Boulder Voice Lessons Episode #12 Voice Drills

Singing Lesson students - Heed this advice…

The way we have always practiced might be doing us more harm than good.

Once upon a time… a singer was practicing a song for their upcoming solo at Fairview Highschool. This singer was putting in lots of time near the piano, practicing the song with the greatest of intentions to improve. However, the singer was doing it all wrong. The student was solidifying a terrible technique. Breathing small, singing nasal, wrong segments, not enough breath flow, etc, etc, ecteteraaaaaa (We’ve been watching the King and I).

The singing lessons student also ran the whole song from beginning to end, never stopping to drill a high note, a hard phrase, or any drilling of the breath.

Come performance time, what do you think happened?

The way you practice is the way you perform.

Check out the right way to practice here:

How to Practice Singing!

Latest podcast - grab it while the grabbins’ good!

And if you want to be the best singer you can be, there’s no substitute for working with me privately. Sign up for a lesson here: 

https://www.bouldervoicelessons.com/schedule/

Peace!
Josh

Boulder Voice Lessons

Episode #11 - Back to the Basics

We are getting back to the basics with Manuel Garcia Jr.’s book, The New Treatise on the Art of Singing (originally published in 1840, and revised in 1857). We are discussing his 4-step process to exercising the lungs. Use this everyday to increase lung capacity and to give steadiness to the voice.

From Chapter VI:

• First.—The pupil should gently and slowly inhale for a few seconds,as much air as the chest can well contain.

• Secondly.—After taking a deep breath, the air should be exhaledagain very gently and slowly.

• Thirdly.—Fill the lungs, and keep them inflated for the longest possible time. And,

• Fourthly.—Exhale completely, and leave the chest empty as long as the physical powers will conveniently allow.

Try on your own, and let me know if you have any questions!

Sign up for a lesson here: https://www.bouldervoicelessons.com/schedule/

Get a free eBook about the Boulder Voice Lesson technique when you sign up for the following email list: https://www.bouldervoicelessons.com/5tips

Peace!
Josh
Boulder Voice Lessons

Episode #10 - Falsetto Voice Exercises

Hey Everybody - today's lesson is all about the falsetto voice muscles, how to sing with them, and how to make them stronger... The falsetto is the key to the whole voice, so tune in to this episode!

Josh

Sign up for a lesson here: https://www.bouldervoicelessons.com/schedule/

Get a free eBook about the Boulder Voice Lesson technique when you sign up for the following email list: https://www.bouldervoicelessons.com/5tips

Episode #9 - It's all about that Vowel

I’ll never forget peering through my father’s fingers over my eyes at the gruesome sacrifice scene at the end of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

I imagine that he thought “Doom” would be more like the Raiders of the Lost Ark, and, he was born in a different era, so... what’s the problem of taking five-year-old to a PG movie???

Oooooh Looooooooord...

Well, outraged parents everywhere led to the creation of a new rating from the MPAA which gave us all PG-13.

This monumental change affected moviegoers, Hollywood, and the billions o’ dollars in that industry.

Well, that’s nothing compared to the change that the latest episode of the Boulder Voice Lessons podcast will do for you.

We talkin’ bout Vowels today and how they will make or break your performance.

Tune in here to get your daily dose of Boulder voice lesson singing technique:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bouldervoicelessons-com/id1359467675?mt=2

By the way, if you have any ideas for any upcoming podcast episodes, drop me a line and let me know what you need help with.

All the best,
Josh

Boulder Voice Lessons

Episode #8 - Working with a new technique

Today's episode features a song written by Blaze Foley titled, Clay Pigeons... We use the song to talk about how the breath flows, and how to keep your structure while singing different vowels or words...

Enjoy!

Sign up for a lesson here: https://www.bouldervoicelessons.com/schedule/

Get a free eBook about the Boulder Voice Lesson technique when you sign up for the following email list: https://www.bouldervoicelessons.com/5tips

Episode #7 - Veil the Voice with Breath

Get more texture to your voice by surrounding the voice with breath

Hey Everybody! Today's voice lesson here at Boulder Voice Lessons' podcast is about surrounding the voice with breath. You can retain the structure and the depth of the sound by doing this. Eventually you will get to the point where you can keep the structure, but add more sound into it, thus giving you a super full chest voice, and belt sound. 

Let me know what you think in the comments! 

Sign up for a lesson here: https://www.bouldervoicelessons.com/schedule/

Episode #6 - Breathe with Intention to Improve your Voice

Today’s episode is all about the Breath!

How many times a day do we take in a breath without thinking about it… I don’t know, but it’s a lot. Let’s add some intention to our breathing. This episode will tell you how to do it.

Get a free eBook about the Boulder Voice Lesson technique when you sign up for the following email list: https://www.bouldervoicelessons.com/5tips

Episode #5 Chest Voice Warm-up in 5 minutes

Today’s 5 minute lesson walks you through how to warm up the chest voice!

The chest voice is the lower part of your vocal register. It is named “chest voice” because it rattles, or vibrates your upper chest and clavicle area, and parts of your back. The chest voice is the most dominant, or should be the most dominant, of all the registers. Upon the chest voice is built the foundations of the voice.

The chest voice can be strengthened with this 5 minute lesson… it is very similar to the warm up that we use  here at Boulder Voice Lessons. The chest voice vowels are [a] and [E].

When exercising the chest voice muscles, it is important to remember that the more volume and the more breath you can give to the sound, the stronger those muscles will get. Think deep, wide, and full.

Imagine that you are in the gym working out. You want those leg muscles to get bigger, so you put on a lot of weight on the bar in-order to increase resistance. It’s the same way with the voice. The more resistance you give to the muscles that control the chest voice sound, the bigger those muscles will get. Bigger muscles, bigger sound!

Get a free eBook about the Boulder Voice Lesson technique when you sign up for the following email list: https://www.bouldervoicelessons.com/5tips

Schedule a lesson here: https://www.bouldervoicelessons.com/schedule/

Episode #4 - How to Learn Any Song

After working on the largest opera role I've ever had to learn (Don Alfonso in Cosi fan tutte), I've come up with a bunch of tips that will help you learn, memorize, and confidently perform any song. It all starts with the poetry, so get out those lyrics and get to work!

We also revisit our Chest and Falsetto Vowels in this podcast, and how to incorporate them into your new song.

Check it!

Josh

Get a free eBook about the Boulder Voice Lesson technique when you sign up for the following email list: https://www.bouldervoicelessons.com/5tips

Episode #3 - How to Hit the High Notes for Women

Build your falsetto muscles with this daily episode.

Think of your falsetto as the bridge that connects your middle and upper registers, and also allows your chest voice to stay wide open. If you can build the muscles that affect your falsetto, you’ll be able to seamlessly connect the chest voice to the upper voice. These muscles are all connected – so by strengthening the falsetto muscles, you’ll be increasing your range, getting a healthier sound, and have something that you can lean on when you are nervous.  You will be looking forward to the high notes in whatever song you are working on!

Don’t know the exercises to strengthen the falsetto? Listen to this podcast!

Get a free eBook about the Boulder Voice Lesson technique when you sign up for the following email list: https://www.bouldervoicelessons.com/5tips