Vocal Tips – PITCH: Are you Hitting the Bulls-Eye?

“Pitch-ey” has now become a household word thanks to American Idol judges. At least now we vocal coaches don’t have to explain it!

Pitch is one of the fundamental, foundational core elements in singing – so much so that it is one of the most important – perhaps the most important – quality of a great voice.

Imagine pitch as a circle – about the size of a dime. Right in the center of that dime is the bulls-eye. This is the center of pitch. Flat pitch falls below the bulls-eye and sharp pitch falls above the bulls-eye.

In general, rock singers tend to compress their notes and fall flat – while R & B or jazz singers tend to sing lighter and “overblow” their notes, singing sharp.

Most singers scoop into their notes.  Although it can be cool as a styling thing, scooping without knowing what you are doing tends to miss the center of the note.

The first step is to identify flat and sharp.  And to do so, don’t let yourself scoop – hit the note head on.

Sing a note in the center of the pitch (head on – at the bulls-eye) and then fall slightly flat (slide slowly like a siren) and quickly return to the center again. The best way to do this is to hit a note on a piano (around a middle C) and sing the note matching the pitch exactly. Now do it again, but this time go slightly sharp in the middle of the note and slide back to the center. You have just identified flat and sharp.

Now cup your ears (or use Hearfones – hearfones.com) and aim for the bulls-eye. If you are uncertain where the bulls-eye is – sing slightly flat and then sharp to find the middle. This is super important because a singer – like a violin player – has to fix pitch as they go.

How else can you improve your pitch?

Here is my Number One Pitch exercise:

1. Play and LISTEN to a Chromatic Scale. Just play each note on your keyboard up and down starting at C and go to C at the next octave. Do this slowly, listening first. The chromatic scale is every single note, black and white, as they occur in order on the keyboard, without leaving any notes out. The formal name for these notes is “half steps.”
2. To sing the chromatic scale on pitch, you have to become familiar with how the steps sound. By listening, you get the sounds of the steps in your ear. After awhile this scale is memorized in your ear as “steps” and different “notes”.
3. Now you’re ready to sing the Chromatic scale. Play each note on the keyboard first and sing it immediately after you play it. This allows you to hear the note first and then sing it – improving your ear – which is the first step to improving pitch.

The key is – don’t rush through the scale. Sing this scale up and down every single day. If you want to – add the actual solfeggio vowels. Here they are:

Ascending (moving up the scale) DO  DI  RE RI  MI  FA  FI  SO  SI  LA  LI  TI DO (top of the scale)

Returning down the scale (descending) TI  LI  LA  SI  SO  FI  FA  MI  RI  RE  DI  DO (bottom)

(DI or MI etc. is pronounced “dee” or “me” and RE is pronounced “ray”)

Here are some other ways to help fix pitch:

1. Use Hearfones with Vocal Technique Scales. I have all my singers use Hearfones for part of their technique scales. It allows them to “self-correct” pitch and tone and gets them singing with better pitch right away. It’s like having a vocal coach in your ear while you practice!
2. Record your Voice frequently singing Chromatic and Major Scales and record yourself. Listen back and see if you are singing the pitch accurately. (Use Garage band or recording software). Learn to recognize sharp and flat and correct them instantaneously as you sing.
3. Melodyne or Pitch Correct your Vocal. Try having your voice pitch corrected and then sing to that recording (sometimes singers don’t realize they are slightly off). I use this process to correct pitch in a singer.  It helps them to hear the center of pitch and make corrections.

Insider Tip #1: People who have a pitch problem also tend to have a habit of not listening to the notes and are generally not musicians (they don’t play an instrument). I highly recommend to every singer out there to play an instrument — but even so – the trick is LISTENING and learning the Chromatic – and Major, Minor, and Pentatonic scales (more about those in later posts).

Insider Tip #2: Believe it or not, there are famous singers who sing on the sharp or flat side and that is part of their sound. Some producers say perfect pitch is “too perfect” and they will not pitch correct every note on a record (yet pitch correction is now a standard in the industry and to not pitch correct is doing yourself a disservice – especially if you are trying to get signed. That’s a whole ‘nother article in itself).

Be part of my Beta testing for my Top Ten Vocal Exercises Ever! Shout out on FB, Twitter or by email and let me know what ex’s are working the best for you – I’ll use your feedback to help select the Top Ten! Can’t wait to hear from you!

Cari’s Top 3 Vocal Tips – #3 – Power Without Strain

“Power without Strain”

Who doesn’t want more power without strain?

This is a simple technique to apply – easier than the one above.

Most singers think more power or volume, or belting higher notes, has to do with pushing more air past the cords. They reach up with their chins and push hard to get the sound out. Sometimes they are successful — until the voice starts to burn out (usually when they start to tour). Singing one night a week or month is ok like this, but not when you start to tour where you sing almost every day. This is the number one thing that burns out singers voices ASAP.

So what’s the remedy?

To learn technique. There’s a lot to this but I am going to do my best to make it simple for you.

Quickly explained — pushing hard to get louder or higher notes is the common tendency. But the mistake is that while it temporarily works, it causes vocal fatigue and strain.

Why? Because the singer is using the wrong muscles. When you push, you engage the back of the neck muscles which causes constriction and undue pressure on the vocal muscles and burns them out.

The goal is to take all the pressure OFF of the vocal folds and throat and put it somewhere else where it won’t interfere — AND to breathe downward into the ribs and belly while keeping the chest position high during inhalation and exhalation.

In vocal technique we call it “appoggio.” Appoggio means the place where maximum muscular tension is experienced in the singing voice. We want the “appoggio” to be experienced nowhere near the throat — but rather in the “trunk of the body.” The diaphragm, pectoral, and intercostal muscles, as well as the breath, are considered the “trunk of the body” that supports the singing voice. You want to breathe down deeper into the diaphragm so you can accumulate a storehouse of air to vibrate under the larynx instead of pushing air through the vocal folds.

Also, the deeper the laryngeal position for this technique the better. To drop the larynx – practice yawning and dropping the back of the tongue while lifting the palate every single day, until you can do the motion without the actual yawn.  The yawn reflex will stop once your muscles are used to the movement.

Power without strain is all about controlling the breath and using the body as your support (your diaphragm and abdominal muscles should be working, not your throat).

All you have to do is to keep your chin pointed slightly down and your pectorals slightly flexed – with your chest raised but without an arched back to support your voice, control the breath, and to consequently sing with less strain and more power.

Most singers reach forward or lift their chin up to sing with more power. While it may temporarily work (you use the back of the neck muscles) – it causes vocal problems and tipping your chin down not only works better and saves your voice - it actually SOUNDS better!

But it does take some practice before it works.

Here’s how to practice it and put it all together:

1. Stand in front of a mirror because you have to watch your movements to control them.
2. Sing an Ah scale up and down in one phrase (1-2-3-4-3-2-1).
3. Press your chin slightly in and point your chin towards the floor keeping an apple between your chin and chest -usually only 1″ or so – while you flex your pectoral muscles without tensing the neck and throat. The pectoral flex is a very isolated movement.
4. Don’t let your head bob up as you rise in pitch. Keep it firmly in place.
5. Instead, flex your pectorals (without tightening anything else) and engage your abdomen (without tightening your throat).
6. Go all the way up the scale of your voice, keeping your head from lifting as you sing higher notes.

Notice how the chin wants to move up as you raise in pitch. Don’t let it lift. Keep it planted. (You won’t want to — but flex your pectoral muscles to take the pressure of the increase in air.)

This will give you more power and control and eliminate strain.

Practice it until it becomes natural!

Cari’s Top 3 Vocal Tips – # 2 – Magic High Notes

“Magic High Notes”:

There is a trick most vocal coaches know (if they’re good). 

If you want a singer to sing better high notes, teach them to take a deeper breath and press down on their diaphragm.

It’s true.

High notes require a faster speed of breath (so you need more of it) and more resistance (so you want to keep the diaphragm down).

To practice this – let’s do another vocal lesson. Read more »

Cari’s Top 3 Vocal Tips: #1

Cari’s Top 3 Vocal Tips ~ #1

As one of the top vocal expert coaches in the country, I frequently hear: “what are your top vocal tips for singers?”

Well, I could rattle off a long list, and yammer on for hours.. (I’m a super nerd when it comes to vocals..)

And because I have a long list of favorite tricks up my sleeve over 20+ years of coaching singers….

But I love a challenge! (this stuff keeps me up at night!)

So I thought – if I had only 5 minutes to tell you my top secret tips – what would they be?

and I wracked my brain to come up with my Top 3,

That’s right –

my Top 3 Vocal Tips ever – (so far that is) -

and I’m going to give them to you once a week for 3 weeks -

Here goes… Read more »

Making Dreams Come True

You have a dream.

You’re willing to work hard and do whatever it takes.

But you have a suspicion that you’ll need more than just your willingness and a hard work ethic.

So, what else?

I can’t tell you exactly what else you’ll need, because each path to stardom is different. But I can tell you what I’ve seen successful artists do that put them in the running and were an integral part of their success. Read more »

Where the Magic Happens ~ In the ACTION You Create from your Daily Lists

Do you have your list of daily actions now?  Those dailies that will build on the 2 or 3 things you want to get really good at this year?

I want you to Step Up this year – everyone!  For those of you already doing so, I want you to reach for the next level – and those of you who are still hanging out in the shadows, I want to help you step out — and up. Those of you who may be thinking, “oh, I don’t take action, I’m an artist… I’ll be recognized one day”, or “that action stuff is just not for me” or any of the other many ways you may procrastinate and avoid taking the steps to move YOU forward. Read more »

Vocal Challenges – Journaling

“It’s the unexpressed,
what lies right beneath the surface
that communicates to others who we are…
not our perception of ourselves.”

Singing is communicating and YOU, the singer are a communicator. Read more »

Singer’s Gig Bag – A Heal-thy Approach

The Singers Gig Bag by Cari Cole

You’re out the door to your gig but you forgot to think about what extra help to bring for your voice? I’ve done it a ton of times. So I thought I’d share with you my very own list of “must-haves” I’ve developed over the years that make that last minute difference! Every guitarist has a “gig-bag” – and now, so do Singers! Keep this stuff stocked and ready to go: Read more »

You are the CEO of You, Inc.!

DId you know that your career is built around you? Did you know that you are the captain of your ship and the CEO of You? Your career comes from you – not from outside of you. Successful artists are sculptors of their career and are great navigators and negotiators. They have learned that success comes from the decisions they make every day.

Here’s a few tips to start embodying this new mindset: Read more »

Vocal Health Questionnaire & Check List

How to stay healthy is at the forefront of every professional singer’s career. Nothing is more uncomfortable than having to perform when you are not feeling well. Unlike when a guitarist replaces a string that breaks, a vocal cord cannot be replaced. Vocal health and care is a prevention that keeps your voice from breaking down. As a singer, there will be times when you will get snagged by colds or flu’s or struggle from allergies, reflux or a general a lack of rest or dehydration. Understanding your instrument and vocal health can save countless hours of frustration, canceled concerts and overall vocal loss & fatigue. Read more »