Singing Tips That Will Give You the Edge

Many singers desire a vibrato in their voice because it lends a lovely quality.

The question is- if you do not have it naturally-can it be acquired? If so, how is it controlled and what areas of the "vocal apparatus" does it use?

Well,it can be a difficult quality to master. As a matter of fact, there is a lot of controversy over what it even is exactly and why it even exists! Let us at least tell you what we know about it:

Vibrato is a vocal tone that has an even fluctuation. The diaphragm is involved in some way,but we are not sure how. You can expel the breath from the diaphragm forcibly,and you can influence the throat and mouth opening too to sort of "fake it". It is really quite difficult to describe.

We feel,however,that force is never good,or any kind of manipulation which,invariably,will lead to excessive straining of the voice.Many rock singers know this to their cost!

What we want to see ideally is freedom of voice-focussed and clear- which will have, inherently, the minor vocal fluctuation which gives automatically,a slight vibrato.
The way to get vibrato is to learn natural singing techniques which will not push your voice too much,and which focusses more on tone and control than power . We need to explain that what some call "vibrato" is in fact really a "tremolo,"which comes from forcing the voice,and feels and sounds totally unnatural.

If you ,as a student of singing really desire a beautiful vibrato,all you need do is focus on getting control of your voice,which can only come from much practice under the tutelage of a qualified vocal coach. Listen to the vibrato in,for example the voice of Sinatra. He was taught the Italian Bel-Canto method,which concentrates on tonal quality more than power.

The major areas that need your attention are; Correct breathing,coupled with Tonal quality (resonance training--humming scales etc...) and diaphragmatic support.

All this may sound daunting when you read it in cold print,but the truth is it is easy and even fun when you have training and support.

A trick I myself learned from a master singer,the late Billy Eckstine,is ,as he put it,focus as you sing- on the waist area-(where you would wear a belt) It seems bizarre,but by doing so,I found more vibrato on extended notes ! Try it yourself.

My final piece of advice is;whatever you do, get solid training in voice production from some who are themselves quality singers. It might seem obvious,but many poor or even non-singing "tutors" are out to snare the unwary.I would call that "the blind leading the blind"!

Get FREE LESSONS HERE:
HowToSingReview

How to Sing Like a Top Vocal Star... Latest Review :

When I downloaded my Singorama 2.0 software bundle -my initial reaction was "wow"!
I was amazed at just how much material was there for the relatively low price. It's a big download!

There are 2 books,well put together.and very comprehensive.

There is stuff there that I have never seen anywhere else--totally unique. That impressed me immediately. As well as the usual vocal techniques warm-up exercises,pitching and how to care for your voice, things like microphone technique-how to take an audition successfully, overcoming stage fright (a big one this) personalising a song to make it uniquely your own,and stage presence-command of your audience. Great stuff.

There was one segment of the course that I really loved--hints on how to sing with a band (not as easy as some think) since my very first proffessional gig was singing with the late Bob Carter big band years ago! I wish I had known then what I know now! Believe me, it's an art.
Ah....those were the days.

This course is eminently practical. Its down to earth no frills no fluff no filler material that will give you a tremendous grounding in your chosen profession.

I also fell in love with the nifty little recording studio software you get also-that allows you to rehearse,check your pitch, and even record yourself for assesment from HQ if you so desire.
You simply email the sound-clip as an attachment. Easy!

To top it all,they throw in bonuses such as Jayde Musica Pro, a game for all the family which is structured to teach you how to read music-an invaluable gift and one I wish I had aquired in my day. It opens so many doors,session singing work for example. The ebook that accompanies,is entitled "The Ultimate Beginners Guide to Reading Music. Well--I think I`ll study that...it's never too late to learn,as they say!

Another bonus is "Perfect Your Pitch Pro", which- as the name implies helps you do just that.
Most people are able with a bit of practice,to get their pitch recognition pretty spot-on with the help of this neat software programme -from every note scaled on the "mini-online piano supplied. It only takes a few days usually to become pitch perfect. Remember, when it comes to singing....pitch is King!

Just one more item worth noting ,is Singorama's e-mail consultancy line. Personal after sales service is rare these days,so its yet another very valuable aspect of this superb course.

In conclusion,then: we are not into giving out "stars"-(we will leave that to the kindergarten teachers) but if we were-Singorama would rate an 8. Enough said. They have a special limited time offer at the time of writing,so check it out, and freebies too.
HowToSingReview

Story of a Would Be Pop Star

Lessons start here:
Once upon a time, some years back,there was a young man with a passion for singing. Perhaps some one like you? He had sung since as far back as he could remember.

Lesson One: You Gotta Practice-Practice-Practice!
He would lock himself away in his room, practicing the latest hit song,using his Mothers hair brush as a pretend mike, and in his imagination, he was preparing to unleash his awesome vocal talents on the unsuspecting public!

Lesson Two: Get Real!
To his own hearing it sounded just as good as any pop idol you would hear on record,and better than many of the TV X Factor type “stars”.
Unfortunately,not too many shared his opinion of his talents and rejected his “star-quality” as “rubbish”!

Lesson Three:Stop Dreaming...just do it!
By age 17-18 he began to feel it was high time he did something about his would-be singing career,and so began the exciting but perilous journey to becoming a pop singing star.

Lesson Four: Seek and you find!
He checked out the local music/singing teachers; there was just one in reach of his home.
Not exactly spoiled for choice then! The problem was - a) he was pretty expensive, and b) he only taught the classical operatic “Bel Canto” style of singing. But- the young man wanted to sound more like a Sinatra than a Pavarrotti !

Lesson Five: Nothing ventured....
Despite this discouragement,the youngster decided to give it a try.Nothing ventured-nothing gained. It turned out to be a fortuitous move,because the coach, a Mr Lambert,who had trained in Rome at the famous Metropolitan Opera House,not only was a brilliant teacher,but also a nice guy with the gift of encouragement. For the first time our hero was beginning to believe,for real,that he COULD make it as a singer.

Lesson Six:
With Mr Lambert’s tuition and guidance,this young man was able to go on,in later years to a recording deal with the Decca label,and get radio TV and cabaret work .
Much of this success was down to good coaching and perseverance. He had suffered for example with the delicate switch over from boy to man when physically the vocal chords are fragile and liable to crack with too much strain. He learned from his mentor how often bad voice placement can lead to a promising vocal career being destroyed. This is especially so,if the student is below the age of 25. Fortunately-because of quality training-the boy was on his way.

In conclusion,let me tell you that the above story is true.I was that boy,and I am going to share on this new blog my personal adventures,lessons learned (such as above) and my “take” on today’s vocal training methods and coaches.

Check out the free lessons offered through sponsors to get you started.

Singing Success Course ....is it any good?

For structure- the "Singing Success" course is as good as it gets. With a combination of workbooks plus 300 audio files it is pretty comprehensive as courses ( especially singing courses) go.

The foundation was built upon a technique called SLS or Speech Level Singing. The concept is really quite simple;the singer is instructed in the use of head range

or head placement vocalising,a method of focussing the sound into the skull cavities which act as a sounding board and gives a lighter more distinctive sound,sometimes called "covering"than the usual 'mixed register' vocalising. Why is this ?

Well,it is said to be easier on the vocal cords, and was the preferred method of legends like Sinatra,Ella Fitzgerald,Bette Midler and Barbra Streisand.

It does take though,in my experience , rather more energy than usual,and there could be a little less power/dynamism. That could be down to the fact though that my vocal cords are not as young as they used to be. LOL!

Singing at speech level (SLS) though, certainly seems to be the choice of many aspiring popular singers these days.

This singing technique is claimed to enable students to sing almost any genre of music you could name; blues,jazz,rock,musicals etc.

You get three hundred (!) audio files-a studio training DVD and it's all guaranteed. It is worth noting that many of Brett Mannings pupils have had dazzling success at the Dove and Grammy awards,using his SLS vocal methods .You can't say fairer than that!

So, in conclusion-my overall view is that although it's at the top spot on price-it's by far the highest, you get extremely good value for money.That is especially true when you consider the $60-100 you will be charged,per lesson,by the average singing coach these days. In answer to my headline question....? it's good to go!

Take a look and get free lessons. Click on Bretts picture opposite>