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 ♬