Ep. 113 "Expand Your Vocal Range" - Voice Lessons To The World

Do you want to expand your Vocal Range? Of course you do! In Episode 113, Voice Teacher Justin Stoney of New York Vocal ...
Ep. 113 "Expand Your Vocal Range" - Voice Lessons To The World 0.859 Hey Singers! 0.859 You know me, I'm a voice teacher not a psychic. 0.859 But today I think I might be able to read minds 0.859 just a little bit. 0.859 Let me see... 0.859 You want a bigger vocal range! 0.859 Was I right? 0.859 If so, then here we go! 0.859 ♬ 0.859 Hi everyone, welcome to episode 113 of 0.859 Voice Lessons To The World. 0.859 Today's question comes from Patrick W. in Warsaw, Poland. 0.859 Patrick writes, "Dear Justin, I want a bigger range. 0.859 Can it be now?" 0.859 Oh nice question. 0.859 Well, Patrick's got no time to waste 0.859 so let's get to it with seven tips 0.859 for expanding your vocal range. 0.859 Starting with number one, work all the registers. 0.859 ♬ 0.859 It's super important to work all your vocal registers, 0.859 not just the ones you like the most. 0.859 In other words, spend time each day 0.859 exercising your chest voice, your head voice, 0.859 your mix, your flageolet, all of them. 0.859 ♪ Me ♪ [chest voice, vocal fry] 0.859 ♪ Me ♪ [chest voice] 0.859 ♪ Me ♪ [mix voice] 0.859 ♪ Me ♪ [falsetto] 0.859 ♪ Me ♪ [flageolet] 0.859 ♪ Me ♪ [whistle voice] 0.859 Many singers make the mistake 0.859 of just focusing on the one or two notes 0.859 that they desperately want. 0.859 That's like trying to develop six-pack abs 0.859 just by doing crunches. 0.859 Nah, no! 0.859 [buzzer] 0.859 If we want abs we have to work our entire body 0.859 to achieve a level of fitness. 0.859 In the same way, the notes you probably want 0.859 in your mix or your head voice, 0.859 won't just come by only working on those few notes. 0.859 You've got to work everything. 0.859 Number two, develop your flageolet. 0.859 ♬ 0.859 Certain registers of the voice are more 0.859 flexible than others. 0.859 Chest voice, for example, is not very flexible. 0.859 The vocal folds are shorter, thicker, 0.859 and more muscular. 0.859 On the other hand, registers like head voice, 0.859 falsetto, and head dominant mix, 0.859 are lighter and thinner. 0.859 The vocal folds are free to move more quickly. 0.859 But the grand champion for vocal fold flexibility is flageolet. 0.859 Flageolet is like the head voice above head voice, 0.859 or the falsetto above falsetto. 0.859 For more on this you can watch the brand new 0.859 episode 36 of Quick Singing Tips. 0.859 Or you can go back to episode 89 of 0.859 Voice Lessons To The World. 0.859 Essentially, flageolet is your highest possible notes 0.859 using the least amount of force. 0.859 Sounds something like this... 0.859 ♪ HW ♪ 0.859 As I've said, there is no greater way 0.859 to expand your range than building your flageolet. 0.859 Doing this won't just give you greater access to flageolet, 0.859 it will benefit all of the other registers beneath it. 0.859 Remember, the same set of vocal folds do everything. 0.859 So if you build your flageolet, all of your other registers will benefit. 0.859 Number three, don't bully your registers. 0.859 ♬ 0.859 We want to make sure that we aren't 0.859 pushing certain registers around too much. 0.859 If you do this you might get a couple extra notes, 0.859 but in the long run you'll end up wrecking 0.859 your chances for a truly big range. 0.859 Let me give you an example. 0.859 When I reach a certain place in my range 0.859 that doesn't want to go any higher, 0.859 something like this might want to happen... 0.859 ♪ MAY ♪ 0.859 Now that's not a wise plan. 0.859 It's not all that great for me either. 0.859 Yet it's very tempting to get impatient 0.859 and just kind of try to muscle it. 0.859 But what we really need is actually something like this... 0.859 ♪ MAY ♪ 0.859 Here I'm doing the opposite of bullying, 0.859 I'm letting the vocal register have its preference first. 0.859 Once the vocal folds are allowed to have things their way 0.859 then I can start to have my way. 0.859 But not like some jerk, 0.859 ♪ MAY ♪ 0.859 Do what I say! 0.859 But instead as a gentle encourager. 0.859 ♪ MAY ♪ 0.859 Aha! 0.859 There we go. 0.859 By allowing my vocal folds to have what they want first, 0.859 they start to give me what I want later. 0.859 I'm telling you, friends, 0.859 learn to talk to your vocal folds. 0.859 Be nice to them, they will listen to you 0.859 if you tell them what to do in a nice way. 0.859 Number four, keep your volume consistent. 0.859 ♬ 0.859 One of the most important elements for range building 0.859 is volume consistency. 0.859 For example, what we want is something like this... 0.859 ♪ MAY ♪ 0.859 But what we often get is something like this... 0.859 ♪ MAY ♪ 0.859 Now there's nothing wrong with 0.859 a good old-fashioned crescendo. 0.859 But there is when we're talking about vocal range. 0.859 One of the best ways to guarantee that your range 0.859 does NOT grow is getting louder to achieve high notes. 0.859 In fact if you do that, not only will your range not grow 0.859 but it actually might shrink. 0.859 Why? 0.859 Well, remember that every note you sing 0.859 requires your vocal folds to vibrate at a certain frequency. 0.859 Like, if I sing this note my vocal folds 0.859 vibrate around 100 times per second. 0.859 ♪ MAY ♪ 0.859 If I sing this note my vocal folds vibrate 0.859 around 200 times per second. 0.859 ♪ MAY ♪ 0.859 On this one, they vibrate around 400 times per second. 0.859 ♪ MAY ♪ 0.859 And finally, this one they vibrate around 0.859 800 times per second. 0.859 ♪ MAY ♪ 0.859 Right? 0.859 With all this vibrating going around we've got to ask ourselves, 0.859 who's doing the job? 0.859 If the breath and the volume have to push the note out 0.859 then you know that subglottic force 0.859 made the vocal folds vibrate that quickly. 0.859 But if the volume stays constant, 0.859 then you know the vocal folds are making 0.859 their proper adjustments. 0.859 And over time this leads to a bigger range. 0.859 If you want a great little exercise for improving this 0.859 you can try the whisper singing exercise. 0.859 ♬ 0.859 It's a pretty simple concept, 0.859 basically I'm just going to whisper the part of the phrase 0.859 that I'm going to sing and then go right into the phrase. 0.859 Like, in a may may may exercise I would do something like this... 0.859 May may may may [whispering] 0.859 ♪ MAY ♪ 0.859 May may may may [whispering] 0.859 ♪ MAY ♪ 0.859 Or if it's a song I would use the lyrics. 0.859 Uh, how about "Take me into your loving arms" 0.859 Take me into your loving. [whispering] 0.859 ♪ Take me into your loving arms ♪ 0.859 And so forth. 0.859 The gentle breath pressure of that whisper 0.859 prevents us from pushing. 0.859 And then we just try to match that when we 0.859 move over into our singing. 0.859 Number five, develop larynx control. 0.859 ♬ 0.859 The same thing is true for your larynx 0.859 as it is for your breathing. 0.859 We don't want it to be a pitch changer too much. 0.859 You see the larynx loves to raise up for high notes 0.859 and drop down for low notes. 0.859 Some of this is okay and natural, 0.859 but not too much of it. 0.859 If I let my larynx run rampant I get something like this... 0.859 ♪ MAY ♪ 0.859 But if my larynx knows how to function in a civilized society 0.859 I get something like this... 0.859 ♪ MAY ♪ 0.859 Now it's okay for the larynx to raise for style purposes. 0.859 If I'm singing a pop song I've got to have the right larynx position. 0.859 I'm not going to sing, 0.859 ♪ Change the world, I would be the sunlight in your universe ♪ [low larynx] 0.859 Nah man. 0.859 It doesn't sound like a lot of sunlight to me. 0.859 ♪ Change the world, I would be the sunlight in your universe ♪ 0.859 A lot of musical style comes down to larynx position. 0.859 But, that being said, we can't just 0.859 let our larynxes run about unchecked. 0.859 Nope, we've got to make sure they don't 0.859 raise too much as we go higher. 0.859 If you're having an issue with this, 0.859 I recommend an exercise like this one... 0.859 ♪ NAN NUUN ♪ 0.859 What we're doing here is keeping the 0.859 first couple notes on the brighter side 0.859 and then consciously asking the larynx to drop 0.859 for the higher notes. 0.859 Let's try just a few. 0.859 ♪ NAN NUUN ♪ 0.859 Nice. 0.859 ♪ NAN NUUN ♪ 0.859 One more! 0.859 ♪ NAN NUUN ♪ 0.859 Now, this is obviously good for making sure your 0.859 larynx doesn't cheat on higher notes. 0.859 But make sure you don't neglect the lower notes. 0.859 A lot of folks miss out on some of their low notes 0.859 because things get too dark, deep larynxed, and decompressed. 0.859 It's actually the very opposite of the problem 0.859 that we see on high notes. 0.859 If that happens to you, hit your low notes 0.859 with one of these... 0.859 ♪ AA ♪ 0.859 Go ahead and try a few. 0.859 ♪ AA ♪ 0.859 Yeah. 0.859 ♪ AA ♪ 0.859 ♬ 0.859 Right on! 0.859 This we'll get some of those lower notes toned up in no time. 0.859 Number six, break the vicious cycle. 0.859 ♬ 0.859 Now maybe this goes without saying, 0.859 but I'm gonna say it anyway. 0.859 If you want a bigger range you've gotta 0.859 put in the time and the patience. 0.859 It's very common for folks to get into this vicious cycle... 0.859 Desperately wanting the high notes, 0.859 attempting to get the high notes, 0.859 straining to get the high notes, 0.859 feeling terrible about the high notes, 0.859 giving up on the high notes, 0.859 desperately wanting the high notes. 0.859 Following this path keeps you stuck. 0.859 If you want a different paradigm, 0.859 try this one... 0.859 Invite the high notes, 0.859 practice the high notes wisely, 0.859 appreciate your failures, 0.859 celebrate your progress, 0.859 don't give up on the high notes, 0.859 achieve the high notes. 0.859 Oh yeah! 0.859 That's feeling much better in my soul already. 0.859 Number seven, water your lawn. 0.859 ♬ 0.859 As the saying goes, the grass is always greener 0.859 on the other side. 0.859 What does that mean? 0.859 It means that it's human nature to want 0.859 what we don't have. 0.859 But what about what we do have? 0.859 If we take a moment to think about it, 0.859 there's so much to be grateful for. 0.859 Do it with me! 0.859 Oh yeah! 0.859 Praise God! 0.859 So while I certainly want you to go for it, 0.859 build your range, reach for the skies, 0.859 I also want you to appreciate what you already have. 0.859 And not just for the sake of gratitude, 0.859 but because of this... 0.859 There is an endless amount of good singing 0.859 that you can do with the range that you already have. 0.859 Whether it's one octave or six octaves, doesn't matter! 0.859 Don't let the quest for more 0.859 stop you from doing amazing things 0.859 with what you already have. 0.859 So, Patrick and all, I hope that's been helpful for you. 0.859 In a moment I'll give you this week's vocal benediction. 0.859 So stay tuned for that. 0.859 But first here are some more things that I hope 0.859 can expand your range. 0.859 We are pleased to announce the upcoming release [♪] 0.859 of Justin Stoney's new book Sing Like Never Before. [♪] 0.859 For more information visit SingLikeNeverBefore.com. [♪] 0.859 For voice lessons or Skype lessons with the NYVC staff [♪] 0.859 visit us at NewYorkVocalCoaching.com. [♪] 0.859 If you'd like a vocal course that you can do at home check out the [♪] 0.859 Voice Lessons To The World Vocal Course. [♪] 0.859 This twelve part program takes you on a singing journey [♪] 0.859 from beginner to master level vocal exercises. [♪] 0.859 You can find it at VoiceLessonsToTheWorld.com. [♪] 0.859 Or, if you'd like free vocal tips sent to you each day [♪] 0.859 sign up at DailyVocalTips.com. [♪] 0.859 And now, here's Justin with this week's vocal benediction. [♪] 0.859 In my experience, giving thanks and having gratitude 0.859 is the best first step to expanding. 0.859 In other words, if we start from 0.859 a place of, "Wow, thank you!" 0.859 we're in a much better place than if 0.859 we start from a place of, "I'm not enough, I need more!" 0.859 So take a moment to remember how beautiful your voice is, 0.859 and give thanks for it. 0.859 A real thanks, a soulful thanks. 0.859 If you do, there's no telling what heights you'll reach. [♪] 0.859 ♬