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Welcome
to Vocalist's Insightful Practices (VIP) Newsletter!
March
5, 2001
Table
of Contents:
1.
Welcome Notes
2. Vocal "Trivia"
3. VIP Q & A
4. Vocal Tip
5. Notable Quotables
6. Trivia Answers
1.
Welcome Notes
Welcome
to Vocalist's Insightful Practices (VIP)! Thank you
again for all the positive feedback and for helping make
VIP such a successful e-newsletter! 26 new
subscribers!!!
Welcome
to our new subscribers and thank you to our friends who
forward VIP to their friends. That's how we grow and
have a greater impact on the vocal community!
VIP
is a free monthly newsletter that's goal is to promote
proper vocal health by providing valuable, yet simple
tips to singers, vocal coaches, speakers and anyone else
who uses their voice! I hope that this electronic
publication assists you in creating a voice which is
more healthy, powerful and enjoyable. Please let me know
how I can be of service to you in reaching your vocal
goals. Take care of your voice, if it breaks you can't
get a new one!
A
note to subscribers: Do you have all VIP issues since
it's premier in June 1999? View the recent VIP issues
today! http://www.musicsimplymusic.com/viparchives.htm
If
you have a question that you would like to see addressed
in an upcoming issue, e-mail me with the info! I'm
getting some really great questions!!! You may contact
me at Mail to: dambrosino@musicsimplymusic.com
2.
Test Your Vocal Knowledge
1.The
earliest surviving body of western European vocal music
is the ________ chant.
2.
Is the voice most closely classified as a brass,
percussion or wind instrument? ________
3.
True or False: The terms "heavy register and light
register" refer to the more widely used terms
"chest voice and head voice." _________
3.
Q & A
Q:
I study voice with a classical teacher. She said I
should never use my chest voice. What do you think?
A:
I would first need to know what your goals are as a
singer. If your dream is to be the lead soprano at the
MET, I would agree with your teacher (although I don't
like to use the word "never"). As a classical
singer, you want to strengthen your head voice and then
of course gain flexibility to handle the rigorous vocal
material in operas. During classical training, however,
it is common for the singer's voice to naturally fall
into the chest voice as it descends into the lower
range. The goal, of course, is not to work on building
the chest voice range, but rather to just let the voice
do what it naturally does on its own. Classical training
is great no matter what your vocal goals are in that it
gives the student a great foundation on how to
effectively produce sound. The attention to breath
control and the mechanics of the voice is so very
important no matter what you are singing. Head voice
training is invaluable especially for a pop singer! It
builds strength and power in the upper range that, when
combined with pop vocal training, results in a
well-rounded pop singer with a great range. Because some
did not have this training, many pop singers are unaware
of the option of singing in their head voice when the
range gets too difficult. Furthermore, some may be aware
but lack the knowledge and technique to exercise this
option. If your goal is to sing like a pop singer, then
I would highly recommend you study with someone who not
only has knowledge of the chest voice, but who can
successfully demonstrate this technique. When looking
for a teacher, do your research well, for if this
technique is incorrectly taught, it could result in
damage to your vocal cords. The chest voice (or belt) is
NOT simply raw chest tone. By the way, if you like to
sing songs from all different genres, it can be done. I
personally have performed classical pieces in churches,
jazz tunes and standards at country clubs and rock, pop
and R&B tunes in nights clubs (sometimes all in the
same weekend!). To accomplish this, expose your ears to
all music you enjoy and study with someone who has
experience in all of these genres(one who can
distinguish the varied techniques needed to be a
successful singer Learn the different techniques - don't
sing different types of songs the same exact way. There
is nothing worse than listening to a classical singer
singing a pop song in a classical style!
4.
Vocal Tip
Avoid
excess salt a day prior to a scheduled performance. Did
you ever notice your desire to drink lots of water after
a salty meal? Even after drinking lots of water, it
takes a while to obtain the adequate amount of moisture
that you need in your mouth during a performance.
Performing with a dry throat can produce cracks in your
voice, increasing anxiety which then produces
ineffective breathing.
5.
Notable Quotables
"If
God exists, then music is his love for me." -Gwen
Harwood
"Do
not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can
do." -John Wooden
6.
Trivia Answers
1.
Gregorian
2. wind
3. true
Copyright
© 2001 Diane Ambrosino. All rights reserved. Permission
is granted to reproduce, copy or distribute VIP so long
as this copyright notice and full information about
contacting the author is attached. The author of this
article is Diane Ambrosino and she may be contacted at: dambrosino@musicsimplymusic.com
To
subscribe/unsubscribe send an email to: Vip-list@musicsimplymusic.com
with the either words the words "subscribe
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"We
enjoy what we do, and so will you!"
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