roll to begin with. It involves lightly placing your finger tips on your cheeks (maybe with just a little bit of pressure) and then creating a sound with your lips closed—like a bubble. My next recommendation is the tongue trill, which is basically placing your tongue on the roof of your mouth and making a sound with 'RR.’ These two exercises have one thing in common. Because they’re lighter, they’ll allow you to navigate your range with a lot more ease and flexibility. My third and final recommendation is to do the humming. For all of the above 3 exercises, please note that they can all be done with almost any scale to the piano.

I wonder if you’ve realized, just by doing the above exercises, how simple and easy it is to prevent vocal strain when you sing. Now let me tell you how your voice is meant to travel, so that when you’re doing your exercises you pay particular attention to this fundamental element. First, you should feel your voice in your chest area, and the higher you go, that voice should feel like it is traveling through the back of your neck and into your head, hence the term head voice. If you’re the kind of person that needs to prevent vocal strain, now you know exactly what to do to prepare your voice to sing like a pro. Watch a presentation video and download vocal training exercises MP3 here!

You are the instrument, learn to sing like a pro!

JOETT

Vocal Coach & Author
"Letters from a Vocal Coach"
Private Singing Lessons
BUY Online Singing Lessons Course

Are You Vocal Training from Home? Here’s How to get it Right

If you’ve been following my vocal training instructional clips on YouTube; my vocal training tapes on my Hulkshare page and my handy tips and advice on WhatsApp; and you’re still having trouble getting it together, this article will address the hurdles of home learning and how to go about getting it right.

I would usually insist that my WhatsApp pupils regularly send me voice notes of them doing the scales. And there is a reason for this. I want to know whether they’re doing their exercises correctly. The point is, if you’re doing your scales off key, hitting your notes flat and not doing exactly what you’re supposed to do on the scales, I’m afraid you will not get the desired results. Believe me when I say, it takes commitment to do this. Now let me show you how to get your vocal training schedule in order.

MOST importantly, make sure that you’re relaxed and ready to learn, and pay particular attention to instructions and demonstrations. All of the instructions that precede the exercises were put there to show you how to do them correctly. So don’t guess. Don’t go out and do your own thing contrary to what you’re meant to do. Do exactly what you hear on the tape and if it doesn’t sound right to you, then listen to it again until you clearly understand what it is you’re meant to do. Remember, you’re training both your ear and voice. So in essence, you’ll want to be playing your vocals like an instrument, in key with the music. That’s all there really is to it.

Training your voice takes perseverance. Don’t be too quick to jump onto a song when your voice isn’t ready. In fact, I’ll advise that you stay well away from the songs you’ve been struggling to sing for years, and make sure you get your voice in order, first, before you revisit them. That way, you’ll get to appreciate your progress a lot more and to fully understand the benefits of the vocal training exercises that you do, because you will come to realize the true power of vocal training exercises. So the next time you’re feeling a little disenchanted, just try to remember that all it takes is a little patience, practice, perseverance and a bit of hard work to get it right. Nothing is impossible when you concentrate. For more information on vocal training and home learning click here!

You are the instrument, learn to sing like a pro!

JOETT

Vocal Coach & Author
"Letters from a Vocal Coach"

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Discover the Amazing Benefits of Vocal Agility Exercises with the "Wee Yoops"

In my previous article I talked about Vocal Agility as the Key to Singing Complex Melodies and Sounding like a Pro. In this article I want to talk more about a vocal agility exercise using the “Wee Yoops”. If you want to be able to have your voice bounce around a little, AND to begin to develop the trills at the same time, there is a simple way to work the muscles that’ll help you get from note to note with greater ease and agility. And what’s more, this exercise will also work your mouth and cheeks, whilst allowing your tongue to rest flat in your mouth.  In case you hadn’t noticed, when your tongue gets in the way of your singing it can really mess things up. So you’ll want to learn to keep it down in your mouth while doing your vocal exercises, and that will automatically follow you in the songs you sing—so that you only use your tongue when needs be. So let’s take a closer look at this very special exercise.


Do the “Wee Yoop” on the scales. This particular exercise is fast and compels you to stay focused and agile. Your lips and cheeks will also get a good workout with this one, and furthermore—and to a great extent—this exercise will also help you with articulating your vowels with the lips because performing the “Wee Yoop” will require that you shape your lips in a certain way. Hitting the head voice at the higher end of the scale, also, becomes a lot sharper and more focused. What makes doing the “Wee Yoop” exercise so tremendously beneficial is that it helps to keep your larynx muscles down, in that they do not rise to strain your voice the higher you go. So it’s a rather easy-to-perform exercise MOST people will be able to do. Using my Learn to Sing with Joett Vocal Training CD Booster Program, I would highly recommend that you do the Alternative Descending Scales with the “Wee Yoop”. I do hope that these handy tips have given you additional training to add to your daily vocal training routine. Feel free to download descending scales to work with here!

You are the instrument, learn to sing like a pro!

JOETT

Vocal Coach & Author
"Letters from a Vocal Coach"

Vocal Agility is the Key to Singing Complex Melodies and Sounding like a Pro

If ever you’ve wondered what the best ways are to develop vocal agility, this article will not only give you a quick tip on what exercises to do, it will also explain what vocal agility is all about. The real benefit of having an agile voice is the ability to jump easily from one note to another and land on the right key without having to slide up to it. Furthermore, it enables you to do any type of trill or run, which is really important for any song you want to sing. Vocal agility exercises are usually pretty quick, because they’re specifically designed to build that agility. So are you ready to discover the key to singing complex melodies and sounding like a pro?

When you want to find the correct notes perfectly and jump from one key to another without having to slide up to the correct notes, you’ll come to realize the great aspect of learning vocal agility is it will help you create that professional sounding voice as you can learn to use vocal runs to make your singing more polished and beautiful sounding. And you can achieve this by doing special exercises that will give you the necessary additional training that you can add to your daily vocal training routine. And so let’s take a closer look at what exercises you can do really quickly, to develop vocal agility. Please note that once you know the proper way to sing each exercise, you’ll likely get the most out of any vocal training program. Whatever you do, please ensure that you do your exercises correctly.

One of the most effective ways to developing vocal agility is to do the Wee Wee lip and face workout to any scale. It helps to get rid of the tension in your cheeks and lips and also helps you to bounce around because the narrow E vowel is particularly good with helping you get into your head voice. Lip rolls are also a great way to help you get ready to roll. Using my Learn to Sing with Joett Vocal Training CD Booster Program, I would highly recommend that you do the Alternative Chromatic Scales with the Wee Wee and the lip roll. I do hope that these handy tips have given you additional training to add to your daily vocal training routine. Feel free to download chromatic scales to work with here!

You are the instrument, learn to sing like a pro!

JOETT

Vocal Coach & Author
"Letters from a Vocal Coach"

Developing Your Head Voice with a Light Head Voice Workout

This is my sixth and final installment on developing your head voice. In previous installments I’ve covered Using Your Pharyngeal Resonator, Head Voice Vs. Falsetto, Low Head Voice, Building Powerful High Notes,  and in the last article I showed you how to quickly Strengthen Your Head Voice. Judging from the feedback I have received in recent weeks, these articles have been a great help to many of you, in so far as giving you a better understanding on developing your head voice.

In this article I want to talk a little bit more about the light head voice workout. I’m sure you can attest to this, that there is a tendency to get louder the higher up your range you go. And paradoxically, this seems to happen even with trained singers who obviously know better, because it is a natural instinct and therefore very easy to fall back into your old ways. Something else that tends to happen when you get louder towards the top of your range is the tendency to revert to shouting as opposed to working your way up the scale. Now if that natural reflex kicks in, then you know for sure that you’re headed for trouble. And so it’s time to add a little more training to the mix to help you stay on track. I’m going to show you a very simple exercise to help lighten up your head voice.

Quite simply, this is almost like using the word WHAT but with the H pretty evident as you annunciate, whilst keeping the T silent. You can try this exercise with any scale: arpeggios, descending scales and even the chromatic scales would be ideal to practice with. So here’s what you can do to get a good head voice workout that will ensure you don’t pull up your chest voice as you approach higher notes. Try singing WHAA WHAA WHAA WHAA on pretty much any scale to see how easy it is to develop your head voice with this simple yet very effective exercise. I do hope that these handy tips have given you additional training to add to your daily vocal training routine. Feel free to download vocal training exercises here!

You are the instrument, learn to sing like a pro!

JOETT

Vocal Coach & Author
"Letters from a Vocal Coach"
Private Singing Lessons
BUY Online Singing Lessons Course

Developing Your Head Voice – Strengthen Your Head Voice

There’s something about voice training that most people fail to understand—even for those that have been through training at one time or another—that it’s all about strengthening, maintaining and improving on what you’ve already learned. If you don’t do that, you’ll fall straight back into your old ways, habits and vocal problems that got you into training to correct. A training CD to work with is a brilliant idea, but providing you know what you’re doing, it is also possible to train anyplace you like without a training CD and still get to strengthen your voice in all areas. In this article, I want to offer a quick tip on how to strengthen your head voice with one simple exercise you can do in your car; on a coffee break at work; or even when chilling out to unwind in front of your television set.

In case you’re not familiar with the descending scale, it is a vocal exercise that works your vocals in descent on a downward direction, thereby strengthening your lower notes so that you sound clean and crisp in your lower register. That being said, descending from your head voice to your chest voice does wonders for easing you into your lower register, sometimes far deeper than you’d ever imagine possible, yet with no strain or pressure building up in your larynx. So let’s take a closer look at how combining the head to chest descent can help strengthen your head voice on-the-go.

The “GI” (pronounced Gee) sound is a great way to hit your upper register. So to do this particular exercise on a descending scale with “GI GI GI” will help strengthen your head voice anywhere and anytime you like, even without the piano or the vocal training CD. Make sure you open your mouth to breathe before each run, and make sure you’re doing each run in single breath.  The last thing you want is to be taking breaths in between phrases. Make sure you’ve got sufficient breath to hold the note to the very end, just as you would when you sing a phrase in a song.

I’ve talked about breathing in previous articles, but it never is enough. And so I’m going to reiterate this very important element in singing. How you breathe is how you sing. Drink that breath to fill the abdominal area in your breathing exercises, and you’ll likely do the same when you sing. I do hope that these handy tips have given you additional training to add to your daily vocal training routine. Feel free to download vocal training exercises here!

You are the instrument, learn to sing like a pro!

JOETT

Vocal Coach & Author
"Letters from a Vocal Coach"
Private Singing Lessons
BUY Online Singing Lessons Course

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Developing Your Head Voice - "Building Powerful High Notes"

If you’ve only experienced defeat and resignation with the weak high notes, then you’re certainly not alone. So don’t fret. It may take time to achieve, but it certainly isn’t impossible. Ideally, to get this right, you’ll want to find your head voice and slide downward through your pharyngeal resonator and into your chest voice. In this article I’m going to explain how you can quickly do this anyplace you like, to train your voice anytime you want.  So let’s take a closer look at some quick and easy ways to building powerful high notes.

When training the voice, I particularly find working with the “I” vowel to be a really effective way to focus the voice deep into your head voice without losing power. I would often ask students that attend private lessons in my studio, to do one of my warm-up exercises combining the consonant “N” with the vowel “I” to project a “NI NI” sound up the scale. Another way, obviously, is to simply do the scales with just the “I” vowel. But it is crucial that you feel the sensation in front of your face. Like singing in the mask, as it is often referred. Another pretty simple strategy is to hit your intended high note with an “I” vowel, and then to hold that note very briefly and quickly slide downward into your chest voice through your mix voice, with what sounds like an “IYA”, while ensuring the vowel “A” hits your lower register.

Powerful high notes can be developed over time. The more you do the exercises, the stronger and more powerful your entire range becomes. And so I would strongly advise that you persevere and never lose sight of your goals. I’ve seen a lot of people throw in the towel first hurdle, and yet they would continue working hard to achieve their dreams as singers WITHOUT the training. And hence it becomes a series of struggles, and total dependency on recording studios to define your sound with the aid of excessive and oftentimes annoying auto tuning. As an artist, take pride in being able to stand alone and gain the respect that you deserve for being the true master of your craft. I do hope that these handy tips have given you additional training to add to your daily vocal training routine. Feel free to download vocal training exercises here.

You are the instrument, learn to sing like a pro!

JOETT

Vocal Coach & Author
"Letters from a Vocal Coach"
Private Singing Lessons
BUY Online Singing Lessons Course 


Friday, August 14, 2015

Developing Your Head Voice - "Low Head Voice"

If you were under the impression that the head voice was only about singing the high notes, then in this article I want to talk about the low head voice. In my previous article I explained a little more about head voice versus falsetto. When you flip into falsetto, the body is basically, anatomically, kicking in the defense mechanism by splitting apart the vocal cords to protect them from being damaged from all the weight and strain caused by a raised larynx… which in essence, is like you trying to shout your way into higher notes. Whilst out jogging on the beach today, I spotted several youngsters practicing their singing by shouting verses of a song over and over again—which is commonplace in Dar es salaam—and I strongly advise against it. I’ll have to write another article (perhaps in Kiswahili) to highlight the disadvantages of voice training in this fashion, but for now, I want us to take a closer look at the low head voice and how developing that area can bring about tremendous benefits to your singing.

There are a lot of benefits to the low head voice. In terms of how it sounds, it’s kind of like a cartoon sort of voice, if you had to describe literally. When you develop the lower part of your head voice, it gives your chest voice something to blend and to mix with. So that’s one of the additional benefits of working the lower head voice. It also helps to lower the larynx. A lot of problems untrained singers encounter are the direct result of the raised larynx—which causes all of the strain and pain that you don’t want, and gets in the way of you delivering your notes in a more professional and relaxed manner. So developing this part of your head voice, no doubt, will be a great help.

So let’s take a closer look at what exercises to do to help you develop your low head voice. One way to do this would be to work with “MA” with any scale that you do. It’s always a good idea to learn to replace some of the exercises on the scales, with alternative workouts that help fix certain problems. For example, you could be doing the arpeggios, chromatic, and descending scales with “MA”. Obviously, you don’t want to sing in this cartoon type tone, but for training purposes it is extremely good for developing your low head voice area. I do hope that these handy tips have given you additional training to add to your daily vocal training routine. Feel free to download vocal training exercises here.

You are the instrument, learn to sing like a pro!

JOETT

Vocal Coach & Author
"Letters from a Vocal Coach"
Private Singing Lessons
BUY Online Singing Lessons Course