Need advice on singing?
Need advice on singing?
This is your chance to pose your questions to David Laudat, The Vocal Authority. Contact us and he will do his best to reply. Each month we select two questions to share with all our website visitors.
Dear David,
What should I look for in a vocal coach and what are the costs involved?
Patrick.
Dear Patrick,
This is a question more and more people are asking. Obviously my first response would be to use a Vocal Authority vocal coach, as they are all seasoned professionals whom we can vouch for!
However, as we cannot yet serve the entire country, I understand that many of you are in a quandary as to how to choose a decent teacher.
There are many sites out there who list singing teachers in an area, such as Music Teachers UK, The Singing Teachers Directory, the Musicians Union members listings, even the back pages of the local newspaper, but most of these do not have a vetting procedure – if you wanted to add yourself to the list right now I’m sure you could do it. So how can you sort out the good from the bad?
The best way to find a teacher of course, is word of mouth. If you know somebody who can recommend a vocal coach because they have first-hand experience of their teaching methods, that’s great. But if you don’t, these are the points you need to consider.
First of all, you need to decide what it is YOU require. For example, what styles of music do you listen to? Which singers do you most admire?
This is not to say that you should expect a singing teacher to wave a magic wand and turn you into Marvin Gaye – that’s not possible, nor is it desirable, as your voice is a unique instrument. However, if you want to sing in a rock band, there’s not much point in working on Nessun Dorma for six months!
The skills required for good singing and the skills required for good teaching are not the same, but it is difficult to have confidence in a teacher who is unable to demonstrate what they expect you to do, so don’t think it is rude to ask a teacher what their background is, what sort of singing work they have done etc. They may have something recorded that you could listen to just to give you confidence in their ability, although demanding that a teacher auditions live in front of you is probably going too far!
Don’t be assured just because someone has letters after their name – most exams are for classical singing, and do not show whether someone can sing or teach in a more current pop style, which requires different handling.
A good teacher should be able to listen to you sing, and give an assessment of what areas you most obviously need to work on. They should also ask you what you think you require, and what problems you are encountering rather than just embark on a “one-size-fits-all” programme.
They should have a good knowledge of how the voice works, but beware of someone blinding you with science. It doesn’t matter how knowledgeable they are if you can’t understand a word they are talking about.
It is impossible for any teacher to accurately predict how long it will take for you to improve to your satisfaction, as much of your progress depends on the effort YOU put in.
Many amazing singers go to their singing teachers for years, improving all the time.
Also, singing is not a linear process, where you learn a little bit each week and gradually get better. Sometimes you learn something that changes your singing drastically for the better all at once, and then you may plateau for a while, but if you have been having lessons for a few months and you feel that you have learnt nothing, I suspect that teacher is not the one for you.
All good teachers will concentrate on diaphragm breathing and will give you scales and exercises to practice, with instruction on how to improve. Some teachers will play these exercises on the piano, and others will use CDs. All Vocal Authority coaches use our recorded exercises as we find it is better to concentrate on the student than on the piano keyboard, but that’s just a preference.
We also find that it’s good for morale and interest if the student gets to actually sing songs as well as exercises, so they can start to apply the new skills practically. A teacher should be willing to work on songs you want to do, but you should also be willing to step out of your comfort zone in order to work different parts of the voice from those you are used to.
Above all, a teacher should be an inspiration to you. All the information you need to learn to sing is out there somewhere – in a book, on the net, on a CD. You can work on your voice yourself if you wish. But a good teacher makes you want to learn, makes you want to strive to get better, inspires you to be as good as you can be. If you don’t feel that, keep looking.
One very important thing to remember – singing should not hurt. If your teacher is giving you techniques that leave you with a sore throat then tell them immediately. If they aren’t worried about it then DON’T GO BACK!
As for your question regarding cost - this can vary wildly, from £15 an hour to £200! The higher prices don’t always reflect better teaching, and you can only afford what you can afford. But one lesson a month with a really good teacher is better than one a day with a rubbish one.
The rest is down to you.
Let us know how you get on Patrick – wishing you the best of luck in your search.
David.
Dear David,
I can keep a tune, but I find it hard to hold a note long enough before it fritters away. Also, I would like to know how to get more power and reach higher notes without the note disappearing.
Stephen.
Dear Stephen,
The problem of notes “frittering away” as you put it, or fading is a common one, rectifiable only by correct breathing.
As you have already downloaded the free breathing lesson we offer on our homepage you have already made a great step towards solving it.
A note is like a kite floating on the wind. If the wind drops, so does the kite. And if the breath supporting your note drops, so will your note. A good support system is vital if you are to make the most of your voice and avoid damage.
When we don’t have enough breath left to get to the end of the line, the temptation to put pressure on the throat muscles is great. In the long term however, this could cause vocal nodules, hard pieces of skin on the vocal cords rather like corns on your toes. When nodules form, the vocal cords are unable to close properly, and that is why you can hear that husky, breathy sound in the voices of people who have them.
Correct breathing doesn’t just help you to hold the notes however. It can also help you with the problem you are having with power.
All dynamics in the voice –ie. Loud and soft – are controlled by correct diaphragmatic breathing. Again, the temptation is to put pressure on the throat to create volume, but this is unsustainable. If you want a louder note, you have to push out the air from your lungs with greater velocity.
If you practise the SShhh contraction exercises in the free breathing lesson, this will help. Try practising the longer version for best effect.
As for high notes – it is a common misconception that in order to sing higher we must also sing harder, when in fact the reverse is true.
Our speaking voices use a whole range of pitches, from very low to very high – and we do it naturally, without pushing.
As you sing higher, try to relax, and imagine you are speaking high, just with longer tones. Another common mistake when singing high is to stretch the throat upwards, when in fact this just makes it harder, as it puts too much pressure on the outer muscles, which in turn put pressure on the delicate vocal cords.
The brain knows which note you wish to hit – you do not have to place the note with your chin, your neck, or any other part of your body.
High and low notes are created by a very slight difference in vibration of the vocal cords. Just like a higher guitar string vibrates quicker than a low one, so creating a higher note, the vocal cords also vibrate quicker to create a high note.
You cannot make this happen by stretching your neck, only by thinking the correct note, and allowing enough breath through to carry it. It’s much easier than we make it!
If you practise gently and gradually extending your range by singing scales you should see progress, but it is not an overnight process. Be patient and the results will come.
David
Vocal Counsel
Dear David,
I know all vocal coaches want you to warm up using scales, but that’s really boring. Why can’t I practise by singing songs instead? Surely singing is singing isn’t it. If I sing songs I like I’m more likely to practise aren’t I. What do you think?
Jack.
Dear Jack,
I agree that most scale exercises out there are boring, and seem to have nothing to do with “real” singing. That’s why we at Vocal Authority devised our own 21st Century Vox programme, based on current beats rather than boring piano and metronome. Have a listen to the samples on the 21st Century Vox page.
As for why we vocal coaches use scales to teach with – while I would agree that it’s better to sing something rather than nothing at all, singing other people’s songs will not develop your voice to its full potential. For a start, most songs use only a limited area of the voice, to allow for the limitations of the singer. After all, a professional artist isn’t going to put something in their song that is too difficult for them to sing are they? So you are limited by the singers you listen to rather than by the limitations of your own voice. Then you get songs by what we would term virtuoso singers – that’s the really good ones. You might not be ready to keep up with them straight away and end up hurting your voice trying. Also, just because somebody recorded a song doesn’t mean that they sang it well, and with good technique, so it’s best not to copy bad technique, and are you sure you know which is which?
Singing songs develops your style, not your technique. Singing scales and exercises helps you to develop your entire vocal range, and iron out the problems and breaks within your voice. When you sing exercises, you are not so tempted to fall back into habits you use to make things sound better immediately. Instead, you learn to sing correctly, and then you can begin to use those techniques in the songs you sing.
David.
Dear David,
I want to give up smoking, but I like the raspy edge I get to my voice when I smoke. Will giving up the cigarettes affect the sound of my voice?
Charlotte.
Dear Charlotte,
Some people have a naturally raspy tone to their voices. For most however, that huskiness is a sign of vocal damage. You may argue that some great singers smoke, and that would be true. They learn to work around the parts of the voice that don’t function so well, and they operate within the limitations of their voice. Those limitations might include never singing before the evening, or singing only one performance and then having a night off to recover. Or maybe playing songs in a lower key…
But can you imagine having a voice without limitations – that did whatever you wanted it to, whenever you wanted. When you look after your voice, there’s no reason why you can’t record in the morning, or extend your range, or sing night after night.
Vocal damage is caused by only a couple of things – poor technique, that is incorrect breathing or placement, or outside factors which affect the vocal cords, such as alcohol and smoking, which both dry out the cords, which need to be lubricated to work properly.
If you can hear raspiness on just a couple of the high notes, you may be OK, but if you can hear it when you sing anything, or even when you speak, you may have nodules on your vocal cords which are preventing them from working correctly.
If this is the case Charlotte, then I advise you ask your doctor for a referral to the Ear Nose and Throat clinic at the hospital, and let them check it out.
If the damage is in its early stages you can reverse the effects by removing the abuse which is causing it, ie. rest the voice, keep it lubricated, learn about breathing and placement so that you are no longer singing incorrectly, and most of all, stop smoking and drinking, especially before you sing.
If you continue abusing your voice, it will only get worse and worse, till you need surgery to correct it, and that comes with a long recuperation period of not singing. Oh, and it hurts too.
So to finish answering your question Charlotte – yes, giving up smoking may slightly change the sound of your voice, but for the better. It’s no good hanging onto a raspy sound, when you have a vocal range of only three notes. The smoking is probably also affecting your breathing, the fundamental building block of singing, and without a good breathing technique you will never fulfil your potential as a singer.
You may have a short period of time when your voice feels worse rather than better. Ride it out. When the tar is gone from your lungs, and your vocal cords have had a little time to recover, your voice will go from strength to strength. Give up the weed and your voice will thank you for it.
David.
See the archive of previous advice given by David here.