Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Foolish Assumptions 3
Icons Used in This Book 3
Beyond This Book 4
Where to Go from Here 4
Part 1: Exploring Singing Basics 5
Chapter 1: Preparing to Sing 7
What You Want to Know Right from the Beginning 7
Determining your voice type 8
Locating the notes on the staff 8
Considering posture, breath, and tone 10
Developing Your Singing Voice 10
Working the Different Parts of Your Voice 11
Applying Your Technique 12
Having Fun 13
Chapter 2: Determining Your Voice Type 15
Sifting through the Ingredients to Figure Out Your Voice Type 16
Identifying the Fab Four 17
Highest range of the dames: Soprano 18
How low can she go: Mezzo 20
Highest range of the dudes: Tenor 21
Heâs so low: Bass 23
Comparing voice types 25
Chapter 3: Aligning Your Body for Great Singing 29
Evaluating Your Posture 30
Creating Ideal Posture 32
Feeling grounded on your feet 32
Engaging your legs 34
Releasing your hips 35
Lengthening your spine 36
Balancing your head and shoulders 36
Releasing Tension 37
Letting go of tension in your upper body 37
Opening space in the head 38
Walking with ease 39
Projecting confidence through posture 40
Chapter 4: Breathing for Singing 43
Tackling the Basics of Breathing 43
Inhaling to sing 44
Exhaling to sing 44
Posturing yourself for breathing 46
Practicing Inhalation 46
Opening your body 47
Breathing, slow and steady 51
Catching a quick breath 52
Practicing Exhalation 54
Blowing in the wind 54
Trilling for exhalation 55
Recognizing resistance and suspending the breath 57
Testing Your Breath Control 58
Releasing abs and then ribs 59
Singing slowly 60
Chapter 5: Toning Up the Voice 63
Defining Tone 63
Creating unique tone 64
Identifying factors that affect tone 64
Considering tone, pitches, and notes 65
Flexing Your Singing Muscles 66
Discovering your own bands 66
Making the first sound 66
Dropping the jaw 67
Matching Pitch 71
Sliding up and down on pitch 72
Developing muscle memory 73
Recording yourself and singing along 74
Releasing Tension for Better Tone 74
Checking for neck or jaw tension 75
Bouncing the tongue and jaw 75
Part 2: Improving Your Singing 79
Chapter 6: Acquiring Beautiful Tone 81
Creating Tone 81
Starting the tone 82
Creating back space 83
Coordinating air with tone 83
Sighing your way to clarity 84
Releasing Tone 85
Inhaling to release tone 85
Letting your throat go 86
Sustaining Tone 86
Connecting the dots with legato 86
Trilling the lips or tongue 87
Working your breath control 87
Finding Your Vibrato 88
Moving from straight tone to vibrato 89
Imitating another singerâs vibrato 90
Chapter 7: Exploring Resonance 91
Understanding Resonance â" Good Vibrations 92
Identifying resonance in different styles of music 92
Exploring your resonators 94
Ringing it out 94
Eliminating Nasality 95
Getting the feel for soft palate work 95
Coordinating your soft palate and tongue 96
Moving air through the nose 97
Debunking Common Misconceptions 98
Misconception: Tone resonates in your sinuses 98
Misconception: You have to place every tone in the same location 99
Misconception: Youâre supposed to keep your tongue completely flat 99
Misconception: You need to open your mouth as wide as possible 100
Misconception: The more forward the sound, the better 100
Misconception: You have to smile to stay on pitch 100
Chapter 8: Shaping Your Vowels for Clarity 101
Getting Your Backside into Shape â" Back Vowels, That Is 102
Exploring the shape of back vowels 103
Lipping around your back vowels 104
Singing the back vowels 105
Mastering the Front Vowels 106
Exploring the shape of front vowels 106
Speaking the front vowels 108
Singing the front vowels 109
Chapter 9: Exercising Consonants for Articulation 111
Saying Voiced and Unvoiced Consonants 112
Making Tip Consonants 113
Shaping tip consonants 113
Singing tip consonants 116
Making Soft Palate Consonants 116
Shaping soft palate consonants 117
Singing soft palate consonants 118
Working Lip Consonants 118
Shaping lip consonants 118
Singing lip consonants 120
Working Combination Consonants 120
Shaping combination consonants 121
Singing combination consonants 122
Chapter 10: Crafting a Practice Routine 123
Knuckling Down to a Practice Plan 124
Getting Answers to Your Practicing Questions 124
Where should I practice? 125
Whatâs the best time to practice? 125
How long should I practice? 126
What do I need besides my voice? 126
Warming Up 127
Stretching to warm up your body 127
Warming up your voice 129
Exercising Your Voice 130
Picking exercises that work for you 130
Breaking it down 131
Practicing Correctly 133
Recording yourself 133
Applying information and exercises 134
Using the online tracks to practice exercises 134
Part 3: Advanced Techniques to Improve Your Voice 135
Chapter 11: Developing the Parts of Your Singing Voice 137
Finding Your Middle Voice 138
Noting your middle voice range 139
Singing in middle voice 140
Checking Out Your Chest Voice 142
Zeroing in on your chest voice range 142
Feeling your chest voice 144
Aiming High with Head Voice 145
Finding your head voice range 145
Feeling head voice 146
Figuring Out Falsetto 148
Discovering your falsetto 149
Experiencing your falsetto 150
Making a Smooth Transition 153
Maneuvering in and out of chest voice 153
Mixing It Up 157
Making the most of your mix, man 157
Getting into the mix, gals 158
Chapter 12: Expanding Your Vocal Flexibility and Range 163
Tackling Register Transitions 164
Working On Your Range 165
Taking your range higher 165
Varying the dynamics 166
Moving between registers 167
Taking Your Agility to New Levels 168
Moving along the scale 169
Picking up the pace 169
Skipping through the intervals 170
Improvising for a Better Pop Sound 171
Mastering patterns in pop music 172
Singing pop riffs with chords 173
Chapter 13: Itâs a Cinch: Belting Out Your Song 175
Playing around with Pitch 176
Talking to yourself 177
Chanting and speaking 177
Finding your optimum speaking pitch 179
Increasing your speaking range 180
Using body energy to find clarity of tone 181
Defining Healthy Belting 182
Comparing belt and chest voice 183
Knowing your limits as a beginner belter 184
Noting the difference between the sexes 184
Coordinating breath and energy 185
Preparing for Belting 186
Speaking in a mix 186
Calling out to a friend 187
Moving Resonance to the Front 187
Exploring vibrations of resonance 188
Being bratty to feel resonance 189
Combining Resonance and Registration 189
Increasing your belt range 190
Belting up the scale 190
Advancing Your Belt 191
Sustaining belt sounds 192
Exploring different vowels 193
Belters and Belt Songs You Should Hear 194
Male belters 194
Female belters 195
Belt songs 195
Chapter 14: Training for Singing 199
Defining Training Requirements 199
Crooning as a country singer 200
Jazzing it up 200
Making your mark in musical theater 201
Performing pop-rock 202
Opting for opera 203
Showing your range with R&B 204
Training to Sing at Any Age 205
Recognizing differences between young singers and teens 205
Developing long-term technique in teenagers 206
Understanding that voices change with age 207
Training with a Choir 208
Enjoying the benefits of singing in the choir 208
Singing in the choir versus going solo 209
Chapter 15: Finding the Right Voice Teacher 211
Searching for the Best Voice Teacher 211
Finding a prospective voice teacher 212
Identifying what you want 212
Interviewing a prospective teacher 213
Knowing What to Expect from a Teacher 217
Feeling good when you leave the lesson 217
Working with imagery and other tools 218
Applying tried-and-true singing methods 218
Knowing What to Expect from Yourself 219
Developing your own practice process 219
Avoiding overworking your flaws 219
Making Your First Lesson a Success 220
Part 4: Preparing to Perform 221
Chapter 16: Selecting Your Music Material 223
Choosing the Song 223
Finding songs at your level 223
Determining the appropriate key for you 229
Selecting a suitable song style 229
Singing to your strengths 230
Shopping for Sheet Music 231
Downloading sheet music 231
Ordering music books 232
Checking out music at your local library 233
Chapter 17: Mastering a New Song 235
Tackling a Song in Steps 235
Memorizing the lyrics as text 236
Tapping out the rhythm 239
Singing the melody (without the words) 240
Putting words and music together 241
Using Vocal Technique in Your New Song 242
Giving voice to vowels 242
Backing into phrases 243
Breathing heavy: Fogging up the windows 244
Changing the tone for each section 247
Using Musical Elements to Create Your Arrangement 248
Comparing songs 248
Articulation 249
Dynamics 249
Tempo 249
Using vocal variety 250
Style 250
Accompanist 251
Evaluating musical elements 251
Chapter 18: Acting the Song 253
Seeing the Song As a Story 254
Chatting it up before you sing 254
Recognizing musical responses 255
Accounting for interludes 255
Exploring Character 256
Characterizing your character 256
Discovering your characterâs motivation 258
Planning actions to get something done 258
Getting Physical 259
Figuring out where to focus 259
Gesturing appropriately 260
Movinâ and groovinâ with your song 262
Chapter 19: Confronting Your Fear of Performing 265
Facing the Symptoms 265
Alleviating Anxiety through Preparation 267
Practicing well 267
Playing to your strengths 268
Managing your thoughts 268
Getting up the nerve 269
Building performance focus 270
Performing to Build Confidence 272
Devising a game plan 272
Evaluating your performance 274
Chapter 20: Auditioning a Song 277
Tailoring Your Audition for Any Venue and Any Style of Music 278
At the opera 278
Onstage at the theater 279
In the club 279
On television 280
Choosing Audition Songs to Highlight Your Strengths 281
Showing versatility 281
Connecting with the lyrics 282
Avoiding the wrong audition song 283
Choosing the key 284
Making the cut 285
Marking the music 286
Rehearsing with an accompanist 287
Preparing the Music 288
Preparing hard copies 289
Taking digital sheet music 290
Bringing a recording 290
Nailing the Audition 291
Doing your prep work 291
Dressing in the right outfit 292
Knowing how to audition online 293
Greeting the audition accompanist 294
Acting at the audition 295
Preparing mentally 296
Part 5: The Part of Tens 297
Chapter 21: Ten Performers with Good Technique 299
Xiomara Alfaro 300
Juan Diego Fl³rez 300
Lady Gaga 300
Eddie Kendricks 301
Bruno Mars 301
Minnie Riperton 302
Sofia Shkidchenko 302
Meryl Streep 303
Josh Turner 303
Colm Wilkinson 304
Chapter 22: Ten Frequently Asked Questions about Singing 305
Is Belting Bad? 305
What Should I Do If My Voice Feels Off? 306
How Are an Accompanist, a Coach, and a Voice Teacher Different? 307
If My Voice Is Scratchy, Do I Have Nodes? 307
Do I Have to Be Big to Have a Big Voice? 308
Whatâs the Best Singing Method? 308
Do I Have to Speak Italian to Sing Well? 308
Can I Have a Few Drinks Before the Performance to Calm My Nerves? 309
Why Canât I Eat Ice Cream Before I Sing? 309
How Long Will It Take Me to Learn to Sing? 310
Chapter 23: Ten Tips for Maintaining Vocal Health 311
Identifying Everyday Abuses 311
Incorporating Healthy Speech into Your Singing 313
Knowing When to Seek Help 313
Staying Hydrated 314
Getting Plenty of Shut-Eye 315
Making Sure That Youâre Well Nourished 315
Preventing a Sore Throat or Infection 316
Medicating a Sore Throat 316
Protecting a Sore Throat 318
Keeping Your Emotional Life in Check 318
Chapter 24: Ten Tips for Performing Like a Pro 319
Rehearsing to Beat the Band 319
Wearing the Right Ensemble 320
Finding Your Stance 321
Singing with a Piano, Organ, or Band 322
Making Your Entrance 322
Roping in Your Audience 323
Ignoring That Mosquito 323
Handling Those Hands 324
Using the Mic 325
Taking Your Bow and Leaving the Stage 326
Part 6: Appendixes 329
Appendix A: Songs to Advance Your Technique 331
Beginner Songs for Any Voice Type or Gender 332
Intermediate Songs from Various Styles for Any Voice Type or Gender 333
Intermediate musical theater songs 333
Intermediate pop-rock songs 333
Intermediate country songs 334
Intermediate classical songs 334
Songs to Practice Technical Lessons for Any Voice Type or Gender 334
Spunky songs for practicing articulation and agility 335
Songs with larger intervals to practice smooth register transitions 335
Songs to practice breath coordination and legato phrases 336
Songs to Work on Range and Registers 336
Songs for low female voices 337
Songs for low male voices 337
Songs for higher voices to expand your range for any gender 338
Songs for lower voices to expand your range for any gender 338
Songs for Working Mix, Belt, and Falsetto 338
Female mix songs 339
Songs for working on male falsetto and mix 339
Belt songs for higher and lower female voices 340
Appendix B: About the Online Tracks 343
Recognizing Whatâs Available: The Track Listings 343
Tackling Any Potential Issues 347
Index 349
