I promised forever ago that I’d start creating video singing lessons for you, and I’ve finally got all the equipment and ability to do it. So, without further adieu, below is a video describing some of the different goals you want to be striving for while warming up your voice. Enjoy!

ps – No making fun of how funny my face looks before you push the play in the comment field below (or do, I don’t really care :p).

If you’ve been following my articles for any period of time, you know that it’s space that creates the fullness of the sound. Just think of thumping a wine glass. If it’s empty when you thump it, it’ll ring out. But, if you fill the same wine glass with pennies and thump it, all you’ll hear is a quick thud.

But this article isn’t about space… okay, well maybe it is, but in somewhat of a round about way. That being the case, why would spitting out our consonants give us more space when singing?

Well, there are a handful of different spaces within our body that we can open to create more space when we sing. One of these spaces is the back of the mouth and throat area.

It doesn’t take a genius to know if you close off this area, you’re going to be able to create like zero sound. But, the more you allow this space to open naturally, the more sound you’re going to produce while exerting no extra effort.

So, once again, what does that have to do with spitting out the consonants?

When we sing, it’s relatively common for the consonants to pull the tongue backward, closing off the back of the mouth and throat. This is especially true when singing R’s and L’s, but relatively common with many consonants.

One of the best ways to keep this from happening is to spit out your consonants.

When spitting out your consonants, you want to keep the tongue as comfortably forward in the mouth as possible when speaking the consonant, then, AND HERE’S THE BIG THING, release the tongue forward after speaking the consonant.

This will likely feel very weird to you at first, but once you get the hang of it, it’s no big deal. Doing this will not only effortlessly give you more volume, but the added space will likely make singing higher notes much easier on you than they were before.

While there are certainly more places in your body that you can open up to create resonance space while singing, spitting out your consonants to create more space in the back of the mouth area is probably one of the easiest to do and will yield you one of the greatest results.

So give it a try and see how much it helps. And of course, feel free to comment below with your thoughts.

Happy Singing,
Vocal Coach Ken Taylor

If your not already apart of this quickly growing community, jump on board and start receiving the benefits today! Facebook.com/Singingtips

I’m usually not big on promoting things, but I just ran across this super cool tool, so I figured I’d share with everyone. It’s called iLift (it’s an app).

This little app gives you the ability to change the key of a song, up or down, and also lets you speed up or slow down a song.

It’s super easy to use, and selects music straight from your itunes library (so if you buy a karaoke track on iTunes, you should be able to use it just fine).

This app is presently $9.99 and I don’t believe provides you an easy way to transfer your song to a CD (I just played with it on my iPhone… nowhere else). But, it’s a great practice tool for you to use, and you can even use it in a performance if you can plug your ipod into a mixer (which nearly everyone can make happen).

Anyway, I found this earlier today and thought it was cool, so I figured I’d share.

Enjoy!
Vocal Coach Ken Taylor

In order to get past this, it’s important to remember that the fullness of the sound while singing is created by space, not effort. Singing requires a delicate balance, and if you start trying to force things to happen, it’s going to knock that balance out of wack. So the next time you get frustrated because you’re having difficulty singing something, instead of turning aggressive, try relaxing and allowing the sound to come out at more of a speech level instead. You’ll almost always get better results this way.

Guys Have More Extreme Voice Changes

Ahhh, the infamous voice change. To a girl, it’s inconvenient… to a guy, it changes his world. I love the analogy I heard from a fellow vocal instructor, Wendy Parr – Imagine one morning you wake up and your legs are two feet longer. Now, imagine trying to walk. That awkwardness in coordination is similar to what a guy goes through during his voice change.

If you’re going through your voice change, I feel for you, as it’s not always the easiest thing. To me, one of the best things you can do is work on maintaining a steady flow of air, then work on making sure that your larynx doesn’t jump around like crazy while using your voice. You can learn more about these two things in the articles Breathing and Singing and How to Sing High Notes on another website of mine.

Guys Have Less Competition

I figured I’d end this on a high note… no pun intended. If you’re a guy in the performing field, then you’re likely to have much less competition than your female friends, especially when growing up. There are probably 2-5 girls for every guy at an audition,
 which means you have much better odds both for getting the role, and finding yourself a girlfriend afterward.

…this should make the voice change a little bit less painful.

I hope you guys have enjoyed this article. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below and I’ll try and respond.

Happy Singing!
Vocal Coach Ken Taylor

3 Things One Should Consider Before Auditioning for a Show

There are only a couple of things that I can think of that are more fun and rewarding than being in a show. However, before you ever decide you want to audition, there are a few things that you should consider. Do this, and you’ll greatly increase your chances not only of getting cast in this and future shows, but you’ll also get more enjoyment out of any show you participate in. So let’s get right to it. Thing #1…

1.  Come Prepared.

Come prepared for what, you ask? Everything! Familiarize yourself with the show before you audition. Know what criteria they’re looking for during the audition. Do they want you to sing 16 bars? Have it marked and ready. Do they want a resume or head shots? Bring 3 copies just in case. Don’t have this stuff or know exactly what they’re wanting? Do your research beforehand.

Also included in the “Be Prepared” category, you should know your conflicts for the run of the show ahead of time, be ready and available for call backs and to potentially do a cold read from the show. Oh, and if there’s dancing in the show, bring dance worthy clothes to the audition, just in case.

The more prepared you are, and the more you know about the show (and even the people putting it together, when possible), the better your chances of getting cast. Said differently, if you come prepared, you’ll likely come across as a professional, and this will always work in your favor.

2.  Know What You’re Committing To.

This is SOOOOOO important. Shows often require a LOT of rehearsal times, and if even one person can’t be there or isn’t prepared, it can completely jeopardize the effectiveness of the rehearsal.

So please, don’t accept a part without considering what you’re committing to. When you do accept a part, be ready to put in the hours to memorize lines, learn songs, and put in the dozens upon dozens of rehearsal hours that are necessary to make the show come to life.

Do this well, and you’ll greatly increase the likelyhood of getting cast in the future. Prove yourself unreliable, and you may find that your luck in getting cast in shows runs dry (remember, directors from different theaters often know each other and they talk).

This goes equally as much for those in the ensemble as well. If you’re not reliable as an extra/ensemble member, then why would a director think you’d be reliable for a bigger role?

3.  Hold Yourself to Higher and Higher Levels

Sometimes shows are put together so fast that we barely have time to learn the lines, let alone perfect our character. A show can be pulled off with a little natural talent while accomplishing the minimums (learning lines/blocking), but if you are serious about taking your skills to the next level, always be looking to go at least a handful of steps further with what you did last time.

Perhaps this means you get a vocal coach to help you expand your abilities… or maybe it just means you spend a little extra time studying facial expressions in front of a mirror… or maybe you continually sit down and brainstorm the more abstract parts of your characters personality. The more real you can make things, the better.

It’s relatively easy to be good. But being great takes continuously looking at where you are and asking how you can make it that much better. Don’t get caught up in obvious things that everyone has to do… take it another step further and watch your character (and talent level) blossom.

But why is this?

In my experience, there are a couple of reasons. First off, they chose a their song based on their own personal preferences, without considering whether or not their audience would like it.

Think about it like this… if you’re an audience member and you like Britney Spears… Are you going to give more applause to a Madonna single or a Mozart aria? The Mozart aria is likely much harder and requires much more skill, but would you really care?

Well, unfortunately many people do just that… they choose a song or songs that they like and are good at, but perhaps aren’t as likely to resonate with the audience.

Remember, you’re a performer and your job is to entertain the crowd. You can do that best by giving them what they want. And for the few of you who are passionate about doing a certain type of music and unwilling to do anything else, your challenge is finding the audience that loves your music and getting in front of them.

The second most common reason I think potentially more talented singers are unlikely to get as much applause as others is because they aren’t connecting emotionally with their audience.

Music is all about connection, and helping your audience feel something. If you’re Lady Gaga, you’re job is to make everyone feel good and dance. If you’re Cee Lo Green, you may be resonating with your audience on a more heartbroken, frustrated vibe. It really just depends on the song.

Emotions are contagious, and if you’re able to sing with emotion and your performance conveys that emotion as well, then you’ll connect with your audience on a much deeper level.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a less than average singer get on stage that may have missed notes left and right, but was able to connect with the audience on a deeper level. These performers almost always get more applause than the more talented, less engaging singers out there.

So, connecting with your audience on an emotional level is HUGE, and to me is the most important ingredient in creating the “It” factor! You can read more about the mechanics of Singing with Emotion here.

Long story short, if you pick your song well and learn to connect with your audience, you’ll likely notice quite a bit more volume in the applause you receive after you perform.

Give it a shot and experience the difference.

Best of luck!
Vocal Coach Ken Taylor

Well, one of the biggest “Ah-Ha!” moments that nearly all my students go through is when they start to own the idea that, “Sound is created by space.”

In truth, the sound is created by our vocal cords, but space is what creates the fullness of the sound when we’re singing. Space is what allows us to create great volume without much effort. I can better explain this with an analogy.

If you strum the strings of an un-amplified electric guitar, then it’s going to make a very soft sound. However, if you strum the strings of an acoustic guitar, then it makes a loud, rich sound. Why?

Well, the acoustic guitar has a box underneath the strings, and the soul purpose of this box is to amplify the the vibrations of the sound. The sound bounces back in forth in the box, multiplying the sound into something bigger than it was before.

The electric guitar lacks this “sound box,” so the sound it produces is merely from the strings and nothing more. The only way to make it louder is to apply more pressure on the strings by plucking them harder (until we play so hard that they break).

Our voice functions in the same way. If we open up space in our body for the sound to resonate, then our sound will get bigger and bigger without us having to exert any extra effort. But, if we rely only on the cords to create the sound, then the only way to get louder is to apply more and more pressure on them, leading quickly to vocal exhaustion or potentially even vocal damage.

So that being said, play with different ways that you can create more space in the main resonance chambers of your body. These are your chest, throat, mouth, and head. Creating the right space in these areas well grow your voice effortlessly.

Doing this is almost like having your own magical volume nob. You’ll be able to crank up the sound you produce while exerting less effort.

Play around with this idea for a while until you have your own “Ah-Ha!” moment, and discover what type of results you can get.

Best of luck to all of my apprentices out there!

~ Vocal Coach Ken Taylor

It’s been a little while, but I promise I’ve got a lot of cool things in the works that are going to help my fellow singers like you!

First thing is I’m in the process of putting together a site where I can answer all your most pressing questions. So, if you have a question or two that you’d like to shoot my way to help me get the site started, ask them in the comment field below. Be sure to put your name, email, and where you’re from. I ask for your actual email so that I can email you where I’m putting the answer

Also, as a side note, I just had a new website built for my personal vocal coaching business. I’ll be opening up my schedule again in the fall to new students, so if you’re in the Memphis area and interested, visit http://www.vocalcoachkentaylor.com. If not, no biggie… just keep on the lookout here or like my “Singing Tips” group on Facebook to keep up on all the free stuff I plan on giving away!

Thanks for your questions, and I look forward to helping out as much as I can!

Happy Singing!