No doubt, one of the best female country belters is Carrie Underwood. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhvaDJTUmrU Take note of Carrie’s first line here at the chorus of How Great Thou Art…starting at 2:26. Notice the head tilt back in conjunction with the ascending notes…..“Then sings my soul”, and then the head comes back down when descending on the … Read more
So why do all your American Idol favorites sing with huge mouths? Answer: Because the big mouth is directly related to the freedom associated with making sounds found in contemporary styles such as rock, pop, gospel, jazz, musical theatre, country, and even opera! The ability to get great cord closure (to sing high notes with … Read more
Love ’em, love ’em, love ’em! And you should do ’em, do ’em, do ’em! This is no easy task but it’s a sure fire way to find out if the back of your tongue is getting in the way of mixing from chest to head voice. So, let your tongue hang out…not forced out … Read more
Too many times I hear over-compressed cords from students who think they are singing with power. Unfortunately this sound is dull and to be quite blunt … ugly. Over-compressing the cords will only cause students trouble as they try to sing higher, because they can’t release this sensation without flipping into falcetto. The answer is; … Read more
For those of you still wondering if you are “mixing” with your head voice resonance, try this. Visualize you are holding a pencil lengthwise between your teeth (or actually put a pencil between your teeth!). Now, direct every note you sing above the pencil line. In other words, “think” your sound into your face. If … Read more
This amazing little coordination can do wonders for your voice. You will notice that if your habit is to sing too loud, it will automatically take you back to a volume where you can manage this sensation. What sensation you say? The sensation of a cry…..or a moan…..or a sob……or all three! First, the “cry” … Read more
With speech level singing, one of the main directives is to sing in your mix. Your mixed voice is simply the ability to sing from the bottom of your range to the top of your range without flipping, without raising your larynx, without shouting, and without laryngeal constriction. There are some sounds that set you … Read more
Oh, the controversy! Is there such a thing as the middle voice? Some would argue there is only chest voice and head voice, and a passagio (sometimes called a bridge or a break), separating the two. The chest and head voice get their name from where the voice resonates in the body. If you put your hand on … Read more