One of the most valuable helps for a singer is some form of feedback. Whether it is from a teachers’s suggestions, an audio recording of the voice or any other form of feedback, it is the feedback that is the primary way a singer learns to know how to create an acceptable sound. And that […]
Breath Management
Some years ago one of the members on Vocalist asked for exercises to strengthen her “weak and lazy” diaphragm. The following is what I wrote to her and the members of Vocalist. It elicited a very strong response and has been included on a number of web sites that specialize in vocal music and singing. […]
More on Formants
Mathew, as a new reader, has asked a lot of questions about the Singers Formant and Formants in general. This has opened a lot of doors that require some explanations. I will try to answer as directly and concisely as possible but this will be a bit long. Since this is a response to his […]
Handkerchief Vowel Humming
Humming through a folded handkerchief is an excellent method of teaching the correct way to balance vocal tone with breath pressure and it is simple to do. Place a folded handkerchief, folded four times, over your forefinger. Place the forefinger parallel with your mouth, gently close your lips over the finger so that they seal […]
More about Lip Trills
Some additional thoughts about Lip Trills I have never found the lip trill to be very productive for most students even those that have no difficulty getting their lips to “flubber”. And the reasons for this is that lip trills encourages excessive air flow which is not the desired description of the well phonated vocal […]
Semi-occluded Exercises
Vowel exercises that use semi-occluded lip positions. Here are some exercises that I have used to help students develop a vocal tone this is rich yet easy to produce. They are all based on the concept that good vocal tone is a combination of efficient and clear phonation assisted by resonance adjustments that compliment the […]
Articulation for Coloratura
Although aspirated fast notes are sometimes called for by the musical and dramatic demands of an aria, in general, aspirated singing has never been considered the proper way to achieve rapid note singing. The fast notes are meant to be connected without any kind of detachment. The rapidity of note change is achieved through proper […]
Vowels and Singer’s Formant
Is it necessary to be concerned about what vowels a singer must use to produce a Singer’s Formant? The Singer’s Formant has no relation to the effect of vowels on resonance. This is because the Singer’s Formant is produced in an area of the vocal mechanism that is removed from the critical vowel resonance area. […]
Male Voices and the Singer’s Formant
A larger voice will of course be heard as a larger voice if it has Singer’s Formant. If it doesn’t have Singer’s Formant it would not be easily heard over a full orchestra regardless of how large a voice it is. Intensity or volume of production has little to do with the ability to be […]
Squillo and the Singer’s Formant
Squillo, which is sometimes defined “as that piercing resonance” has nothing to do with the Singer’s Formant. Singer’s Formant does not give the voice its brightness. For example, Bjorling’s voice has seldom been classified as being as bright as Corelli’s yet his voice has more Singer’s Formant than does Corelli, and Corelli’s is substantial. The […]