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Raise Your Voice

By:
Jaime
Vendera
The incredible new vocal
system designed to increase
the range, power, and
quality of your voice!

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 Raise Your Voice
2nd Edition
© 2007 by Jaime Vendera/Vendera Publishing.

Printed in the USA. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced in any form, by any means, electronic or otherwise, including
photocopying, scanning, downloading, or by any data storage system, without
written permission from the publisher.

The Voice Connection

Vendera Publishing

ISBN: 978-0-9749411-5-8

Cover Design and Inside Design: Molly Burnside

Photography:Impressive Studios/Kevin Hoops
Artwork: Benoit Guerville
Editing Team: Joyce Foster, Stephanie Keen, Meagan Ruszyk,
PDF conversion, book typesetting & layout: Neil Tarvin
All audio files: Mixed by Dallan Beck

Copyright information for “Sky”

Words and music by
Sahaj Ticotin and Nandi Johannes
© 2002 Sahajamusic@ascap
and Rainchonwoogie@ascap
Published by Sahaj (ASCAP)

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All copyrighted articles used by permission.
Quotes by Jim Gillette and Tony Harnell used by permission.

Other books/products by Jaime Vendera:

The Ultimate Breathing Workout (book)

The Ultimate Vocal Workout Diary (book)
Voice RX (PDF and MP3 Download)
The Vendera Digital Vocal Coach (Singer Software Download)
VocalFlow (Cardio/Yoga DVD for singers with Ryan Murdock)

Other books/products by Vendera Publishing:

By Elizabeth Sabine:
Strengthening Your Singing Voice (Book)
Secrets of Voice Strengthening for Speakers (MP3 Download)
The Sabine Rock Voice (MP3 Download)
Unleash the Passion in Your Singing Voice (MP3 Download)
Strengthening Your Voice for Speaking and Singing (Video Download/DVD)

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 THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO
MY BEAUTIFUL WIFE AND SOULMATE
DIANE VENDERA

AND TO THE MEMORY OF MY GRANDPARENTS,

RON AND JEAN HADSELL,

AND ALSO TO MY TEACHER,

JIM GILLETTE,

FOR HELPING ME
TO FULFILL MY DREAMS

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 ATTENTION Raise Your Voice Owners!

CONGRATULATIONS!
You are now a member of an elite group.

This book comes with lifetime free access to the

Raise Your Voice Members section.

The Members section contains all of the audio

examples from this book, downloadable vocal
exercises, a message board to discuss the
techniques and hours of instructional videos to
guide you through the Raise Your Voice system.

Enjoy!

To access the Members section, go to:

www.raiseyourvoicebook.com
or
www.thevoiceconnection.com

From the homepage, click on “Members”.

The password is “audiovoice”.

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6
 Raise Your Voice
Raise Your Voice.............................................................................................. 2
Foreword........................................................................................................... 9
My Story.......................................................................................................... 11
Understanding the Voice ............................................................................. 15
Learning To Breathe Again............................................................................. 17
Vocal Focus .................................................................................................... 35
The Vocal Break ............................................................................................. 49
Understanding Falsetto .................................................................................. 57
The Zipper Technique .................................................................................... 69
Hydrating The Voice ....................................................................................... 89
The Importance Of Pitch................................................................................ 101
Developing Style ........................................................................................... 115
Vocal Health ................................................................................................ 121
The Speaking Voice………………………………………………………………123
The Voice Of The Mind................................................................................. 137
Ailments Of The Voice .................................................................................. 153
Enemies Of The Voice.................................................................................. 183
The Singer’s Medicine Chest........................................................................ 189
Diet And Exercise ......................................................................................... 205
The Singer’s Daily Regimen ......................................................................... 217
Strengthening the Voice ............................................................................ 225
The Isolation Method™ ................................................................................. 229
The Ultimate Vocal Warm-Up....................................................................... 235
Falsetto Development................................................................................... 269
Transcending Tone....................................................................................... 279
Full Voice Production.................................................................................... 289
Keys To Vocal Freedom ............................................................................... 303
Developing Vocal Endurance ....................................................................... 307
Developing Vibrato ....................................................................................... 323
Taking The Next Step ................................................................................. 327
Progressing Further ...................................................................................... 329
For Hard Rockers Only!................................................................................ 347
Stage & Studio.............................................................................................. 389

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Daily Vocal Routine ...................................................................................... 419
Final Thought ................................................................................................ 424
Glossary........................................................................................................ 427
Meet The Team ............................................................................................ 437
Suggested Products ..................................................................................... 441
Suggested Reading ...................................................................................... 443
Singer’s Checklist ......................................................................................... 447
Acknowledgements ...................................................................................... 453

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Foreword
By TONY HARNELL

Having sung for a living for over two decades I can honestly say that without
proper vocal coaching in my early years I would not have lasted as long as I
have. I still feel fresh after all these years and still have the confidence that I
can deliver a top notch performance that on many nights is even better than
when I was 20 years younger. I recommend to every singer that they get
some knowledge of technique and vocal care under their belt as it will allow
them to just sing and not think about the state of their voice all the time, which
only gets in the way of the art.

What I love about Jaime’s book is that it is user friendly. You could carry it
around on the road or take it in the studio and refer to it when needed. It’s
easy to read and comprehensive. If you can’t fix whatever physical issue you
have with your voice using Raise Your Voice, you probably need professional
help, meaning a good ear, nose and throat doctor OR perhaps rest and a
good thorough cleanse. Jaime has done the research and he knows his stuff.
Having gotten to know the man I can say without hesitation that I have never
met anyone with as much passion for singing and for helping singers. This will
take him very far and give you, the singer, a mentor to follow as you develop
your talent. This is not to say that Jaime’s books are for beginners, quite the
contrary, they are for every singer! I found things in his book I didn’t know
about and found they worked, so anyone of any level will benefit from these
discoveries.

My personal view on singing is that you really have to be willing to get naked.
You really can’t hold back. You have to get out there, take off your metaphoric
clothes and show the world who you are. If you aren’t willing to do that, then
you might as well do something else. One doesn’t need to have that kind of
personality in everyday life, but one needs to find that within themselves and
give it through their performances. Art is expression and communication or it
doesn’t communicate. It needs to reach people regardless of its style and
texture.

As Jaime’s book focuses mostly on technique, I would just like to add to the
above by saying that technique as it were, is only as important as it allows
you to communicate as a singer and not more, it is only a means to an end.

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Obviously one needs to sing on pitch and have some control over his or her
voice, beyond that it’s all about the communication. Some will naturally have
stronger voices, higher voices and more dramatic styles to draw from. Others
will have soft, sweet tones and still others will have rich, dark, smokey tones;
but that’s mostly just nature. Everyone with some talent can learn to
communicate through whatever type of instrument they’ve been given. The
important thing is to learn to appreciate your natural voice, embrace it for what
it is and if it’s got a unique quality, well that’s all the better. Money can’t buy
originality so if you’ve been given the gift of an unusual or distinctive voice
you have been truly blessed.

Raise your Voice is about using and keeping your voice, and that’s important
for any singer who wants to sing for a living. One needs to have some
understanding of basic care of the voice if they are to last for years. These
books are to be used not just read. So take them with you, use them and sing,
sing, sing.

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My Story
Welcome to the second edition of Raise Your Voice. I have received
thousands of emails from around the world concerning my approach to vocal
technique. The biggest issues have been centered on the fact that The Voice
Connection is a rock vocals-based website. If you are one of the singers who
are wondering if the techniques in Raise Your Voice will work for all styles,
ask no more! I present you with this simple answer: Correct technique is
correct technique! The techniques presented in this book are the most
powerful tools I have found for strengthening the voice. This system will work
for any style!

If your goal is to become an amazing country vocalist, like Wynona Judd or

Vince Gill, this technique will work for you! If your goal is to be the next Luther
Vandross, Stevie Wonder, Sting or Mariah Carey… Well, I can’t make you
sound like Luther, Stevie, Sting or Mariah, but I can show you how to develop
an amazing vocal instrument and present you with the tools needed for vocal
success. If you want to be the next big thing, I can give you the keys to unlock
your voice potential. If all you want to do is be the vocalist in a Soundgarden
or Led Zeppelin cover band, then I’ll show you how to develop the strength
and stamina to tackle songs by Chris Cornell and Robert Plant. No matter
what you want to sing, the goal should be the same: To strengthen and
develop the singing voice to your fullest potential.

Singers from all styles have studied with me; including pop, gospel, rhythm &
blues, country, rock, hard rock, and of course, heavy metal. I consider myself
more of a voice-strengthening specialist. Although I spend a lot of time on
style with my students, my forte is helping eliminate poor vocal habits and
problems that most singers—including amateur, professional, and touring
musicians—have to contend with. I teach singers how to strengthen their
instrument and increase the range, power, stamina, and quality of their
voices. This book contains the exact same principles that I teach to all of my
students, including rock stars. Just remember, technique is technique,
regardless of whether you are a beginner or a seasoned professional.

Everyone wants a quick fix. There is no such thing. You are going to have to
work for it. I’ve had new students come to me for one lesson and expect to
walk away a superstar. It doesn’t work that way. Anyone who tells you that

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they can dramatically transform your voice in one lesson is only in it for your
money! Although I’ve seen amazing changes in singer’s voices, it’s all about
the work.

My goal is to help every singer and speaker who reads this book fulfill their
dreams of developing their best voice possible. Let me start by painting a
picture for you to understand my story:

With your voice, you have the ability to form vivid pictures through sound. You
can produce intimate emotions, ranging from great joy to extreme sadness, all
through the tonalities of your voice. Once you understand how it works, you
will be able to apply your knowledge to strengthening the different aspects of
your voice and release the passionate singer within.

If you desire to improve your singing voice and want to increase your vocal
range, then you have found the right source. Although this is not a book of
magic formulas for singers, it will give you the keys to unlock your singing
potential. These keys have extended my upper range by more than an octave
in full voice and even higher in whistle tones, enabled me to sustain notes
longer than I’ve ever imagined, allowed me the choice of coloring my vocal
tone any way I chose, from falsetto through mix voice to full voice, to adding
vocal inflections, such as vibrato and grit and enabled me to sing as loud as
120 decibels. Applied properly, the knowledge contained in this book could
extend your range, color, volume, and sustain time by much more. However,
this will not happen overnight. It will take hard work and dedication.

Trial and error best describes my case; and I mean a lot of it! I have been
singing since I could talk, but I didn’t start studying voice until 1988. Around
that time, I had been singing in a rock band for several years and doing fairly
well, but I was having trouble hitting all the high notes with the same power
and ease as all of my favorite rock stars. I listened to the popular rock singers
of that time, and was awed by their vocal ranges. I just couldn’t figure out how
they sang so easily, especially night after night of touring. Singers like David
Coverdale of Whitesnake, Marq Torien of the BulletBoys, Jim Gillette of Nitro,
and Tony Harnell of TNT seemed to possess an uncanny natural ability to
sing higher, louder, longer and stronger than any other singer on the planet.

I knew that they knew something I didn’t. (Yeah, I got a little obsessed with
the hard rock singers. Once I discovered rock and metal, I quit listening to
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Duran Duran and Richard Marx. Guess you know how old I am now, haha. So
no matter if you’ve grown up in the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s or in the millennium, I now
realize that you learn and grow by listening to singers of all styles. That’s why
I now own hundreds of CDs from today’s era, from rock to pop singers.)

Although I didn’t have any of the answers, I kept singing songs too difficult for
me; and the day after a gig I could hardly speak as a result of the strain on my
voice. I could always sound great that first night, belting out the songs and not
worrying about the consequences. Of course, if we played the next night, I
would struggle. I tried cheating by singing songs in falsetto instead of full
voice, but Guns-N-Roses, Led Zeppelin, Def Leppard and AC/DC just didn’t
sound quite right when I did that. I sounded like somebody’s grandmother
trying to sing “Shook Me All Night Long” and it just made my first rhythm
guitar player, Billy Massie, laugh hysterically. For some of the other tunes, I
could get by with this approach. This made it easier for me to sing night after
night, but my voice lacked the power and quality I had from belting out the
tunes.

So I thought to myself, “What should I do? Push myself to sound great and
vocally suffer, or settle for the weak sound of my falsetto just to save my
voice?” I made a conscious decision that I didn’t have to settle for either
choice. If other singers could sing with ease, then anyone should be able to
attain the same results; especially when several of my favorite singers had
very deep voices when they spoke, but sang extremely high. I was
determined to find an easier way, so I researched any available information
that I could find about the voice.

I was obsessed with learning as much about voice as I possibly could. I took
private lessons, dissected books, studied different styles and techniques,
watched videos, and tried various vocal exercise routines. I even moved to
Hollywood, California to study voice at the Musician’s Institute.

Through years of experience and research, I have acquired an abundance of

information about singing and the voice. There are multitudes of
misconceptions about singing, and I’ve been through just about all of them.

After over fifteen years of seriously studying the voice and figuring out what
did and did not work for me, I decided to write down everything I could ever
want to know about singing in a journal.
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Although I originally intended this to be a journal for personal use only,
positive feedback from singers and friends with whom I had shared my
findings finally convinced me that this journal was too important to be kept to
myself.

So in closing, I just want to say that as you read through these pages, I hope
that you gain as much knowledge out of this book and program as I did
creating it. To make it easier to read, I repeat certain principals and key words
for your benefit. I assure you that this is not out of sheer laziness, but is only
to make certain that all of the information that I crammed into this book
commits to your memory.

If you follow the instructions in this book correctly, this program should help to
save you all of the excess frustration, as well as the trial and error, in time
spent searching for ways to improve your singing voice. You can never learn
too much about singing. I encourage you to continue to read and learn
everything you can about the voice. I am constantly researching and studying
the voice and I’ll never stop! (In fact, I still have my original journal and I am
still writing in it.)

Hopefully this manual will become a major stepping-stone towards the

improvement and self-discovery of your sound. It takes a lot of hard work and
dedication to raise your voice, so good luck! (Welcome)∗

∗ All Bold Words in parenthesis refer to audio demonstrations on the Members

section of www.raiseyourvoicebook.com and www.thevoiceconnection.com.

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PARTONE
Understanding the Voice
It is important to understand the whole vocal mechanism before approaching
the act of singing. If you develop a clear mental picture of what physically
takes place when you are singing, it will make the vocal process easier. When
you first learned how to drive a car, you had to understand the difference
between gears like park, drive, and reverse, as well as how to steer. It was
equally important to know the difference between the gas and brake pedals,
too. The same rules apply to the voice. You should learn what makes your
voice run before taking it for a test drive.

Before taking your driver’s test, you committed to memory certain traffic rules
for safe driving. If you ever broke these rules, you could put yourself in
danger. Singing follows along that same line, because several rules should be
followed in order to protect your voice. These rules were created for a reason.
If you break any of these rules, you could put yourself in harm’s way, and your
voice could crash.

The following chapters are broken into sections pertaining to different parts of
the vocal mechanism. All parts ultimately work as a whole. When you
establish a working knowledge of the voice you will better understand the
vocal exercises found in the later chapters of this book, making it easier to
obtain the desired results at an accelerated rate. So, if you are ready to raise
your voice let’s move on!

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16
ONE
Learning To Breathe Again
I want to begin this first chapter by stating that as a singer, you are going to
have to forget what you think you know about breathing and learn to breathe
again. True breathing, to release your singing potential, consists of breath
support and the natural “placement” or focus of the tone created by the
breath. Understanding the breathing mechanism (as applied to singing) is the
first crucial step to developing support and learning how to sing with complete
vocal freedom. This is much like learning to crawl before walking. Let’s begin
by taking a long, deep breath. Breathe in slowly and visualize filling your
entire body with air as if you were a balloon. Feel your lower abdomen
expanding outward, all the way down below your navel and around your
waist. It should feel as if the mid-section is expanding in 360 degrees. Feel
the sensation of your ribs expanding out to your sides and your entire chest
expanding until you are completely full of air. Next, steadily exhale until you
feel that your lungs are completely empty.

This is considered one full cycle of breathing. In everyday life you would never
inhale as deeply and exhale as completely as you just did. This exercise
demonstrates what an enormous lung capacity we possess. It also proves
what little capacity we normally use. This deep breath is the energy we need
to feed our singing voice. And what exactly are we breathing? AIR.

Have you ever blown on or waved your hand at a small wood fire? People
usually do this to keep a fire going or from dying out. Why? Air feeds the fire.
The flames will rise and the embers will burn brighter. For now, compare your
voice to a bright burning flame. In essence, there is a fire inside of you. This
fire—your voice—needs air to burn. When you release air in order to sing, you
vibrate the vocal cords, which means you are adding fuel to the flames of your
fire.

What would happen if you forced too much air on an actual fire? You could
put the fire out. This can happen to your voice. Excessive air pressure from
singing too loudly forces bursts of air through the opening of the vocal cords.

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This opening between the vocal cords is more commonly known as the glottis.
(Speaking of vocal cords, the technical name is vocal folds, but this is my
book and “vocal cords” is the term I grew up with and the term I choose to
use.)

The vocal cords are delicate and should be treated with care. If this is the
case with you, you will strain your voice by singing louder than necessary.
Forced air pressure creates a loud and/or breathy tone, which rapidly dries
out the vocal cords, leaving you with a dry, hoarse voice. Continuing such
abusive vocal habits for extended periods of time can eventually cause you to
lose your voice: You are putting out the flames to your fire, so to speak.

You must learn to breathe correctly, in order to gain maximum breath control.
Maximum breath control leads to maximum voice control. Don’t freak out and
think that you must control your voice; this isn’t the case. Singing should be a
natural and relaxed act. What this basically means is that the way you
breathe affects your singing voice. Air is your fuel—your source of energy. Air
feeds the voice and provides the energy needed to sustain the song within
you, but you must learn how to control the amount of fuel you use to feed your
voice, because most singers are using much more fuel than is necessary. If
you do not breathe properly, your vocal cords will not vibrate properly. I
cannot put it any simpler.

There are three types of breathing that I am going to explain to you. They are
chest breathing, diaphragmatic breathing, and what I like to call your
“maximum breath potential”.

CHEST BREATHING
Breathe in as quickly as you can, then hold it. What part of your body moved
the most? I know I wasn’t there, but I’ll bet that your upper chest inflated like a
balloon. Most people breathe entirely with their upper chest. This is the
incorrect way for a singer to breathe and the way most people have learned to
breathe. Chest breathing is limiting for a singer and only utilizes about one-
third of your lung capacity. This limits your ability to sing long phrases: You
won’t have enough air to make it through the entire passage.

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 (CHEST BREATHING)

DIAPHRAGMATIC BREATHING
A major improvement over chest breathing is diaphragmatic breathing. You
might have heard it referred to as belly breathing because when you engage
and contract the diaphragm, the stomach will be forced out as the diaphragm
drops and it will look as if you were breathing into the stomach. And if you are
curious, the truth is, you are NOT breathing with the belly, it just looks that
way. This type of breathing allows the bottom two-thirds of your lungs to fill
with air, creating a larger air supply than in chest breathing. More air enables
you to sing longer phrases. (As you’ll soon learn, more air is NOT necessary
to sing long phrases.)

So what is the diaphragm and what does it do? The diaphragm is a dome-
shaped muscle that divides the body in half. It rests above the stomach, along
the edge of the ribs. All you need to know is that the diaphragm is crucial to
singers because it controls the inhalation process and can be used to
lengthen the exhalation process.
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 (DIAPHRAGMATIC BREATHING)

As you inhale, the diaphragm drops toward the abdominal area, creating room
in the chest cavity for the lungs to expand. As the diaphragm drops, a vacuum
is created within the lungs, drawing in more air. The stomach is forced down
and out, and the back and ribs expand as the diaphragm muscle descends.

If the thought of a bloated stomach poses some concern, don’t worry,

because your stomach won’t stick out enough to notice. I’d rather have my
stomach stick out than my throat blow out. If you are a practicing
diaphragmatic breather, you are on the right track.

MAXIMUM BREATH POTENTIAL

Reaching your breathing potential is as easy as combining the two previous
types of breathing to achieve your maximum lung capacity. This provides the
best of both worlds. When you breathe with your chest, you are only filling the

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 (MAXIMUM BREATH POTENTIAL)

top one-third of your lungs. When you utilize diaphragmatic breathing, you
only fill the bottom two-thirds of your lungs.

When the lungs are full of air, they are similar to upside down triangles: larger
at the bottom and smaller at the top. So, if you learn to fill the entire lungs
from the bottom up, your breath supply will almost seem endless. Not every
phrase you sing will require this much air. In fact, once you learn how to
support the breath correctly, you won’t need much air for singing. In time, you
will learn to adjust the amount accordingly. Utilizing your maximum breath
potential will allow you to grasp that extra lung space required for long
phrases, if so desired.

Useful Tip: Truth about Maximum Breath Potential

What’s the truth about maximum breath potential? Although I explain to you
the process of filling from the bottom up and expanding all the way up through
the chest, you don’t actually need to take this deep of a breath during singing.
In fact, you’ll only need to take a very quick, small breath to support the tone.

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But the room is there if you ever need it, although it’s doubtful you’ll ever need
this much breath. The secret to singing is precise breath control with a
minimal amount of air.

LEARNING TO BREATHE AGAIN

Many voice teachers tell their students to sing from the diaphragm. This
usually means that they want the singer to add more support to their tone by
increasing breath pressure. It’s rather difficult to sing from the diaphragm
when it cannot support the tone and isn’t actually used for increasing breath
pressure. Singing is a controlled, but effortless, exhalation process. As far as
singing is concerned, the diaphragm is mainly used for the inhalation process.
In singing, your stomach and back muscles are used for controlled exhalation.

There is a delicate relationship created in the way that pressure is placed

upon the diaphragm from the stomach and back muscles, which, when done
correctly, allows the diaphragm to naturally move upwards as it relaxes,
without overburdening the lungs. This is where your support comes from. This
is precisely why I do not use the phrases “sing from the diaphragm” or
“support with your diaphragm” during private instruction. I tell my students to
“sing from the lower abdomen” when speaking of support.

So, the secret to correct breathing is to sing from your stomach, with
concentration on the diaphragm. But the trick is to learn how to correctly place
the pressure upon the diaphragm without excessively forcing air out of the
lungs. The secret is to apply a steady downward pressure with your stomach
and back muscles, like going to the bathroom, while visualizing breathing
inward. I know this might sound a little confusing, so let’s start all over again
and pretend you don’t know the first thing about breathing or singing.

The first step to learning to breathe correctly is to lie on your back, flat on the
floor and place a book on your stomach. Begin to inhale and exhale at a slow
steady pace. As you breathe in, allow the book to rise by visualizing breathing
down into your belly below the navel. Physically feel your stomach rise, your
side ribs expand and your back push down against the floor, with each intake
of breath. This is the natural way to breathe. All babies breathe this way. Just
watch a baby breathe sometime. Notice how their little bellies swell whenever

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they inhale. So you see, you were actually born with correct breathing habits;
you just lost them along the way to adulthood.

I want you to understand that you aren’t actually breathing into the stomach.
This is for the sake of visualization to enable you to make use of your
maximum breath potential and ensure the maximum use of your breath.
When you have accomplished breathing on the floor, stand up and allow your
stomach to expand again. Did you happen to notice that your shoulders
couldn’t rise while you were lying down? This is very important, because the
shoulders should remain relaxed because rising shoulders will only constrict
lung expansion. Now, while standing, inhale and allow your stomach, back
and sides to expand outwards in a 360° direction all around the body.

Breathing is a natural act; it should never be forced, so remember, don’t allow

your shoulders to rise. If you do, you are filling the upper one-third of your
lungs first, and that is essentially chest breathing. This mistake will prevent
you from filling your lungs from the bottom up.

To make sure that your midsection is fully expanding, put your hands in
against your sides, with your thumbs pointing towards your back. As you
breathe in, your hands should widen, with the fingers moving forwards and
thumbs moving backwards.

Useful Tip: Spread Your Ribs

To enable maximum breath potential, it is important that the very bottom
ribs—or floating ribs (the small ribs at the bottom that are connected at the
back to the spine, instead of the sternum) expand out to your sides. When
using your hands to check for expansion, make sure that the floating ribs
“push” your hands out.

Try to keep the floating ribs expanded outwards as you sing, even when
releasing your air supply. An expanded ribcage is crucial for producing a solid
rich tone, sustaining notes, adding power and developing vocal freedom.

The lower organs drop down and out in all directions as the diaphragm
contracts (descends), causing the bloated look. As the lower ribs (floating
ribs) expand outward, the lungs will continue to expand all the way up your

23
ribcage until the upper chest has slightly or fully expanded, depending on the
amount of breath you decide to take in.

Do not purposely expand the chest. Allow it to happen naturally. Concentrate

on the feeling of the upper lungs expanding. There is absolutely no need to
forcefully raise your chest; it will expand on its own. Remember not to raise
the shoulders. If you do, you will create unnecessary muscular tension in your
neck, which will cause your throat to tighten and create constriction in the
lungs. With all of this accomplished, you are very close to your maximum
breath potential, with the exception of one thing: correct posture.

You must make absolutely sure that you try to observe correct posture. Poor
posture limits full lung expansion, and creates tension throughout your entire
body. To check your posture, stand up with your back against a wall, and your
feet parallel to your shoulders. Your back should be straight. This aligns your
spine, allowing the vertebrae to be stacked on top of each other in a straight
line. When the spine is out of alignment, your body will be out of balance, and
you will create unnecessary muscle tension. Walk away from the wall while

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maintaining the same position and then wrap your hands around your neck.
Stretch your neck straight up. This will give your head an elevated feeling.

If you force yourself to hold this position, you’ll only end up distorting your
posture. If you find yourself slouching or forming any other distorting stance,
recheck your posture. Allow yourself to physically feel the same as you did
when you were against the wall with your spine straight and your head
elevated.

Useful Tip: Stand Up Straight

You are probably wondering, “Does this guy really expect me to stand up
straight and sing completely stiff throughout the entire song?” The answer:
No, not exactly. I have performed for years and I know how demanding a
singer’s performance can be, especially in rock singing. I run around on
stage, crouch down, crawl on my knees, lean back when I sing high notes,
and jump across tables. It’s all part of the show. But I try to reestablish my
posture as much as possible to center myself and keep my body relaxed.

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Singing is all about physical freedom, and maintaining correct posture helps
to inhibit muscle tension.

Useful Tip: Discover the Alexander Technique

The Alexander Technique, (created by Australian actor and teacher Matthias
Alexander) is a mind-body technique that enables the body to work freely and
naturally flow as was originally intended, to release all unnecessary physical
tension, postural imbalances, restrictive breathing habits and mental stress. It
was originally developed as a method of vocal training for singers and actors
in the 1890s. Alexander realized the direct correlation between singing,
posture, and the need to retrain the body for natural breathing. The method
expanded to incorporate and help all types of people from musicians, such as
pianists who suffered with back pain from sitting at a piano stool; computer
programmers suffering from cramped hands due to typing all day; factory
workers who complained of aching feet and backs, and enabled each
individual to correct their personal physical body imbalances and release
muscle tension. This is an excellent method for establishing a perfect body
posture and flow for singing and performing. Check out the website
www.alexandercenter.com to learn more about the Alexander Technique.

Now that you understand and have taken the perfect breath, what
should you do with it? I don’t want you to do anything at this point,
because at this point I want to tell you how to take the basic inhalation
process and prepare the body for a supercharged vocal performance.
What do I mean by this? There is a way to make full use of the basic
inhalation to help turn the body into a singing machine. It is called the
micro breath.

The micro breath is a very simple process that will allow you to fill the lungs
from the bottom up without actually having to fill completely up like a puffer
kite. (I stole that analogy from Jim Gillette. Thanks, Jim!) This process
should be adopted for all singing from now on. Remember when I said that
it doesn’t take a lot of air to sing and support long phrases. This is true and
I will explain more on that concept later. But for now, I want to show you
exactly how to inhale from now on when you sing.

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Have you ever been surprised by someone or scared by something that
caused you to take a quick breath and immediately say something like,
“Oh, you scared me!”? This is quick delivery of your vocal fuel. That small
breath was so quick and felt as if it went directly down into the stomach
and bottom of the lungs. Still, for this to be beneficial to us as singers, a
few alterations must be made to turn a surprised breath into a micro
breath.

What separates a micro breath from a surprised breath is the sound of the
breath and a lifting of the soft palate. When you inhale a quick micro
breath, make sure to always focus the breath down low, as if the breath is
descending immediately into the area right below your navel. This reminds
me of filling up a balloon with helium from a helium tank. It happens quickly
and effortlessly and fills from the bottom up. Notice I said effortlessly.
Inhaling should NOT be a forced act. It should not be an “I’m shocked”
breath, because that will only cause throat tension. Once you develop your
inhalation speed through a few weeks of practice, if should happen easily,
never forcefully.

The second thing you must always do is aim for minimal sound production
from the throat. You don’t want it to be a breathy breath or noisy inhale. To
eliminate the possibility of a noisy breath, I always inhale on a yawn. The
yawn lifts the soft palate (the soft part of the roof of your mouth), which
sets up the body to release a free resonant tone as you sing.

So the key to the micro breath is to breathe in on a yawn, taking an ultra-

quick and quiet low belly breath as if you are surprised.

Allow me to repeat this once again: The inhalation should be a quick,

open, surprised type of breath, on a yawn, way down low, as if the air
dropped down below your navel. It should feel natural! If it feels forced
then you are doing it wrong. Inhaling should be effortless or you’ll create
tension in the throat. Do not make breath sounds as you inhale. If you do,
you are not breathing on a yawn and the cords are close together (close to
adduction) as opposed to abducted (open wide).

One More Time- This should NOT be a forced breath. It should become
quite natural once you’ve become accustomed to breathing in this manner.
Anything that requires an uncomfortable force while singing will only cause
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strain. Once you learn the techniques in this book, which might seem a
little awkward at first, they should all become second nature and should
happen almost subconsciously. If you find yourself having to “think” about
these techniques during singing (“thinking” during practice is entirely fine)
or it takes any excess uncomfortable effort, then you are doing it wrong!
So why a micro breath? Because this will allow the delivery of the least
possible air you need to sing with. Remember, you do NOT need much air
to sing long phrases, sing high notes or to sing loudly. You are just giving
direction to that breath. This is NOT a shock breath, as one of my students
called it. He thought it had to be forced and ended up tensing his voice as
a result. Do not force this breath. Allow it to happen fluidly and get used to
the feeling so that it eventually occurs naturally.

So now that we’ve mastered the art of inhaling, how do we apply our
newfound knowledge to mastering true breath support for the act of
singing?

Step one to mastery begins by taking your micro breath and immediately
releasing a steady controlled stream of air by hissing on a sustained “s”.
Do not forcefully hiss the air out; keep the airflow as steady as possible. Did
you feel the constant downward pressure in your stomach and back
muscles? This is the physical downward sensation for which you are
aiming when you sing. Your stomach and back muscles must stay firm but
flexible.

So the secret to correct breath support is to maintain a downward sensation

at all times. This sensation is similar to sneezing, peeing, going to the
restroom or having a baby—with one exception: You should never feel this
sensation in the throat, like grunting! It is a separate feeling and should never
be felt in the throat. This downwards pressure will keep all excess pressure
away from the diaphragm, allowing the diaphragm to relax naturally, thus
minimizing the pressure placed upon the lungs by the diaphragm, while also
minimizing air release and excess pressure on the vocal cords.

It is extremely important that you understand how important it is to release

only the minimal amount of air needed to protect the cords from breath
overload and vocal stress. In fact, from now on, although singing is done on
the exhalation of breath, I never want you to think of singing as an exhalation
process. I want you to start thinking of singing and exhaling as two different
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acts. All breath is converted into energy to vibrate the vocal cords, and when
you hear excess breath in the voice, this is an exhalation process, which
singing is not, and you are not converting all of your breath into energy. In
other words, you are wasting energy.

How would you feel if you got an electric bill every month for your singing and
discovered that you were paying for energy you were losing and not using? I
don’t know about you, but I’d be trying to repair the leak just to save a buck or
two. By releasing more breath than is necessary and making the sound airy,
you are both losing energy that could be converted into a beautiful sound and
putting strain on the voice. Excess breath can cause the cords to become
irritated and swell when done excessively. (Yeah there are times I am aiming
for a breathy sound for a certain tonal color or feel for the song. During those
times I don’t mind paying a little extra on my energy bill, haha.)

Your support is your generator; the turbine engine that creates the energy
that runs your voice. So never force the air out, because if you do, you
are wasting energy. To control, produce and adjust the amount of
energy, you’ll need to learn to change the amount of downwards
pressure. The key thing to remember is to keep a firm but flexible
sensation in the abdominal muscles to monitor the energy production.

If someone pushed on your stomach while you were singing, your

stomach should go in very easily. Basic support is not about tightness
or tension; it’s about easily locking in that downwards support.

This brings me to my next point: As a focal point of breath support, in

my opinion you should never focus on inwardly locking your stomach
muscles (like sucking in the stomach) or pushing your stomach out
while singing. Locking the stomach muscles in either manner will tense
the vocal cords, because these methods of adding pressure are related
to grunting, which tightens the throat. You are setting your voice up for
problems. Incorrectly tightening and applying too much pressure by
trying to force excess air through a now tightly clinched passageway
only ensures possible vocal blowout which could ultimately lead to
something as drastic as vocal nodules (little calluses on the cords from
abuse). If you wish to physically feel an incorrect locked stomach position,
try grunting or mimic vomiting. Incorrectly locking your stomach
muscles will lock up your vocal cords.
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Now, the downward sensation does consist of a basic locking action. I
catch myself telling my private students quite frequently to “lock down
for support”. But they understand that when I say this that I am not
implying any incorrect method of abdominal tightening or clenching in
the throat. Allow the stomach to contract at its own natural pace while
maintaining that downward sensation. A helpful hint is to visualize that
downwards sensation as your means of transforming the inhaled breath into
energy to vibrate the vocal cords.

Okay, I know that you’ve just had a lot of information thrown at you, but
let me take it one step further by summing up the basis of your maximum
breath potential in one paragraph:

Maximum breath potential occurs by inhaling via micro breath on a

yawn, focusing that breath below the navel, then adding a slight
downward sensation (locking down) by engaging the stomach muscles (to
produce energy), while visualizing that you are inhaling when you sing.
“Inhaling? What’s this?” On no, not another term! This is the last one, I
promise. The inhaling visualization is known as the inhalation sensation,
and is one of the keys to correct breath support. Just imagine how it
physically feels as you slowly inhale: Your diaphragm drops, your
stomach, sides, floating ribs, and chest expand, and air fills the lungs.
Now, if you cannot quite grasp this inhalation concept, try to imagine
sipping the air in, like sipping from a straw, whenever you vocalize.

Concentrating on the inhalation sensation keeps the diaphragm from

contracting as quickly and eases stomach muscle tension. When the
diaphragm isn’t forced to contract quickly, you will be able to sing with less
air pressure and less stress on the vocal cords. This is an essential element
to singing all notes freely, especially high notes. Most singers think that it
takes a lot of air and loud volume to sing high, when just the opposite is
true. In fact, less air is required the higher you sing because the vibrating
mass between the cords is becoming smaller. This means less air folks! If
you use more air to increase the volume, you only increase the chance
of hurting your throat. The way to get more volume is by creating more
energy through the downward support (More on this later.) So quit
thinking of singing as an exhalation process and starting sipping the air
in and allowing it to convert to energy.

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Useful Tip: Inhaling and Singing Equals AC Current
Singing and the inhalation sensation go together like Alternating Current. AC
current actually flows in both directions simultaneously. When singing, you
should feel the inhalation sensation, or the sipping in of the breath, as the
sound is being produced and released.

So before you begin to sing, take a micro breath on a yawn, allowing the
lungs to fill from the bottom up. Then as you sing, maintain a slight
downward pressure for support using your stomach and back muscles
while you visualize that you are inhaling or sipping in the air. Keep the
floating ribs expanded out to your sides as long as you possibly can.
Keeping the ribs expanded works hand in hand with the inhalation
sensation, helping to control breath release and minimizing pressure on
the diaphragm. You can put your hand on your sides to make sure your
ribs remain expanded.

Does this still seem like too much information for you? Are you still
confused? Well, don’t worry, so am I, haha, so let’s simplify it even
further:

1. Take a micro breath on a yawn, filling from the bottom up, and
lock down for support.
2. As you sing, maintain constant downward pressure with your
stomach and back muscles like going to the bathroom or
sneezing. It should fee as if you were blowing out a candle or
sustaining the consonant “s”.
3. To counterbalance this pressure and minimize the airflow,
pretend that you are sipping the air in (the inhalation sensation)
while simultaneously releasing the airflow and converting it into
energy with the vocal cords. (Don’t forget to think about correct
posture.)

After all this information, I’m guessing you just now figured out that I
could have explained it in three easy steps. Quit whining and think of all
this cool knowledge you just crammed into your brain ;) Mastering the
breath is a major player in the battle of mastering the voice. Correct
breathing is both mental and physical. Practice this method of breathing
until it has become second nature to you. Without breath control, the

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quality, range and power of your voice will be limited.

Useful Tip: Mastering Support

Now it is up to you to master your breath support. Just keep in mind that
generally you will not need a lot of locking down pressure. Minimal intensity is
sufficient for singing pop, country and some rock songs. Songs sung in the
upper register, songs sung with grit or aggression and singing styles such as
heavier rock and opera will require more lock and more energy. It’s really
about learning how to relate the amount of pressure to the energy and
intensity of the individual song. So learn to adjust this pressure. This I cannot
teach you. Just remember to lock down for support at all times regardless of
the amount of pressure and created energy.

Useful Tip: Reach Out, Not Up

A typical habit that I catch students doing is stretching their torso upwards as
they are inhaling, thinking that they are filling up the lungs correctly when
they’re not. Keep the shoulders relaxed and breathe outward, all the way
around your midsection. If you catch yourself reaching up (sometimes on the
tips of your toes), STOP! This causes vocal tension and limits breath
capacity. Always reach (breathe) out; never reach (breathe) up!

Useful Tip: Breathe Low, Support Low

Along with the previous tip, I also tell my students to “breathe and support
low”. Once I get the student breathing properly and reaching out not up, I
sometimes have to coax them along a little further. Some students will get the
inhalation process and immediately forget to support. So to them I say,
“Breathe low, support low.” Once you take a micro breath on a yawn, make
absolutely sure to support by adding the downward pressure, thus supporting
low. This must always happen immediately before creating the initial vocal
sound if you wish to obtain a strong healthy supported tone.

Useful Tip: An Extreme Breathing Exercise

So now that you are mastering support, you might want to think about ways to
strengthen the support mechanism. Of course, any form of cardio vascular
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exercise would suffice, but here is a great breathing exercise that will help you
to strengthen the lungs, diaphragm and stomach muscles while enhancing
your metabolism through oxygenating the blood. Oxygen is such an important
part of overall health. When the blood is rich in oxygen, your body will fight
infection better and you’ll speed up your metabolism, which will give you more
energy and help you to lose weight because oxygen burns fat! This is why
cardiovascular exercises are an important factor in calorie and fat burning. So
you see, you can improve your breathing for singing and get a little healthier
at the same time!

This exercise is simple but extremely effective. You must follow this formula in
precisely the same order as it is presented. When performing this exercise,
each count is approximately one second long.

1. Inhale through the nose for four counts and then exhale through
the mouth for four counts. Perform this breathing step five
times in a row.
2. Inhale through the nose for two counts and then exhale through
the mouth for two counts. Perform this breathing step ten times
in a row.
3. Inhale through the mouth for one count and then exhale
through the mouth for one count. Perform this breathing step
twenty times in a row.
4. Pant like a dog at least forty times in a row, but you can pant
for as long as you’d like. Then reverse the whole process for a
warm down.
5. Inhale through the mouth for one count and then exhale
through the mouth for one count. Perform this breathing step
twenty times in a row.
6. Inhale through the nose for two counts, and then exhale
through the mouth for two counts. Perform this breathing step
ten times in a row.
7. Inhale through the nose for four counts, and then exhale
through the mouth for four counts. Perform this breathing step
five times in a row.

Are you getting a grasp of the equation? The count will always be four-two-
one-PANT-one-two-four. If you decide to change the amount of repetitions
that you perform, you must always double the times for each step. Again, you
33
can pant for as long as you like, as long as you at least double the amount
from the last breathing step. So if you decided to change the beginning count
to ten, the new order would be like this:
Ten, twenty, forty, eighty, PANT, forty, twenty, ten. I think you get the picture.

In order for this exercise to be effective, you must complete the breathing
sequence from beginning to end. If you feel dizzy, don’t worry; it’s just the
sudden rush of oxygen to your brain. DO NOT DO THIS EXERCISE WHILE
DRIVING! You don’t want to be lightheaded behind the wheel of a vehicle!

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TWO
Vocal Focus

I bet you thought you were done after the last chapter! Well, now that I know
you are all extreme breathing machines by this part of the book, I’d like to
explain the importance of focusing the tone of your voice, or what I often
personally refer to as placement, because breath support and placement go
hand in hand. I really feel like I am jumping ahead of the next few chapters
but I want you to understand placement while breathing and support are fresh
in your mind. You see, when you lock down for support to maintain airflow, in
order for the vocal cords to create energy from that air, you’ve got to send that
energy somewhere. What use is it if it’s stuck in the throat?

Everybody knows that sound cannot get trapped in the throat because sound
comes out of the mouth, or can it? Actually, I hear myself repetitively saying to
the majority of new private students, “The sound is stuck in your throat” and it
does sound that way. These are singers who know nothing about breathing,
and who tense in the throat and sound as if they are trying to swallow the
sound. They even look that way: Tongue buckled up, blocking off the mouth,
and their Adam’s apple raised high in their throats as if they were swallowing
a pork chop. These singers don’t know how to set up the voice for singing and
have no clue where to focus the sound, so they strain to force it out and at the
same time try to trap the sound. This is a typical easily fixed problem and
you’ve already got the upper hand on these newbies because you’ve already
mastered breathing. You already know more than they do, haha.

You already know how to inhale and you know that you are no longer an
exhaler but an energy converter, so let me tell you where to place this energy
to allow the most freely supported tone possible and keep you ahead of all of
the sound swallowers.

Once the vocal energy is converted into a beautiful sound by the vocal cords,
it must be allowed to build in beauty and float free with no restrictions. To get
the sound through the vocal mechanism correctly, you must use the soft
palate as a focal point for that energy.

35
The reason I had you do your micro breath on a yawn was specifically to raise
the soft palate and create the focal point for the voice. (The slight yawn also
helps to lower the tongue and open the mouth and pharynx, which prevents
the sound from being blocked.) This focal point completes the circuit for what I
consider AC current. When you simultaneously feel the inhalation sensation
and downward push, while shooting the energy up into the soft palate, you
are creating this cycle of “Vocal AC Current”.

One quick note…again…When focusing the sound into the palate, it should
NEVER be forced, as with any techniques in this book, it should become
second nature and happen easily once you become accustomed to the
feeling of sound placed into the soft palate.

The ultimate goal for any singer should be to sing any note in their range at
any volume with any type coloring or tone (falsetto, mixed voice, full voice,
vibrato, gritty, etc…) for the entire performance, recording session or gig
without straining and with absolute vocal freedom.

So let’s say you’ve mastered the breath. Although you’ve minimized the
breath and gained perfect control, if you cannot get the sound freely up out of
the throat, then the beauty of the voice will be lost and you can still end up
straining and losing the voice. The key to an open and free tone is an open
and relaxed throat. That’s why I mentioned earlier that you SHOULD NOT
grunt when you sing because this will tighten the throat and lock up the voice.
An open, relaxed pharynx allows the energy of the voice to build with
resonance, which enhances the sound of the voice.

So from now on, always focus the sensation of the sound directly up into your
soft palate. The soft palate is the part of the roof of the mouth towards the
back that is soft and rises when yawn. As you sing, you want to maintain this
yawning sensation and allow the sound to “push up” against that palate.
When you physically feel this slight sensation, I guarantee the sound is up out
of the throat. If the sound is down in the throat, it could sound throaty, slightly
gritty or froggy, pinched or thin, and your chances of strain are maximized.

Placing the sound up into the soft palate makes the sound float up out of the
throat and you won’t strain. It works hand in hand with the feeling of
downward support. I find myself telling my students that it is almost like
shooting a rocket. When I apply that downward sensation, (which will
36
eventually be referred to as the Power Push) it sends the direction of vocal
energy straight up into the soft palate and keeps it out of my throat.

Not only do I feel this sensation in my soft palate, at times I’ll place the sound
forward on my hard palate, sometimes all the way to my top teeth, which
actually makes my teeth, cheeks and nose buzz like crazy. I’ll usually place it
more forward if I am going for more of a slightly chesty and rounded resonant
sound and in the soft palate for all other times.

Sometimes I place the sound backward into what is called the “cold spot”.
When you take a micro breath, you’ll feel a spot at the back of the throat that
becomes cold momentarily during the inhalation cycle. Sometimes on
extremely high notes, as I shoot that rocket out of the top of my head, I tend
37
to feel the sound pushing on that cold spot. This pushing sensation, no matter
where it occurs on the roof of the mouth, is not a forced sensation, but more a
pleasant nudge. And when my placement is correct, this sensation almost
feels like a pinging or metallic buzzing sensation regardless of whether I am
singing low, high, clean or gritty. The point is you must always keep the
feeling of placement up out of the throat.

So from now on, maintain this feeling of placement. A couple of great

vocalization tips for feeling and refocusing this sensation is by laughing on
“ha, ha, ha”, or by imitating an owl hooting, like “hoo, hoo, hoo”.
(Placement Demonstration)

These two different sounds should not be breathy at all. These sounds should
be felt right into the soft palate if produced correctly. An easy way to tell if you
are placing the sound correctly is to place your hands on the soft, fleshy part
of your chin that’s right under the tongue and feel for a strong resonant
sensation. When the sound is down in the throat, it will feel constricted and
breathy, but when the sound is placed correctly, the sound will be pure, bright
and you will feel strong vibrations underneath your chin. I demonstrate this
technique on the instructional videos in the Members section. Practice these
vocalizations while honing your support and placement skills to prepare
yourself for the following chapters.

Useful Tip: Support and Placement Equal Projection

For me, projection has to do with the mixture of support, placement (or
focusing the voice) and the resonant vibrations of the vocal sound. When first
learning placement (or vocal focus), I visualized placing the sound in the soft
palate like it was my microphone, and I focused on the sensation of
resonance making my teeth, nose, and head buzz, creating a sort of
megaphone as the sound travels out my mouth. So I’d shoot my rocket into
my microphone and then pretend that my mouth was my speaker. I also
always sang to the furthest person in the room to project the sound of my
speaker as far as possible. Now let’s move on to the next chapter.

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THREE
The Vocal Spark (AKA THE CREATION OF TONE)
To develop your voice to perfection, you must meet three requirements.
First, you must acquire a basic understanding of the vocal mechanism and
apply what you have learned. Second, you must project a clear visual picture
in your mind of your perfect voice and the results you expect to achieve.
And third, you must exercise the voice to meet the physical requirements of
singing. All three requirements apply to every note in your range, from the
lowest to the highest. All notes in your range should be equally easy to
sing, although each individual note will have a different visual picture and
muscular setup. With time, you will develop the muscular coordination
and mental clarity needed to extend your range way beyond what you
might have previously considered possible. You’ve already learned about
breath control and support, vocal placement and projection, but let’s step
back and talk about the actual production of the sound. The vibration of the
vocal cords produces all sound. The vocal cords are two thin membranes
shaped like rubber bands, stretched across and housed in your larynx,
also known as the Adam’s apple.

39
The Adam’s Apple is the protruding knot in the front of your throat. A
woman’s Adams’ apple generally does not protrude like a man’s, but it is
still there. Put your hand on the front of your throat and swallow. Did you
feel something move upwards? This is your larynx. Now yawn. This time
you should have felt the larynx move down.

One purpose of the larynx is to close off the trachea when you are
swallowing to prevent foreign objects from entering your windpipe and
lungs. Many times when attempting to sing higher, the larynx will rise
high in the throat, much like swallowing, which closes off the sound of your
voice. This closes off the upper trachea (pharynx), which is a main
resonator. Voice training strengthens the vocal muscles so that you can
naturally allow the position of the larynx to remain neutral without force.

The position of your larynx can vary, which affects the tone of your voice.
When the larynx is high, the tone of your voice will sound nasal, as if you
were singing or talking through your nose. Swallow to raise your larynx,
and then hum. Did you notice how the tone sounds as if it were coming
out of your nose? It sounds like you are speaking with your nose pinched
shut.
40
Next, yawn while saying “ah.” Did you notice the difference in tone between
the two larynx positions? A low larynx position produces a deep tone, like
Barney Rubble from the Flintstones or Yogi Bear.

A high larynx position produces a thin, pinched tone like Steve Urkel from
the sitcom Family Matters, Fran Drescher from The Nanny, or Janice
from the sitcom Friends. If you force yourself to hold this position, you’ll
only end up distorting the tone and straining.
(Nasal and Low Larynx Tone Demonstration)

As you sing, you want to keep your larynx in a relaxed, neutral position.
The normal position for the larynx when you are not vocalizing is
balanced right in between a high and low larynx position. Now granted,
the larynx will rise slightly on higher notes and lower slightly on lower
notes. Slight variations are fine and not a sign of bad technique or strain.
But generally, it should be based around a neutral position. Once you
strengthen your larynx through exercise, you can vary the position of the
larynx from low to high to change the tonal color of your voice.

Useful Tip: Mastering the Larynx

A typical problem for beginning students is the “high larynx syndrome” on high
notes. If this is a problem, don’t sweat it for now. There are several keys to
maintaining a neutral larynx position that you will learn in this book. By
applying the yawning sensation on a micro breath when you sing and
mastering an exercise called The Bullfrog, which is located at the end of this
book, you’ll conquer the “uncontrollable” larynx.

As you breathe, the vocal cords remain open, allowing you to inhale and
exhale without resistance. This opening of the glottis during inhalation is
known as abduction.

While singing or speaking, the vocal cords open and close, at a variable rate
of hundreds of times per second, (the amount depends upon the pitch) as air
flows between them. The closing of the glottis and vibration of the vocal cords
is often referred to as adduction. The vocal cords are trying to resist this air
pressure by squeezing together; the air gently forces the vocal cords open to

41
allow the air to escape and then the vocal cords close again. This happens at
a precise rate, which causes them to vibrate.

42
The raw sound of the vocal cords travels up the windpipe (trachea), through
the pharynx (esophagus) and finally into and out the mouth. This is called the
Vocal Path.

Once the sound enters the mouth, the articulators manipulate the sound of
your voice. Articulators are the physical aspects of a singer’s body that help to
form words and different tonal variations and they include the uvula, teeth,
tongue, jaws, sinus cavity, hard and soft palate, and lips.

43
When a sound or word is created, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your job is
done. A professional singer knows how to use their entire body to enhance
the quality of that sound by adding resonance. It is the job of the resonators to
enhance and amplify the sound of your voice.

Resonance is simply the natural reverberation, or building of echoes initiated

from the sound of your voice, that occurs when different areas of the body
buzz, build and resonate in harmony with the sound of the vocal cords. The
open cavities of the body that I am mainly referring to are the open areas
within the chest, the sound tube above the vocal cords known as the pharynx
(or throat) and the skull.

44
I understand that you might be thinking, “Well, the brain occupies the skull
and the lungs and other organs occupy the chest, so how in the world would
sound bounce around and amplify in the body?” The answer is simple. The
organs are not as dense as the bones of the body and allow the sound to
resonate through them. This is why you might have gotten dizzy while holding
out a high note. The sound is allowed to bounce and amplify in the skull
cavity. To put it in even simpler terms, think about when you are singing in the
shower. Notice how you have a nice full sound and your voice seems to
multiply or echo back. This is because your voice is reflecting off the walls of
the shower.

Now that it has been put into perspective, you know that it is caused by the
sound of your voice reflecting against bones. And when the sound is allowed
to bounce around in the body and build or amplify and create more
resonance, you’ve just pushed the button to the singer’s secret weapon for
improving vocal quality and amplifying the sound.

The resonators that I referred to—the chest, throat, and the head—are what I
consider the main resonators, although all parts of the body vibrate from the
sound of the voice. The chest generally resonates in the lower portion of your
range, the head cavity resonates in the higher part of your range, and the
throat vibrates through your midrange. The majority of throat resonance is
produced in the upper windpipe, above the larynx, which is known as the
pharynx.

It’s an easy process to follow: As you sing low to high, the resonance equally
moves from low to high. From your lowest notes, resonance travels from your
chest upwards, overlapping into your throat, and finally into your head upon
reaching your highest notes, at which point you will feel a strong buzzing
sensation in the top of your head. (Not to be confused with placement or vocal
focus. You will ALWAYS feel sound in your palate and buzzing of the teeth,
regardless of the majority of pitch related resonance.)

45
This buzzing sensation from resonance also equally moves throughout the
body and is directly related to the pitch of your voice. Pitch is related to the
range position of your voice and can be defined as how low or high the sound
your vocal cords produce. This could be compared to pressing different keys
on a piano. Each key represents a different pitch. Resonance produces
several tones and pitches that are in harmony with the main pitch of your
voice. This is due to the bouncing and multiplication of sound waves. This
combination of tones and pitches (or sound waves) is known as harmonics.

The harmonic tones are smaller, resonant echoes of the same pitch and
harmonies of that pitch. Harmonics are not as loud as the pitch produced by
your vocal cords, which creates a pleasant blend with the sound of your voice.
You can also create harmonies that are not in harmony with your voice, as
46
well as harmonies in thirds and fifths. This is similar to listening to Deth Metal
screams for unnatural harmonies or Tibetan Monks chanting in thirds and
fifths creating two to three part harmonies within one voice. If this is
something that interests you, then maybe I’ll write another book, haha.

Useful Tip: Multiplying Echoes

When you learn how to create multiple resonant echoes within your body,
your voice will become richer, fuller and louder, without straining your voice to
accomplish this task. By practicing the exercises in this book, you’ll learn to
expand your resonance, thus creating multiple echoes, to create a fuller, more
powerful sound.

Let’s step back for a minute. You might be a little confused by the difference
between tone and pitch. If pitch refers to the range position of sound, then
tone refers to the quality of that individual sound. If you played the exact same
note (or pitch) on a trumpet and a clarinet, they would produce the same
pitch, but they would each have a different quality, or tone. The trumpet would
have a loud bright tone while the clarinet would have a much softer, woody
sounding tone.

The varying qualities are due to the different shapes and characteristics of
each individual instrument. The same rule applies to singers. No two singers
will have the exact same physical characteristics. If two singers were to sing
the same pitch, you would hear two distinct tones. One singer might produce
a deep, rich tone, while the other singer’s tone is brighter and more vibrant.

Finally, the sound leaves your body and takes life, and to maintain that life,
you must realize that all parts of your vocal producing mechanism
(resonators, articulators, support, placement) are of equal importance. You
must be equally balanced in breath control, vocal cord control, tonal control,
resonation, and articulation—and these are just the physical aspects of
singing.

For you to become a versatile singer, you need to develop your vocal style as
well. However, style will only carry you so far. (I’m not going to lie though, I’ve
heard some amazing singers who were all style and passion and absolutely
no technique. Take Joe Cocker, Janis Joplin or Rod Stewart for example.) If

47
you cannot control your voice, your range will be limited, thus limiting your
vocal repertoire. One of the keys to mastering vocal control is to understand
what happens when your voice cracks uncontrollably and breaks in your
upper range, so that you can correct and eliminate any problems that apply to
you. The so–called vocal break CAN be eliminated and next few chapters will
show you how.

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FOUR
The Vocal Break
Imagine that you are singing a challenging song and you are
approaching some difficult notes. You start sweating, wondering if you
are going to be able to pull it off. You push with all of your might as you
reach out for the highest note and—WOW—you hit it! But just when you
think you’ve got this one in the bag, the veins in your neck start to bulge,
your voice begins to waver uncontrollably, and the next thing you know,
your voice cracks, and you flip into a measly, embarrassing, weak
falsetto, or even worse, some humanly unrecognizable sound that just set off
the fire alarm.

That’s a scary thought, isn’t it? Every singer’s nightmare is not being able to
sing past the break point. For those of you who have had vocal training,
I’m sure that one or two of the teachers that you’ve worked with have said
something along the lines of: "You have reached your break point. It just
isn’t physically possible for your voice to go any higher unless you sing in
falsetto, and you will have to learn to deal with it." Although you must
learn to deal with your break point, you do not have to be handicapped
by it.

The break point is supposedly the point in your voice where you are
unable to sing any higher, so you must learn to sing all notes above this
point in falsetto. THIS IS WRONG! Some teachers call this point the
“passagio” and teach that you must use a lighter tone such as falsetto in
order to sing higher. Again, I have to say that this is wrong! You have only
one voice and you have the choice to decide how you want to use it! Chest
voice, mixed voice, head voice, full voice, falsetto, and whistle voice all
originate from the exact same spot: your vocal cords. And with these vocal
cords, you have the God-given ability to sing with any tonality or vocal
inflection you choose, just as long as you are prepared to train for it. There is
nothing wrong with the term “passagio” just as long as you understand that
this just refers to the point where you are vocally switching gears in your
voice and NOT switching into falsetto.

49
Breaks are simply weak spots along the cords where a singer must learn to
change gears and strengthen that area in order to connect their entire range
seamlessly from bottom to the top. Although the sound might feel as if it is
formed in different places throughout your body, it is only produced by
the vocal cords. (This feeling of the sound being formed throughout the body
is just the sympathetic vibration of the cords reflecting off of open cavities
within the body. It’s called resonance. Remember?) Your voice should be
fluid and seamless; it should be one continuous, flawless instrument,
throughout your entire range. By the end of this book, I don’t want the
term “vocal break” to be a part of your terminology.

Here’s another instrument analogy: a flute doesn’t break on the way up

the scale; nor does a piano; and neither should your voice. As with any
instrument, the same principles apply to your voice. Tonalities and
resonance of the voice change, but basic vocal principles stay very much
the same. Lower pitches will produce a fuller sound, while higher
pitches will produce a thinner sound. Each note in your range will have
a different muscular tension and vocal cord positioning, but all of your
notes are part of one single flowing instrument.

The vocal break has been widely preached about, but do not take
everything you’ve heard as gospel. The vocal break is simply a weak spot
in your vocal range along your vocal cords due to uncoordinated and
untrained muscles. Your vocal cords are stretched to their limit at this point.

When the pitch of your voice is low, your vocal cords are short and thick.
As you ascend the scale, your vocal cords pull tighter, stretching from
the back of your throat to the front, making them longer and thinner.
You’ll eventually reach a point where you cannot stretch the cords further
without straining. At this point, your vocal cords are as long and thin as
comfortably possible.

When your voice breaks, your vocal cords are trying to pull beyond this
point. Pulling past this point will only cause your voice to crack and flip
into falsetto, which would obviously cause the vocal cords to strain. This
break point typically occurs for the average male singer at E4 and
typically around A4 for female singers. But break points can shift
depending upon the force applied to the voice.

50
Let’s read what Thomas Appell, the author of Can You Sing a High C
Without Straining and Never Get Another Cold had to say about the
subject of shifting break points:

Useful Tip: Changing Break Points

By Thomas Appell

Without training, most singers can't sing a perfectly connected scale with any
breaks from the lowest note in their range to the highest. Somewhere along
the way, they will probably encounter a point that won't connect. This is called
a break point. It's also known as a passage area or the passagio.

As you sing up a scale approaching a break point, singing becomes more

strenuous. This is because your vocal cords aren't able to adduct through the
break area. To sing a higher note, you'll need to increase the vocal cord
tension, which causes your singing to feel strained and uncomfortable. If you
jump the break, the tension of the vocal cords will be significantly reduced and
the notes above the break will sing easily. The act of jumping the part that
won’t adduct causes the vibrating length to instantly shorten and the
sensation of singing jumps immediately up further into your head from
wherever you were feeling it initially. This change in tonality is sometimes so
drastic it can make you sound like two completely different singers. The voice
below the break: strong and powerful. The voice above the break: a weak
falsetto. The term lower register is used to define the voice below the break.
The term upper register is used to define the voice above the break.

It’s important to note that breaks in your voice don’t always occur at the same
pitch. Break points are areas where your vocal cords aren't coordinated. The
break point position doesn't change, but the pitch at which it occurs will. If you
try to sing through a break point, you’re going to yodel (abruptly going from full
voice to falsetto), and the pitch at which this occurs will be determined by the
tension of the vocal cords. If you increase the tension of the cords (pull
tighter), the pitch of your break point will move up. Decrease the tension of the
cords and the pitch of your break point will move down.

©2007 Thomas Appell. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

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Vocal Coach & Record Producer Thomas Appell is the author of the first book
to explain how to extend the range of your voice, "Can You Sing a HIGH C
Without Straining?" and author of "Never Get Another Cold," the first book to
explain how to prevent colds and the flu (for singers and everyone else too!)
www.vocalinstruction.com

Useful Tip: Full Voice to Falsetto?

What is the actual difference between full voice and falsetto? Basically, when
this cracking and flipping occurs and the full voice flips to falsetto, the
surrounding vocal muscles are “letting go” of the necessary tension needed to
keep the cords pulled to the correct tension and narrow glottal opening. The
stress of straining will cause this tension to loosen, the cords will slightly
shorten and the glottal opening becomes wider, which produces the breathy
falsetto sound.

Useful Tip: Simplifying Vocal Terminology

Full voice, falsetto, head voice, mixed voice… What is the difference? This
question comes up a lot. So let me give you my interpretation of each
classification, because teachers of varying methods will describe each tonal
quality in different terms. To me, full voice is simply full voice, or your real
voice. Falsetto is your false voice, or the sound used by singers like Prince
and the Bee Gees.

Chest voice and head voice are both, in my opinion, just classifications of full
voice—chest voice referring to the tone below the break (when resonance is
felt in the chest) and head voice being up above the break (when the
resonance is mainly felt in the head). Some teachers refer to head voice as a
lighter voice that is a blend of full voice and falsetto. I find this term used in
this manner a lot with teachers who mainly work strictly with pop and country
artists.

I use the term mid-voice for the area right above the break that lasts for
generally five to seven notes, or until you feel the resonance up in the head,
or your head voice. One of my favorite vocal coaches, Roger Love, describes
this area in range as the “middle voice”, but I believe he is referring to a blend
of falsetto and full voice as opposed to full voice.

52
Many teachers, such as Roger, will show students how to “blend” the tones of
falsetto and full voice to create a mixture of the two. Hence, terms like mixed
voice and middle voice were created. In fact, one of the main exercises in this
book, the Transcending Tone exercise, will show you how to take your voice
from falsetto, through a blend and into your full voice, regardless of the pitch.
Bottom line: Don’t get too caught up on the terminology. Develop your voice
to its fullest potential and use whatever tonality sounds the coolest to you.

VOICE CLASSIFICATION

Many vocal teachers classify singers by the typical break point. Depending
upon which pitch your voice begins to break, you could be branded a
bass, baritone, tenor, alto, or a soprano. Although I find this classification
to at times put limitations on singers, I still feel the need to present the
basic categorizations of these registers. Vocal classification is simply a
way to categorize the range of an individual singer, usually applying
emphasis to the highest note of one’s range. The following description will
show the typical range and typical break point of each voice type.

The number beside each note represents the pitch of the note relative to
the notes on a piano. C4, or Middle C, represents the fourth C note on a
piano. C5, or Tenor C, represents the fifth C note on a piano. C6, or
Soprano C, represents the sixth C note on a piano. Each individual note is
numbered by the octave it represents until the next octave is reached. For
example:

C4, C#4, D4, D#4, E4, F4, F#4, G4, G#4, A4, A#4, B4, C5…C6

CLASS RANGE BREAK POINT

BASS E2-E4 G3
BARITONE B2-A4 E4
TENOR D3-E5 E4
ALTO A3-E5 A4
SOPRANO C4-F6 E5

53
These are all just very basic classification guidelines. We could get very
technical and discuss the falsetto range, multiple break points, vocal fry,
and whistle register, or differences between lyric tenor, countertenor or
sopranist (an adult male who sings alto or soprano parts), mezzo-
soprano, coloratura soprano and more, but these guidelines are all that
you need for this book. I have also found in my teaching that a lot of
baritones and tenors seem to have the same break point. The main
difference being that tenors carry the sound easily higher in the
beginning and the tonality is lighter. I personally believe vocal
classification to be unjust. This point of view can place serious mental
limitations upon a singer.

If you are to be put into a vocal class, you should be classified by your
lowest note, not your highest, because it is easy to extend your upper
range, but your lower range is mostly dependent on the length and
thickness of your vocal cords.

Your lowest notes are produced when the vocal cords are as short and
thick as possible. A man’s vocal cords are typically longer and thicker than
a woman’s, resulting in a lower speaking voice. This is due to the fact that
the vibrating space between the vocal cords (glottis) is larger.

The physical rule is that the smaller the vibrating space between the
vocal cords, the higher the pitch. As far as high notes are concerned, the
sky is the limit. Both men and women can sing soprano notes and
beyond in full voice if they are willing to put in the time and effort that
vocal training requires. Hopefully you won’t let yourself get caught up in
the vocal classification trap because, as mentioned previously, your upper
range can easily be extended through proper voice training and vocal
exercises.

During my experiences in college, before I began voice training, I was

classified as a bass/baritone because I could sing in the bass range and
my voice cracked on an E4 (below tenor C). I felt trapped, with no hope
for change. For some time, I allowed vocal classification to put limitations
on me as a singer. Now I just laugh it off because I can sing many notes
in the soprano range as clear as a bell, as well as low bass notes too. The
next time someone talks about your break point, just laugh it off and
realize that the break point is not a limitation but a minor hindrance that,
54
as you will see in the next few chapters, can be overcome with patience,
perseverance, and practice.

Useful Tip: Multiple Break Points?

Through years of teaching I have found that most singers seem to experience
several break points: the initial break point that we have been discussing and
what is commonly referred to as a second break, roughly six to seven notes
higher than the first break. Again, it is just a coordination and strength issue;
and each break should no longer be considered a break, but simply a
switching of gears, so to speak. The first break is a switching of gears from
chest to mid-voice and the second break is a switching of gears at the point of
your mid-voice to your head voice.

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56
FIVE
Understanding Falsetto
Falsetto is a term that is widely misunderstood. Basically, falsetto is a light
breathy tone with little resonance. If you are wondering what falsetto sounds
like, listen to the recordings of Earth, Wind & Fire, Prince, King Diamond,
Aaron Neville, Jeff Buckley, Justin Timberlake, the Bee Gees, or Justin
Hawkins of The Darkness.

Notice how the voices of these artists are thin and breathy on the higher
pitches, with a feminine quality. I am not condemning the nature of their
sound, nor am I stating there is anything wrong with singing in falsetto. All of
these singers have incredible voices, and they have sold millions of records
singing this way!

A lot of people use falsetto for their upper range because they are not capable
of singing any higher in full voice. It is generally easier to sing in falsetto than
in full voice. I have even heard Prince once say in an interview that he sang
all of his high notes in falsetto because it hurt his throat to sing high in full
voice. It is okay to use falsetto, as long as you are not using it as your last
resort. In fact, some of my favorite singers use a lot of falsetto. Jeff Buckley
uses falsetto as well as a blend of falsetto and full voice, which gives him his
cool vibe and makes him sound amazing. You will become a better singer if
you learn to use your full voice for the extent of your range and, if you desire,
interweave falsetto or a blend throughout your songs for color and emotion.

THE FALSETTO MYTH

It has been falsely taught that a male singer eventually reaches a certain area
of his voice at which point he cannot physically sing any higher, without using
falsetto. (For the ladies, it has been called the head voice.) As you know from
the last chapter, this point is commonly referred to as the vocal break. To sing
beyond the vocal break, the singer must switch his voice into falsetto in order
to prevent the voice from cracking, thus enabling the singer to ascend the
scale. There is no truth to this.
57
This is just a feeble attempt to allow singers to avoid their break point. Any
note that you are able to sing in falsetto, you can learn to sing just as easily in
full voice. In fact, you can extend your full voice higher than your falsetto if
you are willing to put in the practice time. How is this possible? The falsetto
tone occurs from less tension and a wider glottis. Higher notes require tighter
cords and a narrowing of the glottis. So theoretically, there will come a point
when the glottis will not be wide enough to support the true falsetto tone, but
could carry on in full voice up into what is referred to as whistle voice.

Useful Tip: What’s the Whistle Voice?

Have you ever heard of whistle voice? This is a high pitch above the soprano
range that sounds like the vocal cords are whistling. This register was made
very popular by singers like Mariah Carey, Vitas and Adam Lopez. In fact,
Adam beat out Mariah to become the Guinness World Record holder for the
highest note. These pitches are attained when the cords zip up even tighter
than head voice notes. The cords will squeeze together so tightly at the front
of the throat that the glottis will become almost as small as a pinhole. If you
want to hear a great representation of whistle voice, listen to ‘Someday’ by
Mariah Carey or to hear this style fluently presented by a male, listen to one
of my all time favorite singers, Earth, Wind & Fire vocalist Philip Bailey, sing
the song ‘Mighty Mighty’.

HOW IS FALSETTO PRODUCED?

Let’s start off with how falsetto is not produced. I was originally taught that
falsetto occurred when two membranes that reside above the vocal cords,
referred to as the false vocal folds, vibrate together. These false folds
supposedly vibrate without touching, while the true vocal cords remain still.
In order for a vocal vibration to occur, the cords must touch and release as
air flows between them at a constant rate. Due to the fact that the false
folds never touch, they cannot possibly vibrate, and therefore, they
cannot produce sound.

58
However, it is my belief that these false folds can contribute to the shape
of the basic vocal sound. Any time the pharynx changes its shape it will
affect the tonal color of the voice. I also believe that the false folds can
help to color sounds or vocal inflections such as grit, by aiding in the
shape of the pharynx.

So in conclusion, all sounds are produced by the vocal cords, including

falsetto! Full voice is produced when the vocal cords retain a consistent
tension, which narrows the glottis. Falsetto is produced when there is not
enough tension in the muscles that pull and squeeze the vocal cords
together, allowing the glottal opening to widen.
(Full voice versus Falsetto Demonstration)

59
60
When this occurs, the vocal cords vibrate loosely, allowing more air to
escape through the wider glottal opening, thus producing a breathy tone.
So much air is allowed to escape between the cords that you actually lose
more vocal energy and less of the vocal cords vibrate purely when
compared to full voice.

Again, I repeat: falsetto is simply a weak, breathy tone with little

resonance. Remember the following statement and you will never forget
the difference between full voice and falsetto:

LOOSE VOCAL CORDS = FALSETTO

FIRM VOCAL CORDS = FULL VOICE

Do not discount the value of falsetto; it is one of the greatest tools you
could ever possess for developing your singing voice to its fullest
potential. You will soon learn that falsetto is the basis for developing,
strengthening, and increasing the range of your full voice.

If I can give you any advice about falsetto, I would like to offer this: Don’t think
of falsetto and full voice as a different voice, but different colors of the same
voice, because in the end, it is still the vocal cords that produce the basic
vocal sound. Most singers worry about whether or not they are in falsetto or
full voice or become confused and try to decide whether they are singing in
falsetto or “head voice”. Don’t sweat the small stuff. If it sounds good, then
sing your heart out and don’t worry about it. But aim to develop your
instrument to incorporate all colors—falsetto, mixture, and full voice. To back
me up with my whole discussion from this chapter, is vocal coach Robert
Lunte:

Useful Tip: Falsetto is NOT Your Head Voice!

By Robert Lunte

In my experience as a teacher and coach for modern vocalists, I have found

that there are ways to describe or define similar ideas in the language of voice
pedagogy. In a world of differing vocal dialects, the most propagating and
confusing is the notion that the cavities in the head that support resonation is

61
the “Falsetto”. Falsetto is a timbre that a vocal artist chooses to use and it is
physically produced in the head voice. Falsetto is not your head voice!
Jaime Vendera called me and asked me to write a piece for his 2nd edition of,
“Raise Your Voice”. We agreed, my article should be a spearhead to try to
help people clarify the confusion around the semantics of “falsetto” and “head
voice”. This semantic mess creates a lot of distractions that can stop a new
singer’s ability to progress and master the techniques of bridging the passagio
and inducing vocal fold adduction. It is driving me crazy just writing about
it…! Let us cut to the chase.

Falsetto is not a place. Falsetto is not a register that you sing in. Falsetto is
not the physical cavities in your skull that house the resonators and where
high notes are produced. Falsetto is a timbre. It is a term to describe the
sound that is being produced when the vocal folds are not adducted, causing
too much air to pass. When singers sing in their Falsetto, they are employing
a unique stylistic timbre in the head voice.

The head voice is the physical register where high notes are produced and
resonate. I have observed too often that people refer to the “falsetto”, in the
context of the physical placement in the upper vocal track and the resonators.
They really mean to say “head voice”.

Still questioning what you learned from your choir teacher years ago? Let’s
take a look at the formal definitions of these vocal terms.

Definition of falsetto:
Singing whereby the tone produced has a light, "head voice" quality; this use
of a "false" voice, which is what the term really means, enables a bass or a
baritone to imitate a female voice, for
example. What we read is, “singing
whereby the tone produced has a
light, “head voice” quality…” “Tone”
is the key word here. This definition
properly points out that Falsetto is
defined by its timbre in a stylistic
sense.
Figure 1
Falsetto

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In Figure 1, the vocal folds are abducted causing too much air to blow
through the vocal folds, causing a breathy timbre.
Definitions of head voice (or head register):

Singing using the upper range of the voice. The upper register of the singing
voice. The higher ranges of the voice in speaking or singing; the vibrations of
sung notes are felt in the head.

In this definition, the proper

references to “registers”, “ranges”
and “…notes are felt in the head”
are describing a physical
sensation and the infrastructure of
the upper vocal tract.

Figure 2
Vocal Fold Adduction

The Vocal Folds “Zip-Up” & shorten the surface area of vibration when
singing in the head voice, or TVS Register III.

However, this does not mean singers cannot develop full-voiced tones that
match the palate resonance (chest voice). Show me a singer that doesn’t
want to know how to sing full voiced tones in their head voice registers and I’ll
eat my microphone! The creative objective is to produce a sound that creates
the illusion to the listener that the upper and the lower voices are one. I’m
sure we can all generally agree that this is of critical interest for all singers
and is what the audience prefers to hear.

There are two main coordination’s that must be trained to transcend from
“good” singing to “great” singing. From a technical perspective, they are:

1). Seamless bridging of the Passagio so that the singer can produce a
smooth transition between the palate resonance (chest voice) and the upper
voice without “yodeling” or “breaking”… and,

2). The ability to induce the process of vocal fold adduction, or “zip up” the
vocal folds to transform Falsetto placements into sounds that have a “cut” and
match the timbre of the palate resonance (chest voice).
63
At TVS, I refer to these skills as “bridging and connecting”. If you can “bridge
and connect”, you will enjoy freedom of expression and fantastic range of 4-6
octaves!

Let us take a closer look at the actual moving parts and science so we can
better understand and appreciate why “bridging and connecting” is so critical
to modern vocal bliss.

When a singer is singing a Falsetto tone, the vocal folds are blown apart and
a permanent oval orifice is left in the middle between the edges of the two
folds through which excessive volumes of air escape. This is the posture the
vocal folds assume that result in the familiar “breathy” tone associated with
Falsetto.

Adduction is the result of the vocal folds coming back together, or “zipping
up”, while singing in the head register. Adduction is the shortening of the oval
orifice by bringing approximately 1/3 or more of the vocal folds back together
as pitch increases. As there is less area of the vocal fold vibrating, it's much
easier for the folds to vibrate faster.

The body’s natural posture for vocal tonality in the head register is Falsetto.
The laryngeal responses evolved to assume the Falsetto posture as a means
to prevent laryngeal injuries. One would have to resort to screaming at the top
of their lungs to survive in the early days of mans evolution. Many a pre-
historic hominid may have snapped a tenoid muscle while warning his
colleagues to start moving his feet as a hungry saber-toothed tiger targeted
his prey. Apart from the fact that meat-eating beasts could probably smell
early hominids a mile away.

Fortunately, we no longer only live to survive and can now use the vocal
mechanism in new, artistic ways, such as singing. A vocalist can build the
strength and coordination required to produce full-voiced tones in the head
voice with a voice teacher who has the experience training bridging and
connecting techniques.

The modern vocalist has two primary tools to use to induce adduction:
1). My approach requires an increase in respiratory velocity.

64
2). Train the ability to induce adduction, or “zip up” the vocal folds to transform
Falsetto tone, into sounds that have “cut” and will match the timbre of the
palate resonance (chest voice).

This is the technique used by every great singer that can vocalize extreme,
super-human high notes in their head voice, without sounding Falsetto.
Adduction is the secret.

Figure 3
This is the Four Registers and Bridges matrix from the training system,
“The Four Pillars of Screaming!” Registers III & IV lay in the head voice.
Adduction takes place primarily in Register III and transforms Falsetto
tones into full-voiced, adducted tones.

65
The modern vocalist needs to be able to create the sounds that their music is
requiring. Who would prefer to not have the ability to use 5 octaves and
remain under-utilized, by using only half of their range? Would you rather
drive a Chevy or a Porsche? Bridging and connecting turbo charges your
vocal abilities and blows people away with amazement and makes you feel
super-human as you are singing.

Forget the notion that some people are born with certain anatomical
advantages that allow them to scream C5, “face melters” and others are not.
This is another popular vocal myth that is just completely bunk! From first
hand experience, people can learn to achieve truly amazing vocal stunts,
even “bridging and connecting” with just a little bit of concentration and about
90 days of practice on the technique. Frankly, the biggest challenge is simply
finding the right teacher that understands these techniques and knows how to
train them.

Adduction, extreme screaming, vocal grit and other applications are cutting
edge, 21st century innovations that need to be taught for 21st century genres.
Be weary of 16th century doctrines designed to coach proper interpretation of
ancient music, this will not be your most successful path to modern vocalist
enlightenment. The argument can be simplified by stating that new genre’s
require cutting edge vocal applications. Cutting-edge vocal applications
require legitimate, modern vocal techniques. Look for a voice teacher who
lets the service of helping their clients get the sounds they want to make, lead
to push the boundaries of technique and method. Be weary of “ivory towers”
of elitism that turn their nose up at other genre’s and cultish vocal
organizations that insist that their method has every answer, for every genre
and every application. Most of all, if someone refers to the head voice as
Falsetto in the context of physical registers and not timbre, run like hell
because Falsetto is not the head voice!

I hope this contribution to the 2nd edition of Raise Your Voice is of interest and
helpful. I want to thank my colleague, Jaime Vendera for this fine opportunity
to contribute to the RYV series. Jaime Vendera is one of the hardest working,
thoughtful and inspirational individuals I have ever had the pleasure of
working with. He is also a great friend. I look forward to many years of future
collaborations together.

©2007 Robert Lunte. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

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Robert Lunte is the Founder of The Vocalist Studio and recognized protégé's
of the late Maestro David P. Kyle. An innovator of contemporary rock
techniques, he specializes in training passagio bridging and head voice
development for the rock and metal artist. He is a trainer of voice teachers, a
recording artist and is the producer of the training program, "The Four Pillars
of Screaming!". Robert is endorsed by TC-Helicon Vocal Technologies and is
the Director of the International TC-Helicon Voice Council. Robert resides
and screams in Seattle, WA. And can be reached at
www.thevocaliststudio.com and robert@thevocaliststudio.com

Now I bet you are wondering about this “zipping “ of the vocal cords that
Robert kept referring to. Well, let’s move on to the next chapter for more
detail.

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68
SIX
The Zipper Technique
As you ascend the scale, the vocal cords pull tighter and become
thinner, elongating themselves until they can pull no more. At this point,
the vocal cords can do one of two things:

1. They can try to pull tighter, only causing your voice to

break and flip into falsetto, or
2. They can squeeze together from the back of the
throat to the front, causing the pitch to rise.

In theory, the cords squeeze together from the back of your throat to the
front, much like zipping a zipper. The squeezing makes the vibrating
space in the front of the vocal cords smaller. The technical term for this
process has been called many names, including zipping, adduction and
dampening. Truthfully, I don’t care about which term you use; all I care
about is teaching you how to do it to help you extend your range.

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So when does the zipping occur? Well, when you sing low notes, the cords
are generally shorter and the folds fatten. As you ascend towards higher
notes, the folds become thinner and stretch until they reach their length limit
and, through the zipping process, can start to become shorter.

Regardless of name, by narrowing and shortening the vibrating space,

you raise the pitch, making it easier to sing high notes. A smaller vibrating
space will result in a higher pitch.

For the sake of this book, I refer to the point of zipping as occurring at the
first break point. There are many different schools of thought (due to video
capturing the movement of the cords at different film speeds) on where
zipping actually occurs. Some say zipping starts below the break, some say at
the break, and still others say second break. (The second break is the point
where head voice occurs, typically around Tenor C for males and Alto F for
females.) But for the sake of developing the physical sensations within the
body to allow you to access the upper register freely, we’ll pretend it is at the
first break.

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The zipper technique is performed in tiny increments along the edges of your
vocal cords. With each individual increment a different pitch is produced. The
throat and neck muscles help to do the zipping, and, if done correctly, higher
pitches are effortless. (Seeing your neck veins bulge is not a sign of the
muscles working correctly. This happens internally. I almost feel as if the
internal muscles are pressing inward from the sides of my neck, but it is never
a forced muscular feeling.) Remember, a higher note does not require any
more air pressure or volume than a low note, (in fact it requires less) just a
great deal of practice to coordinate the vocal muscles.

An easier way to understand the zipper technique is by performing the rubber

band experiment. All you need is two sets of hands and two different size
rubber bands. Start by separating the smaller, thinner rubber band with your
fingers. The thin rubber band refers to the size of a female’s vocal cords,
while the thick rubber band refers to a male’s vocal cords.

Spread your fingers wide enough to produce tension in the rubber band. Next,
have your partner strum the rubber band with their finger. The rubber band
will produce a low pitch. The vocal cords are thick and pulled to a slight
tension. Continue to stretch the rubber band apart. You will notice that the
pitch rises as the rubber band gets longer and thinner.

Stretching the rubber band is very similar to the stretching of the vocal cords.
The higher you sing the longer and thinner the vocal cords become. There will
come a point when you shouldn’t stretch the rubber band any further.
Stretching beyond this point will cause the rubber band to snap. You have just
reached your break point.

Since you can’t actually see the vocal cords stretching, you must rely on
feeling. If you start straining or your voice breaks, then you know that you are
stretching your cords too far, and beyond your natural break point.

When you have reached the safe extent of stretching the rubber band, have
your partner squeeze one end of the rubber band together while strumming
the other end. The pitch rises and is easier to produce. You have just
shortened the vibrating space to obtain higher pitches without stretching the
rubber band beyond its stress point.

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This illustrates the zipper technique that must be applied to your own
voice. The higher you slide your fingers, decreasing the vibrating space,
the higher you raise the pitch. The vocal cords zip together tighter and
tighter, continually shortening the vibrating space, thus raising the pitch!

This experiment is a valuable tool for understanding the pitch process of

the vocal cords. When you complete this experiment, repeat it with the

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thicker rubber band. You will notice that the beginning pitch is much lower
than the first time you performed the experiment. As I previously stated,
the smaller, thinner rubber band emulates a female’s voice, while the
longer, thicker rubber band mimics a male’s vocal cords.

Before we move on, let’s refer back to pictures one through six again. It’s
very important that you grasp the concept of the cords zipping together,
and understand exactly when and where this is taking place in your own
voice. (Remember, this is all strictly for the sake of visualization to help you
gain access to your upper register.) Picture one demonstrates your voice at
your lowest pitch, which is called chest voice. As you ascend the scale, the
vocal cords become longer and thinner. Picture two shows a tighter pull,
but you are still singing in chest voice. When you reach the point where
your voice begins to break or you begin to strain, the vocal cords are at
their maximum stretched limit, as in picture three. This is the point where
the vocal cords must learn to switch gears from chest voice into the upper
register, but in a seamless manner. This pitch is typically around E4, above
middle C for males, and A#4, below Tenor C for females.

At your maximum stretched limit (the break), you’ve got to develop the
ability to allow the vocal cords to begin to zip together (picture four). The
area right above the break (picture five) is the area of throat resonance
(pharyngeal resonance), or your middle voice, and typically lasts for about
five to seven notes before you reach head resonance, or head voice.
Picture six refers to head voice and shows the cords zipping together very
tightly. They zip tighter and tighter until your voice reaches the point where
it sounds as if it is whistling (whistle voice). The pitch is very high at this
point and the sound produced by the vocal cords will be almost entirely in
head voice. Head voice, or head resonance, usually begins around an A4-
B4 below Tenor C for males, and a D5-E5 above Tenor C for females.
Resonance, chest voice, mid-voice, and head voice will all be explained
shortly.

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RESONANCE PLACEMENT
Understanding the zipper technique is an important part of developing
your voice to its fullest potential. Since you cannot actually see the vocal
cords as they zip, you need a way to identify with the sensations of your
vocal cords when zipping takes place. If you focus on your vocal cords, you
can actually feel the cords zipping together. This is challenging. It’s much
easier to trust the sensation of resonance in your body than to trust the
physical sensations of the muscles in your throat. Resonance placement
is an easier way to identify the zipping of the vocal cords.

What is resonance placement? Resonance placement simply refers to

following the path of resonance within your body. Put your hand flat
against your chest and hum a low note. Can you feel your hand vibrating
from the buzzing sensation in your chest? This is chest resonance. As you
sing up a scale, the resonance (buzzing sensation) will travel from deep
inside of your chest to high in the top of your head. Hum on a higher note
with your mouth closed. Could you feel your head and teeth buzz? This
is head resonance.

The best way to utilize resonance placement, as applied to the zipper

technique, is to imagine a ping-pong ball floating on a steady stream of air,
within your physical body, much like the floating balls balanced in tall clear
cylinders for televised lottery drawings. Imagine a tall, clear cylinder within
your body rising from the center of your diaphragm, straight up through
your body to the very top of your head. The ping-pong ball floating inside
of this cylinder is your core of resonance.

The core of resonance is your central point of vibration, or the core of the
buzzing sensation. Although your resonant focal point is upon this
imaginary ping-pong ball, resonance radiates out much farther, more like
the sun radiating outwards, resonating every single cell of your body.

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When you are vocalizing on low pitches, visualize your core of resonance
balanced down in your chest, sitting right on top of your diaphragm. When
singing high pitches, visualize your core of resonance floating in your
head. As you sing from low to high, your core of resonance rises from low
to high. The most intense point of resonance should be balanced upon
the core. If you imagine your core of resonance radiating outwards, you’ll
create stronger resonant (buzzing) vibrations, thus amplifying the
echoes, making it easier to zip without straining your voice. The stronger
the buzzing sensation, the easier the cords will zip together. Not only does
this make the zipping process easier, but it also allows you to project a much
louder volume without shouting while enhancing the overall quality of the
sound.

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Both the inhalation sensation and the core of resonance visualizations
help to improve your breath support, by developing the balance of
pressure between your diaphragm, and your stomach muscles. The more
resonance produced, the less breath pressure required. Less breath
pressure means less stress on the vocal cords. One of the main reasons
singers lose their voice is because they apply too much breath pressure.

Singers tend to think that they must sing louder in order to sing higher.
This is so untrue. By focusing on resonance and the inhalation sensation,
you’ll minimize breath pressure and help eliminate this problem.

When you start to feel the resonance rise up out of your chest and into
your throat, your vocal cords are pulled as tightly as they can possibly
stretch without straining. At this point, your cords must start zipping
together in order to easily access the rest of your vocal range. They
continue to zip together in tiny increments from the back of the throat to
the front as the resonance rises upward from your throat, right above the
vocal cords and into your head. When you feel the buzzing sensation in
your head, you can be sure that your vocal cords are zipping together
correctly and you shouldn’t be straining. It will all be effortless in time as
long as you follow these visualizations and maintain your support and
placement.

IDENTIFYING YOUR CORE OF RESONANCE

If you are having trouble following your core of resonance, use the
illustrations on the following pages as a guideline:

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When following your core of resonance, your lowest note will rest right on
top of the diaphragm.

77
The core of resonance will continue to rise up in the chest towards your
break point. The entire area below your break point is called chest voice.

78
At your break point, the core of resonance is right in the indenture of the
collarbone, ready to rise into the throat. Remember, the break point is
typically E4 for males and A#4 for females. At this point, visualize the
cords start zipping together.

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The core of resonance will continue to rise up the throat through the
pharynx for five to seven notes. These notes will be produced in the
throat. I refer to this area as your mid-voice and simply view it as a
thinning of the tone as you ascend the scale. (I mentally think “less
baggage” at this point because the area above chest voice does not
require the same big meaty sound as the lower notes, although by
multiplying your resonance and keeping your ribs expanded, you can
maintain that big sound if so desired.)

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By the sixth, seventh, or eighth note, you should begin to feel the core of
resonance starting to float up into your head, which will vibrate the skull
cavity. You’ll definitely be noticing the sensation in the soft palate.
(Although you should notice it at ALL times.)

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You are now moving into head resonance, or head voice. The cords are
zipping together in very tiny increments, so while in head resonance, the
core of resonance should rise in very tiny increments. You could very
well have more than an octave in head resonance to cover from about
eye level to the top of the head. And you may have several octaves if you
are including your whistle tones.

Head resonance is an amazing thing, filling your entire skull with multiple
echoes, like a tiny cathedral. Sometimes it is difficult to pinpoint the exact
location of your core of resonance while singing high, so if your support

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and placement are there and you feel the teeth, nose, cheeks and skull
buzzing, then you are doing it right.

If you start feeling dizzy on the high notes, don’t worry; you won’t pass out.
Like I said, you’ve got a tiny cathedral in your head. Dizziness is a good
thing and is due to the new sensations of head resonance. This is proof of
proper zipper technique and plenty of resonance. As I previously mentioned,
the stronger the buzzing sensation you create in your head, the easier your
cords will zip together. So if you radiate your core and concentrate on the
buzzing sensation, the higher notes will come easily. This visualization is a
main key to learning how to sing high notes in full voice, so work hard!

Useful Tip: Some Don’ts of Cord Zipping

You should NEVER clench your throat or grunt for a louder sound or to get
the vocal cords to zip together! In truth, the cords are squeezing together
and when you grunt you can feel the cords come together. But grunting
would be much too forceful. Once I started visualizing the sides of my neck
squeezing in towards my cords internally, it all made sense. Thomas Appell
mentions the thought of grunting to get the cords to zip in his book Can You
Sing a High C Without Straining. This confused me at first, but once Thomas
explained to me that it was only visual and that you should never physically
grunt, but instead thinking of lightly grunting to get the cords to touch, it
completely made sense.

Both Thomas and I never wanted anyone to actually grunt, but if thinking of
that feeling helps you to accomplish this task, well then by all means use it
as a visual guide.

Useful Tip: The Kazoo

Have you ever played a kazoo? This funny little instrument is perfect for
demonstrating the buzzing sensation you want to feel on your teeth. There is a
small piece of wax paper in a kazoo that vibrates from your breath. Purchase
a kazoo and hum a few tunes into it, then assimilate that same buzzing
sensation against your teeth. (You’ll also feel it in your mouth and sinuses.)
Notice how the small piece of wax paper buzzes like a bee or a fly. This is the
same buzzing sensation that you should aim for when you sing and is most

83
noticeable by humming. Do yourself a favor and go buy a kazoo now. Play
with it until you understand this concept, because not only will this explain to
you how to locate the resonant sensations in the teeth, but the tiny buzzing
and pinging sound is also the same feeling you’ll get when your placement is
dead on.

Useful Tip: The Triangle

When trying to get the cords to zip, it has always helped me to visualize the
voice in the shape of a triangle; wide at the bottom of your range (like the
base of a triangle), and thin and pointy at the top of your range, like the tip of
a triangle. As you ascend the scale and your cords begin to zip, imagine your
voice thinning and aiming more towards a point, just like the sides of a triangle
coming closer and closer together while aiming towards the top.

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It also helps to think “less baggage” as you ascend the scale. You don’t
need all of that pressure and fullness (vocal weight) that you feel at the
bottom end of the scale, so don’t push the sound up, let it float up the sides
of the triangle and thin out. (This coincides with the core of resonance rising
as the voice thins. When I mentioned this to Tony Harnell, he completely
agreed.)

By practicing the visualizations and exercises in this book, you will eventually
develop the muscular coordination and muscle memory required to zip the
cords correctly. As hard as it may seem, you must separate your mind from
your throat. The cords are very small. They are approximately half an inch in
females, and between three-fourths an inch to one inch in males. You should
never tense the throat area and jeopardize the health of these precious, tiny,
music makers. So change your thinking about what it takes to sing high and go
with the flow!

Useful Tip: Close Your Eyes and Lean for the Highs
I learn a lot of tricks teaching. In fact, most of the time, I feel like the student.
I’ve learned from watching singers as they make it so hard on themselves.
One of the main culprits of mind/body tension directly related to the zipping
process is reaching up on your toes or looking to the ceiling for the high
notes. You don’t have to look or reach for those notes because they are
within you. When I catch students reaching and/or looking up, I tell them to
close their eyes and lean for the highs.

I explain to them how a piano’s low keys are on the left and high keys on the
right and I demonstrate how I can effortlessly lean one way or the other to
play high notes or low notes. Once they understand this concept, I tell them
that I would rather see them lean to the left for their lows and lean to the right
for their highs as opposed to looking and reaching up.

These little “reaching and looking up” habits are mental and physical
crutches that will become muscle memories and anytime you’d have to sing a
high note, you would have to rely on that crutch to achieve that note. You
don’t want to develop that type of mental crutch, but little mental concepts
that you occasionally use to progress, like leaning and closing your eyes so
you don’t look up, are vocal helpers to rehabilitate you so that you don’t need

85
crutches like looking up for the high notes.

Useful Tip: Land on Top of the High Notes/

My First Voice Lesson
Another useful tip is to visualize “landing” on top of each note, instead of
“reaching” up for the note, which is typically what happens when new singers
can’t reach the high notes. In fact, when I was 16 years old, I decided I
wanted voice lessons, since I was now a big time singer playing the clubs
with guys twice my age, haha. So, I found the typical classical teacher. She
was a very sweet old lady whose main specialty was teaching piano. I
learned two things from that one and only lesson (and then forgot all about
vocal training for two more years):

#1-How to lie on the floor with books on my stomach in order to

discover correct breathing,

And, more importantly to me at the time,

#2-How to land on top of a note- I was reaching up on my tiptoes to hit the

high notes and that was causing me to strain my voice. She proceeded to
explain to me how I should close my eyes and visualize the notes. Now,
instead of reaching up, I should land right on top of the note.

She said to start early in the vocal line and see myself way above the note, so
that when I reached the high note of the song, I would already be above the
note and wouldn’t strain to reach it, but instead, land on it, thus allowing me to
easily reach the note with little effort.

Now pay attention to this tip because it is an EXTREMELY valuable lesson

and one that helped me through many a night of untrained gigs. I altered my
teachers approach a bit, but that is because I was always trying to create
change in all patterns. I’m crazy like that, haha. What I did that was separate
from what I was originally taught was that I mentally installed a push button in
the top of my soft palate. This button was physically pushing down on top of
the note. That way I never lifted up the note. It was always right up in my
palate or barely above, and I just mentally pushed down on it to keep it from
floating away. This way, I felt the note was always under my control and
always right underneath me instead of way up above me.

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Later I discovered that this pushing down was in direct relation to my
downward support. The more I pushed down for support, the more on top of
the note my voice felt, while simultaneously pushing down on the palate.
(Yeah push down, lock down, shoot the rocket, man these are a lot of
visualizations.) This trick REALLY helped my in my teens to get through the
high notes during live performance. Although I still had a lot of bad vocal
habits, this is probably one of the main reasons I never ran into a serious
problem such as vocal nodules, knock on wood.

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88
SEVEN
Hydrating The Voice
Water is the liquid of a singer’s soul. It is one of many essentials for a healthy
voice and body. It is water that does the body good. If we compare our bodies
to an automobile, then water is our oil. It is an absolute must for anyone with a
serious devotion to improving the voice. Without water, the sound of your
voice will lack the beautiful quality all singers strive for.

It should be duly noted that when you drink beverages that contain sugar,
caffeine, alcohol, and other unnatural substances such as sweeteners and
even milk, you are turning your engine oil into sludge! Typically, the vocal
cords are coated with a thin, clear and watery mucous that helps maintain the
elasticity of the cords while continually lubricating them as you speak and
sing. When the cords are dehydrated, the mucous turns yellow and becomes
thick and sludge-like and limits their elasticity and ability to vibrate freely.

With the demands of singing, one must keep one’s voice well lubricated at all
times. The vocal cords must be constantly lubricated to maintain their
elasticity. Only water can provide this lubrication—not soda, tea, coffee, or
alcohol—only plain, fresh water will work. Natural juices help to hydrate the
voice and are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals. However, the
body considers juice a food to be digested and takes a considerably longer
time to hydrate the voice. Certain vocal sprays are good for vocal health
support, but again, water is the key.

Water is the only liquid that is not processed as a food. When you drink water,
it is not digested. It passes directly into your bloodstream and is distributed
throughout the entire body, concentrating on the places it is most needed. It
takes approximately twenty minutes before your vocal cords receive any
hydration from a drink of water. Even after the cords receive lubrication, the
water can evaporate quickly if you are singing.

If you are doing a lot of singing, the air pressure between the cords can
quickly dry them out, especially from singing in a typical falsetto. So what do
you do?

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You drink lots and lots of water. Drink water first thing in the morning, drink
water with meals, drink water at night before going to bed…Drink water! I
can’t say it enough. Drink water! If you consume alcohol or caffeine products,
be aware that caffeine is a diuretic and alcohol is a dehydrator; they are both
going to dry out your throat. I’m not telling you that you have to give up your
vices. I was the world’s worst caffeine junkie (and I still slip up every now and
then). Just make sure that you drink plenty of water to counteract dehydration.

I drink approximately a gallon of water a day. I know that’s a lot, but I used to
drink more. A good rule of thumb is half an ounce of water per every pound of
body weight per day. If you weigh 150 pounds you should drink at least
seventy-five ounces of water a day if not more. I know that sounds like a lot,
but that’s actually less than four twenty-ounce bottles of soda. (I weigh around
180 pounds, but I really like my water). So check your weight and adjust
accordingly.

Tony Harnell, international superstar and former lead singer of the rock group
TNT, couldn’t emphasize enough to me about the importance of drinking
water. Here’s what he had to say about the importance of drinking water:

“What you’re really trying to do is moisturize the voice—as much moisture as

possible. I recommend more than anything, drinking tons of water, and I mean
from the time you wake up until the show at night. You will pee a lot, but who
cares. The more hydrated you are, the better. Someone once said to me,
‘clear pee—clear voice.’ That makes sense.”

This doesn’t mean to drink it all at once. You have all day, so spread it out. I
usually wake up and drink a bottle of water to get my day started, and then I
sip on bottles of water throughout the entire day. I drink water with all my
meals even if I break down and cheat by drinking a soda. Water aids the
stomach with the digestion process. I always drink at least eight to ten ounces
of water before I go to bed. I know this means more nighttime trips to the
bathroom, but your body will thank you for it. You may also want to purchase
a warm air humidifier for your room. This will humidify the air and help keep
your voice moisturized while you sleep.

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I personally run a Venta Sonic- VS207 humidifier every night on my room.
(Tony turned me onto this.) It keeps a nice level of humidity and cleans the
water with ionic silver and a filter. This assures that I am not breathing tons of
bacteria, while keeping my lungs and cords moist throughout the night.

Water aids the elimination process; helping to flush the kidneys, thus flushing
out more toxins, so don’t be surprised if you generally feel better. I think it is
important to note here that drinking a lot of water doesn’t always mean that
you are hydrating the body. You need a way to make the most out of your
water intake. The answer is in the next tip:

Useful Tip: Getting the Most out of your Water

By Ocea

Water is life. It is the main ingredient in almost every tissue in the body. It is
especially essential for singers to help keep the voice and vocal apparatus
properly lubricated. The daily requirement of water – if you aren’t exercising –
is 64 oz. or 8 tall glasses. For a performer, especially during touring season,
that number goes up appreciably.

Sometimes, though, we drink so much water – we can feel it swishing around

in our stomachs. There are a couple simple ways to increase your water
absorption into cells – thereby increasing hydration levels.

One way is to insure proper electrolyte balance. Electrolytes are minerals,

such as potassium and sodium, which hold an electric charge. Basically, an
electrolyte is a material that dissolves in water to give the water an electric
current, which allows the solution to pass through cell walls. Electrolytes are
commonly found in sports drinks to help athletes with quicker re-hydration.
Unfortunately, sport drinks contain an incredible amount of sugar. So, look for
waters with electrolytes, such as Smart Water ™.

Another trick is to make a sole (pronounced sol-ay) from rock salts. All salts
are not created equal – so please don’t do this with traditional table salt –
which can contain residues of some of the chemicals used to extract it.

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My favorite salt for sole is a pink salt from the Himalayas known as "white
gold." It is hand-mined so there are no chemical residues in the salt.
Together with pure spring water, Himalayan Crystal Salt offers all the natural
elements exactly identical to the elements in your body -- the very same
elements originally found existing in the "primal sea."
Here’s how you create your sole. You put one layer of the large salt rocks in a
wide mouth, glass bottle or jar. Fill the jar with water and let it sit for 24
hours. The water will absorb as much salt as it can and then stop (so you
don't have to remove the crystals). Take a teaspoon of the sole and mix it in 8
oz. of water upon rising. When the water level drops in your sole solution jar
to a 1/4 of a jar left, fill the jar back up with more water.

Some benefits of these minerals that are particularly of interest to performers

include:
1. Regulating the water content throughout your body.
2. Supporting respiratory health.
3. Promoting sinus health.
4. Regulating your sleep -- it naturally promotes sleep.
5. It can help lower the craving for addiction.
6. Promoting a healthy pH balance in your cells, particularly your brain
cells.
7. Promoting blood sugar health and helping to reduce the signs
of aging.
©2007 Ocea. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Ocea is one of the most sought-after bodywork therapists and healers in the
entertainment industry. She has been on and off the road with national
recording artists for 11+ years and has worked backstage on talent and
production crews at most of the entertainment award shows. Ocea is the
President/Founder of Travel Wellness, Inc. with natural solutions for touring,
performing and travel wellness.

Useful Tip: Xtreme Water

Ocea presents a great thought because pure hydration is a must if you want
to maintain a healthy voice. Besides applying Ocea’s tip, I also personally

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follow another type of regimen to make the most out of my water. I am being
fully hydrated from all the water I drink and I am ready to share my “secret” for
making water wetter with YOU!

Xtreme X2O, a product from Xooma Worldwide, is an all-natural, organic

mineral complex derived from a pristine ocean source found near Okinawan
Islands. Harvested in its natural form, Xooma Worldwide uses a patented
processing method to ensure the highest level of purity and safety before
packaging this powerful product into individual, ready-to-use “sachets.”
These sachets contain ionic silver, coral
calcium, magnesium, electrolytes and
over seventy other trace minerals. X2O
sachets actually make water "wetter" by
lowering the surface tension of water
molecules. This dramatically increases
your water's ability to hydrate a singer’s
body at the cellular level.

So why is Xtreme X2O important for a

singer? Because singing is demanding,
requiring a person to be in perfect
health. Not only will this product meet
your water requirements, but it is
formulated to boost the immune system
and improve health.

By adding Xtreme X2O to your water, you begin to hydrate your body at the
cellular level, provide the vital minerals and electrolytes your body needs daily
and give yourself a health-promoting alkalinity boost to counteract the acidic
damage caused by a performer’s fast-paced lifestyle.

Your body becomes more acidic from consuming too many sodas for
example. When this happens, your body’s pH balance will move towards
being more acidic. An acidic environment allows bacteria and viruses to
spread and survive.

So in order to maintain a healthy pH balance, a singer’s body must have an

abundant supply of ionic minerals - especially calcium Xtreme X2O makes
your water cleaner and fresher, but it doesn’t provide any additional flavor.
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So, your transformed water (using Xtreme X2O) always tastes clean and
fresh, but it still tastes like…water.

Many people prefer the taste of flavored water, sports drinks or energy drinks
opposed to plain water, but the problem with all of these beverages is that
they are all loaded with sugar, artificial sweeteners, artificial colors and
chemical preservatives. These beverages do not take the place of water and
do not offer any health benefits. So, faced with the reality that a large
population of people around the world (especially children & teens) would only
drink more water if it “tasted good,” Xooma Worldwide had set out to create
the worlds first 100% natural water flavoring product called X2O Blast. By
doing this, Xooma has not only given people an easy and enjoyable way to
drink more water but they have also made it easy for people to enjoy the
numerous health benefits of – Xtreme X2O.

X2O BLAST allows you to choose your own flavor strength and transform
plain water with a “blast” of flavor while providing incredible antioxidant
protection for your body. This 100% natural, zero calorie beverage allows you
to enjoy the health benefits of drinking water by simply making your water
taste great. It has no glycemic value so it won’t raise blood sugar levels or
trigger fat storage in the body, which is very important if you are diabetic or
watching your weight. X2O Blast is an excellent source of antioxidants with
110% of the RDA of vitamin C. Vitamin C, as you’ll learn in the Vocal Health
section, is extremely important for vocal health. Best of all, you can
dramatically increase the health benefits of your water by adding an Xtreme
X2O sachet with your X2O BLAST.

By combining X2O and X2O Blast, you are Hydrating, Mineralizing &
Revitalizing your body! Do yourself a favor and check it out for yourself. I
actually love X2O so much that I opened my own website through Xooma.
You can purchase and learn about Xooma products through my website at
www.xoomaworldwide.com/jaimevendera.

While singing or exercising, you should drink water at room temperature.

Drinking cold water or ice water can shock the vocal cords, causing the
vocal cords to contract. Working out your voice is like working out on a
treadmill. When your muscles are warmed up, your heart is pumping,
and your body temperature is rising.

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If someone threw cold water on you while you were working on the
treadmill, your whole body would tense up. The same is true with the
vocal cords; it’s just not as noticeable. Cold water prevents the vocal
cords from zipping properly, thus shrinking your range. Room
temperature water keeps the cords pliable, aiding the zipping process.
Now I’d like to mention several ways to hydrate the voice: you can
breathe in through your nose, breathe steam, inhale mist, or gargle water.

BREATHE IN THROUGH YOUR NOSE

Although it might not seem that important, breathing in through your nose
will make a difference when it comes to keeping the vocal cords moist,
especially during nights when you perform and you feel a little dry. This is
how I breathe every morning when I am doing my cardio routine. When
you breathe in through your mouth, you are basically breathing in dry air.

The sinus passages moisten the air before it is inhaled into the lungs and
helps to prevent from drying out the vocal cords. So if possible, breathe in
through your nose when you sing! I know this isn’t always possible or
probable but I personally recommend it. I mostly use the micro breath,
but I will sneak a breath in through my nose during a guitar solo. Not only
will this moisten the vocal cords, but also breathing this way will ensure
that you breathe correctly, filling your lungs from the bottom up.

BREATHING STEAM
Don’t you just love to sing in the shower? I know I do. When you’re singing in
the shower, it seems as if you have no limits as a vocalist. You feel like a
vocal god.

This feeling of vocal immortality is the result of three aspects:

1. There’s no one watching you, so you’ll generally feel less

nervous. If you aren’t dealing with your nerves, you will be
relaxed and you will sing more openly.

2. The walls of a shower will reflect the vocal vibrations, causing

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 an echo. This natural reverberation makes your voice
sound fuller and sweeter.
3. STEAM!

Breathing steam does many things for your voice. The warm mist
moisturizes and warms the vocal cords and helps to open up the lungs
and clogged sinuses. This loosens phlegm in the lungs, sinuses, and on
the vocal cords (removes that sludge). It also helps to reestablish the right oil
consistency on the cords. Congestion can affect your breath control, muffle
your sound, and worse, keep the vocal cords from vibrating properly.

Every time I travel and do a show, I fill up my hotel room with steam from
the shower anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour, just to get my cords
prepared for a peak performance. I also sleep with a warm/cool mist
humidifier running in my room every night to keep my voice, sinuses and
lungs well hydrated. (Remember the Venta Sonic VS 207?) Sometimes I
use cool mist and other times warm mist. You must figure out which
works best for you. This is a practice that I highly recommend that every
singer adopting for the rest of their lives.

Breathing steam is a great tool for anyone to use, especially before a gig.
However, you can’t always take a shower right before you go on stage. So
what do you do? You could purchase a little portable electric steamer. You
just plug it in, add a little water, and inhale.
I have two of them. One is a Homedics
Facial Revitalizer warm mist steamer. It
shoots out a stream of mist and is perfect
for a quick mist-inhaling session. This is
my main steamer. The other steamer that I
use is a KAZ Therasteam Personal Steam
Inhaler. It has a facemask that covers a
small, open metal bowl.

I use this steamer when I have sinus or

lung congestion, because I can mix water
with apple cider vinegar, which is
beneficial for breaking up congestion and
killing infection, or assorted essential oils
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(for opening the sinus passages) in the bowl. They both work great! Not only
does breathing steam help to open you up, but it also warms the vocal cords
and relaxes all the muscles involved with singing.

It’s just like taking a steam bath, (except for the voice) which relaxes your
whole body. (Note: I have had the steamer for some time. If you have
trouble finding them, I have found them on websites such as Ebay and
Amazon. Vic’s makes a steamer that is almost identical to the Kaz
steamer.)

Useful Tip: Quick Steaming

If you don’t want to carry around a portable steamer, you can breathe steam
from a hot water faucet. Cover your head with a towel and bend over the
faucet, draping the towel over the sides of the sink. This will trap the
majority of the steam inside the towel while you breathe. It is important to
hydrate the vocal cords as much as possible. (I am not too fond of this
method but it does wonders in a pinch. The only reason I am not crazy about
it is because you are also breathing chlorine and other substances that are
hard on the body. When I shower, I use a Wellness filter to remove chlorine
and other chemicals from the water. But when I need steam and there is no
other choice, I use this method.)

To keep your cords healthy, you should steam before and after a vocal
performance, as well as drinking plenty of water before, during and after
your performance. During a performance, your vocal cords get really
pumped up. They need a chance to return to normal after the
performance is over and steaming (along with a proper vocal cool down) will
help to aid in the process.

This is just like jogging; you must slow down to a walk instead of stopping
mid-stride. Immediately stopping from an intense jog will cause the
muscles to tighten and tense up. Like your muscles, your cords are
swollen, and need to slowly return to normal.

So how do you keep your voice hydrated during your performance? One
way is to always keep a bottle of drinking water with you onstage. Water
will still take approximately twenty minutes to reach your vocal cords. If

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only there was a way to hydrate the vocal cords instantly. Well, guess
what? There is! It’s called mist inhaling.

INHALING MIST
When I had strep throat, I decided to try using a popular over-the-counter sore
throat spray. I was spraying my throat when I accidentally breathed in at the
same time. Although I coughed, gagged, and wheezed, I finally experienced
some relief from my pain. By breathing in while spraying, I inhaled the mist
down my trachea, which coated and numbed my vocal cords. Although I
wouldn’t recommend inhaling a throat spray, it did give me an idea.

When I recovered from strep throat, I decided to try this with plain water. I
filled up a one-ounce mist bottle and mist inhaled during practice. I felt like I
could sing forever. Inhaling mist immediately lubricates the vocal cords by
direct contact. I use this practice every time I sing. If you want to do the same,
I suggest a bottle small enough to keep in your pocket. You can find one-
ounce misting bottle at almost any health & beauty store. I typically find them
in the travel accessories sections and beauty sections.

When first learning to mist-inhale, I suggest that you breathe in lightly. If you
don’t inhale lightly at first, you might choke. Don’t worry, you aren’t going to
drown, but you do need to get used to the feeling of having water applied to
your vocal cords. After a few tries, you can breathe in deeper to really moisten
the cords. I usually mist inhale about three times in a row in between songs.
So as a general guide, you should drink water regularly throughout your
performance, mist-inhale between songs, and if needed, take a little mist-
inhale during the guitar solo.

GARGLING WATER
Another effective method for hydrating the vocal cords is gargling with
water. Gargling vibrates and massages the throat muscles, much like
relaxing in a whirlpool. Gargling allows a small amount of water to trickle
down to the vocal cords, helping to moisten them. Gargling is such a
relaxing exercise for the voice that I use it as an exercise during my warm-
up and exercise routines and during singing. Only gargle with water at
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room temperature to avoid shocking the vocal cords.

Useful Tip: Humidify Your Bedroom

I thought this topic was important enough to mention again although we just
covered it a few pages ago. Make sure today that you begin using a
humidifier every night to keep the cords and sinuses moist. This will help
prevent the possibility of waking up with a dry, hoarse voice, congestion or
dry, bleeding sinuses. If you do experience a little bleeding of the nose, it
could be dehydration. This occurs a lot in wintertime. Bottom line: Do
everything humanly possible to keep the
cords hydrated and humidifying your
room is at the top of the list. Singers like
Mariah Carey and Celine Dion swear by
this method.

Again, my personal Humidifier is a Venta-

Sonic 207, (www.ventasonic.com) which
is a digital humidifier with both warm and
cool mist steam selection and a filter that
contains silver to kill bacteria. Whatever
humidifier you choose to use, please
make sure to keep it clean to prevent the
buildup of mold in the unit. You don’t
want the humidifier releasing spores of mold into the air for you to inhale,
unless you generally like being sick, haha.

Now do you understand why water is such an important part of every

vocalist’s life? Not only does water hydrate the voice, but it also keeps your
body healthy. Always do everything possible to keep your voice healthy.
Singing is demanding on the entire body. If a guitar player breaks a string, he
can replace it. If you don’t take care of your voice, you’ll eventually blow it out,
and you won’t find any throats on sale at your local music store. So if you
aren’t very fond of water, you had better learn to love it. There is no exception
to this rule.

Useful Tip: The Importance of Water

If you are interested in learning more about the importance that water plays in
the functioning of the body, you should read Your Body’s Many Cries for

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Water and You’re Not Sick, You’re Thirsty by F. Batmanghelidj, M.D.

Useful Tip: Vocal Massage via Sound and Water

This is an effective method for massaging the vocal cords via sound that I
learned from a throat specialist that can be accomplished with the assistance
of water. Purchase a three-fourths to an inch and a half in diameter piece of
flexible tubing, approximately two to three feet in length from a local hardware
store. This is like the tubing used for fish aquariums. Put one end of the tubing
in your mouth and the other end into a bucket of water. Begin humming into
the tube until the water resonates and/or bubbles from the sound. The tone
will carry down the tubing and into the water. The sound waves will
reverberate back up the tubing and down the trachea until the waves come,
once again, in contact with their source of origin—the vocal cords. If you are
experiencing a sore throat or the vocal cords are swollen from vocal abuse,
this technique will help to internally and lightly massage the vocal cords,
aiding in the relief of vocal stress.

Useful Tip: Diluting the Vocal Cords

If your voice is dry and you’ve got to hit the stage soon, then it’s time to dilute
the vocal cords. Starting approximately an hour before performing, you must
do the following: First, mix a cup of hot (not too hot) water with two
tablespoons of honey. Try sipping your honey tea during the first ten minutes.
This will warm and relax the pharynx and allow quicker absorption of water
into the throat lining. Next, you must drink at least thirty-two ounces of room
temperature water over the next hour. Yes, I know, you’re going to have to
pee a lot. Oh well, that’s the price you must pay. Run around on stage a lot
and you’ll sweat it out, so that you don’t have to run backstage every five
minutes to relieve yourself. Next, get a towel, and do a quick steam session
over a water faucet. Breathe steam for at least five to ten minutes in through
the nose and out through the mouth. You should be working on drinking your
thirty-two ounces as well. When you have finished steaming, you should still
have about forty minutes left until performing. I’m assuming you are going to
start warming up now. Forty minutes is way more than enough time for
warming up, with several minutes to spare. As soon as you start your warm
ups, start your mist inhaling regime; mist inhale in between your exercises
and every five minutes. Don’t forget to take drinking water with you on stage
(as well as your misting bottle). Now you’re ready for an awesome show!

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EIGHT
The Importance Of Pitch
One of the key elements to becoming a great singer is intonation.
Intonation is the ability to hear and sing in tune. If a singer cannot sing in
tune, your ears will suffer. Just watch the humorous but dangerous
beginning episodes of any season of American Idol. Many singers are out of
tune without realizing it. For some reason, singing off-key is a problem that
many singers overlook. Poor intonation could stem from something as simple
as not paying attention. If you don’t support the tone, your pitch will go flat.
If you incorrectly push too hard with your stomach muscles, forcing the air
pressure, the tone will sound forced, you’ll strain, and the pitch will go
sharp. This can be taxing on the vocal cords. But more importantly, poor
intonation could stem from poor listening habits or an untrained ear.

The best way to learn to sing in tune is by pitch matching. Pitch matching
is vocally matching notes to a fixed note instrument. This is an extremely
effective training method for singers who have trouble maintaining their pitch;
singers who wish to develop a better pitch sense for singing in key. For this
exercise, it is probably best to use an electronic keyboard. This is a far
better choice than a guitar or an actual piano. Guitar strings have a
tendency to go flat, and the piano might not be properly tuned. An
electronic keyboard will stay true to pitch.

To make sure that you are correctly matching the note, you should use
an electronic tuner. An electronic tuner is simply a small handheld device
that reads a pitch and tells whether the pitch is sharp or flat. You can
purchase one from your local music store ($20-$100).

I like digital tuners, such as the Sabine MetroTune MT-9000, that have a
visual digital needle for you to visually follow. That way you can focus on
keeping the needle dead center for perfect pitch. When the needle swings to
the left and you go flat, or when it goes to the right and you are sharp, focus
on bringing it back to the center. It is a challenging exercise, but give it a try
anyway.

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When you start this exercise, hit any note on the keyboard that is
comfortable for your vocal range, and then vocally try to sustain the same
note. As you sustain the note, look at the tuner and work on bringing your
pitch up to match that exact note.

Repeat the process several times for different pitches in your range. If
you have an intonation problem, you should make this exercise your
passion. Do it as many times a day as you can until you get the
pitches perfect. In order to follow the notes you are sustaining, you
should learn the names of the notes of the keyboard, although most
tuners will also indicate the name of the note on its screen.

Now let’s try this exercise together. Let’s begin by playing a note on the
keyboard, let’s say M iddle C, and turn on the tuner to check and see if the
keyboard is tuned. Next, play a note on the keyboard and vocally match
the same pitch with the tuner on. The tuner will show you how close
you are to the correct pitch. You’ll either need to pull back on breath
support if the note is sharp, or if the note is flat, add a little more support to
match the note and make the tuner read in tune. Matching pitch is also
an internally mental vocal cord adjustment. In time it will become
second nature to you.

Now let’s make it a bit more interesting. Hit any note on the keyboard,
visualize that note, and then vocally match it. Check the tuner to see how
close you were. If you weren’t perfectly in tune, do not release the note.
Adjust the pitch accordingly. Once you’ve matched the pitch, notice how it

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feels to sustain that perfectly tuned note. It should feel effortless.

THE PITCH WHEEL

Another tool for pitch perfection is the pitch wheel. This is the tool I used
to develop the Isolation Method, which is a method of vocal training
that I’ve developed and the foundation of this book. A pitch wheel is a
small round handheld instrument, much like a harmonica, which covers
one chromatic octave. Pitch wheels come in several different keys. If you
plan to purchase one, I suggest buying two different pitch wheels: one in the
key of C for males and a pitch wheel in the key of F for females. The pitch

wheel in the key of C covers an octave starting at middle C, or C4 up to

tenor high C, or C5. The pitch wheel in the key of F covers an octave
starting on F4 above middle C, up to F5, in the alto range.

The reason I suggest purchasing both is because I do not want to limit anyone
to any certain pitch. As you do the exercises in the third part of this book, I will
generally point you in a direction of which pitch wheel to use. You might find
that you are more comfortable singing in the bass range and might prefer a
pitch wheel in the key of F so that you can start below middle C. You might
also find that you’re more comfortable working in the upper register and might
want to use a pitch wheel in the key of C so that you can start on Tenor C.
A pitch wheel generally costs between $10 and $25. I suggest getting a

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quality pitch wheel like the Kratt Master Key Chromatic Pitch Pipe. I have
used other brands and they have all rusted and fell apart easily. It fits easily
into your pocket and doesn’t need batteries. It is the perfect instrument
for your vocal workout. I use a pitch wheel for my exercise program, so
I’d suggest purchasing one soon.

TUNING YOUR INSTRUMENT VIA PITCH

WHEEL
Yes, singers everywhere, you do have an instrument…your voice! You can
tune this instrument just like any other. Recently, a student of mine pointed
out an interesting concept. You can improve your intonation by humming
into the pitch wheel.

Blowing into a hole on the pitch wheel causes a small copper reed to
vibrate to the pitch that is stamped above that hole. If you hum into the
hole, the reed will vibrate just the same. The reed will always vibrate to the
true pitch. If you aren’t humming in tune with the same pitch, the
combination of pitches will sound sour. As you adjust the pitch of your
voice, the sound will eventually become sweet and resonant. When the
two pitches are out of tune, you will hear a series of vibrating sound
waves. As you approach perfect pitch, the waves will smooth out. When
you have matched the pitch of the reed, you have tuned your instrument
to the correct pitch. Be forewarned, your cords are more like guitar strings
than a pitch wheel, so you could still go sharp or flat.
(Pitch Wheel Humming Demonstration)

Singing in tune harmonizes with your own natural frequencies, which

creates more resonant sensations within your voice and body. Every
living thing vibrates, and is tuned to a particular frequency. In fact, your
body is a finely tuned instrument in its own right. Your body knows when
you are singing in tune. True pitch comes easier when you are relaxed,
and will have a deeper sounding resonation within your body.

As you learn to sing and sustain notes in tune, you’ll discover that each
individual note will have a slightly different feeling than any other note.
Your body will set these physical feelings to memory, and you will be
able to use these feelings as a guide to help keep you in tune.
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Introducing Farley’s Pocket Tones Electronic Pitch
Pipe

Since 1996, I have been an avid user of the pitch-wheel. In fact, as you’ll soon
learn, I have based my method of voice teaching (the Isolation Method) on
incorporating a pitch wheel into the art of vocal development. I am always
working on vocal technique and carry my pitch wheel with me wherever I go;
just in case I have an idea for an exercise in the car and want to experiment.

Although I still use a standard pitch wheel, I have found that after months of
use, manual pitch wheels sometimes tend to go flat on one or two notes
because of the extent of use. Why should this matter? Because perfecting
intonation (singing in key) is an extremely crucial part of developing correct
singing technique. You’d be surprised at how many singers sing both sharp
and flat during the course of a song. By doing an exercise as simple as
singing along to an individual pitch (then checking your pitch via tuner) you
can greatly improve your intonation.

Still, with the chance of flat pitch wheel reeds, I, to this day, still religiously use
my pitch wheel as opposed to carrying around an electronic tuner. They are
more convenient and less bulky than tuners; I generally just end up buying a
couple of pitch wheels per year. So when I was introduced to the idea of a
pocket version of an electronic tone generator, as an accessory much like my
pitch wheel, I became very intrigued with the idea. I have tried several tone
generators on the market, but, like I said, most are too bulky to slip into your
pocket and carry with me.

When I was introduced to Farley’s Pocket Tones, by my friend Ocea (creator

of Vocal Eze, www.travelwellness.com) I was very interested in trying them
for myself. For teaching purposes, I use pitch wheels in the key of C and the
key of F to accommodate different singer’s ranges. Luckily, Farley’s carries
the Pocket Tone in both of these keys. Ocea sent me a couple as a gift. I love
new gadgets, so I felt like a kid on Christmas waiting for my package to arrive.

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 (FARLEY’S POCKET TONES)

So what did I think? The Pocket Tone

is THE perfect tool for students of Raise
Your Voice, students in choir, students of
any vocal coach for that matter! It is the
smallest, most lightweight, and most
portable tone generator on the market; it
easily attaches to your key chain or you
can simply stick it in your pocket, or
better yet, you can wear it like a
necklace. (That’s what I do.)

It covers one chromatic octave in the key

of C (silver) and the key if F (black). Best
part of the Pocket Tone…It never goes
out of tune! And it is so simple to
operate. No on/off button; just simply press the key of the note you wish to
hear, then press it once again to turn it off. This simple device would have
been a blessing for me years ago when developing my Isolation Method on
long drives in my car…I wouldn’t have had to fumble around the pitch wheel
blowing in every hole until I found the note I was looking for. I could’ve placed
my finger on the first button on Farley’s Pocket tone and worked my way
around until I found my starting pitch. (That would have made a lot of drivers
happier, knowing I was keeping my eyes on the road instead of blowing on
the pitch pipe, haha.)
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Don’t get me wrong, I still love my pitch wheels and still use them for
teaching. I’ve just learned to incorporate both tools into my teaching methods
and use them interchangeably. But, when I am on the go, I now hang two
Pocket Tones around my neck like necklaces and work on exercises every
chance I get.

Useful Tip: Time to Listen to Yourself

Here’s another useful tip for developing intonation. You need to develop
the art of listening. Try recording yourself singing along with one of your
favorite songs. As you listen back, pay close attention to your pitch as
opposed to the actual singer. How does it sound? If it sounds sour and
doesn’t mix well with the original artist, keep practicing matching pitches.
Your goal is to make it to sound like two singers singing the same
melody line for a chorus effect or a perfectly tuned duet.

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108
NINE
Listening On The Inside (The Inner Voice)
It can be a real battle to hear yourself while you are singing. If you have to
compete with a band or members of a chorus, this could prove to be
difficult. If you are struggling to hear yourself, you might be singing louder
than you should. Singing too loudly (for the sake of being heard) by
forcing the sound is damaging to your voice. It is difficult enough for a
singer to distinguish how he or she truly sounds without the added noise.
Just try recording yourself sometime, if you haven’t already. I bet that you’ll
be surprised to find out that you sound quite a bit different than you
actually thought you did.

As you sing, the sound is carried outward, away from your body. Your
ears cannot pick up on the true quality of your own voice. One way to
hear your true sound is to cup your ear and pull it down towards your
mouth. Just wrap your fingers around the back of the ear, and slightly pull
your ear forward, toward your mouth. This is a trick that I picked up on
my own years ago, as a budding young vocalist trying to compete with
the overdriven sound of my rock band, just so I could hear myself. They
had a loud P.A. system, but poor monitors.

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Depending upon the loudness of your voice and your hand positioning,
the volume might be a bit too loud for your ears. Play around with the
hand positioning until the sound is comfortable. The closer you pull your
ear towards your mouth, the greater amplified the sound. This little trick
allows your ears to pick up on the vibrations as they come out of you.

Cupping your ears can benefit you in several ways:

1. This can help to correct your pitch.

2. It is a lot easier to sing in tune when you can hear
yourself.
3. When you hear mistakes, you can correct them.
4. This will show you how truly powerful your voice can
be.
5. This will let you know when to back off your volume.
6. This will help you to avoid straining.

7. It’s useful when playing live and you are having

trouble hearing yourself.
8. You can cup one ear with one hand while holding
your microphone in your other hand.
9. Nobody will notice what you are doing.

As I said before, in time you’ll learn to distinguish the true sound of your
voice. Not only will you be able to physically feel and hear the tone, but
you will be mentally able to hear and feel the tone as well. Cupping your
ears can be your best friend and teacher, as well as your worst critic. You’ll
discover all of the beautiful qualities of your voice as well as all of your flaws;
but this will only help you to correct them. Master this invaluable little trick
and make it a permanent part of your singing career.

Useful Tip: In-Ear Monitors

Tony Harnell offers another solution: “I recommend that all professional
singers try using in-ear monitors. They are hard to get used to, but if you
take the time to work with the engineer and get a good mix of the band,
it will be well worth it. When you go from gig to gig, the monitors change all
110
the time and the rooms are always different. By using in-ears, you’ll get the
same sound no matter what. In hard rock, it can be very loud onstage. Most
guitarists won’t turn down, so you need to have control over your own
volume.”

Introducing The Vocal Acoustic Monitor

If in-ears are not an option, there is an amazing product that I highly endorse
and recommend (above and beyond cupping your ears) that is called the
Vocal Acoustic Monitor. Developed by musician and plastics engineer, Byron
Cancelmo, the Vocal Acoustic Monitor, (www.vamacoustics.com) is quite
possibly the most innovative development to come along in the last fifteen

111
years. By using this affordable product during rehearsal and live, you have the
double option of saving your hearing AND your voice from blowout.

This product makes singing lead or backing vocals easier. The VAM works on
the physics of sound travel. This could be explained, but who wants to go
back to high school anyway? To put it simply, the design of the VAM allows
sound to travel naturally from one's mouth to their ear. The beauty of this is
that it frees the hands from cupping your ear. It easily attaches to a
microphone.

Or, it can be used as a handheld device, which is useful for singing in choir.
The VAM also takes a great percentage of strain off a singer's throat just by
amplifying the voice to their ear, thus not having to sing louder to hear their
voice over the music being played behind them. Here is a testimony from one
of the first professional singers allowed to test the VAM-

“I have been an entertainer for close to thirty years, eighteen of them as a

singer. I would spend my voice in a night to the point that I couldn't muster a
sound for two days following. With the VAM, I can and do sing as many as
five nights straight without a tenth of the strain put on my voice as before.

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I also suffered a horrific injury to my right ear in a car accident back in
November of 2006. I had a real pitch problem that I seriously thought would
put an end to my singing career. The VAM amplifies my voice, not only so I
can hear myself over the band, but so I can once again find the pitch. I have
also gotten a lot more compliments on my voice since I started using the
VAM. The VAM has truly saved my career.”

Brad Kahn (lead singer of 851jam)

This is truly the "physics of sound". You will be amazed at how much this
increases your ability to hear your own true voice when practicing,
performing with a choir or even onstage with your band. I use this in my
studio with all of my students, as a tool for the Raise Your Voice method and
I promote this product to all singers I am in contact with, both amateur and
professional. The versatility of its adaptation from a handheld to a mounted
unit for your microphone or for hands-free monitoring or wireless microphone
makes it perfect for any rehearsal or live situation. It comes in a variety of
colors and several styles.

I love this product so much that I offered to create a free voice lesson to
include in their package. “Jumpstart Your Voice” is a condensed version of
my techniques that is included with every VAM. I also created a 15-minute
vocal warm up that can only be downloaded by VAM owners. You can learn
more about the VAM at www.vamacoustics.com or you can purchase the
VAM through our store at www.thevoiceconnection.com.

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Useful Tip: Know the Sensation of the Vibration of
Your Material
This tip should actually be considered mandatory. NEVER go on stage
without knowing your material. The more you sing the material the more you’ll
discover how every note, word, and phrase has a certain physical sensation
within your body. So, if you can learn to tune into the vibration of each note
and word of every song you perform, you’ll never have to be at a loss when
you can’t hear yourself, because you can rely on the feeling of vibration in
your voice and body.

I’ve discovered that the more I perform a song, the easier this became for me
to do. I also cheated at times, feeling the sensation of the bass line vibrate
within me, helped as a vocal guide as well. But overall, when I really knew the
song, it didn’t matter if I could hear myself or not because I mentally knew
where I was heading. A simple example would be that one of the bands I
played in in my younger years used to do ‘You Give Love A Bad Name’ by
Bob Jovi and ‘Smooth Up in Ya’ by Bulletboys. Both songs started with an
acapella vocal line and I NEVER needed a strum of the guitar to figure out
which key to start those songs in. I just developed that muscle memory and
locked into the vibration of that particular song memory and utilized that
technique whenever the monitor situation was poor.

Useful Tip: Are My Ears Clogged?

If you think you are having problems hearing due to ear blockage, you might
want to go visit your ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat doctor). I’ve had to have my ENT
removed a hard piece of earwax before and it definitely helped. Other things I
have personally done include pouring a little peroxide in my ear and allowing it
to fizz for about 5 minutes. I do this lying on the ground with my head sideways
to keep in the peroxide. Once I am done, I tilt my head over the sink to drain,
and then repeat for the other side. I’ve also used OTC products such as
Debrox. But my favorite thing to do is Ear Candling, which pulls out the earwax.
Now, these are all suggestions that have worked for me. Each one has its pros
and cons. Talk to your ENT and you decide.

So now you know a little more about technique, it’s time to discuss a bit about
vocal style in the next chapter.

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TEN
Developing Style
The best way to develop style is by singing along with other singers. You’ll
benefit by listening to vocalists that sing the songs you love. Choose the
singers that inspire you. Buy their CDs and learn to sing every song.
Analyze your favorite singer’s voice. Work on perfecting the part of their
technique that you admire, whether it is their vibrato, lyrical phrasing, or
emotions they evoke through the sound of their voice.

However, do not ever try to completely copy a singer. A singer’s distinct

sound quality is due to the physical makeup of that individual’s voice.
Trying to mimic your favorite singer is virtually impossible, and possibly
harmful. Forcing your voice to sound a certain way can cause you to
strain. You want to emulate a singer’s taste, not his or her exact sound.
Learn from your favorite singers then build on your own true style. Have
confidence in your own voice and your own style. (There is an art form to
mimicking singer’s voices, but that is the subject of another book.)

I once knew a guy who tried so hard to perfectly emulate the sound of
Sebastian Bach (original singer of Skid Row) that he would constantly
lose his voice. Sebastian is an amazing vocalist. So not only was my friend
trying to emulate an amazing voice, he was dealing with a singer who also
possessed great technique. His vocal makeup wasn’t even close to
Sebastian’s voice. His outlook was, “If he can sound that way, so can I.” The
last I had heard, he wasn’t singing anymore due to vocal problems.

The only exceptions to this rule are singers in tribute bands. Tribute bands
are cover bands that emulate a specific band. They try to copy the band
as much as possible, from the clothes they wear, to the instruments they
play, to perfecting the band’s sound. In this case you are intentionally
trying to sound like that singer. Trying to sound like a particular singer
isn’t always a good idea.

As I said earlier, this can be harmful to your voice. Lead singers of tribute
bands usually already have a physical vocal makeup very similar to the
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singers they are emulating. If you naturally sound a lot like a particular
singer, this might be a job opportunity for you. In fact, there are several
professional bands that have continued on with new lead singers that
sound very similar to the original singer. Journey is a band that has
successfully continued on for many years with singer Steve Augeri. Another
singer that seemed to fit the bill for several years was Judas Priest vocalist
Tim Owens. Although both singers have gone on to other successful
projects, I do not think that either band would have had continued success
without finding these singers who were able to fill the requirements needed
to handle Steve Perry’s and Rob Halford’s shoes.

Useful Tip: Finding Your Niche

I used to love to sing songs by the 80’s rock group Journey, but as hard
as I tried, I couldn’t sound anything like Steve Perry. I wanted to sound
like Perry more than anything, but it just wasn’t going to happen. I finally
found my niche the first time I sang “Immigrant Song” by Led Zeppelin.
Finally, everything seemed to fit and vocally flow. For me, stylistically,
that’s who I am. I’m not saying that I sound like Robert Plant, because I
don’t. But, that was the first rock song that gave me freedom and allowed
my voice to open up. I could sing “Immigrant Song” much easier than I
could ever sing “Separate Ways”, even though “Immigrant Song” was
higher in pitch. Honestly, it wasn’t about the pitch; it was about the
tonality. The way in which Plant tonally and stylistically sang that song is
the tonality and style that fits me best as a vocalist. You’ll know when
you find a song that fits you because it will physically and mentally feel
right. Keep singing and you’ll eventually find your niche.

Every famous singer has copied another singer in one way or another.
How did they learn to sing? They learned by singing along with other
people’s songs. Instead of parroting their idols, they took bits and pieces
of their favorite vocalists’ vocal tricks and put them into their own little bag
of vocal tricks. Then they applied what they’d learned to their own style. If
you ever get a chance to meet one of your favorite singers, ask them who
influenced them vocally and see if you can hear any similarities in their
voices.

My favorite singers are too numerous to mention. If I were to write all of

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their names down, it would fill this entire chapter. (Jim Gillette, Tony
Harnell, Miljenko Matijevic, Eric Martin, Terry Ilous, Sahaj Ticotin, Rob
Thomas, Ray West, Prince, Mark Slaughter, Sting, Marq Torien, Seal, Joe
Elliot, Ray Gillen, Lorena Mckennitt, Matthew Ward, Chris Dawson, Ian
Thornley, Chris Cornell, Jeff Buckley, Erik Rogers, Josey Scott, David
Draiman, Geoff Tate, Simon Lebon, Tyler Connely, Steve Augeri, Rob
Halford, Michael Bolton, Myles Kennedy, Alanis Morissette, Amy Lee,
Brandon Boyd, Robert Plant, Melvin Riley, Brian Johnson, John Farnham,
Lajon Witherspoon, Pat Monahan, Chester Bennington, John Secada,
Steven Tyler, Jon Bon Jovi, Richard Marx, Elvis Presley, Brent Smith, Phil
Taylor, Chitral Somapala, Magali Luyten, Vince Gill, Shaun Morgan, Peter
Cetera, Willie Nelson, Janis Joplin, Paul Rodgers, Lita Ford, Robert
Fleischman, James Labrie, Lenny Wolf, Philip Bailey and Steve Perry to
name a few.)

I have been influenced in some way by just about everybody I’ve ever
heard, whether it was a certain tone in a singer’s voice that moved me or
something in a singer’s voice that I didn’t particularly like. In that case I
would make sure to try not to repeat the same mistakes in my own
singing. I have tried to learn from every singer I have ever heard. In
some way or another, I combine a little bit of each of my favorite
singer’s style with my own style. So don’t be afraid to sing along with
your favorite singers. It will help you to create your own identity.

Useful Tip: Be Open to Other Singers/Styles

While working on developing your own style, don’t limit yourself to just singing
songs by your favorite artists only. Try broadening your horizons by listening
to other artists and styles. I recently bought CDs by Edguy, Train, Primal
Fear, Seal, Clay Aiken and Josh Groban. Although bands like Edguy and
Primal Fear are styles that I am very familiar with, it was new material for me
to sing in a familiar style. But to broaden my horizons, I knew it was better to
step outside of the box. Listening to Seal helped me to focus on a smoky,
calm and controlled-type tone. Listen up kids, just because a singer sings in a
range that seems easier for you, doesn’t mean it is ANY easier to sing. Seal is
AWESOME and a tough singer to match.

It shouldn’t just be about extending your range higher or lower, it should be

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about the quality of the tone, and Seal has it down. Listening to Clay Aiken
enabled me to work on a pure, open mid-range, mixed voice tone. Listening to
Pat Monahan of Train showed me new tonal characteristics and vocal
rhythms that I might not have ever thought to apply to singing. Listening to
Josh Groban took me completely out of my element. What a voice! I LOVE
listening to new singers. You can apply qualities from other styles to ANY
STYLE you wish to sing! Open your mind!

Useful Tip: Don’t Forget the Low Notes!

If your goal is to sing songs above your range, don’t forget the low notes!
You’ve got to work out your ENTIRE range. So if you are a rock singer and
you’ve only been singing along with bands like Shinedown, Journey, RA or
Alter Bridge for the last three months, try adding songs from bands with lower
range singers, like Three Doors Down, Tool, Godsmack, John Mayer or No
Address. Try to find a low range singer that is just as challenging for you as
the high-end singers. Look for notes BELOW your range. Your goal should be
to extend your range in both directions!

Useful Tip: What Would My Favorite Singer Do?

I want you to imagine that one of your favorite singers has magically switched
places with you and is now trapped inside of your body, like in the movie
Freaky Friday. If your favorite singer is Amy Lee from Evanescence, or Shaun
Morgan from Seether, I want you to ask yourself this question: “How would
Amy or Shaun suddenly approach singing with your body and vocal cords
without forcing himself to sound like he or she did in their own body?” Now try
singing a few of that artist’s songs. You see, singing isn’t just about what God
has given you; it’s about your perception of voice. I’m sure that many of the
professional singers that you love would still have done well with a different set
of vocal cords because they would have used their perception of voice to mold
the voice they wanted. One last quick tip-

Useful Tip: Mind Singing

Whenever I want a jumpstart on singing a particular song, I listen over and over
and over again to that song and mentally visualize singing it in exact perfection
right along with the lead singer until I know the song backwards and forwards

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and it feels as if I am physically singing the song silently. When it comes time
for an actual rehearsal, I am ten times more prepared and capable of doing
the song gracefully. Give it a try. Mental singing is virtual singing, which
triggers muscular responses within the body.

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120
PART TWO
Vocal Health
Keeping the voice in perfect health is an all day, every day job. Daily
exercise, proper breath technique, and drinking plenty of water are all
important parts of vocal health, but there are many other aspects involved
as well. You need to live your life as a singer. No matter what your
profession, you are a singer above all else. Keep this in mind the next time
you decide to shout at a ball game, smoke, constantly clear your throat,
or do any other voice-hampering compromise.

We live in a society of excess. Whatever you excessively put into your

body affects your voice. Maintaining a healthy voice comes with
compromise. Alcohol, tobacco, and junk food negatively affect your voice,
while fresh fruits, vegetables, vitamins and minerals and water help to
create a healthy environment within the body. I remember one of my
favorite high school teachers use to say “garbage in equals garbage out”.
This rings true to this day. You are an accumulation of all that you do,
from what you eat, to how you feel, to every decision you make mentally,
physically and spiritually. This is the perfect opportunity to take a look at
your life and decide what’s next.

In this section, I decided to list many products that I endorse and

personally use on a daily basis. Please note that this is NOT out of
personal gain. I TRULY endorse the products I mention and wanted to
share with you in this second edition, the products that have helped me to
maintain vocal health. These are just some of the products that I have
found that have personally helped me. I still urge you to do some
research and decide for yourself whether or not my suggestions are right
for you. I would not suggest anything that I did not believe in. This list is
just the tip of the iceberg.

The following sections delve into different aspects of vocal health, including
the misuse of everyday speaking and how this can affect the singing
voice, dealing with the mental side of singing and how to overcome a
negative attitude, physical ailments of the body and how to deal with

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them, substances that have been proven harmful to the voice, and lists
of vitamins, minerals, nutrients and herbs that help to promote a strong
and healthy vocal mechanism, which are beneficial to maintaining a
singer’s health.

DISCLAIMER: The following sections are not intended to prescribe,

treat, prevent or diagnose any illness. Consult your physician before
taking any of the following products, vitamins, minerals, or herbs.

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ELEVEN
The Speaking Voice
Do you wish to have a long successful vocal career? Then correct your
speaking voice by eliminating poor vocal habits. If you wish to incorporate
any of the following vocal habits into your singing, do so with care. You
know your voice and know what you are capable of doing. Continual use
of any of these vocal habits could produce vocal nodules. Vocal nodules
are little calluses that grow on the vocal cords due to abuse of the voice.
Although there is a very good chance that a node can be reversed and
disappear with vocal rehabilitation, usually they can only be removed by
surgery.

The speaking and singing voice are one and the same. The way you speak
affects the way you sing. Many singers don’t take the time to protect and
care for their instrument. You must treat your voice with respect. If a
guitarist had to carry their instrument around with them all day, they
would be very cautious. They would keep their instrument in a case to
ensure that it is kept out of harm’s way. The difference between a
guitarist and a singer is guitarists view themselves as musicians and treat
their instrument with respect, whereas most singers don’t respect the fact
that their voice IS their instrument. Few singers give their voice the care
and respect that it deserves. Since you can’t stick your voice in a case, you
need to find other means of protecting it.

First, you must start viewing yourself as a singer, and finally realize that
your voice is your instrument! You must learn how to protect and care for
your voice. One way to protect your singing voice is to evaluate your
speaking voice. It is possible that you are abusing your speaking voice
during everyday conversation. The problem with poor speaking habits is
that the strain of everyday speaking can affect your singing voice much
worse than the actual act of singing. To evaluate your own voice, you must
familiarize yourself with several different types speaking habits. The
following is a list of abusive vocal patterns that should be corrected and
avoided.

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VOICE TYPES
People drop the tone of their voice a few notes lower than is necessary,
producing too low a pitch for their voice. The tone sounds big and has a
forced feeling. I know many male singers who feel that this big masculine tone is
what makes you a man. Guys, please, learn to speak with your real voice, even if it is
lighter and higher. I promise that it doesn’t make you any less of a man. If you
adopt this vocal pattern, you will only limit the range of your voice.
(Low Voice Demonstration)

Some people raise their pitch higher than necessary, producing too high a
pitch for their voice. This is usually an attempt to sound more delicate and
feminine. This only thins out the quality of the speaking voice. I’ve heard
both male and female singers speak like this and it reminds me of a child’s
voice. I’m no psychiatrist, but I feel that the individual is hanging on to
childhood for some reason, whether for attention or the fear of growing up.
Hey, who can blame them, I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up
yet. Maybe I’ll become an adult;) If you feel that this voice type pertains to
you, then figure out and face the problems that are keeping you locked
inside of a child’s tonality. (High Voice Demonstration)

I’ve also noticed that some people tend to speak with a breathy voice, or as
I’ve heard it called, the sexy voice. Typically, a breathy sound is associated
with a sexy tone; the breathy voice presents a certain aura of sexuality.
Think of Marilyn Monroe. The sexy voice can also be accompanied with a
vocal fry-type sound. This is the sound your voice makes when you first
wake up in the morning and it sounds throaty or groggy. Adding breath or
vocal fry to your speaking voice will dry out and irritate the vocal cords. Just
the opposite of a breathy tone is a tone with little breath support. This occurs
when you hold your breath. The tone can sound pinched, almost grunt-like,
and can be as irritating on the vocal cords by using too little breath. Without
enough breath for speech, the vocal cords will have to try to compensate for
insufficient breath and may become swollen from the irritation. (Breathy
Voice/Vocal Fry Demonstration)

Useful Tip: Don’t Hold Your Breath!

Start paying attention to your breathing habits during speech. Are you
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holding your breath like grunting? Don’t hold your breath or lock your throat
when you breathe. Are you visually breathing with your stomach? Make sure
you are because reverting back to chest breathing will create tension in the
voice. Don’t hold your stomach in out of fear that someone will see your
stomach sticking out. Don’t raise your shoulders or breathe with your upper
chest when you speak. Are you using too much air? You must focus on
moderation and breath consistency. Remember, the voice produces
energy. Breath is a sign of energy loss. Breath release should be very
natural. Take a sufficient breath and say what you have to say. You don’t
have to have a full breath to say three words and you don’t have to try to fit
thirty words into one breath. Become a moderately paced speaker:
Approximate each breath for each sentence.

A monotone voice is one that retains the same pitch, whether low or high,
while speaking. Constantly speaking on the same pitch is unhealthy and
straining on the vocal cords. Monotone speaking weakens the elasticity of
the cords and inhibits your vocal cords from properly stretching and
zipping. To understand what this sounds like, repeat the previous three
sentences while maintaining the same pitch. A monotone voice is so dull
and unpleasant. This always reminded me of one of my math teachers in
middle school. No wonder I kept falling asleep in class!
(Monotone Voice Demonstration)

The sound of a raspy or husky voice resembles a grunting sound with a lot
of air behind it. This is harsh on the vocal cords because by tightening the
cords to produce this tone, you are using too much air, which has a
drying effect on your voice and could result in vocal cord swelling. As you
lightly grunt, repeat the last few sentences. The sound is breathy, tight,
and pinched in the throat. Rod Stewart has a naturally husky voice and it
is apparent when he speaks and sings.
(Raspy/Husky Voice Demonstration)

Personally, when people tell me that they are naturally husky, I don’t buy
it. I don’t believe that anyone is naturally raspy or husky. Unless there is
a vocal deformation or problem, it’s probably just the result of poor
speaking habits.

A more intense throaty version of this vocal type produces a gravelly voice.

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The sound produced by this vocal type is similar to a growl or a low-
pitched version of screaming, which has been made popular by new
metal bands like Lamb of God and Shadows Fall. It sounds throaty and
can be damaging to your vocal cords, forcing excessive air pressure past
the vocal cords. However, as far as singing this way, there is an art form
to this type of singing and it can be done successfully through proper
voice placement and correct tightening of the stomach. A perfect example
of this as applied to the speaking voice is Marge Simpson.
(Gravelly Voice Demonstration)

Screaming incorporates the previous vocal types to the extreme. Many

heavy metal singers incorporate screaming into their style of singing.
Screaming is an art form and can be done correctly. Some veteran heavy
metal singers are still performing; and some had short-lived careers due to
the pressures of singing. One exception that comes to mind is Brian
Johnson, lead singer of AC/DC. His singing style incorporates the three
previous vocal types, and when he speaks, his voice is raspy. The reason
his voice is raspy is because he is speaking from his lower throat. He is
allowing the sound to drop down into the throat, which causes the cords to
rub together like a vocal fry. Speaking from the lower throat is vocal suicide,
but by some miracle, he has been able to continue this vocal approach for
years and is still going strong to an extent. David Draiman of Disturbed
has an incredible voice. He can growl, scream, and is still able to sing as
smooth as silk. He continues to tour and sing in this manner with no
trouble at all; but when he talks his voice is very clean.
(Screaming Demonstrations)

If you want to sing this way you must make absolutely sure that you don’t
tighten your throat. If you do, you’ll only harm your voice. The only way to
scream or sing throaty is to sing with a very open throat. You’ve got to
keep the throaty sound off of the vocal cords and focused up into the soft
palate. If you have to tighten your throat, like grunting, then you are doing
it wrong. You’ve got to keep the back of the throat open wide, like yawning.
There is definitely a technique to screaming, or how else could Chester
Bennington of Linkin Park play 320+ shows in one year.

A nasal voice is produced when you project too much of the sound up
into your nose instead of out through your mouth. Pinch your nose shut

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and repeat the last sentence. Notice how the sound becomes nasal, with
very little resonance. Fran Drescher, from the sitcom The Nanny, speaks
very nasally but it has become her trademark sound. Mark Slaughter has an
incredible voice and sings very nasal, but the nasality works very well in
his style of singing. There is nothing wrong with a slight nasality when you
speak, but too much is ear pollution. (Nasal Voice Demonstration)

A whiny voice incorporates nasality with higher, thinner pitches (a childlike

voice). As you speak with a whine you will have a tendency to change
and raise the pitch of your voice on individual words. This results in a lack
of clarity and focus. (Whiney Voice Demonstration)

DYNAMICS
Dynamics affect your voice as well. Dynamics (as previously explained)
refer to how soft or loud the volume of your voice is. Speaking too loudly
will strain your vocal cords. Now if you are supporting correctly, you can
actually be as loud as you want, like an Italian friend of mine from high
school, Gino Milani. You can hear him three blocks away, but he supports
the sound. (Healthy Loud Demonstration)

The trouble starts when that loud sound stems from shouting. If you are
speaking too loudly, you are most likely incorrectly tightening the
stomach muscles, thus applying too much air pressure against the vocal
cords. Screaming is generally produced in the same manner. I’m not
talking about rock or metal screaming, but rather when you’re screaming at
the top of your lungs at a ball game and the umpire called your key hitter out
when he was safe. (Unhealthy Shouting Demonstration)

Abusing your voice in this manner could result in a sore throat or vocal
nodules. You might speak this way in a crowd to be heard. To increase
volume, you should rely more on resonance expansion as opposed to
tightening the stomach for volume. The sole purpose of the stomach
muscles as applied to singing is breath support, not volume support.

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Useful Tip: Take It Outside
If you are in a crowd and need to talk, and if the conversation is that
important, go somewhere quiet or take it outside where you can easily
be heard. Don’t speak above the noise and don’t speak below the noise.
Go where you can hear so you can speak into the noise and be heard at
a comfortable level. I know a lot of singers who have lost their voices from
talking with their fans in large crowds.

On the other hand you may be speaking too softly. People will have trouble
understanding or hearing you. The softer you speak, the closer you are
to approaching a whisper. A whisper is the quietest, breathiest sound you
can produce. Whispering is fine in moderation, but the continual
allowance of extra breath flow past the vocal cords only dries out the
throat. I’ve also known a lot of singers who, when their voice was in bad
shape, would whisper, “I got to keep it down to save my voice.” Boy, if they
truly knew the damage they were doing… In this situation, you must focus
on breath support as well as resonance expansion for a fuller sound.
(Speaking Too Softly and Whisper Demonstrations)

I recently had a young girl come to me because she was in charge of

a marching band and needed more volume. The band complained
because they couldn’t hear her. She was speaking so softly that I had
to have her speak into my ear at the beginning of her vocal training.
She wasn’t supporting her voice correctly and was using too much
breath, like whispering. I really think she was at first afraid of her
voice and she didn’t realize that she could actually direct the band
with a healthier sound by learning to project the sound instead of
being quiet and whispering. Once she figured out that she didn’t
have to actually shout or scream she gained confidence and the
voice to match. With an hour of training, I was able to bring her out of
her shell.

ENUNCIATION
Proper enunciation is very important in everyday conversation. Mumbling
or slurring your words creates problems in communication. (Many songs
are inaudible because of slurring: Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze”, Dobey
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Grey’s “Give Me the Beat”, and the Kingsman’s “Louie, Louie”. It’s irritating
not to be able to understand the lyrics of a song. E-NUN-CI-A-TION is the
key, people. I have several students who tend to mumble their words when
they sing, so I’ll make them open and close their mouth as wide as possible
as they sing each vowel and consonant. After a few songs of over-
enunciation, the problem is usually overcome. Just try listening to
Boomhauer on the sitcom King of the Hill and you’ll know what I am talking
about.
(Mumbling/Slurring Demonstration)

Stuttering affects many people. There are books on proper enunciation

that might help, or you may wish to contact a speech therapist. You might
decide to contact a voice specialist for any of the above vocal habits.
(Stuttering Demonstration)

TO SHOUT OR WHISPER?
This is an important subject, so although I am about to repeat myself
(as you have realized I love to do throughout this book), I feel it is
important to cover this subject further. Shouting, if not supported and
done incorrectly, adds an undue amount of breath pressure on the vocal
cords. Massive bursts of air are as bad as coughing. Shouting for an
extended period of time will result in the loss of your voice. It could take
several days before your voice returns to normal. Shouting is vocal suicide
for a singer! Yes, I know of ways to sing or speak loud, but it is not
shouting.

I used to like listening to my Italian friend, Gino, when he was with his
brothers. Their voices were very big and carry so loud that I am sure that all
of their neighbors could hear them. But the fact is they are not shouting;
they are supporting a huge tone with little effort. Generally, people shouting
do not pay any attention to proper vocal technique and end up having vocal
trouble. I’ve actually thrown technique out the window many times at events
or when I was angry; which was NOT the wise thing to do.

On the opposite end of the scale is whispering. Most people think that
whispering is a way to give your voice a break. This is wrong! If you have a

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sore throat, the best way to rest your voice is not to speak. Whispering can
be just as damaging as if you were shouting. A whisper is a quiet shout,
which is also vocal suicide.

Useful Tip: Has Clearing Your Voice Become a

Habit?
Hey, it happens. I find myself clearing my voice when I’m a little dry and if I
don’t stop myself I will continue to do it until I wear my voice down. I
remember about ten years ago when I worked construction and I was
working with this guy named Greg. Greg cleared his throat just about every
other sentence. He told me he thought it was a nervous habit and he had
done it for years but had quit noticing he was doing it. I made him become
consciously aware of his habit and stayed on him for several weeks until I
broke him of clearing his voice. Within a few months he said it felt like he had
a new voice. So if you are suffering from loss of vocal power and you feel like
your speaking voice has been suffering, pay attention to what you are doing
with your voice. It might be something as simple as clearing your throat,
which with determination, can be corrected.

USE YOUR TRUE VOICE!

The best speaking voice to use is your own natural voice. Aim for a clear
resonant voice focused in the mask. What is the mask? The mask is a term
used hundreds of years ago, when actors would wear masks during a
performance. In order to be heard and for the sound to carry, the singer would
have to focus the sound forward, toward the nose and cheeks. If you keep a
buzzing sensation in the teeth, sinuses and cheeks and place the sound of
your voice up into the palate, you’ll produce a clear, full, ringing tone. Sahaj
Ticotin of RA has a clear, resonant voice when he sings. He speaks very
clearly as well, so I’m sure he’ll have a long vocal career.

Considering that your singing and speaking voice are the same, you
should also apply the vocal techniques from this book to your speaking
voice as well. So, sing as you speak as you sing. In other words, make
sure your support and placement are always intact. The core of resonance
and resonance expansion visualizations should always be applied. You

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want to feel and hear the affects of resonance in your voice and body.

Useful Tip: Taste the Sound

Think about what it tastes like to have a mouth full of cotton candy.
When you sing, you want the taste of your voice to fill your mouth with
resonance, just like a mouth full of cotton candy. Filling the mouth with
resonance and tasting the sound is one of the keys to effortless singing!

I know that it’s difficult to continue visualizations throughout the day, but
you should maintain an awareness of what is physically going on with
your voice. Once this all becomes second nature, you won’t need to visualize
as much. When you perform, you wouldn’t sing the entire song in a
monotone sound, so why would you speak this way? My friends call me
the walking vocal exercise, because when I talk, I vary the pitch of my voice
from low to high.

Varying the pitch of your voice throughout the day continually stretches
and zips the vocal cords to different positions. This strengthens the voice
and works your vocal range, which keeps the voice healthy by increasing
lubrication to the vocal cords. If you constantly speak at the same pitch,
you’ll vocally tire and strain the vocal cords. If the pitch is varied, a signal
is sent to the brain, sending notification that the cords are stretching to
different positions and require more lubrication. As you perform, you may
add any of these voice types for the purpose of variance in your singing
style. These are all what I call vocal inflections, or sounds placed on top of
a healthy vocal tone. However, you would not continue to sing the entire
song with any one of these vocal inflections, (unless of course you have
mastered the art of applying that particular vocal inflection in a safe
manner.) You should above all, aim for a resonant, clean tone when you
sing. You want to aim for the same clean, vibrant tone when you speak as
well.

Useful Tip: The Laughing Voice

How do I know if I’m using the correct tone? I think about my laughing voice.
When you laugh, your voice floats up directly into the soft palate and you can
feel it forward towards the front of your face in little resonant bursts, (unless, of
course, you have some weird laugh like a horse, hyena, or pig.) You should

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feel the sound in the area known as the mask; feel the teeth, cheeks, and
nose buzz, and taste the sound as well. My wife says that I laugh like a
penguin, but the sound is very forward and resonant. When I feel my voice
slipping into my throat, I focus on applying my laughing voice. No breathiness
please!

To discover your true speaking voice, record yourself as you read out
loud. As you listen back to the recording, check your vocal habits. Is the
pitch too low, too high, or monotone? Is the sound of your voice whiny or
nasal? Is it throaty or breathy? Does it sound forward or like it is stuck in the
back of your throat? When you realize and understand your own speaking
patterns, you can correct your voice by eliminating poor speaking habits.
It could take several weeks before your voice will adjust to these newly
adopted vocal patterns. After you feel you have adjusted your speaking
voice, repeat the recording process. As you record yourself, it is best not
to think about vocal correction. Just read aloud and let your voice guide
itself. By doing this, you will know what vocal habits have been eliminated
and which problems still need corrected. If you are going to be a great
singer, then you must take care of your speaking voice. This is the only
physical instrument that you’ll ever possess. Taking care of your speaking
voice can add years to your singing career!

Useful Tip: The Authority on the Speaking Voice!

Do you want to learn more about how to correctly use and find your true
speaking voice? World-renowned voice pathologist, Dr. Morton Cooper, is the
leading expert on the subject. He is the ONLY doctor ever proven to naturally
cure spasmodic dysphonia (strangled voice) and has helped singers and
speakers to reverse vocal nodules without surgery! He is the author of
Change Your Voice Change Your Life, Winning with Your Voice, and Stop
Committing Vocal Suicide. Developing your correct speaking voice should be
the number one priority for any serious vocalist. Dr. Morton Cooper is the right
choice!

Useful Tip: Other Speaking Resources

Here are a few other resources for exercising the speaking voice: Thomas
Appell’s The Secrets to Successful Speaking is a free bonus CD that is

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included with his book, Can You Sing a High C Without Straining? This CD
presents exercises and tips for developing your speaking voice. Roger Love’s
Vocal Power is a six CD set that presents the listener with explanations and
corrections for poor speaking habits. Roger has also included a bonus DVD
with the Vocal Power set. Now let’s hear what my friend Brett Manning has to
say about the speaking voice:

Useful Tip: Preservation of the Speaking Voice

By Brett Manning

The speaking voice is the crucial element in singing. The natural tone of the
voice is often evident in the singing voice, especially in lower registers. More
or less of the voice shows up in musical styles, i.e. more in classical and hard
rock and less in smooth Jazz, emo or sublime-type, quirky styles. Typically,
my speaking voice sustained is my most natural singing voice. The same
vocal cords used to make sound when you speak are the same cords used to
make sound when you sing. So what happens when a singer consistently
trashes his/her speaking voice? I’ll give you a taste of my personal
experience.

Over the years, my voice has experienced highs that I can’t describe and lows
that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. Many of these have come by my
own doing—or should I say undoing through poor speaking habits. I found
myself thinking that I’m more comfortable speaking at the bottom of my voice
with a ‘dial-tone’ like, edgy fullness.

Well, over the years, through much experience and research, I’ve learned to
think about my voice in totally different terms. I’ve found that a loose tongue,
loose muscles under the chin and a loose jaw would become my biggest
challenge to relaxing my speaking voice. I learned that talking too low was
actually more harsh on the voice that speaking slightly elevated.

I begin to talk in a smooth out the flow from consonant to consonant and emit
a more buttery, less edgy tone in order to preserve my longevity. I would say
that producing the voice like the softer tones of Kermit the frog, minus the
sharp sounding R’s and over stressed consonants was the key to preserving
the speaking voice. This needs to be applied in your general range: tenor,
bass, alto or soprano.

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To find your basic speaking range, take in a relaxed, normal voice and say
‘hmm?’ Do this with a slightly excited “hmm… that’s interesting.” Usually the
voice will go up comfortably without any strain. This is your comfortable
speaking range. Be sure to use lower and higher tones as you speak.
Talking expressively—like a narrator reading children’s books—will keep your
dynamic range over an octave in your speech. This will encourage natural
flexibility in your voice, so you don’t end up with a mono-toned, wooden
sound.

Since I can’t make sound through written words, I’ll describe through voices
that are common to us. The first voice as a case example would be Alec
Baldwin. He has made a living off of that slightly husky, bottom-scraping
voice. He really doesn’t elevate his tone much. He puts off that rugged ‘I’m a
real man’ or ‘I’m a psycho who’s going to bury you in the woods’ type of voice.
As a traditional, Alpha-male-type-of-guy, I’ve tended towards Alec’s
voice…and I’ve paid for it with deep fatigue and a loss of range and quality.

A voice that has shown us that he’s comfortable speaking slightly high—
though some roles he speaks quite low—is Ben Stiller. His roles in “Meet the
Parents, Zoolander and Along Came Polly” showed his vulnerable charm. His
low speaking voice was typified in “Dodge Ball.” In this movie, he sounds like
he’s found the bottom of his range and is staying there. Listening to him
speak so effortless and then dropping his voice an octave, should stand as an
example of what not to do. The best advice is simply stated; “talk comfortably
high.” This means as high as you can without feeling any push. But if you
talk on the bottom half octave of your range, you will notice a deep soreness
after long hours of vocal use. So experiment until you find that comfortably
high voice which we will call your optimum or home pitch. Then allow your
voice to ‘dance’ around the home pitch with a half octave on either side.
Talking with a light British accent like Hugh Grant is another example of taking
the pressure off the voice.

For ladies it’s the same principle. Listen to how deep Hillary Clinton talks.
Whatever you might personally think or her, her tone is atrocious and
annoying. She sounds way too masculine and she’s destroying her voice. I
would have her talk like a less breathy Marilyn Monroe. That comfortably high
voice must be learned in all of us regardless of our natural range.

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Another method for bringing back the speaking and singing voice is
discovering vocal fry.

When it comes to singing, I think the hardest thing that I've ever had to learn
is to sing high without tension. I've always been pretty athletic so it would
make sense that using muscular strength to sing would produce results
right? Not necessarily.

I remember scooping down for low notes thinking that the 'lower-deeper'
sound would produce lower notes. Somewhere along the way, in all my
vocal studies and countless vocal technique books I've read, I learned about
vocal fry. The vibration of the edges of the vocal chords that produces the
'dial tone, Elmer Fudd, President Clinton' type of groggy sound in the voice.
The "I just woke up and my voice is down 2 octaves" vocal tone that used to
frustrate me had become my vocal salvation.

Yes there are a lot of detractors who will call the vocal fry injurious, but the
sensation is relaxing and continued up the scale you can find high notes with
little or no effort. Adding gentle compression to the vocal cords along with a
gradual increase of airflow can turn this groggy sound into a full, lovely
usable sound. Over the years, I've used the vocal fry to expand vocal ranges
by and octave, sometimes 2 or more, in one or two lessons. This sound
disconnects all the superfluous musculature from the singing process so that
the cords can work all by themselves.

As for those worrying about risking injury, two words... little children. Yes
little children wake up with their groggy voices and they don't suddenly clear
their voices and push more air to give us a full and pleasing tone. They use
the vocal fry to let tired little voices maintain a relaxed state until the voice
decides it wants to warm up. Notice the language... the voice decides, not
us.

Forcing a voice into it's full tone is what can be truly injurious, not wisely
letting the voice go from groggy to clear as the musculature of the throat
slowly begins to warm up and relax. I may not wake up all the time with
vocal fry, but when I do, I let the voice do it's natural, God-given instinct.

This methodology relaxes the cords to give them maximum flexibility.

Remember, you can't simultaneously flex your hamstring while stretching it.
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The same principle has worked with the thousands of singers I've worked
with over nearly two decades.

©2007 Brett Manning. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Brett Manning began as an aspiring singer who experienced extraordinary

frustration in the areas of limited range and power. After years of lessons
that gave no results, he finally found a teacher who had compiled a simple
group of exercises that produced amazing results in both range and power.
Brett excelled as both a student and a teacher of those exercises. Eventually
using innovations of his own, he developed the "Manning Method" Vocal
Technique, which is featured on his best-selling program, Singing Success,
often recognized as the "gold standard" of range extension and vocal style
instruction. He can be contacted through www.singingsuccess.com.

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TWELVE
The Voice Of The Mind
Singing is both a physical and mental process and the process of mental
visualization can help to improve your vocal skills and allow the voice to
flow freely. But it can work both positively and negatively. If you think
negative thoughts about yourself and your singing, it will show in your
voice. Developing negative thought patterns will inhibit your progression
as a singer. Never finish a negative thought or sentence about yourself
or your singing. Turn the thought or phrase into a positive visual or
statement. If you think, “I will never be able to sing three notes higher,”
then I can almost guarantee that you will never increase your range by
three notes. Change the sentence into something positive, such as, “With
time and practice my range will increase.” Repeat the phrase throughout
the day to affirm your goal and diminish the negative thought. Always
turn a negative statement around to create a positive phrase.

Repetitive positive statements are referred to as affirmations. The more

you repeat an affirmation the deeper it is imprinted upon your
subconscious. Your mind eventually accepts the statement as true and
works toward manifesting the affirmation as reality. This is the reason that
negative statements are dangerous to your progress. The subconscious is
just like a very young child: it doesn’t differentiate between positive and
negative; it only follows orders. So be careful what you think.

If you want to help your vocal progress, you might want to create a few
affirmations to add to your daily regimen. Before your vocal workout, you
could try these affirmations: “The more I sing, the more my voice flows with
beauty, freedom, strength, and grace” or “My voice is a fluid, flawless
instrument.” Before a performance you could repeat the following: “The
longer I sing, the stronger my voice becomes” and “My performance is
perfect”. These affirmations help to assure that your voice doesn’t tire as
easily, because you will be focused on a positive outcome, which will
prevent your nerves from taking over. I am always monitoring my body to
make sure that I am singing correctly to prevent vocal stress and
exhaustion.

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Affirmations work toward the same goal on a subconscious level. If I miss
something, my subconscious is working to help correct my mistakes. Be
creative when writing your own personal affirmations. Your subconscious
isn’t stupid so don’t create unattainable affirmations. If you create an
affirmation like “I am the most incredible singer in the world”, your mind
will consider the affirmation a joke and you won’t progress at all. Use
common sense.

Useful Tip: Take What is Yours!

By Jim Gillette

The mind is all-powerful and through the mind you can accomplish
anything you can imagine. What you can imagine, see and feel in your
mind, you can accomplish in your life. But this works both ways. Think, see
and feel positive thoughts and you will accomplish your dreams. Think, see
and feel negative thoughts and you’ll get what you ask for. So what does this
have to do with singing? EVERYTHING!

Do you want to be a Rock Star? Well, who doesn’t? How bad do you want it?
Are you willing to let go of any fear you have of success and actually believe
you deserve it? Let me tell you, I wanted it so bad that when I auditioned for
Doug Marks of MetalMethod.com (which eventually led to me doing my first
record, Proud to Be Loud and my Vocal Power voice training method), I
hadn’t eaten a thing for nine whole days. I was one of those poor, starving
Hollywood musicians. But I had the drive and determination and all that I
could see, think and feel in my mind was success. If I could do it, then anyone
can do it!

If you want something bad enough then take what is yours. We are all made
in the image of God. It is our birthright to succeed and have plenty. There are
enough riches for everyone, so although we are talking about singing here, I
want you to know that you can apply these principles to anything in your life,
as long as it is for positive success. This is the same speech I’ve given Jaime
in the past.

I had Jaime read tons of books on positive thinking for three months, from
authors like Napoleon Hill, Wallace Wattles, Dr. Joseph Murphy, Anthony

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Robbins and Dr. John Sarno. But the basic rules for achieving your dreams
are as follows:
1.) Say it
2.) Think it
3.) See it
4.) Feel it
5.) Believe it
6.) Be thankful for it
7.) Take it

If you want something, then say it to yourself and say it in a positive manner
as if you already have it. If you want to be a rock star, say it as if it is so.
Affirm your belief: “I am a rock star!”

Think about it day and night; become what you think. This isn’t daydreaming,
people. This is imagining being in that moment now. When you think these
thoughts (continuously, all day long and when going to sleep) see it in your
mind, like watching it on a movie screen. See it in full color. But don’t just see
the situation, feel it. Feel the emotions involved in being a rock star. Feel the
excitement of being on stage and the crowd going crazy. Feel how happy it
makes you. Feel how good it feels when a fan tells you how your song
touched their heart. Put pictures up on the wall of a crowd of fans, of the
$100,000 car you are going to buy with your first royalty check, of the house
you are going to live in that you’ll be showing off on MTV’s Cribs. These are
all ways to feed the mind the energy it needs to create what you desire.

Now take it beyond imagination and believe it! Tell yourself that your time is
now! It is probably wise to note right now that whatever you believe in will
come into your life. So be careful what you think and say throughout the day.
If you think, “Man, I’ll never get away from my job, which I absolutely hate”,
then you’ll be stuck in a dead end job that you will only hate more. So be
positive about your job, but know you deserve more and mentally allow the
job to become available for someone else in the world who needs it and
would appreciate your current job. You don’t want to work at a fast food place
anymore because you are a rock star now! Change your words and choose
your words wisely.

Don’t gossip about people, don’t whine about your situation, and don’t curse.
All are negative thoughts, which attract more negativity in your life. I am not
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saying that you shouldn’t get mad if someone breaks into your car, but don’t
whine about what you don’t have and don’t add to someone else’s negativity
by talking about them. It only comes back to you and you’ll never get to where
you want. Curse words are just sentence enhancers and only bring more
negativity, and they make you sound unintelligent. Believe in the positive and
uplift yourself in positivity.

Now that you are reprogramming your life for what you desire, don’t forget to
be thankful for it. You asked for your new situation so thank God for it. If you
follow what I say you will get what you ask for. To help turbo charge the
process, keep a daily journal and write down your positive thoughts again and
again. In fact, include all positive thoughts in this journal. This is like rolling a
snowball down a hill. The more you add to your journal, the more positive
things that will come your way. My suggestion is that each night, before going
to bed, you should write down what you were thankful for every day, whether
it was a great meal, a fun time with your boyfriend or girlfriend, or just waking
up relaxed. Don’t forget to include your dreams, such as that car and house
you want; be thankful for those things now! Add at least ten things in the
journal every day. Keep your mind moving; always think of new things to write
in your journal. Write things like you are grateful for making it in the music
business…

Now go take what is yours! I told Jaime that he was going to be the number
one vocal coach in the world over a year ago before writing this useful tip.
Jaime was becoming successful, but at the time, he was scared to death of
the success. This happens to a lot of people. Believe it or not, most people
are scared of success. I took him through this process and at the end he told
me, “Next year is my year!” I said, “No, your time is now! Go take what is
yours!”

That is the attitude you have to have. It will come, no matter what you ask for,
but you’ve got to be willing to take what is yours. You can’t just sit around and
expect it to happen. If you get a hunch about something like going to see a
certain band in concert, then go.

Maybe the universe is setting you up to meet the lead singer, who will have a
good feeling about you, who will then introduce you to their manager, who will
then sign you to his management company, who will then get you that big
showcase for all the major labels, that will then get you signed to a multi-
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million dollar recording contract! Things like this happen all the time to people
who follow this process, but you have to act on it!

Now I cannot keep up with the incredible things that are coming into Jaime’s
life because of this process. So if you want to succeed at singing and make
your life’s dream a reality, then take what is yours right now!!!

©2007 Jim Gillette. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

At first glance you might be intimidated by Jim Gillette’s shaven head and
flaming tattoos - with good reason. It’s a face that only a mother could love.
Known to his closest friends as ‘Meatwhistle”, Gillette’s entire life has been a
quest for the extreme. He formed Nitro with the goal of being the fastest,
highest and loudest metal band on the planet – and according to him people
either loved them or hated them. His vocal range is legendary: he can squeal
like a little girl and hit a foghorn’s low moan. He can also sustain a note that’ll
shatter glass, and a glance that’ll shatter a mirror. A keen aficionado of the
martial arts, Gillette likes to talk tough but lives under the mistaken impression
that being choked is worse than a punch in the face. He lives on a remote
tropical island where he spends his free time surfing conspiracy theory
websites, designing secure underground homes, and preparing for the final
cataclysm. Oh, and masturbating compulsively. Jim isn't really a habitual
masturbator, but it sounded funny.

MASTERING YOUR MENTAL INHIBITIONS

Like Jim said, the mind is a powerful thing, which means that the mind
can affect your voice and performance in negatives ways as well. So
although I know that after this last section that you are all on your way to
changing your lives for the better, I still think it is very important that we
discuss situations that can affect you negatively and explain to you how to
overcome your thoughts and fears and turn the situations into positive
ones. Let’s start with stage fright.

Stage fright is the fear of performing before an audience. Feeling nervous

before a performance is not uncommon. Many well-known singers have
commented on stage fright in interviews. They have found ways to deal

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with their fears and so can you. If you are developing fear or nervousness
before performing, follow these three simple rules: Breathe, Vocalize, and
Visualize.

First, re-establish your breathing; when the nerves kick in, your breathing
speeds up. Deep breathing calms the nerves and relaxes the body. Try
slowly inhaling through the nose and exhaling out through the mouth.
Repeat the process ten times. Next, vocalize by performing the exercises
from the Vocal Stress Release program, which is explained in Part Three
of this book. Nervousness tends to produce a shaky tone in your voice. By
reconnecting to your voice, you help to eliminate the waver. Finally,
visualize a perfect performance and repeat some positive affirmations.
Above all, believe in yourself.

Are you having trouble with the visualization process in step three? Do you
want to know the secret to successful visualization? All you need to do is
close your eyes and focus only on your desired result for four minutes! When I
say focus, I mean hear it, think it, feel it and see it in your mind for four
minutes! That’s it! Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Well, four minutes is tougher than
it seems. If you can actually focus on your goal for four minutes without letting
your mind drift to another subject and avoid the senseless thoughts that will
drift into your mind then you will accomplish your goal. When thoughts drift
into your mind let them float right out. I guarantee that you’ll start thinking
about things like, “I wonder what time it is?” or “what should I eat for dinner?”
So set a timer, focus on your goal, and let the unimportant thoughts float right
by! Don’t forget to feel it. You’ve got to feel the situation to turbo charge your
mind to bring it into reality. If you don’t have the feeling of the experience, you
don’t have the fuel needed to obtain that experience.

So you are applying all three steps and you are still having butterflies.
There’s no need to worry because it can be a good thing. It can bring forth
the fight or flight response, which is a sudden rush of adrenaline in the body
that occurs when you become extremely afraid or mad.

Learn to use the butterflies in a positive way, like pumping yourself up for an
awesome performance instead of upsetting your stomach to the point of
throwing up and mentally talking yourself out of singing. The choice is yours:
you can either give the performance of a lifetime or you can clam up. The
adrenaline rush is under your control; it will work either way you tell it to, so
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make it a positive. It’s all in the way you perceive the situation.

Useful Tip: My Thoughts On Stage Fright

By Myles Kennedy

When I was a kid, I wouldn’t have believed it if someone told me I was going
to be a singer for a rock band. If they would have included that I would have
toured the world, been in a motion picture, and ended up with gold records
on my wall, then I would have thought that someone was completely nuts! I
was overwhelmed with stage fright.

You see when I was growing up, I had very limiting beliefs about who I was
and what I was capable of. I was very shy and definitely wasn’t going to win
any awards for being “Mr. Self Confidence.” In fact, in the sixth grade, my
teacher gave me the “Worry Wart Award,” because I was such a stress
case. I was your typical goofy, insecure kid.

When I discovered music, everything changed. I now had a way to channel

all of my idiosyncrasies into this incredible medium. I found a way to forge my
identity and finally discovered my purpose. That was to say, when I was
playing air guitar and singing in my bedroom. Only an audience of thousands
that resided somewhere between my mind and the door to my closet ever got
to witness my Rock & Roll prowess.

After a couple years, my stepfather convinced me that it might be a good

idea to trade the air guitar (by then it was his tennis racquet) for a real guitar.
And so I did. After almost a year of odd jobs I saved up enough money for
my first electric guitar. From the moment I brought it home, my family didn’t
see me again for years. I locked myself away learning every song, lick and
rock star pose I could as Page, Plant and Van Halen gazed at me from my
bedroom wall.

I would go to my friend’s basement with my guitar and amp and we could

make a cacophony of sound that would terrify most of the neighborhood. It
was great until we actually started to sound halfway decent. With this, word
got out that I could play and suddenly I was drafted into my first real band.
For most, this would be exciting. For me, I was terrified because I knew it
was only a matter of time before we would have our first real gig. To make

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matters worse, like a dumb ass I had let the cat out of the bag that I could
“kind of” sing.

Cut to spring of my sophomore year. We had this big battle of the bands in
Spokane called the “Drug Free Rock Off.” This would be my first and almost
my last performance. The day of the show, I remember sitting in my
Geometry class so terrified at the idea of the performing that I thought I was
going to soil my pants. By the time we actually got to the event, I looked so
nervous that even some of guys in the competing bands were coming up to
me and asking if I was feeling all right. I was a wreck. Later that night I would
open the set singing “Rock and Roll” by Led Zeppelin. Though it wasn’t
perfect, I made it through the whole ordeal. Fortunately, I wasn’t pelted with
any rotten tomatoes and no one shouted out, “You suck!” (That wouldn’t come
until much later in my career).

Anxiety about performing was an issue for many years to come. I tried
everything to no avail. By the time I got to Music College I still didn’t have a
handle on it. It was to the point that I was ready to drop out by my second
year. The problem was that I had put so much emphasis on my stage fright
and my shortcomings as a musician that all I was doing was reinforcing the
issue. Obviously, I overcame this dilemma or how else would I go on to
make a living doing what I feared? What was my secret? A little something
they taught me in driver’s education.

You see, I was driving down the road one day in my Grandmothers yellow
’77 station wagon. Instead of driving the “Chiquita” in a straight line down
the road, I had become distracted. I was starring at something to my right
(probably a pretty girl) and the four wheeled Pontiac banana started to veer
off toward the ditch. In my head I could hear my driving instructor utter the
overused phrase,” Keep your eyes on the road! Wherever your line of sight
goes is where you will pull the steering wheel.” In other words “WHERE
YOU PUT YOUR FOCUS WILL DETERMINE WHERE YOU END UP.” This
was an epiphany for me. It made perfect sense.

I had spent so many years focusing on my fear of performing, my fear of

rejection and failure that I was basically allowing my self to “drive into the
ditch.” All the time I spent cultivating any musical talent was being eclipsed
by fear when it came time to share it with an audience. I had to learn to
embrace my gifts and find my confidence.
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Keep in mind that this was just the turning point. It wasn’t some magical
mantra that would allow me to alter years of bad habits. What I had to do
was reprogram my brain and cast out all the ideas that had paralyzed me for
too long. Before a show, I learned to quiet my mind and go to a place that
allowed me to visualize what was about to take place. Visualization was a
big part of it for me, closing my eyes and going through the whole gig in my
head. From what the room felt like to how I would execute any difficult
passages during the show, I would go through the entire thing in a
meditative state.

After discovering all of this, I was forced to put it to the test. My manager
had submitted a demo and entered me into a guitar competition. I didn’t
even think I would make it to the finals so I thought nothing of it. Around this
time I had developed a nice case of tendonitis in my left hand. The doctor
told me no guitar for 2 weeks. About a week later I get this call saying
“Congratulations! You are a finalist in the guitar competition.” Problem is,
due to my injury I couldn’t pick up a guitar until the day before the show. So
if I couldn’t practice, what was I to do?

I remember taking time to visualize every day until the competition. I would
go sit up on this cliff near my Grandmother’s house and just run the entire
piece down in my head. In my mind I would execute it effortlessly. I would
envision a perfect performance. You know what happened? The day of the
final competition most of my fear was replaced with excitement and for once
I enjoyed performing. Oh yeah… and I took first place.

I don’t say this to sound boastful. I want to use it to illustrate that this stuff
works. WHAT YOU FOCUS ON WILL MANIFEST ITSELF IN YOUR
SINGING AND PLAYING. It’s that simple. Do I still get butterflies before a
show? Yes. Do I make an occasional mistake and hit a bad note?
Absolutely. Do I dwell on a mistake to the point that it becomes a regular
part of a performance? Definitely not!

For those of you who struggle with the issue of stage fright, please don’t give
up. If I can learn to harness the fear, so can you. It’s the most cliché phrase I
can throw out right now, but I really do believe “if I can do it, so can you.” It
just depends on how bad you want to overcome it. Good Luck!

©2007 Myles Kennedy. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

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Myles Kennedy is a singer/songwriter/guitarist for the band Alter Bridge.
Formed in January 2004, their first CD One Day Remains debuted at #5
on the Billboard top 200 and was certified gold later that year. Their
follow up Blackbird, was released on Universal/Republic in the fall of
2007. Kennedy’s previous band, The Mayfield Four, recorded two
albums for Sony/Epic, Fallout (1998) and Second Skin (2001). Myles
wrote, sang and played guitar on both records.

In 2001 Kennedy played Mike “Thor” in the movie Rock star with Mark
Wahlberg, Jennifer Aniston, Zakk Wylde and Jason Bonham among others.
Though he doesn’t consider himself an actor, Kennedy enjoyed singing and
acting in this film. Based in the mid 80’s, it depicts the highs and lows of a
being in a rock band. Throughout the 90’s Myles played in various bands in
the Pacific Northwest. He was a guitar instructor as well as a studio musician.
He played and sang on movie scores as well as countless major and
independent releases. He is currently a resident of Spokane Washington. He
can be contacted through www.alterbridge.com.

Useful Tip: Step Inside Someone Else’s Voice

This is a trick for stage fright that I used to help one of my students, Josh
Morrison, open up and release the beautiful sound within him. Josh likes to
sing songs by John Mayer. So I told Josh to shut his eyes and pretend that
John Mayer had a concert to perform but was too sick to sing. John then gave
Josh his vocal cords and told him that he’d have to perform that night for him.
So Josh now had John Mayer’s vocal cords and had to sing “Mothers” in front
of thousands of people. What happened? How did he do? Josh gave me
goose bumps when he sang that song. He finally made me believe him. He let
go of himself and sang from the pure emotional part of the mind. Strange as it
sounds, it works! Try it sometime.

Useful Tip: Know Who You Are!

Fear and anxiety can affect you mentally and physically. The week before I
flew to San Francisco to film the MythBusters episode, I became ill. I had been
taking my usual supplements for vocal health, but nonetheless, I still
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developed a terrible cold. I couldn’t even talk two days before my flight, and
even considered canceling at the last minute. As soon as I arrived at the hotel
in San Francisco the day before the shoot, I went directly to bed. The next
morning when I arrived at the theater for the shoot, I was still hoarse and my
sinuses were clogged. If you listen to the way I sound on the show, you can
tell I had a sinus infection. So how did I deal with the situation? I realized that I
was picked because I was considered the expert at breaking glasses. By that
time, I had already broken 15 glasses. I walked up on to the stage and looked
around the hall at the hundreds of empty seats. I realized that these seats
were going to filled by millions of viewers. Associate producer Linda
Wolkovitch asked me if I was nervous. My reply? “Nervous? Not at all! When I
am on stage, I’m home!” I knew I was ready and wouldn’t let anything
prevent me from succeeding! Believe and you will achieve!!!

A similar situation happened to me during the filming of the Japanese television

show, The Amazing Human Program. It was right after Christmas and I must
have caught a bug from being around tons of relatives. I was in bed for six days
before filming the show. On the first day of filming I had a 102o temperature and
could barely speak, but when film started rolling I came alive and put on my
best performance. I visualized the outcome I wished to achieve. I am not going
to say it wasn’t rough, because it was. But the point is, you can achieve what
you believe and I believed that I would do fine. I don’t feel like my illness was
from nerves because I did the job, but you never know. I could have
subconsciously, created the situation. But I know from years of experience that
you can sing with a sore throat, fever and stuffy nose.

This brings me to my next point: Quit making excuses! If you are sick, you can
still perform just as good. Quit telling the fans, “Oh, I’m sick tonight. I have a
cold and my throat is sore.” The only time you shouldn’t sing is if you have
laryngitis, and if this was the case, you would definitely know. It feels like you
are swallowing razors. I see and hear the “sick” excuse all the time. Don’t follow
suit.

CRITICISM: POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE

One thing that I learned in my teens is that criticism affects your performance.
But how it affects your performance is up to you. I have been in a couple of

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situations where I let another person’s comments bog me down so much that
it affected my singing voice.

I remember being about seventeen and a rival band came to see me play. At
the beginning of the night everyone got along fine. As the night progressed
and the other singer got drunk out of his mind, he persisted to tell me how I
really couldn’t sing that well and he was a dozen times better than me. Keep
in mind that I was seventeen and this guy was about thirty. Needless to say, it
made me doubt myself as a singer. He was a good singer and maybe I didn’t
compare?

Years later when I actually had confidence, I ran into a buddy who was
playing in a band with Mr. Vocal Guru himself. I went to one of their practices
and they asked me if I wanted to jam on a song and I ended up singing
“Immigrant Song”. Needless to say, he tried to sing along and when he
realized he couldn’t hit the notes quite as well as I could, he got mad, stormed
out and left. This story isn’t about revenge or ego. It is about the fact that you
must realize fact from fiction and I should never have let him make me doubt
my singing abilities. So learn to shake off negative comments.

Another childhood memory that drove so deep that I quit singing in front of
people for over a year happened during my freshman year in high school. We
were at a marching band competition (yes, I was a band geek who played the
saxophone) and I was waiting for my friend who had to run back to the bus. I
started singing a song called “Oh Sheila” by the band Ready for the World.
My friend looked at me and said, “James, you suck, give it up. Let me sing it
and show you how it is done.” My feelings were destroyed by the sarcasm in
his voice and I became very self-conscious of my singing voice. I came to find
out from a mutual friend that he was very jealous of me and meant to be
hurtful. Our friendship lasted a few more years and as I figured him out more
and more, I realized that it wouldn’t have mattered what I did, he always
believed he was better than me.

I am not saying to disregard constructive criticism, but learn the difference.

You have got to learn to divorce yourself from your emotions in order to listen
and observe the criticism and to decide if it is beneficial or not. There is a
lesson to be learned in all criticism.

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Okay, here’s another story. The year was 1988 and I was drunker than a
skunk onstage, singing “Talk Dirty to Me” by Poison and bringing down the
house…or so I thought…

The song ended and as I staggered offstage to take a break, I looked around
the room and I knew people loved me. Our light man, Gary Gamble, took me
to the side to teach me the best lesson I have ever learned during my time in
that band.

He said, “Are you rocking out, kicking butt, sounding amazing tonight?” I was
like, “Oh yeah. I sound amazing!” He replied, “You sound like shit!” The next
thing I know, Gary was all over me like white on rice in a glass of milk on a
paper plate in a snowstorm. In a very intimidating tone, he then said, “When
are you going to wake up and realize you’ve been given a gift? I just cannot
believe you are throwing away such a talent by letting these guys influence
you to drink and smoke. When are you going to grow up and be the singer
you are meant to be?”

I swear to you that I immediately sobered up and I felt so terrible that the
realization of how bad I sounded made me want to be the best I could be. I
quit drinking and smoking and that is the night I decided I wanted to learn as
much about singing and the voice as I possibly could. So wherever you are
Gary, thank you for saving me. This was the time when constructive criticism
meant everything in the world. Pay attention to what people tell you. You’ll
genuinely know who is trying to help and who is trying to hurt you.

Useful Tip: Become the Master of Your Own Mind

Before moving on I want to share one last personal experience because I
believe it demonstrates the power of the mind. When filming La soiree de
l’etrange, in Paris France, I was in perfect voice. I felt vocally incredible, had
complete range and power and was well rested even after an eight-hour flight.
However, during our glass breaking rehearsal, I could not for the life of me,
shatter a single wineglass. I went through about forty wineglasses and thirty
minutes of intense continual screaming before one actually broke! It was a bit
stressful because this was just rehearsal before the big show. Vocally, I felt
fine because of my technique. A few cool downs and some hot water kept me
in tune.

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Right after rehearsal, the producers of the show asked me to make sure I
wore the exact same clothes during the live filming…Just in case I could not
break one live, they would show the footage from earlier. I told them not to
worry, I WILL break the glass live; that’s the money shot. Still, they weren’t as
sure as I was.

So, now I am back stage and I can see the crowd through the curtains. Yes, I
wore the same clothes, although I KNEW it was not necessary. What did I
do? I did my four-minute meditation, followed by an intense almost meditative
visualization of my performance. I saw, in my mind, the most amazing show
performance I could fathom, over and over and over again until I walked on
stage. In my mind, the act was done. What happened? Go to my website and
watch the show ;) I achieved what I conceived. The crowd went nuts and
my agent was totally blown away. Oh ye of little faith, haha. Point is, all of this
mind stuff REALLY WORKS!!!

I think I have taken you far enough into the realms of your mind. The rest is
up to you. Do as Jim suggested and buy several books on positivity and
programming your subconscious. These suggestions and a strong belief in
Christ have helped me change my life. Find what works for you and create the
life you want to become the singer you know you can be. Now, I’d like to end
this chapter with an explanation of a very special product for Raise Your
Voice users:

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Useful Tip: Vocal Mindset for RYV Users
I might be jumping the gun here by telling you about Vocal Mindset at this
point in the book, because we haven’t even covered technique, but it seemed
like the perfect spot. What is Vocal Mindset? Vocal Mindset is a 40-minute
“neuro-enhancement” program created specifically for users of Raise Your
Voice and The Ultimate Breathing Workout. I wanted to create a program that
you can use to help your confidence skyrocket to a level of total certainty with
the mental tools needed to be outrageously successful in vocal development
and stage performance. So, I enlisted to help of the nation’s leading action
and results coach Matt Adams (www.thehypnotistmattadams.com).

Matt is one of the most successful life coaches I have met. So, when I asked
Matt to help me with this project, he was more than happy to oblige. What I
did was create a list of key points concerning the techniques, visualizations,
exercises, tips, tricks and tactics of the Raise Your Voice system and Matt
took it from there, by creating an amazing audio that will program your mind
on it’s core level and make these techniques part of who you are and what
you naturally do. This is NOT hypnosis or meditation, but a program designed
specifically to help give you that necessary edge to succeed. If you would set
aside the time every day to listen to this program, I know that you’ll reach your
vocal goals much easier than you would without the program. Why? Because
by sowing positive seeds and imprinting the important key aspects of this
system into your mind, your subconscious will strive to help you achieve,

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working in harmony with your goals and making this something you can easily
do without thinking about it. Programming your mind to react instinctively is
what it’s all about. There is nothing you cannot do! Use a positive mindset to
help you achieve your singing goals and who knows what might happen?
Next thing you know, you too could be on a show in Paris France :)

If you are interested in Vocal Mindset for Raise Your Voice Users you can
purchase the program (and soon to be others like it) through
www.voiceconnection.com, www.raiseyourvoicebook.com, and
www.thehypnotistmattadams.com. If you would like a personal Vocal Mindset
audio program created specifically for your needs, please contact me at
venderaj@msn.com.

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THIRTEEN
Ailments Of The Voice
The quality of your voice is affected by the health of your body. At some
point in your life, I’m sure you will have to deal with at least a few of the
following conditions. These conditions might be unavoidable at times, so
here are some suggestions to help you deal with each situation:

ACID REFLUX
Acid reflux, also known as heartburn, is a condition in which stomach acid
is forced up the esophagus, irritating the lining of the throat. Heartburn
can be the result of poor eating habits and/or poor posture. If you gorge
yourself every time you eat, you expand your stomach past the comfort
zone. When the stomach cannot hold any more food, the hydrochloric
acid in your stomach is forced up your throat. If you eat too quickly and
don’t give yourself enough time to properly chew your food, you are not
aiding the digestion process. Chewing helps break down food making it
easier for your stomach to do its job. Carbonated drinks can also expand
your stomach. The fizz bubbles expand in your stomach resulting in the
same situation.

Gastro-esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), or now more commonly

known as Acid Reflux Disease, occurs from either a lack of acid to help digest
the food or when the valve between the stomach and the esophagus
doesn’t work properly. If the valve doesn’t stay closed, stomach acid will
back up the esophagus and irritate the throat lining. This is most
noticeable at night while lying down. If you frequently wake up in the
morning with a sore throat, you could be experiencing symptoms of
GERD. Try elevating your head at night to alleviate the problem. I used to
use over-the-counter stomach acid reducers to help control the problem
by preventing the over-production of stomach acid, until I discovered it
was actually caused more from not enough acid production. I now use
all-natural digestive enzymes to aid my digestive system.

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For preventative maintenance, try to avoid alcohol and caffeine; both
weaken the valve. Avoid citrus fruits, tomatoes and peppers as well.
These foods aggravate the situation.

If you experience heartburn, you might want to evaluate yourself. The

first and obvious factor is that you have a lack of acid production.
But you can do more detective work to see if anything else is
contributing to the problem. Do you have poor posture? If you do, then
refer to the section on correcting your posture. Besides correcting your
posture, you can perform the Diaphragm Tension Release exercise from
the Vocal Stress Release program in Part Three of this book. This exercise
returns the diaphragm to its natural position. When the diaphragm isn’t
tense, you will have less of a chance of experiencing heartburn.

Do you stuff yourself every time you eat? This is unhealthy. You are forcing
your stomach to digest more than it can comfortably handle. Do you
chew your food well or do you just inhale it? If food isn’t broken down
properly it could turn into body fat rather than energy. Besides heartburn,
you will gain weight. So quit gorging yourself! Do you ever feel like you
have to belch after drinking a soda pop? Try cutting back on carbonated
drinks to see if this alleviates the problem. Sodas are loaded with caffeine,
which aggravates heartburn. Spicy foods also aggravate heartburn. Take
note of your eating and drinking habits.

There are many products on the market for heartburn. Calcium and
Magnesium supplements work well. The calcium helps restore the pH
balance and the magnesium has a relaxing effect on the stomach. If you
are having trouble digesting your food, try a digestive aid like betaine
hydrochloride, bromelain or papaya enzyme tablets. All of these digestive
aids help to break down food and minimize the chance of heartburn.

Another effective method is to add two tablespoons of Bragg’s Apple

Cider Vinegar to one cup of water and sip. Apple cider vinegar aids
digestion, relieves heartburn, and like calcium, restores the pH balance to
the body. If this drink is too bitter for your taste, try adding some honey to
sweeten the mixture. If I already have heartburn, I will drink a
tablespoon of Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar straight. The indigestion
disappears within five to ten minutes. If none of these symptoms

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pertain to you and you are still experiencing heartburn, contact your
physician. Years ago when I experienced heartburn, my allergist put me
on Protonix for acid reflux, which definitely helped. Once I started paying
attention to my diet and cut back on eating spicy foods, I noticed the
problem disappeared, so I quit using Protonix and I no longer will use or
believe in using these types of medications for vocal health. It seems like
every synthetic medication developed always has side effects. If the side
effects of a medication seem harmful to my body, then I find natural
methods instead. A great natural product that I keep with me on the road
is called Reflux-Eze.

Reflux-Eze is a brand new proprietary herbal blend

to address digestive complaints. Reflux-Eze is an all-
natural herbal syrup. It is glycerin-based and has a
pleasant minty taste. Take it as a digestive aid—one
dropper with a little water before eating to get
digestive juices going, or take at first sign of
discomfort. One bottle lasts approximately one
month for heavy users. The proprietary blend of
Reflux-eze consists of Marshmallow Root, Turkey
Rhubarb Root, Goldenseal Root, Cinnamon Bark,
Licorice Root, Fennel Seed, Potassium Bicarbonate,
Vegetable Glycerin, Spring Water.

One final note-I personally stick to natural methods for the relief of reflux, but
that is my personal choice. I am not here to tell you how to take care of your
voice, whether through natural means or by medication. Therefore, I’d like to
present the following tip from my college Dean Murray to help you make the
choice that is right for you:

Useful Tip: Reflux Through the Eyes of a Vocal

Coach
By Dena Murray

It is a little known fact that about 80% of all singers suffer from acid reflux.
Singers use their diaphragms considerably more than any other group of
people. Because of where the diaphragm is located, its usage can often

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weaken the muscle sphincter that attaches the esophagus to the stomach. If
the muscle is weak, it will open and allow digestive acid to seep back up into
the esophagus, often all the way up to the vocal cord level and into the nasal
passages.

The symptoms vary. Some singers wake up in the mornings with so much
congestion that they think they might be at the onset of cold, or having an
allergic reaction to something. They’ll need to blow their noses, maybe even
feel a slight sore throat. Yet as the day goes on, these symptoms seem to
disappear and everything returns to normal.

Others feel like they have to constantly clear their throats, sensing that
something like mucus is sitting on the cords. Some singers will complain that
they feel like they have “a lump in the throat,” while others will get
laryngitis/hoarse and perhaps stay hoarse for days. Sometimes, a singer will
actually feel a burning sensation between the cords (known as
laryngeal/pharyngeal reflux) or in the esophagus (otherwise known as
heartburn).

Suffering from laryngitis (hoarseness) a lot can scare the singer because this
is also a symptom of nodes or other damage to the cords. That is why it is
best to seek out a reputable laryngologist as soon as symptoms begin to
appear and/or reoccur (because if it’s reflux or damage, the symptoms will
recur). Only a good laryngologist will be able to diagnose the problem
immediately. Twenty years ago, the technology was not available to diagnose
reflux, nor did they have the medications to treat it. Let me tell you my story:

It started in 2003. Every month or so I would get hoarse. It scared me but

not enough to go to the doctor. I was afraid I might have nodes or
something and if I did, what would that mean for me since I am a vocal
TECHNIQUE teacher?

Yet within a couple of days, the entire range of my voice would always
come back. This was confusing me. I knew that if I kept getting my voice
back it couldn’t be nodes, even if hoarseness is a symptom of nodes.

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Then, in 2005 I got bronchitis. Whenever I’d get bronchitis, I always lose my
voice for about a week, so I wasn’t worried about it. However, by the time the
second week came along, it hadn't gotten any better. My speaking voice
returned but I’d lost the entire upper middle range of my singing voice.
Nothing would come out but squealing, crackling, and air. Okay, so now I was
really scared.

I went to an ENT who scoped me and said I had acid reflux but gave me no
medications for it or even suggestions as to what to do for it so it only got
worse. He was useless. Then I went to my regular doctor who said the
infection was gone but that I probably needed cortisone to take down the
swelling in my cords (folds). I was reluctant to take the cortisone because I’d
heard it often makes you really hungry and I didn’t want to gain any weight,
but if this was going to cure the problem, I was willing.

Well, it didn’t cure it. In fact, it only made it worse! I didn’t know what to do
and I’d become really scared that this might be the end of my career as a
teacher because it had already been two months and I still did not have my
singing voice back. I couldn’t teach without it.

I decided to go outside of my insurance plan (an HMO) to a laryngologist who

I’d known was really famous and had been a specialist for at least 40 years.
His office doesn’t take ANY kind of insurance. You could file on your own but
since mine was a HMO there was no chance of recovering any money
anyway. I didn’t care. I’d become willing to do whatever it would take to get
my voice back.

That doctor took one look inside my throat with a tiny mirror and bolted
backwards. “Oh my God,” he said, “you do know that you are allergic to most
foods, and probably have been all your life, don’t you?”

“Yes,” I said, “my mother can tell you horror stories about trying to feed me
when I was a baby.”

“Well, this is really bad. How did it get this bad?” So I told him how I’d gotten
sick, about the ENT guy and then my regular doctor putting me on cortisone.
That’s when I found out that cortisone is one of the worst things you can give
a patient who has acid reflux because it wreaks havoc on it. I also found out
that the antibiotic I’d been on was strong enough to add to the problem and
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that even though I no longer had a sore throat, coughing, or blowing green or
yellow from my nose, that I still had a low-grade sinus infection. All of this
was beginning to sound to me like I was in a no-win situation.

Then the doctor told me it was his goal to turn this around for me. My cords
and nasal passages were so inflamed and burned and full of mucus from the
acid that he prescribed Protonix and Nasonex (a cortisone nasal inhaler
meant for the nose only). For singers, he told me that there are only three
nasal inhalers and three acid reflux medications recommended. The nasal
inhalers are Nasonex, Rhinocort, and Nasalcort. The acid reflux medications
are Protonix, Prilosec, or Aciphex.

I had to take the Protonix three times a day for the first month, and two squirts
of the Nasonex every morning. I was also given an antibiotic ointment to apply
directly inside my nose to get rid of the rest of the infection. At this point, the
doctor told me taking an antibiotic pill would only make matters worse. He
wanted me to take Protonix because it doesn’t go through the liver. This
medication is processed through the kidneys, and since I’d have to be on it for
the rest of my life because of my food allergies, this was the safest way to go.

Upon leaving, I heard what I DIDN’T want to hear, “I have to warn you, it
could be three or four months before your singing voice completely returns.”
Three or four months? The good news is that it did take that long but once it
came back, my voice has been the best its’ ever been throughout my entire
singing/teaching career. I never have a problem with it anymore.

Preventive measures to take for severe reflux like mine are:

1. No caffeine (this includes sodas, and chocolate). One cup of

coffee can keep the muscle sphincter that connects the
esophagus to the stomach open for a full eight hours, increasing
chances of seepage of acid up that tube, especially while singing.
2. No really spicy foods, especially tomatoes.
3. No eating two-three hours before going to sleep or having to do a
gig. If you suffer from reflux to begin with, eating just before going
to bed will increase the seepage of acid. Become aware of how
food affects you. Foods, if allergic, can create excessive amounts
of acid.

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 4. Stay well hydrated by drinking at least 8 glasses (8 ounce glass)
of water a day. Inhaling steam can also be helpful.
5. If you know you have acid reflux, don’t ever let a doctor tell you
that you need cortisone to reduce the swelling of your cords so
that you can perform/sing. It will wreak havoc on the acid and
make everything worse.
6. Lastly, in a pinch, if you have to sing and you are hoarse, this
doctor told me you can get the nasal decongestant Afrin (not be
to be used for more than three days because it is highly addictive
and burns holes in membranes) and give yourself two squirts at
the back of the throat. This will reduce the swelling for a few
hours and enable you to sing. But this is NOT something you
should use all the time!

Because the symptoms of reflux are similar to those of vocal abuse, allergies,
or the onset of a cold or infection, I learned that for a singer, it’s important to
have a good laryngologist who can treat all of these things and knows what
he/she is doing. If you go to someone and everything they say just feels
wrong to you or doesn’t make sense (like my first ENT doctor) then pay
attention to that feeling because it means things aren’t ringing true for you.
But if the doctor says something that gives you that “Ah ha!” feeling, it means
you may have just found the answers and truth for you.

Check with singing teachers and peers to find out who might be good and
schedule an appointment. It might take a doctor or two before you find one
that really works for you, like it did me. But my best advice is to seek help
when in doubt. I learned it’s better to know what’s really going on and get into
the solution than it is to stay scared.

©2007 Dena Murray. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Dena Murray is a vocal technique specialist and teacher. She is the former
head of Vocal Technique at Musicians Institute, Hollywood, CA and author of
two books; "Vocal Technique: A Guide to Finding Your Real Voice" (published
by Hal Leonard Corp 2002) and "Advanced Vocal Technique; Middle Voice,
Placement, & Styles" with Tita Hutchison (t/b published by Hal Leonard Corp
end of 2007). She has a bachelors in Science and Speech from Ithaca
College, Ithaca, New York. To learn more, please visit www.denamurray.com.

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THE COMMON COLD
Nothing is worse than having to deal with a cold. Many singers refrain from
singing (and speaking in some cases) with a cold, due to the fear of
damaging their voices. Singing with a cold is quite possible, although
uncomfortable. If you use proper vocal technique, your voice will be fine. A
cold is an infection in the sinuses, the throat, or the lungs, or it could be a
combination of all three.

What are some warning signs of a cold? Well, if you begin to get an aching
feeling in your muscles, cold chills, sweating or stuffy sinuses, these are
good signs you are in the early stages. What alarms me most is a sore
throat. A sore throat is an inflammation of the mucous membrane of the lower
pharynx. The upper pharynx, tonsils and the soft palate may also be inflamed.
When it is painful to swallow or if you have a burning sensation and tightness in
the throat, this is a sign that it is time to clean the body of infection. The body is
saying, “Hey, I am overloaded now and you’ve allowed me to take in too much
trash. It’s time to clean house.”

So if your throat feels a little dry, scratchy and/or phlegmy and you are coughing
up lots of yellow mucous, then you are going to have to clean up your mess.
This mess occurs as an infection and may occur in different areas of the throat,
which can affect the voice in different ways.

Many factors can cause the infection from physical and mental stress, to the
things we put in our body, to the quality of our sleep. All these factors weaken
our immune system. Bottom line; regardless of what caused the problem, you
have to take care of it NOW!

An infection of the upper throat is referred to as pharyngitis. Your throat

will be sore but you will still be able to speak or sing. Pharyngitis may be
very painful, but as long as there is no infection in the vocal cords, you’ll
still be able to make it through a performance, although it won’t feel that
fun. Just make sure to focus on keeping the sound up out of the throat
and focused into the palate and resonant cavities of the head whenever
you speak or sing

The only time you should avoid speaking or singing is if you have

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laryngitis, which is an infection of the vocal cords. Your throat will feel
swollen and sore. It could be so painful that you might not be able to
speak. It may even feel like you are swallowing razor blades.
Swallowing will be difficult. The vocal cords are swollen due to the
infection and enlarged blood vessels. In this state, the cords will not vibrate
correctly.

Do not speak or sing with laryngitis. You could damage your vocal cords. This
includes whispering and gargling. Whispering is a quiet shout and
gargling forces bursts of air between the already irritated vocal cords. The
best remedy for laryngitis is plenty of water and absolute silence. Try a
warm mist humidifier at night to moisten the air. Give your voice time to
heal.

If you are developing a cold, this is a signal that your body is full of
toxins and needs to cleanse itself of toxin overload. Once you notice cold
symptoms developing, there are several things you can do to help the
cleansing process along and shorten the duration of the cold. When you
notice the first signs of a cold (sore throat, congestion, coughing, etc.),
you must take immediate action.

If you are under physical or mental stress, your body’s supply of vitamin
C and calcium are being depleted. Both are important nutrients in
fighting infection. At the first sign of a cold, immediately increase your
vitamin C and calcium/magnesium intake. Both can be purchased at
any drug store. Magnesium helps to increase the body’s absorption of
calcium, so it is wiser to take a combination of the two. Take 500
milligrams of vitamin C and 999 milligrams of calcium every two hours
until the symptoms start to diminish.

I want to add that when I am sick, I personally take 3,000 milligrams each
of vitamin C and calcium per hour for up to ten hours. There have been
studies that once the body receives an overload of vitamin C, it will turn
into an antihistamine to combat flu-like symptoms. Vitamin C overload is
not toxic but it will cause diarrhea. I am not telling you to follow me but I
wanted to let you know what I have done to successfully help knock a
cold out of my system. If you do this, you must start immediately upon first
sign of symptoms because once the virus spreads it will take a much
longer time to rid the body of the virus. Waiting to act only delays the
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healing time and that’s something you don’t want to do.

Zinc lozenges are beneficial during a cold. In fact I take zinc lozenges every
day. Zinc is proven to fight infection and to relieve a sore throat. An herbal
combination of goldenseal and Echinacea is excellent for fighting infection in
the body. A few drops of colloidal silver under the tongue will be absorbed
into the bloodstream. Colloidal silver is like a natural antibiotic and fights all
forms of infection and is something I take when I am overloading my body
with vitamin C and zinc. I take a tablespoon every hour, along with vitamin
C and zinc.

(This is kind of out of context, but I also wanted to mention that I have went
as far as to the point of doing other body cleansing treatments such as
parasite, colon, liver and heavy metal cleanses. This is really out of the
subject of this book, but I wanted to throw it out at you in case you wanted to
do your own research.)

Useful Tip: Never Get Another Cold!

Diet plays an important role in overall health. I suggest purchasing Never
Get Another Cold by vocal coach Thomas Appell. Thomas has created a
revolutionary diet that will restore your health and eliminate the common
cold.

Useful Tip: I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This

Although I don’t want to be known for recommending this, aspirin is a quick
fix if you are set to do a gig and your voice is sore or swollen. Aspirin
relieves aches and pains by thinning out the blood, making it easier for
the blood to travel through constricted veins. It will help you to sing
because it thins out the blood and reduces the swelling. Be forewarned,
you could over-sing and damage your voice without knowing it because
aspirin is only masking the symptoms. (It could rupture the vocal cords.)

Using aspirin is slightly, and I mean slightly, similar to singers using

cortisone shots in order to regain their voices for a gig (just not as
damaging). As long as you are singing correctly, you should be fine.
Don’t make aspirin a habit. Aspirin also irritates the stomach lining, so

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never take it on an empty stomach. A few crackers will help.

Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs that is usually accompanied by chest

congestion; heavy to light mucus in the lungs that is followed by sometimes
uncontrollable light to heavy coughing in order to expel the mucus. If you
feel you might have pneumonia, see your doctor. To help break up and
loosen chest congestion, tap repeatedly on your chest to loosen phlegm
in your lungs. This will enable you to cough up and expel the mucus. Cup
your hands and tap on your chest as if it were a drum. If you can have
someone tap on your back, the results will be better. Breathing steam or
using a vaporizer helps to keep your lungs hydrated and will also loosen
mucus.

Useful Tip: The Cold Water Compress

A cold-water compress will help to draw out mucus from the lungs. To
perform a cold-water compress, submerge a towel into a bowl of ice
water. Wring out the towel and apply it to the front of your chest, then
cover with a shirt and/or heavy blanket. Leave the towel on for fifteen to
twenty minutes. Repeat the process three times. Perform this process
three times on your back as well. This takes some time but is quite
effective. This process has always worked for me.

Choose any over-the-counter drugs you might take to fight a cold wisely.
Many only mask the symptoms, slowing down the healing process. There
are several herbs listed in the next chapter that relieve pain, loosen
congestion, and aid the healing process. A throat gargle is beneficial for a
sore throat. These methods are discussed in the next few chapters.

CORTISONE SHOTS
The quick fix for touring singers who have lost their voice and still have to
perform is taking cortisone injections in the throat. Cortisone is a nasty
substance that immediately reduces the swelling of the vocal cords, making it
easy to sing.

I know several singers who have used cortisone shots to help them sing an

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important gig, including Josey Scott of Saliva and James Labrie of Dream
Theater. The scary thing that both of these vocalists personally told me about
cortisone shots is the fact that you can sing like a bird afterwards but don’t feel
a thing; you feel like you can do anything with your voice. Cortisone only
temporarily eliminates the problem and you can still do severe damage to your
voice, because like I said, you cannot feel anything.

I know that there are those crucial times when you feel you have no other
alternative, and if you choose to go this route I would just like to say the
following: A certain type of cortisone shot must be given in a certain way for
this to be effective and I don’t know of many doctors who know how to do this
correctly.

If cortisone is presented in tablet form, it must be the right type; it must be

prednisone to make a difference. If you choose to seek this type of treatment,
it should only be done by a throat specialist who has experience with this
treatment. If you feel you are in one of those situations, then there are doctors
out there who can help you. I highly advise against it, but ultimately, it is your
choice.

COUGHING
Coughing is very harsh on the vocal cords. To demonstrate how
coughing affects the vocal cords, fold a belt in two. Holding on to both
ends, pull the belt apart. Notice how the belt made a loud smacking
noise. Every time you cough you are smacking your vocal cords together
in the same manner. Coughing causes the vocal cords to swell. If you
must cough, then cough as lightly as possible. Clear your throat at a low
volume to minimize damage. If you are only coughing to clear your throat,
try humming on a low pitch instead. The low vibration helps to loosen the
phlegm from the cords. There are times when coughing cannot be
prevented. Drink plenty of water, breathe steam, rest your voice and try
the following tips:

Tip Number One: Here is an easy way to remove thick mucus buildup from
the vocal cords. Close your mouth and hum on a low note. Humming on low
notes allows the vocal cords to vibrate without the restriction of vocal cord

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tension. After humming for a few moments (which loosens vocal cord phlegm),
suck on the inside of your lower lip, like sucking on a piece of hard candy.
This works the muscles surrounding the vocal cords, to help break loose the
phlegm, which has been loosened from humming. Then lightly cough to expel
the mucus. This is a much wiser choice than harshly coughing.
(Mucus Removal Demonstration)

Tip Number Two: Make your own cough syrup. Any combination of the
following herbs can be used to make a natural cough syrup either by boiling
the herb or adding twenty or thirty drops of the liquid extract to a cup of water.
Licorice is an expectorant and soothes mucous membranes. Mullein expels
mucus and eases pain. Both slippery elm and marshmallow root soothe the
mucous membranes. English plantain is a natural cough suppressant.

Garlic helps to expel mucus. Thyme is an expectorant and good for bronchitis.
Loquat syrup, an extract from a fruit from China helps alleviate dryness and
coughing. Horehound soothes sore throats and, along with hyssop and
lobelia, is a natural expectorant. Peppermint, although a natural form of
menthol, will open the airways without drying out your throat.

Tip Number Three: Try herbal cough teas and syrups. There are several all
natural cough teas and syrups on the market. I personally like Traditional
Medicinals Herba Tussin tea and Herba Tussin syrup. This tea calms and
soothes the voice during those rough, dry times. Herba Tussin Tea contains
all organic ingredients including eucalyptus leaf, licorice root, organic slippery
elm bark, wild cherry bark, elecampane rhizome, marshmallow root, and a
proprietary blend of spearmint leaf, West Indian lemongrass leaf, lemon peel,
stevia leaf, lemon myrtle leaf.

Herba Tussin syrup is made from a mixture of organic spearmint leaf,

eucalyptus leaf, licorice root, slippery elm bark, wild cherry bark, organic West
Indian lemongrass leaf, elecampane rhizome, organic lemon peel, organic
stevia leaf, organic lemon myrtle leaf, and organic marshmallow root. Other
ingredients include vegetable glycerin, organic honey, purified water, and
organic peppermint leaf essential oil.

Another great choice is using a Loquat Syrup from Hong Kong, called Nim
Jiom Pei Pa Kao. It is formulated in a thicker honey syrup, which, along with
the secondary ingredients, makes that formula especially suitable for treating
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a scratchy or sore throat. This syrup alleviates coughs and moistens dryness.
It is best used overnight, helping soothe blown out throats. If you do a little
research, you’ll find a variety of teas and syrups suitable for your needs.

Useful Tip: Got A Sore Throat? Try the Fixer Elixer

If you suffer from a sore throat resulting from a cold, coughing, dehydration,
exhaustion, sinus trouble, stress, vocal fatigue or abuse then a Fixer Elixir
might soothe the situation. I was given this formula from a former vocal
teacher to help me when I was performing four nights a week years ago. It
was originally based on only five of the ingredients, but through personal
research, I have expanded the choices.

A Fixer Elixir is a combination of ingredients that can be used as a gargle

solution to relieve sore throat pain. The following list of ingredients can be
used individually or in combination with one cup of warm water.
Remember, this is a gargle ONLY! Not meant to be ingested!

1. Organic apple cider vinegar - One tablespoon kills

bacteria in the throat.
2. Aloe Vera juice - Two tablespoons lubricates the
throat.
3. Capsicum - One opened capsule or pinch of pepper
improves circulation in the throat.
4. Glycerin - Five to ten drops lubricates the throat.
5. Honey - Two tablespoons coats the throat.
6. Lemon juice - One teaspoon increases saliva
production.
7. Liquid chlorophyll - One tablespoon acts as a healing
agent.
8. Organic Sea Salt - One teaspoon breaks up
congestion and flushes mucus.
9. Tea tree oil – Five to ten drops are a natural
disinfectant.
10. Peroxide - One teaspoon kills bacteria in the throat.
11. Licorice – Five to ten drops reduces swelling.
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 12. Colloidal silver - Can be used as a base in place of
water.

With twelve ingredients from which to choose, there are numerous

possible combinations. I urge you to try as many combinations as
needed until you find one that suits you. The amount suggested for
each ingredient is general. Once you develop your magical elixir
combination, you can adjust the amount of each ingredient to fit your
needs. Then put it in a thermos and take it to the gig with you.

Five of the ingredients listed can be used independently as a gargle

at full strength. A three percent hydrogen peroxide solution, colloidal
silver, liquid chlorophyll, Organic Apple Cider vinegar or tea tree oil
can be used as a mouthwash or gargle. Both liquid chlorophyll and
colloidal silver are better when ingested. Actually, any of the
ingredients are fine to ingest with the exception of peroxide and tea
tree oil. Do NOT ingest either! In fact, just to clarify once more,
although the majority of the ingredients are fine to ingest, the Fixer
Elixer is meant to be used as a gargle solution only.

It is best to use warm water when mixing a gargle solution. This can be
either room temperature or hot water. Make sure that it isn’t too hot or
you’ll burn your throat and the heat will cause the vocal cords to swell.
Gargle the solution three to five times. Do not gargle with laryngitis.
Only gargle to relieve a sore throat or congestion. Don’t feel limited to the
twelve ingredients mentioned. Do some research to find other
ingredients that suit your individual needs.

Useful Tip: Use Honey and Hot Water

James Labrie of Dream Theater drinks hot water and honey when performing
and warming up. He keeps two thermoses on stage, one out front with the
band and one backstage to sip from during solos. If I wake up a little sore or
groggy, I mix honey, hot water and thirty drops each of the liquid herbs
licorice and slippery elm in sixteen ounces of water. If I feel a thickness from
phlegm, I’ll mix a tablespoon of organic apple cider vinegar with honey and six
to eight ounces of hot water and sip throughout the morning.

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DEHYDRATION
The body becomes dehydrated daily. You must replenish your body’s
water reserve every day. Working outside, especially in hot weather, will
cause you to perspire more. When you perspire, you lose sodium and
potassium, among other vitamins and minerals. Without sodium, your
body cannot fully process water.

Potassium loss affects the muscles of the body, resulting in muscle

cramping. Sodium and potassium work together to maintain the pH
balance in the body.

There are many signs of a dehydrated voice: your throat will be dry and
might even ache; your throat will feel tired and sound scratchy when you
speak or sing. If you sing with dry cords, your voice will sound brittle,
husky, and dull. There will be little resonance in your voice. This is most
noticeable in the upper range. If you are experiencing any of these
symptoms, you can bet your cords are somewhat dehydrated. The best
solution is to drink lots of water and mist-inhale frequently. Add X2O to your
water or make a sole, as Ocea suggests.

EXHAUSTION
Lack of sleep can be very detrimental to a singer’s health. Sleep repairs the
body and the cells. In order to perform to the best of your ability it is
imperative that you get at least eight to ten hours of sleep every night
though recent studies are saying that less might be better due to the way
sleep cycles occur. Your mind and body go through different levels of sleep
every ninety minutes. If the body is allowed to go through the complete
cycle, then you will be more rested. If you are awakened within that sleep
cycle, you might feel groggy. Personally, I prefer eight full hours, but maybe
six, seven and a half, or nine hours might work better for you. Experiment to
find what amount of time is needed to make you feel fully refreshed.

Singing is very demanding on the body. Without proper rest, your voice
will suffer. Exhaustion will affect the quality of your voice and your range

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will shrink. I have interviewed dozens of singers, and the two most
important things that singers always tell me that they require for their
voice is plenty of water and plenty of sleep. Make sure that you are well
rested before a performance, even if this means taking a nap several
hours before. To help me sleep, I’ll take herbs such as Kava Kava and
Valerian Root to help relax me and help induce a natural sleep.

Once in a while if I have insomnia, I will take melatonin because it knocks

me out quickly. What is melatonin? Melatonin ia a naturally occurring
hormone that tells the body when it is time to sleep. If you want to naturally
induce more melatonin within your body, then I suggest that you make sure
that when you go to sleep there is absolutely no light present in your sleeping
quarters. Melatonin is produced during the absence of light, so sleeping with a
nightlight or light shining in through a window, or the television turned on only
interrupts this natural process. So eliminate all light and possibly wear a pair
of sleeping shades for pure darkness.

One thing I never do is take anything like an over-the-counter sleep aid,

because this type of medication actually interferes with natural sleep,
preventing the body from proper rest and repair; you’ll wake up more tired
than when you went to sleep.

SINUS TROUBLE
In my opinion, sinus care should be a top priority for all vocalists. I have
suffered with sinus problems since I was a child. In 1992, I was reading a
book on meditation that discussed rituals for ridding excess phlegm from the
body. What I discovered from that book allowed me to alleviate the severe
sinus congestion that I had suffered from for years. I will tell you exactly what
helped me, but first let’s discuss sinus trouble in general.

Signs of sinus trouble, or sinusitis, may include nasal congestion, runny or

stuffy nose, headache, pain in teeth, excessive sinus discharge, fever,
fatigue, night-time coughing, dryness of the nasal passages, blood in the
sinuses, and snoring. If the symptoms leave within a few weeks, then
your sinus troubles were most likely the sign of a cold, fungal infections,
dust, smoke or dry sinuses. If these symptoms persist, it could be a sign of

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something potentially more serious, such as a deviated septum, nasal
polyps, GERD, or allergies. If you feel this is possible, you might wish to
consult an allergist for testing, an examination of the sinus cavities, and
testing for acid reflux.

Congestion and sneezing are both caused by an irritation of the sinus

membranes. The membranes are generally covered with a light film of
mucus to keep the passages moist and clean. Pollutants and any of the
previously mentioned irritants can cause excessive dryness or an
overproduction of mucus in the sinus cavities, causing congestion, sinus
infections and/or sneezing.

Sneezing is an involuntary muscular act produced by the body to expel the

unwanted particle from the sinuses. Any small airborne particle inhaled
through the nose can cause sneezing. Excessive sneezing is as
damaging as coughing, forcing blasts of air from the lungs and slapping
the vocal cords together. If you must sneeze, try to sneeze as non-vocal
as possible. If you minimize sound production, you’ll minimize vocal cord
abuse.

What I learned back in 1992 is that sinus health is a major part of every
person’s life, especially a singer’s life. Thus the sinuses should be
flushed daily to maintain perfect health and keep the cilia that line the
sinus passages free and clear of pollutants. There are many products
on the market to meet your sinus health needs, but I personally use
Neilmed products to meet all of my sinus care needs. Neilmed founder,
Ketan C. Mehta, M.D., developed his sinus care system to be as
natural as possible.

I flush my sinuses daily to help rid any irritants that I might have inhaled
throughout the day to relieve sneezing and congestion. I periodically
break out in a sneezing fit from inhaling perfumes or being around smoke.
I have also suffered from severe sinus congestion for my entire life. I was
finally able to keep this under control after reading about how to flush the
sinuses with a Neti pot. A Neti pot is a small pot that is shaped like
Aladdin’s Lamp that allows you to gently run water into one nostril from
the end of the spout of the pot, through the sinus cavity and out the other
nostril.

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When using a Neti Pot, mix eight ounces of warm distilled water (do not
use tap water because the chlorine will aggravate the sinus cavity) with a
quarter teaspoon of un-iodized sea salt. Regular salt will aggravate the
sinuses much like tap water. The solution should be slightly salty to taste;
too much salt can burn your sinuses. Fill the Neti Pot with the solution.
Now tilt your head back, tip the Neti Pot up, and then fill one nostril with
the solution and allow the water to gently flow through the sinus cavity
and exit through the other nasal passage.

Repeat this process several times for each nostril until the sinuses are
clear. I personally use the NasoFlow Neti Pot from NeilMed. NeilMed
offers their patented premixed Sinus Rinse packets of the highest quality
pharmaceutical grade un-iodized salt to assure the exact water/salt
mixture. Dr. Mehta states that his Sinus Rinse packets are the purest form
of salt, eliminating all impurities that are present in regular sea salt.

When I am on the road or if I am experiencing some congestion, I prefer

to use NeilMed’s patented Sinus Rinse bottle. The bottle comes in four,
eight or sixteen ounce bottles. Whereas the Neti Pot offers a gentle flush
of the sinuses and perfect for every day sinus care, the Sinus Flush bottle
is used for a large volume, low pressure (a little more pressure than the
Neti Pot) sinus flush solution. It is more convenient to pack for long trips
and more effective if you have some mild sinus congestion.

I think it is important to note here that if the sinuses are completely

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stopped up, I do not use a sinus flush. The sinuses are connected to the
Eustachian and if you try to flush the sinuses when they are stopped up,
you risk the chance of applying pressure to the eardrums and damaging
the sinuses too.

If I am suffering from a sinus cold or heavy congestion, (not complete

blockage) I prefer to use my Waterpik system for a steady stream of water
pressure. What I did was take the bottle top of the sinus rinse bottle with
stem and attach it to a Waterpik attachment. It’s easy to do. Just cut the
angle tip off of a basic Waterpik tooth cleaner and slide the tube from the
bottle top onto the Waterpik tip. Then attach it to the Waterpik, add a
SinusRinse packet to the reservoir and adjust the desired pressure. For
me, it has been the best of all three choices for removing excessive
mucous, crust, blood and pollutants from the sinuses. If you are a severe
sinus sufferer, I advise trying this method, or if you don’t own a Waterpik,
you can purchase Neilmed’s NasoGator system, which is their version of
this method.

All variations of the sinus flush will break up hard, infected mucus and
flush unwanted particles from the sinus cavities, so don’t freak out by
what comes running out of your nostrils. I’ve known of people who are
factory workers by day/singers by night, who have started cleansing their
sinuses regularly and removed some of the grossest, blackest mucus you’ve
ever seen. Removing mucus restores the natural flow of the cilia. Cilia are
tiny hairs that line the sinuses and throat and prevent small foreign
particles from entering the lungs. When the cilia flow freely, sinus drainage
returns to normal.

Sinus congestion occurs from the overproduction of mucus in the sinus

passages. Mucus builds up and hardens in the sinus cavities. Of course
you now know that this may be due to allergies or an irritation of the
sinuses. Blowing your nose helps to remove mucus buildup. But be very
careful. Blowing too hard could result in a busted blood vessel in the
sinuses, so lightly blow your nose.

Another beneficial exercise is the sinus tension release. This is a press and
release exercise. To perform this exercise, begin by placing the thumbs
on each eyebrow, close to the bridge of the nose. Press and release on
this area at one-second intervals for ten to fifteen times.
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Next, place your thumb and forefinger of either hand on the sides of the
bridge of the nose. Squeeze the bridge of the nose for one second, and
then release the pressure for one second. Repeat this process ten to
fifteen times.

Thirdly, using the pointer fingers, press and release on each cheek beside
the bridge of the nose at one-second intervals. Repeat this process ten to
fifteen times.

Lastly, place the pointer fingers on the upper lip beside each nostril. Press
and release at one-second intervals for ten to fifteen times. This will open
the sinuses for proper drainage. Massaging above and below the eyes
will break up congestion as well.
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Excessive sinus drainage, or postnasal drip, is also the result of allergies and
sinus irritation. There is an overproduction of thin, watery mucus that
must drain. Blowing the nose prevents mucus buildup. A sinus flush will
help return healthy functioning. If your allergies persist, you should
consult an ear, nose, and throat doctor or a qualified allergist.

Useful Tip: Hum Your Way to Clear Sinuses

Another effective technique to open the sinus passages is to hum on the letter
“n” and allow the resonant sound to vibrate through the sinus cavities. Slide
through your range until you find the pitch that is your sweet spot; the one
pitch that vibrates heaviest in your sinus passages. When you find this pitch,
close off one nostril at a time and sustain the pitch for as long as possible.
One nostril is usually more congested than the other, so each nostril must be
isolated as you do this exercise. It may take several minutes before the
sinuses begin to open, but I assure you this technique works!
(Sinus “N” Hum Demonstration)

If you are suffering from dry sinuses, or minor nosebleeds due to dry sinus

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passages, you might want to try a moisturizing spray such as NeilMed’s
NasaMist. This is a pH balanced, buffered nasal spray, which means that it
will not aggravate the sinuses. I use NasaMist at home, but when I fly, I prefer
to keep NasoGel with me. My sinuses sometimes become very dry due to the
cabin pressure. Neilmed’s NasoGel is a non-medicinal gel that I can apply to
the inside of my nostrils to keep them moist and thus keep my nostrils from
bleeding and cracking.

Before closing this discussion, I’d like to discuss snoring and sleep apnea:
both may be a sinus issue and could be the result of a deviated septum. The
nasal septum is the cartilage that separates the sinuses into the left and right
nostril. A deviated septum occurs when the cartilage leans left or right,
causing an obstruction in one of the nasal passages, which can possibly be
the cause of poor drainage, snoring or sleep apnea. My snoring seemed to
stem from open mouth breathing, which, as my allergist, Dr. Abraham said,
was the result of my deviated septum. I was then told that surgery wasn’t
necessary and that I might want to be checked for sleep apnea. Darn. All this
time I thought I couldn’t sleep because I kept dreaming up new vocal methods
for all of my fans.

Luckily, my ENT (ear, nose and throat doctor) is a dedicated doctor with over
thirty years of practice. He told me that I had a deviated septum and is the
cause of my snoring. In my opinion, it seems like most doctors try to get you
under the knife.

Luckily for me, he suggested against surgery and stated that I shouldn’t even
consider it unless my snoring got so bad that my health was in danger. And if
that were the case, we’d seek out other alternatives first, such as a CPAP
machine, which delivers a flow of oxygen through the sinuses as you sleep.
Sleep apnea can cause exhaustion. Although this topic would seem to fit
better in my “Exhaustion” section on this topic, this type of exhaustion is
directly related to the sinuses. If you find that you are snoring and waking up
more tired than when you went to sleep, I suggest that you see your physician
and schedule sleep tests. Sleep apnea can be very dangerous and can cause
heart problems.

If snoring seems to be more of an issue of breathing in through your mouth,

(which dries out the uvula and the sinuses, thus causing the snoring) and you
are not exhausted in the morning, then my first suggestion is to try using nasal
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strips to keep the passages of the sinuses open. Mouth breathing dries out
the entire area and can initiate snoring. Nasal breathing (and the usage of
nasal strips) keeps everything moist and open. If the sinus passages become
blocked from something like mucous buildup, you will be forced to breathe
through your mouth. I’ve also tried some of the several moisturizing sprays
that moisten the uvula that seemed to have worked, but I found that mist
inhaling did just as good. Sleeping with my humidifier not only helps keep my
cords moist, but keeps my mouth moist as well. When my wife lets me know
I’ve been snoring a lot, I’ll moisten my sinuses with NasoMist. I generally find
that if I am lying on my back, I tend to snore. If I lay on my side in a fetal
position, I am just fine. So if you wake up from snoring, try turning on your
side.

If you are a sinus sufferer, sneezer or snorer, give all of my suggestions a try,
because they really do work. (Check out www.neilmed.com.)

STRESS
Stress, stress, stress. Stress from work, stress from school, pressure from your
peers, stress from bills… It all affects you. Let it go! Stress is not needed. Stress
can make you physically ill, allow diseases to develop within your body, bring
about deep depression, cause you to gain weight, destroy relationships, make
you overspend and lose money… the list goes on. Most importantly, stress will
affect your voice! That’s why you get a lump in your throat when you are upset.

We release our emotions through our voice so it only makes sense that when
we are upset that the little ball of anger, hurt or resentment swells up inside your
throat as it tries to get out of you. It is time to make a choice. Choose to be
happy. You do have a choice. How do you want to live? The best suggestion to
battling stress is to follow the Useful Tip “Take What is Yours” by Jim Gillette
and begin changing your life.

Another key point I’d like to make is to realize that it isn’t all that bad. I look back
at situations I have been in that really stressed me out and now I realize they
weren’t really that bad. We are here to learn and create and there is no
situation, which you cannot handle. I remember how tests use to really make
me freak out in school. Although I’d study, I would get so worked up at times

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that I would make myself sick.

Try my “Breathe, Visualize, Vocalize” method for stage fright and apply it to any
area of your life. Breathe deeply and calmly and allow the stress to melt away.
Visualize the outcome you wish to happen to eliminate the stressful situation.
(Make sure it is a positive outcome for everyone involved.) You can also apply
the four-minute meditation technique but instead of focusing on any typical
situation, just allow your mind to effortlessly float from thought to thought for four
minutes straight. Just close your eyes, take slow deep breaths and release and
allow the stress to melt away. For the vocalizing part, simple say allowed an
affirmation that applies to the situation. If someone at work is making your job
harder than normal, simply state, “My job environment is harmonious and I work
in a friendly, fun environment.”

Last but not least, I find that by using herbs like Chamomile, Kava Kava or St.
John’s Wort during times of stress that I can handle the seemingly
overwhelming situation much easier. I also take a vitamin B complex every day
to give my body the nutrition it needs for mental stability. I learned this several
years ago when I bought a bottle of Stress Tabs. When I read the ingredients, I
realized it was basically Vitamin B complex.

VOCAL NODULES AND POLYPS

Two frightening words: Nodules and polyps. I remember years and years ago
when I decided to get back into singing after quitting for the twentieth time. After
several months of playing with a band, I developed a lot of hoarseness. I was
petrified. I truly believed I had developed vocal nodules. So I went to my ear,
nose, throat doctor and he ran this little scope up my nose and down my throat.

He told his nurse, “Oh my! Sheila, come here, you’ve got to see this.” At that
moment I knew my career was over. He then said, “Aren’t these the most
beautiful vocal cords you’ve ever seen!” Whoa, what a relief. Turns out it was
allergies. Nevertheless, the thought of having vocal nodules is a very terrifying
thought. So what is a nodule and what causes it? Well, a vocal cord nodule is a
nodule or mass of tissue that grows on the vocal cords that can become
callus-like from continual abuse of the voice. So basically, it is a callus, just
like guitar players get on their fingers from picking the guitar strings.

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Unfortunatley, vocal calluses aren’t helpful to singers like finger calluses are
to guitar players.

A nodule typically appears on the edges of the cords where the cords touch to
produce sound. It limits the ability of the vocal cords to function naturally to
create a pure tone.

Symptoms of nodules include hoarseness and pain, breathy and husky tone,
frequent vocal breaks and a shrinking of the vocal range. People who
continually abuse their voice by poor singing technique, shouting, speaking
too loud, continual use of the speaking voice (telemarketers), drinking caffeine
and alcoholic beverages (which dries out the throat), or constantly clearing
their throat, are all subject to developing nodes.

If you are a singer, nodules can greatly affect the sound of your voice and
interfere with your career choice. Nodules can be reversed because basically,
they are just small calluses on the vocal cords, and if caught in time, vocal
rest and speech therapy can eliminate them. (I’ve worked with famous
students with nodules and seen complete recovery without surgery!)

However, if the damage is severe, the only choice might be surgery. Surgery
does not mean an end to your vocal career. In fact I know of several singers
who have had nodules and have been able to carry on after surgery.

Some famous singers who have suffered from nodules include Bonnie Tyler
and Goo Goo Dolls singer Johnny Rzeznik. But the most famous singer of all
to suffer from nodules and continue to sing, record and tour without having
them removed is Queen frontman Freddy Mercury. Freddy was one of the
most amazing singers of our time and chose to live with nodes in fear of the
removal of them might affect his singing voice even worse.

The best advice I have to offer is that if you feel you suffer from nodules, you
should have your ENT check out your cords with a laryngioscope. If you do
have them and you are serious about your career then you will take time off
for recovery. Once you feel you are ready for rehabilitation, seek out a good
coach and speech therapist and begin rebuilding your vocal technique. If you
continue to abuse your voice, then these small callus-like nodules, which are
at first just soft, swollen spots on either one or each vocal cord, will begin to

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develop into harder callus-like growths. The nodules will become larger and
stiffer the longer the vocal abuse continues.

Useful Tip: Nodes CAN Be Reversed!

By Chitral Somapala

Hi, my name is Chitral Somapala, and I had vocal nodules. I must tell my story
from the beginning so that you understand how I came to have nodes and
how I eliminated them.
I started singing and playing bass guitar in a local TOP 40 Band in the #1 Sri
Lankan Nightclub Circuit when I was 17 years old. I did so with the purpose
that someday I wanted to achieve my gold and to be a part of the international
music community- to travel around the world and share music with everybody.
When I was 19 years old, I Somehow broke into the #1 European Night Club
Scene with the same band I was gigging with back in my home country, as
well as backed by known artists in Europe.

After singing/playing for 8 yrs, 5-6 days (at times 7 days a week) I must admit
I gained tons of experience of how to maintain my voice for singing every
night and in different styles from Rock/Blues/Pop/Soul/Funk to Disco Hits.
After my 8th Nightclub adventure year as a Vocalist/Bassist I wanted to follow
my dream to be a Lead Singer in a Hard Rock/Metal Band.

I joined a local Metal Band called “Court Jester” from Trier/Germany. I

recorded their debut “Force to Believe” with them on an Indie Label and
received praise for my vocal credits. After the split from this group I was
asked to join the popular German Progressive Metal outfit AVALON for their
third album “Vision Eden” with the Producer Charlie Bauerfeind
(Helloween/Gammy Ray/Blind Guardian and Saxon etc.), followed by their
fourth album, “Eurasia” with Sascha Paeth (Rhapsody/Kamelot/Epica and
etc.) I started to gain International recognition with all this work.

After years of being busy with multiple bands/projects like FARO, FIREWIND,
RED CIRCUIT + A Cover Pop/Rock/Metal Band … my voice felt like it was
used up and it felt as if I had been pushed to the limit vocally. I needed some
recovery time and I decided to see a doctor because of the hoarseness I was
experiencing. The doctor diagnosed me with vocal nodules. I never expected

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this. The only symptom I had was that I was hoarse all of the time and I
thought that this was because of smoking and at times drinking. I was so
upset about it that I took things a bit more serious than I usually do because
this was DEADLY to my career!!!

I was looking all over the net for a solution and I found Jaime Vendera and
sent him an email regarding my problem. He immediately replied and said
“Bro, Please Call me”. I called him and I felt very confident with all his advice.
It was someone sent from above! After listening to me on the phone, he
assured me that my nodules could be reversed, although I was told that
surgery was the only answer. He mainly spoke of the woes of drinking and
smoking, proper voice placement, warming up and had me singing/vocalizing
at a light volume for several months to regain my tone. I followed his advice
and again felt better than ever! I did make a few mistakes at times singing
“live” without any warm ups and I was screaming for no reason thinking that I
have lost my voice. Now I see that the voice is a very sensitive instrument that
you should know exactly how to tune it before you play. So friends, ALWAYS
warm up, whether your voice is healthy or not. In my case, I should’ve known
better;)

I really suffered inside my soul having nodules and singing when I knew I was
having difficulties. Sometimes, certain people don’t feel it or get it until it
comes to the point when they know what’s really going on inside vocally.

It feels like you are on top the Golden Gate Bridge of San Francisco trying a
Bungee Jump! You feel lifeless without your Voice! That’s the way I felt but I
got rid of the nodules somehow with the help of correct technique and GOD!

So now I have recovered and reversed my nodules WITHOUT surgery,

recorded a new album with the band Civilization One, share my vocal
knowledge through teaching at a school in Germany and my voice feels better
than ever!

So, my advice to singers everywhere is; if you feel that you have ruined your
voice permanently, there is still hope. Please get professional advice right
away without feeling odd! You are still cool, even if you go to a throat doctor
or take lessons! Even professionals need help as we are all human and make
mistakes at times! NOBODY IS PERFECT!

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© 2007 Chitral Somapala. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission

The native Sri Lankan, Chitral "Chity" Somapala (CIVILIZATION ONE) broke
into the Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Scene in 1996, and has recorded, toured,
and made guest appearances with several bands around the world, including
AVALON, FARO, FIREWIND, and RED CIRCUIT, to name a few. His
unmistakable style of singing combines the passion of blues and soul, with
the heaviness of hard rock and heavy metal. Chity has been compared
favorably to Ronnie James Dio and Klaus Meine (Scorpions), and he has
established himself as one of the leading heavy metal vocalists in the
business today.

Chity is currently teaching vocals and bass guitar at the Modern Music School
in Trier, Germany as well as working as a session vocalist for different acts,
and concentrating on his own band, CIVILIZATION ONE, who released the
critically acclaimed "Revolution Rising" album in 2007. You can learn more
about Chity at-www.somapala.com and www.civilization-one.com.

Let’s not forget polyps-Polyps are sometimes caused by vocal abuse.

Polyps appear on either one or both of the vocal folds and appear as a
swelling or bump (similar to a nodule but more like a blister ), a stalk-like
growth, or a blister-like lesion. Treatment of polyps generally involves surgery.
Again, consult your ENT before proceeding with my advice.

VOCAL FATIGUE
Vocal fatigue could be the result of several possibilities that we have discussed
in this book. It could be lack of sleep, allergies, poor speech habits, poor breath
support, overuse and abuse of the voice stemming from poor vocal technique,
too much singing, speaking in crowds, lack of vocal stamina from singing, etc. If
you feel any signs of fatigue, be a voice detective and research this book as
well as other resources to find out what could be causing the problem. Give
your voice a rest while you do the research. There is absolutely nothing wrong
with twenty-four to forty-eight hours of silence to recuperate. Remember,
whispering is not vocal rest.

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182
FOURTEEN
Enemies Of The Voice

ALCOHOL
Alcohol is a rapid dehydrator. It will dry out your throat and subject
you to vocal abuse because the cords must stay lubricated to
function properly. To observe the drying effect of alcohol, rub a little
rubbing alcohol on your skin. It will evaporate quickly. Every time you take a
drink of alcohol you evaporate the lubrication lining in your throat. As
alcohol flows through the bloodstream, the body’s water supply
evaporates, thus dehydrating the body. Your body has no use for alcohol.
Your liver and kidneys will work overtime to cleanse and flush alcohol
from your system. This equals more trips to the bathroom. Although
alcoholic drinks do contain some water, the water content isn’t enough to
replenish the body’s evaporated supply. This is why the more you drink,
the thirstier you become.

Another downfall to alcohol consumption is that the motor senses are

affected. Your speech becomes slurred, your equilibrium becomes
unbalanced, and your entire body becomes too relaxed to perform physical
activities. Enunciation is a very important part of singing. Slurred words
aren’t pleasing during a song. The vocal muscles must retain a certain
amount of tension to work properly. If you are too relaxed from drinking,
you will lose control of your voice. If you must drink, keep it to a minimum.
Plenty of water and mist inhaling is a must.

I personally don’t believe the ‘drink one drink for relaxation’ mentality.
There are better ways to deal with nervousness. But if this is your
process, do what works for you.

CAFFEINE
Another dehydrator is caffeine. Caffeine is a diuretic; it will cause you to

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pee and lose water. Like alcohol, caffeine affects the kidneys. When the
body becomes dehydrated, your vocal cords are the first to suffer.
Caffeine speeds up the heart rate, agitates the nervous system, and
increases your stress level. Caffeine is the only additive that mimics the
effects of emotional stress. The body loses calcium and vitamin C when
under stress. Both nutrients are important for cold prevention because
they strengthen the immune system. Stress hampers voice control. When
your voice is stressed and unsteady, the quality of your sound will suffer.

Your vocal cords are coated with thin, watery mucus for lubrication. Since
caffeine is a diuretic, it is going to pull water away from the vocal cords
first. When this happens, the glands that produce mucus will continue to
produce that mucus, but without enough water to dilute the consistency,
your cords will be coated with thick yellow mucus that will inhibit and
dampen proper vocal cord vibration. You’ll notice that when you drink
caffeine products, you start to clear your throat. This is an unconscious
act to rid the cords of that thick yellow mucus. If you clear your throat or
cough in a loud harsh manner, you will irritate the vocal cords and cause
them to swell. I’m not telling you to quit, but if you do, your voice will
improve.

While on caffeine, my voice was very scratchy. But with bold determination
I was able to quit. The tone of my voice improved dramatically. Within two
weeks, the scratchiness left, I quit clearing my throat, and my tone became
clear. (Hey I am not going to lie to you here. I still cheat every once in
awhile. But, I sure know when I do.)

Caffeine withdrawal can cause headaches, which makes quitting difficult

but if you are determined, you can accomplish anything.

Useful Tip: Avoiding the Caffeine Cough

If you consume a lot of caffeine, you’ll notice that you are always coughing or
clearing your throat. Try to clear your throat at a low volume, suck on your
lower lip, or better yet, don’t clear your throat or cough at all. Your body is
attempting to eliminate the yellow mucus buildup (which occurs when mucus is
produced with the absence of water) from the vocal cords. If you drink more
water, as opposed to caffeine products, this won’t be a problem.

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COCAINE
Snorting and smoking cocaine aggravates the lining of the sinus cavity.
When the mucus membranes are irritated, the sinuses produce extra
mucus to flush away the irritant. Cocaine produces a numbing effect. As
the affected mucus enters the throat cavity through the back of the
sinuses, the throat becomes numb. This irritates the vocal cords as well,
causing them to swell. When the vocal cords are swollen, they will not
vibrate properly. If you attempt to sing in this state, you will endanger your
voice. If you sing without physical sensation, you won’t be able to tell if you
are straining, thus further damaging your swollen cords. The effects of
cocaine stay with the voice for several days. Indulging in illegal substances
for pleasure isn’t worth the risk of permanently losing your voice or getting
arrested because it is against the law!

DAIRY PRODUCTS
I love dairy products, but when I have a vocal performance coming up, I
try to eliminate them from my diet for the day of the gig. Although it doesn’t
seem to affect my voice much, dairy products can increase the thick
mucus buildup in the body, especially in the throat. Mucus on the vocal
cords hampers their ability to vibrate. Your tone will become unclear and
you’ll end up clearing your throat. Clearing your throat is as bad as
coughing. Taking care of your voice requires commitment and sacrifice.
Everyone is different, so if dairy products affect you, I’d advise cutting back
on your dairy intake before any vocal performances.

Dairy products have never been a real problem for me. Once in a while, I’ll
wake up with a sore throat if I’ve eaten pizza late at night, but that could
either be dairy or the acidity of tomato sauce. Each person is different. So if
you enjoy dairy products, test your own boundaries. If you find they are
problematic for you, then eliminate dairy from your diet forty-eight hours prior
to any important singing engagement.

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OVER-THE-COUNTER REMEDIES
Over-the-counter remedies include throat lozenges, throat sprays, sinus
medication, and cold remedies. Although there are several good
lozenges on the market, I have found few to suit me. The majority of cold
products dry out the mucous linings of the throat and sinuses. Many
ingredients limit the secretion of the body’s natural lubricants in an
attempt to mask symptoms such as coughing and congestion.

Throat lozenges do not coat the cords, only the esophagus, but the vocal
cords can still be affected. Antiseptics and menthol-related products dry
out the throat and sinuses. Although these ingredients might open your
sinus passages and numb your throat, relieving pain and congestion, the
results are only temporary. Any product that dries you out is bad news.
You’ll have to increase your water intake in order to re-hydrate the voice.

Throat sprays are lozenges in liquid form. It is much easier to coat your
throat (not the actual cords) with a spray than a lozenge. Most sprays
contain similar ingredients to lozenges with alcohol as a base. Alcohol is a
drying agent. If you are using an alcohol-based spray, you are drying out
your throat with each use.

Sinus medications dry out the sinus passages in an attempt to stop and
break up mucus flow. Stopping mucus production sets up a home in the
sinuses for bacteria to breed. Increased sinus drainage is an attempt by
the body to rid itself of foreign particles in the sinuses. If the sinus
passages are dried out and mucus flow is inhibited, you are not
permitting the body to clean itself.

Sinus inhalers and sprays are a pitfall. They can be addictive. If you
continually use nasal decongestant sprays, you risk the chance of
developing recurrent congestion. Your sinuses will start to view the
sprays as an irritant and secrete more mucus, thus adding to your
congestion.

Cold remedies are similar to sinus medications. They dehydrate the body
to mask the effects of a cold, preventing the body from cleaning house.
Some cold remedies contain mild sedatives as a nighttime sleeping aid. In
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order for the body to cleanse and heal itself, it needs plenty of natural rest.
Sedatives interrupt the body’s natural sleep patterns. There are different
levels of sleep that your body must cycle through several times during
sleep in order for the body to revive and restore itself to a healthy state.
When you are not fully refreshed, you weaken your immune system and
invite infection.

If you feel that you need instant relief from a cold, don’t let me sway you. I’m
not condemning over-the-counter remedies, I just want to make you
aware of the side effects from a singer’s point of view. Any of these
products can be temporarily beneficial in moderation. The choice is up to
you.

SMOKING
As you well know, your vocal cords must maintain their lubrication in
order to vibrate properly. INHALING SMOKE DRIES OUT YOUR VOCAL
CORDS! Yes, I meant to shout. This refers to tobacco, marijuana, and any
other substance that can be inhaled as smoke. Whether by inhaling or
breathing in secondhand smoke, both are harmful. In fact, second hand
smoke is considered worse for your lungs because the smoke is
unfiltered. Not only does smoke dry out the natural lubrication of the vocal
cords, but smoke also damages the cilia. Cilia act like tiny filters, helping to
prevent foreign particles and mucus from entering the lungs. Many
smokers cough because the cilia are so damaged that they are unable to
prevent mucus and unwanted particles from entering the lungs. As you
well know, coughing is damaging to the cords.

Do yourself a favor, if you don’t smoke, don’t start. If you must smoke,
increase your water intake to help cleanse the body. Breathing steam and
mist inhaling helps to revitalize the vocal cords. Smoking depletes the
body’s supply of vitamin C, so taking vitamin C daily is extremely
important. The best thing you can do is quit smoking. Nicotine is
addictive, but if you have the desire to quit, you can beat the nicotine
habit. There are many methods to help you kick the habit. Again, quit now
and your voice will thank you.

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If you do intend to quit smoking, do not be alarmed if your voice goes
through a rough period of hoarseness and an excessive amount of
phlegm. Your lungs are so full of toxins, phlegm and nicotine tar that once
you stop smoking, the body will work to clean the lungs and eliminate all
irritants. I’ve had tons of students tell me they sang better when they
smoked. Well, no you didn’t. But yes you might have sounded better right
before you quit…because this is a cleansing process. While cleansing the
lungs, you just might sound like garbage. But it is worth the price in the
end, to go through the entire process. When you do quit, you should up
your intake of fluids, breathe lots of steam to soften the phlegm and tar in
the lungs, making it easier to expel the mucus. Also do lots of cardio
vascular exercise to increase oxygen and strengthen the lungs.

Now that we’ve covered enemies and ailments of the voice, let’s move on
to some more positive subjects.

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FIFTEEN
The Singer’s Medicine Chest
I have found the following vitamins, minerals, herbs, and products to be
very beneficial to maintaining a healthy voice and maintaining vocal health.
There is a much wider variety than listed in this chapter, but I have chosen
only to list what I have personally found beneficial to my voice. There are
many detailed books on herbs and nutrition written by professionals. I am
not an expert in this area. I urge you to consult your physician before
taking anything in this section.

Try the following products to decide which benefit you and your body.
Remember, a healthier body means a healthier voice.

APPLE CIDER VINEGAR (ORGANIC)

Apple cider vinegar (ACV) boosts the
immune system, purifies the cells of the body
and acts as a natural antibiotic. It is rich in
vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. It
improves circulation, boosts metabolism, and
maintains the body’s pH levels. Apple cider
vinegar resembles the gastric juices, which
proves beneficial in aiding digestion. Ironically,
although it resembles an acid, you shouldn’t
be alarmed of the pH balance affects of ACV
because ACV helps the body to metabolize
Calcium, which is an alkaline booster.
Therefore, the pH is shifted towards alkaline
from ACV and away from an acid balance.

ACV helps flush the kidneys and liver of toxins, reduces cholesterol, and
promotes weight loss. It helps to instantly relieve the symptoms of acid reflux
and balance the digestive process. If you are feeling the affects of heartburn,

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try a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to remedy the problem. Or better yet,
make a cup of ACV tea and drink before meals to prevent reflux: one cup of
hot water, one tablespoon of ACV and one tablespoon of organic honey.

When used as a gargle, apple cider vinegar will heal a sore throat by
killing the viruses and bacteria that cause a sore throat. A tablespoon of
apple cider vinegar a day will keep the doctor a way. I only use one type
of apple cider vinegar—Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar. This brand is pure
unfiltered organic apple cider vinegar, which contains all of the beneficial
nutrients. Other brands are strained of the essential nutrients. Pure
organic apple cider vinegar will be cloudy, which means it is an all-natural
source.

BEE HONEY AND PROPOLIS

Honey and bee propolis are both naturally antiseptic, antibiotic,
antifungal, and antibacterial. Propolis may also be used as an anti-
inflammatory. Taken internally, propolis helps to reduce swelling of the
vocal cords. It is also useful in healing wounds. The antibacterial
substances in honey will help to soothe laryngitis and coughs, making it a
great natural cough syrup. Several tablespoons of honey will coat and
soothe the pharynx.

FLAX OIL
A friend and fellow colleague of mine, James Lugo, owner of Vocal Asylum in
Hollywood California, suggested the use of Flax oil to help lubricate the voice.
So I looked into this a bit further. What I found is that flax is one of the best
sources of essential fatty acids, which play an important part in
cardiovascular health. Flax oil also feeds the skin to relieve dryness. It also
functions as an anti-inflammatory that can aid in reducing swelling in the
throat. I take it for my skin and I am sure my voice benefits from flax oil as
well. I suggest adding this to your diet.

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LEMON JUICE
Lemon juice has its pros and cons. It is beneficial to a singer when used in
moderation. Lemon juice will increase saliva production, which aids a dry
throat, but it also contains citric acid, which is harsh on the vocal cords.

I was once told by a vocal teacher to suck on lemons and drink pure
lemon juice to help my voice. For a while, while performing, I would keep
lemon juice with me to drink onstage, in between songs. Within a few
short weeks I realized that this only worsened my problems. Every night
during the first set, I would sound great. As the night progressed, my
throat would dry out, so I would drink more lemon juice. My throat would
become scratchy, and by the end of the night I could barely talk, let alone
sing. Of course some of this was due to poor vocal technique, but after I
quit drinking lemon juice, I quit losing my voice.

A small amount of lemon juice is beneficial because it will cause you to

salivate and help to clean out mucus from the throat. Just learn your limits
with lemon juice. Again, using too much lemon juice is taxing on the cords
due to the citric acid. If you feel a little dry and want to get your juices
flowing, try a diluted mixture of one teaspoon of lemon juice to eight
ounces of water. You will enjoy the benefits for a couple of hours.

TEA TREE OIL

Tea tree oil is a natural disinfectant and has been used for years in the
medical and dental professions as an effective germicide, disinfectant and
fungicide. It has also been used as a local anesthetic to relieve pain. It
contains forty-eight organic substances that combine to establish strong
healing properties. As far as a singer is concerned, tea tree oil aids in the
relief of bronchitis, canker sores, colds, cold sores, laryngitis, mouth ulcers,
and sinus headaches. Ten to fifteen drops in a cup of water makes an
effective gargle for easing a sore throat and preventing infection.

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VITAMINS AND MINERALS
All vitamins and minerals are necessary for healthy tissue growth and
repair. The following vitamins and minerals aid the singer’s body in
promoting a healthy voice.

CALCIUM/MAGNESIUM
A supplement combination of calcium and magnesium help to maintain
overall health. There is more calcium in the body than any other mineral,
but you lose calcium rapidly under stress. Calcium depletion can result in
a viral infection, so a daily dose of calcium is a must for cold prevention.
Magnesium enhances the absorption of calcium in the body, reduces
constriction of the bronchial tubes and strengthens the respiratory
muscles. Calcium helps prevent arthritis and osteoporosis. The RDA for
calcium is 1000 milligrams and 400 milligrams for magnesium.

POTASSIUM
Potassium is the body’s main healing mineral. When combined with
sodium, the body’s pH levels are maintained. When this balance is upset,
infection occurs. This mineral fights bacteria and viruses and flushes
wastes from the body. Potassium is lost through sweating. When the
body’s potassium levels are low, muscle cramping and dizziness can
occur. The RDA for potassium is 3500 milligrams.

SODIUM
Sodium, (salt) is the best mineral for breaking up and flushing away
excess mucus. When used as a solution for gargling or a sinus flush, salt
will clean and flush bacteria infested areas. If you develop a sore throat,
mix a teaspoon of salt in a cup of warm water for a gargle solution.
Gargling salt water will speed the healing process. It is important to note
that I do not use iodized salt because I am allergic to iodine. I use natural sea

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salt (un-iodized) and I think you should try it as well. Natural is better and like
there is no need for fluoride in toothpaste, there is no need for iodine in salt.

VITAMIN B COMPLEX
Taking vitamin B complex helps to maintain a healthy nervous system and
fights mental stress and depression. This is the singer’s stress vitamin.
Less mental stress means less tension in the throat area. When your
throat is tense it is harder to sing in the upper range. B complex also
relieves mouth and canker sores. The RDA for vitamin B6 is two milligrams
and six micrograms for B12, although you may take up to as much as fifty
times the daily value. Taking B vitamins will turn your urine bright yellow so
don’t be thrown into thinking that the body is dehydrated.

VITAMIN C
Vitamin C is the singer’s vitamin. It increases white blood cell count, which
increases your ability to destroy viruses and bacteria, thus preventing
infection. Vitamin C is a natural antihistamine, which is beneficial to sinus
sufferers. If your body’s vitamin C reserve is depleted, infection can spread.
If you are a smoker, you have a greater risk of catching a cold. Tobacco
breaks down vitamin C in the body. You also lose vitamin C when you are
under mental stress. Stress can lead to exhaustion and sickness. The
Recommended Daily Allowance is sixty milligrams; however, vitamin C is not
toxic in large quantities. During cold season, your body could require as
much as 2000 milligrams, three to four times daily. (I have previously
mentioned that I take 3000 milligrams daily and 3000 milligrams an hour up to
ten times a day when I have a cold. This causes the body to reach saturation,
and at this point, the vitamin C turns into an antihistamine, which helps to
battle congestion and infection.) When you take massive doses, be
forewarned that it can cause diarrhea.

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ZINC
If vitamin C is the singer’s vitamin, then zinc is the singer’s mineral. It is an
important mineral for resisting infection in the body. If zinc is taken in the
form of a lozenge, it will help to relieve a sore throat as well as reduce
inflammation of the vocal cords. Taking zinc tabs during a performance can
help to maintain your singing voice.

Zinc deficiency shows up in the form of white spots on the fingernails. Add
zinc to your daily regimen to reduce the risk of catching a cold. The RDA is
twelve milligrams for women and fifteen milligrams for men. In order to
relieve a sore throat, twice the amount might be required. HIGH
DOSAGES OF ZINC OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME CAN BE TOXIC,
AFFECTING PROPER IMMUNE SYSTEM FUNCTION. So don’t overdo it.
(However, ‘liquid’ ionic zinc does not build up in the body and isn’t toxic.) I
personally eat zinc lozenges every day. For a performance, I’ll let two lozenges
dissolve in my mouth before the performance, and I’ll take one after I am done
performing.

Useful Tip: Liquids and Whole Foods are Better

It is better to take your vitamins and minerals in liquid form. Liquid form is
absorbed into the bloodstream faster than pill form. You may not be getting the
full benefit from pill form, because a pill is not always fully digested. Not to be
gross, but an owner of a portable toilet company said that when the toilets are
cleaned, he has seen tons of pills that said “One-A-Day” on them. So go to
your local health food store and check out the liquid vitamin and mineral
section. This is one of the reasons that I use X2O daily in my water.

Along with liquid vitamins/minerals, I also choose whole food powdered

products, which contain vitamins, minerals, herbs and greens, such as barley
and kelp. When you digest a powdered drink, the body quickly and easily
absorbs the nutrients from the drink as opposed to only absorbing a part of a
multi-vitamin capsule or tablet that might not actually get digested. Do your
own research and find a whole foods powdered drink that contain a full
serving of vitamins, minerals, herbs, fruits and vegetables. It might take some
research to find one that you actually like the taste, so don’t give up when the
first one tastes like chalk.
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Useful Tip: Make a Whole Foods Energy Cocktail
Every morning after my cardio and during breakfast, I make myself a whole-
foods cocktail consisting of 8 ounces of distilled water plus one Xooma sachet,
a whole-foods vegetable/fruit/herb powdered mix, a tablespoon of liquid
vitamins or one opened Lifesource capsule, (Xooma product) 8 drops of each
Coralyte (Xooma Product) and a product called Cell Food from Lumina Health
Products and last but not least, a tablespoon of flax oil. If you don’t like my
suggestion, I’m sure you can come up with your own suitable combination.

HERBS
Herbs serve as preventive maintenance for colds and voice building
supplements. The following list of herbs benefits the voice.

Betony Astringent that reduces inflammation. Can be used as

a gargle.

Cayenne Increases blood flow and circulation; reduces swelling

in the cords by increasing blood flow.

Chamomile Fights colds, coughs, and congestion; a natural

sleep inducer.

Chlorophyll Two tablespoons of liquid chlorophyll will detoxify

germs that cause a sore throat and help eliminate
bad breath.

Collinsonia It relieves laryngitis and throat irritation.

Echinacea A natural antibiotic. This herb helps to clean the

lymphatic system and flushes toxins out of the
body. Increases the production of white blood cells
and slows down the spreading of bacteria and viral
infections in the body. Stimulates the immune
system and fights sinus infections, tonsillitis, and
laryngitis.

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Ginger Relieves nausea and flu-like symptoms.

Ginseng An excellent herb for fighting physical and

emotional stress. Ginseng increases energy and
stamina and replenishes the body’s energy levels
when you are tired.

Goldenseal Another natural antibiotic. Flushes toxins from the

body, reduces inflammation of the mucus
membranes of the sinuses and throat; relieves
sore throat, tonsillitis, sinusitis, and allergies.

Grapefruit Seed Powerful all-around anti-microbial product and is an

excellent disinfectant and antiseptic.

Hyssop Expectorant. Relieves coughs, congestion, and sore

throat.

Kava Kava An excellent herb for relieving mental stress and

promoting sleep.

Kelp (Seaweed) A natural source of iodine, which is beneficial for

proper thyroid functioning. Kelp contains over
seventy vitamins, minerals, trace elements, and
enzymes. When taken with meals, kelp aids
digestion.

Licorice A natural form of cortisone, which can reduce the

swelling of inflamed vocal cords. Replenishes the
body’s energy by feeding the adrenal glands.
Rebuilds the tissue and mucus membranes of the
sinuses and throat. Licorice is a natural
antihistamine. Reduces swelling of the vocal cords.

Lobelia A powerful lung cleanser. Breaks up and flushes

excessive mucus from the body. Lobelia is toxic in
large doses.

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Marshmallow Helps coat the throat to relieve soreness and coughs.

Mullein Relieves sinus congestion, sore throat, coughs,

and bronchitis.

Osha Root Natural lung cleanser; loosens mucus buildup.

Slippery Elm The best herb for soothing a sore throat. Slippery
elm lubricates the throat and reduces
inflammation of the throat and vocal cords. Best
taken as a throat lozenge or herbal tea.

St. John’s Wort A Natural mood elevator. Helps to fight depression

and mental stress.

Thyme Thyme is a natural antiseptic.

Valerian Root Natural sleep inducer.

Useful Tip: Health Handbook

The Health Handbook by Louise Tenny is an excellent resource for ailments
and a listing of the best vitamins, minerals, nutritional supplements, herbs,
and herbal combinations to alleviate each ailment and cleanse the body of
infection.

Useful Tip: Do a Little Research

The vitamins and minerals that I have listed are not the only choices for vocal
health. There are all sorts of information on vitamins and minerals and a
multitude of other health-related supplements that will benefit your overall
heath, as well as your singing voice. Do yourself a favor and do a little
research of your own to find other sources.

Now, let’s move on to throat sprays:

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THROAT SPRAYS FOR LUBRICATION
ENTERTAINER’S SECRET

Entertainer’s Secret Throat Relief is a spray that was synthetically

formulated to resemble the natural mucous secretions and designed to
moisturize, humidify, and lubricate the mucous membranes of the throat
and larynx. Entertainer's Secret resulted from a collaborative effort of KLI
CORP and a Nashville TN otolaryngologist (ear, nose and throat
specialist), Richard Quisling, MD.

This spray supplements the throat’s natural lubricants.

It contains Aloe Vera gel, glycerin, and sodium
carboxycellulose, all of which closely resemble the
body’s natural lubricating substances. Unlike other
throat sprays, this spray does not contain alcohol,
antiseptics, analgesics, antihistamines, decongestants,
or anti-inflammatory agents.

When mist inhaled, it coats, soothes, and re-lubricates

the vocal cords. It can also be directly inhaled into the
nose to relieve sinus congestion and lubricate dry sinus
passages. Entertainer’s Secret is like lotion for the skin,
only for the vocal cords”.

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THAYER’S DRY MOUTH SPRAY

Thayer’s Sugar-Free Dry Mouth Sprays deliver soothing, natural, instant

moisture and relief from dry mouth (Xerostomia), a condition brought on by
medications, stress, chemotherapy, radiation, hypertension, smoking, aging
and numerous other factors.

Thayer’s Sugar-Free Dry Mouth Sprays provide saliva-replacing moisture,

delivering instant relief from the debilitating dryness. Thayer’s sprays are
sugar-free, sodium-free, gluten-free, fat-free, lactose-free, all-vegetable,
preservative-free, and fluoride-free, making them a perfect all-natural saliva
replacement. This is an excellent spray for dry mouth brought on by the
nervousness of performing or public speaking. The main ingredient in Thayer’s
Dry Mouth spray in both Citrus and Peppermint flavor are Purified Water
(gently moisturizes the mucous membranes in the mouth), Vegetable Glycerin
(a soothing demulcent that also provides instant moisture), Calcium Gluconate
(promotes healthy bone structure), Tris Amino (buffers saliva to normal levels
naturally), Citric Acid (derived from citrus fruit for tartness) and Potassium
Chloride (matches the salt in human saliva.)

The peppermint spray also includes natural peppermint flavor (derived

from oils of peppermint and eucalyptus). The citrus flavor also includes
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natural citrus flavor (derived from oils of lemon and lime.)

THROAT SPRAY FOR VOCAL HEALTH

VOCAL-EZE

This spray deserves to be in a category by itself. In

my opinion, this is the BEST herbal combination for
maintaining vocal health and lubricating the throat,
available on the market. Vocal-Eze was created by
Ocea, who is the owner of travelwellness.com.

After working with some of the top vocalists in the music

industry, travelwellness.com partnered with one of the
country’s top A&R Departments and artists at the CMA
Awards to develop the first herbal throat spray to be
sold in music stores in the US and UK. This soothing,
all-herbal throat spray is endorsed by Joss Stone, Tim
McGraw and Rob Thomas and has become the throat
spray of choice for national recording artists.

This unique combination of six medicinal herbs has been

used historically to address the throat and/or lungs. The herbs are held in a
lubricating glycerin and aloe base, rather than in the drying alcohol base
common to most throat spray products. An addition of honey and natural flavors
give the spray a pleasant taste. The proprietary blend consists of Marshmallow
Root, Osha Root, Licorice Root, Echinacea Purpurea Root, Flower & Seed,
Propolis, Ginger Root, Echinacea Augustifolia Root, Aloe Vera Gel,
Wildflower Honey, Vegetable Glycerin, Natural Flavors, and Spring Water. I
personally use this spray as a daily supplement, along with my vitamins and
minerals, to maintain my vocal health.

THROAT LOZENGES
For years, vocalists have used throat lozenges to soothe a sore throat.
When choosing a lozenge, stay away from any that contain alcohol,
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menthol, antihistamines, antiseptics, or decongestants. Look for
lozenges that contain supplements that are beneficial to the voice, such
as slippery elm. Thayer’s Slippery Elm lozenges are the number one
source for slippery elm available on the market. These lozenges are
perfect for coating and lubricating the pharynx.

(THAYER’S LOZENGES)

They are a source of oral relief since 1847, featuring 150 milligrams of
slippery elm, to deliver healing, protective, natural comfort to the throat and
mouth without menthol in a soothing base of natural plant-derived
sweetener derived from corn, with vegetable stearate as a binder. All
Thayer’s lozenges are sodium-free, preservative-free, gluten-free, lactose-
free and menthol-free. I personally use Thayer’s lozenges and enjoy their
variety of flavors including original Slippery Elm, Cherry, Maple, and
Tangerine. Ingredients you should look for in other lozenges are as follows:

Lozenges containing vitamin C and zinc boost the immune system and
relieve sore throat pain. It is important to note that zinc lozenges are a
mainstay in my vocal first aid kit. Chewable papaya tablets are excellent
for relieving sinus congestion. Lozenges containing honey and glycerin
coat and lubricate the throat. Licorice is natural cortisone and will
reduce swelling. Apple pectin has been proven to ease a sore throat.

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THROAT COAT TEA
One tea that I consider food for voice is an herbal tea called Throat Coat
by Traditional Medicinals. This tea contains no caffeine, which as you know,
is bad for the voice. The main ingredients are: slippery elm bark, licorice
root and marshmallow root. Throat Coat also contains wild cherry bark,
bitter fennel fruit, cinnamon bark and sweet orange peel.

Both licorice root and slippery elm helps to soothe, moisturize and reduce
the swelling of the vocal cords. I LOVE this tea! I actually drink it like regular
tea. I have a Lipton Iced Tea maker, which brews a pitcher of hot tea by using
four teabags. This tea has a sweet pleasing taste and eases vocal stress. I
recommend drinking one cup a day to keep the voice in good health.

Useful Tip: Super Charge Your Throat Coat Tea

Although I use Throat Coat Daily, (because I love the taste) there are times
when I am in need of vocal comfort. During these times I add extra Slippery
Elm and/or Licorice extract to my tea. I use 15-20 drops of licorice and/or
slippery elm extracts in one cup of tea, but my favorite trick is to crush up two
Thayer’s Slippery Elm lozenges with a pill crusher and mix it in with my tea.
Not only does this naturally sweeten the taste, it also quickly soothes my dry
throat.

Useful Tip: Reflexology For Singers

Reflexology is another field that I consider to be of great importance to vocal
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health. Reflexology is a science that corresponds to reflex areas in the feet
and hands that are related to all of the glands, organs, and other parts of the
body. I believe that a sore throat can be relieved by reflexology. There is an
interesting story about a famous concert singer regaining her upper register
with the aid of reflexology in the book, Better Health with Foot Reflexology, by
Dwight C. Byers.

A simple massage routine for singers begins by squeezing and releasing the
tips of all fingers and toes seven times each. Then massage each finger and
toe all the way around each digit. If you find any soreness, stop and massage
that area until the soreness is gone. The fingers and toes all relate to the head
and sinuses. Next, massage around the base of the thumbs and big toes and
the web between the thumb and forefinger, as well as the web between the big
toe and second toe. This area is related to the throat, neck, and thyroid. Then
massage the top and bottom of the wrist. This area is related to the lymphatic
system, which is the body’s garbage collector. This improves lymphatic
drainage. Finally, massage across the top of the hand within two inches of the
knuckles and the bottom of the foot within two inches of the pads of the toes.
This area is related to the lungs and diaphragm.

Although this basic routine is beneficial for singers when combating vocal
ailments, I’d suggest adopting this routine everyday. Don’t forget to research
reflexology to develop a more advanced routine.

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204
SIXTEEN
Diet And Exercise

If you are truly serious about vocal health, you might consider taking a look at
yourself and your physical shape. Diet and exercise play an extremely
important role in maintaining your voice and I am guessing that very few of
you considered this fact. So this chapter was created because I felt it was
important to offer suggestions of diet and exercise solutions that are beneficial
to singers.

Now that I am in my thirties, I am starting to believe what my teacher said

about garbage in equals garbage out. We are what we eat and, as I am the
first to admit, I was getting fat. It was affecting my breathing, my metabolism
and energy levels, not to mention my appearance. Luckily my big brother, Jim
stepped in once again to tell me that I was looking like a slob and that if I was
going to be on television, then I needed to step up and take control of my
physical health and appearance. He introduced me to the diet that he follows,
the Gracie Diet, which was developed by Carlos Gracie, Sr. Through this diet
and a cardio exercise program, I was able to tone up and lose twenty pounds
within four months. I was told that I could easily lose a pound of unwanted fat
per day if I would follow this system.

So why, as a singer, should I change my diet and why should I exercise

regularly? Because you are your instrument! We weren’t meant to eat foods
heavily full of additives and sugar. Unnatural, synthetic, enriched and so-
called enhanced substances, leech vitamins from the body, clog the lymphatic
system, pollute the liver, gall bladder and kidneys, build sludge in the
intestines and arteries, all of which cause the body to age more rapidly,
deplete the body of energy, and set up home for infection and allow disease
to spread. (My trainer, Jim Seitzer, creator of Vocal Fitness, told me to avoid
the three evil whites. The evil whites are white flour, white sugar and white
iodized salt. Learning to eliminate these three things from your diet will
drastically improve your health.) We were supposed to “eat to live” not “live to
eat”. We are an overly obese society. It is time that we reclaim our health for
our singing career and for our lives. Singing is physically demanding. You are
an athlete, so it is time to train like one.
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The next section is written by my mentor, Jim Gillette, who introduced me to
the Gracie Diet and an exercise program called Flowfit, which has now
become a way of life for me. I have lost twenty pounds and gained more
energy and flexibility than I had at eighteen. So now I hand this chapter over
to Jim:

Useful Tip: The Importance of Diet

By Jim Gillette

Here I present to you the Gracie Diet, the same program that I gave Jaime for
developing a successful and healthy life and body. Here is my diet, which can
be a new way of life for you if you choose to live happy and healthy. This plan
will help you to lose both water weight and fat weight and increase your
energy. You should not feel hungry on this diet because you can eat as much
as you like. In fact, I don’t really look at it as a “diet”. You should enjoy the
food you eat and if you are feeling hungry while on the Gracie Diet, then it will
not work. Eat until you are full.

First let me say that you must follow this diet to perfection. No more fast food,
condiments, white bread (no carbohydrates), sweets, sodas or vinegar. The idea
is to eliminate bad fats, acids, and carbohydrates from your system and add
more good foods like tons of veggies and lean protein such as chicken. It isn’t as
hard as you think. By eliminating refined sugars, starches, refined white bread
and the like, you are allowing the body to regain an alkaline pH level and remove
acidity from the body. This puts the entire body into a maximum state of health,
to minimize the possibility of sickness, because infection can only thrive in an
acidic environment and when the body is more alkaline, infection cannot spread.
This diet also helps to boost natural energy, increase the metabolism and
improve elimination. Colon health is extremely important. If weight is an issue to
you, I have personally lost one pound per day while combining this diet with
cardiovascular exercise. The best thing about this diet is that you still get to eat
great foods and eat as much as you like. You have so many food choices; too
many to mention in this section. So, to learn about the food choices, go to-
http://www.graciemiami.com/graciediet.htm.

You are in control of your mind and if you want to live a long, healthy life and be the
best singer you can be, then you will find the dedication. I have always been a very
physical person, pushing my physical, mental and spiritual limits to achieve success

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in all aspects of my life. What I discovered along the way were building blocks to
create the best possible life, mind and body. ©2007 Jim Gillette

Useful Tip: I Need Sugar!

Yes, you do need sugar. Natural sugar is a necessary part of your diet, but
that doesn’t mean you need a candy bar. Processed sugar will actually
deplete important vitamins from your system, and it requires lots of energy to
digest. The rush of energy you feel from a chocolate chip cookie is because of
the sudden release of insulin as a result of sugar. This is why people will have
a chocolate bar when they feel weak—in order to release insulin into their
bloodstream for a quick energy pick-me-up. But processed sugar takes more
energy to digest than is initially released. If you need a quick boost of energy,
try a natural source of sugar, like apples, oranges, or bananas. Natural
sources of sugar will not strip the body of vitamins.

Apple juice is a great pick-me-up beverage for that little boost of energy.
Blend two big red apples and eight carrots in a blender. It is very delicious.
Try making a banana shake if you have a sweet tooth: two bananas, a glass
of milk and some ice blended in a blender. Try various fruits such as melons
and papaya and make different blender/juice combinations. Another route is
to start adding stevia, which is a natural sweetener, to your diet. Above all,
make sure you are using fresh fruits or fresh juices. No canned juices. Keep it
organic if possible.

EXERCISE
So now that you know how to eat healthily, let me give you some guidelines
that helped me to get into great shape. There are tons of choices as far as
exercise is concerned. These are the choices that have worked for me. Singer
fitness involves a strong cardiovascular system as well as overall fitness and
strong abdominal muscles. This program is not for the timid. But if you want to
create the best possible singing machine, then it takes complete dedication.
Cardiovascular exercise is the first step to developing a strong singing
machine because it develops the lungs, diaphragm and abdominal muscles,
which are all important parts of vocal and breath support. If you are new to
cardio, you should dedicate thirty to forty-five minutes every morning, six days
a week to cardio training. Then add cardio three nights a week, usually
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Monday, Wednesday and Friday, trying a different cardio exercise method. It
doesn’t really matter what type of cardio vascular exercise you choose.
Whether you choose swimming, jogging, boxing, biking, treadmill or an
elliptical machine, it is your choice, so long as you get the heart rate going.

MY CARDIO
My cardio of choice is the Urban Rebounder™, which is a mini trampoline. I
jump on my rebounder every morning, six days a week, approximately forty-
five minutes followed by a fifteen-minute abdominal workout. True breath
support depends on a strong set
of abdominals. If you want to try
my method of cardio, do not buy
a cheap rebounder from some
local department store. My wife
bought a cheap rebounder and it
wasn’t worth the money. The
Urban Rebounder™ is double-
spring loaded, which makes it
easy on your joints, and it also
comes with a free DVD.

The DVD has jogging, sprinting,

bouncing, and abdominal
workouts, among others. Not only
is this workout beneficial for
cardio strengthening but it has
also been proven that rebounding
helps to flush the lymphatic
system, or the body’s garbage system, which keeps the body clean and
healthy, strengthening the immune system.

Immediately after I finish my morning workout, I eat a big breakfast following

the Gracie Diet Plan. The reason why I eat immediately after my workout is
because the body’s metabolism is turned on and is efficiently burning calories.

If I feel like doing some upper body toning, then I’ll do pushups and at times I
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work out on a Total Gym ™. Most importantly, I do a routine that was
personally designed for me by my trainer, Vocal Fitness creator, Jim Seitzer.
(More on Vocal Fitness at the end of the book.) If your goal is more muscle
mass then you should seek out a mass-building program.

Singing is also about agility and flexibility, which can be achieved through the
practice of a method such as yoga. I am a cardio freak and I tried Ashtanga
yoga for some time, which was suggested to me by Tony Couch, manager for
bands like Saliva and Kill Hannah. It is a great routine and will help develop
your breathing and agility and toning of the entire body. I also practice the
Five Rites of Rejuvenation each and every morning, which was suggested to
me by singer Tony Harnell. Still, I wanted something more.

I looked for a form of cardio yoga, something a little faster paced. I was
introduced to a new form of exercise called Circular Strength Training®,
developed by personal trainer Scott Sonnon. Jim had told me that he was
searching for a way to train that fit in with his philosophy and the Gracie Jiu-
Jitsu philosophy. He discovered a program called Flowfit™ from CST and was
exactly what every person serious about health and singing should be adding
to their practice routine. FlowFit™ is the fastest way to tone the body, develop
agility, flexibility, strengthen the lungs and improve stamina. I think that this
program is so important to singers that I asked Ryan Murdock, RMAX Faculty
Coach and Senior Editor of RMAX Magazine, to explain the entire Circular
Strength Training system (including FlowFit™) and its benefits to singers.

Circular Strength Training®

By Ryan Murdock

Created by world-renowned coach, Scott Sonnon, and further developed by

his elite Faculty Coaching Staff, CST is the cutting edge of health, fitness and
sports performance enhancement. It’s unique among fitness systems in
offering a complete “health first” approach. Other systems place function
(attributes like strength, endurance or speed) first, valuing those things over
and often at the expense of health. Many people value physique first and are
willing to do anything, including practices like shooting steroids or crash-
dieting that will damage their long-term health, all for the instant reward of a
magazine cover physique. That may work in the short term, but the short term
can be shorter than you think.
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Everything in CST builds off of and leads back to this health first approach. As
a result, CST will get you to the function and physique that you seek faster,
and it’ll keep you there longer, without compromising your health and
longevity. The rock mantra of “Burn bright and die young” was put out there
by record producers who are living off your royalties!

Circular Strength Training® is made up of three “wings” or sub-disciplines.

Though they can and are practiced independently, the three wings of CST
integrate seamlessly into a stand-alone health and fitness system.

Intu-Flow® is an incrementally progressive system of dynamic joint mobility

exercises designed to feed and lubricate your joints and connective tissues
and restore all of your joints to their full, healthy range of motion. Beginning
CST athletes start with Intu-Flow®, and long term athletes use it to release
stored tension, speed recovery from training, and to maintain the health and
longevity of their bodies.

Prasara yoga takes the range of motion and co-ordination that you recovered
with Intu-Flow® to the next level. It transforms physical performance by
teaching one how to re-integrate the breath, movement and structure—the
key to accessing flow state in any activity. Prasara specifically focuses on the
releasing of chains of tension throughout the body. Tension caused by fear,
anxiety, trauma, habit, and even exercise are pulped and released through
the practice of Prasara yoga.

Think of someone who hunches over a desk—or a guitar—for hour after hour.
The body adapts to this posture and becomes more efficient at holding it by
forming thick leathery bands of fascia that act to keep that person hunched.
Remember making faces as a kid, and someone telling you, “Be careful or it’ll
freeze like that”?

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Prasara works into the opposite and teaches you to release this habitual
tension. Paired with Intu-Flow®, Prasara will give you the ability to strut
around the stage and contort yourself in a freakish display of athleticism while
holding a note and making it look easy.

Clubbell® Athletics is the third weighted wing of CST. Unlike machines, free
weights, and kettlebells, the Clubbell® was specifically designed to be moved
in three dimensions, just as people move in the real world. Clubbells allow
one to develop the rotary and angular strength of the prime movers
(translating directly to athletic performance in any activity), to develop
selective tension (the ability to apply exactly the right amount of force for the
task at hand, rather than the “full on/full off” approach of traditional strength
training), and to develop incredible grip strength and stamina. Clubbell®
Athletics is simply the most sophisticated, fun and creative vehicle for strength
and conditioning ever conceived. You’ll never be bored by the dull routine of
weight workouts again!

Like art, CST is a vehicle for your personal transcendence and expression; for
becoming more of your true, best self. Hundreds of thousands of people from
all walks of life—from grannies to grandmasters, elite athletes to professional
musicians—have embraced CST and gone on to recover their health and well
being. All of the people that I have worked with have been amazed to
discover just how much untapped potential was waiting inside of them all
along. What they’d long accepted as their limits were only the first step to
embracing their full birthright as humans.

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FlowFit™
FlowFit™, which is the program that Jaime Vendera religiously practices, is a
specific CST program that’s designed to be done in fourteen to eighteen
minutes at a time, three to four times per week—the optimum health and
fitness on the hurry for busy people. The program contains four incrementally
sophisticating progressions, so as your movement gets better it gets more
challenging. It’s accessible to anyone, regardless of beginning physical
condition.

Apart from the obvious benefits of melting fat and shredding muscle,
FlowFit™ was carefully and specifically designed to tap into the body’s
Neuroimmunoendocrine (NIE) response. “What the heck is that?” which is
what you’re probably asking right now, right?

You’ve heard of the “runner’s high” or “second wind”, right? It happens when
the body hits a point of circulo-respiratory distress (CRD), a fancy name for
that gasping, heart pounding, sweating, “think-I’m-going-to-die” point where
most people quit. If you push through that barrier, you’ll experience an “up
shift” where your body kicks into the next gear (and there are many more than
just two) and everything is suddenly cruising.

That up shift has tremendous health benefits, including the stimulation of the
immune system. Because the immune, endocrine and nervous systems are
interrelated, an adaptation in one is reflected in the other two. Do this over
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time and your health and vitality will soar. You can’t have vocal power if your
lungs are a mess or if your body is weak and sickly. On the other hand, if you
learn to channel the power of your entire body and express that through your
voice as Jaime is instructing you to do, the results will be astounding. Jaime
personally told me that by adding FlowFit™ to his routine to improve his
cardio strength, he has been able to shatter eight wine glasses in a row!

One of the most brilliant things about FlowFit™ is how easily it allows you to
tap into this NIE response. Runners have to run for increasingly long times to
access it. Other activities, like cycling or high repetition weight training, can
access it too, but at the same time the repetitive motion in limited ranges
create other unwanted adaptations in the body, such as chains of tension
linked to those movements and/or repetitive strain injuries.

FlowFit™ was designed to move the body through all six degrees of freedom
(heaving, swaying, surging, pitching, yawing and rolling). Moving through all
of these degrees prevents repetitive stress, and it naturally compensates for
any specific conditioning (including hunching over a desk or guitar) that
you’ve experienced throughout your day. You hit the NIE response in a
healthy way and you hit it sooner than with other activities because moving
through all six degrees at that pace is hardcore! What other workout would
satisfy a metal-head?

If you want to maximize your health and minimize your exercise time you only
need to punch through that membrane into second gear. For the average
person doing FlowFit™ this happens at between fourteen and eighteen
minutes, sometimes sooner depending on the level of de-conditioning. Once
you up shift, you’re done for the day!

I use FlowFit™ with all of my athletes, and in my own training. Jaime Vendera
swears by it, and I’ve used it to humble metal god and Jiu-Jitsu athlete Jim
Gillette on more than one occasion.

©2007 Ryan Murdock. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Ryan Murdock is an RMAX Faculty Coach and Senior Editor of RMAX

Magazine, the internet’s largest fitness and martial arts publication. He is the
creator and star of the RMAX Powered Bujinkan DVD series and author of the
RMAX Training Group Manual. He has been involved in martial arts for the
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past 20 years, and strength training for the past 25 years. In 2006 he was
inducted into the International Martial Arts Hall of Fame as Master Instructor
of the Year. In addition to his work with RMAX, Murdock is a widely published
travel writer / explorer. An Associate Editor of Outpost Magazine, his article
"Taklamakan: The Worst Desert in the World" was nominated for a Canadian
National Magazine Award in 2006.

Jim uses a variety of methods including Circular Strength Training, a versa

climber and Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. For those of you interested in martial arts as a
way to develop your body, here is a description of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.

Gracie Jiu-Jitsu
Martial arts is an excellent choice for training the singer/athlete. The
application of traditional Gracie Jiu-Jitsu transcends the practice of chokes,
joint locks, immobilizations, throws and strikes. A true Gracie philosophy
prepares men, women and children for life by showing them a path to a
healthier life and the most effective use of physical, mental and spiritual
strength. Eating well is Jiu-Jitsu, taking care of the body is Jiu-Jitsu, saying no
to cigarettes alcohol and drugs is Jiu-Jitsu, along with keeping a close bond
with family and friends.

The philosophy, which can be called a way of life, has been propagated by
Grand Masters Carlos and Hélio Gracie for almost a century.

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 Jim Gillette and Helio Gracie

Jiu-Jitsu is the way to the most effective use of physical, mental and spiritual
strength. By teaching you attacks and defenses, it refines your body, your
mind, and your soul and helps you make the spiritual essence of Jiu-Jitsu a
part of your very being. In this way, you are able to perfect yourself and
contribute something to the world. The principle of maximum efficient use of
mind and body is the fundamental principle governing all the techniques of
Jiu-Jitsu. This principle can also be applied to the improvement of the human
body, making it strong, healthy and useful, and so constitute physical
education. It is perfect for anyone of any age.

James Gillette, Helio Gracie, Rocko Gillette

It can also be applied to the improvement of intellectual and moral power, and
this case constitutes mental and moral education. It can be applied to the
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improvement of diet, clothing, housing, social interaction and methods of
business, therefore constituting a study of living. Jiu-Jitsu, in its formal sense,
is a study and a method of training of mind, body and spirit as well as in the
regulation of life and affairs. You are never too young or to old to start
applying Jiu-Jitsu.

Jiu-Jitsu is the most ancient and complete martial art known today. The word
jujutsu may be translated freely as the “art of flexibility” or “the art of gaining
victory by yielding or pliability”.

©2007 Jim Gillette

I think that this chapter has offered enough choices to get you started on your
path to perfect health and a strong body. It is my wish that each and every
one of you research our suggestions. Above all, discover what works for you.
Please remember that your voice is only as good as your health.

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SEVENTEEN
The Singer’s Daily Regimen
Hopefully by this point, diet and exercise are a way of life for you too. I’m
also sure that you’ve quit all bad habits such as drinking and smoking and
you’ve reviewed The Singer’s Medicine Chest. Now I’d like to offer to you
some other suggestions and items from the medicine chest that should be
a part of your daily routine to feed the cells of the body.

The cells of your body rely on vitamins and minerals to maintain health
and to reproduce. The average person does not receive the proper
nutrition from daily meals. You may be filling your stomach but starving
your cells. It is important to add a multiple vitamin and mineral complex to
your daily regimen. I prefer a whole foods powder because you get better
absorption from a drink as opposed to a pill. You might also want to
consider using liquid vitamins and colloidal minerals because a whole
foods drink is basically a full serving of foods, such as vegetables and
fruits, in a liquid form. Both allow full absorption into the blood stream.

In addition to whole foods, liquid vitamins and colloidal minerals, I also

add daily supplements such as additional vitamin C, calcium, zinc, vitamin
B complex, ginseng, apple cider vinegar, flax oil and colloidal silver.
Vitamin C and calcium break down easily from stress, so you should add
these individual nutrients as well. I have recently discovered coral calcium
and I am taking it daily by adding X2O from Xooma to my water. Zinc is the
singer’s mineral and should also be added. It helps to rebuild throat tissue
and will relieve a sore throat. Vitamin B complex should be added to relieve
stress and overall mental wellbeing. Ginseng is a natural energy booster
that will keep you going throughout your daily routine. Apple cider vinegar
tea is useful when you are suffering from indigestion or a sore throat.
One tablespoon of Bragg’s apple cider vinegar and one tablespoon of
honey in a cup of water will maintain the body’s pH balance, aid
digestion, and fight infection. The flax oil is to meet my body’s need for
essential fatty acids and to help keep my skin in good condition.

Colloidal silver is the only known substance that can kill over 650 different

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types of viruses and bacteria. It isn’t toxic and can be taken internally. Your
body will not develop a tolerance from colloidal silver so you might want
to use it daily for mist inhaling. I actually get my daily dose of silver in ionic
form from my X2O.

Useful Tip: Make Your Own Colloidal Silver

There is a website called Sunstone Herbals (www.sunstoneherbals.com) that
sells a small device called a colloidal silver generator. You can make gallons
of colloidal silver for pennies a day within minutes. I own one and use it every
day. (If you wish to add silver to your daily regimen, remember that if you
are using adding Xtreme X2O to your water, then you are absorbing an
adequate daily amount of silver into your system through this product
alone.)

In addition to feeding my body, I also try to feed my voice. I use Vocal-Eze

spray daily to meet my herbal vocal health requirements. I also like to drink
Throat Coat Tea as well as have a few Thayer’s Slippery Elm Lozenges
throughout the day. Try these products out for yourself and look for other
sprays, teas and lozenges that you like. The goal is to keep the voice moist
and to give the body voice supplements.

I also want to suggest that you add a supplement reference book to your
bookshelf so you can check daily allowances for the vitamins and minerals
mentioned. Look for various books on vitamins and minerals and herbs. I
personally like Earl Mindell’s Vitamin and Herb Bibles.

Last but not least, I make sure that I keep my voice and body thoroughly
hydrated. I drink over a gallon of Xooma enhanced water per day as well
as keep a humidifier running every night in my bedroom. I also flush my
sinuses daily.

Useful Tip: Preventative Maintenance

If you truly want to stay healthy, you should follow some sort of preventative
maintenance program. This should consist of a diet and exercise program
along with a daily supplement program. Although I have presented you with
an example of a singer’s daily regimen, each person is unique and must

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discover what combination of nutrients best serves them as an individual. The
daily regimen is loosely based around the ever changing and evolving
program that I follow for my vocal health. Regardless of what you choose, if
you do not follow some sort of daily regimen, you are at higher risk of catching
a cold or some type of infection. I realized this recently when I caught a sinus
and chest infection. I was extremely worn down from rewriting this book,
filming an infomercial, filming various video clips, and working on updates for
The Voice Connection. I had not been taking my daily dose and I became
susceptible to a cold. If you find yourself under stress and tired from lack of
sleep, do not forget your daily regimen or the flu bug just might bite!

ORAL HYGIENE
An area much overlooked (yet should be a daily ritual) as applied to
singing is oral hygiene. Fans love those singers with a big bright
smile but are not too fond of the ones who flash their one tooth
and gums. In order to help keep bacteria to a minimum, you need to
brush and floss your teeth two to three times daily. There are several
types of toothpaste from which to choose. I personally steer clear of
fluoride. If you prefer something simpler, a combination of salt and baking
soda acts as a tooth polish. Salt cleans and hardens the teeth, and baking
soda acts as a mild polish to prevent plaque buildup. (Remember to use
natural un-iodized sea salt.) Another home for bacteria is the tongue.
Brushing the tongue will remove some bacteria but the best way to clean
the tongue is to use a tongue scraper. You can purchase a tongue scraper
from any pharmacy or health food store.

Useful Tip: Serious Oral Care

If you have ever thought about using an electric toothbrush, Cybersonic3 is
the choice for you. Cybersonic3 is a new electric toothbrush from the makers of
Cybersonic. Cybersonic3 operates like a tuning fork and works at 47,000
strokes per minute. The inventor, Dr. Ron Murayama, sent me one of his
new inventions to try for myself. I was amazed at how clean my teeth felt
after my first time using the Cybersonic3 toothbrush and decided to guest
star in an infomercial for his product. It felt like I had just had my teeth
professionally cleaned at my dentist office. After using the brush for a few

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days, I threw out my old manual brush and will always use my Cybersonic3.
Other benefits are the flossing and tongue scraping attachments and the
teeth bleaching system.

If oral care is important to you—as it should be—you should check out the
Cybersonic3 toothbrush at www.sonictoothbrush.com.

To kill bacteria in the back of the throat and tonsils, I advise using some
sort of mouthwash. Food can get lodged behind the tonsils, providing a
home for bacteria to breed. Gargling will help release any food caught in
the back of the throat. Hydrogen peroxide is my mouthwash of choice. The
oxygen content kills bacteria without drying out the throat.
Tea tree oil is another excellent mouthwash as well. You can also spray
colloidal silver into the back of the throat to kill bacteria. An alcohol-based
mouthwash will dry out the throat. Your goal should be to practice oral
hygiene regardless of your choice of toothpaste or mouthwash.

We are now at the end of Part two of Raise Your Voice. I wanted a perfect
ending to sum up this chapter and when Dream Theater vocalist James
Labrie offered his support, I could think of no better story than his to tell; to
demonstrate the importance that vocal health can play upon the career of a
singer. Here is his story:

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RECIPE FOR VOCAL HEALTH
By James Labrie

Vocal health for any professional singer should ALWAYS be top priority.
It is enough to try and keep your voice in shape when you are in perfect
physical condition, let alone the constant stress of everyday life. For me,
vocal health became a way of life.

In 1994, while my wife and I were down in Cuba, I had become violently
ill from a case of food poisoning. I ruptured my vocal cords. I went to
three ear, nose, and throat specialists. It wasn’t irreparable, but it wasn’t
something they could go in and fix, like nodes, which I’ve never had, and
then, after surgery, three months later, you’re singing. They just said it
was going to be a matter of time-

“We don’t know how long it’s going to take. It could take a year, it could
take six months?”

For me, it took eight years to fully recover! The thing about being in a
band like Dream Theater is that we are a continually recording and
touring band and within two weeks of my food poisoning, I was back on
the road touring, although I needed time off. The vocal injury happened
December 30th 1994 and I was in Japan singing January 12th or 15th
1995. I was able to get through it but that was my first rude awakening at
just how serious my vocals had been compromised. The next 7 to 8
years would be a very dark period for me indeed. I continued, as you
know, to record and tour throughout the 90’s despite my condition. I
believe the year was about 2002 or 2003, when I finally felt everything
start to come back into its place.

To explain to you my return to vocal health, here are the top things that
helped me to fully return my voice into perfect shape:

I started focusing on the voice as a whole mechanism. I went back to

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studying voice, making sure to properly warm up before and after a
show/recording session. To stay in top shape for stage, obviously I warm
up, but I also focus a lot on my breathing. Once you get your breathing
under control, if you have that support constantly, on a consistent basis,
then you have to keep it. Because if you lose that support at any point in
the night, if you don’t have that support, your note is going to show it.
Support is demanding, so I jog three miles a day for the endurance and
lung capacity to be at its peak condition. If I’m watching a singer, no
matter how good he or she is, I’ll mostly be able to tell what kind of
support they have behind their voice and how on the money they are.

Hydration is of top priority. I’ve got to the point that during touring, I’ll have in
my bunk, two bottles of water. I’ll have one of them on one side… my left side.
The one on my right side, seriously… I’ll stick my finger in it and I’ll put some
of the water in my nostrils to moisturize the inside of my nose, then I’ll go back
to sleep.

The other thing that I do for hydration; I have a thermos onstage and literally, I
have very hot water and honey in the thermos. I came upon that myself one
day when I was working with vocal coach Victoria Thompson and we were
doing a lesson. I said, “You know, there’s no mistake about it. When I’m
around, if it’s a humid area, I feel more relaxed, I feel more open. Everything
just seems to flow out of me, as if I’m having a conversation.”

She said, “Absolutely. Why don’t you find something that will bring you there
and keep you there?” So I just started thinking about it? My wife and I will sit
around and we’ll have hot water, like tea. Tea isn’t good for you. Tea strips
you. That’s a big myth that people think. Tea and honey are good for you,
right? Wrong! So I thought, “Wait a minute. Hot water.” I was going to do my
vocal exercises one day and I had a cup of hot water. I put a little dab of
honey in it. I went down and did my exercises and it was amazing. It just kept
me so open vocally. So, I wanted to take that further. Now I constantly keep a
thermos on stage with hot water and a little bit of honey in there and it just
keeps me going all night.

Then when I’m backstage, while we’re doing an instrumental section and
stretching it out, I have another thermos, and I’m doing it there as well. It just

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totally keeps me there. Everybody’s like, “What’s that thermos? What’s going
on there?” It’s hot water and honey. And that’s what I’m using when I’m
onstage. Now, even when I’m warming up and I’m doing my vocaleses, it’s
the same process. I have hot water and honey that I’m sipping while I’m doing
my warm-ups, when I’m performing, when I am recording….

The other thing I do is eat lots of veggies, vitamin C and Zinc as cold
preventive maintenance. These things all boost the immune system and if you
are going to be on the road, you’ll definitely need a strong immune system. I
also drink lots of orange juice. I think this is very imperative because of the
amount of vitamin C we need to maintain our health. Vegetables. I’ll always
eat vegetables. We’ll always have a vegetable tray back stage. Zinc. I always
take zinc. I’ll do a half a tablet before I go onstage. It’s usually a 50-milligram
tablet. And I’ll do a half tablet in the middle of the show. If you do too much,
you’ll get sick. You’ll literally feel nauseous.

Those things, (and a lot of sleep) I find are really imperative to helping me
keep my voice.

Things I wouldn’t want to see you do, is something like cortisone shots. I did it
once in Baltimore. I was screwed. I had no voice. I mean, you know, we *had*
to do the show. If I don’t do the cortisone, there’s no way I’m going on. I had a
sinus infection and the flu to boot. There was only one way getting around it
unless I wanted to cancel the show. If I did that… I’ve talked to Klaus Mein
(Scorpions), and he’s done it, several times.

I’ll tell you what’s really scary about cortisone shots? You can practically do
anything with your voice. You don’t feel a thing. Literally, you feel *nothing*,
and you talk to the doctor and he says, “Oh, yeah, you’ll be all right. You need
a shot now and in an hour, you’ll be able to sing like a bird.” And you do. I
mean, you walk in and you can’t hit a note and you’re walking out singing like
an angel. It’s unbelievable. You wouldn’t believe it. But the downside is what
you cannot physically feel you cannot physically (vocally) protect and you may
by far be doing worse possible damage to your voice, which could be
permanently irreparable in that situation. So weigh the situation.

So to repeat a few quick lines, this is my recipe for vocal health:

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My voice healing was the biggest turn around and has enabled me to once
again sing like I did prior to the accident. Additionally I had been studying with
Victoria Thompson who has shown me invaluable technique and how to warm
up properly before each and every show or recording. The consistency is solid
and assured. Also, hot water and honey in a thermos, zinc tablets, veggies,
orange juice, plenty of rest, and jogging three miles a day for endurance.

This is my recipe and I'm sticking to it ;)

©2007 James Labrie. All rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Kevin James Labrie is one of the most well-respected and admired vocalists
in progressive rock. As the voice of Dream Theater and guest performer on
numerous side projects, James has helped to define the sound of progressive
music for the next millenium. His incredible range and distinctive, intense
vocal performances have earned him accolades from fans and critics alike.
You can learn more about James Labrie at www.jameslabrie.com.

Well, congratulations! You have finally finished Part Two of Raise Your Voice.
You’ve developed a thorough understanding of support, placement,
resonance and tone production, prepared the body as an athlete, took
precautions to protect the voice, changed your diet and started a daily vocal
regimen to feed the body and voice. Now are you ready to work for what you
want and develop the ultimate vocal instrument? Part Three will show you
how to take your voice to the next level! If you think you are ready, then let’s
proceed.

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PARTTHREE
Strengthening the Voice
Both vocal knowledge and vocal health are important parts of developing
your voice. If a machine isn’t understood so that it may be properly
maintained, then how can you expect it to function properly? You are a
vocal machine, so if you wish to become a great singer, then you must
apply your newly found knowledge to vocal maintenance. Now that
you’ve acquired the skills to maintain your instrument, it is time to
develop your vocal technique. So let’s Raise Your Voice!

The following exercises are the greatest tools I have found for
strengthening the voice. Not only do they extend the range, increase vocal
power, and improve the quality of your voice, but they also help keep the
voice in excellent health. The best thing about this program is that you can
perform these exercises anytime and anywhere.

There are several rules to be followed when performing these exercises:

1. Keep the vocal cords lubricated. This means plenty of

drinking water, as well as gargling and mist inhaling during
practice. Don’t forget to occasionally breathe in through
your nose. The cords dry out easily due to excessive
vocalizing.

2. Mastery of your breath technique and support is crucial. If

you do not apply proper breath technique during practice
and performance, your voice will tire and strain. Simply
remember to breathe low and support low, maintain the
downward pressure (like sneezing or going to the
restroom) at all times, and focus on the inhalation
sensation.

3. Vocal focus (or placement) is the other side of the coin of

breath support. The voice must always be freely felt as if it
is being focused directly into the palate. Allowing the voice

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 to fall down into the throat or into the back of the mouth will
cause you to strain. Keep the voice focused into the palate
at all times! Remember, if you take a micro breath on a
yawn, then add your support before singing, the tone will
naturally flow up into the palate.

4. Do not rush these exercises! Take your time. The slower

you perform them, the more control you will have over vocal
cord positioning. This will help to eliminate any wavering or
breaking up of the voice.

5. Correct posture allows the voice to flow freely. Slouching

interrupts the natural path of the core of resonance. The
path should be a straight line from the diaphragm to the top
of the head. Poor posture throws the spine out of alignment.
When the spine is misaligned, the imbalance creates muscle
tension, stressing the vocal cords. You can perform these
exercises in your car, but try to keep your back straight and
pay more attention to the road than the exercise.

6. If you suspect unnecessary muscle tension, perform the

muscle stress check. As you sing or perform a vocal
exercise, slowly move your head side to side as if you are
shaking your head “no.” If the pitch disconnects and breaks
up, you are tensing the cords too tightly. Try relaxing the
throat muscles and slightly back off the breath support. When
the pitch becomes steady, you have established the proper
amount of breath support and vocal cord tension required
for proper zipper technique. Use this technique any time
during practice when you start feeling uncomfortable.

7. If the muscles under your chin become sore, stop and rest
for a minute. This is a good thing. You are strengthening the
muscles that control larynx positioning and the muscles that
help to control vocal cord adjustment. This is just like
working out with weights; you take a break in between sets
to allow the muscles to relax for a moment. Resting your
voice for a moment or two will result in quicker vocal
development. However, if the muscles under your chin stay
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 sore, check to see if these muscles are tight as you sing.
They should stay relaxed as if you were yawning. When you
yawn, the chin muscles drop down but should not tighten. If
at any time these muscles become tight, stop the exercise.
Try maintaining a slight yawning position to prevent this
from happening. But always remember, if it hurts then you
are doing it wrong. There is a big difference between
muscle fatigue for growth and straining the voice. If you feel
any sharp pains or extreme fatigue from these exercises,
then you are either incorrectly applying the techniques or
trying to go beyond your current capabilities. Use common
sense!

8. Always aim for a clean tone and ALWAYS keep it focused

in the palate. When performing full voice exercises, aim for
a clean, resonant, strong tone. When performing falsetto
exercises aim for a clean, soft, pure tone. Feel the
resonance in your chest on low notes, in your throat on mid-
notes, and in your head on high notes. If you get dizzy on
high notes, congratulations. You are really resonating the
cathedral inside of your head. Even though you imagine
breathing in your sound, this resonant tone must physically
leave your body. Try to feel the sensation of your teeth
buzzing as you sing. The sensation of buzzing teeth proves
that you are producing plenty of resonance. Remember, the
more resonance you produce, the easier it will be to sing
any pitch.

9. Looking in the mirror is extremely important. Watch for signs of

vocal strain, facial strain, etc…Watch for a high rising larynx or
skin going in around your collarbone when inhaling. You can
lightly rest your finger on your larynx to motion it down while
watching yourself in the mirror.

DISCLAIMER: The following sections are not intended to prevent or

treat any physical conditions. Before performing any of the following
exercises, I urge you to consult your physician.

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228
EIGHTEEN
The Isolation Method™
After over fifteen years of research and doing hundreds of different types of
vocal scales, I decided it was time to develop a different approach that would
allow a singer to practice virtually anytime and anywhere without needing to
carry around a CD or MP3 player to sing along to vocal scales. What if we
could isolate each individual pitch for strength and flow training, by just using
something as simple as a keyboard, tone generator or a pitch wheel?

I actually thought of the idea of using a pitch wheel in 1996, when I gave my
first informal voice lesson. It was a simple way for me to reference any pitch
and work with a singer to develop his or her range. If it was good enough for
my choir director to get us all in tune, then surely I could use it too. Years
later, during my construction work days, I started using my pitch wheel to
develop new exercises on long drives to and from work. I tried different
exercise ideas for over two years until I weeded out the top exercises for peak
performance. Thus the Isolation Method was born.

The reason I call it the Isolation Method is because by using a pitch wheel or
tone generator, you are able to “isolate” an individual pitch and focus entirely
upon that individual pitch. It forces the mind to concentrate on pure vocal
production and think in tune, which helps overall intonation and muscular
development of each different pitch and vocal cord adjustment.

What I discovered from several years of constantly refining my Isolation

Method technique was that there are three basic individual applications that
work best when isolating an individual note.

The first application is to sustain an individual note for as long as possible.

This would allow a singer to develop breath control, improve intonation and
strengthen to muscles involved in producing the vocal cord coordination for
that individual note.

The second application is to slide from an individual note to the same note in
a different octave. In other words I could slide from middle C up to a Tenor C

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to cover one octave or slide from a Soprano C down to middle C in order to
cover two octaves. This movement allows you to cover several octaves while
sliding smoothly through every note in between, thoroughly working on
smoothing multiple break points and producing a seamless range.

The third application was a way of transcending from one tonal color to
another, such as transcending from falsetto to full voice or from a clean sound
to a gritty sound. This approach strengthens the muscles involved in vocal
cord tension and glottal adjustment, changes in the shape of the pharynx and
vocal inflection involvement.

These three basic applications utilized within the context of three basic
exercises can help make tremendous gains in vocal strength and range.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED FOR THIS SYSTEM

Items that you require in order to perform these exercises include a
pitch wheel or a Farley’s Pocket Tone Generator, (any tone generator
that stays in tune will suffice although I recommend the previous two
choices) a tuner and plenty of drinking water. Additional items, which are
beneficial tools for this routine, include a metronome, stop watch, a
Vocal Acoustic Monitor and a mirror if you wish to check for facial stress.
Let me review each item and explain its necessity.

1.) The number one item you will need is some sort of tone generator in
order to hear the individual pitch that you will be isolating. I personally
use a pitch wheel. I recommend purchasing both a pitch wheel in the
key of C and one in the key of F. WH KRATT Chromatic Tuner is a
high quality pitch wheel. Avoid other cheap models because they
easily go out of tune. I also use the Farley’s Pocket Tone electronic
tone generators. I can just hang both Pocket Tones around my neck
as opposed to sticking a pitch wheel in my pocket. So, I actually wear
two Pocket Tones as necklaces, especially during lessons- one in the
key of C and one in the key of F.

2.) A basic tuner such as the Sabine MT-9000 is a great tuner to use.
This is your intonation developer and an important part of this

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 program. This device also has a tone generator and metronome so
can be used in place of another tone generator.

3.) I always drink water when I do my vocal workout because the

intensity of these exercises—or any vocal exercises for that matter—
requires a singer to maintain a high level of lubrication for vocal cord
elasticity. I also mist inhale quite a bit during workouts.

4.) A metronome is important if you choose to work on vibrato exercises.

5.) If you carry the main exercises through the advanced levels, you’ll
need a stopwatch in order to track your sustain times.

6.) The Vocal Acoustic Monitor will allow you to “zone in” on your internal
sound, focus in noisy environments, and generally protect your voice
from the abuse of singing too loudly or pushing too hard. I keep
several VAMs in my vocal studio to allow my students to use them
during lessons.

Useful Tip: Get the Vendera Digital Vocal Coach

If you are planning on doing these exercises at home and wish to
combine the Isolation Method with vocal scales (a lot of students still
like scales. We also provide that option on the Members section), you
might wish to purchase the Vendera Digital Vocal Coach. I desired one
item to replace all of the tools I needed for this system (with the exception to the
VAM and water of course), so I sought out a solution. Since I spend a lot of time
at my computer, I, along with Singing Electrons president Tom Jeffries and a
team of designers from Blaze Audio created a software program called the
Vendera Digital Vocal Coach to conveniently combine these tools into one
system. The Vendera DVC contains a tone generator, metronome, stopwatch,
decibel meter, tuner, 2-track digital recorder (for recording your workout
sessions or singing along to imported karaoke tracks), as well as a vocal scale
generator so you can conveniently create your own vocal exercise scales.

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The scale generator allows you to pick the individual notes for each scale, set
the lowest note and highest note and set the tempo. We also loaded it with
preprogrammed vocal scales.

All of these items will be mentioned individually throughout this book because
they are all useful tools for improving the voice. So you can either go out and
individually purchase each item, or purchase the software in one convenient
package. This software allows you to create your own scales, sing along, and
record your vocal workouts as well as import karaoke tracks to sing along and
track your progress. This is the perfect software to use no matter what vocal
system you are using. The software is available through The Voice Connection
and Blaze Audio.

Now that you have the necessities to do this program, I’d like to let you in on
the good news. There are only three basic exercises to this system (not
including the warm ups, vibrato and advanced techniques), which means less
practice time! Give a big YEAH for the lazy singers…like me;) But don’t get
too excited yet, because each exercise consists of two parts; upscale and
downscale.

Upscale refers to working the voice incrementally up in pitch beginning at a

point of reference (either C or F, depending on which pitch wheel you are
using) and downscale refers to working the voice down in pitch from a point of
reference. What do I mean by point of reference? The point of reference
simply refers to the pitch that you use at the start of an exercise. For this
system, I will generally have a male singer start on a C4 (middle C), which is
the first C on the pitch wheel in the key of C. I generally have female singers
start of an F4, or the first F on a pitch wheel in the key of F.

Why work the voice in both directions? Because to develop a strong,

expanded range, you must also develop a strong, solid foundation. If you
happen to remember the useful tip where I compared the voice to a triangle,
you’ll understand that the base, or bottom of your range, is wide and the high
end of your range comes to a point. To maintain this upper range, it is the
wise man (or wisewoman…for Constance) who develops the base (or bass if
you will) of his/her instrument to provide a strong resonant carrying power.
Hey, you wouldn’t build a three-story house without a solid foundation, would
you? So why work on the medium and high voice without developing the low
voice?
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Each individual exercise also consists of variations of the basic exercise,
offering you a wide variety of possible vocal routines. I specifically tell you
exactly which vowel to use. Do not modify the vowel I choose! I chose them
for a reason, and the reason is to make absolutely sure you succeed. Once
you have mastered each exercise and each variation of that individual
exercise, you can change them up as you feel necessary, using any variation
and alternating to either the A, E, I, O or U vowel. This will keep the program
interesting and always evolving for the individual singer.

Before jumping into the actual exercises, I want to present you with a program
for warming up and cooling down your voice. This program should be used
before and after all workouts and performances. Now on to the next chapter…

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NINETEEN
The Ultimate Vocal Warm-Up
The following warm-up program is a system I developed from years of
training and what I consider to be the best and fastest way for getting
the voice into the best shape possible for peak performance. I call this
routine the Vocal Stress Release program.

This system consists of two parts with an optional third part. The first
part is a series of stretching and massaging techniques similar to a
form of “vocal yoga”. Vocal Stress Release should be one fluid flowing
movement from beginning to end. The second part consists of a series
of vocalizing warm ups to get the blood flowing to the cords. The third
part is only to be performed if you are warming up in preparation for a
gig or major singing performance. If you are using Vocal Stress
Release to warm up before your vocal workout, then parts one and two
will be followed by your exercise routine and not by part three. Before
we begin, I’d like to explain the reasons why a singer should warm up
and cool down to protect and maintain their voice:

WHY WARM UP?

Why does everyone keep saying, “You need to warm up before you
sing”? The answer is simple. We are physical instruments (athletes if
you will) that require constant care to keep the body in peak
performance shape. Staying in top shape means making sure the blood
flow to the area of your body involved in the athletic event is sufficiently
supplied with the energy required and that the muscles involved are
adequately stretched and ready to go.

Now that I have compared us to athletes, a simple analogy would be to

say that warming up your voice is like stretching your legs before you run.
You should stretch out and warm up your muscles, to make them flexible
before performing any exerting physical task.

THE VOCAL STRESS RELEASE SYSTEM

Throughout the day, our bodies absorb a great amount of physical stress.
Symptoms of stress include aching feet, sore muscles, stiff back, grinding
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teeth and headaches. Stress affects your voice, limiting your ability to sing
open and freely. To reach and maximize your voice potential, you must
release any stress that could inhibit the vocal process. The following
series of exercises releases muscle tension and prepares the voice for
singing.

The Vocal Stress Release system will minimize physical stress and create
a positive physical state to enhance vocal production. It should always be
performed before any vocal exercises are conducted. In addition, this
program may be performed at any time to relieve stress. The following
series of stretches and exercises should be conducted in the order in
which they are presented in this chapter. Your goal is to maintain a
flowing order to connect each part to the next.

Part One: Releasing Physical Tension

Stretching and massage is a major part of any physically exerting activity. So
why should singing be any different? Before stretching, we’ll start with
breathing.

DEEP BREATHING
This exercise helps to calm the mind and body. Deep breathing will
focus your center of concentration, a practice that is invaluable for
singing. Deep breathing stretches and relaxes the chest cavity, back
muscles, and diaphragm, all of which are used for vocal control.

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 1. Inhale through your nose to a count of eight, filling the
lungs from the bottom up.
a. First, your waist should expand all
the way around your body.
b. Next, your sides, back
muscles and lower ribs will
expand.
c. Last, your upper chest should expand.
d. This completes one full inhale.

2. Hold your breath to a count of four.

a. When you hold your breath, don’t lock the
breath or grunt.
b. Pretend as if you are still inhaling (inhalation
sensation).

3. Next, exhale through your mouth to a count of sixteen.

a. Empty your lungs as much as
possible, ridding the lungs of any stale
air. When exhaling, hiss the air out.
This will tighten the stomach and back
causing the muscles to ache. Don’t
worry, this is not adding stress, but
strengthening the muscles used for
breath control.
b. Try to prevent your stomach from
falling in. Keep it expanded.
c. Controlled air release will strengthen your
diaphragm.

Do not skip this exercise! Deep breathing relaxes the body and serves
as the basis for breath support, which is important for singing long
phrases. Repeat the entire breathing process five to ten times.

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BODY STRETCH

Are you ready for some vocal yoga? Are you ready for a great workout? Well
then, let’s begin. This first exercise will help to remove tension in the back,
stomach, diaphragm and intercostal muscles between the ribs. Begin by
stretching both hands high above the head as if you were reaching for the
sky, and then drop your hands to your sides. Now, raise your right hand up
towards the ceiling and stretch it to the left as you bend to the left at your
hips. Maintain a solid stance with the feet about shoulder width a part.

Breathe deeply in through the nose and out through the mouth. Once you
feel a good stretch along the right side of your body, switch sides and repeat
by raising the left hand and leaning to the right. Do not stretch past the point
of pain. Stretching at first can be a bit uncomfortable and that is part of the
process, but don’t over exert yourself.

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Next, keeping the legs locked, allow the body to drop forwards from the hips,
and allow the head and hands to dangle towards the floor. Feel the stretch in
the spine as you allow tension to leave your back and flow from your hands
and head. If this is uncomfortable at first, you can slightly bend your legs
until you get used to this exercise.

Once you are ready, move from this last position into a leaning back
position. Put your hands straight up over your head and lean back as far as
comfortable. This reminds me of the old “I’m leaning way back to scream
because I’m a rock star” pose made popular by bands like SteelHeart and
BulletBoys. This stretch will open the diaphragm and relieve tension in the
abdomen. Again, don’t stretch past the point of pain.

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SHOULDER SHRUGS and ROLLS
Shoulder shrugs release tension in the neck and shoulder. Begin by raising

the shoulders straight up as high as you can then lowering them down.
Repeat ten to fifteen times.

Now, rotate the shoulders in a circular motion clockwise for ten to fifteen

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times, then counterclockwise for ten to fifteen times.

NECK TENSION RELEASE

This exercise stretches out the neck muscles and releases tension.

1. SIDE TO SIDE:

Take your left hand and place it on the right side of your head, with your
fingers pointed down towards your shoulders. Gently pull the right side of
your head towards your left shoulder. You should feel a pull in the right
side of your neck. Do not pull beyond the point of pain! You only want to
feel the stretch in your neck. Hold to a count of ten. As you count,
continue pulling your neck towards your shoulder with your hand. This
will stretch out the neck muscles, making them more limber. Repeat this
process using your right hand to pull the left side of your head. After a few
weeks, you can increase the count to twenty or more for a deeper stretch.

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2. BACK AND FORTH:

Allow your head to fall backwards until you are looking up at the ceiling.
Put your hands underneath your chin and gently push your head
backward to stretch out the area of the larynx. Hold to a count of ten.

Next, drop your head forward toward the ground. Take both of your
hands and place them on the back of your head and pull your head
down, bringing your chin to your chest. Use both of your hands to pull
your head deeper into your chest until you can feel the muscles in the
back of your neck stretching. As I said before, do not force beyond the
point of pain. Hold to a count of ten, maintaining constant pressure from
your hands to enhance the stretch. After a period of time you can
increase your hold count.

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 3. NECK ROLLS:

Starting with your head hanging forward, roll your head to the left. Your
shoulders will want to move as you roll. If you notice this happening,
concentrate on keeping them still and straight. Allowing your shoulders to
roll with your head will not permit your neck to fully relax and release
tension. When performing this exercise, allow your head to hang as far
forward towards the floor as possible, as if gravity was pulling your head
to the floor regardless of head position (forwards, backwards or to the
sides). Continue to roll your head slowly around your left side, then to the
back. When you reach this point, your head should be all the way back.
You should be able to see the ceiling. Continue rolling your head towards
your right side, and finally back to the front. Repeat the process ten times
to the left, and ten times to the right. By the time the neck exercises are
done, your neck should feel pretty loose and relaxed. (The following
pictures should be viewed left to right from top to bottom.)

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 4. NECK MUSCLE MASSAGE:

Massaging the neck relieves tension in the neck and throat area. Start by
massaging the back of your neck. Use both hands to squeeze and release
the muscles, loosening any knots or kinks. Then take your thumbs and
work them into your neck muscles in a circular motion until you have
done this over the entire back of your neck. Work your thumbs up to
where the neck meets the skull, then down until your neck meets the
back of your shoulders.

After the back of the neck is complete, continue on to the sides of the neck.
Use the same massage process for the sides, as you did for the back of
the neck. Use the left hand for the left side, and use the right hand for the
right side. After you feel that you have thoroughly massaged the sides,
take all of your fingers and starting at the bottom of the sides of your
neck, slowly rub upwards until you reach the protruding part of the skull,
right behind your ears on the sides of your head.

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 5. COLLARBONE TENSION RELEASE:

The front of the neck requires a different massage process. Start at the
collarbone and work the fingers of both hands down into the indentures of
the collarbone. Start on the outer sides and incrementally work towards
the middle until you reach the indenture in the center. Work your fingers in
a slow circular motion being careful not to cause any discomfort.

When both sides are complete, place the middle and index finger of your
hands into the indenture in the center of your collarbone and massage in
a circular motion. Massage the front of your throat as you did the sides of
the neck. After the front of the neck is completely massaged, move on to
the muscles under the chin.

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 6. CHIN MASSAGE:

The muscles under the chin play an important role in singing, helping to
maintain a low larynx position and an open vocal path. This area can hold
a lot of tension. Use both hands for this massage technique. Place your
fingers up under your chin. Massage the chin muscles by working your
fingers in a circular motion, starting underneath your jawbones. Massage
the entire area of the muscle, working your fingers towards your chin.

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Next, squeeze and release the muscles under the chin to loosen any
knotted muscles.

Then rub the fingers across the larynx, in a side-to-side motion, in between
each cartilage ridge.

Lastly, rub the pointer finger directly into the top of the Adam’s apple with
light pressure in a back to forth motion and use the sides of the pointer

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finger to rub left to right in a continual motion in between the cartilage right
below the Adam’ Apple.

FACIAL TENSION RELEASE

1. JAW TENSION RELEASE:

If you clench or grind your teeth, you will carry tension in your jaws,
making it difficult to sing openly and enunciate words clearly. Start by
pressing the fingers of each hand into the indenture in front of your ears.
Now yawn. Did you feel the indenture getting deeper in front of your
ears? This is the temporal mandibular joint. Massage the entire area,
down to where the jaw line meets the neck, and up to the temples. After
you have massaged the temporal mandibular joint, press your fingers
into the indenture and pull your jawbone towards the front of your face,
stretching out the jawbone. As always, do not pull past the point of pain.
Do this two to five times.

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Lastly, use your right thumb, right side and left thumb, left side, to “pull”
all remaining tension down along the jaw line to the chin. Simply use the
thumbs and slide along the jawbone down to the chin bone. Do this
several times until all soreness is gone.

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Another method for releasing jaw tension is by placing each thumb inside
your mouth, up against the hard palate and pulling the teeth apart from each
other (like widening the hard palate). Pull the thumbs towards your cheeks
(right thumb pulls to the right cheek, left thumb pulls to the left cheek).
Perform this routine about three times in a row, starting at the front of the
mouth and moving back tooth by tooth until you have reached the back of the
mouth. This helps to release tension that has developed from gritting your
teeth or clenching your mouth.

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 2. CRAZY FACE:

This exercise relieves tension held in the facial muscles. Start by yawning.
As you yawn, stretch both your mouth and eyes as wide open as you
can, then stick out your tongue as far as possible. As you stretch your
tongue, it might feel a little sore. The tongue has a tendency to knot up
towards the back of the throat. Stress is stored in your muscles, which
produce knots and muscle spasms. The tongue is one of the strongest
muscles in your body and it can hold a lot of tension. Hold this facial
position to a count of ten. I know this looks really funny, but it is the best
way to release facial tension.

Next, clench the mouth and face completely shut as tight as you can.

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Now, after this first movement, repetitively open and close your mouth in a
big over-exaggerated chewing movement. Do this several times. Lastly,
wiggle your lower jaw side to side several times. Now that you’ve stretched
your face, let’s revisit the tongue.

TONGUE TENSION RELEASE

TONGUE STRETCH

The tongue can hold a large amount of tension, causing the back of the
tongue to rise and knot up. A tense tongue will constrict the vocal path,
making the opening in the back of the throat smaller. A smaller vocal path
results in a smaller, pinched sound. You need a way to help stretch out
the tongue and loosen the knots.

The best way to relax the tongue is by stretching. Begin by drying off your

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tongue with a towel or handkerchief and then use your hand to pull and
stretch your tongue out of your mouth. If your hand slips, you can also
use a dry towel to hold on to your tongue while you pull. Pull the tongue
down and out for a good stretch. As you pull, concentrate on relaxing your
tongue to stretch the tongue further. Do this exercise five to ten times, or
until you have released any soreness in your tongue.

PULLING OUT TONGUE TENSION FROM THE BACK

TO THE FRONT

This is a tough exercise but very beneficial for singers who have problems
with relaxing their tongues on high notes. A lot of new singers tend to allow
the tongue to buckle up as they reach for high notes, just like it does when
swallowing food. Being that the tongue is a strong muscle, it calls for a strong
exercise to release all muscle tension in the root of the tongue, which is where
the problem arises. This exercise will involve releasing the gag reflex.

Begin by placing your pointer finger on your tongue and slowly sliding it back
in your mouth towards the back of the throat. Your goal is to reach the root of
the tongue without gagging, while trying to relax the buckling tension in the
tongue, until it drops. If the tongue buckles and you begin to gag, stop at that
spot and massage the tongue with your finger until the tongue relaxes and the
gag sensation goes away. Continue working all the way back and down until
you reach the root of the tongue.

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The goal is a totally relaxed tongue and no gag reflex. Once you reach the
root, you’ll begin “pulling out” the tension. Once at the root, press or “slightly
dig” the finger into the tongue, as you pull the finger back out of the mouth.
If you reach any knots on the way out, simply dig deeper into the tongue at
that spot and work on smoothing out that bump as you slide across it. Like
I said, this will disengage the gag reflex and teach you to release the knots
of tension in the tongue, which will train the tongue to keep from rising up in
the mouth and blocking off the vocal path.

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DIAPHRAGM TENSION RELEASE
Your diaphragm can slide up underneath the ribcage from the effects of
poor posture (slouching). This exercise relieves tension in your diaphragm
by returning the diaphragm to its proper position. The correct position is
right below the ribcage. Take your hands and massage your stomach
down, starting to the left or right of the ribcage. Press deep into the sides
right below the ribs as you move your hands downwards. Slowly work from
the left to center, then right to center. Lastly, work directly in the center,
at the sternum, moving the hands in a downward slide.

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Before moving on, I’d like to share with you an article from one of my
teachers, Beverly Nall. Under Beverly’s guidance, I studied what is called
Touch For Health™, a form of body reflexology. In fact, a lot of the techniques
from the Vocal Stress Release program are based on what I learned from
Beverly. After you read the following tip, feel free to add what you learn and
incorporate it into the Vocal Stress Release program if you wish, or use these
techniques separately. Now I’ll hand it over to Beverly:

Useful Tip: Energy Work for the Voice

By Beverly Nall

No matter what walk of life you are from, we all have a body that was created
by a loving Heavenly Father, designed to heal itself. Because we abuse our
bodies so much, sometimes they need help structurally, nutritionally, and
emotionally. As a massage therapist, I use a technique called Applied
Kinesiology that works with the body’s energy field. It is acupressure, the
same concept as acupuncture, without the needles. This technique is simple
but very effective in breaking down blockages in the energy field, allowing
energy to flow freely, aiding the body to heal. Blockages of energy eventually
cause diseases. As a Touch for Health instructor, I teach professionals and
lay people how to take care of their families and friends as well as oneself.
What an important tool to know!

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As a singer, there are some simple techniques you can do to get your voice
prepared for practices and performances that will enrich your tones and
diaphragm capacity. These simple techniques can be done before and after to
balance your energy so you will be stronger and less likely to damage your
vocal cords. If you can find a good kinesiologist, your entire body needs to be
balanced for optimum results. Knowing that is not always possible, I will list a
few things you can do for yourself.

First of all, you want to turn on your brain. There are three brain switches we
all have. They are front to back, top to bottom, and side to side. To turn these
on, begin by placing one hand over your navel and the other hand on your
tailbone. Massage these two points at the same time for about 40 seconds for
front to back correction. Then, with one hand still over the navel, place your
other hand with one finger above your upper lip and one below the lower lip.
To correct the top to bottom switch, keep your hands in this position and
massage all three points for approximately 40 seconds. The last switch, side
to side, can be corrected by stimulating the following points. Again, place one
hand over the navel and the other hand on the innermost knob of your
collarbone next to the sternum. Massage these points for 40 seconds. Now,
change sides and massage the other knob and navel for 40 seconds at the
same time. The technique you have just completed will help you concentrate
better and allow your body to perform better.

There are also three exercises you can do to make corrections inside your
mouth. First, place your middle and index fingers on both hands inside your
mouth along your bottom teeth. Applying some pressure, pull apart as if to
pull your mouth apart. Do this three times. Second, take your thumbs on both
hands and press up on the hard palette in the roof of your mouth behind your
top teeth. As you take good deep breaths in, press up. When you exhale,
release the pressure. Repeat five times. The third step you can take is in the
inside of the mouth as well. Using your thumbs, go back in your mouth as far
as you can without gagging yourself and pull apart inside of the teeth three
times. These simple steps will enable you to have better mouth control and
help loosen your TMJ, giving you more volume.

The last correction can be made to help your centering device, called the
hyoid bone. It is found in your neck where the Adam’s apple is located. It
attaches to your tongue, which controls your tone. To keep this centered,
place your thumb and index finger on each side of the hyoid bone. Gently,
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jiggle it back and forth. This simple action will usually aid the hyoid to center
on its own. This is especially good for overworked vocal cords. These are just
a few simple techniques you can use yourself both before and after using
your voice. While a total body balance will give you the greatest benefit in all
aspects of your life, these are some quick, simple steps to follow. Try them
and have a wonderful musical experience.

©2007 Beverly Nall. All Right Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Beverly L. Nall is a Licensed Massage Therapist, Licensed

Cosmetologist, Certified Touch for Health (TFH) Instructor and certified in
Contact Reflex Analysis (CRA) & Designed Nutrition. She has her own
practice in Ashland, Kentucky and is booked a year in advance. She is
continually attending seminars to learn more so she can better serve
those who come to her office. Beverly feels if she can learn one thing
that can help one person, the money and time is well worth it. She can
be contacted for her services and to schedule seminars at
blvnall@yahoo.com.

Part Two: Vocalizing Warm-Ups

The following exercises are by far the best I have found for maintaining
healthy vocal production.

A WORD ON WARM-UPS

All of the following warm-ups should be performed at a light to moderate

volume and should be allowed to slip in and out of falsetto as you ascend or
descend; especially lip bubbles. There is nothing wrong with slipping between
full voice and falsetto, but make sure that your full voice tone maintains the
same quiet and pure sound as your falsetto. What I have found with warm-
ups is that every individual is different therefore, although it is of greater value
to use a pitch wheel, you do not necessarily have to follow a systematic
approach to doing these warm-up exercises. You can jump around in pitch.

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LIP BUBBLES
Lip bubbles relax and warm up the entire vocal mechanism. Performing
this exercise increases blood flow to your vocal cords and surrounding
muscles, preparing your voice for a vocal workout or performance.

Lip bubbles are also known as motorboats due to the fact that the sound
produced sounds much like a motorboat running in the water. This is
similar to a horse pursing its lips and blowing out air. To produce this
tone, purse your lips together and force air between them. A consistent
flow of air is required to vibrate your lips evenly. If you do not gain balance
between your lip tension and the applied air pressure, your lips will not
continue to vibrate.

Useful Tip: Always Sing “B” Never Sing “P”

When you do lip bubbles, always start by applying the consonant “B”
against your lips. Never start with a “P” or it will be too breathy. The goal
is to keep Lip Bubbles as pure as possible, almost like blowing bubbles
into water through a straw.

When you can produce lip bubbles, apply tone to the exercise.
Concentrate on the feeling of tone hitting and passing through your lips.
Lip bubbles disconnect your mental connection to the vocal cords. The
sound will feel as if is being produced by your lips. This is the perfect
exercise for relieving vocal strain and preparing the voice for an intense
vocal workout!

Starting on any note, produce lip bubbles while maintaining a

consistent pitch for several seconds, then slide to the bottom of your
range. You may also practice sustaining each individual pitch. I suggest
mixing it up: sliding on some pitches and sustaining others. Repeat this
exercise ten to twenty-five times, each time starting on a different pitch. It’s
best performed when starting somewhere in your lower range and
working your way up to higher pitches. This is the only warm-up exercise
I used when I performed on Good Morning America. When you are ready,
proceed to the next step of Vocal Stress Release.
(Lip Bubbles Example)

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GARGLING TONE
Gargling tone was previously explained in Chapter Seven: Hydrating the
Voice. Gargling tone is perfect for warming up. It works hand-in-hand with
lip bubbles. Lip bubbles warm up and expand the cords, much like
stretching out your body. There are three different versions of this exercise
and can be done with or without water. Gargling tone with water relaxes and
hydrates the voice, much like relaxing in a Jacuzzi.

Useful Tip: It’s like Lip Bubbles on the Palate

Gargling tone reminds me of several other exercises. It can feel like rolling
the tongue at the back of the tongue. It can also feel like you are using your
uvula for a speed bag and if you look in the mirror, you WILL see the uvula
moving like it’s a speed bag, haha. But what I feel most is the vibrating
sensation up against my soft palate, almost like I am doing lip bubbles
against the roof of my mouth. This is a VERY tough exercise to master but it
is also an important for keeping you focused in the soft palate. So keep these
ideas in mind as you attempt these warm up exercises.

For the first version start by taking a small amount of water in your mouth,
then tilt your head back and gargle on any pitch. You can either sustain the
pitch or slide down to the bottom of your range or practice using both. As
with your first warm-up, I suggest doing both sliding and sustaining. This
takes consistent breath support and a constant stream of air to prevent
from swallowing water while vocalizing. Repeat this exercise five to fifteen
times. I also use this exercise throughout my entire workout routine.
Whenever I’m feeling a little dry or need a quick break, I’ll gargle on tone in
between exercises or songs. (Gargling Tone Example)

The second gargling exercise is performed without water. It is hard to do at

first, but it is so beneficial for focusing and maintaining the sensation of the
voice in the palate. The sound of this warm up exercise reminds me of
Chewbacca from Star Wars. Perform this exercise on various notes only in
your lower range ten to fifteen times. (Chewbacca Example)

I call the third gargling exercise the “pigeon” exercise because it sounds like a
pigeon cooing. This exercise is always done on an “ooh” sound and should
always be done in falsetto. This is also another good warm up for vocal

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placement. Lightly coo and then slide lower. Perform this warm up only in
your upper range and in falsetto ten to fifteen times.
(Pigeon Sound Example)

HUMMING
Humming is an extremely important tool for bringing blood flow to the
vocal cords. To perform the resonance hum exercise, simply close your
mouth and hum until your teeth begin to buzz. This creates resonance in
the mouth cavity. You’ll soon discover that you can expand this feeling of
resonance to the entire head cavity. I want you to feel your cheeks, nose,
teeth, and even your ears buzzing. Hum on any pitch that is comfortable
for your range. Sustain the pitch for as long as comfortable. Next, try
humming while allowing the pitch to slide down to the bottom of your range.
Don’t force yourself to produce any resonance, allow it to happen naturally.
This exercise massages the vocal cords and relieves tightness. Perform
this exercise by mixing up sustains and slides at least ten to fifteen times on
different pitches. (Humming Example)

RESONANT ZZZs

I like Resonant Zzzs because they really get the face vibrating and bring full
attention to resonance production. This exercise brings resonance forward in
the face and involves the vibration of the whole head cavity. I try to keep the
“z” soft and pure as if a fly were buzzing. If I go into my upper register with
this warm up, I make sure I keep the sound very soft and falsetto-like. If
properly done, you’ll feel the teeth, face, cheeks, nose, and palate buzz. To
make sure you are properly creating the “z” sound that I want, first start by
sustaining an “n” sound. Did you notice how the tip of the tongue came up
against that first hard ridge on your hard palate? This is where I want you to
place your tongue for this exercise. You’ll soon learn that this system is based
upon minimal air loss, so my goal is to have you produce the best buzzing
sound possible, without any airy or “sss” sounds.

By placing the tip of your tongue up against the hard palate, you’ll eliminate

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the typical “s” sound that most people produce when saying “zzz”.
Remember, we don’t want to waste any energy. Try mixing up a combination
of sustains and slides on different pitches throughout your range for ten to
fifteen times. (Some students prefer using the “nnn” sound as opposed to
‘zzz’s”.) (Resonant Zzz’s and Nnn Example)

THE VOCAL CORD STRETCH

The vocal cord stretch is actually a fast continual version of one of the main
exercises in this book, called the Siren. Before you start performing this
particular warm-up exercise as part of Vocal Stress Release, you must
fully understand and have been practicing the Siren regularly. So wait and
add this exercise after you have mastered the entire system.

To perform the vocal cord stretch, sustain a full voice pitch. Next, raise the
pitch up as high as comfortable, then return to the beginning pitch.
Continue to raise and drop the pitch as many times as you can on one
breath.

To effectively and correctly perform this exercise, the tone must be clean
and extremely resonant. Remember, the voice is shaped like a triangle.
As you slide up in pitch (or ascend the scale), the tone will get thinner
and pointier, and as you slide back down in pitch (descend), the tone will
widen back out and become fuller. Keep the buzzing sensation on your
teeth and follow the path of your core of resonance. Following the path
will be further explained in the following chapters. Perform this exercise
ten to fifteen times or until your voice feels loosened up and you are ready
to perform. (Vocal Cord Stretch Example)

This completes the Vocal Stress Release system. You should feel warmed
up and ready for your vocal workout. The only other thing you might wish
to do is to perform a few mist inhales, and drink some water before your
workout or performance. Now it’s time to proceed to the voice
strengthening exercises, unless of course you are preparing for a gig. If
so, then please read Part Three:

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Part Three: Warming Up Via Singing
This section is only for singers who are using Vocal Stress Release as a
warm-up for a gig or concert performance. If you are going to be doing your
vocal workouts, proceed to your exercises. If you are going onstage within the
next few hours and have finished your warm-up routine, you might want to do
some light singing in order to bring that vocal instrument into alignment.

What do I mean by light singing? Exactly what I said. I remember about fifteen
years ago when I was very deeply into listening to everything that Steve Perry
had released. I bought everything I could find. I especially loved his tone on
the early Journey albums, especially on songs like “You’ve Got Something to
Hide”. Now, trying to belt out those tones at that color was very challenging. I
was constantly singing, kind of like how people are always humming. So what
I found myself doing, especially when I was in public, was singing at so soft a
volume that only flies could hear me. Well, during my Journey binge, I found
myself continually singing those songs at a super soft volume, which is what I
refer to as light singing. What I found was that by singing these songs at this
soft a volume, I could master the vocal cord coordination for each pitch, lyric
and phrase of a song. Once I was comfortable with “light singing” a song, I
could bring the volume and energy up until I was at full level. WOW, what a
great way to warm-up. (Light Singing Example)

Here’s a story that is related to light singing. At around the same time I
discovered the benefits of light singing, I had a meeting with Jim Gillette. I had
been practicing his Vocal Power exercises for quite some time and felt like I
was not progressing. He told me to start practicing his exercises at as soft a
volume as possible. He told me this was actually harder and once I mastered
the pitches at the softest volume possible, I would be able to go at them full
force with ease. He told me it had to do with teaching the mind the muscle
memory and coordination for each individual pitch, without adding all the extra
vocal stress and weight. Well, it worked like magic, for both exercising and
singing.

So, if you feel that you are still not warm enough for tonight’s performance
and you have gone through Parts One and Two of the Vocal Stress Release
system and still need that extra push, then you should make a practice CD of
songs that you will be performing during your gig to use for light singing. I

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prefer to put them in the actual order that I will be performing. Once you have
your CD ready, turn it on and sing along! But begin by applying light singing.
Start off very light; as soft and pure as possible and as you progress through
each song, add more energy and volume until you feel you are ready to hit
the stage.

A word of warning: Learn your own voice so you don’t overdo it. Each individual
is different so it may only take a few songs or it may take ten songs. Or maybe
you don’t need to do any singing at all. This is exactly why I don’t set the warm-
up exercises into a systematic form. You should do as little or as many of
whichever warm-up exercise you prefer. But always do what is needed. Some
days may require every warm-up exercise plus twenty minutes of singing. Other
days might only require five to ten minutes of lip bubbles. Your voice is like a
flower; Once it opens up, don’t let it wilt away by doing unnecessary warm-ups.
Save it for the stage!

Useful Tip: Humming Up

A lot of professional singers will sing songs after warming up and prior to
performing. Sahaj Ticotin of RA prefers to hum his way to a warm voice.
If you want to try this approach, pick out five or six songs (or as many as
it takes), to perform after you have finished your warm up. So instead
of light singing and building energy, you’ll be humming. Begin the
first couple of songs by lightly humming along with the lyrics. If the song
is a high song, like “Coshise” by Audioslave, hum the song one octave
lower in pitch, in your speaking level. When you hum the next few songs,
hum on the actual pitch. When the humming has blossomed open the
voice, try singing a song full on before hitting the stage. You can also
substitute lip bubbles for humming if you prefer.

COOLING DOWN

It is just as important to cool down from a performance; like a runner

slowing down to a jog, then to a slow-paced walk to prevent muscle
cramping. The vocal muscles and vocal cords swell due to the increased
blood flow while singing. This is normal in all aspects of muscular activity.
You must cool down after singing just as you must warm-up before!

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If you do not cool down after a performance or rehearsal, your muscles
won’t have sufficient time to contract back to normal size before speaking.
This could lead to a longer amount of time before you notice any increase
in your vocal range and could cause a sore throat.

When cooling down, your goal is to relieve any physical stress from
singing. Singing increases blood flow to the vocal area, causing the
muscles and cords to expand. Warming down reduces the swelling.

A basic cool down routine isn’t as demanding as a warm-up. Vocal Stress

Release with a few lip bubbles, basic resonance hums, and a few
gargling tone exercises is sufficient. Perform the exercise of your choice
until you feel that your voice has relaxed and you are ready for normal
speech. My favorite cool down is using lip bubbles for five or ten minutes.
That’s it! If you don’t cool down after singing, your voice will pay the price.
Make sure that you take care of your instrument.

Why Cool Down?

Why? Because if you don’t properly cool down your cords, they will not
return to their normal size as quickly as they should and might even
become irritated and swollen. This is most evident the next morning
when you wake up with a sore throat, or worse, not being able to speak. It
would be similar to swimming right after you ate a big meal. What
happens? You get a cramp. Cool downs serve the same purpose, allowing
the blood flow to return to normal before speaking (or in our analogy,
swimming) so that you don’t get a vocal cramp!

If you do wake up with a sore throat, performing a morning warm-up

routine will help to soothe the vocal cords and prepare you for talking.
When you sleep, the larynx relaxes and drops down into your throat,
releasing vocal tension and allowing the throat to heal from daily stress.
This is why the sound is stuck in the lower throat when you talk first thing in
the morning. After a night’s sleep, the cords aren’t ready to jump right into
conversation. Your voice is groggy and throaty in the morning and needs
time to wake up, too. Speaking from the lower throat and before your
voice is awake is unhealthy.

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The first rule of the morning warm up is to re-hydrate your voice. I
recommend eight to ten ounces of water when you first wake. Gargle on
tone at least five to ten times. You aren’t aiming for range so keep the
pitches low. After you have met your water quota, stand up, stretch your
arms high above your head, and let out a big, wide yawn. Finally,
perform several lip bubbles and a few resonance hums until you feel that
you are ready for speech. Humming helps to focus that forward
resonance feeling in the nose, face, and teeth, and bring the voice up and
out of the throat. You can also try making some vocal fry sounds as Brett
Manning suggested earlier on in this book.

Warming up, cooling down, and the morning warm up all promote a
healthy voice and act as preventive maintenance. Your voice is your
instrument! Treat it with care and respect and it will last you a lifetime.

Useful Tip: Neck Wrap

If you have a stiff neck and are having trouble warming up, try this
following tip: Soak a hand towel in very warm water. Wring out the
towel and then wrap it completely around your neck. This will help to
loosen stiff muscles. Don’t make the towel so hot that it burns you when
you hold it. If the towel is too hot, you will cause the neck muscles to
swell, which is not the goal. Keep the towel warm and re-soak the towel
when it begins losing temperature. Do this procedure as many times as
you feel is necessary.

Okay, we have FINALLY come to the part in the book where you better
be prepared to get your game on! It is time to develop that voice you’ve
always wanted. Onto the next chapter and the first series of exercises:

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TWENTY
Falsetto Development
Falsetto is one of the greatest tools for extending your range. The purpose
of using falsetto is to develop greater flexibility within the cords and to
smooth out the entire falsetto range before working the full voice. The
falsetto is an invaluable tool for voice training and by working your falsetto
first you’ll prepare your vocal cords for tighter, more demanding tensions.
When utilizing falsetto, your vocal cords still zip together but not at the same
intensity and narrow glottal closure as full voice. When first developing
your vocal muscles, it is easier for the cords to zip together in falsetto.

This is the first of the three voice strengthening exercises in the Raise Your
Voice system. It is called the Falsetto Slide. The Falsetto Slide should be
performed as dynamically soft as possible with absolutely minimal audible
breath release. Falsetto is typically breathy, but we do not want that sound to
make it’s appearance during this exercise. I prefer to think of falsetto
exercises as “tiny” exercises. Do you remember discussing the “light voice” in
the last chapter? Your goal is to do this exercise and its variations like light
singing or as if a fly were singing them.

By applying this concept you’ll be able to easily master the muscle memory
required for each individual pitch throughout your entire range. You’ll also find
that vocalizing as tiny and pure as possible will allow you to expand your
range effortlessly. When I first started experimenting with this exercise years
ago, I was able to expand my voice up to an A6 (one octave above soprano
A) in a matter of months. So, if you desire to develop what is known as the
whistle voice, the Falsetto Slide can help you attain your goal.

Now, some people will say that what you are actually doing is singing in a light
head voice because there is no breathiness (as is the case with a typical
falsetto). I assure you that it is still falsetto, but by eliminating the breath, you
allow the muscles to bring the edges of the cords a bit closer together, but not
close enough to be considered full voice.

Honestly, I don’t care what you call it. I am not here to debate whether it is

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falsetto, head voice or whistle voice; I am here to tell you that it works! (I
lied…It is falsetto, haha.) So don’t play head games with yourself trying to
decipher the terminology. Just do the exercises and watch your voice
potential skyrocket. Let’s begin:

Stretch your mouth open wide and yawn. Let go of any tension. Yawn
once again, but this time, vocalize as you yawn. I’m sure you’ve done
this hundreds of times before. As you yawn just say “yah.” Start with a
high, but light pitch and let the sound slide smoothly down into your
lower register. Remember, when using falsetto, you want the same tone
that singers like Prince or Jeff Buckley use for their upper range (but with
less breathiness). This exercise is based on dynamics (volume) and the
dynamic should be as soft as possible. If volume were displayed on a
scale of one to ten, you only want to produce a volume between one and
two—one being as soft as vocally possible without whispering and ten
being as loud as possible without shouting.

To achieve maximum results from this exercise, remember, you do not

want to sing with a typical breathy falsetto sound. Although I want you to
produce the same tonal quality as Prince, I want you to create as clear a
tone as possible. So if you hear any hint of breathiness, concentrate on
cleaning up that breathy tone until the sound is very focused and pure!

You don’t want to actually yawn during the exercise-just set the voice up
for singing by doing a micro breath on a yawn. Your goal is to maintain a
yawning sensation without yawning. The yawning sensation relaxes the
larynx and creates a dome-like shape in the back of the throat by raising
the soft palate and lowering the tongue to a U-shaped position. A high
palate and lowered U-shaped tongue opens the vocal path and allows
the sound to float freely up against the palate. Just take a micro breath
on a yawn before you do the exercise and you’ll be set. Keep the tip of
the tongue against the back of your bottom front teeth in order to
maintain the U-shaped position. Sometimes keeping a neutral larynx
position can be difficult. You can touch your Adam’s apple to make sure it is
behaving, and if it isn’t, yawn again to lower it down.

With all of the basics out of the way, grab your keyboard, pitch wheel,
Farley’s Pocket Tone or your Vendera Digital Vocal Coach. We’ll vocally
start the pitch in your lower range. Men should start on middle C, or C4, an
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octave below Tenor high C. Women should start five notes higher on F4.
Use these same starting points for the rest of the exercises. Although I
don’t believe in categorizing vocal ranges, I have found that some males
(such as bass singers) prefer to start on an F below middle C and some
females (such as sopranos) prefer to start on Tenor C. This is the reason
that I suggested buying a pitch wheel in the key of F and C. The note that
you choose for your voice will be your point of reference for your training
session during the rest of this book. So experiment to find which note seems
to be most comfortable for you at this time, then stick with it throughout the
exercises. Please pick the most comfortable choice; don’t pick a higher note
just to avoid working with lower tones.

There are several conditions you must meet when performing this exercise.
First, take your micro breath on a yawn, breathe low and support low and
focus each tone into the palate. Second, visualize your core of resonance.
This is a major key to reaching higher notes. The more focused you are
upon your core of resonance the easier you’ll be able to sing higher notes.
Third, always sing each exercise as tiny and pure as possible. By eliminating
any breathiness from your falsetto you are learning to produce falsetto with
minimum breath support while also protecting your throat from drying out.

Start by singing “yah”. The “y” at the beginning will help to focus the tone and
minimize the breath release. Never focus on the “y”. This is only an intro
into the vowel to allow the exercise to flow smoothly without a glottal or
breathy attack. In the beginning, the sound may have a tendency to waver,
but as you develop strength and coordination, this will pass and the note
will maintain an even flow for as long as you sustain each pitch.

As you sustain the word “yah”, notice how the pitch feels in your throat.
Where is the majority of resonance created? If the resonance is created
down low in your body, as on a note below your break, then the core of
resonance should be low. If you start above your break, the core could be in
the throat or the head, depending on high the pitch. Ah forget what I just
said; just start on your point of reference, haha. (That’s below your break
folks.)

Falsetto resonance is not as intense as full voice resonance. Remember

how I referred to the dynamics or volume of this exercise as a one or two on

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a scale of one through ten? Well, resonance can be put on a scale of one
through ten as well. On a scale of one through ten, a one, two, and three
would be varying degrees of falsetto and minimal resonance. We are aiming
for a one or two, so very little resonance will be present. Imagine your core
of resonance having a very light glow while singing in falsetto. Your core of
resonance is no bigger than a ping-pong ball. Keep the note as even as
possible. If the core of resonance is hovering evenly, then your voice should
flow evenly.

As you begin to run out of breath, your stomach and back muscles will start
to burn. This is great! Now you are performing two exercises in one and you
didn’t even know it! Sustaining notes for long durations is the key to
developing breath support for long phrases. In the beginning, you might not
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be able to hold a note very long but that’s normal. As you progress, you’ll
gradually be able to hold out notes for longer periods of time. Don’t strain at
any time! If you start to strain, stop and give your voice a break. You’ll
have a tendency to over-tighten your stomach as you begin to run out of
breath. Don’t allow this to happen. Maintain the same downwards support
you had at the beginning of your breath and allow your stomach to fall in
naturally.

When you are almost out of breath, slide the pitch all the way down to the
lowest note in your range. As the vocally slide to the bottom, imagine your
core of resonance sliding down as well. As you slide, you will reach a point
when you are not in falsetto, but you should keep the tone of your voice
consistent in volume all the way down to the bottom of your range.

Your voice may break as you slide; you want to develop the muscular
coordination so that this does not occur. If this happens, stop the exercise,
and repeat that individual note, while sliding very slowly through the
breaking area. This will give your muscles time to adjust to the different
pulls and glottal adjustments on your vocal cords. The slower you slide the
more vocal control you’ll have to prevent breaking. Your goal is to achieve
a smooth and seamless slide from the top to the bottom of your range. Try
to achieve a slight burning sensation in your stomach muscles right before
sliding. This should happen before you run out of breath. This is physical
proof that you are strengthening the stomach muscles.

While performing this exercise, make the most out of each individual pitch.
Regardless which note you are singing, at that particular moment, it is the
only note that matters. Put everything you have into each and every note.
Keep in mind that each exercise in this method is equally important. You
may like one exercise better than another, but don’t slack on any of them.

There are four important benefits from this exercise:

1. You are preparing your cords for full voice exercises.
2. You are improving your breath support and increasing your
breath capacity.
3. You will be increasing your falsetto range up into your
whistle register through concentration and visualization,
and…

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 4. You are smoothing out any break in your voice throughout
your entire range. This exercise, therefore, is extremely
important, especially to the development of your full voice.

Now let’s review the basic Falsetto Slide:

Falsetto Exercise #1: The Falsetto Slide

1. Starting on your point of reference, sustain a tiny,
pure tone on “yah”.

2. Concentrate on the inhalation and yawning

sensations, while visualizing your core of
resonance.

3. After the stomach muscles begin to burn, slide

down to the bottom of your range, while visualizing
your core of resonance sliding down as well.

That’s it. Sounds like a lot, doesn’t it? It’s really not, once you become
accustomed to the exercise. Keep working your voice up in half step
increments. This is called working the voice upscale. When starting the first
week of practice, you’ll want to go upscale as high as physically comfortable.
It may only be three to four notes up the scale, or it could be more.
With the Falsetto Slide exercise, you slide all the way down to the bottom of
your range, bottom pitch being irrelevant. You are teaching your voice to
smoothly slide from falsetto into your lower full voice to eliminate lower break
points between falsetto and full voice, so there’s no need to try to reach the
same note in a lower octave, just slide all the way to the bottom.

Regardless of your previous range, don’t be discouraged. As you

progress, the higher notes will come. When they do, you’ll find that the
lower “high” notes, which were once hard to reach, have suddenly
become much easier. (Falsetto Exercise #1-Falsetto Slide Example)
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When you reach the highest note of the exercise for the day, you have
just completed the first half of the Falsetto Slide. Now you must return to
your point of reference and begin again, only working the voice in the
opposite direction; moving down in pitch, in half step increments. This half
of the exercise is called downscale. The goal is to take that tiny voice and
work it down to the bottom of your range without any noticeable transition
or break. I find that for me, at around a G below middle C, if I were to
maintain that typical falsetto sound, I would crack and flip, but if I keep the
voice tiny and pure, I am able to carry it much lower. This will help to build
the muscle memory that creates the bottom foundation of your voice, which
will eventually translate into expanding the bottom end of your range.

VARIATIONS OF THE FALSETTO SLIDE

You’ll find that each Raise Your Voice exercise consists of several
variations. Once you’ve mastered the basic Falsetto Slide (no less than a
few weeks), you may proceed to the next falsetto exercise until you’ve
mastered it. Then proceed to the next variation until you have completed all
versions of the Falsetto Slide. Once you’ve mastered all versions, you can
mix it up in any way that you choose. Basically, this approach allows the
Raise Your Voice system to be ever evolving, which will keep your
workouts exciting. You’ll find that your range will still improve regardless of
which variation you use. Each variation follows the same basic rules as the
basic exercise. You’ll always start on your point of reference for both
upscale and downscale, while maintaining all important points of technique.
Now on to the Falsetto Slide variations:

Falsetto Exercise #2: The Falsetto Double Slide

On this exercise, begin by sustaining a pitch, starting at your point of

reference. Sustain your initial pitch for a few seconds and then slide to the
bottom of your range. Once you’ve reached the bottom, sustain the pitch for

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a few seconds before smoothly slide up to your beginning pitch. Once you
reached your initial pitch, sustain as long as comfortably possible (aim for
muscle burn) before ending the exercise. Move up in half-step increments
as high as vocally comfortable. Then, repeat the entire process downscale.
(Falsetto Exercise #2-Falsetto Double Slide Example)

Falsetto Exercise #3: Falsetto Reverse Slide

Follow the same process as the Falsetto Slide, but instead of sliding down,
slide up exactly one octave. (Yes this time we are going to maintain octave
slides.) Sustain the beginning note (on “yah”) for as long as possible or until
you achieve muscle burn. If you find that starting at your point of reference
seems a little awkward for sliding up one octave, drop to the next point of
reference. In other words, if your point of reference is middle C (C4), which
would result in sliding up to Tenor C and this feels a little uncomfortable,
drop your point of reference to an F below middle C. It would be the same
scenario if your point of reference is an F above middle C (F4), resulting in
a slide up to an alto F (F5). Just drop your point of reference to a middle C
(C4). Work your way up as high as vocally comfortable.

Once you reach your highest note, return to your point of reference (the
point you’ve chosen for this exercise) and repeat the entire process
downscale. (Falsetto Exercise #3-Falsetto Reverse Slide Example)

Falsetto Exercise #4: Falsetto Double Reverse Slide

Follow the same procedure as the Falsetto Double Slide, but like the
Falsetto Reverse Slide, your goal is to slide up one octave. Once you reach
the top note, sustain for a few seconds, and then slide back down to the
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initial note. Hold that initial note for a few seconds before proceeding onto
the next note. Work your voice as high as comfortable. Once you have
reached your peak, return to your point of reference and begin working this
exercise downscale.
(Falsetto Exercise #4-Falsetto Double Reverse Slide Example)

Falsetto Exercise #5: Falsetto Staccato Ooo

This exercise focuses on a very pure hooty type falsetto sound. Just like an
owl goes “Hoo, hoo, hoo”, I want you to make this same sound. You should
feel the sound directed right up into the palate, which is where the voice
should be felt at all times. This is an excellent exercise for developing vocal
focus (placement). So, beginning on your point of reference, make the owl
sound, but eliminate the “h” sound so that we can eliminate the
breathiness. (It also reminds me of a monkey sound.)

So you will initially be vocalizing “Ooo, Ooo, Ooo”. On the third “Ooo”
sustain the pitch for a few seconds and then slide to the bottom of your
range. Move up in half-step increments as high as comfortable. Keep the
voice very soft and pure. Once you’ve gone as high as you can, return to
your point of reference and begin working downscale.
(Falsetto Exercise #5-Falsetto Staccato Ooo Example)

Useful Tip: Technique Tip Reminders

By Cara Mastrey

Before moving on, Jaime asked me to comment on falsetto work and

technique…just to keep it fresh in your mind. One of my lessons I teach is that
singing should be a pleasure, not a pain. If it hurts, then you're doing
something wrong, whether it be not enough breath intake, mouth placement,
tongue placement, or muscle control. This is regardless of whether you are
utilizing falsetto or full voice.

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I start off having my students whisper sing, as though they're in the library.
Not actually whispering, just very quiet. It's difficult to sing on key quietly and
then sing with a speaking tone. Lastly, speak sing as though you are angry
and need to project your thoughts across the room.

This will allow the singer to get in touch with the three basic body tones, which
is what you’ll be learning through the mastery of each of the three main
exercises in this book. Through repetition, the singing voice will become
stronger in order that the three tones will become second nature.

Don't forget to breathe always!!! You don't need to be concerned of exhaling

when singing, because when you're singing, you are exhaling. So, focus on
keeping a full body full of breath and reserving that breath when releasing it
through the sound of vibration through a wide-open throat. As you already
know, there are many ways to open the back of the throat in a yawn position,
in order to project the breath effortlessly.

©2007 Cara Mastrey. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Cara Mastrey is a singer/songwriter/ world-renowned vocal coach and author

of the CD Sing With Mastery. You can hear her beautiful voice and contact
her for private instruction through www.myspace.com/caramastrey.

That finishes all variations of the Falsetto Slide. Now you have plenty of
falsetto work ahead of you, so get busy. Don’t forget your visualizations.
When you slide down, the core of resonance should drop. When you slide
back up, your core of resonance should rise. Focus on the inhalation and
yawning sensations to minimize breath and focus the voice into the palate
by applying a micro breath on a yawn. When performing any Falsetto
Slide exercises that involve double slides, your vocal cords unzip and re-
zip, assuring the proper development of muscular coordination in both
directions. Now that your falsetto has been properly worked out and
warmed up, you are ready for more demanding exercises. Are you ready
to transcend? What do I mean by transcend? Go to the next chapter and find
out for yourself.

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TWENTY-ONE
Transcending Tone
Exercise two in this three-part exercise system is a method of transforming or
transcending the color of the tone of your voice smoothly and evenly from
falsetto into a full voice tone. This exercise bridges the gap between the two
different tonalities and is the obvious next step up from falsetto work in
preparation for full voice exercises.

Transcending Tone is a term I coined to describe the transition from falsetto

into full voice. This is actually an old-Italian exercise called “Messa di Voce”.
You’ll start in a very soft pure falsetto tone then swell the sound of your
voice until you reach a loud, resonant, full voice tone. Your goal is to
transcend from a soft, light sound into a full, resonant sound. This exercise
does not work with slides. It works specifically with tonal transitions and
the sustaining of these tones.

Don’t think of falsetto and full voice as different voices, but different colors of
the same voice. The easiest way to explain this process of transcending tone
is on a one through ten scale. If you remember from the last chapter, I
explained how volume could be represented on a scale of one through ten;
one being as soft as possible without whispering and ten being as loud as
possible without shouting. I also explained how resonance could be displayed
on a scale of one through ten. This resonance scale is in direct relation to the
color of the voice because falsetto and full voice are both colors of one voice.
We could even go further to say that the resonance and color are in direct
relation to the glottal opening and vocal cord tension, but we won’t go there,
so breathe that sigh of relief for now, haha.

So here is what you really need to know for this exercise. When describing
falsetto as compared to full voice we could safely say that on a
resonance/tone scale that falsetto would represent one through three of the
scale and eight through ten would represent varying degrees of full voice. So
what does four through seven represent? This represents what most coaches
refer to as mixed voice. This is simply a mixture of falsetto and full voice.

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Mixed voice is an excellent tool for pop and country singers. It is easier to sing
than full voice, but without the power and intensity of a full voice tone, yet it
can be more pleasing to the ear than falsetto, with a bit more resonance than
the average falsetto tone.

Transcending Tone will take you from falsetto through mixed voice into full
voice, while simultaneously increasing the dynamic (volume) from one
through ten.

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When done slowly, you can transcend all the way from one through ten. This
one exercise will be the most challenging exercise to perform out of the
entire system. It takes incredible muscular control. Mastering this exercise is
an accomplishment in itself. Your voice would improve from this one
exercise, but the whole vocal routine in this book is critical for achieving your
maximum voice potential. The purpose of this exercise is to develop the
muscles involved in sustaining vocal cord tension and opening and
narrowing the glottal opening. You will develop the ability to transcend your
vocal cords from a loose vocal cord tension (falsetto), through a mixed tone
and right into a tight tension (full voice). Now let’s jump into the exercise:

Start on your point of reference (C4 for males, F4 for females) and sustain
the “a” vowel sound, as in the word “play”. I prefer for you to begin by singing
“yay” because by adding a “y” you will eliminate any light glottal attack or
burst of air. Begin this exercise in falsetto as tiny as possible then swell the
sound until it becomes as loud as comfortably possible. So in other words,
begin on a volume of one and a tone/color of one and swell both volume and
color in direct relation to each other, towards a ten on both scales.

Your aim is to go from one volume extreme to the other while involving the
vocal muscles to close the glottal opening in order to increase resonance
from minimum to maximum. An important note to make here is that you
should make sure to take your micro breath on a yawn while breathing low,
then immediately add the downward support before singing. Don’t forget to
focus the tone up into the palate. Maintain your support! Never let the
support go. If you wish to add a bit more downward support tension as you
transcend, that is fine. Think of it as “adding energy”. Adding this energy will
help you to effortlessly move from one through ten on both scales. This is
similar to turning the volume level control of a stereo system up from one to
ten (or eleven, if you’re a member of Spinal Tap). However, do not swell the
sound so loud that you strain your voice.

If at any time you strain, stop the exercise and make note of your limits. Start
over again, making sure not to go past the point of straining. You must
make sure that you are not swelling your falsetto. (That is an entirely
different exercise.)

If you swell your falsetto, the sound will be loud and breathy. Increasing
the volume of your falsetto occurs by not fully utilizing the muscles involved
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in vocal cord tension, leaving the glottis open, while increasing breath
pressure. A loud falsetto only dries out your throat and irritates the edges
of the vocal cords, if you don’t know what you are doing.

Your goal is to transcend into your full voice by using the muscles that
control vocal cord tension and narrow the glottis. Full voice should sound
loud, resonant, and clean, with minimal breath support. You shouldn’t notice
any breathiness in the sound of your voice. Rely on the inhalation sensation
while vocalizing to minimize breath pressure.

Visualization enhances the performance, so focus, focus, focus! As you

transcend from falsetto into full voice, the sound will swell and grow
louder. As your voice gets louder, resonance should expand. Remember
during this exercise that an increase in volume is directly related to the
increase in resonance and resonance is what makes it easier to sing
any note in your range. To maximize resonance in your body, apply the
core of resonance expansion visualization. This visualization coincides
with the core of resonance visualization.

CORE OF RESONANCE EXPANSION

As you recall, the ping-pong ball is your core of resonance. When
vocalizing in falsetto, imagine your core of resonance glowing about as
bright as a dimly lit bulb, and approximately the size of a ping-pong ball.
The light represents resonance in your body. As the sound swells, your
core of resonance should become brighter, much like turning up a dimmer
switch. When the sound is loud and in full voice, your core of resonance
should be as bright as the sun, radiating throughout your entire body. At
the same time, imagine your core of resonance growing from the size of a
ping-pong ball to the size of softball as you transcend from falsetto into full
voice.

As you swell from falsetto into full voice, the ping-pong ball will grow to the
size of a soft ball while increasing in brightness from dimly lit to as bright
as the sun. Simply put, resonance expansion basically refers to your core
of resonance increasing in size and brightness.

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WHERE’S MY RESONANCE?
Resonance is not confined to the three main resonant cavities of the
body. As the sound of your voice grows louder, resonance expands
outwards, vibrating your entire being. When singing low notes (often
referred to as chest voice) your core of resonance should be low in your
chest. To achieve the fullest possible tone, incorporate resonance expansion
while keeping the ribs expanded. This blends resonance from your entire
body with your voice, with the majority of resonance coming from your chest.
Your body is one giant tuning fork. By maintaining expanded ribs, you allow
the tuning fork to freely resonate. This process works throughout your entire
range. Wherever your core of resonance is located is the most resonant
point in your body, blending all other parts of your body with the core.

As the pitch of your voice rises, the core of resonance rises from low in your
chest to high in your head, depending on the pitch. This adjusts the zipping
of the cords. When you perform this exercise, the core of resonance doesn’t
move. It is in a fixed position relative to that individual pitch. Although the
core of resonance does not move, resonance expansion does still occur. As
you ascend or descend in half-step increments, your core of resonance
moves in direct relation to your pitch.

In order to make the voice as full as possible during practice, always

visualize resonance expansion! This releases any muscular tension in the
throat and minimizes the amount of air pressure required to sustain different
pitches. Do not push to increase the volume of your voice. A louder, fuller
sound is not achieved by increasing your breath support. It can only be
achieved by resonance expansion and properly adding energy to your
support mechanism.

When first attempting this exercise, your voice will have a tendency to
waver and break before reaching full voice. This is normal. You are
conditioning muscles that you aren’t used to using. Let’s review the first
exercise:

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Transcending Tone Exercise #1:
Falsetto to Full Voice

1. Starting on your point of reference, sustain a falsetto

tone by vocalizing “yay”.

2. Incrementally swell the tone and color from one to ten

until you are in full voice, utilizing resonance
expansion.

3. Continue to sustain the note in full voice as long as

possible.

Continue until you reach your highest comfortable note for the day. Once
you’ve reached your limit, return to your point of reference and begin again
working downscale. Work as low as comfortably possible. By mastering the
Transcending Tone exercise at lower pitches, you enhance your ability to
transcend at higher pitches. You are working your muscles and vocal
cords in new and unfamiliar positions, strengthening the overall flexibility
and coordination of your voice. This is exactly why I have you work this
particular exercise downscale.
(Transcending Tone Exercise#1-Transcending Tone Example)

If you continue to practice this exercise, your range will increase within
weeks, possibly days. Aim for the burning sensation in your stomach as
you are sustaining the tone. This will improve your breath support,
increasing your sustain time for long vocal passages, as well as
improving the muscular coordination needed to sustain notes smoothly
and evenly.

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Transcending Tone-Exercise #2-Double Transcending Tone:
Falsetto to Full Voice to Falsetto

This variation follows the exact same process of the basic Transcending
Tone exercise except that once you swell from one to ten on both
volume and color, from falsetto into a full voice tone, hold that tone for a
few seconds and then decrease the volume and color from ten to one
until you have completely returned to a pure falsetto tone.
(Transcending Tone Exercise #2-Double Transcending Tone
Example )

It is just as important to coordinate the muscles to release the muscular

tension required to tighten the vocal cords. This creates a
contraction/relaxation relationship between the muscles. Not only does
this strengthen the vocal cords, but it also improves the dynamics of your
voice. Think of dynamics as volume control. Coordinated vocal muscles
give you the ability to increase or decrease the volume for expression.
Dynamics add expression and emotion to your songs. Once you’ve
reached your highest comfortable note, return to your point of reference
and work downscale until you reach your lowest comfortable note.

Transcending Tone Exercise #3- Reverse Transcending Tone:

Full Voice to Falsetto

This variation follows the exact same process of the Transcending Tone
exercise #1 except that you begin completely in full voice on a
volume/color scale of 10, then work backwards towards falsetto and a

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volume of 1. Hold the beginning full voice note for several seconds,
aiming for the stomach muscle burn, then gradually decrease from ten to
one on both volume and color, from full voice into a falsetto tone. Once
you’ve reached your highest comfortable note, return to your point of
reference and begin working downscale.
(Transcending Tone Exercise #3-Reverse Transcending Tone
Example)

Transcending Tone Exercise #4- Reverse Double Transcending

Tone: Full Voice to Falsetto to Full Voice

This variation follows the exact same process of the Double

Transcending Tone exercise #2 except that you begin completely in full
voice on a volume/color scale of 10, working your way towards falsetto,
then back to full voice. Hold the beginning full voice note for a few
seconds, and then gradually decrease from ten to one on both volume
and color, from full voice into a falsetto tone. Hold at the bottom for a
few seconds, and then gradually increase the volume/color scale from
one to ten until you have completely returned into full voice.

Once you’ve reached full voice, hold the note as long as possible,
aiming for stomach muscle burn. Once you’ve reached your highest
comfortable note, return to your point of reference and begin working
downscale.
(Transcending Tone Exercise #4-Reverse Double Transcending
Tone Example)

With the completion of this exercise set, you are ready for full voice
production.

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TWENTY-TWO
Full Voice Production
This last exercise in the Raise Your Voice system is called the “Siren” and
it works directly with full voice—the natural or real sound of your voice. In
the end, the goal is to sing any note in your range at any dynamic with a
clean resonant ‘real’ sounding tone and then have the ability to apply vocal
inflections such as vibrato and grit.

The Siren is a full voice exercise. I call this exercise the Siren because it
mimics the warning sirens used to alert danger. I was inspired to create
this exercise while listening to my favorite singer, Jim Gillette. He does
these incredible sliding screams from his lowest notes to his highest notes
without breaking. When I first started teaching, before I decided to use the
Siren as a main exercise, I used the sliding scream to get students to work
through their break area.

In fact, I’d like to tell you the story about how I discovered the amazing
benefits of the Siren for vocal expansion. A friend of mine came to me one
day back in 1996. (Yeah, the same guy from my first unofficial voice
instructor lesson.) He said, “Jaime, how do you hit those high notes so
easily? I love Dream Theater and would love to sing as high as James
Labrie, but no matter what I do, I crack and break every time I try. I can do
it in falsetto but it just doesn’t sound cool.” So I thought to myself for a
minute and I said, “Hey, Troy, try this…” I then demonstrated a sliding
scream for him. I worked with him for about forty-five minutes and within
that small amount of time, he went from only being able to squeak out an E
above middle C up to an A4. That was a gain of five notes in forty-five
minutes! That is an AMAZING gain. I am not talking falsetto; I am talking
straight-out full voice.

Now I don’t want to get off topic, but it is important to mention that when
Troy went home that evening and tried singing, he still couldn’t reach his
goal. He couldn’t sing up to an A4 although we had him doing it during
practice on the Siren. He called me up and was a bit worried that he had
completely lost what he had gained in only a few hours.

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I told him that the thing to remember is that these exercises are based on
open vowels, which are much easier to perform than singing actual songs.
I had proven to him that he had the ability to take his voice where he
wanted to go, but he would have to work at it.

Back in 1991, when I was deep in self-discovery and having the same
issues as Troy, I asked vocal coach, Thomas Appell, the exact same
question that Troy had asked me. Thomas said, “Jaime, it takes time for
the transition from doing open vowel exercise into actual songs. Songs
consist of ever changing vowels and consonants. Exercises are only
developing the musculature required to sustain high notes. Singing
requires vocal stamina. (More on this later.) In time, with plenty of practice
and singing, the ease of hitting notes on open vowels will evolve into easily
obtaining the same results in song.” Wow, what a flashback. I thought I
was experiencing de′ja′ vu when Troy called me.

Now, let’s get back to the Siren exercise:

You won’t use falsetto for this exercise. This will be a strong resonant full
voice tone on a volume and tone/color scale of eight to ten. The purpose of
this exercise is to eliminate any recognition of breaks and to create a
seamless vocal range from bottom to top. You are teaching the vocal cords
to properly zip together. When done correctly, your voice will not waver or
break in any part of your range.

The basic Siren exercise will start one octave lower than your usual point
of reference position. This would be C3 for males and F3 for females. If
you cannot sing this low of a pitch, start on the lowest comfortable note of
your range and use that as your starting point for this exercise. You can
change your point of reference to an F or a C, or to any note for that
matter, if that is more comfortable for you.

Begin this exercise by singing the “a” vowel as in the word ‘play’. As
usual, I want you to add a “y” at the beginning, so you’ll actually be
singing ‘yay’. Never focus on the “y”. This is only an intro into the vowel to
allow the exercise to flow smoothly without a glottal or breathy attack.
Sustain the pitch for a couple of seconds then begin slowly sliding up the
scale until you reach one octave higher than your beginning note.

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If you started an octave below middle C, or C3, you would end up on
middle C, or C4. Sustain the top note until your back, sides, and stomach
muscles begin to burn or until you run out of breath.

As you have probably guessed, you are also using this exercise to improve
your breath support, so you’ll want to sustain your top note as long as possible.
Do not strain your voice when sustaining the top note. The hardest part of this
exercise isn’t sliding up the scale, but sustaining the top note smoothly for long
periods of time. (Just use the Inhalation Sensation and you’ll do fine.)

In the beginning, your voice will warble and crack. In time, the vocal muscles will
become stronger and the sound will become smooth and seamless no matter
how long you sustain the note. By holding the top note, you are teaching your
muscles to hold the vocal cord position for that particular note. Sustaining notes
for long periods will develop the correct relationship between your vocal cord
positioning and your breath support.

If your voice breaks while sliding up the scale, stop, repeat, and slow down! An
unsteady voice is part of the learning process, but the end result should be a
smooth, seamlessly connected scale. Just before you reach the area where you
crack, slow down. This is the secret to learning to smooth out your so-called
“break point”.

Useful Tip: Slow Down!

The slower you slide through the break area, the more muscular control you
will have to prevent your voice from cracking. You aren’t running a race, so
take your time. If you slow down and your voice still cracks, start again
and slide even slower until you smooth out your break point.

To maximize your results, apply the core of resonance visualization.

Remember, your core of resonance is very bright and the size of softball
when vocalizing in full voice. As you slide up the scale, imagine your core of
resonance rising straight up the center of your body, perfectly balanced.
When you reach the top note, allow your core of resonance to float without
any restrictions. (Always keep your focus in the palate.)

Continue this exercise in half-step increments. You might only work your

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way upscale five or six notes in the beginning stages of this exercise. If you
go further, that’s great. If it is less, that’s fine as well. Within a few weeks of
serious work, you will notice an increase in your vocal range.

This exercise is easiest when done at loud volumes. I’m not stating that you
should vocalize ear painfully super loud and I definitely don’t want you to
shout; I am just stating the fact that this exercise is more effective at a loud
volume. I always tell my students to “start big and end big”, meaning that if
you start with a loud, strong, resonant tone, you should end with that same
energy. Don’t get any louder, and don’t get any weaker. Keep the volume
and intensity the same. This is not a shouting exercise. It’s an application of
maximum resonance. I tell my students to think of that big Italian sounding
type voice, like Rocky Balboa. (I am NOT referring to that low larynx dopey
type sound; just a big solid resonant sound.) If you maintain that same
intensity, you will easily ascend the scale with no breaks and no strain. It
might even scare you a bit, thinking you are shouting, but I assure you that if
done correctly, it is only the production of resonance that gives you that big
tone. If you are using your VAM (Vocal Acoustic Monitor) as you practice this
exercise, it will keep your voice in check and you won’t shout.

An important point to make here in producing the correct tone is to keep the
tone pure. Watch for hints of nasality. If you are sounding nasal, that isn’t a
sign of proper placement, although a nasal feeling does indicate a strong
resonant tone. So how do you tell if the tone is actually offensively nasal or
you are just feeling nasal resonance? I will leave it up to aspiring singer-
songwriter/teacher/voice coach Valerie Bastien to answer this question:

Useful Tip: Nasal or Nasal Resonance

By Valerie Bastien

What is the difference in sound between a nasal voice and a well balanced
voice and how can you achieve that? Try this exercise to hear what each
placement sounds like. First, sing with your voice completely in your nose,
just like a witch or a duck. Pinch your nose. If your tone changes, your voice
is too much forward in the nose. That is a nasal voice and you want to
stay away from that kind of sound. Now, move the vibrations of your voice up
a tiny bit as if it's sitting on rather than in your nose.

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If you can pinch your nostrils without hearing the sound of your voice being
altered and becoming nasal, then congratulations! You have the right
placement and your voice is properly balanced. Whenever you sing a song
and you are concerned that you might sound nasal, just pinch your
nose quickly for an easy check up! Good luck!”

©2007 Valerie Bastien. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Valerie Bastien is a school teacher with a BA of Fine Arts, specializing in

music performance, and a BA in education. She is the creator of the Voice
Yourself in the Classroom seminar series.

I also do not want you to use a lot of breath to achieve this loud tone. If I
begin a Siren with a breathy tone, I can guarantee you that I’ll crack and
break every time. (Breathy Siren Example)

Remember, you don’t have to over-tighten the stomach muscles or push

much harder for a louder sound. Yes a full voice tone might require a bit
more downwards support, but it doesn’t have to be overbearing. Just make
absolutely sure that you are supporting with lots of energy, focusing the tone
into the palate and relying on resonance expansion. As your range
increases, you’ll find that you can vary the intensity of dynamics and you
won’t have to sing your top notes as loud as you once did.

Useful Tip: Loud or Breathy? Candle Exercise

You should know by now that more breath pressure isn’t the answer for
producing a louder tone. In fact, all tones, regardless of volume, should
always be produced with minimal breath support. (In fact, the higher you sing,
the less breath pressure you need.) If you try to do this exercise with excess
breath, I promise you that you will not be able to slide smoothly into your
upper register. So how can I tell if I’m using too much breath to achieve a loud
tone (besides the obvious cracking in your voice)? An easy way to check your
breath release is by using a candle flame to monitor your breath flow. Practice
your exercises or singing a song right in front of a candle. Your goal is to not
affect the candle flame with your breath. If the flame moves, focus on the
inhalation sensation and a buzzing sensation in the mouth for more

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resonance. This is a powerful exercise for learning to control breath release!
So, how will the Siren exercise help my entire range? Well, let’s say that you
have been able to extend your range up to a B4, right below Tenor C, but
you have to sing really loud to keep the B note steady and sustained. A
few weeks later, you are able to sing a Tenor high C (C5), and you notice
that you don’t have to sing B4 as loud as you used to. What’s amazing is
that the A#4, right below B, is even easier to sing. Even more amazing is the
fact that singing an A4 is suddenly a breeze.

Let’s review:

Full Voice Exercise #1: Basic Siren

1. Starting one octave below your point of reference,

vocalize on a ‘yay’.

2. Maintaining full voice, slide up one octave from your

starting position, visualizing your core of resonance
rising.

3. Sustain this pitch as long as possible to achieve

stomach muscle burn.

Work your way upscale in half step increments. Support, focus and apply
the core of resonance visualization with maximum resonance. Maintain the
inhalation sensation to prevent excess pressure on the diaphragm. This
assures a full, resonant voice throughout your entire range. As always,
maintain the yawning sensation to keep the tongue low, thus opening the
vocal path for placement. The tongue has a tendency to rise on higher
notes, cutting off the vocal path. When you reach your highest pitch for this
exercise, return to your chosen point of reference and begin working
down in pitch for the downscale part of the Siren exercise.
(Full Voice Exercise #1-Siren Example)

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Now onto the variations:

Full Voice Exercise #2: The Double Siren

This exercise follows the same instructions for the basic Siren but you must
add the following: Once you reach your top note, sustain that note for five to
ten seconds, then slide back down one octave to your beginning note. Work
as high upscale as comfortable possible. Once you’ve reached your highest
note, return to your point of reference and begin working downscale as low
as comfortably possible on half-step increments. So if your point of reference
is a middle C, or C4, your next note will be a B3, then an A3 and so-forth.
(Full Voice Exercise #2-Double Siren Example)

Full Voice Exercise #3: The Reverse Siren

This exercise follows the same instructions for the basic siren but instead of
sliding up one octave, you want to slide down one octave. Remember, it is
just as important to expand and develop your lower range as your upper
range. How can you build and maintain a house without a solid foundation?
You can’t. So that is why we are working on the bottom. This exercise will
not start one octave lower; Start on your actual point of reference.

So if your point of reference is an F above middle C, sustain that initial pitch

(F4) for several seconds then slowly slide one octave lower (F3). Once you
reach the bottom note, hold that note as long as you possibly can without
straining. Aim for the muscle burn. Work upscale in half-step increments as
high as possible. Once you reach your highest note, return to your point of
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reference and work down scale in half-step increments as low as
comfortably possible. (Full Voice Exercise #3-Reverse Siren Example)

Full Voice Exercise #4: The Reverse Double Siren

This exercise follows the same procedure as the Reverse Siren, but once
you slide down one octave, hold that bottom note for a few seconds and
then slide back up one octave to your initial pitch. Work upscale as high as
you comfortably can. Once you’ve reached your highest note of the day,
return to your point of reference and work downscale.
(Full Voice Exercise #4-Reverse Double Siren Example)

When performing double slides you are zipping and unzipping the vocal
cords and gaining complete muscular control over your entire vocal
range. During the course of developing your full voice ala’ Siren, you will
eventually reach a point where you can comfortably cover two octaves in
one Siren. Let’s say that your lowest note is an F3 below middle C. Start this
exercise on your lowest note, which in this case is the F3. Over the course
of several months you increase your vocal range from an A4 to an F5 in
the alto range. When you are doing the Siren and you reach your highest
note, which is now F5 above Tenor C, you would not start an octave lower
on F4, but two octaves lower on your lowest note, which is an F3.
(Two-Octave Siren Example)

This allows you to cover two octaves, working out your entire range in one
Siren. When you can cover two octaves, you have performed an
incredible feat. You are well on your way to mastering your voice. The
higher you can sing, the easier you can sing throughout your entire
range. You may reach notes in practice that might not apply to your style
of singing, but your lower range and midrange will become stronger.
When you reach three octaves, you will be ready for the vocal Olympics!
(Three-Octave Siren Example)

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That finishes the Siren series. Develop and master all versions of this
exercise as well as all versions of the Falsetto Slide and the Transcending
Tone exercise and you WILL notice improved results!

Useful Tip: Hold Those Notes!

Hold your notes as long as you can. (Don’t forget reverse breathing.) You
are developing breath control. You might think you are increasing lung
capacity but you are actually teaching the body to sustain a note with less
breath. Let’s say that you are able to sustain a G4 above middle C for ten
seconds. Eventually you can sustain that same note for twenty seconds.
You are now producing the same pitch with about half the breath pressure
that you once did. Not only can you hold the note twice as long, but there is
also a lot less stress on the vocal cords from breath pressure, which means
that you are protecting your voice from harm.

Full Voice Exercise #5: Developing Intonation Using a Tuner

I wanted to add one more exercise in the full voice section that I feel is so
beneficial to tone development. We actually covered this exercise in Part
One of this book, (and it is similar to one of the Ultimate Breathing Workout
exercises) but I really want you to add this to your practice routine. This
exercise will require a tuner or you can use the Vendera Digital Vocal
Coach. This exercise will seem simple but I assure you that it is more
challenging than you might think. Starting on your point of reference, sustain
a ‘yay’ on a full voice tone. You do not have to be as loud as the Siren
exercise but maintain at least a moderate volume.

With tuner on and directly in front of you, sustain your initial pitch for as long
as you possibly can. Concentrate on keeping the pitch in perfect tune. If you
are using a digital tuner, use one such as the Sabine MT-9000 that has a
digital needle. This tuner has the center of the scale displaying perfect tune;
to the left of center is flat and to the right of center is sharp. If you are using a
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digital tuner, you might need your pitch wheel for matching the pitch as you
ascend note by note. (Full Voice Exercise #5-Intonation Example)

Work upscale as high as you comfortably can without straining. This

exercise will work your butt off so be prepared to hate me! Once you’ve
reached as high as comfortable, begin again at your point of reference and
work downscale. If you want to make this exercise even more challenging,
you can involve the use of a stopwatch to track your sustain time. So not
only can you improve intonation but you can also use this as a breath
support and lung developer. The Vendera Digital Vocal Coach has all of
these tools on one convenient screen. This completes your vocal workout.
Before moving on, I’d like to leave you with a few more useful tips.

Useful Tip: All Notes Are Created Equal

Most singers reach for higher notes. The key is to let the voice float above the
note as opposed to reaching up to the note. (Remember the Useful Tip
about “landing “ on top of the note?) When you reach for a note, you’ll most
likely end up straining. If I catch a student reaching up for a note during
practice, I’ll make them sway their bodies from side to side as they perform an
exercise. Let me explain: if you are performing an exercise, like the Siren,
begin the exercise by leaning to the left on the low note and sway your body
towards your right (switch your weight to your right foot) as you ascend
towards the high note. The idea is to realize that all notes should be presented
horizontally, like keys on a piano, instead of vertical (low to high). I can press
any note on a piano without straining my hand just by moving to the left for the
low notes and to the right for the high notes. In this way, you won’t think that
you have to reach up to hit the high note.

Useful Tip: Seven-Week Training Program

Here is a seven-week training program for developing a powerful voice by
using the Raise Your Voice method. This is the same approach that I use in
teaching my students, with the first four weeks focused on progressively
studying the techniques presented in this book.
Let me start by saying that if you are truly serious about developing your voice
to your fullest potential, I suggest that you adopt a five-day exercise routine
consisting of a cardiovascular workout (Flowfit™, yoga, treadmill, swimming,

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aerobics, etc.) for strengthening the lungs, and an abdominal workout for
strengthening the stomach muscles. As previously mentioned, I use an Urban
Rebounder™, FlowFit™ and other methods to take care of my physical needs.
A strong set of lungs and abs are essential for developing a powerful voice!
One typical day, I jumped on my Urban Rebounder™ for thirty minutes, did a
fifteen minute abdominal workout, performed a fifteen minute FlowFit™
session, along with my regular Vocal Stress Release program, and proceeded
to shatter eight wineglasses in a row. (Thanks to my son, Ryan, for the
motivation to shatter all those glasses that day.) Now if that doesn’t get you
motivated and convince you that this system works, I don’t believe anything will!

Here’s how the seven-week program works:

1. Week One: Perform the Vocal Stress Release program for six
days with one day of vocal rest. After you have completed your
warm-up routine, you might want to sing a few songs to work on
developing your vocal stamina. Reread Part One of this book.
2. Week Two: Perform the Vocal Stress Release (VSR) program
and add the basic Falsetto Slide exercise. Same routine: six days
on, one day off. Reread Part Two of this book.
3. Week Three: Perform VSR and add the basic Transcending
Tone exercise. DO NOT perform the Falsetto Slide during this
week; only concentrate on perfecting the Transcending Tone
exercise. Six days on and one day off. Reread Part Three of this
book.
4. Week Four: Perform the VSR program and add the basic Siren
exercise. DO NOT perform either the Falsetto Slide or the
Transcending Tone exercises. Concentrate on perfecting the
Siren. Six days on; one day off. Reread Part Four of this book.
5. Weeks Five and Six: These two weeks will be intense. Now you
will perform the VSR program along with all three exercises every
day for two weeks straight. There will be no break days unless
absolutely necessary! The only way I’ll let you take time off is if
you develop laryngitis. Remember, you can sing with a cold!
During these two weeks, reread the entire book! Raise Your
Voice is your new study guide. You are in training.

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 6. Week Seven: Congratulations, you have reached the week that
will set the course for your vocal training schedule. From now on
you will follow the complete program for five-six days per week
with one or two days rest. You will be required to perform the
Vocal Stress Release program for your warm-up, followed by
the three main exercises every day. Choose whichever version
of each exercise that you like. After finishing the exercises, I
suggest singing a minimum of thirty minutes a day. Singing
regularly is the only way that your hard work will transcend into
actual singing. There are suggestions toward the end of this
book on developing vocal stamina and creating a daily singing
routine.

Once you have completed your workout/singing routine, make sure to follow
up with a brief cool down session. Are you up to the Vendera Vocal
Challenge? I think you are. When you reach week seven, I expect you to
adopt this routine as a way of life. After the last week of this training session,
you are allowed to experiment with any of the alternate versions of the three
main exercises. How bad do you want to become a phenomenal singer? Can
you prove it to me? Then, show me by all of your hard work! GO GET BUSY!

Whoops, before you go get busy, let me give you a few last pointers:

Useful Tip: Tension Underneath the Chin?

The muscles underneath the chin play an important role in range. The
muscles will slightly tense as you ascend the scale but should not tighten or
lock up when singing higher pitches. If this happens, you will end up straining
your voice. To check for tight muscles, stick the tip of your thumb up
underneath the chin as you sing a song or practice your exercises. If the
muscles begin to tighten, massage the area with your thumb and focus on the
thought of relaxing that area. Concentration will help to relieve the muscles
tension.

Useful Tip: Don’t Forget the Mirror!

If you find yourself straining when practicing, don’t forget to utilize a mirror to
check the face and body for unnecessary muscle tension. You might be
clenching your face or leaning back when reaching for high notes. I’m not
saying that all of these movements will cause stress, but if you develop a

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muscle memory, like associating a high note with leaning back, looking up,
raising your eyebrows, or bulging the veins in your neck from neck tension,
chances are you will strain and you will then only be able to hit high notes
when doing these things. It’s all right to be theatrical but you don’t want to
develop a tension-producing habit to enable you to sing. Watching yourself in
the mirror is self-analysis and will help you to break bad habits before they
affect your singing voice.

A Few Final Thoughts before Moving On

Once you’ve become accustomed to these exercises, you’ll notice your
range increasing. You probably recall me saying that as this happens, you’ll
reach a point where you can comfortably incorporate more than one octave
during the slide. The wider range you can cover in one Siren or Falsetto
Slide, the quicker you will develop a seamless voice from bottom to top.

If you can incorporate two octaves, that is great! So if your lowest note is a
C3 and you have worked to develop your voice and have reached a Soprano
C (C6), then you must lower your beginning pitch to your lowest note (C3)
once again, thus creating a three-octave slide. That’s an amazing feat! Now
a word to the wise- Always aim for more but always maintain quality as
opposed to quantity. Don’t reach for two or more octaves if you are not
vocally ready; just so you can say you can do it. Strive for perfection and the
quality of each note before attempting double and triple octaves.

Also remember that when performing the Siren, you must maintain octave
slides, regardless of one, two, or three octaves. This means if you start on a
D, then slide up or down to the next D, not D sharp, or any other pitch. The
Falsetto Slide exercise does not require perfect octave slides (although I
won’t complain if you do prefer to do octave slides on your falsetto
exercises). The Siren exercise focuses on developing pitch structure. You
are teaching the mind and the vocal cords the relationship between like
pitches in different octaves. With all of that said, let’s move on to the Keys to
Vocal Freedom:

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TWENTY-THREE
Keys To Vocal Freedom
I decided to save this chapter until you had a firm grasp of the
requirements of singing and the concept of the Isolation Method. By now,
you should have a thorough understanding of the voice. You should know
how to care for and protect your voice and should be exercising daily.
Throughout this book, I have mentioned several keys to achieving your
maximum voice potential. If you use these keys, you will unlock the
doorway to the voice you’ve always imagined. I would like to present a
way to easily remember these keys so that you can apply them to your
vocal routine, to singing, and to daily speech. If you can remember The
Three R’s, and apply the Seven-Point System, then you’ll be well on your
way to vocal freedom and your voice will soar.

THE THREE R’S

The three R’s are: Relaxation, resonation, and reverse breathing.

Relaxation: Always keep your throat relaxed, regardless of pitch, volume

or tone. If you tighten your throat (like grunting), you will close off the
vocal pathway and prevent the sound from flowing freely. Think of the
yawning sensation to maintain a neutral larynx position. A neutral larynx
equals a relaxed throat. Relaxation allows the voice to work naturally.

Resonation: You want to produce as much resonance within the body as

possible. Apply the core of resonance and resonance expansion
visualizations to each and every note you sing. (Expanding the ribs helps.)
Resonation (multiple echoes) is the key to zipping the vocal cords together.
So make your nose, ears, face, and teeth buzz. If the tone stays focused
in the palate, the resonance will easily grow because the voice won’t feel
or sound trapped down in the throat.

Reverse Breathing: Always imagine that you are inhaling the note as
opposed to blowing the note out. Reverse breathing is the key to true
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breath support. Always maintain the inhalation sensation, regardless of
whether you are practicing or performing. It will save your voice.

THE SEVEN-POINT SYSTEM

Although the three R’s are a quick reference to proper vocal technique, the
Seven-Point System is a more thorough approach to the seven secret steps
of the Raise Your Voice vocal techniques. All of the information in this book
about taking control of your voice and allowing vocal freedom to occur can
be summed up into these steps. Follow these steps in order and you will
free your voice:

1. Master your maximum breath potential. Take a deep belly

breath, expanding the lungs from the bottom up. Keep
the floating ribs expanded out to your sides. So take
your micro breath on a yawn and breathe low.

2. Master your breath support. Apply the hissing sensation to

obtain proper stomach tension. This is the feeling of a
sustained “s”, or can be viewed as blowing out a candle
very quickly. This is what I refer to as supporting low. This
is the same sensation as going to the bathroom or
sneezing. Apply that sensation right before you sing and
maintain it as you sing. (Lock down for support.)

3. Master your placement. Apply the yawning sensation to

maintain a raised palate, an open throat and a U-shaped
tongue. You should have already accomplished this with
your micro breath. Feel the placement physically in your
soft palate. Allow the sound to be focused on the palate
at all times.

4. Master the inhalation sensation. Imagine that you are

inhaling, instead of exhaling, while you sing. Keep the ribs
expanded for as long as possible.

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 5. Master your posture and center of balance. Try to
maintain your center of balance by focusing on correct
posture for an open vocal path throughout the entire
body. Remember, I do not expect you to stand up and
be as stiff as a pole. Just find your center and always
come back to that center.

6. Master the sensation of resonance. Visualize your core

of resonance within your body for correct pitch
placement and proper zipper technique. Visualize
resonance expansion for maximum resonance
production within the body. The more resonance you
produce, the less stress is placed on the vocal cords.
Feel the buzzing sensation. When singing low, feel your
chest buzz; through your mid-notes, feel your throat
buzz; when singing high, feel your skull buzz, even if you
get lightheaded. Above all else, feel your face and teeth
buzz. If your teeth are buzzing, you are producing plenty
of resonance. The bigger the buzz, the fuller the tone.

7. Have a blast! If you don’t enjoy the act of singing, then

what are you doing this for? Have fun! Singing is meant
to be fun. Do it for the enjoyment and I promise that it
will become easier!

If you are going to live life as a singer, then live by these rules to achieve
your vocal goals. Commit all these rules to heart! Now that you are working
hard on developing your voice and taking action to keep your voice in shape,
it is time to get into the act of singing.

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TWENTY-FOUR
Developing Vocal Endurance
Now that you have worked hard on your voice, you need to put it to use.
All of your hard work was for a reason: Singing! Hopefully you have been
singing this entire time, but if not, there’s no better time than the present. If
you have been doing a lot of singing, you might have noticed an increase
in strength and range since you started exercising your voice. If you
haven’t been doing a lot of singing, you’ll notice that you can reach higher
pitches during your vocal routine as opposed to actual singing. This is due
to the fact that you have only been vocalizing on open vowels during
practice. When singing, you are incorporating vowels and consonants at a
rapid rate, constantly adjusting the articulators for different words and
phrases. Be assured that you can sing just as easily and just as high as
you do during practice but it will take time for the mind/vocal cord
relationship to transfer from practice to actual use.

In order to help the process along, you need to develop vocal stamina.
Vocal stamina is the general ability to sing any pitch in your range, at any
volume, throughout any song, without tiring. As I have said before, the
quality of your voice is dependent upon your health during any particular
day. Your voice will tire more easily during the onset of a cold, when you are
dehydrated, or lacking proper sleep. But overall, your range should stay
relatively the same.

The easiest way to develop vocal stamina is to sing every day. In fact, from
now on, you need to incorporate singing into your daily vocal workout.
Record five to ten songs that you would like to learn to sing onto a CD or an
mp3 player. This will be your daily workout regimen; Your new “Vocal
Stamina Set-list”. After you have finished your daily vocal workout, proceed
to sing along with your vocal stamina set-list, monitoring yourself for proper
technique. Use these songs until you feel comfortable singing them and you
know them perfectly. The more you sing, the stronger your voice will become
and the more comfortable you will feel.

You should continue to use the same songs for at least two weeks but no

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longer than five to six weeks or you will become bored with the repertoire
and will cease to progress. Once you start a set of songs, do not change
them until you have mastered them, unless, of course you feel that you
might have picked one or two songs that are a bit more challenging than you
are actually ready for. If this is the case, wait until you feel that you are ready
to approach those more challenging songs. When you have finished your
first set of songs, move on to five to ten new songs to learn. Aim to challenge
yourself with more demanding songs. In a year, you will have developed
quite a song catalog for singing at all those weddings and karaoke bars ;)

This is also a great way to improve your style. Usually, you would pick
different songs from different artists. When working on developing your
particular style, choose at least three to five songs from the same artist; an
artist that is similar to the style you are aiming for or that you feel vocally
comfortable with. Pick an artist that influences you. Learning several songs
from the same artist will help you to discover how an individual singer
approaches singing. Take what you learn from that singer and incorporate
the knowledge into your own voice. Do not try to emulate the exact tone and
individuality of the singer. An individual’s voice is as different as a
thumbprint. Your voice isn’t physically the same as that person, and you
could end up damaging your own voice. Incorporate what you like about
their style. Don’t mimic their sound—you are not a parrot.

Record yourself! When you feel you have mastered some of the songs
from your daily routine and are ready to move on, record yourself singing
along with each song so you can critique your own voice. Be your own
vocal coach and be honest. If you feel you need the input of a
professional coach, I offer vocal critiques of songs and demos through
any of my websites.

I used to record myself singing along to other songs before anyone knew what
karaoke was. I remember being around fourteen and my setup consisted of
two “jam boxes” as we called those monstrous portable cassette decks back
in the 80s. On one jam box, I’d be playing Prince, New Edition, Rick
Springfield, and Mr. Mister, and the other jam box would have a blank
cassette tape ready and set to record.

I would point the music player towards the recorder and sing towards the
recorder. I would do this over and over again until I felt I had the song suitable
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for listening and at times, it took forever. It all had to be one take, people;
there were no overdubs on this “sophisticated” system.

So when you record, do it in one take and don’t sugarcoat the truth, but on
the other hand, pride yourself on your accomplishments. You might ask,
“What should I be judging?” There are several things to look for. Are you
singing in pitch? Are you saying the words correctly? How about your
breath control? Are you taking a breath in the exact same spot as the
artist? What about adding vibrato or nailing certain vocal licks? An easier
way to make sure you are accomplishing these things from the beginning
is by song mapping.

SONG MAPPING
Song mapping is a simple way to “map out” any song to create a visual
picture of how the song should be sung. The following example is an excerpt
from a song called “Sky” by the band RA. The lead singer of the band, Sahaj
Ticotin and his co-writer, Nandi Johannes, have been kind enough to
allow me to reprint these lyrics. I chose this band because they are one of
the best bands on the music scene today. Sahaj, in my opinion, has one
of the best rock voices I have ever heard. He has great technique and
knows how to use his voice. His voice is very resonant and strong, much
like the voices of Sting and Steve Perry. I once heard him perform live
when he had a cold and he still sounded amazing. When you can do that,
then you know you’ve got it together. Now let’s do some song mapping.

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SKY

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As you can see, the first thing you should do is write out the lyrics to the
song you are planning to perform. Leave several lines in between the
lyrics so that you can take notes. Next, you should write the name of
each pitch above each word. You can use a keyboard, a guitar, or even
your pitch wheel to find the pitches. If a word has more than one pitch,
separate the word with a dash. The word ‘picture’ had several pitches, so
I separated the word into ‘pic---ture’. There were several words I
separated, including ‘scripture’, ‘window’, and ‘believe’. The separation
allows room for writing the pitches above the word and shows you where
to change the pitch during the word.

The next thing I did was mark where Sahaj took a breath. I did this by
adding a ′ symbol. It is very important to mark and follow the breathing
pattern of a song. When you are singing a song, always breathe in the
exact same spot that you put the breath marks. This assures consistency
so that you won’t run out of breath. Usually, you can hear a singer taking
a breath, but some singers breathe quietly. This song was a little tough. I
put breath marks where I heard them, and then added breath marks
where I thought they should be. This doesn’t necessarily mean that
Sahaj was taking a breath at each spot, but this is where I will take a
breath each and every time I sing this song.

Next, I listened to the song and added wavy lines above words that he
sang with vibrato. The word ‘picture’ in the first line had a quick wavy
vibrato at the tail end of the word. So I added a www symbol to let me
know when I need to apply vibrato. At the end of the sentence “I see in
my mind”, the vibrato isn’t as quick as on the word ‘picture’. It is a little
slower and more fluid, so I drew the symbol like this: ~~~
If any words were sustained, I would draw a line to the right to remind
me to sustain the word. The longer the line, the longer I would sustain
the pitch. As you can see, several of the lines had vibrato marks attached
to them. I did this when he would sustain a word and then add vibrato at
the end. If I didn’t hear any vibrato I left the line straight.

I also check for dynamics. If the volume of a word increased, I would use
this symbol: < If the volume decreased, I would use this symbol: > I didn’t

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hear a lot of change in dynamics during an individual word, but dynamics
did change during the song. I left a note to myself to let me know where
the dynamics did change.

You’ll notice that I have several notes throughout the song. I give myself
plenty of room in between the lyrics for this purpose. I try to keep the notes
short so I don’t have to read a lot while I’m singing. In the beginning of the
song I wrote ‘guttural ah’. What I meant was when Sahaj sang the word
‘I’, it sounded like and abrupt ‘ah’. The word guttural means forceful and
throaty. The word “I” isn’t smooth like a vowel sound; it’s forceful like a
consonant. He is applying style to the word and it sounds really cool. I put
the first section of the song in parentheses and wrote ‘very breathy’. This
effect sets a mood for the beginning of the song. When he starts to sing “I
shut my eyes”, he switches to a strong, resonant sound and increases the
dynamics. It blows you away. If it weren’t for the laidback breathiness of
the beginning, the second section might not be as intense. This is an
excellent example of an energetic emotional change during a song.

When you map out a song, jot down whatever notes make sense to you.
I wrote the word “pause” in between the first and section sections of the
song. This reminded me that there was a complete stop in the music
between these sections. I also wrote “louder, more dynamic” to let me
know that the second section had a lot more energy.

When I felt that I had completed my task, I listened to the song again as I
read my lyric sheet to see if I missed anything. Always double-check
yourself. Nobody’s ears are perfect. I’m sure I have missed something or
possibly misinterpreted something, but I’m confident with the product that
I have created and I’m sure that it will help me to perform the song much
better than if I would have skipped my homework. Song mapping isn’t an
exact science; there is room for interpretation. Develop a set of symbols
and rules that work for you and stick with them.

You can check RA out at www.raband.com. For the purpose of this

exercise, I suggest that you purchase their debut CD, From One. Listening to
“Sky” while reading the lyrics will give you a better understanding of song
mapping. The entire CD is incredible. I guarantee that you will learn a lot
about vocal technique by listening to this singer, and once you hear their
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first release, you’ll want to buy Duality, RAW (RA Live), and Black Sun.
There you have it: song mapping at its finest. You’ll be prepared for the
correct pitch of each word, proper breathing, dynamics, vibrato, and
where to sustain a note. Feel free to come up with your own symbols. The
ones I’ve come up with aren’t carved in stone. You’ll have an easier time
mastering a song when you write it out like a road map, so do your
homework.

Useful Tip: Consonant Swapping

Here is a bonus tool for song mapping that I use with students who
haven’t quite mastered breath control and release. A very important
lesson that all singers must learn is that singing requires very little
breath. The typical scenario is that most singers release more air than is
needed, especially when using explosive consonants like “s” or “p”. So I
created a formula for replacing breath-releasing consonants with breath
controlling consonants. Here is the basic equation:

C and K = G
F=V
H = silent
P=B
Q = Gu
S=Z
T=D
TCH = CH
X = Eggs
A = Add “y” to prevent glottal attack

All you need to do when mapping a song is to use the above table and
replace all breath-releasing consonants (like “f”) with the appropriate
breath-controlling consonant, (like “v”). So if I was singing the line, “I
painted a picture” from Sky, I would rewrite it like this: “I bainded a
bigchure”. I would rewrite the entire song and change any breath
releasing consonant with the appropriate breath-controlling substitute.

Take, for instance, the line “passing clouds of rain”. I would rewrite it,
“bazzing gloudz ov rain”. Next, I would practice singing the entire song

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just like I wrote it. After I’ve become accustomed to the changes and
have noticed a change in my breath release pattern, I would sing the
song correctly while maintaining a slight emphasis towards the letter
substitutes. Because, after all, you don’t want to sing the song with
breath-controlling substitutes, you only want to think the substitutes. If
you think “d” and sing “t”, it will still sound correct and you’ll minimize
breathe flow and vocal strain. Now on to some songwriting tips from
Sahaj himself:

SONGWRITING TIPS
By Sahaj Ticotin

I am honored to have SKY in Raise Your Voice. Jaime asked me to comment

on Sky and songwriting. So let me start by saying that Sky is one of those
songs where the feeling of the song that is supposed to be evoked is the
feeling of just “not being alone”. That is really a lot of what the first album is
about. That is why it was called From One. It was about the feeling of
loneliness and yet not being alone, with a different context for each song. Sky
was the last song because it summed up the whole album, just to feel like no
matter how alone you are, you are never really alone. There is always
something you know- the planet you live on, the sky you live underneath, the
sun that generates all that warmth. That’s your company; you’ll always have
that. No matter who betrays you or leaves you or lies to you or dies, you’ll
always have the other part of life, which is just being here. That’s some sort of
comfort I guess.

Jaime asked me to touch on some basic songwriting tips. Now for beginning
songwriters, I’d first like to say that subconsciously there’s music you like and
music that you don’t like. You become the pieces that rubber sticks to and the
things you like stick to you and the things you don’t like, don’t.

All of those have different colors. At the end of the day, when you go to paint
your music, those are the colors you are going to use. If Sting is a little bit
yellow and Metallica is a little bit blue and there is a little bit of other things
that are sticking to you, some kind of sounds, progressions, melodies, etc…
those things just stick to you and at the end of the day when you start piecing
things together, you use those components to make your own thing. You see,

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songwriting is very much like painting; it’s just picking your colors then using
them together to paint something completely different.

For me, I write really fast. I could write a song every day. It doesn’t mean it
will be good, haha. I know of songwriters, such as Jaime, who keep digital
recorders with them or a notepad beside their bed for jotting down or
recording ideas when you wake up in the middle of the night with a melody or
lyric. But for me I just let stuff sift around and usually the good stuff rises to
the top. Most of the times lately it has been guitar based. The premier thing
with songwriting is “knowing” how to self-edit and knowing how to keep up the
excitement level. Those are the two things that make songs good or bad;
making sure that the pieces that make up the whole are as lean and mean as
possible and also making sure that the energy level is where it is supposed to
be.

As far as self-editing, you got to learn how to not be married to everything you
create. This is why most songwriters are not good producers of their own
material. Basically, the reason is because you believe your own myth.
Therefore you are like, “everything I do is fantastic.” You have to understand
that for every song you write, you might only write one good one out of ten or
one good one out of fifteen. It’s the same for all songwriters. For Sting it’s the
same. The Beatles wrote forty truly great songs out of the one hundred fifty
that they recorded. There are bad Pink Floyd songs. That’s just the way it is
for everybody. There is never going to be a situation where you always write
great songs or else your whole CD would be all over the radio.

Now when you get wrapped up in something that may not be great to
everyone else but it is great to you, you have to let time tell, because things
that are great tend to remain with you. Sometimes you write a great riff for a
hit song, but then you don’t write a chorus for that song with the right kind of
vibe. There’s nothing wrong with writing it, putting it on the backburner and
three years later using that riff in a different context and then it works great.

You always have to try to recycle everything and see where everything fits.
Now there are certain things to get you in the mood of songwriting such as
dimming the lights, lighting incense, watching a movie along the lines of what
you want to write about; but I am the total opposite of that. I’d probably wear a
lab coat and put the song under a fluorescent light, with computers and
machines and be very comfortable, haha. But try what works for you. When
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we did the first RA record, my buddy who co-produced it with me decided he
was going to put all of the drums in this homemade built pyramid and put
candles all over the place. I told him, “that’s fun if you are happy with it, but it
doesn’t mean a damn thing to me.” I could care less if it is the middle of my
garage. Ambience doesn’t do anything for me when it comes to creativity, but
that doesn’t mean you should be afraid to explore.

Now let’ discuss writer’s block. I don’t go through writer’s block, just periods
where I don’t feel like writing. Let’s put it this way, writing rock music or pop
music isn’t that hard. It’s pretty formulaic and it’s just a question of how good
a job you do. I’d say there are periods of times when I am coming up with stuff
that is way, way, way more inventive. And then there are periods of time when
I am coming up with stuff that is more status quo. Sometimes people do get
writer’s block but in my opinion I think it is an emotional thing; it’s anxiety, it’s
the fear of failure. That’s what causes people to get writer’s block. They don’t
want to face the fact that they have to finish something or they can’t finish it
because they don’t want to know that it is not as good as they think it is. I
don’t get into that because I’ve resolved myself to keep a pile of stuff that is
not great on the side and find a context for it at a later date.

As for lyrics, I don’t think I’ve ever spent more than fifteen minutes finishing a
song lyrically on any RA song. Any song that I’ve ever written, I write the lyrics
really, really fast. I think the reason is because I have a good vocabulary and
my songs are very personal. The funny thing is that they are all subconscious
and I don’t even know that I am writing about myself, and then something
personal comes out. It’s almost like a confessional without my permission. I’ve
also written about things that are not personal. Take the song Violator, which
is about specific subject matter that is not personal. It just flows because I
have an agenda. As long as I have and agenda with something, I can write
very quickly.

When I started writing lyrics, I tended to write above peoples heads. I tried to
reach too far. Vocabulary wise, I tried to use too many big words. I tried to be
too complex. I realized that if I just kind of went with the flow and did it quickly,
my natural tendencies were stronger connecting words. I used words that I
would use to describe something when I was just talking as opposed to trying
to come up with something that was more ornate. I have a good vocabulary,
so naturally I try to pick words that are cool and I try not to over think it or else
it becomes too busy.
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So bottom line is, if you feel like writing, then write. If you don’t, then walk
away from it for a bit. But when you do write, write conversational, try to keep
it sounding cool lyrically and musically, keep the energy level up to where the
song is supposed to be and if something don’t fit, save it for another day.

© 2007 Sahaj Ticotin. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Sahaj Ticotin is a multi-talented musician/singer/songwriter and music

producer for several successful bands. His own band, RA, have released
several major albums that have been well received, with radio hits including
“Do You Call My Name”, “Rectifier” and “Fallen Angels” He can be reached
for production services through www.myspace.com/sahajmusic. His band RA
can be heard at www.myspace.com/ramusic.

Useful Tip: Mind Music

The mind is a very powerful thing! A great way to conquer any song is to
listen to the song and visualize yourself singing it, over and over and over
again! Actually go through the movements without vocalizing. Breathe in
the correct spot, open your mouth and mimic the words, raise your soft
palate, feel the inhalation sensation, and push down for power. Your mind
doesn’t know the difference and your vocal muscles will work like you are
actually singing while your vocal cords adjust to the correct positions. This
will help to develop muscle memory and set your voice up for a more
hospitable vocal environment. Come on, trust me and give it a try!

Useful Tip: Swapping Vowels on High Notes

Here’s another quick tip for song mapping. Vowels can be just as
challenging as consonants. Certain vowels, like “e” and “o”, are harder to
sing in the upper range and can be swapped with what I call flowing
vowels. These are vowels that open the throat and raise the soft palate.
The “e” vowel typically lowers the soft palate, narrowing the vocal passage.
Take the “e” vowel as in the word “feet”. This vowel widens the mouth
because it is produced with a smiling mouth position. Although a wide
smile is beneficial for screaming metal songs in the Soprano range, this
position narrows the mouth resonator and tends to splat against the teeth,
causing vocal strain. You can substitute the “a” vowel as in “play”. Yeah,

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“feet” will sound like “fate”, but no one will truly notice in the higher register.

The “o” vowel is also tough. The rounded mouth position of the vowel
sound “ooh” as in the word “rule” constricts the release path. If you
substitute the “oh” vowel sound as in “road”, you open the tight-lipped
position just enough to let the sound out while simultaneously raising the
soft palate. When the palate is raised, there is more room for resonance
production.

The “o” vowel as in “gone” also causes problems. Although the soft palate
is raised, it feels like it wants to slightly cave in the roof of the mouth. The
soft palate should be rounded or dome-shaped. Any constriction limits
resonance and causes tightness in the throat. Try using “ah” as in “father”
to reestablish the dome shaped position.

The “o” vowel sound like in the word “foot”, presents tightness problems
as well. I tend to lean towards the vowel sound of a word like “fall”; not
so much that “foot” sounds like “fought”, but just enough to release any
tension.

A vowel like “i” is considered a diphthong (a two-part vowel). “I” is

pronounced “ah-ee”. I usually drop the “ee” when singing in the upper
register and hang on to the “ah” sound.

These are just a few simple examples of vowel modification. We’re singing
rock, so I’m not going to get into all of the correct usage of vowels as seen
in classical music. These are just some of the tricks that I’ve found useful
for pop and rock. Since we are discussing vowels at this point, I’d like to
present one last useful tip in this chapter before moving on.

This next article comes to us from one of my favorite vocal coaches,

Jeannie Deva. Jeannie is highly gifted in explaining vocal anatomy and has
agreed to share her vocal anatomy knowledge while expressing the
importance of emphasizing vowels in order to create a bigger better vocal
sound. I’m sure you won’t mind one more anatomy lesson. Hey, you will
NEVER learn enough about voice, so read and enjoy. Take it away
Jeannie:

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Useful Tip: The Key To Big Vocal Sound
By Jeannie Deva

If you want a big vocal sound, you have to be able to sing with confidence,
resonance on no tension, and you have to be able to do this consistently, night
after night, with no vocal damage. If you don’t know what you are doing, you’ll
depend on luck. Some singers are lucky enough to sing more naturally in
harmony with their bodies, so they achieve a bigger, better sound. However,
there are some great singers out there who have to cancel gigs and portions of
tours due to trashed voices. So, it’s not just a matter of getting the big powerful
sound; it’s getting it by working knowledgeably and naturally with your body, not
against it.

Vocal Anatomy
The key to achieving this while maintaining a healthy voice starts with
understanding a bit about your instrument. As you may already know, the
sound of your voice is the result of the vibration of your vocal folds. They are
located in your larynx (voice box), which is in the front of your throat. You may
know them as vocal cords, but they are lengths of muscle encased in mucous
membrane and so their actual name is “vocal folds”.

More specifically, the inside of your throat has two vertical tubes; one positioned
in front of the other. The tube in the front is for breathing. The lower part of it is
called the trachea and the upper section, which houses the folds, is called the
larynx. Behind your breathing tube is the esophagus. Anything you swallow
goes down this tube and it is connected to your stomach. By the way, if it
occurred to you while reading this that when you drink tea it doesn’t “wash off’
nor touch your voice; you’re right!

Your two vocal folds are positioned just behind your Adam’s apple and lie
horizontally across the top of your trachea. Place your fingers at this point on
the front of your throat and say “hello”. Feel the vibration? As I mentioned, they
are muscles coated with mucous membrane similar to the tissue inside your
cheeks. The vocal folds are equipped with their own “tuning pegs”, which are
connected to their back ends. If you feel the front of your throat, you’ll see how
small the front tube is. Since your vocal folds are housed inside this tube,
consider how small they must be.

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Breathing versus Singing
The vocal folds remain open and relaxed during regular breathing, allowing air
to pass freely to and from the lungs. To demonstrate, put your two feet flat
together, side by side. They will represent your vocal folds. Keep your toes
together and open your heels. This is how the folds are for normal breathing,
air passing up and down through them. Keep your toes together and close
your heels. For every vocal sound you make, the tuning pegs automatically
pivot and close the back end of the vocal folds. The rims of the folds now lie
side by side, preparing for vibration, which will make the sound of your voice.
This happens automatically. You just have to decide to communicate - spoken
or sung- and the body does this for you.

For each sound you decide to make, the muscles of the folds prepare and
adjust by stretching, thinning and closing to varying degrees. Higher notes are
created by faster vibration; lower notes are made by slower vibrations. For
low notes, with the inner rims of the folds lying side by side, the complete

length of each fold vibrates. To sing lower than your speaking voice, they also
fatten up so they can vibrate slower. As you sing higher notes, the muscles in
the folds press together the inner rim, from the back ends forward.

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They become thinner and zip up different amounts, depending on the note
you are going to sing. The principle involved is similar to playing guitar or any
string instrument; Shorter, thinning lengths vibrate for higher pitches. Longer
thicker, lengths vibrate for lower ones. Again, this is all automatic.

Of course, once in the proper position, the folds need to be vibrated by air. To
review, the production of higher pitches requires the folds to stretch, thin and
zip up more. They need less air to vibrate them. (Yes, they need less air for
higher pitches!) For low notes, the reverse is true. However, remember: How
big do you think they are to begin with? They are relatively small. So the
amount of air that is needed to vibrate them right from the start is in reality not
that much!

Examining the Problem

To produce vocal sound, air is released from your lungs and vibrates your
stretched and closed vocal folds. If you push too much air up against and
through the folds, too much pressure is created. The muscles of your folds will
tighten, your throat muscles tense, and your problems begin. Many singers
subconsciously associate pushing out air and the resultant vocal tension with
intensity of emotion and singing hard. To achieve a big sound, just the
opposite is required. The louder and harder you sing the less tension and
more resonance you need in order to project without vocal damage.
Resonance is like using an amplifier for your stereo.

If your throat and tongue tighten or your mouth closes, you shut down your
acoustic chamber and there goes the resonance. The stress created by the
push of excess air pressure and muscle tension can cause an irritation and
swelling of your folds. The result is usually vocal fatigue, hoarseness, power
loss, range shrinkage, and other difficulties, including a strained and off pitch
voice. My method of voice training includes several techniques that permit
singing hard while eliminating the risk of vocal blowout. While all these
procedures are covered in my published works and couldn’t possibly be
detailed here, you’ll find benefit in applying the following approach.

Self Test
Try saying the word “how.” Put extra emphasis on the “H” as you do so. Now
sing the word in the same way. Notice how your throat feels and your voice
sounds when pushing on the “H”. Sing the word again, and this time, as you
sustain the tone, form the “W.” Decide if you like this outcome. Now try
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singing it with minimal air or emphasis on the “H” and instead, focus on the
“O” (which sounds more like an “Ah” when you sing or say it. Notice the result.
This should feel and sound better.

Vowels Make a Big Sound

Vowel sounds originate from the vibration of your vocal folds. Consonants are
created by muscle tension in your mouth and use exhaled air streams. If
consonants are emphasized while you speak or sing, too much air will be
pushed out for your voice to work well.

In response, your throat and tongue muscles will tighten and choke off your
sound. The problem will intensify as you sing higher and louder and over a
prolonged period may result in vocal damage. Correct use of vowels will relax
the muscles of the acoustic chamber of your throat and mouth, thereby
increasing resonance and amplifying your vocal volume. Consonants should
not be emphasized when you sing. Let the vowels take the spotlight.

© 2007 Jeannie Deva. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Jeannie Deva is an international celebrity vocal coach, clinician, recording

studio vocal producer, trainer of voice teachers, author of the Contemporary
Vocalist and originator of The Deva Method. She has appeared on national
TV and endorses TC-Helicon and Thayer’s products for singers. For more
information about her method or to find a certified Deva Method® teacher,
please visit www.JeannieDeva.com.

Jeannie Deva and The Deva Method are registered trademarks owned by
Jeannie Deva Enterprises, Inc. and used with permission.

Pssst. Time for some vibrato.

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TWENTY-FIVE
Developing Vibrato
If you want to perfect your singing voice, add quality to your sound and
enhance your vocal style, you must develop vibrato. Vibrato is a technique
used to intentionally waver the sound of a sustained note. I consider
vibrato a vocal inflection; or an effect placed upon the pure sound of the
voice to enhance the overall vocal quality. Vibrato adds flavor and
expression to your voice. Explanations of different types of vibrato follow.

PITCH VIBRATO
Pitch vibrato is the variation of pitch between two notes, usually by half-
step increments. Pitch vibrato can vary more than a half step in either an
up or down direction from the original pitch. Pitch vibrato is what I consider
the only true vibrato and the number one type of vibrato used. Pitch vibrato
adds a rich, beautiful quality to your singing voice. It is to your benefit to
take the time to learn how to develop and apply this type of vibrato. The
other three types of vibrato explained in this chapter are basically tonal
and stylistic variations, for adding a certain stylistic quality to your singing.
Pitch vibrato will make you a star.

The easiest way to learn pitch vibrato is by using a metronome. A

metronome is a device that keeps time by producing several audible
beats per minute. You can purchase a decent one for $20-$60 from your
local music store. (Don’t forget the Vendera Digital Vocal Coach) A
metronome allows you to change tempo. Every setting of a metronome
refers to so many beats per minute. A setting of sixty refers to one beat per
second (60 B.P.M.) and a setting of 120 refers to two beats per second.

Starting with a setting of sixty, sustain your beginning point of reference (C

for males, F for females,) then slide up and down twice between your
point of reference and one half step below until you are completely out of
breath.

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With each click of the metronome, you should produce two waves of
vibrato, which would consist of the four notes. Continue upscale until you
reach your highest note for the day.
(Pitch Vibrato Example #1)

Next, begin again, starting from your point of reference, but this time
change pitch directions. Slide up and down from your beginning pitch to
the pitch one half step above. Work your way upscale as high as
comfortably possible. As you progress, work your way up to a metronome
setting of 120. Once you have mastered vibrato up to this speed, you
can vary the speed to match the song. Your ultimate goal is a smooth,
flowing sound wave of vibrato; nothing too slow or too fast.
(Pitch Vibrato Example #2)

Useful Tip: The Vibrato Hum

A really great way to develop pitch vibrato is to add vibrato to your voice
as you hum throughout the day. Once you have developed a steady
vibrato by practicing the vibrato exercise, start adding vibrato to your
voice when humming. This is such a simple thing to do and something
most people do throughout the day without realizing. You can hum along
to a song on the radio or just hold out a note as you begin to oscillate the
pitch.

STOMACH VIBRATO
Stomach vibrato, (or “machine gun” vibrato, as I like to call it) is produced
by tensing and releasing the stomach muscles. This produces a fast
machine gun-sounding vibrato effect, which was a very popular sound in
80s heavy metal music such as Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. Or it can be
used as a slower vibrato for emphasizing words. An example of a slower
vibrato would be to listen to James Labrie on some of Dream Theater’s
more laidback songs. To perform stomach vibrato, start by hissing out the
air from your lungs as fast as you can. Notice how the stomach contracts
inward. Without hissing, say the word “hey” five times in a row as fast as
you can. Feel the stomach contract and relax. This is stomach vibrato.
(Stomach Vibrato Hissing/Hey Example)

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Useful Tip: It’s Like Starting a Car
When working on stomach vibrato, it is helpful to think about starting a car
in the winter when the battery is almost dead. You can hear a “ruh-ruh-ruh”
type sound until the car starts. The sound starts out slow, and then revs up,
just like the car starting. Each “ruh” relates to one tension squeeze of the
stomach.

When practicing this exercise, use a metronome, and work your way
upscale just like practicing pitch vibrato. Start with a metronome setting of
forty. As you progress, you can speed up. Repeat the word “hey” four
times in a row per each beat of the metronome, and perform four beats in
a row. On the fourth beat, repeat the word “hey” only once. So basically,
when performing four beats of this exercise you will be repeating the word
“hey” thirteen times, sustaining the word “hey” on the fourth beat. After
you are accustomed to performing this exercise, drop the “h” sound and
only sustain the “a” sound as in “play”. Continuing to produce the “h”
sound forces excess breath past the vocal cords and is unnecessary.
(Stomach Vibrato Example)

JAW VIBRATO
Jaw vibrato is a slight variation of the typical vibrato sound. This is more of a
tonal effect. This type of vibrato changes the vocal path by varying the flow
of the voice through the mouth. Sustain the sound “ah” as in “hot”. To
produce this type of vibrato, begin by chewing the sound as if you were
chewing a piece of gum. Over-exaggerate the chewing by opening the
mouth wide and closing the mouth almost shut. This gives the
impression that you are saying “yah”.

Perform jaw vibrato in the same manner as stomach vibrato. Start with a
metronome setting of forty and increase the speed as you progress. With
each beat represents repeat the word “yah” four times and perform four
beats in a row. As you progress, drop the “y” and sing “ah” to rid the voice
of the undesirable chewing tone. “Yah” was only used to establish a
working relationship between the up and down movement of the jaws
and tonal variations. (Jaw Vibrato Example)

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LARYNX VIBRATO
Moving the larynx up and down while you’re singing produces larynx
vibrato. This tonal variation is quite noticeable in Native American
chanting, like in the beginning of the song “Return To Innocence” by the
band Enigma. Start by vocalizing the sound “a” as in “play”, and with a
metronome count of forty, work your way upscale and back downscale to
your beginning point of reference. Perform this exercise just like jaw
vibrato, with two vibratos per beat. One larynx vibrato consists of lowering
the larynx, then allowing it to return to its original position. As you
progress, you can increase the speed of the metronome.
(Larynx Vibrato Example)

The different types of vibrato mentioned in this chapter will add quality to
your vocal style. To maximize your vibrato skills, master each type. You
can vary the types of vibrato in a song, allowing you to vary pitch, tone,
and dynamics.

Useful Tip: A Great Vibrato System

What I explained to you in this chapter is just the basics. If you want a
more thorough approach to developing vibrato, then I suggest the
program Mastering Vibrato by Brett Manning. Brett Manning, creator of
the Singing Success program, has created a great three CD program on
vibrato that will systematically walk you through the vibrato mastering
process. In my opinion, Brett is one of the best vocal coaches out today.
This is the only vibrato program that I personally endorse.

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PARTFOUR
Taking The Next Step
“So now that I understand my voice, know how protect my voice and I’m
training my voice, as well as singing every day, do you have any other
suggestions for me, Jaime?”

Well, it’s funny you asked because I’ve got a lot of them! The last part of
Raise Your Voice will cover advanced and aggressive techniques as well as
concepts such as stage performance and studio tips. Have fun reading and
applying these final thoughts.

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328
TWENTY-SIX
Progressing Further
Once you have become accustomed to your vocal routine and have
noticed improvement in your voice, you will reach a point where you will
feel as if you aren’t progressing. This is typical. In the beginning, you will
have noticeable gains in range but eventually your improvement will
plateau. Don’t get discouraged and don’t lose interest. At this point, you
must approach the vocal exercises with a different view. In order to reach
your maximum potential, you must incorporate the following procedures.

ALTER THE EXERCISES

Now that you’ve mastered the Raise Your Voice system, are making massive
gains and feel comfortable with the exercises, feel free to change it up a bit. If
you want to experiment with other vowels, such as A, E, I, O or U; do what
feels comfortable to you. This will only give you more choices. I initially chose
the easiest vowel for each exercise to assure that you made quick vocal
gains. Now it’s your turn to decide what is best for you.

Also, feel free to experiment with creating new versions of the exercises.
Some examples would be to combine the Siren with the Transcending Tone
exercise. (Begin by sliding up one octave on a full voice Siren. Once on top,
slowly and smoothly transcend into falsetto, and then after reaching a falsetto
tone, slide back down to your initial note.) The possibilities of new exercises
are endless. Feel free to email me and share your ideas and we’ll post them
on the Members section on my websites.

ALL DAY ISOLATION EXERCISES

If you are getting a bit tired of working on a set regimen with your vocal
workout routine and need a few weeks break, get into the habit of doing the
exercises continuously throughout the day. My suggestion is to carry your
pitch wheel or wear a Pocket Tone around your neck.
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Then, whenever you think about it, randomly play a note and do one of the
three main exercises. Maybe your goal for the day is falsetto work. See if you
can do 50-100 different Falsetto Slides throughout that day. The ultimate goal
is to be able to hit any note on the pitch wheel or Pocket Tone (or your
Vendera Digital Vocal Coach) and effortlessly perform the exercise for that
pitch. Make it fun, make it a game and watch your voice improve.

SWITCH TO SCALE WORK

If you are getting burned out, try switching to vocal scales. I offer a variety of
scales, as well as a scale warm up routine on the Members section. Most of
these scales coincide with the training videos. Since I continue to add new
scales and videos to the Members section, there is no need to explain each
specific scale here, because they are explained in the videos. The scales
also include versions of the Isolation Method exercises in scale form so you
can still include and mix up the isolation exercises into your regular scale
workout routine. The Vendera Digital Vocal Coach also contains a variety of
scales that will work with any vocal training program you might be using. You
can program your own workout scale routine through the software and put it
on an MP3 player for when you are on the go. (Jim Gillette’s Vocal Power
DVD goes hand in hand with Raise Your Voice and contains the vocal scales
that I personally use for my workouts.) So if you miss your old vocal scales,
explore these options.

EXTENDING THE CORE OF RESONANCE

I have been asked many times if there was a way to increase the lower
range of your voice. This question intrigued me and I had a sudden
desire to see if I could expand my lower range as well. I tried many
different techniques. Nothing seemed to work. It wasn’t until I applied
visualization to the problem that I was able to see any progress. I
kept thinking that a lower larynx position must create a lower pitch. Yeah,
sometimes the light bulb goes dark in my head. I should have known that
this was way off track! Still, a lower larynx position does help slightly, but
attaining pitch should not require an abrupt change in larynx position. I
turned to resonance placement, focusing on my core of resonance.

330
If higher pitches cause the core of resonance to rise up the throat towards
the top of the head, what would happen if the focal point of the core
dropped below the diaphragm? Eureka! I had found another key. When I
lowered my core of resonance, I was able to lower my pitch. For these
lower notes, my core of resonance floated from my diaphragm to below
my navel.

This is harder than extending your upper range. It will require lots of
concentration. You should be able to feel your lower body vibrating. It will
feel as if the sound is being created in your lower stomach. It is much
easier to accomplish if you combine it with a bit of vocal fry (that groggy
morning voice that rubs the cords together). This is how I’ve learned to hit
extremely low notes.

331
This visualization can be used to extend your upper range as well (which
is beneficial for develop the whistle voice).

As you work your way upscale and reach your highest note, allow your
core of resonance to extend up above the top of your head. Allow your
highest notes to float above you. This technique has helped me reach
notes that I had never dreamed possible.

Useful Tip: Inhale the Low Notes

A great trick that will really impress is to inhale a tone on a vocal fry until
you can get it to sound like an actual note. This is exceptionally
impressive when you are singing live and almost eat the microphone as
you do this trick. If you can work a low note into your song on an open
332
vowel, you can break the song down to allow you to inhale at the exact
moment of the low note as you eat the microphone. The tone will sound
full and lower than you’ve ever hit before. Bringing the microphone close
to you as you sing will add lower overtones because of the dynamic of the
mic. With lots of practice using this technique, you can apply this to
words, which will really turn heads.

Useful Tip: Keep Those Ribs Expanded!

When working on lowering my pitch and dropping my core of resonance, I
find that it is easier to lower my pitch when I keep my floating ribs expanded
out to my sides. This creates a larger chest cavity, which increases chest
resonance. Become the tuning fork and use it to your advantage!

NON-VOCAL EXERCISES
Following are a few suggestions for non-vocal ways to work your voice and
develop vocal strength and stamina.

THE BULLFROG
One of the top questions I receive regarding proper vocal technique is,
“How can I keep my larynx from rising in my throat on high notes?” Of
course, one of the main keys is to maintain a yawning sensation and focus
the voice into the palate.” But there is also a way to strengthen the muscles
involved in larynx control. A great exercise for developing the muscular
control of the anti-constrictors (yawning muscles) and deactivating the
constrictor muscles (swallowing muscles) is the Bullfrog. The Bullfrog is a
non-vocal exercise that strengthens the muscles involved in larynx control.
Many beginning singers have trouble keeping the larynx from rising in the
throat as they approach their higher range. An uncooperative larynx leads
to vocal cord strain. If the larynx rises high in the throat, your vocal path will
become narrow and constricted which will change the tonality of your voice,
and eliminate throat resonance. You don’t want to physically control your
larynx. You want to develop the vocal muscles to passively maintain
larynx control so your larynx doesn’t control you.

333
Start this exercise by placing your fingertip on your larynx, then yawn.
Notice how the larynx drops. Next, try to lower your larynx without yawning.
When you can lower your larynx without yawning, concentrate on
expanding the muscles under your chin, like a bullfrog expands his throat
area.

Although this exercise is short and to the point, don’t be fooled by its
simplicity. The yawning sensation might help to keep the larynx low, but
the Bullfrog will strengthen the muscles that will enable you to allow the
larynx to maintain a low position. If the larynx rises in the throat, you will
choke off the vocal path. Let’s review the exercise:

Relaxed Position Expanded Position

334
 1. Lower the larynx and expand the muscles underneath the chin,
like when a bullfrog expands their throat.

2. Relax the throat, allowing the larynx to return to its normal

position.

3. Repeat fifty times in one-second intervals.

As you progress, increase the number of times you perform this exercise. I
currently perform this 500 times in a row daily. As long as you have
achieved muscle burn in the throat muscles, then you have worked out
sufficiently. You don’t have to incorporate this exercise into your vocal
routine. You can practice this exercise whenever you want, as long as
you perform it at least once a day. If you can maintain a low larynx
position on high notes, your voice will flow and you won’t strain.

Useful Tip: A Bullfrog Tip For Beginners

By Brandon Selvey

Some people beginning with Raise Your Voice have had issues with
performing the Bullfrog exercise. Some can't do it without clenching or

335
grinding their teeth, and some say they have problems doing it at all. I was a
“clencher” when I first started, but then I tried pushing my tongue straight
down toward the mandible, but without sliding the tongue toward the teeth
afterwards. This is the opposite of another one of Jaime’s exercises, tongue
pushups. I view it almost as if my tongue is manually pushing down my larynx.
This is just a “starter” position because the larynx should never be pushed
down manually! It should come naturally and without any noticeable physical
manipulators, such as the tongue. But for the sake of first learning this
exercise, it can help when nothing seems to be working. As soon as you get
the hang of the exercise, stop using the tongue as a crutch. Since practicing
the Bullfrog this way, I can do it even with my mouth open! I don't clench or
grind anymore, and I still get the burn that I need for the exercise itself.

©2007 Brandon Selvey. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Brandon Selvey is a self-trained musician and vocalist who spent years

defining a style and sound of his own with no professional assistance. With
the help of Raise Your Voice and Jaime Vendera he has since developed his
range and abilities to those of a classically trained vocalist while still retaining
his own unique style that he spent so long cultivating. Brandon appreciates
the hard work and dedication it takes to become a musician and as director of
The Voice Connection Message Board, attempts to help others find their own
voice in music. As the lead singer of A Whole Nutha World, he incorporates
numerous styles that range anywhere from jazz to Middle Eastern and metal
into his cohesive musical vision. Some of his major influences include TOOL,
Jeff Buckley, Prince, Sarah McLachlan, Stevie Wonder, and a multitude of
others from various, and diverse, genres. Brandon enjoys crafting songs,
coaching aspiring singers, and of course, long walks on the beach. He is
currently embarking upon the construction of an album with his band, but can
be reached on www.thevoiceconnection.com for advice, support and
assistance pertaining to the voice. You can contact Brandon through
www.myspace.com/amusiavirtuoso.

Useful Tip: Another Larynx Strengthening

Exercise
Several Useful Tips ago I told you how to suck on the inside of your lower lip
to loosen phlegm on the vocal cords. This technique can also be used to
strengthen the muscles that control the larynx position and vocal cord

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adduction. Repetitively suck on the inside of your lower lip for as long as you
can until the muscles in your throat begin to ache. Like the Bullfrog, don’t
overdo this one because it really works the vocal muscles!

TONGUE PUSHUPS
An excellent exercise for learning to control an unruly tongue is tongue
pushups. This non-vocal exercise will strengthen the tongue, allowing you to
maintain a U-shape and preventing the tongue from rising on high notes.
Begin by placing the tip of your tongue towards the back of the throat on the
hard palate (roof of your mouth) as far back as you can. Apply steady
pressure on the roof of the mouth (with the tip of the tongue) and slowly
begin to slide the tip towards your front teeth. Allow the tongue to slide off
the top front teeth. Repeat this process as many times as you can. The
tongue will begin to burn in the center towards the back. This means that it’s
working! You are strengthening the tongue. After you have achieved the
muscle burn, stick your tongue out of your mouth as far as possible and
gently clamp the teeth on the tongue. Next, slide the tongue back into the
mouth while gently clamping with the teeth in the tongue. This will pull out
any knots or tension created in the tongue from this exercise.

Useful Tip: “Watering” An Unruly Tongue

If you still have trouble with the tongue buckling as you sing, here is a great
way to teach it to behave. Simply take a swig of water and hold it in your
mouth, with your mouth closed, for at least five minutes. Go about your
regular routine, whether you are taking a shower, jogging, or working on the
computer.

Once you reached your designated time, spit the water out. No sense in
swallowing all that bacteria. The goal is to hold the water in the mouth and
allow your tongue to deal with the uncomfortable sensation. Our tongue will
want to buckle and move around like an unruly child, but eventually will calm
down, relax and drop into a relaxed position. Once you can handle five
minutes, work towards ten minutes, then fifteen if you are still having tongue
issues. Once your tongue becomes accustomed to the sensation of holding
water, it will become quite a relaxing feeling. This trick is even a great

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technique for keeping the mouth, back of the throat, uvula and cords moist.

VOCAL FITNESS
I almost included this section in the chapter on diet and exercise, but I feel so
strongly about this system that I was afraid you would be overwhelmed with the
exercise section and just think this was another option for physical health. Vocal
Fitness™ is a system developed by fitness trainer/professional singer, Jim
Seitzer. Jim was the first ‘Elite’ ranked power lifter to also be a National
Championship Bodybuilder (Mr. USA and various other national and state
titles). Jim took his love of weight lifting and personal training and designed a
specific system of non-vocal exercises designed to strengthen the entire singing
mechanism, including the lungs, diaphragm, abdominals, intercostal muscles,
neck muscles, anti-constrictors, …Take it away Jim:

Vocal Fitness™:
Bringing Voice and Body Together
By Jim Seitzer
It is no big secret that even a modest fitness program such as walking, biking
or mild aerobics, will benefit any singer in their quest to perform at peak vocal
levels. Mild physical activity enhances overall body fitness, manages stress
and improves a singer's outlook and appearance. What is a big secret is that
if you directly target the muscles used for singing and build a fitness program
that improves weak and problem areas, the results can be nothing short of
spectacular.

Enter Vocal Fitness™- a non-vocal fitness program that zeros-in on all the
muscles used to make those beautiful Operatic tones, high-energy Broadway
belts or ear-piercing Rock and Heavy Metal riffs. Vocal Fitness brings
together the common sense of physical fitness and the sophistication of
exercise science to give results that keep a singer at peak performance levels
while improving vocal quality.

For centuries, singers have been under the misunderstanding that exercise,
any exercise, should be avoided for fear of causing tightness in the throat

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and vocal cords. We now know this is not true, because a toned muscle is
a flexible muscle. Improved muscle tone results in improved flexibility.
This is one of the most well known concepts in all of exercise science, and
it applies to the muscles of singing, as well. When trained properly, the
muscles of the voice increase in stamina, conditioning and flexibility. The
singer comes out ahead with improved vocal quality and technique, greater
range and resonance, and increased strength and endurance.

Getting Started
Two exercises in the Vocal Fitness™ program that give added strength and
flexibility to the voice are the (Platysma) Pull-ups and Head Curls. Not just
any ordinary Pull-ups and Curls, these exercises increase blood flow and
innervation to the muscles of the head and neck responsible for tone quality
and vocal technique. When done properly and on a regular basis, the
singer will notice a tremendous improvement in technique, as well as a
better sounding voice that everyone will notice.

Pull-ups:
Stand in front of a mirror and make sure you can see your neck and upper
chest. Drop your chin down so it touches the chest, and then begin flexing
the sheet-like Platysma muscle as you slowly raise your head higher and
higher. You can see the Platysma muscle stand out easily because it is
just beneath the skin and runs from the jaw line down to the upper chest
and collar bone area. Think of when you were a kid making faces and
causing all those muscles to stick out! Once your head is far enough back
to see the ceiling, stop flexing the muscles and bring your chin back to the
starting position and do another repetition.
Perform ten repetitions of this exercise and then rest about one minute. Do
two more sets for a total of thirty repetitions. Do Pull-ups three times a
week for best results.

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Head Curls:
While seated in a comfortable chair, place the palms of both hands on your
forehead. Let your head gently go back far enough until you can see the
ceiling, then begin pushing your head into your hands until your chin
reaches the upper chest area. Resistance for this exercise is determined
by how hard you push back with your hands against your head. It is easy
to get just the right amount of resistance and feeling of muscle flexion, so
don't over-push or strain too hard.

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Do three sets of ten to fifteen repetitions with a one-minute rest in between
sets. Do Head Curls three times a week for best results.

Summary
Pull-ups and Head Curls are a great way to improve muscle tone to the
supporting muscles of the vocal cords. It is recommended that both
exercises be done during the same session with at least a day or two of
rest between exercise sessions.

©2007 Jim Seitzer. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

James Seitzer is the founder and developer of Vocal Fitness™

(www.vocalfitness.com) and has been training world-class athletes and
vocal artists for over thirty years. An accomplished gymnast, powerlifter
and bodybuilder, Seitzer has been singing with Opera Columbus and
performing in musical theater for the past two decades. His commitment to
bringing fitness and health to singers has become a focal point of cutting-
edge innovation in the area of vocal pedagogy.

Note from Jaime-These are just two of the basic exercises in the Vocal
Fitness™ system that will show you incredible vocal gains. An advanced
personal workout can only be developed through Jim Seitzer in a one on
one session, because everyone’s individual needs are unique.
Jim can be contacted through www.vocalfitness.com or
vocalfitness@columbus.rr.com for private consultation. As with any
exercise, use caution and common sense and do not proceed without the
advice and permission of your Physician.

THE SPEED ROUTINE

With each practice session, your voice becomes more adapted to your
regular routine. Vocal cord positioning for each individual pitch becomes
ingrained as a mental pattern. Performing these exercises is about muscle
memory. Singing will eventually become a subconscious act as opposed to a
conscious observation. Singing is like riding a bike; once you learn how, you
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never forget. (But you still have to keep the voice in shape.)

The speed routine allows you to step out of your own way and let the
subconscious mind take over. Some days your voice might seem like it
doesn’t want to cooperate. If things aren’t clicking and you are losing focus,
the speed routine will put the voice on autopilot. The speed routine is simply
your vocal exercises performed at an accelerated rate. Here’s an
explanation of each exercise:

When performing the basic Falsetto Slide exercise, repeat each repetition as
quickly as possible. Sustain your beginning pitch and immediately slide down
the scale. Do not think about what you are doing. This is a non-thinking
exercise. Trust your voice. As soon as you complete one slide, move on to
the next pitch, only occasionally stopping for a drink of water. If you are
performing double slides, slide from the initial pitch to your next pitch,
then immediately back to your initial pitch. Same goal for all slide
variations. Perform each pitch as quickly as possible.

The same technique applies to the basic Transcending Tone exercise.

Transcend from falsetto into full voice as quickly as possible. Trust your
voice to take care of the transition. If you have been practicing for some
time, the exercise patterns will have become ingrained in your mind by
now. As soon as you transcend into full voice, proceed to the next pitch.
When working from falsetto to full voice to falsetto, return back into
falsetto as quickly as you transcended from falsetto into full voice.

When performing the basic Siren exercise, begin by sustaining your initial
note, immediately sliding up the scale to your top note and then
immediately proceed to the next pitch. Use the same routine for all
variations of the Siren.

The speed routine exercises the mind/body coordination of the vocal

cords. You can perform the speed routine at least once a week in place of
your regular routine if you so desire. It is beneficial on those days when
you can’t seem to control your voice and it is inconsistent. The end result
of singing is to be able to control your voice without actually controlling
your voice. Singing is a natural ability. Your voice should be allowed to
flow.

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PSYCHE YOURSELF OUT
As a final thought, I thought I would mention a few mental tricks I’ve used
to gain those extra few notes when I couldn’t seem to reach them.

Mind Trick #1: See the Zipper

Visualize the vocal cords zipping together from the back of the throat to
the front as you ascend the scale. Take note that this is actually
happening. If you continue to visualize in this manner you will eventually
be able to physically feel and tell when this is happening. It will feel
smaller inside the voice and a smaller vibrating space equals a higher
pitch. You can also feel the sides of the neck squeezing towards the
center of the throat. This is a sign that the muscles in the throat are
squeezing in towards the vocal cords.

Mind Trick #2: Mentally Change Pitches

When working your way upscale, pretend that the exact pitch you are
vocalizing, is at least two-five steps lower. Let’s say you’ve worked your
voice up to an E above Tenor C and you are having difficulty reaching an
F. Rest your voice for a minute. Then start again several steps down on C
but pretend that you are singing an A. Since your voice is used to singing
up to an E, starting on a C should be easy.

Mentally thinking you are starting on an A makes it even easier. Your mind
knows that an A is produced easily without strain. By the time you reach
the F, you’ll mentally be thinking “D” and won’t strain trying to reach it.
This technique works quite well for getting over those hurdles.

Mind Trick #3: Jumping For Joy

If you are in a vocal rut and you can’t quite seem to sing a song or do an
exercise without feeling any stress in your throat, then it’s time to jump
for joy. (Just teasing.) What I want you to do is to begin jumping up and
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down at a constant rate while you are singing the song or performing the
troubling exercise. This is just like jumping on a mini trampoline. In fact,
you can use a mini trampoline if you’d like. (I’m sure you used to jump
around and sing like this when you were a kid, so have a little fun.)
Jumping will direct your mind away from vocalizing to focus on the
jumping pattern. Another benefit of this exercise is that every time you
land from jumping, your stomach muscles automatically drop down
towards the floor from gravity. Jumping creates the same downwards
pressure needed to perform a Power Push. So get jumping!

Mind Trick #4: See the Performance!

This is similar to mind music—seeing and hearing yourself singing a

song in your mind over and over again to master the song.

Whenever I have an important gig or television show coming up, I always

spend a few days before, working through the performance in my mind.
NASA used this approach to train astronauts for flying in space. This
method was eventually taken to Olympic athletes. It was scientifically
proven that if a runner would run the race in his mind, the brain
registered it as a physical reality. It really does work!

You probably recall that I used this method for one of my shows in Paris,
France. Although I felt vocally amazing and in great voice, for some
reason it took me over twenty minutes to shatter a wineglass during
rehearsal. So, the producers asked me to wear the same clothes for the
live filming of the show, just in case I couldn’t do it live. I told them not to
worry about it because I would succeed!

Backstage, right before I walked onto to the set for my performance, I

visualized the entire performance, seeing myself interacting with the
crowd and the crowd going wild. Well, to make a long story short, it
happened almost exactly as I had seen it in my mind. So get into the
habit of doing a mind performance for your gigs and your workouts.

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TAKE A VOCAL VACATION
Even your voice needs a break from time to time. If you feel you have
been in a vocal rut or are getting burned out, jut take a break. Take a
week off and forget about singing. Don’t forget how important it is for the
body to rest. Every once in a while your voice needs an extended rest as
well. If you feel you aren’t improving, then maybe you have been thinking
about it too much. Your mind could use a break from singing to clear out
all of the clutter. When you return to your vocal activities you’ll be
surprised to see how well you sound and how great your voice feels.

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346
TWENTY-SEVEN
For Hard Rockers Only!
The Raise Your Voice system is dedicated to all styles of singing and anyone
who correctly applies the techniques in this book will vocally benefit. With
that said, I must say that in my heart, I am and always will be a rock singer.
So this chapter is dedicated to rock singers and metal-heads. Here I present
some of the most advanced tricks, tips, and tactics that I have found for
improving the rock vocalist’s instrument. These are “secrets” that I have learned
from teaching, interviewing rock stars, and continually researching for The Voice
Connection. These are the secrets that singers who sing on the edge use to
maintain their incredible voices. I was originally going to use this as the basis of
a new book called The Extreme Vocalist, but I figured you would be too
impatient waiting for the release, so I decided to give it to you for free as an
added bonus to this 2nd edition of Raise Your Voice. See, I could have waited
and talked you into buying a whole new book, but I’m a nice guy, so here you
go! Are you an extreme vocalist? Let’s find out!

AGGRESSIVE TECHNIQUES
I have received thousands of emails regarding questions specifically geared
towards rock and hard rock singing. Everyone wants my secrets for holding notes,
increasing volume, releasing powerful screams, adding rasp, and, of course,
breaking glass. People ask, “How can I hold out notes like James Labrie from
Dream Theater? How can I sing high like Tony Harnell? How can I sing with grit,
like Brent Smith from Shinedown, Maynard James Keenan from Tool or
Russell Allen from Symphony X? How can I scream like Phil Taylor from
Machina or Ray West of Hostel Inc.? How can I shatter glass like Jim Gillette
from Nitro and, of course, Jaime Vendera?” So, here are the secrets I’ve learned
through interviews with rock stars and world-renowned vocal coaches and my own
personal research and practice. These secrets belong to all vocalists, regardless of
style. All singers will benefit from this chapter. If you are a pop singer and want a
little more edge to you voice, then this is the chapter for you. May these secrets
release the extreme vocalist within.

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CHANGING THE COLOR OF YOUR TONE

Brett Manning of Singing Success once said to me “It sounds like you are
carrying your chest voice way up high into the Tenor range, but, man, how
connected and smooth it sounds!” That is a great compliment coming from
such a talented vocal coach. So obviously I get asked how to obtain this tone
quite a bit. How do you get a chestier sound in my upper register? The
answer to this has a lot to do with the focus of the tone. What is the difference
in tonality between Steve Perry as opposed to Robert Plant? Obviously, it has
to do with that individual’s vocal makeup. But there are tricks to getting a more
focused tone color to mimic an individual tonality. For me personally, I tend to
focus the tone forward and keep my ribs expanded for that Perry-type tone on
later recordings like Raised on Radio. If I want a Plant-ish type tone, I simply
allow the placement in the palate to drift backwards towards my cold spot and
allow my rib expansion to drop a bit.

What is the cold spot and how do I find it? Take a micro breath. It is that spot
towards the back of the throat that got a cold sensation when you take your
micro breath. I don’t let the sound go all the way back; I just lean the sound
backwards a bit. So if you want that thinner, brighter sound, just lean back into
it. (Tone Color Variation Example)

If I want to make my head voice—or upper register—sound fuller and bigger I

just add more chest resonance! (Keep those ribs expanded!) By focusing on adding
a stronger buzz in the chest while hitting notes above an E4 for males and above
an A#4 for females, you’ll add more weight to the sound. The secret is to expand
your core of resonance until it’s bigger than a beach ball to incorporate all three
main resonance chambers: head, throat and chest. Remember, your whole body is
a tuning fork, so use the whole instrument!

Typically, I always tell students to keep their ribs expanded throughout their
range anyways. But the truth is, the ribs naturally contract a bit as you ascend
the scale, which is fine. Most students don’t even realize that this is happening.
But if you desire that bigger sound (like an opera singer as opposed to a pop
singer) you must concentrate on keeping the ribs fully expanded. It’s that simple.

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ADDING SOME EDGE TO YOUR VOICE

Would you like more edge to your tone? Then simply put a little bit of a ‘cry’
onto the note. Do you remember being a child and stubbing your toe and
saying, “Ow, I stubbed my toe!”? This is the sound you need to get that edge.
This is a thinning of the cords to get that piercing sound. I’ve heard vocal
coaches such as James Lugo refer to this sound as the “witches cackle”. Just
add a bit of this tone as you begin a phrase and watch the metal sound in
your voice ignite! (Edgy Cry Example)

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DEVELOPING THE POWER PUSH
What if I told you that I could teach you how to increase your volume, enhance
your vocal power, and prevent vocal cord blowout simply by altering your
breath support? I bet you would have bought this book for that one technique. I
call this technique the Power Push, and by learning and mastering this one
simple secret, you’ll learn to minimize breath flow, redirect the force of your
voice and increase your volume by decibels.

The Power Push is one of the best-kept 80s rock star secrets and is now
heavily used by many styles. It is an extremely important technique for
singers who want to sing high or with any sort of grit in their voice, regardless
of pitch, which is why it is such an invaluable tool in rock singing and heavy
metal. It is simply an alteration of the basic support mechanism that you’ve
already developed, so it won’t be much different than what you have grown
accustomed to throughout this book.

So how do I do the Power Push, Jaime? Well, allow me to first explain why
tightening the stomach could be damaging to the vocal cords. In my
experience teaching and singing, I’ve learned that whenever you tighten the
stomach by pushing the stomach out, sucking the stomach in or locking the
stomach like grunting, you’ll have a tendency to pinch the vocal cords closed
in relationship to the tensing of the stomach muscles. This action could force
the diaphragm upward too quickly, which forcefully expels air from the lungs.
This forceful rush of air has nowhere to go except between your vocal cords,
which are pinched almost completely shut. If this isn’t a recipe for damage,
then I don’t know what is!

This is exactly why many singers who belt out songs frequently lose their
voice. Singers have been misled to believe that they must lock the stomach
and tighten the throat whenever reaching for a high note, singing with grit, or
trying to project the sound (raise the volume). Any time you tighten the throat
and force air through the vocal cords, you are heading towards vocal disaster!

This is the reason that I was taught to never tighten my stomach for high
notes. But when vocal coach and author of Strengthening Your Singing
Voice, Elizabeth Sabine, showed me how to use this amazing technique without
locking my stomach and tightening my throat, I suddenly possessed the power

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to shatter a wine glass by voice alone. (It also takes correct technique, skill
[courtesy of Jim Gillette], and a lot of practice!)

The technique is very simple to learn. If you need more power, volume, or
range, simply alter your downward support by using more energy and pushing
and tightening down with your stomach muscles, past the point of firm but
flexible. Yeah, I know I told you to stay firm but flexible, but we’re rockers. We
require more extreme measures. The Power Push is a rock solid tension in
the lower abdominal muscles without locking in the throat; this is support
times ten! This is the same feeling as going to the bathroom, squeezing that
last drop of pee out of your body or (for females) having a baby. Yeah, I
know… It’s too much information. Other examples would be the feeling that
you get in your lower stomach muscles when you sneeze or cough. Think
about it for a moment. The stomach pushes down and your butt cheeks
(sphincter) pucker up.

Now pay close attention, because you must get this exactly right for it to work.
If you don’t, you’ll end up straining. The feeling should remain totally
disconnected from the throat. Don’t lock your throat or hold your breath! I
know that sometimes when you are sitting on the throne, you’ll grunt. When
you do, you’ll notice that you are holding your breath and you can feel the
vocal cords pinching shut. This isn’t the correct feeling. You only want to push
down and tighten from the stomach down. Don’t purposely tighten anything
above the stomach. The upper abs will tighten naturally, but that is a result of
the tension below. Just focus the tightening below the belly button and feel
your sphincter tighten.

So why does it work? Because by pushing straight down as tight as you can,
you are able to create a louder sound due to the rock hard pressure of the
abdominal muscles without directly forcing pressure on the diaphragm muscle.
(Elizabeth claims that our bodies are conductors of energy, and by pushing
down we are creating electricity.) If there is no excess pressure on the
diaphragm, there will be no excess pressure on the lungs, which means no
excess pressure on the cords. The only way I can think to explain the increase
in power is to compare the stomach to an air compressor and your throat to
the nozzle. It’s like filling a car tire with air; you are providing a controlled,
consistent, pressurized flow of air through the end of a tiny nozzle.

After I mastered this technique, I discussed the matter with Jim Gillette. He said
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that he always tightens his stomach before hitting high notes. I wondered if I had
been doing the same thing unconsciously all of these years. So I put my hand
on my stomach and started wailing. Turns out I’ve been on the right track all
along. I have always tightened my stomach when I sang high; I just didn’t realize
it and thus didn’t fully utilize this approach. I believe that the only reason I was
able to gain more power was because I became consciously aware of the
technique and started paying attention.

Useful Tip: Feel the Power Push

A trick to help you master this technique is to place
the fingers of one hand directly against your
stomach (as if you were sticking the fingers into the
stomach) right below your navel and feel the
muscles tighten against your fingers as you sing.
For the Power Push, maintain a constant rock solid
pressure in this area when you sing. You should
practice adjusting the pressure. The muscles should
get tighter as you sing higher or as you add more
intensity to a gritty or raspy sound.

Useful Tip: Maintaining the Power Push and

Expanded Ribs
This one is tough. You’ll need two belts. Put one belt around your chest
(underneath your arms) and expand your chest and floating ribs outwards
before tightening the belt. Once you have expanded the chest and ribs,
tighten the belt just enough to keep the belt in place. If you relax the ribs and
chest, the belt should become loose and fall down towards your stomach.
Next, strap the second belt around your waist, below your navel. Tighten the
belt while tightening your stomach downwards. Again, if you release the
stomach tension, the belt should become loose. Your goal is to learn to keep
the chest and ribs expanded while maintaining a downward tension below your
belly button. It might help to put a folded washcloth in between the belt and
your stomach to give you a point of focus for the downward tension. After
using this process for several weeks of vocal exercises and singing, you
should be able to remove the belts and maintain the expanded chest and ribs
and stomach pressure like it is second nature. Both techniques are extremely
important to rock singers.

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Useful Tip: Sing Out…Way Out!
When performing live, I find that as I perform the Power Push it helps to
increase the carrying power of my voice if I sing to a person at the very back
on the room or hall where I am playing. This is the same technique I was
taught when performing in select choir in college because we were not using
microphones and needed that degree of carrying power to be heard by
everyone in the room. This will let your voice float up into the palate and
resonate in the face and sinuses (the mask) and out through the mouth. It’s all
about projection, folks, so sing out to that person at the back of the room.

This is very helpful concept for new singers who are a little afraid of their
voice. Fear is what holds us back vocally. A lot of students are afraid to hear
themselves or let anyone hear for that matter. Here is an example. One time,
when explaining this concept to one of my private students who was afraid to
project, I told him, “instead of singing so soft and quiet, as if you were singing
a baby to sleep that is right in front of you in a crib, sing to that girl all the way
at the back of the club that you have a crush on.” I think he got the point.

With all this talking about abdominal power and mentioning Elizabeth Sabine
several times, I figured we should give her a chance to tell us about the power
that can be created from the voice. Take it away Elizabeth:

Useful Tip: A Powerful Voice is Your Birthright

By Elizabeth Sabine

When a child has a temper tantrum, the abdominal muscles tighten and
sound begins to escape as the need to express emotion begins. This can be
a terrible feeling for the child and a terrible sound for the parents to hear, but
at least the child gets relief by getting it out of its system. Then the child is
scolded for making such a loud and terrible noise and told not to make such a
scene, which is valid. But from the vocal point of view, let’s look at the wonder
and magnitude of the sound the child is making. You don’t hear many adults
making that kind of sound. Yet, wouldn’t it be a good idea for us to have a
temper tantrum and scream, rant and rave now and then? There would be far
less psychosis if we did. Talk about primal scream.

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Children with no restrictions can yell at the top of their voice with no inhibition,
until they reach the age of “self-consciousness, which is anywhere between
eight and fourteen years old. This change usually occurs because of parental
statements such as, “Don’t make a spectacle of yourself” or “Everybody is
looking at you!” Terrible phrases that may ultimately mean not singing or
having a chance at the big voice needed to be a speaker, teacher, actor,
lawyer, etc. So it is a tremendous responsibility for parents and teachers not
to take away a child’s birthright to a powerful voice.

A child should be allowed to keep this birthright and sing with power and
passion. Typically, when a student went for lessons to regain the powerful
sound they once had as a child, it was all about the breath and no mention of
passion. Unfortunately for most singers, back when I began teaching, there
were no teachers that understood that the basic source of a powerful voice
was passion and lack of inhibition, not merely breathing techniques.

In my early singing career, each time before I sang, I would support my voice
with a big breath. The breath would come up and push my vocal cords
making my voice wobbly and because I was too busy monitoring my breath, I
was not able to get emotionally involved in the song. Consequently, I was
never able to produce the uninhibited, free-flowing sounds a child does when
expressing emotions.

If you observe a child about to cry, it does not always take a big breath.
Whether its lungs are empty or full, it just tightens its abdominal muscles and
cries out. This is how it should naturally happen. So, naturally develop the
Power Push, as Jaime calls it, making it second nature, connecting it to your
primal emotions; This is your birthright. Reclaim your birthright and sing from
your soul.

©2007 Elizabeth Sabine. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Elizabeth Sabine is a celebrity vocal coach and the author of Strengthening

Your Singing Voice. She has worked with singers from bands such as 38
Special, Guns-N-Roses and Megadeth. She’s best known as the “Queen of
Speech and Screech” and was considered the best kept “secret” of rock stars
throughout the 80’s & 90’s. Learn more about Elizabeth Sabine at
www.elizabethsabine.net.

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INCREASING VOLUME
Dynamics are simply changes in volume. There are several ways to build a
bigger voice. Applying the Raise Your Voice techniques will help to increase
volume, especially techniques such as the Power Push and utilizing the last
Useful Tip. I have found that by doing the Transcending Tone exercises and a
few other exercises called the Reinforced Falsetto exercise and the Dynamic
Builder exercise, I have been able to increase my volume quite a bit… Well,
enough to be scientifically measured at over twenty decibels louder than a
group of opera singers! As I look back to my teenage years, I realize that I
seriously developed my volume out of necessity. The band I was playing in
didn’t have a monitor system. In fact, I had to sing through my keyboard
amplifier. When I got tired of packing my amp to practice, I just started singing
louder. So loud in fact, that eventually, I didn’t need amplification for practice. I
don’t suggest going this route to create a bigger sound, but if after applying
the techniques and tips you still want to add more volume, you can try what I
call the Dynamic Builder exercise.

This is an alteration of an exercise that was taught to me in college by my first

vocal teacher, Shirley Crothers. She referred to it as the crescendo (increase
volume) decrescendo (decrease volume) exercise. We won’t be decreasing
volume on my version. Start on your point of reference in a full voice tone at a
light to moderate volume sustaining “Yay”. After sustaining the pitch for just a
few seconds, begin to increase the volume by adding more Power Push, while
keeping the ribs expanded. Don’t swell the volume to the point where it
sounds and feels as if you are uncontrollably shouting. Work you way up as
high as comfortable, and then return to your point of reference. Begin again,
working downscale, and work your way down as low as comfortable. The
more you practice this exercise, the easier it will become to increase the
dynamic. This is a far better way to gain a louder voice as opposed to just
singing without amplification. (Dynamic Builder Exercise Example)

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This moves us on to our next subject: SCREAMING! But before moving on,
let’s let extreme metal vocal coach Melissa Cross chime in on the subject:

Useful Tip: Anatomy of a Scream

By Melissa Cross

A musical movement bubbled underground in the late 1980’s. This genre

was spawned by a hybrid of heavy metal and punk where the loudest and
the fastest ruled. Splintered sub-genres have evolved and exploded from the
obscure onto the Billboard Top 100. The vocal styling that has accompanied
this music is sometimes called “extreme vocals.” As the music grows in
popularity, abundant vocal damage has been the consequence. The situation
is further intensified by the grueling conditions that prevail on the lengthy and
strenuous tours that have replaced the radio as a vehicle for the exposure
and promotion for the bands of this genre.

To people who don’t like this kind of music, it all sounds the same-
like a bunch of people hollering into a microphone. However, there is an art
form to screaming. Not only is it an art, but, learning the proper technique is
imperative if one intends to prevail on the road. If you’re screaming for a
living, you can’t afford to scream like you’re trashing your room or having road
rage every night. Just like in singing, a balance must be struck between
breath pressure and the vocal process.

There are two main components involved in good vocal production,

whether it be singing, speaking or screaming. They are:
1) Breath pressure and…
2) The obstruction to outgoing air provided by closing vocal cords. In
singing, the vocal cords close and vibrate together very quickly to make a
constant sound. In screaming, they do not vibrate at all. Instead, the cords
close to make a passive wall with which, combined with withheld air, a
constant distorted or “raspy” sound is created. The untrained screamer will
overuse this closure of the cords instead of the oppositional balance provided
by proper breath pressure in the lungs. This causes swelling of the vocal
cords (hoarseness), which in turn causes cancelled tours and postponed
careers.

Screaming should never FEEL as brutal and violent as it sounds! Learning by

imitating a CD has brought more damaged artists to my studio more than any
other reason. Learning to scream properly involves removing the emotional
impetus of the scream and isolating the physical mechanism so that it can be

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 accomplished with the least amount of effort, thereby eliminating the
hyperactive larynx involved in actual rage. The technique properly executed
takes a great deal of finesse, which is counterintuitive to the passion of the
music. It is very difficult to learn this technique without learning the basics of
breathing and placement of singing.

What’s the difference between a good scream and a bad scream? The
difference is in the OVERTONE. An overtone is a tone combined with the
initial tone that creates a more complex sound. A scream that incorporates
high ringing and deep resonance has more “overtone”. This is created by
space in the throat with the raised soft palate. The result of this perfect
scream creates perceived loudness, not actual loudness. The ability to raise
the larynx and at the same time create space in the throat is the key
technique. The ability to replace overuse with overtone and to combine that
technique effortlessly with passion is the ultimate goal when learning how to
scream.

©2007 Melissa Cross. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

In the early '90s, a passionate and unrestrained movement of singers emerged

from the underground that would test the extreme limits of the human voice.
Heeding the call of the warriors of rock and metal for over 15 years, Melissa
Cross developed a vocal training method that has since been embraced by
these artists who value raw power and passion above everything in their
performance. With a roster of over 100 clients ranging from Lamb Of God,
Stone Sour, and The Bravery to Kevin Bacon, Melissa has provided vocal,
production and career expertise for countless signed artists. Her DVD's, The
Zen of Screaming 1 and 2 are presently the best selling vocal training products
available. She has appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, NPR Radio,
The Discovery Channel and MSNBC. Melissa has also been featured in
multiple print and online magazines, and is distributed by Alfred Music
Publishing. For further information visit www.melissacross.com.

SCREAMING FOR VENGEANCE WITHOUT

HURTING YOUR THROAT
Now that you have mastered the power push and have had a little lesson on
screaming from Melissa, let’s tackle a common problem among hard rockers
and metal-heads: High screaming and rocker grit. If you want to scream your
brains out without losing your voice, it’s going to take some skill. If you want to
learn how to sing classics like Judas Priest’s “Screaming For Vengeance” or
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AC/DC’s “Back In Black”, or if you want to tackle some more modern songs,
like Disturbed’s “Stricken”, “Sons” by The Used, Avenged Sevenfold’s “Bat
Country”, or Saliva’s “Raise Up”, it is going take some practice and effort.
There is an art to singing throaty and screaming that could fill an entire book,
but here are a few pointers and exercises to help you start the task.

The one thing that all of the professional singers that I have interviewed seem to
agree upon is vocal placement. You should have a thorough understanding
of placement by now, but just in case it has slipped your mind, vocal
placement refers to the focal point of the creation of the vocal sound. All sound
is produced in the throat by the vocal cords. But there are ways to manipulate
that sound so that it feels as if it is being produced in a different spot. If you
want to sing throaty, you must find a way to make it feel as if you have moved
the sound away from the vocal cords to prevent from squeezing the sound
down in your throat. I call this change in focus away from the throat as
pertaining to screaming, redirection.

The best place to focus or redirect the voice when singing high or throaty is up
into the soft palate. But we all know that this is where you should always
focus the tone, so why bring it up again? Because this is the main reason
so many gritty singers end up losing their voices—they are all singing
from the lower throat, like grunting. Now back to business.

It’s easier to place your voice in the palate when you focus on the yawning
sensation. Some professional singers, like Josey Scott of Saliva, feel that the
sound is being produced below the vocal cords, right on top of the diaphragm.
The diaphragm is the muscle along the edges of the lower ribs, right above the
stomach. (You better know this by now!) Singers tend to tighten their stomach
muscles (Power Push), adding a little more vocal cord pressure, to get that
gruff sound. I personally believe that what Josey is describing is simply his
support. I personally feel that his focus is entirely upon his breath support, and
that he doesn’t realize that his vocal placement is in his palate.

All of the professional singers I have interviewed agree on the fact that the
throat must remain relaxed and open. If you tend to tighten or clench the throat,
like grunting to achieve a throaty sound, you are leading yourself down a path
of vocal suicide. To maintain an open and relaxed throat, I want you to yawn.
Notice how the back of your throat opens wide and the soft area of the roof of

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your mouth (soft palate) raises. This allows more room for the sound of your
voice to escape and build resonance before leaving your mouth.
Singers like David Draiman of Disturbed preach about the importance of an
open throat. His sound is felt above his vocal cords as opposed to right on top
of the diaphragm, with an open throat as opposed to a tight, clenched voice.

ADDING GRIT AND GROWL

Now that you understand that you must keep an open throat, redirect the focus
of your voice to the soft palate (or stomach) and apply the Power Push, let me explain
to you how to produce a gritty tone.

Here is THE true secret to screaming and producing grit that everyone has been
waiting for. Are you ready??? Drum roll please…………………………………….

NEVER FEEL IT IN THE THROAT - ALWAYS FEEL IT IN THE SOFT PALATE!!!!!!!

Okay, you already got this, never feel it in the throat, keep the throat relaxed, yada,
yada, yada…I sound like a broken record, but it needed repeating. This time though,
I’ll give you more clues. Here is the irony of the whole situation. From the last few
pages you now know to keep the throat relaxed but I also clued you in on the fact that
the cords in fact do press together a little tighter to resist that air pressure and that in
turn is what creates a gritty sound, a death metal tone or a banshee scream. But still,
you aren’t allowed to feel it in the lower throat or squeeze, like grunting, or it’ll cause
vocal problems. So ironically, you have to squeeze without squeezing.

Then how in the world am I supposed to NOT feel it in the throat, while adding more
vocal cord resistance???? How do I let my cords know that they need to press
together without letting them know that I know this??? Man I just confused myself,
haha. Well here is how-Let the physical sensations in the soft palate be your guide!
When correctly producing grit, you will physically feel a rumbling sensation up against
your soft palate; like ripples or waves running through the soft part of the roof of your
mouth. On low pitches, the ripples or waves will physically feel slower. On mid-range
screams, the waves or ripples will get faster. On high throaty screams, the waves will
physically feel very very fast, almost so fast that it feels like a “pinging” against the soft
palate or a metallic sensation in the roof of the mouth. As long as you ALWAYS hold
on to this sensation, you’ll never hurt your throat from screaming. This is THE key to

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screaming correctly and how I can scream stuff like Back in Black by AC/DC without
ever hurting my throat. (Different Scream/Palate Ripple Examples)

So, when you produce grit in your voice, the cords slightly tighten up for more air
resistance, which in turn causes the distorted sound. (There is also a slight narrowing
directly above the vocal cords, involving the manipulation of the pharynx and false
folds to help produce that gritty harmonic sound.) This slight amount of pressure
produces the gritty quality. This isn’t the same as pinching the cords shut and
locking the throat, unless, of course, that’s how you’ve been achieving that
sound (which is incorrect and dangerous). The cords should still be thought of as
open as in singing clean. If you practice the Raise Your Voice techniques, the
Power Push, and follow the ripples in your palate, you won’t blow out your voice.

Here is an exercise for finding your grit and growl to let you become accustomed to
the physical sensations in the palate. I want you to sustain an “mmm” sound on the
lowest, softest tone you can produce without whispering. This sound reminds
me of waking up in the morning and yawning; the sound is very low and guttural.
This is called a vocal fry. When you create a vocal fry sound, you can actually
feel the vocal cords opening and closing as they touch and release. Now I
want you to feel this sound in the roof of your mouth on your soft palate, just
like the ripples from screaming. The soft palate is where you must ALWAYS
focus the feeling of all grittiness or growling! (Mmm/Fry Example)

Another way to get used to feeling the sound in your soft palate is gargling.
That is why I added gargling exercises to the warm up section; to get you
used to that physical sensation. (Gargling Example)

Remember, placement is that important! When you can do these two exercises,
switch between the gargling feeling and a vocal fry. I know that actually
screaming a song, like Linkin Park’s “Crawling” or “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by
Nirvana, will take a lot more energy and effort, but you must build from the
basics. All vocal technique starts with a basic idea to build upon.

So remember, if you are going to sing throaty, sing with an open throat and
direct the sound up into the soft palate (away from the vocal cords), feel the
ripples of the scream, while using the Power Push. If directing your voice down
towards the diaphragm works for you, that’s great! It’s your choice. It’s all about
redirection: removing the heavy sound away from the vocal cords. Believe it or
not, screaming isn’t about tension, it’s about relaxation and controlled direction.
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Now let’s try a grit exercise. This exercise is actually a variation of the basic
Transcending Tone exercise and if you wish, you can add it to your workout routine
but do not use it in place of the Transcending Tone exercise! Use it in addition to
your routine. The goal is to go from a basic clean tone to slowly and carefully adding
grit onto that tone. When first practicing the grit exercise, make sure that you only
apply a small amount of grit until you are sure that you can handle the
sensation. Practice gradually adding small amounts of throat tension until you
have mastered making this type of sound, without pressuring the vocal cords.
Focus the sound up into the soft palate. Start with a low clean “Yay” or
“Yah” sound. As the sound begins to swell and the grit becomes noticeable,
start adding more Power Push; tightening harder as you approach a throatier
sound. Feel that palate rumbling. This exercise even makes my skull rumble,
haha. (Low Grit Exercise Example)

The low grit exercise is a great exercise if you want to learn to add a little grit
to your voice or want to sing throaty, whether singing Aerosmith, AC/DC,
Nickelback, Godsmack or Disturbed. This is the only way to achieve a throaty
sound without losing your voice!
Speaking of Disturbed, if you like the noises that David Draiman makes, I am
sure you can create some of them yourself. By doing the Staccato Grit
exercise, you can manipulate the grit in tiny burst through the cords. This is
done by applying all of the correct grit techniques, while releasing small
staccato bursts of air. This is a non-vowel producing exercise and more so a
way of playing with creating noises as opposed to adding grit to a vowel. Just
listen to my examples…then make it sound better, haha.
(Staccato Grit Example)
If you are aiming for more of a Lamb of God or Shadowsfall type grit sound,
you can try the Death Grit exercise. The only adjustment you need to make is
to produce more of a frustrated sigh sound by adding more breath pressure
and feel the ripples in the palate. If you want more of a guttural sound, just do
this WITHOUT adding pitch to the sound. (Death Metal Grit Example)
Last but not least, if you are a fan of M. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold and
like his opening multi-harmonic out of tune scream on the song “Bat Country”,
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it can be easily reproduced by visualizing adding more inwards pressure from
the sides of the neck, to tighten the glottis for even more air resistance. Think
of this as more of a pure tone as opposed to a scream and the sound will float
out. This really isn’t a gritty sound, but more of the sound of air escaping at
different spots along the edges of the cords, which will produce several tones
at once. Experimenting with this exercise will produce some wild sounds.
(Multi-Harmonic Scream Example)

Useful Tip: These DVDs are Screamers!

If you are a visual person and would like to see some screaming techniques
performed, I suggest purchasing The Zen of Screaming, The Zen of
Screaming 2 and Scream Extra by vocal coach Melissa Cross. Melissa has
worked with hard-hitting acts such as Shadows Fall and Lamb of God. Her
method of teaching hard rock screams is very similar to mine. These DVDs &
CD cover more of the “non-vocal” type screaming.

We’ve discusses a bit about false folds throughout Raise Your Voice, but I
think it is important to pursue this concept further. I could think of no one
better to describe the purpose of false folds than Mark Baxter, the vocal coach
who introduced me to this term over 15 years ago. Take it away Mark:

Useful Tip: The Fuss About False Folds

By Mark Baxter

There’s a bit of a debate regarding the use of the false folds when growling.
The question is: Should a singer engage the false folds in order to growl?
Unfortunately, there’s no definitive answer to this question because no two
singers get their sound exactly the same way. Genetics, physical condition,
personality and desire all play equal roles when it comes to calling up a roar.
The technique used is more to survive the growl then to create it. Even under
the best circumstances growling, rasp and screaming are somewhat irritating
to the tissues within the larynx. So the best rule is to use the minimum
amount of force to get your sound.

The false folds, also known as the vestibule folds, are above the true folds
(the ones you sing with) and are much thicker. Their role in the body is to
close off the windpipe in order to create pressure within the torso. They are

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what allow us leverage, by locking the air in the lungs, when lifting a heavy
weight.

Because of their strength, it would seem a good idea to utilize them when
growling. The problem is that they rarely act alone. So when most singers
think they’re using their false folds they’re also locking up the tongue, jaw and
palate. All those rigid muscles make it difficult to maintain and control your
sound.

Instead of targeting which muscles you’ll use to growl, stay focused on the
sound you want. Just think of your eye. There are tiny muscles within the
eye that stretch the lens so we can see at various distances. If you have
trouble focusing on something, the muscles, which surround the eye will join
in and start squishing the shape of the eye until your target clears up. You
certainly don’t need to think about using the orbicularis oculi instead of the
ciliary muscle in order to see what you want. The same goes for calling up
the growl from hell. You just don’t believe that right now.

What you’re missing is a foundation of strength and flexibility. Use the info in
this book to build yourself a foundation you can lean on. Check on your growl
often by asking for the sound you want while keeping as many muscles as
you can turned off. Let the lyrics dictate what gets pushed – not the inability
to reach a pitch. The less you spend for your growl the more you’ll be able to
use it without it killing your voice. And that, my friends, will be the difference
between a great series of gigs and a cancelled tour. Rock on!

©2007 Mark Baxter. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Mark Baxter is a world-renowned vocal therapist with studios in Los Angeles,

New York and Boston. He writes extensively about rock singing for multiple
magazines and websites. His instructional products include a book, "The
Rock n Roll Singer's Survival Manual," a DVD, "The Singer's Toolbox," a CD,
"Sing Like an Idol," and an MP3 downloadable lesson, "The Five Secrets of
Screaming." You can contact Mark at www.voicelesson.com.

HITTING HIGH SCREAMS - CLEAN

Okay, but what about any tricks for hitting those scorching high notes? Well, if

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you’ve been practicing the Raise Your Voice system, you should already be
there. But one of the easiest, most effective exercises I have ever found for
screaming my butt off is the “E” Scream Exercise by vocal coach Jim Gillette.
I call it the Reinforced Falsetto exercise. Other coaches might call this sound
the pharyngeal voice. This is another variation of the Transcending Tone
exercise, which can be used in addition to your regular workout but not it in
place of the Transcending Tone exercise.

It is a very simple and effective exercise. Begin by sustaining a low volume “eee”
in falsetto, and slowly swell the sound until it is very loud and buzzing in your
head. Start on any pitch that is comfortable for your range, and work your way
upscale. So, when you do this exercise, it should ALWAYS only swell in
falsetto. As the sound swells and grows louder, you should tighten down and
add more energy with a Power Push. The louder you become, the tighter you
should tighten your stomach. The master himself, Jim Gillette, on his CD Vocal
Power, better demonstrates this exercise. If you wish to purchase the DVD, you
can do so at The Voice Connection or www.metalmethod.com.
(Reinforced Falsetto Exercise Example)

Now that I’ve mentioned the term “Pharyngeal voice”, you might still have
some questions about the pharyngeal sound, so I’ll leave it to James Lugo to
explain further:

Useful Tip: What IS The Pharyngeal Voice?

By James Lugo

My experience with the Pharyngeal voice started about 8 years ago when I
took my first lesson with Cantor Nate Lamm. I came to him a bit confused
about my own voice. The story goes as follows; I started tracking a record
with my band and we lost our producer so I ventured out in search of a new
producer. I had a hard drive with drum and bass tracks and a rough scratch
vocal that I sang into in the control room while tracking the drums. We played
the tracks for the new producer and he flipped out on my voice, he was in
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love. It got me so excited to have him believe in me that as we started to track
the record I sought out the help of a well-known LA vocal coach to guide me.
The record took 4 months to finish the basic tracks and the whole time I was
studying with this coach who was trying to completely change the way I sang,
putting emphasis on vowel manipulation and singing with more head voice in
my scream.

So, day one of vocals came. Keep in mind the whole time we were tracking
guitars we were listening to the original scratch vocal that I had hit earlier in
the year. The producer fired up the first song, the chorus hit and I was out to
show him all the new stuff I had learned. I hit the first line of the hook and he
stopped the tape and said “what the hell was that?” I said it’s this new
technique I had been learning. He said and I quote “it sucks, lose it and let’s
make a real record.”

Well, honestly I wasn’t too surprised. The whole time I was taking these
lessons it felt a little weird. So I guess in hindsight I should have known. So
after that experience I was very lost. At the time I was also teaching voice, so
to be that shaken’ was scarring on many levels. When I walked into Nate’s
office and screamed for him he said there’s nothing wrong with what I was
doing and all he wanted to do was build on what I already had. He told me he
wanted to build my Pharyngeal voice and turned me onto the book The Voice
Of The Mind by Herbert Ceasari. Since that fateful day all those years ago I
have not only built my own voice beyond my wildest dreams but I’ve helped
countless students achieve more range, power and raw aggression than they
ever thought was possible. Here’s the 411 on the Pharyngeal-

First thing one must do is identify what the Pharyngeal sounds like. At it’s raw
state it sounds like a witches cackle. Think of the Wizard Of Oz when the
Wicked Witch of the West says, “my little pretty”. That’s the sound, very harsh
and aggressive. To fully understand why this sound is important you must
know one thing about how the human ears work. The human ear hears the
frequency of 2K or 2000 cycles most acutely. Meaning at the same volume,
we hear 2000 cycles louder the other cycles that are being generated at equal
volume levels. 2K is a moderately high frequency. It’s the frequency a baby
makes when it cries, that’s why a mother can hear her baby cry from far
away. It’s designed that way. As 100 million record selling producer/mixer
Michael Wagner told me while sitting in my car listening to music, the key to a
great rock mix is you have to turn up the guitars in the chorus.
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So what do you do then, turn the vocal up also? Not if the singer has some
Pharyngeal because the increase 2K will help the vocal track poke thru a very
dense and loud guitar bed. That’s the whole deal; Soundgarden, AC/DC, Alice
In Chains, GnR, Buckcherry, Greenday, 30 Seconds To Mars, Zeppelin etc…
Listen to the cut in the singer’s voice and listen to how it’s cradled in the mix.
If you have to turn the lead vocal up too much in the chorus, the song won’t
rock. Listen to how on some great rock tunes the lead vocal actually is turned
down in the chorus to make room for massive guitars. Voila… Pharyngeal.
To what degree you blend in the Pharyngeal voice will depend on how much
cut you want. Too much Pharyngeal can be perceived by the ear as harsh, to
little can sound dull and safe, so you need to experiment and find out what
works for you or the song.

Some basic exercises go as follow:

1. Start around Tenor high C with an ugly witches. Cackle “HEE” and slowly
slide down an octave into a chesty YAH. So at the top you want all
Pharyngeal (ugly witches cackle) and then blend it with the chest voice as you
slide down the octave and end with only chest (nice full warm sound). This
trains the voice to blend chest and Pharyngeal voice. Move up and down in
half steps. (Lugo’s Witches Cackle Example)

2. Start around Tenor high C with a falsetto or all head voice “HEE”. Very
pretty and bell like sound and no Pharyngeal cackle at all. While holding the
high C start to slowly drop the tone into a witches cackle (but stay on the high
C, don’t change the note, only resonance). So you want to start out with all
pretty head voice, blend into a cackle and end with all cackle. This will help to
blend the head with the Pharyngeal. Move up and down in half steps.
(Lugo’s Blend Example)

3. Practice scales and arpeggios with a tongue out of the mouth with an
“AAA” sound, like you’re at the doctor. Don’t get airy or heady as you navigate
thru the exercises. Keep it connected! That’s the key. One voice. You want
the tone on the bottom note to be the same as the top note. You can slightly
tighten the belly as you go up keeping everything else relaxed. Keep in mind;
Pharyngeal work can be hard on a newbie voice. So always warm up first,
never do for more than a few minutes at a time and don’t do this the day of
shows or sessions. I want to thank the brilliant Jaime Vendera for asking me
to help him on his new book. Good luck and sing from the heart.
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©2007 James Lugo. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Master Vocal Coach/Singer / Songwriter / Guitarist/ Producer James Lugo, is

one of Hollywood’s most sought after vocal coaches and founder of Vocal
Asylum, Rock & Pop Voice Institute in Los Angeles, California. He is the
creator of the Vocal Asylum Rock and Pop Vocal Instructional DVD/CD series
To learn more about James Lugo or to book an appointment, go to
www.jameslugo.com.

Useful Tip: Smile and Have Some Fun!

Still having some issues with your rock and metal high notes? Try smiling and
opening your mouth up wide. Think of Steven Tyler or Mick Jagger. Both are
amazing singers in their own respect and they use a wide mouth technique
when they sing. Both Jim Gillette and Bruce Dickinson use a wide manic grin
to effortlessly attain their higher notes. This is a cool way to rock and you can
cover it up with your microphone so no one sees that goofy grin on you face.
As funny as it sounds, smiling when hitting high notes helps to open the vocal
path! This lifts the muscles in the face that tend to block and constrict the
voice. Besides, you’re singing for the fun of it, not for pain, so quit frowning!

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HITTING HIGH SCREAMS-GRITTY
What about screaming like Ralf Scheepers from Primal Fear, Rob Halford
from Judas Priest or Brian Johnson from AC/DC? The easiest way to learn
this type of scream is to combine the grit exercise with the reinforced falsetto
exercise. Begin by singing a pure clean falsetto tone on “yay” or “yah” and
gradually add a throaty sound as we increase the volume.

Apply all correct vocal technique when screaming. This includes resonance
expansion (teeth and face buzzing), an open throat (yawning sensation),
reverse breathing, redirecting the sound, and adding the Power Push.
Remember, you must ALWAYS feel that rippling sensation when adding grit
to your voice. On these high screams it will feel like a pinging or metallic
sensation because the physical sensation of the ripples will be very fast. Start
with a small amount of scream and hold on to the sensation until you feel
comfortable. (High Scream Grit Example)

As you become accustomed to the feeling, you can add more power and grit.
This is how I learned to sing songs like “Back In Black” by AC/DC, “Hair of the
Dog” by Nazareth, “Smooth Up in Ya” by the Bulletboys and “Broken City” by
Spread Eagle. When I am relaxed and my voice is warmed up, I can scream
throaty all night with no problem at all. I know I am on top of my game with the
grit sound when it feels as if that grit floats right up into that “pocket” (palate). I
feel this pinging sensation that keeps the tone focused and effortless. This is
exactly how Phil Taylor of the band Machina mastered his gritty sound and is
now able to sing hours a day with no vocal problems.

Useful Tip: Five Important Points

Although I focus on all of the Raise Your Voice techniques, here are the five
most important things for me to maintain my throaty screams:
1. Warm up with the Vocal Stress Release program.
2. Drink TONS of water! Screaming dries out the throat.

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 3. Maintain an open and relaxed throat by means of the yawning
sensation.
4. Always place the sound in the palate! Feel that physical rippling or
wave sensation-slow on the low grit and fast on the high scream.
You can easily shoot the rocket into the palate and it is even easier
when you use the Power Push to lift the tone.
5. Finally, practice, practice, practice, all of the screaming exercises
(clean and throaty); but don’t overdo it. If your throat starts to ache
on these exercises, give your voice a break for an hour or so. You
will definitely reach your goal faster while saving your voice at the
same time.

Useful Tip: Shooting the Rocket

A simple technique that I use to help students scream or sing higher is to tell
them that the sound is like a rocket. When you push down, you ignite the
rocket. If you are screaming or singing high, the rocket (core of resonance)
shoots up into the head effortlessly when ignited by a Power Push.

Useful Tip: Secrets of Screaming

Mark Baxter, author of Rock-N-Roll Singer’s Survival Manual (one of my all
time favorite vocal books), has released an MP3 called The FIVE Secrets of
Screaming that I highly recommend for all of you lead screamers!

Before moving on, I’d like to give you a professional view of what it takes to

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sing in an aggressive style. I thought it best to speak with someone who can
effortlessly go from clean to gritty without any problems. So I decided to
contact two singers who represent this style very well-

Symphony X vocalist Russell Allen can switch from soulfully smooth to

aggressively gritty with tons of power, which is apparent when you listen to
the difference in his tonality between songs like “Paradise Lost” and “The
Serpent’s Kiss”. He’s one of the few progressive rock singers that vocally
represents that total diversity.

Spread Eagle/Hostel Inc. vocalist Ray West is one of the reasons I wanted to
learn how to scream. The first time I heard “Scratch Like A Cat” I really
thought there was no way humanly possible a singer could scream like that
and still be able to speak. When I saw the video for the first time on MTV’s
Headbanger’s Ball, I KNEW I had to learn how to scream with grit!

Now they’ll share their secrets with you on how to incorporate this approach
into your style while maintaining your smooth texture as well:

Useful Tip: From Clean to Mean

By Russell Allen

A lot of people ask me how I’m able to change my voice from angelic clean to
demonic mean. I’ve never really thought about it much to be honest. I’ve
always sung songs with a lot of feel. If I felt a line or lyric needed to be heavy
or light I just sang it that way. I did spend many years emulating my heroes
and figuring out what they we’re doing with their voices. My “heaviest”
influence is Ronnie James Dio. His style of singing with grit and power was
inspiring to me to say the least. I knew I had this power ’n grit as well but it
took me a while to learn to control it and not blow my voice out.

There are of course differences in the mechanics to singing light and heavy
and for me I sing in the front top of my throat for the clean stuff and I reach
deep down in the back for the mean stuff. The most important thing is to sing
from the gut! (Like the Power Push that Jaime mentions.) You got to pull the
notes from deep down and let them rumble out of you. That’s how you keep
from straining. Don’t try to force it out or it could get ugly. Symphony X has a
lot of diversity in the arrangements and I like to “flex” my vocals in different

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directions in the tunes. Sometimes it requires me to switch from clean to
mean on the fly and this is where a lot of mic control and rehearsals really pay
off. It’s just a matter of muscle memory, “ready” vocal cords, and knowing
when to move the mic.

Preparing for Battle

Practice makes perfect and a good run of rehearsals with the band before a
tour is key for me to get into shape and be able to switch my voice on
demand. It’s all muscular and I really feel it in my neck muscles. To switch
between tones requires stretching and constricting of muscles around the
vocal cords. I lead an active life, so that along with a solid string of rehearsals
is all I need to “load up” for touring. In the beginning the muscles in the front
of my neck are sore. Then there’s the head banging and the back of my neck
is sore too, haha. But it’s the good kind of sore, like the day after a good
workout. You’re sore but when you start working out again you feel that good
burn and you know you’re getting stronger. Don’t confuse this with a sore
throat; that’s not what I am talking about. I’m usually at my best when I feel a
little sore or “weathered” before the gig. Not exhausted mind you, just a bit
tired. I’m loose and I ease into the set. It’s kind of like closing your hand real
slowly to make a fist. That’s how my whole body feels, steady and strong. I’m
a power singer and I blow the pipes pretty hard every night. So strength is
very important for me.

Firing the Guns

If you ever come to one of our shows there’s one thing you can count on
seeing. SWEAT! I sweat like crazy because I ROCK! I live to rock, I love to
rock, and I give everything I got every night. It’s insane how much I perspire
hehe. Sometimes I ring my shirt out right on stage just so the people can see
how hard I’m working. To keep hydrated I go through 5-10 bottles of water a
night depending on how long the set is. Hydration is so important as Jaime
has said so many times. And for me it’s the MOST important thing because
I’m losing so much fluid during the performance. And I need to keep my vocal
cords moist so they retain their elasticity. I don’t use anything like Throat Coat
or any “magic drinks”; just bottles of water at room temperature.….A LOT OF
IT! Some people work out during the day to keep in shape and get up for the
show. This isn’t necessary for me because of how physical my performance
is. As a matter of fact I have to watch how active I am during the day so I’m
not burnt out by the time the show starts. I like to venture out and see things

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when I’m on the road, so I enjoy getting to know the locals and absorbing the
cultures I visit. This requires a great deal of walking and this is perfect for me
to stay in shape and “loosen up” for the evening’s performance.

The Pirate Life

Touring is an adventure for me and I revel in every moment of it. So it’s no
secret I enjoy my time on the road with my band mates and crew. We rock ‘n
roll and raid ‘n pillage our way across the globe. But, as a singer I have to
watch out and keep a constant eye on what I’m doing. I’m always gauging
how I feel and how much “fun” I can have. So, over the years I’ve learned a
thing or two about the do’s and don’ts on the road. The biggest “don’t” is
cigarettes! I gave those evil things up a few years ago and I’ve never been
better. Before I was “hip to hydration” I always struggled with consistency and
smoking dries your ass out! Now, I’m “on” pretty much every night. My
recovery time is much shorter and I can bounce back from a strained voice
very quickly. I still enjoy a nice Cuban every once in a while though. And I
love me rum, Arrg! But I can’t over do it. Moderation is key. For every action
there is an equal or greater reaction! And we all know what happens when we
go too far. No voice; no show. No show; no dough. So if you’re planning on
living a life “under the black flag” be careful and don’t go overboard.

©2007 Russell Allen. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Russell Allen is the multi-talented singer for Symphony X, one of the world’s
leading progressive metal bands. He is also a solo artist, releasing his first
solo recording, Atomic Soul in 2005. His sound is reminiscent of singers such
as Bruce Dickinson and Ronnie James Dio, with his own unique flavor. He is
a very passionate singer gifted with the ability to vocally go from soulful to
metal with grace. You can learn more about Russell at www.symphonyx.com.

Useful Tip: From Aggression to Grit in Under Five

Minutes
By Ray West

Wanna know the secret to adding grit to your voice? Besides the obvious tips
that Jaime gives you in this book, the secret is ENERGY! The more energy
you have, the easier it is to scream. But it can go two ways. There have been
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those mornings that I woke up hung over and I could sing great because I was
tired but very relaxed. BUT, the only way to get that crazy razor sharp top end
is to have a LOT of energy. You got to be very awake as for that. There have
been nights when I didn’t have that edge. If you don’t have that energy, you
just cannot do it; you cannot scream all night. When screaming high, you
need to watch your head voice and keep the sound up in the palate because if
you start getting too throaty and putting too much pressure on the bottom end,
you can’t get back to the top end.

I discovered the throatiness basically through recording the first Spread Eagle
record. The producer wanted it harder and meaner and I would have to come
in at all hours to record, which really pissed me off. So I took that anger and
turned it into my screams. To keep from losing my voice, I learned about
warming up. Luckily for me, I found a great vocal coach in New York named
Don Lawrence. What I liked about Don is his technique was very subtle, he
didn’t take any crap and he made me realize that I HAD to warm up in order to
sing the way that I did. In fact, I still use my Don warm up tape to this day. But
as far as screaming and singing goes, I learned every mistake on my own.
What I found were the simple things such as the energy, focusing the voice
into the palate, using the diaphragm and a LOT of air for the type of
screaming I did, and I mean LOTS of air, haha.

With the newer material I am doing now, I have changed my approach,

becoming more modernized. So the screams are a lot lower to fit the music. It
still takes a lot of energy to scream, but I am finding that it is a lot easier to
scream in the lower and mid-range as opposed to the high screams. There is
two ways about it. There is the scream that is pure, that is from the body, and
then there is the newer approach which is sort of a half voice, an almost soft
scream utilizing the microphone by cupping it or almost eating it to make it
distort. That is how everyone now can do it so easily. But back in the day you
didn’t cup your microphone, you didn’t know about that. This mainly works for
modern screams. To get the high end screams you have to be full on and you
cannot cup the mic or you are going to get bad feedback, which will piss the
soundman off. “Hey Ray please don’t cup the mic!” “Okay, okay I won’t”,
haha.

Screaming takes work. Not everyone is born Rod Stewart. My voice is actually
very clean naturally. Now that I have been singing about every day, my voice
has developed a bit of a sand papery edge, but I think that is just par for the
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course. Still, I can sing days in a row, plus I stopped smoking, which I am sure
has helped with my stamina. Something else that helps with my voice the way
I scream is this; The other night I decided to take a break for a day and I met
up with this girl. We went out and had a lot of fun. I’m sure you know what I
mean;) Then the next night I sang my ass off! I sounded as good as I did
during those times I would sing with lots of anger, haha. Funny as it sounds,
it’s all psychological; it is all about emotion. So I try to sing with intense
emotion, whether really happy or really angry. It’s just turning intensified
emotion (aggression or elation) into the energy for singing.

Back to warming up; If you are going to scream (or any type of singing for that
matter) you MUST warm up! If you don’t have the time to do a proper warm
up, find something to do for that hour before the show to get your voice ready
for singing. Sometimes you don’t feel like talking and everyone wants to talk
to you before the show. Try to talk a little bit to get the cords working. Just
watch yourself and know your voice. Don’t overdo the talking. That is what
used to get me in the past.

The other thing that really gets me is drinking. I’ve really learned my lesson on
this; the more I drink, the worse I sound, haha. You don’t learn that until you
finally listen to some live tapes, haha. “Man, he’s funny between songs, but
during songs, I don’t know what the f!#k he’s doing! He sounds different than
the record.” I’m learning to tame that animal now. Nowadays, I might pop a
couple of Red bulls and a shot of Vodka but to be able to drink a fifth of Jack
Daniels through a show, I just can’t do that any more like I did when I was a
kid. Listen to a recording of yourself during a drunken performance. You really
learn from listening back to stuff on live tape.

In the studio you just sing over and over again until you get it and then stop.
Maybe you take a break or try it again tomorrow or just realize it is what it is.
You change things a million times and you try every melody that is in your
head. Then you choose one, record it, take a couple of days and then listen to
it. You come back to the studio a few days later and think that what you have
is good so you listen to it with fresh ears. You always want to listen with fresh
ears.

Live recording is different. When you hear things from live taping when you
were drunk and sounded like shit…Man that really affects you. You realize
that you aren’t giving people their money’s worth. When they come to see me,
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they expect to hear a certain type sound and approach. If I am drunk, I cannot
give them that.

What’s funny is, although I still present the screamy approach, just in a
modern version, people are digging what I am doing now more, which is
great. They say things like, “Ray, you’ve really found yourself.” It almost feels
funny to sing the old Spread Eagle stuff. I just did a small tour and sang the
old stuff and was like, I can still ride this bicycle, haha. It’s funny to hear
myself singing those songs now.

I love singing the new stuff that I am doing now. I love the sound of singers
like Layne Staley and that Alice in Chains/Pearl Jam approach. It fits lower in
the chest as opposed to high screams, but it fits very comfortable. I love that
whole lower register baritone sound, and the mid, then driving it up on top. It’s
like having three pieces now. In the beginning I just had one piece of the
puzzle. Now I have the bottom, mid and top.

I’ve built the bottom, I’ve built a nice foundation I think, that I can play off of.
But, you’ve got to watch that bottom end too because if you sit there too long
and push too hard on the gut, you can’t get to the top, so you’ve got to find
your volume control. You can’t put too much pressure on the bottom, but you
can’t soften up either. So the trick for me is this: What I like doing is what I call
the slap and tickle. I love singing soft verses and then singing monsterous
choruses. Or you can go backwards. The verses are vocally really trippy and
hard and the chorus is really big and airy. It’s great. It’s comfortable and you
never really lose too much. And the voice- it’s always there. It’s good to go
back and sing soft and the grit doesn’t affect you because you change it up.

So in ending, if you keep the energy level high, do what Jaime tells you to do
technically and don’t do one or the other (clean or gritty) all the time, you’ll be
able to sing in any way you like.

©2007 Ray West. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Ray West and Spread Eagle burst upon the scene playing a brand of rock that
came straight from the N.Y.C. gutter. When Paul DiBartolo (guitar) Rob De
Luca (bass) and Tommi Gallo (drums) moved to the City and met up with
vocalist Ray West, a new attitude was instantly born. While rehearsing/writing
in a dingy East Village basement for their first gig, rumours began leaking out
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to the record industry. The group was quickly snatched up and signed to
MCA/Universal, then sent straight into the studio. Additional tunes for the
debut album had to be written while recording was taking place. The self-titled
debut was produced by Charlie Gambetta and featured wailing vocals and
razor sharp guitar, demonstrated through songs such as "Switchblade
Serenade", "Scratch Like A Cat", and "Broken City". The honesty of Spread
Eagle's debut release quickly gained the band worldwide critical acclaim and
propelled them to the forefront of the genre. Four years later, after the release
and touring of their second album "Open To The Public" (also produced by
Gambetta), the band took a break and went about their own personal projects.
Lovember records has reissued their remastered debut "SPREAD EAGLE"
record in association with Universal Music in August of 2006. Ray West has
been locked up in a studio in New Jersey creating and producing powerful
new music. He spent some time honing his skills with his solo band The Ray
West Band. Ray is currently fronting his new project HOSTEL INC., which
features Ladd on guitars, Chigger on bass, and Jeff Hardee on drums. Look
for some new music from HOSTEL INC. soon on myspace.com/hostelinc

ULTRA-SONIC HIGHS: Mastering the Whistle Voice

How would you like to add a whole new octave to your range; an octave you
thought was impossible for you to reach? How would you like the secrets to
accessing the whistle voice (the high octave range of Mariah Carey) so that you
can do vocal licks like Mariah, Adam Lopez, Vitas or Philip Bailey of Earth, Wind
& Fire? The extremely high pitches that these singers use in their songs are
easier to perform than you think. If you’ve been practicing the Falsetto Slide
exercises, you are probably a little closer to reaching those notes than you
think.

When using the whistle voice, the cords are so tightly zipped that if you were to
look directly at the glottis it would almost look like a pinhole. To achieve these
notes, the cords must be zipped almost completely shut while you blow the air
between them. The glottis is so small that the pitches are extremely high. When
the cords are this tight, you only need the tiniest amount of air pressure to
produce the whistle notes.

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The easiest way that I have found to teach students how to hit whistle notes is
to first sing inwards. (This always makes me think of Jack Black and Tenacious
D on inwards singing.) Try this. Start to inhale and while you are still inhaling,
slightly clamp your throat shut. Did you feel the clamping sensation? Don’t
worry; this won’t hurt your throat. Next, clamp the throat shut and practice
inhaling pitch. (Inwards Whistle Example)

Once you’ve become accustomed to creating high pitches while inhaling, let’s
turn the process around. It’s time to practice creating a whistle note the normal
way. Visualize zipping your cords almost completely shut from the back to the
front, with a tiny pinhole opening at the very front of the vocal cords. I always
feel as if it is a tiny laser coming through the very front of my cords. Now, try
creating a tone while focusing the energy towards the front of your vocal cords;
literally feel it at the front. It is tough at first but it gets easier. The important
thing to remember when attempting to create whistle notes is that you don’t
need to tighten the stomach or push for the sound because you don’t need
power or much air for this register. (Whistle Example)

It also helps to visualize shooting the whistle tone through the top of the head. I
have worked my way up to a C7 (and ten notes higher when inhaling the pitch)

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on the Falsetto Slide, so I’d suggest practicing the whistle notes using the
principles of this exercise. Once you have reached a Soprano C, it is safe to
say that you can most likely call the Falsetto Slide a Whistle Slide. You’ll find
that if you do either the yah slide or the Staccato ooh slide and keep the
sound as tiny as possible, you’ll be able to climb higher and higher in
pitch. Begin by making a whistle note, on either a “yah” as in ‘father’, or an
“ooh” as in ‘blue’, and then slowly slide down the scale while trying to maintain a
smooth transition between registers. (Whistle Slide Example)

The best advice I can give is if you are truly serious about developing the
whistle voice, then don’t worry so much about doing it in an incremental
fashion. Just create a whistle tone on any pitch. Then once you can sustain
the whistle for a few seconds, slowly slide down to the very bottom of your
range, connecting your falsetto and your full voice together. You can add this
to your daily routine either by continuing to carry the falsetto slide all the way
up into the whistle register, or by randomly doing different pitched whistle
notes, separately from your falsetto work. If the latter is the route you choose,
then practice whistle slides at least 15-25 times.

You’ll find that there is a similar break between the whistle and falsetto.
This will smooth out in time. This is an excellent exercise for developing
coordination between the whistle and head register.

Useful Tip: Focus the Tone

When practicing the Whistle Slide, try keeping a laser-like intensity focused
sound, without any breathiness. Like the Falsetto Slide, you want to descend
all the way down to your lowest notes in chest voice at a low volume. Visualize
the tone floating down from above your head all the way down to the stomach
as you descend the scale. If you break between registers, start again and slow
down the slide!

There is a definite difference between head voice and whistle voice. If you can
hit a soprano A (A5) in head voice, or as I like to call it, full voice, try to hit that
same exact note with one-tenth the intensity and ten times the focus. If the
voice is shaped like a triangle and you are on the point of the triangle at that
pitch, try placing the pitch on the tip of a pin needle; sharp, focused, super tiny,
and half the volume as full voice.

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Useful Tip: A Whistle Making Secret
An excellent exercise for learning to make whistle notes is the guinea pig
sound. By imitating this sound, you’ll teach the vocal cords how to completely
zip up to the whistle register. Practice makes perfect so practice imitating this
sound throughout the day! (Guinea Pig Sound Example)

LEARNING TO SUSTAIN LONGER PITCHES

I have been blessed with the ability to hold out notes for what seems like an
eternity. Whenever I perform, I am always asked the same question: “How do
you hold out your notes that long?” I always tell them the same few answers:
“Practice, practice, practice” and “If you follow the vocal training program
from my book, Raise Your Voice, and of course, my other book, The Ultimate
Breathing Workout, you will achieve the results you desire.”

What if I told you that I had recently rediscovered a series of techniques

guaranteed to improve your breathing? How would you like to be able to
sustain notes for thirty seconds or longer? Do I have your attention?

Here is a simple exercise to strengthen the abdominal and intercostal muscles

while focusing on developing your maximum breath potential. This exercise
focuses on hissing. By hissing the air out, you’ll strengthen the abdominal
muscles.

Start by taking a deep breath in through the nose. Remember to breathe into
your belly first. Make sure to fill the vase from the bottom up. Don’t forget to
expand the ribs by engaging the intercostal muscles.

Now begin to hiss, like a sustained “s”. Set your stopwatch and begin to hiss at
a steady controlled rate. There will come a point when your stomach muscles
begin to burn. It will feel uncomfortable and a little funny, like you aren’t in control
of your stomach. Don’t give up. Just think; the longer you hold on, the closer
you are coming to sustaining notes for long periods of time. You are developing
stomach muscle control. (Sustained ‘S’ Example)

Now the tricky part is keeping the ribs expanded outward for as long as you
can. Remember, this exercise is to help strengthen the intercostal muscles as
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well. If you can keep the ribs expanded while you release your air supply, you’ll
maintain a larger cavity in the chest, which in turn, will slow the air release rate.

Next, try sustaining actual notes. Sustain the sound ‘yah’ on any comfortable
note while timing yourself. You might have been applying this technique to
the intonation exercise, so if that is the case, I am sure you are well
ahead of the team. This is basically the same principle you should be using
when performing the Raise Your Voice exercises, holding the note as long as
you can until the stomach muscles burn. Don’t forget to use the inhalation
sensation, which is key to the development of breath control.
(Sustained ‘Yah’ Example)

Useful Tip: Buy My Other Book

Want to learn even more about the recently rediscovered techniques on
breath control and sustaining notes? Buy The Ultimate Breathing Workout.

SHATTERING GLASS WITH YOUR VOICE

I’ve gotten tons of emails from individuals who want to learn how to shatter
glass and have tried and failed. I want to tell you that shattering glass is NOT
easy! That is why I am the first documented person ever to accomplish this feat.
If it were that easy, I think it would have been filmed by now. Everyone asks how
I developed this talent. So here’s my story in my own words.

On October 28th, 2004, I received an email from Jim Gillette. For those of you
who don’t know Jim, he was the lead singer of Nitro and is unmatched by any
other in range and power. (You should know that by now, this far into the book!)
He has over a six-octave range and can sing louder than 120 decibels. Jim was
contacted by Linda Wolkovitch, associate producer of Discovery Channel’s hit
show, MythBusters, to appear on Good Morning America on November 9th.
The MythBusters wanted to prove or disprove the myth about a singer being
able to shatter glass.

Linda had heard that Jim Gillette was famous for shattering glasses with his
voice by using an amplifier and was hoping that Jim would be interested in flying
to New York for the show. Unfortunately (but fortunately for me), he declined

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due to his busy schedule. Linda was frantic to find anyone who could perform
this feat. She asked Jim if he knew of anyone who could fill his shoes…

Jim is the only singer I have heard of, besides Ella Fitzgerald, who could
perform this feat. Although I very seriously doubt I could fill his shoes, Jim told
Linda that he knew of a singer and author who owned a website called The
Voice Connection that could perform this feat with no problem.

So the email went something like: “How would you like to appear on national
television shattering a glass with your voice??? This is no joke and we don’t
have much time. Email me as soon as you get this message, if you are
interested.” So of course I emailed him immediately, which was shortly followed
by a phone call from Jim.

I was in disbelief when he called. Jim had heard me sing years ago and had me
hit a few high notes on the phone. He said that I definitely had the voice for it
and he could teach me over the phone. I talked with Linda that night and told
her I would do it. The original plan was for me to fly to San Francisco to
practice for two days, fly home for the weekend, and finally fly to New York on
November 7th. But due to a change in scheduling with Good Morning America,
the spot was moved up one day to November 8th, so I had to practice at home.

On Wednesday, November 3rd, I received about 100 wine glasses from

MythBusters and an amplification system from Meyer Sound. I set up the
equipment and gave it several tries with no luck. Then Jim called me. He walked
me through the process and explained the physics behind shattering glass and
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told me to email him when I was successful. Within two minutes of hanging up
the phone, I blew up my first glass. I tried it again to make sure it wasn’t a fluke.
By the time I had emailed Jim and he called me back, I shattered six glasses.

My practice and planning schedule was hectic. I shattered nineteen glasses that
Wednesday night, rested my voice on Thursday, and shattered a couple dozen
glasses on Friday. I flew to New York on Saturday and met with the
MythBusters that night for dinner. Actually, Jamie was already in bed, but I had
dinner with Linda, Adam Savage, his wife, Julia, and staff scientist from Meyer
Sound, Dr. Roger Schwenke.

The next day was nonstop work, but it was fun. We began by visiting the set of
Good Morning America and moved on to the Discovery building where I
basically screamed at glasses all day long. Several professional opera singers
from the New York Opera showed up to try out for the spot of my opponent on
the show. Being a voice coach, I was eager to share my newly acquired
techniques and I was very very successful in teaching many of the opera singers
how to shatter glasses with their voices by amplification.

By the end of the night, Roger Schwenke asked me if I was screaming as loud
as I could. I told him no because I was preserving my voice for the show. He
then told me that I was well above 100 decibels and not one of the opera
singers could get above ninety decibels. Jamie Hyneman was also concerned,
afraid that all of the screaming was hurting my voice. I explained to him that by
observing proper voice technique, I could sing, scream, and shout all night and
would be fine the next morning as long as I could warm up.

During the actual show, my opponent, Geneveive Christiansen, the opera

singer we picked from the previous night’s tryout, was allowed to go first on the
show, was given two chances and failed both times.

In her defense, I have to say that the reason we picked her was because she
had repetitive success in shattering glasses (thanks to my incredible vocal
coaching skills!) and shattered several glasses the morning of Good Morning
America during the practice session before the live appearance. It takes
precision and power. Even I had trouble during practice because I didn’t get a
chance to warm up before exploding glasses at 5 AM. On to the actual show-
After her two unsuccessful chances on the live show, I walked onstage,

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screamed for about ten seconds, and POW!!! It shattered!

That just goes to prove how incredibly important the Vocal Stress Release
program is for warming up the vocal instrument! The MythBusters and the
Discovery Network were ecstatic with my glass shattering performance. Linda
told me that they wanted to do a full episode with me and believed that I could
shatter the glasses without any amplification and was hoping I would fly out
sometime in early 2005.

Over the next few months after my GMA appearance, I continued to practice
developing an un-amplified technique. I practiced the techniques from both of
my books and continued to observe the way that the glasses would vibrate from
the harmonic resonance of my voice. A friend of mine by the name of Paul
DeHart would constantly urge me to scream at the glasses. He eventually
started screaming at them with me and I dubbed him my “vocal sparring
partner”.

By the beginning of January 2005, I shattered my first glass and shattered

fourteen more before flying to San Francisco to film the MythBusters episode. To
prove that I could deliver the goods and inspire the MythBusters crew to fly me
out as soon as possible, I decided to record myself shattering glass number
eight and sent the clip to Linda Wolkovitch, so that Jamie Hyneman, Adam
Savage, and executive producer Peter Engle could see for themselves that it
was definitely possible. My diabolical plan worked and the following week,
scheduling was planned for my trip.

When filming the episode, I shattered glass number sixteen, officially making me
the first person in history ever documented to shatter a glass by voice alone. As
of this moment as I am typing on my laptop, I have shattered a total of eighty-
seven glasses by voice alone (two in a row, three in a row, four in a row three
different times, five in a row, eight in a row, and two at once) and over sixty
glasses with the aid of amplification (including several shattered glasses for the
Sonic1 toothbrush infomercial). It’s an addiction that I’ll never quit, haha.

Useful Tip: The Dirt on Shattering Glass

The best way to learn how to shatter a wine glass is to have Jim Gillette
personally teach you. Somehow I think I’m the only one he was willing to
teach! The next best thing to having Jim as your vocal coach is to buy his

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video Vocal Power from Metal Method. If you are still serious about trying to
accomplish this feat on your own, you will need the following: crystal wine
glasses, straws, protective eyewear, and, of course, both of my books: Raise
Your Voice and The Ultimate Breathing Workout. You should NEVER attempt
shattering glasses without first developing the power and range of your voice
or you’ll risk the chance of damaging your instrument. The safety glasses are
to protect your eyes from glass shards. The straws will help you to zero in on
the frequency it takes to shatter the glass.

Useful Tip: A Word About Wine Glasses

The glasses I use are called Schott Zwiesel and are imported from Germany,
but I buy them through Brentwood Wine Company (US). These are the same
type of glasses that Nitro used on tour and for the making of the “Freight
Train” video. These aren’t typical lead crystal wine glasses. They are titanium
crystal wine glasses and are considerably harder than lead crystal glasses. In
other words, good luck breaking them. I do want you to know that breaking
glasses CAN be done. Since the viewing of MythBusters, I’ve seen several
singers putting up glass breaking video clips on sites like Youtube.com, using
different wineglasses and I am proud of each and every one of them. But, if
you want to challenge me, you better bring some Schott Zwiesel glasses and
not some cheap easy glass, haha. It would be easier to break a regular lead
crystal glass as opposed to these babies. When purchasing glasses for
practice, find a lead crystal glass that has a nice ring to it. If the glass rings
when you tap it, it will be easier to break.

Shattering crystal wine glasses requires the perfect combination of the exact
frequency and the right amount of amplitude. The glasses I have shattered have
fallen between a Tenor high C and an Alto F, which is five steps higher. Every
glass is different due to the individual makeup and density of the glass. Most
glasses are not tuned to true pitch. For instance, a glass which might sound like
a Tenor C# or 550 hertz might be slightly higher (550.3 hertz) or lower (549.9
hertz).

If you cannot match the frequency exactly, it will not break. It’s like tuning in a
radio station. If I wanted to listen to my favorite radio station, WAMX, out of
Huntington West Virginia, I’d have to tune in to 106.3. If I tuned in to 106.2 or
106.4, I would hear nothing but static. Do you see what I mean?

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Of course, the other main factor is amplitude. The sound has to be extremely
loud. The glass I shattered for the MythBusters show took 105 decibels to
break. The average trained singer cannot get above eighty to ninety decibels.
So don’t be disappointed if you aren’t able to shatter a glass by voice alone.
There is still a chance that you can break one with the aid of an amplifier. We
had great success in New York with singers from the New York Opera. I had
what I consider to be the best training success with Adam Savage, when I
coached him through breaking three glasses in a row with the aid of an amplifier.
So if you still want to try it, here are some pointers.

When you purchase your first crystal wine glass, try finding one that isn’t very
high in pitch and has a resonating ring when you tap it. The more a glass rings
from the flick of your finger, the easier it will be to shatter. If the ring of a glass
dies quickly or sounds thuddy, it will be harder to break. It will still break, but you
will have to work for it. The trick to shattering a glass is to increase this ringing
or resonation until it overpowers the glass.

When first learning how to shatter a glass, you should begin by vocally matching
the same pitch of the glass with a very soft head tone, or a light falsetto. It
doesn’t matter what vowel you use. I’ve used “a” and “ah” but prefer to use
either “e” or “ooh”. Keep your mouth about three to four inches away from the
glass. All you should aim for now is to make the glass resonate by the sound of
your voice. You’ll need to learn how to first sustain a long, steady, pure pitch.
This is why it is important to develop your technique. So practice sustaining
pitches. Once you can match and sustain a pitch that resonates with the glass,
you need to increase the volume a lot! Make sure that you are wearing safety
glasses! A much safer bet would be to set the glass in front of an amplifier. In all
honesty, I prefer for you to use an amplifier for safety purposes.

Just because you can make the glass sing doesn’t necessarily mean that you
have mastered the technique. At this point, you need to add a straw to the
glass. As you approach the exact frequency, the straw will begin to dance. I
have actually had the straw fly straight up out of the glass from the force.

If you are one of my determined students who still choose to practice without
an amplifier, you can practice by sitting the wine glass on a table and screaming
at the glass from about two to four inches away. Practice making the glass
freely vibrate on the table. If the volume is extremely loud and powerful, the
glass will begin to vibrate and move across the table.
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If you are extremely loud, (like me when using the Power Push) the glass will
begin to dance and roll around on its edge. When the glass begins to dance or
the straw begins to move wildly, you are close to the exact frequency. Try to
hold on to the note and add more volume, and, if you are lucky, the glass will
explode.

Useful Tip: Woodshop

If you want to shatter glasses with an amplifier, you’ll need to do the following:
Cut a board the size of the amplifier that you intend to use to shatter the glass.
Find the center of the speaker cone and mark the center on the board. Cut a
two-inch hole in same spot as the center of the speaker cone. Next, set the
board in front of the speaker and line up the wine glass with the hole. Hook a
microphone up to the speaker and start screaming. This will help to focus the
harmonics into the glass, enabling you to shatter the glass more easily.

That’s as far as I can take you; the rest is up to you. The only way to achieve
results is to practice. You never truly know when to expect the glass to shatter.
It still scares me every time I break one. Just watch my face on the Sonic1
infomercial. I know when I’m close because of the loud resonant sound of the
glass. It sounds like two singers singing in unison. When the glass starts to
resonate and the straw starts to dance, maintain that exact frequency. Be
forewarned that if you attempt this feat, I am in no way responsible for any damage
that might occur. I have been cut several times, including glass in my mouth, so it can
be extremely dangerous. Jim Gillette personally warned me of the dangers of getting
glass shards in my throat from the explosion. So take precautions.

Make sure you wear your safety goggles! Also, you might consider putting up a
mesh screen between you and the glass. I always wear safety glasses because
you never know which way the glass will explode. Usually from the force of my
voice, the glass explodes away from my face, but when I shattered glass
number thirty, I got a little piece of glass in my mouth. It’s definitely risky and
scary.

Make sure to apply proper technique. If you wake up with a sore throat and a
hoarse voice, don’t blame me. It takes a lot of pressure to get the glass to
vibrate but if you are using proper technique, a sore throat shouldn’t be a
problem. If it hurts after practicing or the next morning, then your technique is

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wrong. It should never hurt. I screamed on and off for hours both in New York
and San Francisco before filming the amplified and un-amplified version, with no
problem whatsoever. That comes from lots of practice and proper technique.
Now the rest is up to you.

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388
TWENTY-EIGHT
Stage & Studio

So we are FINALLY approaching the end of the book and I feel that I’ve
covered just about everything you could possibly ask out of me. But we
haven’t talked about taking your voice into the studio or hitting the stage like a
professional. These are both truly the subject of an entirely different book, but
still, I would like to leave you with as much information as possible to point
you in the right direction. Let’s start with the stage. I can only offer you
performance tips based on my experiences. I have been playing in clubs
since the tender age of sixteen and could tell some darn funny stories, but I’ll
stick to what’s important; Showmanship:

One thing I am very proud of is my showmanship. I had neck surgery years

ago and needed to recover my voice. So some friends of mine, singer/bassist
Joe Conley, drummer Tim Odle and guitarist Greg Seymour asked me to join
their band. The band was a cover band that played the local bar scene—a
group of guys just having fun and relieving tension, and doing a very fine job

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of it I might add. Greg used to say to me, “Man, every time we play together
and you work the crowd the way you do, I feel like I am performing at a rock
concert. I’ve never played with a more charismatic front man!”

So how did I become an awesome performer? Well, we’ve discussed several

points that play into this factor throughout the book. Learning to turn stage
fright, the nervousness of performing, into an energy explosion is a major key
to the process. People have asked me before if I am nervous when I perform
and I always fib and say “no.” But the truth is, yes, I am. But it is this nervous
tension that I choose to turn into the positive energy that fuels what I do on
stage.

The very first time I performed live with a band was both elating and
frightening for me. But I made it through the entire night without peeing my
pants. What I found is that in order to work the crowd, you must own the
stage. For me, owning the stage is about preparation. I make absolutely sure
that I know a song inside and out before I’ll performed it live, because in the
beginning of my career, there were those times when I didn’t know the lyrics
or keyboard parts and it left me in several embarrassing situations in front of a
crowd of people. I NEVER want you to go through that embarrassment, so
ALWAYS know your material.

I also focus on being charismatic and personally connecting with each

member of the audience. I found that the eyes play an important part in
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connection. I remember being sixteen or seventeen and going to a David Lee
Roth concert. He came flying across the audience on a surfboard and as he
was singing, he pointed directly at me. I looked up at him and pointing at
myself, I muttered, “are you pointing at me?” He shook his head yes. I am
sure there were about a hundred of us in that same area that done the same
thing. But the point is, he made me feel personally connected to him. You own
the stage and everyone’s attention when you are performing, so always
personally connect with the audience. Make them feel a part of the band.

Here are a couple of other things that I personally learned along the way that I
feel helped “set the stage” for me to become a great performer.

I learned early on that it is best to be completely prepared with each and

every song and create a set list that flows from song to song. If there is
anything that really bugs me, it is when a band finishes a song, then pauses
for a moment of dead silence or the guitar player just starts playing a few licks
as they tune their instrument, while trying to figure out what to play next. This
happened many a time with my first “professional” band. As you already
know, I was sixteen and the other members ranged from twenty eight to forty
two years old. The first few gigs were rough because although we had a set
list, it seemed to be loosely knitted together and there were a LOT of pauses
in between songs. Not a great way to teach a young musician the ropes.
Luckily for them, I already started constructing set lists in my mind to make
the gigs more exciting. It eventually rubbed off and we begin sticking to a set
list every time.

That experience was probably for the good, because it taught us the
importance of set list, and the band had it worked out before I left for other
opportunities. I was just an imaginative child and being a keyboard player, I
liked linking songs together that were in the same key. For example, we
played Eddie Money’s “Two Tickets to Paradise” and ran it right into David
Lee Roth’s “Just Like Living In Paradise”, without pausing. Both were in the
same key and both had “Paradise” in the title. Playing on words intrigues
people.

So for me, I like to look for songs that I can use to play on words, songs in the
same key and I am always looking for great set openers. I like to play two to
three songs right off the bat that are full of energy before we slow it down. My
advice is to look at the club you are playing. Is it a rocker club? Then you
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should start off heavy for the first several songs. Maybe you need to start off
slow. I would string together two or three different set lists of the same songs
in different orders and “feel” out the club I am playing in to decide which set
list to choose. Maybe the club isn’t full yet and you should start off with lesser
favorites and save the best songs for later in the night or later in the set.
ALWAYS play for your crowd, but always play like the house is packed!

Another point that I like to make is sometimes it is fun to be theatrical. I

learned to do back handsprings, jump up and do toe touches, swing my guitar
player around (he had a wireless setup), crawl across tables, table dance,
etc… But that was the 80s. Just like figuring out the right set list, your
performance mode depends on the situation because every situation is
different. Maybe you need lots of energy right at the beginning or maybe with
this particular crowd you’ll need to build the momentum.

Your choice of theatrics can vary as much as each situation. Some

performers can own the crowd just by standing there, while others need to run
around like it is a race. Each crowd will have a different energy, so find what
works for you in each unique situation and apply your stage tools to the
situation as needed. Above all, feel the crowd and they’ll respect you.
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Last but not least, NEVER think of the notes when performing. If I am singing
a cover song (or originals for that matter) I never think in terms of how high or
how low a vocalist is singing a particular song. That is vocal suicide. Sing from
passion and sensation. I tend to focus more on the singers tone. For example,
when I sing Zeppelin songs like ‘The Ocean” and “Good Times Bad Times” I
don’t pay attention to which song is higher in pitch. I am more focused on
feeling the song and having fun. But I do try to “channel” the tonality of each
song to capture some of the essence of Robert Plant.

Now that I’ve told you my experience, I’d like to give you a deeper perspective
from one of the most respected rock singers on the planet. Tony Harnell has
over twenty years of performing experience from which to draw from and he
wanted to share some of his performance tips from a mental and health
perspective that he felt were extremely important to maintain your voice on
the road:

LIVE PERFORMANCE TIPS

By Tony Harnell

Performing live is probably the most fulfilling part of being a singer. Most of us
dreamed of standing in front of 20,000 people in an arena basking in the roar
of an adoring crowd. But once you get out there and actually start to tour are
you prepared for it? Do you know what it takes to do 30 shows in 35 days and
not wreck your voice perhaps permanently? Everything from your sleeping
patterns to the food you eat changes and the life you lead at home turns
upside down and inside out. You’re thinking that you’re well rehearsed, that
your voice is in good shape and you’re ready to go, which is great, but there
are different levels of singing which every singer has to get used to.

Level one is singing around the house, in the shower and warming up etc.
Level two would be rehearsing with your band.
Level three would be a live performance.

The amount of energy you put into each level is different by nature and has a
lot to do with what happens with the body in response to the adrenaline
produced by each level. At level one there is very little adrenaline and at level
three it’s in high gear. The only way to really get to the highest level and stay

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there is by doing it. But it is vitally important for any singer, especially a rock
singer to climb up each of these stages on his way to a live performance and
then a tour. It helps your voice and body adjust but it also gives you
confidence that you can feel. There’s nothing like feeling really prepared and
knowing your voice can take the stress and strain of touring.

What you’re really trying to do here with your voice, your body and your mind
is be prepared. Since the mind runs the body, it is vital to be mentally tough
as well as physically fit. The good news is that being ready physically tends to
get the head in shape as well. When you know you’re in good shape it just
makes you more relaxed. But these two things feed off each other constantly.

The mind, being senior to the body, needs to be the fittest and this can be
challenging on the road. The mixture of bad food, inconsistent sleep and
various other obstacles can wreak havoc on your mental state. Often singers
find themselves isolated from the rest of the band and crew while trying to
stay healthy. I recommend finding a balance that works for you. Being happy
and having a good time out there will boost the immune system so try not to
hide in your room all day and worry about your voice. There are times when
you’ll have to stop talking and take special care of your voice when it gets
tired, but sticking to a good regimen will prevent this from being a regular
occurrence.

I would say the most important things to do are:

1. Have a good time and keep things light (this does not include drugs,
cigarettes or excessive alcohol!)
2. Keep some sort of regular cardio exercise in your schedule. Running
is the easiest as you can do it almost anywhere.
3. Eat and sleep as well as you possibly can. Avoid fried foods, eat lots
of veggies and drink massive amounts of water all day, every day.
Not just at gig time. Keep the body hydrated at all times.
4. Take a high quality multi vitamin with a high mineral content and take
extra Vitamin C. Also Omega oils and Aloe Vera Juice are very
helpful.

But really, the most important thing is to have fun, which is why I listed that at
#1. So get out there, kick ass and rock the world!!!

© 2007 Tony Harnell. All Right Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

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As lead singer of the internationally known hard rock band TNT Tony Harnell
gained worldwide recognition at an early age for his unique and powerful
voice and deeply passionate lyrics. An extraordinary vocalist, songwriter and
producer, Tony has led a successful career as a recording and touring artist
for over 20 years. He has sold close to two million albums worldwide during
his career and continues to rack up sales and fans across the globe. To hear
Tony’s amazing voice or to schedule private vocal lessons, go to
www.tonyharnell.com.

Since Tony has touched on the importance that the mind plays on your
performance, I’d like to let one of my students, Phil Taylor, share a great story
with you about how the mind works in live performance situations:

Useful Tip: The Mind Can Conquer All

By Phil Taylor

I've been a student of Jaime's for several years now and with my
experience singing in Future Leaders of the World (EPIC), and now in my
new band, Machina, I've developed a few helpful tricks for singing high
notes with a lot of grit and power, without straining my voice.

Excluding the obvious techniques that Jamie has listed here in this book, one
main thing that I focus on when I'm "screaming," notes, is to use exponentially
less and less force the higher the note is that I'm hitting. Like Jaime says, less
air is needed for higher pitches. I place the high note screams in the soft
palate, use less air force, and actually increase my focus on the inhalation and
open-throat yawning sensation, the higher the note is that I sing (scream).
This works exceptionally well when trying to sustain screams, because you
are not forcing too much air through the cords to hit your high notes, giving
you more air to work with.

I'd also like to share with you a relatively short story about overcoming fear
and anxiety in vocal performance, and how to push through and perform
amazingly on those days where your voice, mind, and body are trying to call it
quits. I was at Times Square in NYC shortly after just performing two major
label showcases with my band Machina; both of which rejected us. These

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were the two labels, which our management and lawyer told us, "we had in
the bag”, one of which paid for our whole trip out there.

So to say the least, my mind was racing with doubt, fear, and negative
thoughts as I entered a 24/7 pharmacy to buy some over the counter sleeping
pills. No I wasn't trying to poison myself, I was just trying to pass out so I could
stop thinking about how nervous, frustrated and shocked I was about the
response we had gotten. I mean; we killed both of these showcases. We
absolutely rocked our hardest. Everybody in the band put in 110% and I hit all
of my notes- even the band confirmed and they were equally shocked.

So I went back to my hotel room, popped about double the recommended

dosage, and focused on the positive- tomorrow is a new day- we play for 6-8
labels and it's a lot easier to win at poker than it is at black jack right? I woke
up about 5 hours before the performance feeling HORRIBLE. I realized that I
had done a very stupid thing, taken too many sleeping pills. Yes, something
that Jaime warned me about in the book- over the counter sleeping pills
dehydrate you significantly. And we all know dehydration is the enemy of the
voice. I was to say the least, starting to freak out. But my road experience and
survival instinct began to kick in and caused me not to lose hope and panic
just yet.

I went into the shower, plugged up the bathtub, closed the door and began
steaming to hydrate my cords. My voice was shot- It was bad. I think I had
really nothing in my full voice above mid-range. Everything above my mid-
range sounded really hoarse and airy, like I was barely hitting the note. With
the biggest showcase and possibly performance in my life at hand, I was
hearing thoughts in my head like, "it's over; you blew your voice out yesterday
and now you’re done. Quit now and save yourself the embarrassment." But of
course I wouldn't hear it, I knew that I had performed under far worse
conditions and made it out okay.

I did lip bubbles and yawning stress relief "ahh" sirens for as long as I could in
the "steam room" and made a little progress. I checked out of my hotel and
set out to sing, regardless of what my body was telling me. The whole time on
my way to the studio, I was just nervous and praying away the anxiety saying
to myself," Oh Lord, PLEASE help me get through this showcase performance
okay. I cannot do this alone. I am tired, worn out and I sound bad today."

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I didn't want to tell anyone else in the band I was freaking out so I didn't say
anything about it- till later. We got to S.I.R. studios in N.Y. and I began doing
my warm-ups in a private room in the back, while drinking hot tea and
gargantuous amounts of water and Vita-water. I also used tons of Vocal-Eze
spray intermittently through my warm-ups to loosen up and lubricate the cords
and ease the strain I was feeling.

After about an hour of work, I was ready to call it quits- I had made very little
progress if any in increasing my range beyond the mids. I decided that maybe
it would be better to reschedule than to embarrass myself in front of the record
labels, publishers, and my band. So I called my lawyer about rescheduling- he
said it was a very bad idea- but if we had to do it, we would. Then I decided I'd
talk to the guys and tell them what I thought. They told me we had to do it or
they would beat the crap out of me. Haha- not really- yeah, pretty much.

We had a pep talk and one of John's stories really motivated me to look past
my circumstances and stay positive. He told me about how has performed
countless numbers of times in foreign countries where he had no assistance
whatsoever (mostly because of the language barrier and health insurance
barrier) with 104 degree fevers where he thought he was on the verge of
death. But, the music and the desire to play is what got him THROUGH his
sickness and actually made him feel better.

That was something that really triggered a light in me. I kind of just thought to
myself," this is what I love. If I do what I love and what is natural to me, it can't
help but make me feel better about my health and my situation at large." So
after that talk, I was determined- “I will do whatever it takes to get prepared for
this showcase and do the best performance of my life.” This was about two
hours before the performance when we had the talk. I continued to warm up
and do the same as I had before, but with a new sense of purpose and
conviction.

Just before it was time to get back with the band and prepare for the
showdown- I got on my knees and begged and prayed for God's strength and
provision during my performance. (Jaime told me he did this before he walked
onto the set of Good Morning America.) Then amazingly, I sang perfectly
throughout the whole show. I killed my notes better than the previous two
showcases, and blew my band and everyone there away. It was a miracle to

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me. It showed me that a positive attitude and sincere prayer to God can help
you overcome even the most daunting tasks.

So I guess what I'm really trying to share is that when you feel a huge
pressure about your performance and are anxious that you might not be able
to do it, remember why you do it and how much you love it- outside of the
business aspect and the pressures of the industry. Be like a child and
have fun when you do it- enjoy the moment and embrace it, knowing that even
when you feel your worst- others have probably felt worse and performed
amazing. You are never alone in your journey as a singer or as a person and
God is always there to help you through the dark moments if you are willing to
admit you need him.

Now, we hit the road and start touring again. At the time of this letter (July
2007) there is label interest in this band, but we are not sure what is going to
happen. Regardless I am highly optimistic. We are going to tour for a few
months in the states and possibly Europe, and then showcase for labels in
L.A. unless we get picked up by somebody sooner. Right now, I'm just happy
to get back on the road and play music for people. If it's in your blood you'll
always do it because you love it- always remember the feeling you got
when you started doing it, and why you started doing it, and you'll keep things
fresh. See ya on the Road!!

P.S. Listen to Jamie he is my Guru and he knows what he's talking about;)

©2007 Phil Taylor. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Phil Taylor is a singer/songwriter/producer from Buffalo, New York. He
has had a major hit on the radio called “Let Me Out” with his previous
band, Future Leaders of The World on Epic Records. He now fronts
Machina, along with members of Evanescence. You can contact Phil and
listen to his music at www.myspace.com/machinametal and
www.myspace.com/philtaylorproductions

Useful Tip: A Health Tip Before a Performance

Mental health and concentration are of great importance for performing, as
you’ve read from Tony and Phil. You have also read how OTC sleeping aids

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wreak havoc on the voice. Aside from staying mentally strong and avoiding
certain medications, there are two supplements that I always use before a
performance: Zinc and licorice. I take two twenty-three milligram zinc
(chewable) tablets and one capsule of licorice about thirty minutes prior to
hitting the stage. Zinc rebuilds and strengthens throat tissue and licorice
reduces vocal cord swelling, both of which are beneficial to vocal health. (Phil
uses ionic Zinc in his water.) Now that you’ve got your stage presence down,
let’s talk a bit about the tools of the singer’s trade, such as microphones,
effects, monitors and how to find the right equipment for you:

Now we’ll hand it over to my engineer, Dallan Beck and let him give you some
tips from the sound engineer’s side of the game:

TOOLS FOR LIVE PERFORMANCE

By Dallan Beck

I know you understand how crucial vocal technique is – that’s why you’ve
purchased this amazing book. And I know that once you apply this method
to your own vocal style, you are going to want to let other people hear what
you can do. That’s where the next step comes in; using the right equipment
to let those new vocal talents shine. You are going to want everything you
can do with your voice to inspire, awe, and most importantly – move your
audience. So let’s see if I can give you some pointers on selecting the right
gear for you:

Let’s start with the microphone. Regardless of whether you are singing live or
in the studio, you will be using a mic to amplify your voice. In a professional
studio, though, they should have a great selection of microphones to choose
from. With live performance however, you can hope that the Live Sound
Engineer has a mic that’s right for you (and that it has been cleaned from the
last time it was used), but that’s just putting your vocal fate into the wrong
hands. Besides being a matter of poor hygiene (do you have any idea how
much saliva and spit is on that mic???), every microphone is a little bit
different.

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So how do you go about finding the one that’s right for your voice? Well, it’s a
little tricky. You can go to your local Pro Audio shop and audition the different
vocal stage microphones while listening to your voice through headphones.
There are a lot of variables though to take into account – your voice that day,
the quality of the headphones and the ability for you to listen to the sound that
is coming out of the headphones and not resonating in your head.

My first recommendation, honestly, is to check out some live performances of

other vocalists that you admire and somewhat compare yourself to. See
exactly what microphones they are using. Nowadays, there are 2 major
choices in stage mics. There is the old standby – basically a dynamic
microphone with a cardioid polar pattern. This simply means that they are
good at rejecting feedback, pick up the most sound when the voice is directly
singing into the top of the mic, and don’t need any special power source in
order to operate. They are always working (unless they have an on/off
switch). The Shure SM58 and Beta 58 have been the most popular in this
category. However, Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, ElectroVoice, Audix and
AudioTechnica all make their own dynamic vocal mics. They cost right around
the $75 to $200 range.

What is becoming more popular, especially because of monitors switching

over to “in-ear” style, are hyper and super cardioid pattern condenser mics.
These have an even “tighter” pickup pattern (in regards to rejecting sounds
coming from the sides), and will be much more sensitive to your vocal
inflections. In the studio we almost exclusively use condenser microphones
to pick up every nuance of the performance. But we don’t have to worry about
feedback, however, live; it is always a consideration. In-ear monitoring has
allowed for more condenser mics to be used without the risk of feedback. The
Neumann KMS 105 and the Shure Beta 87A are popular choices.

Now, the stage condenser mics are going to cost a lot more money. They can
be as much as $700. So, budget is always a concern. You have to be able to
afford it.

What you are trying to get out of the mic, depends on your voice. The
dynamic mics can handle more Sound Pressure Level (SPL) than the
condensers. So if you have a very loud, piercing voice, the dynamic might be
more your choice. You are also going to want to use what’s known as
“proximity effect”. This is an acoustic property that basically states that the
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closer you get to the mic, the more you will exaggerate the amount of low
frequencies that are projected. This, when used properly, can help your voice
sound “bigger” than it really is.

Just remember when testing out mics, that louder and brighter aren’t always
better. People sometimes equate these things. You are really looking for the
most pleasing “mid range” sound possible. This will allow the Live Sound
Engineer, to “crank” you up without driving away the audience. You want to
be loud but not painful to listen to!

So once you find a mic that works for you, we can look at a couple of
processors, which will enhance your vocal delivery – the first of which is
compression.

Compression (again when used properly) will help keep your volumes in
check. What it’s really going to do is “level off” the loudest sounds and “bring
up” the softer tones. It’s going to keep you sounding fuller and more
consistent. You won’t have to “try” so hard to get the sound to project. Not
that compression is a substitute for resonance and proper technique, though.
It will just enhance what you can already do.

If you find yourself setting up the compressor, you are going to have a couple
of parameters to deal with. The most important part to remember however is
the amount of gain reduction you end up with. This is usually a meter read-out
in db (decibels). You will probably be shooting for about 3-6 db of
compression to start with. You don’t want to “squash” your sound, just “tame”
it. There is usually a THRESHOLD control that sets where the onset of
compression will happen. The lower the setting, the more compression you
will end up with. In a more complex setup there will be RATIO, ATTACK,
RELEASE, and KNEE controls, but that’s too much for me to explain here.
JUST REMEMBER that the more GAIN REDUCTION you have, the louder
you will need to turn up the OUTPUT of the device. It should be an even
exchange of decibels between Gain Reduction and Output. We don’t want to
“lose” any volume when using compression.

If you want to add a bit of sustain onto your vocal sound, you can use a
simple DELAY or REVERB effect. With Delay, you are going to have a Time
Delay setting and a REPEAT or FEEDBACK rate. For a basic Time Delay,
start with about 300ms, and adjust the REPEAT or FEEDBACK rate so that it
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“echoes” only 2-3 times. If you can TAP the delay tempo in, then try tapping
the unit at eighth note or quarter note tempos. If you want the Delay to be
more noticeable, then tap at Quarter Note Triplets. When you set the
OUTPUT or MIX of the Delay, just make sure it doesn’t overpower the “DRY”
or original Lead Vocal sound. It’s just supposed to fill in the gaps and add a
“tail” to your endings.

REVERB is always a touchy subject. Some singers just like a little ROOM
reverb, which will just thicken the sound a little bit. Others prefer larger HALL
or PLATE sounds to give them a “big” feel. You don’t need to “cover up” your
voice, so just try to select a setting that complements your voice and the
venue that you are in.

I know that the effects settings were minimal, and it’s a much more complex
selection process. I’ve written a couple of books (one for Recording Vocals)
that goes into the settings and choices (with examples) into much more depth.

I hope that all of your live performances translate all the hard work and
passion that you’ve put into your voice.

©2007 Dallan Beck. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Dallan Beck is the Head Instructor @ SAE Nashville and the former Director
of the Recording Institute @ MI in Los Angeles. He is the Author of the
Musicians Guide to Recording Series for Hal Leonard Publications.

IN THE STUDIO
I hope you’ve picked up some very useful tips that will aid you in your live
performances. Before we end this chapter, I’d like to touch on the studio setting.
If you are going into a studio for the first time, here are a few tips to help make
your experience a lot more fun and less stressful. Again, I can only share from
my experiences. These are some of the same tips I give singers when I am
called into the studio to lend a guiding hand.

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#1-Know Your Material
So that you don’t waste your time (or the engineer’s time) and money, make
absolutely sure that you are 110% familiar with the songs you are going to sing.
I understand that creativity is about “spur of the moment” and it is totally cool if
you wish to change things up vocally on the fly based on how you feel, BUT, it
is still very wise to be absolutely familiar with the material and comfortable
enough to change it up without messing up. That is why I love seeing bands
live. You usually get something new from the artist because they are familiar
enough with their own material to change it up on the spot. It is still a good idea
to song map your song as a guide.

#2-Make all Preparations

If you need anything like teas, water, sprays, etc…make absolutely sure you
have this stuff ready and waiting the night before the session. No sense in
scrambling for things you need at the last minutes. Put together your own little
“gig bag”. Also make sure you get a good night’s rest. There’s nothing worse
than singing when you are tired. If you need some sleeping assistance, try
something like Valerian root, Chamomile, of Kava Kava. Shy away from OTC
sleeping aids, or you’ll end up like Phil Taylor. Sleeping with a humidifier to
prevent vocal dryness is also important. So, make sure you drink plenty of water
and if need be, take a humidifier with you to the studio. You’ll probably have a
waiting room that you can turn into your own little sauna. Take your vitamins
and eat light before going into the studio. Stay away from any foods that seem
to create phlegm in you and do not eat anything that is heavy on your stomach.
If you find that drinking a coffee right before you have a recording session
seems to mess with your voice, then I’d suggest ditching the caffeine rush for
the day. Use an alternative energy booster such as eating an apple or taking
some ginseng. Digestion requires energy and you need ALL your energy for
singing your best.

#3-Create a Setting that Sets the Mood

The one thing you don’t want to feel is uncomfortable. So create a setting that
allows you to have fun, feel uninhibited and sparks creativity. If lighting incense
and turning the lights off helps you to flow as you sing, then by all means, make
it happen. If you like having 30 people in the control room and it builds your
energy and confidence, then speak with the engineer and clear it with him. If
tracking with the band live is the only way you seem to let out your vocal
energies, then bring the band in and do it all at once. Some people prefer to do
the vocals separately. Experiment and do what works for you.
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#4 Don’t Get Too Technical
Yes you are a technical guru now that you’ve mastered this book but do NOT
play the technical head-game in the studio, or live for that matter. Sing from the
heart and sing your butt off. It is too much stress to think thoughts like, “Am I
supporting? Was I flat? Did I land on the note? Where is my core of resonance?
Am I zipping properly?” If you’ve did your workouts and truly studied this book,
then all of this should be second nature, so just sing!

#5 Know Your Voice/ Know Your Limits

I’ve known of engineers who’ve pushed singers over their limit and luckily they
didn’t experience personal vocal damage. The voice is stronger than you think
and can take a lot of stress and weight. But if you’ve reached a point where you
feel like one more vocal line is going to be the end of your voice…walk away!
You might only need a 10-minute break or might need to wait another day. If
you are tired, then your voice is going to be tired. If you wake up and warmed
up but still aren’t ready for a studio session, if at all possible, reschedule. It’s
tough to do when you are on the record company’s dime, but if it’s your own
deal, you can pick and choose. You CAN still record and perform in these
situations, but play it the way that seems to be the best solution for you. And
don’t let an engineer push you vocally into an uncomfortable place. Remember,
if it hurts when you sing, then you are doing something wrong. Don’t blow your
voice just to create a sound that the engineer is hearing in their head. Be
yourself and sing what you sing and you’ll do fine.

Now back to Dallan for some great recording tips for the studio:

VOCAL RECORDING TIPS

By Dallan Beck

Okay singers, it’s time to hit the studio with all of your new techniques
and ideas. Even though your voice is going to be closer than ever to
where you’ve always wanted it, the studio can add to your newfound
talent. Here are a few tips that I hope will help you be happier with your
voice on your recordings:

TIP#1: They’ve invented pitch correction and it’s here to stay. Embrace it;
don’t fight it. What they haven’t invented is an “Emotion and Conviction” plug-

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in. Remember that people want and even need, to be moved by your voice.
They want to believe what you are singing about. So, GO FOR IT! Let the
engineer discretely tweak pitch and timing issues, but DELIVER IT. Practice
as much as you can, but when you start recording – GO FOR IT. LIVE IT,
BELIEVE IT, and MAKE OTHERS BELIEVE IT TOO!

TIP#2: Use Compression while you record. When used “properly”,

compression is supposed to be discrete. Even if you have some bizarre
phobia with compression, then use it in the headphone mix (without printing it
on the track). Compression will allow you to hear all of the nuances of your
voice without having to “try” so hard. It will also tame some of your drastic
dynamics, so you can belt and whisper and still hear it all. The settings and
type of compressor will make a big difference, but to keep the sound from
getting “smaller”, just remember 2 things:
1. However much GAIN REDUCTION you use, make sure to
compensate the same amount with the OUTPUT. You shouldn’t
lose any decibels or level from compression.
2. To keep the sound from being squeezed, use a SHORT release
time. You don’t want the compressor working past the time it
should “let go’ of the sound.

TIP#3: You have two choices when it comes to piecing together your final
vocal track. You can “comp” from multiple takes of vocal tracks, or “punch-in”
on a track wherever you need fix-its. A very common way to put together the
vocal is to record a few takes and pick the one that is the ”best”. Then go over
it and re-record where you feel the performance could be improved. Just
make sure to sing along and try to keep the “vibe” of the original take.

TIP#4: To “thicken” up some vocal tracks, you can use multiple vocal takes
simultaneously. The way it works in the mix, is to PAN them. Don’t just pile
them up on top of each other! That just turns into a type of mono chorus
effect. Pan one of them far left and another far right. Then take another
couple of takes and pan them slightly left and right (about 3 o’clock and 9
o’clock). It’s IMPORTANT that these takes are all “Keepers” and very similar
in performance. You don’t want them to be perfect “copies”, because those
won’t “pan” to our ears (they’ll simply collapse back to mono). It will actually
help that they are “human” and not perfect. The differences will help create
fullness in separation and frequencies.

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TIP#5: In order to get a “vocal effect” without sounding like a huge distraction,
try this: Set up a Stereo Delay. This should allow you to have separate
settings for the left channel and right channel. Use two different settings for
the delay times on each; an EIGHTH note timing for one side and EIGHTH
note triplet or SIXTEENTH note timing for the other. Make sure that the
REPEATS or FEEDBACK setting is set to 0 or 1. We are not looking for TAP
Delays, just a single repeat of each timing. Pan them left and right, with the
main vocal still in the center. Because the delay values are so short, they will
simply thicken up the main vocal, if you blend them level wise. If it’s too strong
of an effect for you, take the delays and feed them into a small reverb first.
This will set them back in the mix a little, and make them less noticeable. OR,
use a High Pass Filter to roll off the top end and “darken” the delays, until they
“sit” with the vocal in the track.

I hope these tips help you with your vocal recordings. If I can be of any further
help, find me on my website at www.dallanbeck.com. Keep the music alive.

©2007 Dallan Beck. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Useful Tip: Four Vocal Tracks

Whenever I record vocals, I always record four vocal tracks of the same vocal
line. I then pan one hard left, one hard right, one 70% left and one 70% right.
It creates this “larger than life”, similar to a choir of “you”. You can also take
one vocal line and paste the same line on four different tracks. Then play
around with throwing each individual track slightly out of time with each other
as well as changing the pan of each track. The more you play with this
approach, the more interesting effects you can create.

Before moving on, I’d like to let one of my closest friends and favorite singers,
Magali Luyten, present to you her feelings on the art of passion as a vehicle
for releasing the ultimate performer/singer/recording artist within:

Useful Tip: Power, Passion, Performance

By Magali Luyten

I had a hard but very interesting vocal experience during the recording of the
vocals for VIRUS IV’s “Dark Sun”. Although I recorded several albums in the
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past, I’ve never felt such a “self imposed” and “useless” pressure on my
shoulders (or should I say, on my vocal cords...)! It all started perfect but with
a schedule of complete singing days (for about 8 hours a day). Now that it’s
over and done, one simple thought comes up in my mind; that was so crazy!!!

Album recording and stage performing are both different things. Singing live is
like a celebration; every gig is different, (the acoustic, the audience, the
weather, the repertoire you decide to play, the way you feel that special
day…) It allows you to measure out and to adapt things according to each
situation.

To record an album means you need to sound “perfect” from the very first to
the very last track. Even if you’re used to singing a lot (as I am), a whole day
of studio singing is physically and also mentally exhausting, especially in this
kind of music and aggressive singing. I started to feel tiredness in my voice
but I didn’t take care of the signals that my body was sending me. I continued
to bring out that same power through all the tracks and paid the price
afterwards because I lost my voice. I couldn’t reach the higher notes and
wasn’t even able to talk clearly anymore... It wasn’t about wrong technique.
But for the first time, I had been seriously confronted with my physical limits.
My voice and mind needed some rest and I had to accept it.

I stopped talking as much as I could, cleaned my throat 5 to 6 times a day

(see the gargling tone ex.), had long sleeping nights and I looked around for
some support from the outside. I really felt down but not despaired! I called up
Jaime and he helped me to recover what I needed the most- self-confidence
and faith. He had a great positive view on the situation.

Following his advice, I visualized myself singing the last vocal lines with the
same power as I gave in the beginning, standing behind the microphone
repeating myself with a great belief, “you can do it, you are gonna rock and
kick everyone’s ass!!!” I felt the energy of all the people that I love and
admire, like they were surrounding me. It gave me extra energy to achieve
success and it really worked! Remember. A strong will in a positive mind,
definitely helps to heal the body.

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When you start singing for the first time, you are not thinking about HOW to
sing...You just do it and it makes you feel, instead of analyse your voice.
When I decided to study my instrument, I was very excited to discover how a
larynx or vocal cords looked and to read about breathing and vocal
techniques. I was so happy to be able to explain to people about my
instrument, as a guitarist would proudly talk about his guitar or his new amp...
but theory without practice won’t bring you real understanding and it
makes no big sense.

So I really started to work seriously, realizing that I had a long way to go!
Doing the exercises over and over again appeared to be sometimes a real
nightmare because I felt like I would have to relearn everything from the start.
If you ever get that same feeling, then please believe me, it’s NOT true!
Singing is about passion. You sing how you feel, and if the feeling is right,
then a man should not even need a book or teacher... cause it’s a natural and
typical action of human, like we eat, we sleep, we cry, we laugh... we sing.

I had a period when I was so much intent on concentrating on technique, that

I found myself thinking about nothing else than “technique”. That meant no
place for feelings or emotions...and worse, no pleasure anymore! I finally
found out that the only thing I had to do was to adjust things I did wrong or in
other words, all the things that hurt me vocally.

Technique is important to correct wrong habits, to increase the quality of our

instrument, to find out, and to understand how our body is working...and that’s
it!

Therefore, help from someone else can be very useful, like a teacher, coach
or book, because they will guide you in the right direction again. It’s also very
important and motivating to have someone to answer the questions you may
have, someone at your side who follows your vocal evolution. But keep in
mind that they won’t make it for you. Even if you have the chance to get
one of the best vocal coaches on this planet (like Jaime Vendera...!), he will
agree with me 100% to tell you that work is the clue if you want to get a
positive result!

When “practicing” the exercises, your full concentration should be on

technique. Listen to yourself, feel what’s happening inside of, and around
your body... like “Where is my resonance? Am I on the right pitch? Am I
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applying the power push?”... Be very critical with yourself, don’t be too quickly
satisfied, and try to reach that “perfect sound”. That way, your body will
develop the right mechanisms and reflexes.

But when you “perform” or “record”, just forget about technique, forget about
perfection!! Let your feelings do the job; Sing from the heart. Don’t worry
about doing right or wrong; just give yourself away! Sometimes even
“fragility” can be a strong tool to reach people’s heart, because you touch
them with your real YOU, you break the ice, you let them enter your world...
and that’s the way it should be!

If you fear that you won’t be able to reach that “high pitch you reached the
other day”, if you hesitate just for one second, then you are creating a prison
against freedom around you! That’s what I discovered. But if you visualize,
and stop thinking about how you did it, don’t hesitate for a moment and just
go for it, I guarantee that you will blow them all away with your voice!

Honestly, there are things I can do just thanks to feeling and if I start “thinking”
about how it works, then the head game starts! The thing I’m most sure of is
that “feeling” allows my mind and body to work together, to be comfortable to
produce those particular sounds...

It’s incredible how feeling creates the magic!

Just imagine and compare...

If you, as a singer, are concentrating too much on your performance, big are
the chances that you will look at the ceiling, at the floor or will close your eyes,
but rarely will you catch the audience. Anyway, you will gain respect and
admiration for that great vocal performance you just did. But I’m sure you will
miss at least half of the pleasure you could have had.
You can concentrate and prepare to do a great vocal performance, but once
you get on the stage, let all your feelings guide you to make the show. Let
things happen the way they come. You want to share this great moment with
your audience and make it something unforgettable for everyone. Rely on
your natural talent, and don’t be afraid to show sometimes “fragility” if it
happens naturally. You will not only get respect, but you’ll feel the love in
return from your fans and a real satisfaction coming from the inside.

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Concentrating on technique demands too much to let enough space for
feeling.... both need to be separated!

The music world can sometimes be very superficial; so don’t become

superficial. Use your feelings to be yourself, to make it something strong,
something real.

We are all unique... YOU are unique, but we were all gifted with the ability to
feel joy, sadness, excitement, love, hate, fear, rage, rebellion, hesitation, faith,
freedom, peace, despair, hope... so many different feelings that can be
expressed through the “simple” fact of our voice.

Your mood, facial expression and the sound of your voice are dictated by your
feelings, and if you imagine colours and contrasts while singing… it will
reinforce the whole thing even more… it works for me…. You should try it out!

You may use all possible kinds of singing, none is better than another, (and
understand me right but you may even sing out of tune...) if it’s done from
the heart, if there’s conviction behind you voice, then it’s worth it to be
heard. All techniques are interesting from growling to lyrical singing; they all
reflect different moods, tastes and feelings!! We absolutely need “difference”
to keep on living in an interesting world.

So don’t think you have no other choice than growls or screams if you
want to sound BIG.

Try to find out your REAL VOICE; don’t expect anything precise, because you
might be disappointed not to sound like your favourite singer... Your
instrument is first of all physical and that’s something you cannot change.
Focus on the qualities you HAVE and not on those you’re just dreaming
about!!!

Power is not about height or having big lungs. It’s not the amount of air that
will give you power but the resonation you put in your voice. If you want to be
powerful, then feel yourself a powerful person, feel all the energy resonate
and vibrate through your whole body. If you want to sound light and fragile,
then let yourself flow on a wave of sweet sensibility...

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Therefore, dare to jump in the unknown, explore the unexplored, and be
curious to discover all the sounds your body’s able to create. Don’t
forget to do the vocal stress routine to release your body. Use your full
potential and I’m sure you’ll be surprised!

©2007 Magali Luyten. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Magali Luyten is a professional singer, vocal coach and currently lead vocalist
for her band Virus IV. Her much in demand voice has had her recording with
bands such as Beautiful Sin, Ayreon and Frameshift. She can be reached for
her vocal services and vocal coaching through www.magali-luyten.com.

TOOLS FOR SINGERS

Now that you’ve mastered technique and are ready for the stage and studio, I
want to finish this chapter by introducing you to a company whose primary
goal is digital effects, software and monitors for singers in order to give
singers the tools they need to control their own sound and compare to the
technology of other musician’s such as guitarist. TC Helicon is truly the state
of the art choice for vocal processing:

Digital Tools of the Trade

By Kevin Alexander

Dallan has covered microphones, so I wanted to talk about vocal processors.

It is hard to believe, but there isn’t more than a handful of professional audio
companies that dedicate some of their precious research and development
resources to technology-based solutions for the singing voice. There are
countless guitar processing companies, keyboard amplifier companies,
microphone companies, virtual instrument companies, and the like - some of
whom might dip their development fingers into spinning a vocal plug-in, or a
vocal specific microphone. But none focus on a full line of vocal-specific
products. It was upon this barren landscape for those passionate about the
human voice that we created TC-Helicon Vocal Technologies.

411
At TC-Helicon we truly believe that the voice is the world’s most beautiful
instrument. We don’t mean to degrade other beautiful instruments, but the
singing voice is the anthropological source for all things melodic. In the words
of the founders of TC-Helicon,

“Everything we do is dedicated to this instrument (the singing voice). We

envision a world where those who work with the voice in live and recording
situations can bring out the very best from any performance, and where the
possibilities of vocal craft are endless.”

Our mission was galvanized by a simple question: "Isn’t it time that someone
finally provided dedicated tools and solutions for voice?"

So what does this all mean to singers? It means that you should know there is
a dedicated group of engineers, researchers and product specialist based in
Victoria, BC, Canada that spend every waking moment of their working lives
listening, talking, singing, and interacting with singers and those who have
passion for the singing voice. All this knowledge and experience is used to
design products respecting and empowering the modern vocalist. Our
products focus on removing barriers and inspiring creativity in performance.
That’s why our products range from near-field personal vocal monitors to
floor-based vocal multi-effects pedals.

So why the name TC-Helicon? “TC” comes from our parent company, TC-
Group, which is a collection of the longest running and most respected brands
for the professional, providing elegant audio solutions anywhere sound is
heard. The beautiful side of the name “Helicon” is based on Greek mythology.

Helicon is a mountain in Southern Greece where the Muses – those nine

daughters of Zeus who inspire musicians, singers, poets and artists – were
said to reside. In mythology, Helicon is a place where the singing voice is
elevated to its highest levels. The most distinguished Muse, Calliope
("beautiful voice") was the goddess of epic poetry and song. Her son,
Orpheus, was the most talented musician and singer of Greek mythology. His
songs were so beautiful that they could calm wild animals and storms. Erato,
another Muse, was the goddess of love poetry and mimicry – she was able to
transform her voice into any person.

©2007 Kevin Alexander. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.

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Kevin Alexander is the CEO of TC-Helicon Vocal Technologies. Kevin has
spent the majority of his life improving the quality of audio for those that want
it, but don't understand it. Kevin's experience spans live-sound and recording,
sales, product development and project management, benefiting companies
including TC-Group, Roland Canada, IVL, Mackie, DBX, Korg and many
others. Involved in the original business plan for TC-Helicon Vocal
Technologies, Kevin freelanced for the company in various strategic roles
before becoming CEO in 2003. He is happy he can bring his work home and
share it with his wife Katherine, a professional singer/musician and choral
conductor.

In the summer of 2006, TC-Helicon launched the TC-Helicon Voice Council

www.voicecouncil.com. The following is the charter for the voice council:

“We seek to empower the modern vocalist by providing information &

educational content regarding world-class voice technique, voice
technology, and tools.”

Some people feel voice pedagogy (the science of teaching) and voice
processing tools should never be intertwined. This is unfortunate when you
consider that most live performance, recording or rehearsal will use modern
technology to enhance the performance. Voice technology and tools are here
to stay. To cut to the chase, if a prudent deployment of vocal processing
serves the listener well, adds interest to the music and empowers the vocal
artist, bring it on!

The products suggested next in this book on the following pages are what we
believe to be the bare essentials for a modern vocalist from each of our
business lines; plug-ins, rack mount processors, monitors and pedal
processing systems.

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VOICE TONE PEDALS:

“CREATE”: Producer-in-a-pedal
The modern vocalist can now add effects with a foot pedal just like guitarists
and keyboardists can! Studio-caliber audio algorithms, transparent
converters and fastidious analog audio design lead to a smooth sound that
makes you want to sing your best while your fans get, well, fanatic. It just
wouldn't be enough to make products that sound this good without making
sure they stand up to the rough treatment they're going to get onstage or
kicking around a rehearsal room floor.

* TC-quality reverb and delay processing

* Contemporary vocal distortion effects
* Telephone and megaphone sounds
* 99 music-style-based effects combinations offer fast setup
* Flexible A/B effects switching
* 5 "favorite" user presets
* Quick and easy tweaking of patches
* XLR mic level I/O in stereo or mono
* Clean, studio quality mic preamp with phantom power
* Tap tempo

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“CORRECT”: Live Engineer and Correction-in-a-pedal
Correct combines pitch correction with tone and dynamic shaping to put a
recorded gloss on live singing. Sensing algorithms developed at TC-Helicon
automatically adjust the recording industry techniques of multiband EQ,
compression and de-essing for you, so you get the best sound with the least
amount of effort. Partner your new sound with auto-chromatic pitch correction
which helps you sing more in tune, much like a metronome helps for playing
in time. The miniaturization of sound engineers and vocal coaches was a
challenge, but the results will surely impress you and your audience!

* Auto-chromatic pitch correction improves your pitch

* Adjustable auto-smooth compression
* Multiband auto-shape EQ dynamically sweetens raw mic sound
* Sibilance-smoothing de-ess algorithm
* Add rich lows on deep voices with the Warmth button
* Accurate input pitch and correction display
* XLR mic level I/O: Correction can go to monitors, mains or both
* Clean, studio quality mic preamp with phantom power

To see these pedals in action, go to www.voicetonepedals.com.

VOICE WORKS PLUS: Harmony | Modeling | Effects

Voice Works Plus features 4th generation TC-Helicon harmony technology,
Voice Modeling™, and the Transducer and µMod (micromod) blocks from

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VoicePro. These offer the ability to gently sculpt the character of the voice,
multiply it or place it into a megaphone among many others.

TC Electronic reverb, delay, pitch correction and dynamics algorithms from

VoiceWorks round out its capabilities. Whether you're playing live gigs,
recording songs in your studio, or both, Voice Works Plus offers high quality
vocal processing you’re looking for.

PLUG-INS: Harmony 4

With Harmony4, you can take advantage of TC-Helicon’s research and

implementation of humanization features, the accuracy and speed of the
patent-pending pitch detection and other great algorithms you’ll discover
when you use Harmony4 for harmonies on your next song.

416
VOICE SOLO XT: Personal monitoring
The wedge is dead. Imagine hearing yourself
through a loud, clean, near-field monitor without
resorting to wedges that blur your PA sound and
consume stage space. You know you want to hear
yourself better so make it happen with the personal
monitor that you control, Voice Solo XT.

I hope our presentation leaves you yearning to build

your vocal effects arsenal; it’s time for singers to
take that same lead as guitar players and build their
rack system to develop their individual sound. We
invite you to visit www.tc-helicon.com to learn more
about our solutions for the modern vocalist and
keep informed on world-class vocal techniques from
the world’s best voice teachers at
www.voicecouncil.com.
©2007 Robert Lunte.

417
418
TWENTY-NINE
Daily Vocal Routine
Congratulations, you’ve done a fantastic job! You’ve FINALLY finished
reading this book! I hope I didn’t bore you. Before I let you go, I want to
leave you with a method for tracking your individual growth and progress.
Over the years, I’ve heard many students saying, “I don’t see much
progress.” So I have them keep a daily diary so that they can hear (or
see) what I hear. This reminds me of when I decided to lose some serious
weight and regain my health. I took weekly pictures of myself with my shirt
off because to look in the mirror everyday, I couldn’t see the weight loss.
But when I referred to the pictures, especially after twenty weeks, I was
astounded to see the difference. I was a whole new person or rather a
whole “less” person.

So the best way for you to “see” the gains you are making is to track your
progress by keeping a daily vocal diary. Keeping track of your progress will
help keep you motivated and set your daily vocal habits to routine. By
having to write down your vocal related chores daily, you will be much
more inclined to make sure that you don’t slack off in the exercise
department. I have found that by recording your progress, so that you can
review from time to time, is an excellent way to build excitement and self-
esteem.

On the next few pages are “filled in” graphs of a Daily Practice Guide to
give you a demonstration of how to create your own vocal diary. Here is
how to fill out your own Daily Practice Guide:

1. Start on a Monday by filling in the date at the top of the

guide. Then you will fill out each box in each column for
every day of the week.

2. If you perform the Vocal Stress Release program, then

check the box. If not, then put an “X” in the box.

3. Record your highest and lowest note for the Falsetto

419
 Slide. Then record your average-sustain time. If you
didn’t keep track of your sustain time, just leave that part
blank. Be sure to make note of which variation of the
exercise you were using.

4. Record your highest and lowest note for the

Transcending Tone exercise. Next, record your average
sustain time, if keeping track of your sustains. Write down
which variation you were using that day.

5. Record your highest and lowest note for the Siren. Again,
record your average-sustain time if applicable and make
note of which version you were using.

6. Record which type of vibrato you practiced for that

particular day. Use “P” for pitch, “L” for larynx, “S” for
stomach, and “J” for jaw vibrato. Also record the highest
note and what metronome setting was used. If you
practiced more than one type of vibrato, make sure to list
them all.

7. Record any Non-Vocal exercises you performed in the

Non-vocal box and how many reps of each exercise you
performed.

8. If you are adding any advanced technical exercises such

as the low grit exercise, reinforced falsetto exercise,
dynamics exercise, etc., make note of it in the Advanced
section and mark your gains.

9. If you are taking your daily dose, put a check mark. If you
are taking anything extra, be sure to list it as well. If you
forget to take your daily dose, put an “X” in the box. If you
only forget a certain thing, put a small “x” and list the
item(s) you forgot such as vitamin C…

10. Notes are very important. Always mention anything in

particular that you feel has affected your voice. This could

420
 be a cold or maybe just feeling a little down. On the other
hand, also make note of any days your voice feels great.
Every human being goes through a specific cycle. This is
what is known as your biorhythm. Your body will go
through a twenty-eight day period of ups and downs.
Your goal is to figure out your individual cycle. Over a
period of several months of keeping a daily diary, you will
be able to track your biorhythm, and will know when your
body is beginning its down cycle. At this time of your
cycle, you could increase your intake of certain vitamins
and herbs to help maintain your energy level.

11. Finally, list the songs you are practicing that week. If you
would like to make any notes about a particular song
such as, “I’m still having a little trouble with the break on
song number one” or “song number two is really easy”,
write your notes beside that particular song.

DAILY PRACTICE GUIDE

Week 09/03/2007

Mon. Tues. Wed. Thurs. Fri. Sat. Sun.

VSR √ √ √ √ X X
√
Falsetto G5 G5 G5 D5 X G5
Upscale- 15 sec 15 sec 20 sec X X Speed
A3 A3 A3 A3 X G#3
Downscale- 10 sec 10 sec 15 sec X X 17 sec
Transcending B4 C5 C5 A4 X D5
Tone 10 sec 10 sec 10 sec X X Speed
Upscale-

Downscale-
A3 A3 A3 A3 X G3
10 sec 11 sec 15 sec X X 15 sec
Full Voice B4 C5 C5 G4 X D5
Upscale- 10 sec 10 sec 10 sec X X Speed
G2 G2 F#2 F2 X E2
Downscale- 15 sec 15 sec 10 sec X X 11 sec

421
Vibrato Pitch Pitch Larynx Jaw X X
Pitch, Larynx 60 bpm 60 bpm 60 bpm 60 bpm X
Stomach, Jaw G4 G4 G#4 G4

Non-Vocal Bullfrog Bullfrog Bullfrog Bullfrog X Bullfrog

(Bullfrogs, 100X 100X 100X 100X X 150X
Tongue Vocal
Pushups Fitness

Advanced Eee Eee Eee Eee X Whistle

(Scream, Scream Scream Scream Scream X Slide
Grit, Growl D#5 F5 F5 E5 E6
Whistle)

Daily Dose √ √ √ √ √ √ √

NOTES:

I finally did it! I hit a Tenor high C on Tuesday. I also increased my sustain
time. I started feeling sick Thursday. My range went way down. So, I started
taking Goldenseal, Echinacea, Colloidal Silver and some Zinc Lozenges, as
well as my usual daily dose. Oh yeah, I also increased my vitamin C intake for
a few days. Being sick threw my whole vocal workout and regular exercise
routine off. Luckily by Saturday night, I started to feel better, so I went for a
swim and performed the 5 Rites. Sunday, I did a speed routine to get my
voice back into the swing of things. I actually went higher with no problem.
Started doing the Bullfrog 150X and added Tongue Pushups. Working a lot on
the Eee Scream exercise and starting to play with some whistle slides. Also
did some cardio exercise to help sweat any toxins out.

422
 WEEKLY SONG SELECTION
Week 09/03/2007

1. Sky by RA-Good Workout!

2. Separate Ways by Journey-Tough song.

3. Like a Stone by Audioslave-Good song for low end of my range.

4. When Will I See You Again by Babyface- Easy pop song, nice tone.

5. Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin-This song just fits me, period!

That’s it. After you review the Daily Practice Guide, simply create your own
copy or use a regular diary. Better yet, we offer another book in the Raise
Your Voice series called The Ultimate Vocal Workout Diary, which is a
one-year diary to cover the techniques in both Raise Your Voice and The
Ultimate Breathing Workout. So, regardless of choice, start your Daily
Practice Guide now and begin taking notes today! This is a map to your
progress. You can track your range increase, your sustain times for
breath control, your mastery of vibrato, and your vocal accomplishments
through the songs you sing. When you look back over your progress, you
will develop your sense of accomplishment.

What are you waiting for? I have given you just about every possible key I
have found for improving your voice and you are still just sitting there?
Okay, I’ll give you a chance to review the glossary, but I expect you to,
grab your pitch wheel, drink some water, fill in your Daily Practice Guide
and get busy Raising Your Voice! Just remember, you’ll only see a change
in your voice if you actually apply yourself to these techniques.

Like Jim Gillette says, “You wanna make it in the music business? Who
doesn’t? The only way you are going to develop the voice you want is to
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE,
PRACTICE. Don’t make me repeat myself: PRACTICE, PRACTICE,
PRACTICE!!!”

Make sure that you stop by my websites, www.raiseyourvoicebook.com,

www.thevoiceconnection.com and www.jaimevendera.com to let me know
how you are progressing.

423
Final Useful Tip: Follow Through!!!
Your voice isn’t going to change itself, so take Jim’s advice and start to
practice, practice, practice! You cannot expect great things if you do not
commit yourself to the art of improvement. Make me proud and bust your
butt!

Final Thought
I figured I’d better save this part until the very last so that you wouldn’t get
mad at me. After you’ve been practicing the exercises for at least six
months and are feeling comfortable with the routine, I need you to take a big
step with me. Completely forget about the visualizations and quit focusing on
technique. I know it’s scary, but you can do it. All of this intense training was
for your brain. It’s time to rely on feeling. The core of resonance and
resonance expansion visualizations were to train you to help reach your
vocal goals. The focus on placement and the Power Push was just to get
your body conditioned to do these things naturally. Let it go and let it flow.
Sing from the soul. Your body knows these things like second nature now (if
you’ve been practicing.) Time to shine!

Now you must learn to sing from the heart and not the mind. Singing is a
natural act and it is supposed to be fun; rely on the feeling of resonance as
opposed to visualizing it. An old friend of mine used to say, “Jaime,
you gotta sing with heart, mind & soul.” He was referring to that
connection to the passion of singing. Lajon Witherspoon, lead singer
of Sevendust, told me that singing, for him, was all about the passion!
Singing can be a mind game, so don’t think about it; just let your voice flow.
You’ve worked hard on developing your voice and now it is time to sing!
This doesn’t mean to quit practicing the exercises. Keeping practicing
everyday, but rely on feeling!

Think about the car analogy one more time. Let’s see; if your water is oil,
your breath is your fuel, understanding the voice relates to safe driving rules,
well then emotion must relate to driving. Your emotions drive your voice to
anywhere you want to go to relate the whole singing process and share your
feelings with the audience. I know how to add oil and fuel to my car and I
understand the rules. Now I just want to drive. It’s time for you to do the
same. Sing with heart and you’ll be driving on cruise control!
424
Above all else, remember these words of wisdom from singer Tony
Harnell: “If it feels good, then you are most likely using correct vocal
technique. If it hurts and you are straining, you are doing it wrong; you are
probably pushing and trying too hard. So make sure it feels good every time
you sing!”

With all of that said, I hope you have enjoyed reading Raise Your Voice.
Hopefully you have discovered things about yourself and your voice that
has enabled you to expand upon your singing abilities.

Don’t let your search end here. As I said in the beginning of this book, you
can never learn enough about the voice and singing. In fact, that is why I
enlisted the help of so many talented singers and vocal coaches for the
writing of this edition. I don’t have all the answers, but I have a LOT of
questions :) I hope you do too. I am continually searching for ways to
improve my voice and I hope that you’ll do the same.

If you have been working hard to raise your voice, then you have earned
a sense of accomplishment and deserve a pat on the back. But the real
pleasure will come from the applause you receive from the people you
touch with your voice. So, keep practicing and live each day as a singer.
The rewards will be overwhelming. Good Luck!

If you are interested in purchasing any products mentioned in this book,

please refer to the appendix section in the back of this book. For those of you
interested in one on one time to develop the Raise Your Voice techniques, I
am available for private instruction, virtual lessons and song/vocal
evaluation critiques, time permitting. Any questions concerning the
techniques in this book are welcome. Just email me at venderaj@msn.com
Again, time permitting, I’ll answer your email.

God Bless,

425
426
Raise Your Voice
Glossary
A

Abdominal area: The cavity of the body between the chest and the
pelvis.

Abduction: The process of breathing when the cords are apart to allow the
passage of air.

Adduction: The process of the vocal cords squeezing together from the
back of the throat to the front, shortening the vibrating space.

Affirmation: A repetitive positive statement.

Airflow: The release of air from the lungs through the throat and out the
mouth.

Air reserve: The amount of air contained in the lungs used to sustain a
lyrical passage during singing.

Alto: A female vocal classification covering a range from A3-E5.

Analgesic: A drug used to relieve pain.

Antihistamine: A drug used for treating allergies and colds.

Antiseptic: A substance that kills the germs that can cause decay or
infection.

Articulation: The proper pronunciation of words.

Articulators: The area of the human anatomy responsible for word

production.

427
 B

Baritone: A male vocal classification covering a range from B2-A4.

Bass: A male vocal classification covering a range from E2-E4.

Break point: The area of the voice between chest and throat/head
resonance where the voice “shifts gears”.

Breath control: The ability to control the airflow between the vocal cords.

Breath support: The relationship between the diaphragm and

stomach/back muscles that supports breath release.

Chest breathing: Breathing with the upper part of the chest, which only
utilizes about one-third of maximum lung capacity.

Chest cavity: The part of the body enclosed by the ribs and the sternum.

Chest voice: The lower part of one’s range that produces mostly chest
resonance.

Chromatic octave: A musical scale that covers twelve notes, in half-step

increments.

Cilia: Tiny hairs in the body that line the sinuses and throat which act like
small filters to prevent foreign objects from entering the lungs.

Citric acid: A sour, organic acid obtained from lemon juice, which is
irritable to the vocal cords.

Core of Resonance: The central focal point of resonance, relative to pitch.

Decongestant: A drug that relieves congestion.

428
Diaphragmatic breathing: Breathing with the lower part of the chest,
which utilizes about two-thirds of maximum lung
capacity.

Downscale: A term for describing the second half of a vocal exercise,

relating to working one’s way back down a musical scale from a
point of reference.

Dynamics: A term used to describe the increase or decrease of volume

and energy of the voice during singing.

E Scream Exercise: An exercise for strengthening the reinforced falsetto

(pharyngeal voice).

Elasticity: A term used to describe the flexibility or pliability of the vocal

cords.

Enunciation: The proper articulation of words.

Esophagus: The main tube by which food enters the stomach.

Falsetto: A light breathy tone with little or no resonance that’s used in the
higher register in place of full voice and is produced by loose
vocal cord tension.

Falsetto Slide: An exercise produced entirely in falsetto, which

strengthens and smoothes out the entire falsetto range.

False fold: Two protrusions above the vocal cords that were once thought
to produce falsetto.

Full voice: A strong tone with lots of resonance used throughout the
entire vocal range produced by your natural voice.

429
 G

Gargling Tone: A warm-up exercise produced by singing “ah” while

gargling water.
H

Hard palate: The bony anterior part of the palate, forming the roof of the
mouth.

Harmonics: The musical overtones of the voice.

Head cavity: The upper area of the skull, which produces head
resonance.

Head voice: The upper part of one’s range that produces mostly head
resonance.

Humidifier: A machine that releases cool or warm moisture into the air.

Hydrated: A term used to describe when the voice and body have
obtained an adequate amount of moisture.

Inhalation Sensation: The visualized sensation of “breathing in” or

inhaling while singing. Also referred to as reverse
breathing.

Intonation: The rise and fall in pitch of the voice during speech and
singing, referring to a “tuned” pitch. Simply put, the ability to
sing in key.

Isolation method: An exercise system based on developing the voice by

isolating individual pitches.

430
 J

Jaw Tension Release: A technique used to relieve stress in the jawbone

area.

Jaw vibrato: A type of vibrato produced by moving the jaw up and down.

Key: The pitch of the voice.

Laryngitis: An infection and inflammation of the larynx.

Larynx: The upper part of the trachea containing the vocal cords. Also
known as the Adam’s Apple.

Larynx vibrato: A type of vibrato produced by moving the larynx up and

down.

Lip Bubbles: A warm-up exercise produced by pursing the

lips together and sustaining a tone.

Lung capacity: The amount of air that can be held in the lungs.

Lyrical phrasing: The lyrical production and articulation of a song.

Maximum breath potential: A form of breathing that incorporates both chest

and diaphragmatic breathing for full lung
capacity.

Metronome: A device for marking exact time by a regular repeated tick.

431
Mid-range: A term used to describe the range above the break point that
produces mostly throat resonance.

Monotone: The act of repetitively speaking or singing on the same pitch.

Mucus: A slippery secretion of the membrane that lines the throat and
nasal cavities.
Muscular tension: Refers to either muscular stress or the small amount
of tension required to stretch and zip the vocal cords.

Nasal tone: The quality of sound when produced mainly through the
nose.

Notes: A musical pitch designated by a letter of the alphabet.

Octave: A musical interval covering twelve half-step notes.

Pharyngitis: An infection or inflammation of the pharynx.

Pharynx: The space in the back of the mouth into which the nostrils,
esophagus, and trachea open.

Phlegm: Thick mucus secretions in abnormal quantity in the throat and

sinuses.

Pitch: The highness or lowness of sound designated by a note.

Pitch matching: The act of vocally matching pitches to improve intonation.

Pitch vibrato: A type of vibrato produced by varying the pitch up and

down by a half-step increment.

432
Pitch wheel: A small handheld instrument, much like a harmonica, that
covers one chromatic octave.

Pocket Tone: Small electronic tuner.

Point of Reference: The point of reference refers to the beginning pitch of

a vocal exercise.

Post-nasal drip: Flow of mucous secretion from the sinus cavity to the
pharynx.

Posture: The position or alignment of the body.

RDA: abbreviation Recommended Daily Allowance.

Recurrent congestion: Reoccurring sinus congestion due to the body’s

tolerance buildup to nasal inhalers.

Resonance: An echo of sound waves within the body caused by the

vocal cords.

Resonance expansion: The enrichment and increasing of sound waves

within the body.

Resonance hum: A warm-up exercise to increase resonance.

Resonance placement: The positioning of resonance within the body.

Resonators: The main resonating cavities of the body.

Reverberation: The reflection or echo of sound.

Reverse breathing: See inhalation sensation.

433
 S

Sinusitis: An infection or inflammation of the sinus cavity.

Siren: An exercise produced entirely in full voice, which strengthens and

smoothes out the entire full voice range.

Soft Palate: The fold at the back of the hard palate that rises when
yawning. The soft spot in the roof of the mouth.

Soprano: A female vocal classification covering a range from C4-F6.

Speed routine: A vocal workout performed as quickly as possible with

no breaks.

Stomach muscles: The muscles protecting the lower organs, used to

support the exhalation process.

Stomach vibrato: A type of vibrato produced by tensing and relaxing the

stomach muscles.

Straining: The act of tensing and abusing the vocal muscles and vocal
cords.

Tenor: A male vocal classification covering a range from D3-E5.

Temporal mandibular joint: The indenture in front of the ears, where the
jaws open and close.

Tone: A reference to the sound quality of a vocal pitch.

Trachea: The main tube by which air enters the lungs, also known as
the windpipe.

Transcending Tone: An exercise maintained on a certain pitch. Starts in

falsetto and develops into full voice.

434
 U

Upscale: A term for describing the first half of a vocal exercise, relating to
working one’s way up a musical scale.

VAM: Abbreviation for the Vocal Acoustic Monitor.

Vaporizer: A machine that releases warm moisture into the air.

Vocal break: A break or crack in one’s vocal range. This occurs when the
vocal cords have extended beyond their stretching point.

Vocal Cord Stretch: A warm-up exercise based on the Siren that zips and
un-zips the vocal cords.

Vocal classification: A method of categorizing a singer’s voice by the

highest and lowest note of their range.

Vocal nodules: A small lump, swelling, or callus-like growth on the vocal

cords due to abuse that can only be removed by
surgery.

Vocal path: The path of sound as it travels from the vocal cords, up the
throat, (pharynx) and through the mouth.

Vocal polyps: A swollen tumorous membrane on the vocal cords, much

like a cyst, that might require removal by surgery.

Vocal stamina: The ability to sing continuously for long periods of time
without tiring.

Vocal Stress Release: A specifically designed vocal warm-up program

that releases stress and tension in the voice and
prepares the voice for singing.

435
 W

Warble: A musical trill. Also a reference to a shakiness in the voice.

Whistle voice: The highest register. Created at the very front of the vocal
cords.

Yawning sensation: The physical sensation of a low larynx, arched soft

palate, and lowered U-shaped tongue that produces
an open vocal path.

Zipper technique: The visual and physical technique that helps to

produce vocal cord adduction in the higher register.

436
 APPENDIX A:
Meet The Team
The following vocal coaches and singers all made possible this edition of
Raise Your Voice. Please take the time to research each member of this
project to help further your knowledge of vocal production. For further
information on each individual, please go to www.raiseyourvoicebook.com
and review their full bios and product information on the link entitled “Meet
The Team”.

Matt Adams-Motivational speaker/hypnotist/action and result coach

www.thehypnotistmattadams.com

Kevin Alexander-CEO of TC Helicon Technologies

www.tc-helicon.com

Russell Allen: Singer/songwriter

www.symphonyx.com

Thomas Appell - Vocal coach/producer/author

www.vocaldynamics.com

Valerie Bastien - Teacher/vocal coach/author

www.voiceyourselfintheclassroom.com

Mark Baxter – Vocal Coach/ author

www.voicelesson.com

Dallan Beck – Recording engineer/ author

www.dallanbeck.com

Molly Burnside – Web designer

www.crosssidedesigns.com

Melissa Cross – Vocal coach/ author

www.melissacross.com

437
Jeannie Deva- Vocal coach/producer/author
www.jeanniedeva.com

Jim Gillette – singer/ martial artist-

www.graciemiami.com/www.angelo.com

Benoit Guerville- Film director/singer/graphics designer

www.benoitguerville.com

Tony Harnell – Singer/songwriter/vocal coach

www.tonyharnell.com

Kevin Hoops- Photographer

www.allaboutimpressive.com

Myles Kennedy-Singer/songwriter
www.alterbridge.com

James LaBrie- Singer/songwriter

www.jameslabrie.com/www.dreamtheater.com

James Lugo- Vocal coach/singer/producer

www.jameslugo.com

Robert Lunte- Vocal coach/singer/producer

www.thevocaliststudio.com

Magali Luyten- Singer/vocal coach

www.magali-luyten.com

Brett Manning – Vocal coach/author/producer

www.singingsuccess.com

Cara Mastrey- Vocal coach/singer

www.myspace.com/caramastrey

Ryan Murdock – Pro martial artist/Senior editor or RMAX magazine/author

www.rmaxinternational.com

438
Dena Murray-Vocal coach/author
www.denamurray.com

Beverly Null-Licensed Massage Therapist/Certified Touch For Health

instructor/Certified in Contact Reflex Analysis and Designed Nutrition
blvnall@yahoo.com

Ocea- Bodywork therapist/creator of VocalEze and RefluxEze

www.travelwellness.com

Meagan Ruszyk-Book Editor/Chief editing consultant for RYV 2nd edition

meaganpaige@bluebottle.com

Elizabeth Sabine- Vocal coach/author

www.elizabethsabine.net

Jim Seitzer- Vocal fitness trainer/author

www.vocalfitness.com

Brandon Selvey- Singer/vocal coach

www.myspace.com/amusiavirtuoso

Chitral Somapala- Singer/vocal coach

www.somapala.com

Neil Tarvin- Ebook editing/graphics/PDF conversion

www.ebookgraphics.com

Phil Taylor- Singer/songwriter/producer

www.myspace.com/machinametal/www.myspace.com/philtaylorproductions

Sahaj Ticotin- Singer/songwriter producer

www.myspace.com/ramusic/www.myspace.com/sahajmusic

Ray West-Singer/songwriter/producer
www.myspace.com/spreadeagleraywest/www.myspace.com/hostelinc

439
440
 APPENDIX B:
Suggested Products
Acid Reflux-
Reflux Eze spray – www.travelwellness.com
Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar- www.bragg.com

Colloidal Silver Generators-

Make your own or purchase - www.sunstoneherbals.com

Exercise-
Flowfit- www.ramxinternational.com
Urban Rebounder –www.urbanrebounder.com
Total Gym –totalgym.com
Perfect Pushup – www.perfectpushup.com
Gracie Jiu Jitsu- www.graciemiami.com

Humdifiers/Steamers-
Kaz /Vicks steamer – www.allergybegone.com/vicks-v1200
Homedics personal steamer – www.amazon.com
VentaSonic - www.venta-sonic.com

Lozenges-
Thayer’s slippery elm lozenges – www.thayers.com

Microphones-
Shure-www.shure.com

Monitoring-
Vocal Acoustic Monitor- www.vamacoustics.com
Voicesolo XT personal monitor – www.tc-helicon.com

Oral Care-
Cybersonic3 toothbrush – www.sonictoothbrush.com

Sinus Products-
Neilmed – www.neilmed.com

441
Software-
Vendera Digital Vocal Coach- (tuner, tone generator, recorder, vocal exercise
creator, metronome) www.thevoiceconnection.com/www.blazeaudio.com
Software for recording harmonies, pitch correction, effects, editing)
www.tc-helicon.com

Sprays
Vocal Eze- www.travelwellness.com
Entertainer’s Secret – www.entertainers-secret.com
Thayer’s – www.thayers.com

Teas & Syrups

Throat Coat Tea – www.traditionalmedicinals.com
Herba Tussin Syrup – www.tradtionalmedicinals.com

Tone Generators-
Farley’s Pocket Tones – www.farleysessentials.com
Kratt Master Key Chromatic Pitch Pipe –www.8thstreet.com

Tuners -
Sabine MT-9000 – www.sabine.com

Vitamins & Herbs –

Cellfood - www.luminahealth.com
Seavegg – www.tryseavegg.com
Natural Cellular Defense - www.waiora.com
Whole Vitamin formulas - www.thegreatestvitaminsintheworld.com
Whole Foods powder – www.greenfoods.com

Vocal Processors -
Voicelive, Voiceworks- www.tc-helicon.com
Voice Tone pedals- www.voicetonepedals.com

Water Additives
X20 –www.xoomaworlwide.com/jaimevendera
Himalayan Pink Salt – www.saltworks.us/himalayanlivingsalt.com

Wine Glasses-
Schott Zwiesel - www.brentwoodwine.com
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 APPENDIX C:
Suggested Reading
The Alexander technique
www.alexandercenter.com

Advanced Vocal Technique; Middle Voice, Placement, & Styles"-Dena Murray

with Tita Hutchison
www.denamurray.com

Ancient Secrets of the Fountain of Youth by Peter Kelder -

www.store.harborhealth.com

Can You Sing A High C Without Straining by Thomas Appell

www.vocalinstruction.com

Change Your Voice Change Your Life by Dr. Morton Cooper

www.voice-doctor.com

Complete Vocal Technique by Cathrine Sadolin

www.sadolin.net

The Contemporary Vocalist by Jeannie Deva

www.jeanniedeva.com

Earl Mindell’s herb and vitamin bibles

www. Amazon.com (type in Earl Mindell’s vitamin, herb or mineral bibles)

The Five Pillars of Screaming by Robert Lunte

www.thevocaliststudio.com

Health Handbook by Louise Tenney

www.amazon.com (Type in Health-Handbook-Louise-Tenney

Home Recording Basics DVD by Dallan Beck

www.dallanbeck.com

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Love to Sing DVD by Roger Love
www.rogerlove.com

Mastering Vibrato by Brett Manning

www.singingsuccess.com

The Musician’s Guide to Recording acoustic guitar by Dallan Beck

www.dallanbeck.com

The Musician’s Guide to Recording Drums by Dallan Beck

www.dallanbeck.com

The Musician’s Guide to Recording Vocals by Dallan Beck

www.dallanbeck.com

Never Get Another Cold by Thomas Appell

www.vocalinstruction.com

The Rock-N-Roll Singer’s Survival Manual by Mark Baxter

www.voicelesson.com

Scream & Speak Extra CDs by Melissa Cross

www.melissacross.com

Sing Like An Idol by Mark Baxter

www.voicelesson.com

Singer’s Toolbox by Mark Baxter

www.voicelesson.com

Singing Success by Brett Manning

www.singingsuccess.com

Sing With Mastrey by Cara Mastrey

www.cdbaby.com/cd/mastrey

Stop Committing Vocal Suicide by Dr. Morton Cooper

www.voice-doctor.com

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Strengthening Your Singing Voice by Elizabeth Sabine
www.elizabethsabine.net

The Ultimate Breathing Workout by Jaime Vendera

www.raiseyourvoicebook.com/www.thevoiceconnection.com

The Ultimate Rock & Pop Instructional Series by James Lugo

www.jameslugo.com

The Ultimate Vocal Workout Diary by Jaime Vendera

www.raiseyourvoicebook.com/www.thevoiceconnection.com

Vocal Endurance VHS by Johnny Gioeli-Out of Print

Vocal Power DVD by Jim Gillette

www.metalmethod.com

Vocal Power Speaking system by Roger Love

www.rogerlove.com

Vocal Technique: A Guide To Finding Your Real Voice by Dena Murray

www.denamurray.com

Voice RX by Jaime Vendera

www.thevoiceconnection.com

Winning With Your Voice- by Dr. Morton Cooper

www.voice-doctor.com

Your Body’s Many Cries For Water by F. Batmanghelidj, M.D.

www.watercure.com

Your Not Sick Your Thirsty by F. Batmanghelidj, M.D.

www.watercure.com

The Zen of Screaming I & II DVD by Melissa Cross

www.melissacross.com

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446
 APPENDIX D:
Singer’s Checklist
The following is nothing new to you at this point. Originally titled, ‘The
Singer’s Touring Checklist”, this is a quick checklist for ALL singers from
touring pros to amateur giggers to recording artists- The only reason that I
decided to add this section is because I wanted to make available to you,
the same exact checklist that I give to all professional singers when I
interview or personally train them. This is THE list of essential voice pointers
that I have given to tons of professional rock singers including Brent Smith,
Josey Scott, Tyler Connely, Myles Kennedy, James Labrie, and Brad
Arnold. It is a quick reference that you should print out and keep handy
when you are performing. It’s your “vocal cheat sheet.”

I-VOCAL HEALTH
1. Sleep- Sleep is very important. Try to get at least 8-10 hours of
sleep if possible. Your voice needs time to repair from the night
before. If your body is tired, your voice will be tired. If you need a
natural sleep enhancer try one of the following-Calcium,
Chamomile, Kava Kave, Valerian root, or even some melatonin.
2. Water- Water should be the #1 priority for singers. Drink at least
½ ounce per pound of body weight per day. If you weigh 150
pounds, you need at least 75 ounces of water every day. Since
you are singing every night, I’d suggest a gallon of water a day,
with drinking water on stage. Add X20 to your water to assure
that you are getting the most out of every ounce you drink.
Singing dries out the vocal cords. The vocal cords must stay
lubricated in order to vibrate properly. Try steaming as much as
possible in a shower and humidifying your room/or tour bus if
possible.
3. Fighting a cold-If you are developing a cold, I suggest taking
massive doses of Vitamin C and Calcium/Magnesium. Take one

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 tablet of each, every hour until you start to feel some relief. Other
sources-Golden Seal and Echinacea are natural antibiotics.
These will help to fight infection. Also take colloidal silver.
Colloidal silver kills over 650 types of bacteria in the body and is
extremely potent for fighting bacteria.
4. Sinus trouble- If you have a sinus infection or stuffy nose, you
can flush the sinuses with un-iodized salt water. Using a Neti
Pot, mix a solution of warm salt water (only salty to taste,
because if it is too salty it will burn your nose), then, put the Neti
Pot up to one nostril and allow the solution to flow through he other
nostril. Repeat several times for each nostril until sinus congestion
is relieved.
5. Sore throat-If your throat is sore, dry, or scratchy, there are
several things you can use. Try Throat Coat Tea, by Traditional
Medicinals. It contains slippery elm root, which is very soothing
to the throat, and licorice root, which is natural cortisone and will
reduce the swelling of the vocal cords. Zinc lozenges help to
reduce the swelling of inflamed vocal cords, as well as relieve
sore throat pain. Zinc is very beneficial to the immune system.
Vocal Eze can calm the scratchiness. Plenty of steaming will
help to soothe the inflamed membranes.
Another aid is to mix one tablespoon of organic apple cider
vinegar with one tablespoon of honey in warm water for a sore
throat relief tea. Apple cider vinegar will kill the bacteria that
cause a sore throat, and honey will coat and soothe the pharynx.
If you need a gargle solution to help get you through the
performance, mix ¼ teaspoon of salt, ¼ teaspoon of lemon juice,
a pinch of cayenne pepper, a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar,
and a teaspoon of honey. I’m sure you’ve heard that the citric
acid in lemon juice isn’t good for the throat, but a small amount
helps to produce saliva, which keeps the mouth moist, so don’t
worry about it. Mix this in one cup of hot water and gargle
several times. This solution will flush away mucus, produce saliva,

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 kill bacteria, and coat the throat.
6. Mist Inhaling-When you gargle a solution, you do not coat the
vocal cords, you only coat the mouth and pharynx. If you are
feeling really dry, you can breathe mist directly onto the vocal
cords. Purchase a one-ounce misting bottle and fill it full of
distilled water. Open your mouth, then spray while inhaling
deeply. The cords are in the trachea, or windpipe, which leads to
the lungs. You will inhale the water directly onto the vocal cords.
If you want something besides water, you should try Entertainer’s
Secret Throat Relief Spray. This spray contains ingredients that
are similar to the actual secreted lubricants of the throat. The web
address is- www.entertainers-secret.com. If you want an herbal
spray that supports vocal health and relieves dryness, try Vocal-
Eze at www.travelwellness.com.
7. Enemies of the voice- Just so you know, smoking and drinking
alcohol harm the voice. Smoke of any kind dries out the tiny hairs
that line the sinuses and throat, called cilia. The cilia act as tiny
filters to prevent pollutants from entering the lungs. If you smoke,
I suggest upping your Vitamin C intake, because nicotine flushes
vitamin C from the body, making you more susceptible to colds.
8. Alcohol will evaporate the lubricants of the throat. Try pouring a
small amount of rubbing alcohol onto your arm and notice how
quickly it evaporates. Drinking alcoholic beverages do the exact
same thing to your throat. I do know singers who will have a
drink before they perform to loosen up. The problem is drinking
too much, which will dehydrate the body, and relax you to the
point of a drunken stupor and the inability to judge your vocal
performance. If you must drink alcohol, drink wisely and make
sure you drink plenty of water.
9. Caffeine products are also harmful to a singer. Caffeine is a
diuretic, which causes you to lose water, thus dehydrating the
cords. It also creates thick yellow mucus that coats the cords.
The cure- DRINK MORE WATER!
10. Cocaine is vocal suicide. Mucus from the sinus cavities will drain
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 into the back of the throat and down onto the cords both numbing
and aggravating the vocal cords, causing them to swell. The
problem is, you won’t be able to feel or tell if you are damaging
your voice by over singing, until the next day when it is too late. If
you want to have a long career… DON’T DO IT!!
11. If you continually wake up with a sore scratchy throat, check with a
doctor to see if you are suffering from Acid Reflux. This is an
occurrence of the stomach acid backing up into the trachea, which
will aggravate and inflame the vocal cords. This can be brought on
by spicy or acidic foods, carbonated beverages, poor posture, or
not thoroughly chewing your food. You can use a tablespoon of
Bragg’s Apple Cider vinegar to remedy the heartburn feeling. It
usually works within five minutes. Reflux Eze from
www.travellwellness.com works to soothe acid reflux as well.

II-VOCAL TECHNIQUE
12. Warming up- Warming up before a performance can definitely
save your voice on the road. Follow The Ultimate Vocal Warm up
Chapter. It is the best way I know to loosen the muscles and warm
up the voice.
13. Cooling Down- Whenever you finish the night’s performance, give
yourself a few minutes to repeat the warm up as a cool down. If
you do not cool down, you risk the chance of waking up with a
sore throat, or swollen vocal cords. Cooling down is similar to
slowing down to a walk after running. This prevents vocal cord
shock. Following are some “secrets” to help your voice on tour.
14. Secret#1-How To Breathe- Most vocal strain is caused by
incorrect breath support. Either singers end up pushing too hard to
reach the note, blow too much air between the cords, or incorrectly
over tighten the stomach. The first secret teaches you how to sing
with less air pressure, which will result in less strain and the ability to
sustain notes for longer periods of time. First of all, as most of you
probably all ready know, when you breathe you should allow the
stomach to expand. Most singers “chest breathe” or let their chest
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 expand. This limits your air supply. Start expanding the stomach
first. Pretend you are a vase and fill it from the bottom-up with air.
When you do this, allow your sides and back to expand as well as
the stomach, then the chest, if needed.
15. Secret#2-Keep the ribs expanded- If you keep your floating ribs
expanded out to the sides, you will prevent the stomach from
forcing the diaphragm back up to it’s natural position. This slows air
release, and gives the chest more area for a bigger sound and
more power. Always keep the ribs expanded while singing. It
should be noted that the ribs will stay more expanded on low notes
and slightly “fold in” on the higher notes.
16. Secret#3-This secret has allowed me to hold out notes for almost
endless amounts of time. From now on, when you sing, I want you
to pretend that you are inhaling as opposed to exhaling. This is
called the Inhalation Sensation. It’s that easy… From now on,
whenever you sing, you must imagine that you are breathing in.
This gives you control over your breath support, helping to
eliminate vocal strain.
17. Secret#4-How to tighten the stomach- If you are going to sing
high or throaty, you must learn how to tighten the stomach for
more power without wasting your air supply. The ONLY way to do
this is to tighten straight down, like when going to the bathroom. If
you push the stomach out, suck the stomach in, or tighten like
grunting, you are doing it wrong!!! This will cause you to lose your
voice. ONLY tighten straight down!!! I call this locking down for
support, but for extreme singing, I call it the Power Push.
18. Secret #5- Feel the resonance- You MUST allow your entire body
to become one giant tuning fork. Allow the inner vibrations to build
throughout your body, directly related to your pitch range. Allow the
chest and lower body to vibrate on lower notes, your throat to
vibrate in the mid-range and your head to vibrate on the high notes.
But, in my opinion, it is best to have the entire body vibrate as one,
using the certain areas of the body, when relating to a certain pitch,
to become the core of that resonance.
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 19. Secret#6- Focus the Tone- ALWAYS feel the sensation of your
voice placed up into the palate to ensure that your are not trapping
the sound way down in your throat, which will result in vocal strain.
You’ll physically feel this sensation pushing up against the palate.
Other indicators of correct focus and enhanced resonance (they go
hand in hand) are buzzing teeth, nose and cheeks.
20. Secret#7-Supplements to take before a performance- The best
supplements for relaxing, strengthening, protecting, and opening
the voice during a performance are zinc, licorice, and warm
water/honey tea. Take one zinc tablet, and one capsule of licorice
before performing, and sip hot/warm water with honey. The zinc
and licorice protect the throat and reduce swelling, while honey
coats the pharynx and the warm/hot water opens the sinuses and
mucous membranes of the throat.

These secrets helped me to recover my voice after neck surgery, keep my

voice in top shape for teaching and singing and help me shatter wineglasses
at will (with my voice, not by dropping them on the floor, haha.) If you have any
voice related questions, or are having any voice related problems, feel free to
email me at venderaj@msn.com.

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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank God for the inspiration and motivation that HE has
instilled upon me during the writing of this book and life in general. The
Lord is my savior.

To my family:
I would like to thank my wife, Diane, who has divinely inspired me.
Thanks for standing by my side for the past sixteen years and believing in
my dreams.

My son, Ryan: I am so glad that you’ve discovered music.

My mother, Linda Fagan: Thank you for your help in cultivating my love
of music and allowing me to experience the music business at such an
early age in my life.

My uncle, Ron Hadsell, Jr.: If it weren’t for you, I would never have
discovered the band Journey or my skill for piano; I think they go together.

My uncle, Don Hadsell: You’ve always treated me like a son; that’s why I
call you “Daddy Don”. Thanks for not making me cut my hair.

Rebecca Hunter: We love you and miss you. We’ll always be there for Alex
and Abby.

To the best band that never was:

Keith Gilbert, my best friend of the last twenty years: you’ve always believed
in me as a singer. Scott Stith: You’ve taken me to a higher path. Howard
Turner: Where’s your bass? Oh well, I guess we’ll have to settle for
harmonies, guitar and a piano. Matt “Sven Hungstrom” Hoover: Thanks
for putting up with my singing for all of those years. Do you remember
when your dad said “Jaime’s got a voice that could hurt you”? I’m still not
really sure whether that was good or bad. And to Billy Guy: Thanks for
teaching me how to use Cool Edit Pro, but more so for being a true friend.

To Jim Gillette, my brother, vocal instructor and life coach: You have been
my friend, coach, motivation and my inspiration for writing this book and for
succeeding in all that I do. I’m proud to call you my friend. Thank you for the
GMA hookup. I know that it’s going to change my life. I owe you more
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than a steak dinner! Vroom vroom…The Viper is on its way ;)
To my brother Tony Harnell: Thank you for your positive input, your
words of wisdom and for adopting me into your family. You are a pure
soul and now my brother and I know we have a lot to do in this world
together for the next thirty years :)

To the teachers that guided me:

Joyce Foster: Your guidance made the dream of this book a reality. We will
all miss you. Charles Greene, my band director: I have never met a man
with more love and devotion to music than you. You have taught me so
much. Your memory will live on. Vicky Balsinger, my first choral director: It’s
been more than twenty years since I’ve seen or heard from you, but you will
always be in my heart. You are the reason I developed such a love for
harmony. Shirley Crothers, my first “real” voice teacher: You helped me to
begin this journey.

To my friends from the MythBusters crew: Jamie Hyneman, Adam and

Julia Savage, Linda Wolkovitch, and Amelia Zimmern: New York was a trip!
Thanks for believing in me. I’m glad I was able to deliver the goods. Maybe
next time I’ll partake in a little “gerioke”. Dr. Roger Schwenke from Meyer
Sound: I told you to make me look good…and…you did! You’re a friend for
life! You are, by far, the coolest scientist I know!

Very special thanks to the people who helped me complete this

project!

Matt Adams. I’m sure our business endeavors together will be “mesmerizing”.
Kevin Alexander: Thanks for helping bring vocal technology into the 21st
century. Russell Allen: You are a vocal inspiration and one cool dude.
Thomas Appell: You are one of my biggest inspirations. Without your
guidance in the beginning, this book might not have been possible. Valerie
Bastien: Students need more teachers like you. You push me to be more than
I am. Mark Baxter: You too were one of my biggest inspirations. You
helped me realize that rock singing IS an art form. Dallan Beck: Man I
cannot believe how we hooked up. If you are up for Florida, the business
is still on. Thanks for ALWAYS making me sound great. Molly Burnside:
Your dedication to The Voice Connection and helping me complete Raise
Your Voice. Jason Burnside: For the friendship, the artwork, the video
editing AND the drumming. Byron Cancelmo; Thank you for believing in me,
believing in you, haha. I KNEW our venture together would be amazing!
Melissa Cross: When you said, “Jaime, you got it!” it made me believe in
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myself as a vocal coach. Jeannie Deva: I feel like we are kindred spirits,
which is an honor. Michael Farley: Thanks for the prayers and for pulling
for me. I now pray before each lesson. Benoit Guerville: Yes I believe in
fate, because only you were meant for this project. Kevin Hoops: What
you do is art. I am amazed by your work. Stephanie Keen: Without you, I
would never have finished this book! Your interest in this project made me
believe in myself. Myles Kennedy: Wow what a voice! Thank you for keeping
the art of true singing alive. James Labrie: You are an inspiration to singers
worldwide. Thank you for sharing your story in this book. It gives hope and
comfort to singers who’ve experienced difficulties. Your testimony proves we
can all succeed. Joe Lester, thanks for being there for the Japan show and
introducing me to Jim Seitzer. James Lugo: The coolest cat I know. Your
vocal methodology is brilliant. Robert Lunte: My dear friend, we have lots
to do together. I’m glad we are part of the same team. Magali Luyten, you
are my favorite female singer. I am happy to call you my colleague. Brett
Manning: My brother in Christ and well, my brother. I am always here for
you. Cara Mastrey: Such an angel. Much love to both you and Tawn.
Ryan Murdock: One bad mofo. Your dedication has shown millions a
better way of health. Promise me you’ll never choke me like that camel;)
Dena Murray: The world needs more sincere and passionate coaches and
people like you. I’m glad we met. Beverly Nall: You are the only one who
could’ve created what I envisioned for singers as a means of complete
vocal release. Thank you for sharing the vision. Ocea: The connection
between us was instant. I look forward to a long friendship. Meagan
Ruszyk: I want you to know that I’ve never let anyone dissect and rebuild
Raise Your Voice quite like you. I appreciate you for all you do. This book
wouldn’t be the same without you. Elizabeth Sabine: I love you and I am
happy to help your unique methods carry on. Thanks for teaching me
“power”. Jim Seitzer: I have the utmost respect for you and your methods. It
is exactly what singers have needed for years. Thanks for being there for me
during my struggles. Brandon Selvey: Singers like you make my job so easy.
Thank you for being so supportive and thank you for running my message
board. I believe you’ll accomplish your dreams, like I have. Chitral Somapala,
what can I say, you are the man! Neil Tarvin: I know I’ve driven you nuts.
The next book will be easier. Thanks for your help. Phil Taylor: You ARE
my prize pupil. I am very proud of you. You had it all along. Special thanks
to Sahaj Ticotin and Nandi Johannes, for giving me permission to use the
lyrics for “Sky.” Without “Sky”, there would have been no song mapping.
Thanks to Ray West for “Scratch Like A Cat” The story I told you about the
first time I saw that video is 100% true, haha. You opened me up to a new
way of singing.

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To TC Helicon and The Voice Council: I am thankful to be a part of such
an incredible company and group of vocal coaches. I have been blessed
by this opportunity. Tony Couch: Your belief in me has helped The Voice
Connection to keep connecting. To all of the vocal instructors I have ever
had, whether in person, books, videos, or personal conversations, I have
learned from each and every one of you.

Finally, to all of the singers who have ignited a spark inside my soul and
all the singers yet to be born, thank you.

I would also like to personally thank each person who reads this book. It is
my wish to enlighten as many people as I can with the knowledge that I
have obtained over the past twenty years. I hope that you enjoyed this
book and learned a great deal about yourself and your voice.

God Bless you all,

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