The Singing Gym Joe Keegan

Is there a correct way to sing? As promised a few weeks ago I mentioned that I’d put together a podcast about vocal training, how and why to choose a vocal coach and tackling some misconceptions about singing lessons! Inevitably this title is probably going to cause a bit of controversy but today we’re tackling the question Is there a correct way to sing?

In this episode we’re talking about the upper expansion of your range. I get asked how to do this more than any other aspect of vocal development. Almost all the singers that I train have the ambition of being able to sing higher with a fuller tonal quality.

I’ll talk through the three variations of issues I see when I work with singers to build their range. I guarantee that you fit into one of these three categories of singer whether you’re training as a singer currently, or you’re a pro singer who’s got great control over their voice, at one point you will have been through this process in some capacity in your training.

As always I’ll give you some practical, actionable advice about how to put this information into practice and build depth and richness to the sound of your voice higher in your range.

Here’s how to make your voice sound nicer! That’s a bold statement to make I know but the reality is that resonance and the ability to control resonation is ultimately a major deciding factor in shaping the tonal quality and overall sound of your voice!

In this episode we’ll get into the nitty gritty of how this all works, what exactly resonance is and how we can control and use our resonators/resonance chambers to make our voice sound better! This is no joke with practice this will revolutionise the way you think about your voice and how you use it.

I’ll also share some tips on how to choose an appropriate vocal coach that matches your ambitions as a singer and means you can get the most out of your voice and vocal coaching.

This is essentially why I’m in business as a vocal coach. Most singers experience notes in their middle range where they feel out of control. They feel their voice crack or they feel an inevitable impulse to yodel and their voice does a seemingly unavoidable gear change. There’s all sorts of fun stuff happening there and a bunch of factors for why that might occur but the factor that’s relevant in terms of the vocal folds is what we’re talking about in this episode!

So if you’ve ever experienced either of those things make sure you take a listen so you can say with certainty that you know what’s going on in your voice!

A large part of what I do as a coach is help train people to achieve the balance between the muscles that control these issues so that they can safely retain some of that weight and power in the sounds they create higher in their range.

So... Breathing. What better place to start than with the most fundamental thing we know as human beings. It's the first thing we do when we enter this world. We take a big deep breath in which is usually  followed closely by the piercing found of our voice and the crying that makes sure people know you've arrived. What an entrance! It's one of the many fascinating things about the voice, it's so fundamental to our existence that we use it within seconds of being born.

So... even though breathing is something we do all day everyday and have done forever it's a huge source of controversy in the world of vocal coaching! Some vocal coaches view breathing as almost the be all and end all of coaching a singer. Some focus more on phonation and everything that happens once the air is flowing. There are singing teachers who find success through their methods in both schools of thought. 

Here's my explanation of breathing and the voice along with a few actionable exercises to improve your breath control. Breathing properly doesn't have to be complicated so listen to this episode to fully understand it's roll in the vocal process.

In this episode of The Singing Gym vocal coach, Joe Keegan brings you the first instalment of this how to Podcast. If you're a singer and/or singing teacher, listen in to find out the whole philosophy of The Singing Gym and what to expect from the show!

The Singing Gym is here for all things voice! Singing and Performance, Technique, Vocal Science and Application. Hosted by vocal coach and founder of Popcast School of Music Joe Keegan. We’re here to empower every singer with the knowledge of how their voice works and how to use it!

So buckle up get your pen and paper out and learn the ins and outs of singing as we go deep into the world of all things voice!