How to Resolve the Top 3 Vocal Issues

In my article A Quick Checklist to Resolving Vocal Problems, I took a closer look at how to quickly resolve your vocal problems by process of eliminating the usual suspects one by one, to get to the root of the problem. Today, I want to focus a bit more on individual vocal issues you would be experiencing and how to perfect the correction of these problems in training.

How you breathe is how you sing.

The same ‘yawn’ action to suck in the breath during your breathing exercise is the exact same way to breathe in time for each note. It takes perfecting though, if you want to get it absolutely right.

I would advise that you don’t put a time limit to learning this one. It’s an acquired skill. You’ll only get it right when you try to understand your own natural reflexes to breathing and to try and adapt that to this particular breathing technique, to get the desired results. In other words, a natural flow of breath sucked into your abdominal area and pumped out methodically to form and to hold those beautiful notes.

I love working with vowels, but here’s a word of caution. Don’t touch these until you have mastered lip rolls, humming, the single narrow vowels and the consonant and vowel combinations.

Why? 

Because this approach will help you develop an evenly connected tone up and down your range. Once your voice is well developed, only then should you proceed with working with the vowels. And this doesn’t mean you stop the above all together. Certainly not! The vowels should only be an addition to your other exercises. It’ll help you hold in those notes and ensure that your vocals don’t fall apart.

Singing from the throat is the biggest menace of them all. Now, rebalancing the voice with the above exercises is the key to eliminating this problem. And here’s the thing. When you pick a song to sing, it is imperative that you allow your new voice to come through. The last thing you’ll want to do is to suppress your new, flexible voice by reverting to your old ways. And if it isn’t happening, here’s a quick fix: hum the song you want to sing several times—literally, and then return to the lyrics. Chances are you’ll sing like a bird! And if in doubt, browse this blog. I’ve written over a hundred articles on vocal training. They’ll likely trigger something you’d somewhat forgotten.

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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

A Quick Checklist to Resolving Vocal Problems

If you’re having issues with the delivery of your notes—assuming you’ve had some form of vocal training—there’s always a way to get to the bottom of what’s causing the problems you’re experiencing. It comes in really handy when you know how to eliminate all probabilities from a list of the usual suspects. This article takes a closer look at how to quickly resolve your vocal problems by process of elimination. So let’s get started.

The flat and unconnected notes are pretty commonplace. The way to fix this is to examine your breath intakes. Are you breathing well enough? Do you have enough breath to hold the note, or are you simply running on empty and expecting to fly? You’ll be amazed how inadequate breath can mess up your vocal.

The vowels are routinely ignored by many. Look at your face in the mirror as you sing and ask yourself this: are your AAs and EEs open enough. If your mouth is practically shut, don’t be surprised when your notes crack and fall apart. Are your IIs, OOs and UUs focused enough in the way your lips shape to articulate these vowels. If not, get focused and you’ll sound a whole lot better.

Are you sounding throaty? Well, simply put, are you putting all the weight on your throat when navigating your range, instead of working with the scales as per your training? This may come as a complete surprise to you, but I have pupils who, despite the training in speech level singing, they still forget to apply their training to singing a song. So in case you’re sounding crap, be sure to listen to yourself and—especially, pay attention to your throat. If it’s meddling with your sound production, go back to doing the scales to correct that. 

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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

Open Day with Joett: The One Hour Saturday Slots Explained

I created a one hour, once off vocal training opportunity for those of you who are not my regular in-studio pupils; and for those who are learning via my WhatsApp training program. Let me expalin how this works.

On occasion, I will float one hour slots on a Saturday, and I will take bookings for only ONE student for the allotted 1 hour sessions. What you need to do when my announcements go out, is to book the slot you want by letting me know your preference.

Once I confirm the booking, you may pay Tshs 31,000 via Tigo Pesa to Joett Ltd (See poster for number) to secure your reservation.

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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

Do You Want Your High Notes Solid and Easy? Here's How to Nail It!

If you’re struggling with the high notes, in that they’re weak and you’re not actually hitting the highs and clean lows like you should, then I want to quickly help you find the path to solid and easy high notes. As I was mentioning to a pupil a little earlier, that when it comes to vocal training, sometimes it takes a while for the penny to drop. In other words, for pupils to GET what this is all about. But once you’re in the picture, it’s dead easy to follow the plan that brings about the results that you want.

The vocal training approach that develops your chest to head voice connection into solid notes wherever you are in your range, is speech level singing technique.

But there’s a bit of a misconception with this at times, and a lot of errors committed during unsupervised training that if they go unchecked, will likely do you more harm than good. Especially when you don’t actually understand what it is you should be experiencing while you train, so that you are in perfect alignment to build your range in both directions.

There is no point in doing the exercises blindly and incorrectly. When you know something isn’t right, stop and try again.

But here’s the main thing: always aim for good form in training—and most importantly, you must allow the voice to travel. It has a path, just release your tone and hold nothing back. And don’t try to manipulate the sound in any way… because it will invite for the participation of your outer larynx muscles, thereby bringing about the vocal strain and lack of range you don’t want.

So, if you truly desire a bigger and better voice, with all of those high and solid notes made easy… so the listener and yourself get to enjoy your singing, focus on getting your training right. For recommended vocal training MP3 downloads, be sure to read my Vocal Training Product Review for Home Learning.

SUBSCRIBE to My YouTube Channel TODAY... Click Here!

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


JOETT

Vocal Coach & Author "Letters from a Vocal Coach"
Private Singing Lessons
Vocal Training Product Review

Skope Magazine to Feature "Got U On My Mind" by Joett

My 2015 penned song Got U On My Mind (Acoustic version) has been selected to be featured on Skope Magazine and radio, a music site with over two million readers seeking hot new music and videos to feature. All selected songs and videos are featured for one month and are viewed by millions of music lovers from all over the world.

Headquartered in Boston, MA, USA and with readers and staff from all over the globe, Skopemag.com was launched in April, 2001 to expose great music, videos, time-sensitive articles, contests, news, artist biographies, event calendars, and sound clips. As the magazine grew, there was such interest from both indies and major labels that the staff was able to cover both levels across various genres.

In the beginning it was never considered that the industry would embrace Skope in the manner that it did, but Skope benefited from having major label artists next to indie bands and the result was a tremendous readership that still thrives until today.

This is a great opportunity for the acoustic version of my song Got U On My Mind to get exposed to a massive global readership. I am thrilled and grateful to Music Clout, with whom I host my entire song catalog, for connecting me to Skope Magazine. Always plugging my song catalog to record labels and music publishers for placement, I feel tremendously blessed that this is yet another milestone in my musical journey as a songwriter and composer.


JOETT
Singer-Songwriter
Joett Music Publishing

Jifunze Kuimba: Irabu - Msingi wa Uimbaji Bora, Sio Ngoma Za Asili

Kila neno tunalo tamka na kuimba lina irabu au baadhi ya irabu (A E I O U), na ndio chanzo cha matatizo makubwa kwenye swala la kuimba.

Nilikua ninamshauri mwanafunzi wangu mmoja juzi kati, kuhusu chanzo cha watanzania ama waafrika kwa ujumla, kupiga makele wakiimba. Nikamwambia hivi: “ukisikiliza watu wanaimba kwenye ngoma za kienyeji unasikia kitu gani? Unasikia makelele.” Je, kunauwezekano tume rithi hilo? Sijui, lakini kiukweli dalili zipo.

Ngoma zenyewe kinachopigwa ni ngoma tupu na labda vyombo vingine vya asili, lakini vyombo hivyo havina “scale” yaani chord za kupanda na kushuka ili kutengeneza melody zinazoleta utamu na ladha katika uimbaji. Kwahivyo basi, umuhimu wa kuimba kufuatana na muziki unakua haupo. Matakoe yake, watu wanaimba kwa kupiga makelele mwanzo hadi mwisho.

Kwenye muziki ambao unatumia vyombo vya kisasa, sauti ya binaadamu pia inatakiwa kuowana na ule muziki. Ili kubadili huo mfumo wa kuimba kwa kupiga kelele (au kooni) basi, inabidi kubadili jinsi unavotumia sauti yako, kwa kufanya mazoezi maalum ya sauti ya kukuwezesha wewe kwenda na wakati na kukua kimuziki... kama muimbaji.

Kwa mifano ya mazoezi stahiki ya sauti (yaani scales), JIUNGE na Facebook Yangu Leo. Bofya hapa!

Na kupata muongozo wa jinsi ya kuanza mazoezi haya kufuatana na uwezo wako wewe binafsi (kila mtu anauwezo tofauti), tafadhali wasiliana na mimi.

Wewe ndie chombo halisi, jifunze kuimba kama pro!


JOETT

Vocal Coach & Author "Letters from a Vocal Coach"
Private Singing Lessons