Vocal Exercises - the Foundation
What do vocal exercises do for a singer?
I had been singing professionally for 13 years before I had voice lessons. By the time I arrived in Los Angeles, I brought with me some clothes, a keyboard, and a severe case of vocal nodules, or 'nodes'. I went to see the best voice doctor in town, the legendary Dr. Hans Von Leden. He told me that my only options were six months of complete vocal rest or surgery. Since I had no money, neither one of these options were possible. I couldn't afford to take six days off, let alone six months, and as for surgery - that also was out of the question. I was, for the first time as a professional, faced with the very real possibility of being unable to sing for a living. Not long after that, I got a small production deal to work on a record. What in the world was I going to do? How could I make a record if I couldn't even sing?
Voice lessons were suggested to me. I didn't really think that lessons could help - this was a serious medical problem. So when I went looking for a teacher, I looked around for someone who taught screaming rockers. I wanted to know who taught the guys who holler all night long, night after night, at the top of their lungs. I found my teacher, Ron Anderson, who has worked with everyone from Axl Rose and all the hair bands of the 80s to Seal (who took his lesson right before mine) and pretty much every major artist you can think of. When I began studying with Ron, he told me that I'd have my voice back - without stopping singing! I wasn't confident that he was right, but at that point I didn't know what else to do. Since I was on salary with my project, I could just concentrate on getting my voice back.
You know what? Ron was right.
I began studying with Ron, taking 5 lessons a week. It cost me every penny I had, but at that point there was nothing else more important to spend my money on. It was worth it. Sometimes Ron would have me come in at 6:00 - in the morning! - to set my voice up for the day. After about four months, incredibly enough, I did get my voice back! And I never had to stop singing - I just learned to sing in a way that didn't irritate my vocal cords.
So what was Ron's magic formula? What did we do in those lessons that was so revolutionary?
Exercises.
That's all. Just exercises. He never worked with me doing anything else - we never worked on a single song. Just a half-hour of exercises. And not loud or strenuous exercises either. All our exercises were done softly. Long story short, I got my voice back, but better than before. And I've been singing full-time ever since then. That was twenty years ago, and I have never had a serious vocal problem since.
I am now a fervent believer in the power of exercise. I exercise almost every day - at least 5 days a week - and I do my warmups every day. I warm up before I sing, and I warm down afterwards. Every once in a while, I would try singing without exercising, and I noticed the difference the second I opened my mouth. I hope to be able to help my students to learn to take care of and train their own voices so that they will be able to achieve their own vocal goals, whatever those might be.
If you are my private vocal student, these are some of the basic exercises that we will be using to build up your voice. These exercises have different functions, but they all work together to help you transition effortlessly from one register to the next without cracking or breaking, how to use your 'mix' or pharyngeal voice to sing higher notes instead of pushing your chest voice upward with a blast of air, how to find the right placement for your notes and keep it. You can download and print out these exercises for practicing during the week - click here. On the next post we'll talk about how to do each exercise.
I had been singing professionally for 13 years before I had voice lessons. By the time I arrived in Los Angeles, I brought with me some clothes, a keyboard, and a severe case of vocal nodules, or 'nodes'. I went to see the best voice doctor in town, the legendary Dr. Hans Von Leden. He told me that my only options were six months of complete vocal rest or surgery. Since I had no money, neither one of these options were possible. I couldn't afford to take six days off, let alone six months, and as for surgery - that also was out of the question. I was, for the first time as a professional, faced with the very real possibility of being unable to sing for a living. Not long after that, I got a small production deal to work on a record. What in the world was I going to do? How could I make a record if I couldn't even sing?
Voice lessons were suggested to me. I didn't really think that lessons could help - this was a serious medical problem. So when I went looking for a teacher, I looked around for someone who taught screaming rockers. I wanted to know who taught the guys who holler all night long, night after night, at the top of their lungs. I found my teacher, Ron Anderson, who has worked with everyone from Axl Rose and all the hair bands of the 80s to Seal (who took his lesson right before mine) and pretty much every major artist you can think of. When I began studying with Ron, he told me that I'd have my voice back - without stopping singing! I wasn't confident that he was right, but at that point I didn't know what else to do. Since I was on salary with my project, I could just concentrate on getting my voice back.
You know what? Ron was right.
I began studying with Ron, taking 5 lessons a week. It cost me every penny I had, but at that point there was nothing else more important to spend my money on. It was worth it. Sometimes Ron would have me come in at 6:00 - in the morning! - to set my voice up for the day. After about four months, incredibly enough, I did get my voice back! And I never had to stop singing - I just learned to sing in a way that didn't irritate my vocal cords.
So what was Ron's magic formula? What did we do in those lessons that was so revolutionary?
Exercises.
That's all. Just exercises. He never worked with me doing anything else - we never worked on a single song. Just a half-hour of exercises. And not loud or strenuous exercises either. All our exercises were done softly. Long story short, I got my voice back, but better than before. And I've been singing full-time ever since then. That was twenty years ago, and I have never had a serious vocal problem since.
I am now a fervent believer in the power of exercise. I exercise almost every day - at least 5 days a week - and I do my warmups every day. I warm up before I sing, and I warm down afterwards. Every once in a while, I would try singing without exercising, and I noticed the difference the second I opened my mouth. I hope to be able to help my students to learn to take care of and train their own voices so that they will be able to achieve their own vocal goals, whatever those might be.
If you are my private vocal student, these are some of the basic exercises that we will be using to build up your voice. These exercises have different functions, but they all work together to help you transition effortlessly from one register to the next without cracking or breaking, how to use your 'mix' or pharyngeal voice to sing higher notes instead of pushing your chest voice upward with a blast of air, how to find the right placement for your notes and keep it. You can download and print out these exercises for practicing during the week - click here. On the next post we'll talk about how to do each exercise.
posted by Alicia Morgan @ 7:22 PM
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