Hello, I'm Larry Little, and welcome to Learn to Sing on VCR.
I'd like to introduce you to Chris O'Connor.
Chris is a professional singer, performer, session musician, and vocal instructor in
the Los Angeles area.
A-E-I-O-U
Hi, I'm Chris O'Connor.
This tape will help you get started singing with proper vocal technique.
Now, whether you're an absolute beginner or have you been singing on and off for years,
this video is designed to help you develop, improve, and protect your voice.
Historically, singing's been a personal expression of celebration and joy.
I want you to have fun as you learn.
Now, to start things off, I'd like to show you how to use the tape.
This is the video table of contents, much like you've seen in a book.
The table of contents is divided into sections highlighting the different parts of the tape.
The introduction, general vocal information, identifying your vocal range, preparing to
sing, the sounds of music, the performance, microphone technique, and the video vocal
warm-up and exercise guide.
The numbers in the right corner of your screen are the minutes and seconds, our video clock,
and they provide a reference guide to help you find the different sections of the tape
and the vocal warm-up and exercises for your particular vocal range.
Just use the fast-forward or reverse on your tape machine when you want to locate or review
a particular section of the tape.
You can also use the digital counter found on most VCR machines.
To do this, reset your VCR counter at the point on the tape where the video clock first
appears.
Then, as you play the tape, take note of the different sections that you want to review
by writing down the numbers.
This video is designed to be viewed all the way through the first time.
After that, it can be used as a practice tool to be watched over and over again.
Now, let's learn how to sing on VCR.
Now, whether you sing in the shower, you sing with the radio, or you're already performing,
no matter what style you sing, from classical to rap, blues to jazz, you should recognize
the voice is an instrument, and unlike other instruments, it's a physical apparatus that
uses a combination of muscles and other parts of the body.
If you're a beginner, you may have tried to sing along with music only to find it's a
little difficult reaching some of the high notes or low notes.
Now, one of the first topics we need to discuss is what's called the vocal range.
A vocal range is defined as the notes that fall between the lowest and the highest notes
that you can comfortably sing.
It's very important to identify your vocal range.
In the beginning, your vocal range may be a little narrow, but as you practice and develop
your voice, it may expand.
If you're a male singer, there are three categories of range, the bass range, the baritone range,
and the tenor range.
The bass range is the lowest, the baritone is in the middle, and the tenor range is the
highest male range.
There are also three categories for female singers.
The contralto range is the lowest, the mezzo-soprano is in the middle, and the soprano is the highest
female range.
These categories, however, are general.
You may be a baritone and be able to sing tenor notes.
You may be a bass and be able to sing baritone notes, or you may be a soprano and sing mezzo-soprano
notes.
So for the sake of warming up, you want to stay within a comfortable range.
Now, to help you define your general range, for the purpose of this tape, we've limited
each range to two octaves.
We'll play two octave notes in each range for you to sing to.
Listen carefully and match your voice with the two notes that you hear in the different
ranges that apply to you.
Don't stretch or strain your voice to match the notes.
Your general range is where it's most comfortable to sing.
You may not fall exactly in one category or another.
Remember, this is not an exact classification.
It's a general starting point for you when you do your warm-ups and your exercises at
the end of the tape.
Now, let's look at the keyboard.
Find middle C. Middle C is the white key located in the direct center of the keyboard, just
left at the pair of black keys.
For male voices, bass, baritone, and tenor.
For female voices, contralto, mezzo-soprano, and soprano.
The sounds you make when you speak and when you sing occur when air passes across your
vocal cords.
That makes the cords vibrate, which produces the sounds that you hear when you're speaking
and singing.
To enable the best airflow and support, you should sing in a standing position when you
can.
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms hanging freely to your sides.
Relax the muscles in your neck and jaw.
Shake your arms around.
Pull your shoulders and your neck.
Stretch.
Stretch your jaw.
Now, do this slowly.
Take some deep breaths.
Inhale through your nose.
Exhale through your mouth.
Posture is extremely important for air support.
When you begin to sing, you should take a deep breath to expand your chest, and your
chest should remain expanded, even when your airflow has been depleted.
Take a deep breath and say, hey, hey, in your normal speaking voice.
Now, picture someone standing across the street whose attention you're trying to get.
You notice how your stomach contracts, your growing muscles push out slightly.
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
A combination of growing muscles, diaphragm, and your intercostal muscles push the air
past your vocal cords, circulating in your cranial cavity, past the soft palate in your
mouth.
And the air comes out of your mouth, and that gives you an idea of the kinds of muscles
that you use when you sing.
You do not use your throat to sing.
You don't want to stretch or strain your throat at all.
That's how you become hoarse.
That's how you hurt your voice.
To protect and preserve your vocal instrument, like an athlete, you need a technique to warm
up, to stretch, to train, and develop those vocal cords.
A sprinter who runs a race without warming up, he can stretch a muscle, pull a muscle,
hurt himself.
Similarly, you need to warm up slowly and thoroughly, stretch your vocal muscles to
avoid injury, and eventually, like an athlete, you'll build endurance, stamina, and strength.
Each note you sing has pitch.
Pitch represents the exact tonality of that particular note.
You want to try and be as close to actual pitch as possible when you sing.
Here's an example of pitch.
Here's the pitch of a C note.
Now, here's a note that's a little flat of pitch.
See how it's a little under pitch?
Here's a note that's a little sharp of pitch.
That's a little over pitch.
You want to stay as close to pitch as you possibly can.
That takes a little practice.
Now, vibrato is the natural quality of the human voice to waver slightly from pitch.
It's one of the main elements that creates the rich quality of the human voice.
For example, here's a note sung without vibrato.
Here's a note sung with vibrato.
See the difference?
Very rich sound.
Now, vibrato can be fast or slow.
Certain styles of music, such as rock, don't use vibrato or use it sparingly.
At this time, don't be concerned about vibrato.
Just try to get as close to pitch as possible.
Once you learn how to sing properly, you can control and develop your own vibrato.
Remember in English class, they taught you about vowels and consonants?
Well in singing, notes held and accentuated are usually vowel sounds.
For example, A-E-I-O-U, like I did in the beginning.
Consonants are for the most part passing tones that are not usually held out.
If a consonant note is held, you'll find that it's the vowel sound in the consonant that
you're really holding.
For example, holding out a consonant like F doesn't work.
F, F, it just doesn't work.
Although holding out a consonant like C does.
C, because it's that E sound in the C that you're holding.
We'll be using the vowel sounds in the exercise portion of the tape.
When you sing, you project your voice.
Now, projection is the volume at which the sound of your voice is perceived.
Singing louder does not necessarily mean singing harder.
For example, in upper registers or upper pitches, a very high note can be heard at low volume
as easily as a low pitch at higher volume.
Don't strain to sing higher notes because their pitch naturally projects those notes.
In your lower range, use what's known as your lower voice.
This is a voice you use when you speak.
It should be very comfortable and natural.
The sound emanates from your chest.
As you sing the notes in your higher range, you use what's known as your head voice.
This head voice emanates from the back of your head.
To get the idea of what singing in your head voice feels like, try yawning.
Yawn with the note.
As we get into the exercises, you'll notice how to move from your lower voice to your
head voice and then back again as we practice and do scales.
Now, I'll exaggerate this so you can hear the difference.
You hear how I go from my chest into my head and then back to my chest again?
The exciting result of practicing these techniques is the ability to perform and a good performance
is a thrilling and rewarding experience.
As you learn and practice, you develop a confidence and a self-assurance in your singing and your
singing will in turn build your self-confidence.
Once you understand the mechanics of singing, you can vary your performance by using attitude
to approach each individual song.
The attitude is the emotion you use when you sing.
The same lines of a song can be sung and sound completely different depending on your attitude.
As a singer, you are in a sense an actor playing a role.
You're conveying feelings through the music and it's those feelings that give the music
meaning.
On the screen, you'll see a list of things you should consider doing before you perform
a song.
First, look over the music if it's been furnished.
Next, check the key for your vocal range and if you can, transpose it into the proper vocal
range for you.
Try to understand what the arrangement is all about.
Carefully read the lyrics.
Take the time to write them out.
Make sure you understand them.
What's the song about?
What's the emotional content of the song?
Decide how you would interpret the lyric.
And finally, look for commas and breathing opportunities during your performance.
When you perform, you may need a microphone for the best quality of sound.
So it's important to know something about microphones and mic technique.
Here's a standard performance microphone.
Some microphones today are cordless.
This one has a cord.
But regardless of the type of microphone that you use, the same technique applies.
The distance from your mouth that you hold the microphone depends on the volume at which
you're singing and your projection.
To begin with, as a rule of thumb, hold the microphone a fist distance away from your
mouth.
Now, the louder you sing, the further away from your mouth you want to hold the microphone
so that your vocals aren't distorted.
Now, if you're singing very softly, you may want to hold the mic closer to your lips like
this so you can pick up the soft notes.
Before you sing, you'll need to warm up your voice.
This is important.
Now, I've chosen some of the most common and effective warm up and exercise techniques
to use each time you prepare to sing.
When you warm up, you do a series of exercises to relax and stretch your voice.
Now, some of these exercises may seem a little unusual or silly at times, but they're proven
effective.
I call the first series the siren warm ups.
When you do these exercises, you mimic the sound of a siren without concentrating so
much on pitch in between the bottom and the top note.
Listen to each warm up exercise and then pause the tape, try it yourself in your own
range.
Now, once again, with your feet shoulder width apart, your arms at your sides, very relaxed,
the first siren warm up is called blowing bubbles.
The lower part of your register, inhale through your nose, expand your chest, blow very gently
with your lips slightly together as if you're blowing bubbles.
Go up five steps of the octave scale like a siren and then back down again.
Now, I'll do the exercise in the lower part of my register to show you how it should sound.
Repeat each scale twice before moving on to the next higher note.
Remember, do this light and easy.
Repeat the exercise throughout your vocal range from the bottom to the top and then
back down again like this.
And so on.
Now remember, don't worry so much about pitch between your lower note and your higher note.
You're supposed to slide into the high note and then back down to the low note.
This is strictly to stretch and warm up.
The next siren warm up is called gargling.
And once again, beginning in your lower range as if you were gargling, blow gently out of
your mouth.
This is going to vibrate your soft palate, the back of your tongue, relaxing your jaw,
preparing your support muscles to sing.
Sounds like this.
But don't worry so much if you're not gargling exactly.
The point is to relax the muscles, to warm yourself up.
Repeat each scale twice before moving on to the next higher note throughout your range.
Now remember, nice and easy with these exercises.
You can also pause your VCR and work on this before moving on to the next warm up.
Now I love this next warm up.
It's called the tongue pulse siren.
This exercise is where you stick your tongue out slightly and you hold it gently.
And I suggest you use a washcloth of any kind so that you can hold your tongue effectively
without pulling too hard.
I just want to hold it so that your throat is opened up.
Now this exercise allows you to push air through the soft palate into your head voice.
And once again, with the siren, you want to use a vowel sound, not concentrating on pitch.
Gently begin with an ah sound and go through your register.
Using the same five notes in the octave scale before you move on to the next note.
Now repeat each scale twice before moving on to the next higher note.
Repeat the exercise once again from your bottom of your range up to the top and back again
like this.
Remember posture.
This might feel a little uncomfortable to begin with, but it opens up your throat and
gives you an idea of what kind of support you're going to need to get into that head
voice.
Now the next warm up exercise I have is called yawning.
This is like the exercise I mentioned before in the sounds of music section.
You actually use the word yawn and think about yawning as you're going through the scales.
Once again, don't concentrate so much on the pitch between the lower note and the higher
note.
When we go through the yawn exercise, it sounds like this.
You hear my vibrato come out?
It's a natural element.
Now if you don't have vibrato, that's okay.
If you do have vibrato, that's okay.
Your vibrato will develop.
Just keep practicing.
Repeat each scale twice before moving on to the next higher note.
Remember, you do this softly and gently and you repeat the exercise throughout your range
from the bottom to the top and then back down again.
To be aware of the muscles that you use to support your singing, once again imagine standing
across the street from someone whose attention you're trying to get.
Now in a medium volume voice, not too loudly, say, hey man, hey man, hey man.
You notice how your groin muscles push out, your intercostal muscles contract to compress
your diaphragm as the air is pushed out?
Now that you feel those muscles, the muscles you use to control your air support, let's
begin in your lower register, do a single octave scale, this time thinking about pitch
when you say hey.
Hold the note for a few seconds before you say man.
Now you'll notice when doing this properly, your projection makes the volume seem louder
without really pushing any harder, trying to sing loud.
It sounds like this.
Hey man, hey man, hey man, hey man, hey man, hey man, hey man, hey man, hey man, hey man,
hey man, hey man, hey man, hey man.
Now you do this a single note all the way up the octave scale in your range, twice on
each note.
Don't scream, keep your jaw relaxed, you push with the supporting muscles, hey, hey, hey.
Feel it up in your head, push the groin, the diaphragm, the intercostal muscles, keep your
chest expanded.
You can pause your VCR, try this before moving on to the next warm up.
The final warm up exercise is the honk, and like the yawn, the honk is designed to really
concentrate in the head voice, honk, honk, honk.
You use the word just like a car horn, you start in your lower register on a single note
at a time, sing honk, honk, exaggerate the N in the honk sound, concentrate the sound
in your head, in the sinus area, do a single octave range up and down and do two honks
on each note.
Sounds like this.
Honk, honk, honk, honk, honk, honk.
See how it goes up into the voice, you hear it, honk, up in the head voice.
You want to do it light and easy though, don't strain, if you're getting too high, don't
strain your throat, the point is to use the head voice.
Now the final segment of the video covers vocal exercises.
We'll be singing vowel sounds using intervals and concentrating on pitch.
We combine all the elements of our warm up exercises using the supporting muscles and
moving from the lower voice into the head voice and back again with ease.
The first exercise is a partial major scale.
You sing the first five notes of the scale forward and backward using the ah, a vowel
or the ah sound.
In my range, it sounds like this.
At the top of your range, you should slide the a sound into an e because the end of an
a sounds like an e.
Now this helps protect your voice and remember, you don't ever want to strain your voice.
After the first scale, go to the next higher note, sing the same thing.
Take it slow.
Now it sounds like this.
After you've sung the ah, the a sound, vowel, go to the next sound, the e.
Repeat the exercise and then try i, o and u.
Now remember, i also slides into the e sound at the upper part of your register.
This is natural.
Now the example of each vowel sound sounds like this.
For each general range, starting with the male voice from the low to the high, we're
going to play sample pitches on the keyboard for you to follow and sing along with.
Only sing along with the range that's comfortable for you.
Don't strain your voice.
We're limiting each range to two octaves for the purpose of this tape.
Use the video clock on the right hand of the screen and take note of each section of the
tape where the exercises in your range begin.
You can just roll back the tape to the section you need to use for your exercises.
Remember to sing all the vowel sounds for each exercise using the same keyboard scale
played for your particular range.
Starting with the male ranges, the base range begins with the c, two octaves below middle
c and goes up to middle c like this.
Now the example of each vowel sound sounds like this.
We're limiting each range to two octaves for the purpose of this tape.
Only sing along with the range that's comfortable for you.
Don't strain your voice.
We're limiting each range to two octaves below middle c and goes up to middle c like
this.
Remember to sing all the vowel sounds for each exercise using the same keyboard scale
played for your particular range.
C, two octaves below middle c and goes up to middle c like this.
Only sing along with the range that's comfortable for you.
Don't strain your voice.
We're limiting each range to two octaves below middle c and goes up to middle c like
this.
Only sing along with the range that's comfortable for you.
Remember to sing all the vowel sounds for each exercise using the same keyboard scale
played for your particular range.
Only sing along with the range that's comfortable for you.
C, two octaves below middle c and goes up to middle c like this.
The baritone range begins two E's below middle
c to an E above middle c.
C, two octaves below middle c and goes up to middle c to an E above middle c.
C, two octaves below middle c and goes up to middle c to an E above middle c.
C, two octaves below middle c and goes up to middle c to an E above middle c.
The tenor range begins two G's below middle c to the G above middle c.
C, two octaves below middle c and goes up to middle c to the G above middle c.
C, two octaves below middle c and goes up to middle c to the G above middle c.
C, two octaves below middle c and goes up to middle c to the G above middle c.
C, two octaves below middle c and goes up to middle c to the G above middle c.
C, two octaves below middle c and goes up to middle c.
Next, the female ranges.
C, two octaves below middle c and goes up to middle c to the G above middle c.
C, two octaves below middle c and goes up to middle c to the G above middle c.
C, two octaves below middle c and goes up to middle c to the G above middle c.
C, two octaves below middle c and goes up to middle c to the G above middle c.
The mezzo-soprano range begins one F below middle c to two F's above middle c.
C, two octaves below middle c and goes up to middle c to the G above middle c.
C, two octaves below middle c and goes up to middle c to the G above middle c.
C, two octaves below middle c and goes up to middle c to the G above middle c.
And the soprano range begins with the A below middle c to two A's above middle c.
C, two octaves below middle c and goes up to middle c to the G above middle c.
C, two octaves below middle c and goes up to middle c to the G above middle c.
C, two octaves below middle c and goes up to middle c to the G above middle c.
C, two octaves below middle c and goes up to middle c to the G above middle c.
Our next exercise is a root third fifth or triad exercise.
You sing the root, the third, and the fifth interval in a scale, forward and backward,
using the A vowel or the ah sound. Remember not to strain the upper part of your range.
In my range, it sounds like this.
After you've sung the A or the ah vowel, go to the next vowel sound, the E.
Repeat the exercise. Then try I, O, and U.
Use the video clock on the right-hand top of the screen.
Take note of the section of the tape where the exercises in your range begin.
Then you can just roll the tape back to the section you need to use when you're doing your own exercises.
Remember, sing all the vowel sounds for each exercise using the same keyboard scale played for your particular range.
Now, I can't stress this enough. Don't strain your voice.
Only sing along with the range that's comfortable for you.
Don't stretch it too much.
Eliminate each range to two octaves for the purpose of this tape.
Then roll the tape back to the section you need to use for the last exercise.
Repeat the exercise.
Now I can't stress this enough. Don't strain your voice.
Only sing along with the range that's comfortable for you.
Only sing along with the range that's comfortable for you.
Remember to relax.
Arrange the notes and the range.
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Go to the next vowel sound, the E, and repeat the exercise.
And then try I, O and U again.
Remember to use the video clock.
Roll ahead or back to your section.
Only sing along with the range that's comfortable for you.
Don't strain your voice.
That's what this is about, to teach you how to not strain.
Now, we're limiting the range to 2 octaves.
Let's try it again.
Let's try it again.
Let's try it again.
Let's try it again.
Let's try it again.
Let's try it again.
Let's try this again.
Let's try this again.
Let's try this again.
Let's try this again.
Let's try this again.
Let's try this again.
Let's try this again.
Let's try this again.
Let's try this again.
Singing is a lot of fun.
I hope you've enjoyed Learn to Sing on VCR Volume 1.
With a little practice, you'll find your control
and your capabilities greatly improved.
I'm Chris O'Connor, wishing you an enjoyable experience
every time you sing.
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