Welcome everyone to my blog site “Step Up To The Mic – Holy $#!% Now What???” . I am very excited to be a guest contributor to this new and informative site. In this first post and the posts to come I am going to share a lot of the technique, tips and tricks you can use to become a better vocalist and performer. After singing professionally for 20 years I started vocal coaching which opened up a whole new world of being able to share with other performers exactly what they need to do from a physical and technical standpoint to thrive as a singer and diagnose specific challenges that they may be having. For me the journey of becoming a great singer presented itself in 5 dominant categories, hence my program, “The Five Point Singing System”. In this first blog I am going to give you a quick oversight into what those 5 points are and focus on Step 1 – Breathing, which is what I think is the foundation of great singing. Hopefully this information can help you start to analyze your own vocal technique and be able to recognize what you are doing correctly and also learn to identify and fix what you are not doing right so that you don’t end up damaging your voice or limiting your vocal capabilities.
First the 5 Points:
1. Breathing
2. Diaphragm Support
3. Placement/Resonance
4. Vocal Path
5. Vowel Modification
Point 1 – Breathing
In my world, breathing correctly is the first and most important step in becoming the best possible vocalist you can be. I can’t tell you the number of times I have heard singers who don’t breathe often or big enough, which more often than not, creates major pitch and projection problems. I know I don’t need to tell you it’s never fun listening to a flat singer. This is often the outcome of not breathing at the right place in a song or not taking in the required amount of air to get to the end of a phrase. Taking in the proper breath is akin to a car having gas in the tank. If a car has no gas in it’s tank and it needs to go up a hill or speed up a little it won’t happen. If you have no air in your tank, so to speak, you will be unable to hit the big notes with correct pitch or be able to project the notes. Identifying where and how much you need to breathe in the delivery of a song can make or break your precision of pitch and control of projection.
Singer’s Breath
The movement of the breath into your body is as important as getting the breath in. The proper way to take a singer’s breath is to imagine sucking air in through a tube into your mouth. While the air is coming into your body, your tummy should be expanding as if filling up a balloon from your bellybutton upward. (This is a bit of a challenge for those of us who have been told to keep our stomach sucked in all our lives. Let your inner beer belly hang out, everyone – at least until you get the hang of taking a singer’s breath correctly.) Don’t worry – you won’t always have to think of it as sucking in through a tube. We’d have a lot of funny looking singers if everyone took each breath this way. This visual just makes it easier to understand at the beginning. So, remember “air in/tummy out” to fill up the tank. The direction that your tummy moves when breathing in and learning to regulate the amount of air you take in with each individual breath are the secrets to having great pitch and power.
Until next time… Breathe and Happy Singing!
Angela
www.5pointsingingsystem.com
www.angelakelman.com
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