Works For Me - Voice Lessons

I need some voice lesson tips. What are your ideas?

Due to budgetary constraints, I found the following free videos on YouTube for voice lessons. Disclaimer: You get what you pay for. Watch Ellen DeGeneres get lessons from Eleine Overholt.

Maybe I should just go sing in the rain. It is pouring out right now! At least no one will hear.

Other tips I have received include:

1) Say "Huh, Huh, Huh" from your chest. Hmmm. Makes me cough.

2) Breath out and hold it like a cavity is in your chest. Makes me look fat. Oh well. Maybe I'm doing it wrong.

3) Speak from down deep. Deep da da, deep da da, deep down in my heart. Okay, I have to take this more serious.

Hmmm. Let's try another video: Apparently, it is all about the air in your diaphram and how loud you sing.

This last one says even professional singers have trouble at 35-38 if they don't sing correctly. It might just be too late for me. Someone told me it's because I had kids - screaming out the back door. Isn't everything wrong with my body because of kids? (But I have to say it is still worth every stretch mark and damaged vocal cord! I love them soooo much. I feel a song coming on.)

See Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks in My Dryer for more tips and quips!

Comments

[Abbey]

I was a Music Teacher/Choral Director and taught private voice lessons before I had my daughter. First, you might want to invest in a few lessons, just because you can permanantly damage your vocal cords by singing incorrectly. Or try calling a local college with a music program. If they are training students to be voice teachers, they may need volunteer students.
Here are a few exercises to try, but don't do anything if it hurts. Start slow with breathing exercises, pulling breath in slowly for 8 seconds and then slowly releasing for 8 seconds, then 16, then 32 if you can. Next, instead of just releasing the air, release it while singing one note. Next while you sing this note, pretend (only pretend- never put anything in your mouth while singing) that you have a pear in your mouth, with the large part near the back of your throat. If you imagine this, it will make you raise your soft palate in the back of your mouth. This creates a mini cathedral that will resonate the sound and make your voice sound better. If you practiced this with different notes and sounds as a warm up, it will slowly improve your singing voice.
But I'll say again, your best route is to invest in a few lessons or be a volunteer student. Good luck!

[Jendeis]

I second investing in a few private lessons.

Some tips:

Imagine a ping pong ball in your mouth, this opens up your whole airway and will help your voice resonate.

Breathe correctly! Stomach out to inhale, stomach in to exhale.

Roll your shoulders back so that you stand properly for proper breath support.

Visualize landing on top of the note rather than reaching up to it (helps with proper pitch).

For practice on higher notes, it may help to stick your tongue out to vocalize it. :)

[Jenny]

I have a music ed degree with a voice concentration, and I would say that all the singing advice in the world won't work very well unless you've got someone there to check and see what the advice is doing for you.

For example, some people do great imagining a ping pong ball in their mouths as they sing. For them, it creates space and the sound is lovely. Others, like me, get all tense because they imagine the ping pong ball getting stuck in their throats and cutting off the most important function of life - breathing!! I don't even want to know what would happen if I envisioned an entire pear in there. :-)

So, you really need a teacher. To save you from choking on something. :-)

If you live anywhere near MI I'd be happy to give you a couple of free lessons, just to see if you like it! I'd check with local churches to see if anyone in the congregation gives lessons, or like a previous commenter mentioned, with a community college to see if there is a Voice Lesson class (normally around 5 students taking lessons at a time) or a community center or arts center in your area to see if anyone is offering lessons. Music stores and piano stores usually have tons of business cards and fliers advertising lessons as well.