Instrumental Studies

Lesson 1:

In my first instrumental lesson we were shown how to warm up using different techniques. 
We discussed the benefits of warming up. These include:

1. Singing with more freedom and consistency
2. Decreasing the amount of possible vocal problems on a  wide scale (sore throat; losing your voice etc.)
3. Gaining a wider vocal range
4. Having the ability to create different expressive emotions using your vocals (sounding happy; sounding sad etc)
5. Gaining control over your voice

We also learned that singing is heavily demanding on the physical aspect meaning that in order to fully prepare yourself for singing, you must warm the body up too. 

In the session, we were given a demonstration of different warm up techniques that target these specific areas:
 -Range
- Tone
- Support
- Control 
- Posture 
- Diction

Range: 
Scales-  Going along the scale of a piano, this helps increase your vocal range

Arpeggios-  Going up and down the scales starting from middle c shaping saying the vowels (A,E,I,O,U) this is easier to sing when doing the high notes as your mouth opens wider to allow more sound to come out

Sirening- Drifting from one note down to another. Warms the vocals up by bending the notes and loosens the throat.

Tone:
Humming- Softly introduces your vocals into singing and gently exercising the vocal chords.

Vocal Fry- Baseline of vocal warm ups, not singing any notes just warming the throat up in order to help project the vocals.

Lip Trills- Loosens our lips relaxing our muscles around the mouth enabling to create different shapes with our mouths smoothly as the muscles are not tense.

Support/Control:
Breath control- Controlling the amount of air that comes through to your larynx, enables you to control the length and power of the notes that you are trying to produce

Posture:
Full body warm up- Vocals consist of using a lot of different muscles, full body warm ups such as stretching and massaging cheekbones and temples relaxes the muscles and wakes them up in order to help with the performance aspect.

Diction
Tongue Twisters- Arpeggios using consonants, help with articulation.

Once learning and demonstrating the uses of these different techniques we were given a task which was to devise a 15 minute warm up session including the main areas: Scales, tone, support, control, posture and diction.

Lesson 2:

In this week's session, we learned about the anatomy of the voice. We learned that there are three places within the body that enable us to create sound.

The Power System:

The sound is generated from the lungs; the intercostal muscles and the diaphragm.

The Phonation System:

How and where the sound is produced consisting of the three areas: Larynx, vocal folds and the trachea. We were then shown a video clip demonstrating how sound is produced:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Tlpkdq8a8c 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XGds2GAvGQ

The Filter/ Resonation System:

This focuses on how the voice sounds. The areas on the face which project how the vocals sound are: hard/soft palate; the lips; the teeth and the mask. 

We were then asked to find our own individual larynx and experiment via creating different sounds. Each sound caused the larynx to move in a specific way, such as tilting, rising and lowering. We then sang 'Happy Birthday' in four styles: Speech/Cry/Tilt/Sob/Twang/Belt. Each style caused the larynx to move in a different way:

Speech- Vibrates the larynx little movement, larynx moves up when singing higher. 

Cry- Causes the larynx to tilt

Twang- Larynx moves dramatically moves higher and lower than speech.

Belt- Larynx moves dramatically moves higher and lower than twang. 

Lesson 3:

In today's lesson we looked into the different styles of singing in more detail. After demonstrating and experimenting with these different styles and the affect it has on the larynx we looked into how to apply these styles into our vocal sessions and creating combinations. 

Speech Quality: 

Speech quality is singing in a style closer to your speech register. It is normally used in pop songs to create a narrative. The larynx uses minimal effort there is no vibrato but there is use of pronunciation vital. We were then shown an example of speech quality being used in a song: http://youtu.be/SbyAZQ45uww 

Cry/Tilt:

It is normally used in the higher vocal register. When you cry the larynx tilts forward in order to create the high notes needed. It creates emotion so it is constantly used in pop music and vibrato is used. We were shown an example of how the cry/tilt style is used: http://youtu.be/-rC8RRXcfeo

Falsetto: 

The falsetto is a breathy tone that should be used with little volume. It can be vocally tiring as the folds need to work to constantly let a lot of air through. The words beginning with 'I' often start with a 'H'. Another example was shown of a vocalist using falsetto: http://youtu.be/0DdCoNbbRvQ 

Twang: 

Twang needs minimal breath and yet produces a powerful sound that is commonly described as "cutting through a song". It has a higher impact when sang in the higher vocal register. It is often referred to as nasal which is typical in country style singing. Oral twang can remove the nasal feel of the sound. An example of this was shown to us: http://youtu.be/1plvBR02wDs 

Sob/Opera:

This technique shows a lot of emotion as its the imitation of a sobbing sound. Vibrato is consistent within this style with the larynx low no matter how high the pitch is. The sobbing style is used in opera. An example of this was shown to us: http://youtu.be/l5cF5GGqVWo 

Belt: 

Belting should be done with caution as if it is not done properly, it is highly possible to lose your voice. No vibrato is used and head/chest anchoring is essential as belting does rely on your posture. Minimal breathing is used and has the feel of controlled yelling. Rock and Soul commonly uses the belting technique. An example that was shown to us was this: http://youtu.be/8x7Ta89QLo4 

Combinations:

All of these styles can be combined within a single song in order to create an effect. 

We were also asked to perform a song of our choice this week and perform it. My cover was Waiting Game by Banks: (enter video link). 

Lesson 4:

In this lesson we had a guide to 'the good; the bad and the ugly'. This was a list of the things that are good for your vocals, what is bad and what is the worst for your vocals. The Good The Bad and The Ugly

We then had to do a task in pairs where we had a set of cards with an item on it. (Steam, Singing, Menthol Lozenges etc) and another set of cards explaining why an item was good or bad ("can cause the vocal folds to become numb") and in pairs we had to place the item with the correct explanation. 

I was very surprised to find that whispering was bad for your voice as it needs more effort to produce the sound. I was equally surprised at how well steam works on your vocals. Inhaling steam soothes your throat and opens up your airwaves. I was also surprised to hear that honey and lemon have no direct influence over your larynx as well as menthol lozenges being harsh on your vocals. 

I was aware that too much yelling when it is not needed can be really harsh on your throat and vocals which means that a vocal rest is probably necessary in order for your throat to heal.