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Submitted by: Anthony J. Namata
Believe it or not, the hardest thing to do is to break away from bad habits. Only those who succeed in doing this will become better singers. I’ve had calls from musicians (voice trained by me) complaining their vocal performance on stage had gone downhill and that they want to come back for more lessons. When I dig deep, it quickly becomes apparent that they’ve gone back to their old ways; I see my OWN student competing in a reality TV singing competition and doing NOTHING I taught them to do. It’s like they never went for vocal training at all. The whole shebang: bad pitching, yelling and screaming their way around a song–I mean the whole flaming caboodle LIVE on TV. Unbelievable! I’ve seen my own students fall apart in the recording studio. Everything they’ve learned goes suddenly out the window. They even forget to BREATHE before a note. How bad habits die hard, hey? This article will investigate the perils of regressing into your old singing habits and how to break the cycle so as to not only embrace and adapt to a new system, but also–and most importantly–to blend and blossom with your new skill in order to grow as a singer.
I can go on about this all day, those bad old singing habits are so endemic out there-seemingly they just won’t go away. I want to help aspiring singers put an end to this vicious cycle of bad breathing, bad pitching, strained vocals and everything in between. These problems CAN be fixed. The number one culprit in this equation is HABIT. It almost always comes back to haunt you. So what then are the most common singing stumbling blocks and what are the proven ways to steer clear of them.
NOT breathing before a note is probably–in my estimation, and judging from students I have observed over the years, one of the most persistent problems. How to fix this? Pick a simple verse from a song you like. Look for two breathing spots–one at the beginning of a note, and one in the middle. Let’s say your line looks like this: “The shadow of your smile [breathe] when you are gone”… Your breath intake being between the words Smile and When. Now your task is to practice singing just that one line over and over again whilst breathing in with the drop of the jaw at that very spot in precisely the same way every time–wherever and whenever you feel like practicing.
NOT opening your mouth enough… which I sometimes jokingly refer to as singing with your mouth shut, is another problem that tends to work its way back into your life as a singer to cause all the problems that go with it. How to fix it? Sing a song you like, but look in the mirror to ensure that you ARE opening your mouth as you should. Practice in front of a mirror for this one. It’s the only way to break the cycle.
NOT projecting your voice as you should is another menace a singer should be particularly weary of. It’s so dead easy to sound muted again. How to fix it? Using your fuller voice, say VAAAAGH and look in the mirror to see your mouth drop to its full extent while you’re at it. And listen very carefully to the way your voice projects better. Once you’ve got your projection technique reigned back in, go straight to your song and use that same well-projected voice when you sing. So the next time bad old singing habits encroach upon your vocal space, you’ll know what to do to break free!
About the Author: Joett a member of the American Society Of Composers, Authors & Publisher (ASCAP), is a singer-songwriter and vocal coach based in Dar es salaam, Tanzania. His
highly acclaimed single
I Could Never Live (Without Your Love) inspired his voice training CD Learn to Sing with Joett. Visit his blog at:
joettmusic.com
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