Singing Tips

Beginning Vocal Lessons Free

It is necessary for a teacher not only to be aware of what a student is thinking, but also to guide him in his thinking. He must not overburden him with too much explanation on how the mechanism works, or try to accomplish too much atone time. The student is apt to become confused and end up with a case of vocal indigestion. The best illustration of this is the story of the student who, when asked what her former teacher thought of her voice, said: “He says I have vowel trouble, that my voice is consonated.”

The teaching approach must be, for the most part, an indirect or mental approach through the use of the imagination. The reason for this is that the vocal mechanism is so complicated in its co-ordination, and so complex in its musculature, that a direct approach, except in rare cases, is impossible. The teacher needs to know, however, the physiological processes involved. This affords him a basis for analyzing errors in production, and a basis for working out ways and means of correcting these errors. This is the psycho-physiological approach.

For example, the problem of teaching a student to breathe deeply can be approached by having the student pant as after running, fast at first, taking in short breaths, and then panting slower, taking in longer breaths. This locates the process of deep breathing below the breastbone and above the waistline, where the greatest expansion of the thoracic or chest cage is possible.

The problem of how to support his singing tone can be approached by having the student place one hand on his mid-section and clear his throat, or call “hey.” In either case there is a contraction of the abdominal muscles, establishing what is called the abdominal press, which decreases the size of the abdominal cavity. The result is a pressure flow of the breath, which is called breath support.

Voice Lesson: Eric Arceneaux teaches Tanya LeMaitre

Eric’s Vocal Home Study Program
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Hear more music
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Duration : 0:9:14

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Eric Arceneaux - Voice Lesson Sneak Peek

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You guys asked for it! So, here it is. You’ll get to see me working one on one with two students. I’ve been working with the male student for about a year, and the female student for about 3 weeks.

Duration : 0:9:32

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Free Voice Lessons

Dynamics Concepts

BC 1. Seek quality; quantity will come.

2.   Quality strengthens the voice more than volume.

3.   Practice slowly with a light vocal quality.

4.   Messa di voce is the only means of obtaining mastery of dynamics.

5.    Never “build on the soft” unless the emphasis is actually being placed on “building.”

EM  1. Your emotions will teach you your dynamics.

2.    The emotions will give the command to the body, which will produce any desired volume.

3.    To emphasize the emotional content of a song is to give force, prominence, or vividness of expression to the more or less variable complex of feeling that accompanies its interpretation.

4.    Never force the voice so as to excite astonishment; never sing louder than lovely.

NA   1. Dynamics comes naturally; it is born with you.

2. Dynamics of the voice are a matter of the use of the natural re­sonators .

3.    Voice projection is an automatic process.

4.    Voice projection should be effortless and natural.

PSY  1. Thinking a tone louder or softer is all that is necessary to make it so.

2. Producing volume requires only the will to hear a louder tone.

RE   1. Resonance controls vocal dynamics.

2. Power depends upon the proper use of the resonance chambers.

SP      1. Let the normal inflections of speech influence the singer’s dynamic levels.

2.   Whispering is a method of developing  breath support which is needed to sing full voice.

3.   Tone and vowel sound are one.

CO-OR  1. Swelling and diminishing are based on organic co-ordination.

2.   Volume of voice involves co-ordination between resonance areas.

3.   By the use of the “square” mouth position,  either “hollow” or “hill-billy,” pianissimo or forte, can be balanced into good loud or soft singing.

EF  1. Basically, dynamics is a pharyngeal control of a variable pres­sure flow of the breath.

2. The lips can be used to mute or open the sound.

SC  1. The force of the energizing agent will determine the amplitude of the glottal pulsations.

2.   Your entire dynamics can be regulated at the glottis.

3.   More breath pressure against the vocal cords results in a more intense tone.

4.   The ideal for singing is dynamic balance.   As a rule, flexibility exercises may be commenced on medium voice, while control is being gained on forte tone.

PHP  1. Correct placement of sound will result in dynamic freedom.

2. In the normal range, high forward “nasal” resonance establishes loudness, mouth resonance establishes softness.

PPA  1. First establish nasal-pharyngeal resonance in a mezzo-forte or forte tone within the range of the conversational voice (an octave and one or two notes).   For power control, establish rise and fall of vowel tensions.

REG  1. Maximum intensity of vocal sound is really produced at the larynx.

2.   The larynx must be free  throughout all registers to produce cor­rect dynamics.

3.   Singing is done loudly until the registers are developed.

4.   When every passage can be sung piano, mezzo-forte, and with full power, then piano forte should be applied to groups of notes and single notes in the voice registers.

RES  1. Without proper breath support,  your dynamics cannot be sung correctly.

2.    Strong breath support results in loud singing, and vice versa.

3.    Breath energy is always commensurate with the intensity of the tone.

4.    Loudness or softness of tone depends upon the rate at which the abdominal and intercostal   muscles send the breath against the vocal cords.

5. Great singers accomplish an intensified vocal utterance by means of an intensified breath pressure.

Throat Singing Tutorial

Here is a tutorial for the type of low-fundamental throat singing I did in my previous “harmonic/throat singing…” video. I hope at least a few people find it helpful. Enjoy

Duration : 0:9:34

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does anyone know bad singers become good by taking voice lessons?

I'm doing a research paper and my thesis is "everyone can be made into good singers." Right now I'm looking for some examples of people who were bad, but after taking lessons and training become good. I'm also looking for articles to prove my thesis. Please help me with suggestions and where I can find articles or books that related to my thesis. I got many books on "vocal training" too.

"everyone can be made into A good singer"
Subject verb agreement
everyone - singular
singers - plural

Voice Lesson: Vibrato (Prt. 2)

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This second installment in the Eric Arceneaux vibrato series explains the importance of breathing’s effect on vocal freedom.

3 powerful breathing exercises, designed to free your natural way of breathing, are demonstrated.

Duration : 0:7:48

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I need some great ideas on how to advertise private voice lessons.?

I currently have a small private voice studio but I would like to see it grow in numbers. Has anyone found a method or methods that have worked? Even ideas from instrumental teachers would help a great deal!

My mom teaches voice and piano as a side gig at a performing arts school. Since you have your own studio, you don't need the space in a school, but you could hook up with whoever the biggest dance studio is in town, unless they already do voice lessons too. See if they will let you put flyers and business cards in their studio, and offer to let them do the same at yours.

Also, check places that people have to frequent - like grocery stores and laundromats - to see if they have bulletin boards. I've seen a lot of them that do, and people just stick their business cards and flyers on the boards.

Where I live, most casual, small, locally-owned restaurants these days also seem to have a place for business cards near their registers. Try that too.

And of course, if you have any music stores in town - the kind that just sell goods and don't offer lessons - they will probably let you put your cards there.

Voice Lesson: “Riffs, Runs, & Control - Part 1″

Buy Eric’s vocal home study program
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Eric on iTunes
http://www.apple.com/search/ipoditunes/?q=ericarceneaux

Eric on CDbaby
http://www.cdbaby.com/ericarceneaux

Hear more music
http://www.myspace.com/ericarcenaux

This video deals specifically with how to develop the ability to sing riffs and runs, but these same methods also help to develop overall pitch control/accuracy and agility.

Duration : 0:8:24

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Auditioning for voice lessons in college?

This fall, I am going to be a freshman at a medium sized university. I am going to be a music major (most likely concentrate on being a vocalist). I was wondering how the audtions are set up. Do I have to sight read a piece by ear? Have an accompianist? Or prepare my own material? Even though I was in choir for my high school years, voice lessons were never avaliable to me. So, I can't sight read vocal music completely.

First of all, i don't think you can sight read a piece by ear! Usually you sight read with your eyes, my dear

But seriously, i think usually they will ask you to prepare a couple of pieces to sing for them, maybe from a list of songs they provide or maybe something of your own choosing. It's important to pick something that suits your voice and you're comfortable with.

I'm pretty sure they will provide you with an accompanist.

At my auditions i did have to do sight reading, but it wasn't anything awfully difficult.

Also they tested my aural skills, playing something on the piano which i repeated with my voice.

Hope this helps, and best of luck with your auditions!