Rules of the Game

First, I must say that singing is mostly what you make of it. It's largely mental! If you're distracted by your thoughts, you won't have much of a practice session. So clear your thoughts. Think that you will do well. Keep your mind happy. Create an attitude for singing. Think negative = not happening. Think positive = flourishing voice.

Second, remove all stress! You must stay totally relaxed. Have a friend or family member massage you - especially the neck, shoulders, back, and chest. Do some exercises, stress sessions, yoga - whatever makes the boat float. Stress is the singers biggest enemy! So eliminate stress above all.

Third, posture is the frame for great singing. Your body won't be able to give you any energy if you're low and slumped over in a chair. Posture gives you focus - and it has health benefits. Posture makes you feel a bit more confident. It allows your breathing the freedom it needs, and breath opens up the voice (but we'll discuss that in the next lesson). So stand, put your feet shoulder-width apart, keep your head high and your back straight.

Health Tips:

• It is very important to keep yourself well hydrated as a vocalist...and there is little other remedy than water, water, and more water. You should be getting about two litres of water everyday. This does more than hydrates; it causes body secretions (like mucous, quite an enemy to vocal stamina) to thin down. It also lubricates various parts. You should be drinking enough water that your urine is clear. So drink more water - purified water that is, NOT TAP, as tap water contains all kinds of contaminants (biological, mineral, and otherwise - This is extremely important to people living in the Triangle area in North Carolina as Raleigh itself is built on a LEAD mine) that inhibit the body's absorption of nutrients.
• Drink juices. Any juice is fine. Some vocal teachers will tell you to stay away from acidic beverages and foods - including things like orange juice, mango, and grapefruit. LIES! Our bodies need something to counter the generally alkaline balance common in American cultures. Furthermore, practically ALL fruit juices contain pectin. Pectins are good for relieving vocal problems that occur in daily use of the voice. Any fruit juice or fresh fruit is good for you and are best utilized by the body when eaten alone (ie, not with other food groups: grains, dairy, etc.). Nonetheless, begin substituting fruit for dessert. Natural sugars, including honey, are better for the body than refined sweeteners. Shopping at Wellspring or Fresh Market or other natural-foods stores is my recommendation here.
• And as always, there are a list of DON'Ts. Sugar has already been discussed, however, stay away from artificial sweeteners - the chemicals used in artificial sweeteners cause significant body damage (damage that isn't always notable on the outside), so if you have a choice of sugar or a sweetener...choose the sugar or none at all. Similarly, stay away from diet drinks of any kind (for both the sweetener reason above AND for salt content). Sodas in general contain salt, which has a way of dehydrating - actually salt absorbs the molecules of water into itself, preventing the body from using the water (and also helps the body retain water). I'm guilty of the sodas bit myself - but that's my weakness and I try to do better...sometimes. Now I know it will sound like I'm promoting a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle - and I'm sorry, I have never tried to promote the herbivores' lifestyle, but yes, the vegetarians have a few over on most of us. I'm referring to meat and dairy families. Meat and dairy are both very alkaline, especially meat. In addition to causing foul body odours, it has about the same effect as coating the vocal cords with butter! Not exactly a picture of health. Dairy is unusual. First off, ALL humans are to some degree lactose intolerant, which causes numerous problems, not least of which is clogging things up (and making the vocal cords produce excessively thick lubricants and thickening the mucous in the sinuses). Despite anyone telling you that dairy presents NO problems for them, all humans DO NOT produce the enzymes needed to digest lactose! - The only two exceptions to this rule seem to be yogurt and cheese ("already-been-cultured" items) as these already have the enzymes in them and have "processed" already. In any case, consume these in moderation still. [Caution: Light and Diet Yogurts (what's the point of that?) almost always contain Nutrasweet - see above]

Know Your Voice

Time to relax! Get it all out! Shake your body! You might try tensing all your muscles, then completely relaxing everything. Hey, keep the picture in your mind! You're singing like a star, remember? So, are you a limp rag-doll? Are you an overcooked noodle yet? You should have a floppy feeling. Good. You're ready.

Standing works better for improving everything vocal, so stand up! Put your feet about shoulder-width apart. This should leave a distance between your feet about 8" to 18" - so, about a foot is a good rule of thumb. Check yourself. Now put your left foot forward 2 to 3" - This is for balance. (Unfortunately, it's the left foot only. Due to the balance of organs inside your body, the left foot forward properly centers body weight. The right foot is just not the same.) Don't lock your knees. They should be normal and relaxed. Keep your spine straight. This is important. You want to keep everything from the hips up as free as possible. Avoid anything that restricts your movement. Keep your head high and level. Keep your chest from slumping. (I said "No Slumping" instead of "Keep Your Chest High" because lifting the chest too high misaligns the spine - backwards - and causes a good deal of stress in the chest area, which will lead to fatigue. That's it!

This will set you up, not only for good singing, but for a healthy body as well.

Practice, Practice, Practice...

Relaxation Exercises

"Ragdoll"

1. Correct your posture - Stand with your feet about a foot apart with left slightly forward, straighten up your spine, keep your chest and head up, NOT high.
2. Keeping the posture, Bend over at the hips and just flop your hands down. Imagine you're a floppy ragdoll or an overcooked noodle.
3. Just shake off all the stress.

"Big Breath"

1. Roll your head around to release neck tension. Keep your breathing regular.
2. Hold your head up. Now take a good deep breath - not fast, not too slow, just regular AND deep. Pour the breath low - way down into your abdomen, filling up your back and sides and belly (you should feel this 360 degrees around) - and fill up into the lower ribs and right on up into the upper chest. You should be so full of air that you feel like you're gonna pop and you can't take even a microscopic sip.
3. Close your mouth and just sit on the breath for a couple of seconds, relaxing everything.
4. Now let it out. Just let everything flop. (What a relief, right? That's exactly how it should feel.)

"Meditation"

1. Take a deep breath and roll your head around while exhaling.
2. Relax everything. Think about a lovely quiet meadows with birds, a light wind, and a totally peaceful countryside.
3. There's a house in the meadows. There's a party going on inside. You go inside and get totally lit! You have absolutely no strains whatsoever.
4. They give you the mic! You sing fabulously. You're the famous star you always wanted to be. And you know what? You're having a blast! (Now doesn't that feel better? - This is actually a mental adjustment exercise more than anything else. Use it whenever you need a mood elevation.)

All exercises in the lessons are listed in the Exercise Popup for easy access.
Look for [Examples] links everywhere.

For this week...