What is vibrato? Is vibrato “natural” (happens by itself), or is it consciously “caused” somehow by the singer?

What is vibrato? How do I sing with vibrato? Is vibrato natural (happens by itself), or is it consciously “caused” somehow by the singer? My answer is a bit boring, but hang with me!

 These are good questions. There are many voice teachers who teach otherwise, but straight tone, not vibrato, is actually the most natural way to make a sound.  Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!  You never hear a baby cry with vibrato, nor do people talk with vibrato (unless you count Katherine Hepburn).  Vibrato must be consciously or unconsciously caused physically by the singer.  

 For some people, their musical ears tell them to sing with vibrato and their bodies react and respond, “kicking off” the muscle work to begin the vibrato. They might not even know how they’re making it happen! Singers without a vibrato, on the other hand, will have to make a more conscious effort to train their bodies to produce vibrato. Once it does begin, though, it soon becomes relatively easy to maintain.

 Let me give you this as a crude (and somewhat boring) example of what vibrato is:

 It’s a bit like an air hose underwater, slowly letting air bubbles out at a consistent rate; say at 5-7 bubbles per second.  Once one bubble is released, there is a little time for the air pressure to build back up, and then it releases the next bubble, and so on. In this example, of course, there is a complete break between each air bubble.

 In singing, however, there is a constant, but uneven release of air.  There is slightly more air pressure build-up than is being consistently released.  As a result, there are periodic releases of that extra build up of air – the pulses that become vibrato. The extra back pressure before the release of each pulse, as small as it is, is felt all the way back in the lungs, and then it’s released. The vibrato sound we hear is the pressure-release-pressure-release pulsing that occurs. There is synergistic pressure build-up and release between the vocal folds (chords) and the muscles controlling the upward air flow (abs, diaphragm, and dozens of others).

 But, at the end of the day, the vibrato process has to be “kicked off”, and then maintained by the singer. For many singers, their ear told them their tone needed a pulse to it, so they put it in. It’s frustrating to those who have to work at “causing” it, but it can be taught and it can definitely be learned.  Once it’s learned well, it will feel “natural”.

Take this vocal technique quiz!

Take this vocal technique quiz. Answer the questions and keep track of your answers. Your answers will be either yes or no.

Do I ever have to “break” or have to change the tone or sound of any notes because they go too high or too low? Does my voice ever “crack” when I sing?
Your vocal tone should remain relaxed and consistent throughout your entire vocal range. Breaking or cracking in your voice happens when the imbalance in your voice can no longer be maintained, and suddenly, snap! It falls into a different sound production, and not necessarily a much better one than where it was.

If the vocal chords (working with the air) aren’t doing their job, then the muscles outside the larynx (the voice box) will try to help.  That’s what causes reaching for notes (high or low), squeezing, or baring down in an attempt to produce the right air/muscle balance at the vocal fold (vocal chord) level. That’s like trying to stand up by flexing your biceps.  One has little to do with the other!  The same balance you feel in your speaking voice will give you control in your singing voice.
Do I have to change the way my voice sounds or is produced so I can sing either in the high range or the low range?
If you have a well balanced voice from top to bottom, there should essentially be no change in the way you produce high or low notes. It will feel as easy as speech.

Does my voice ever feel sore or fatigued after singing (including the day after)?
Your vocal folds (vocal chords) are only about your thumbnail across in length.  They’re actually quite tiny.  In fact, some of the muscles that help control the vocal folds are as small as 1/5 the width of your thumbnail! If those tiny muscles aren’t all working ”in concert”, so to speak, the outer larynx muscle have to do quadruple duty to try to have some small influence on the pitch production. It’s those outer muscles that get fatigued.  They have almost no leverage on the voice, so they stay in a constant state of tension if they think they are helping you sing. That’s just plain tiring!

Does it take my voice 1-3 days or more to recover from a performance?
If we have to push those tiny vocal folds (only the length of your thumbnail across) beyond their capacity by yelling, gripping, etc., then those muscles get stiff, just like when we use any muscle we haven’t used in a while (raking leaves, etc.). We feel stiff or sore for the next couple or few days.

Also, the vocal folds have an outer tissue layer (sort of like skin on the outside of the chords). This tissue can get irritated, or even inflamed when they are squeezed and “over-muscled” together. It takes awhile for the inflammation to go down. With a good vocal balance, a healthy and conditioned voice can be used to sing for hours without irritation.

Do I run out of breath too soon when trying to sing longer phrases?
Think in terms of efficiency here. If I have trouble cooling my house in the summer, I might think I have to upgrade my air conditioner.  I might also add more insulation, or energy efficient double-pane windows. But after I spent all of this money, time and energy, my house still isn’t cool! Why? I may have overlooked the obvious. I’m constantly leaving all of the doors and windows wide open, all day!

My point? If my vocal chords aren’t coming together lightly, but with a good seal, then they are going to leak out a bunch of air.  Even if your tone is only slightly airy, you can use up to 2 or 3 times more air than you need to.  So if your vocal chords aren’t doing their job, then just taking a little bit bigger breath or doing all of the diaphragm exercise in the world won’t help your breath ”support”. You’ll still run out of breath before the end of the phrase.

A side note here: think about this, breath isn’t “supported”.  I don’t like that terminology because it isn’t a physical reality… a subject and discussion for a different day!)

Does my voice feel/sound weak, breathy or airy?
Usually, too much air is escaping across the chords. Just like a whisper is soft, so is a sung tone that let’s out too much air. The “airy” sound waves that come off of the chords are fuzzy so they dissipate easily. You want to produce clearly delineated sound waves, these can produce far more resonance. An efficient use of the air at the chord level produces more sound.

Is it hard to sing the upper notes? Are they weak or tense or “pushed”?
Again, the outer larynx (voice box) muscles might think that they themselves are doing all of the work. They should do very little at all other than stabilize the larynx. (The same stabilization, by the way, that you use when speaking.) Virtually all that is needed to produce high or low pitches is negotiated between the vocal folds and the air.

Do I ever feel extremely nervous about singing because I’m not sure what my voice is going to do in a performance?
Listen, if I weren’t fairly confident that my vocal technique was balanced and running somewhat on auto-pilot, then I wouldn’t perform. Otherwise, I’m trying to juggle remembering the lyrics, emotional communication, stage presence, tone, pitch, and about 20 other things going on in my head.

We have to develop great vocal technique habits that take pretty much take over, even when everything else seems to be going wrong. There are certainly other factors that need addressing with regard to “stage freight”, but in my experience, vocal technique inefficiencies are the primary cause of our performance fear factor!

Does my voice lack strength or stamina?
I’m sure you know by know that my answer to this question is going to have something to do with a poor vocal balance. True.  But let’s assume for a moment that you have a perfectly balanced voice, then your problem is just conditioning.  The conditioning and strengthening of the voice have much to do with isomeric and flexibility exercising – not power lifting! Projection doesn’t mean pushing! It’s an effect, not a cause. A good vocal balance causes projection.

What were your answers?
If you answered YES to just about any of these questions, there is a more than 95% chance that improving your vocal technique (the way you use your voice) will eliminate the problem. That really is about finding the right teacher.

Just like any great athlete works with coaches and teachers throughout their careers, we too need that extra “pair of ears” to guide us. That being said, unfortunately, very few teachers know how help students find a good balance in their voices. See my article on finding a good voice teacher at http://www.singwithpower.com/Finding-the-right-voice-teacher.html.

If you have any questions about the voice, singing technique or vocal health, post them at one of several of my blogs: www.singwithpower.wordpress.com, www.myspace.com/singwithpower, http://singwithpower.blogspot.com, or join the SWP facebook using the search terms ”Eric Bruner voice teacher”.

Hope this helps!

Eric Bruner
SingWithPower.com

7 Vibrato Exercises for Perfecting & Mastering Vibrato

Vibrato is…
that smooth, steady pulse you hear in a singer’s voice when he or she is holding out a note. It’s used in virtually every musical style. It almost resembles a subtle wave in the singing tone. It’s used to give warmth and depth to a singer’s sound.

Straight tone is…
used in almost every style of music, as is vibrato. A straight tone has no pulse or wave. It’s has sort of a “flat-line” sound. It’s often used to add intensity to a note.

Tremolo (wobble) is…
when a singer holds out a tone and the pitch is wobbling up and down, actually singing back and forth between two pitches. A vocal wobble (unless specifically called for) sounds sloppy and uncontrolled.

The Perfect Vibrato™ training program takes you step-by-step, helping you master the use of vibrato, as well as the use of straight tone in your singing voice. Perfect Vibrato™ is recorded on 3 CDs, divided into two singing lessons, and further broken down into a total of four sections. Here’s the breakdown:

Lesson 1: Developing the Vibrato

Lesson 1 starts off with a vibrato assessment section. A typical professional sounding vibrato pulses at about 5-7 pulses per second. The vibrato assessment helps you determine where your vibrato speed is, and then how to best proceed with the program for your level.

The second section of this first lesson is developing the vibrato, taking you through 7 different methods to finding your best vibrato, helping you develop your optimal, natural vibrato speed, which is a little different for every person.

Lesson 2: Polishing the Vibrato
The first section of lesson 2 is all about polishing the vibrato. It takes you through dozens of exercises to give a great, finished sound to your voice. This section works on continuing to master your best vibrato. At the same time, you’ll perfect a free, open and powerful straight tone.
The final section pulls it all together! This is the application section. You’ll work on several song phrases, mixing up the use of your newly mastered vibrato and straight tone vocals. You’ll learn to easily move between vibrato and straight tone when stylizing.

How do I sing when I have laryngitis or am sick?

Laryngitis is a general term used by most of us to describe when we “lose” our voices. Usually it’s inflammation or irritation of the vocal folds, although it can also be extreme dryness of the vocal folds, acid reflux, or stiffness of the muscles in and around the vocal folds themselves.

Laryngitis can be caused by many things, one of which is trauma (screaming, yelling, excessive or loud talking, intense coughing due to sickness, over singing, etc). For singers, over singing (singing too high, too long, too loud, etc) is a particular problem.

If caused by trauma, and you can almost pinpoint moment you hurt your voice, stop singing or talking altogether, if possible, for at least 24hrs. If there is next to zero voice there, see an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist. This could be very serious, and continuing to sing or speak on it can cause permanent damage.

If caused by extreme inflammation where it is very painful to speak or swallow, again, take off a day or two and give your voice a chance to get a bit healthier before singing again.

Now, most of the time, we just have stiffness, dryness or irritation of the chords due to overuse, allergies, acid reflux or sickness. When this is the case, we can still sing. We just have to warm up slowly, lowly and spread out. In other words, sing quietly and only singing as high as is completely comfortable, and for short periods of time. (By the way, acid reflux is very serious and needs to be dealt with ASAP, if that’s the problem).

We may only be able to sing a few notes of range, at best, to start. Just sing quietly (no more than a normal spoken level) for a minute or two at most, then give yourself a break for 10-15 minutes or more, and then try again. After awhile, your voice will start to loosen up, although it won’t necessarily return to 100% that day. If you’re patient, you might be surprised at how much of your voice can come back on that same day.

A huge help will also be lubrication. Use a throat spray that is aloe vera based. I recommend Entertainer’s Secret (and yes, I have it available out at www.SingWithPower.com, or at the studio). Entertainer’s Secret saved my voice when I discovered that I had acid reflux problems. It is a spritz inhaled across the vocal folds themselves. That’s the only way to directly lubricate the area.

There is a “door” called the epiglottis that shuts off the vocal folds area when we swallow. It keeps us from choking on food or liquid when we swallow, so if we just use a spray for the upper throat to help our voices, it never touches the vocal chords. It would be like pouring oil on the outside of the engine, rather than into the engine. Used liberally, a product like Entertainer’s Secret can help tremendously.

By the way, don’t use a spray that numbs the area if you’re going to be talking or singing. You want to be able to feel if you are hurting yourself. For instance, you wouldn’t use a numbing shot on a sprained ankle so that you can walk around. You’d be further injuring the area, even though you wouldn’t be feeling the pain.

Hope this helps!

How to stop “scooping” or reaching up to high notes.

Here’s a simple solution to stop scooping or reaching up to high notes. Practice first by putting an “m” or “n” in front of an open vowel too which you are scooping. Tune the “m”, and then open to the vowel.

For instance, if you’re scooping up to a note on the word “outside”, then practice first singing”mmmmoutside”. The key is to be sure that your “m” is in tune before you open to the “ah” sound of “outside”.

Get in tune quickly on the “m” or “n”. Try to shorten the time it takes to tune up the “m”. Work your way to singing “ON the pitch” (no scoop) on the “m” or “n”.

After you get rid of the scoop on the “m”, then try going straight to the open vowel (“ah” in the case of this example) in tune, ON the pitch.

You’re listeners will be grateful!

Is “classical” voice training best?

ELISHA WROTE:

I hope it is ok for me to be contacting you like this! My name is Elisha, and I was just perusing local vocal coaches and came across your page. I’m a singer who has been classically trained, but who has a bigger passion for more popular styles of music. I’ve learned to express myself in many different styles and using different tone colors, but the technique of belting in the upper range is really keeping me from getting to the next level..

I tend to overthink and analyze a lot of things, and perhaps that is part of my problem, but I am getting hung up on whether or not I should be using more of a “fake/mixed/head voice” belt or trying to work to extend my actual chest voice. I’m driving myself crazy trying different placements and thinning out the sound, but nothing seems to be quite right.. when I flip into a fake belt, it sounds fine in the extreme range (F5ish+), but in the Bb4-E5 range, it doesn’t sound “belty”enough to me.

When I’m singing a particularly taxing belting song, I’ve found that I get VERY vocally tired and sometimes can’t make it through the song (I end up losing my placement and range), and I’m just not sure what I could be doing wrong. When a song sits in that Bb4-E5 range a lot or repeatedly keeps having me belt out notes in that range, I just feel like I keep getting tighter and tighter and no matter how relaxed I try to be, there’s no stopping it…

I’m just really frustrated and starting to lose faith in my singing.. I’m also starting to fear that I am somehow damaging my voice. I’d love if you could send a few pointers my way if and when you get the chance. You can hear several samples of me singing different genres of songs on my profile for reference..

I’d also like to know what your pricing is for private voice lessons. I think I’m at my wits end and have gone as far as I can on my own, and my classical training won’t help me with the problems I am now facing. Thank you for any info and advice you can offer!

Elisha

ERIC RESPONDED:

There is hope!!

Your problems are common with “classically trained” singers – especially women. “Classically trained” to me means “voice teacher who doesn’t know how to teach students to connect the registers”.

I love and teach all styles of music, but it is NEVER ok for a voice teacher to teach singing technique if they can’t help a student seamlessly line up the voice so that they can sing any musical style or vocal range. Your teachers should have eliminated your voice “cracking” or “breaking” before pushing you into any specific style of music.

If you don’t feel your vocal range, tone and control improving within a few lessons, then work with a better teacher who will help you attain your goals faster.

Here’s a link from SingWithPower.com discussing finding a good voice teacher. Call Kathy in the office and let her know that I want to set up lesson with you. 866-910-7464

We will fix this.

Eric

Vibrato development and Mastering Lesson Program

Eric has just finished an almost 2 1/2 hr vibrato development and polishing program. These lessons on vibrato will help students of every level learn to sing with a more musical, relaxed and natural sounding vibrato.

Web Voice Lessons

Yes, I’m teaching lessons by web-cam! I see you and hear your singing voice the same as if you were in my vocal studio, so voice lessons over-the-web are pretty much the same. I have the opportunity to work with singers from almost every continent around the world.  I work to help them find more powerful, solid, and comfortable voices.

 The lessons are not only really effective, they are very fun and have proven successful for hundreds of students. Give it a try! Within the first few minutes you’ll  start gaining higher range and a stronger, more controlled voice.