Vocal Tip #1
Turn Off Your Vocal Defence Mechanism
You have a mechanism in your subconscious that tries to protect you from embarrassing yourself when you perform. By learning what triggers it, you can stop it from sabotaging your performance.

Vocal Tip #2
Make It Your Own
You can borrow & learn from the best singers but don’t imitate. Take elements of what great singers do and combine them in your singing then you’ll create your own original style.

Vocal tip #3
Sing To Your Audience, Not At Them.
Split the audience into sections and sing to each section for a few seconds. Even if you’re not making eye contact with every single person it will look and feel as if you’re singing to each audience member. Your voice goes where your eyes go, so don’t close your eyes too much. Look us in the eye for a few seconds and you’ll win our hearts.

Vocal tip #4
Always warm up your voice before you practice your songs.
Get into a good routine. The warms up and scales are paramount to a good performance. Arrange your warm up so that it is a gradual process that allows you to get to the point where you are ready to begin but not all spent. So never do more than 25 minutes in one session. In most cases 15 minutes is ample. Baritones need more warm up time then tenors. Keep the voice hydrated at all times with room temperature water or warm drinks.

Vocal Tip #5
Sing with conviction
It’s no good singing your song in neutral mode. You must understand the lyrics and interpret them with the appropriate tone colour and body language. It’s important to get emotionally involved & stay connected & focused on the true meaning behind the song.

Vocal Tip #6
Vibrato
Vibrato is a side effect of a freely balanced vocal system that is neither very tight nor loose. It arises naturally, it’s not manufactured. Some students find it in a few months but others can take about two years of vocal training to obtain it. Some singers try to suppress it, as vibrato doesn’t suit every genre of singing. If the vibrato is too fast, too wide, or uneven, something is not balanced in the vocal system and your vibrato will reflect that.

Vocal Tips #7
Singing through your break
It’s important to keep your voice box & throat muscles relaxed. Resist the temptation to battle against the pressure, this is counter productive. Never increase the volume to get through your break, you must keep calm. The pharyngeal resonator is a healthy component to any type of mix. It’s essential to add your some pharyngeal resonance when blending your chest voice with your
head voice.

Vocal Tip #8
Keep the larynx steady
If you don’t know what the larynx is, it’s where your adam’s apple is (or where it would be ladies). If this area of your neck is raising or lowering too much while singing, then you’re throwing off your whole vocal mechanism leading to many different complications. Rest your hand on your larynx very gently while singing and check to make sure it remains relatively steady. It should feel like it’s vibrating, but not sliding around too much.

Vocal Tip #9
Relax the Tongue.
After years of teaching singing, I’m convinced that 70% of all vocal problems involve tension in the tongue. Most of my students have never thought that the tongue can be so troublesome, but the tongue can play havoc. It often wants to retract back in the mouth as we sing higher. Try looking in a mirror while practicing your singing. Make sure the tip of the tongue is predominately resting on your bottom front teeth for the bulk of your song. Keeping the tongue relaxed and in a more forward position in your mouth and this will help keep the tone clean and not muted.

Vocal Tip #10
A Quick Fix for singing vowel shapes
To make your singing sound better instantly. Make sure your vowel sounds are never sung with a closed mouth.
Start by pronouncing
A-E-I-O-U in front of a mirror. Are able to do that without closing your mouth on E & U?
Now sing the vowels on one pitch. A-E-I-O-U. Your goal is to keep your jaw open (long not wide) without closing for all of your vowels. Repeat until you can do it. Now sing a phrase of one of your favourite songs – and make sure your jaw opens to the same position on all of your vowels. You have to practice this before it becomes natural – but the more you do, the sooner this is programmed into your muscle memory.

Vocal Tip #11
Practice is important
If you want to hear yourself getting better at singing you must practice. It take hours of hard work to get your voice the way you like it. Then once you get it there you need to keep the muscles maintained. You should be doing your scales at least every 48 hours to get your muscles co-oriented with the breathing etc… You will definitely notice improvements with your technique if you keep up regular practice.

Vocal Tip #12
Singing in the chest resonator
When emphasizing chest color in the higher range, there is a tendency to sing louder which in turn can make you sing under the pitch. Take extra care to stay on top of the pitch and control your volume. You can increase chest colour in the higher range without getting too loud.

Vocal Tip #13
Singing with conviction
One of the things that is hard to teach is a believable delivery . Confidence plays apart in this, also being comfortable about making yourself vulnerable. Your performance needs energy and conviction. We as the audience need to believe you. Your delivery needs to be something more than just what’s written in the score. Think of the expressive mode you are in, the phrasing & tone colour interpretation. Your resonance, sources of wisdom and expression play an important part too. Just sing with conviction that’s the most important thing. You can have an amazing voice but if you can’t deliver your song well then you are only half way there.

Vocal tip #14
DICTION
Diction is one of those important-but-often-neglected areas of singing. Most people know that diction is all about making your message understandable to the listener but that’s just half of it. The way you pronounce lyrics affects your vowels shapes, pitch and vocal stamina. The quality of your tone is also affected by your diction. If your not enunciating well enough, your larynx is working harder to fix the unclear sounds coming out of your mouth. Clearing up your diction will reduce vocal stress and make you a more proficient vocalist.

Vocal Tip #15
Staying Hydrated
Singers must keep their vocal tract hydrated
Most singers know the importance of keeping the vocal tract hydrated but how much fluid do we need to stay fully hydrated prior to a gig?
It’s 6-8 glasses of water, not cold water but room temperature is preferred or warm teas like peppermint or chamomile tea. Stay away from diary in your tea, this can produce phlegm. If you are traveling via an airplane prior to a gig be aware that recycled air is extremely dehydrating to the voice, I would suggest sucking on lozenges or chewing gum while in flight. Lozenges with Glycerin are the most soothing for the voice. Stay away from Menthol flavours they tend to irritate vocal folds.
During a gig you will lose most of your fluid through perspiration, so remembering to hydrate yourself after the gig is also important.
If you need to have an alcoholic drink prior to the gig(which is not recommended because it dehydrates your voice) then stay away from red wine, grain alcohol & beer choose white wine instead.
To comfort a fatigued voice, the good old fashioned lemon and honey in warm water is still a good option. Finally, get a good nights sleep prior to your gig

Vocal Tip #16
Pitch
It’s important to aim straight for the bullseye when is comes to singing in pitch. If your worried about whether you are singing completely in pitch it’s a good idea to record yourself and on playback it’s much easier to recognise if your pitch is accurate or slightly flat or sharp. Ear training is an important part of being able to sing in tune. We need to be able to hear the interval between two notes to be able to sing in pitch competently. Sometimes the smaller intervals are the hardest ones to sing accurately in pitch. The minor 2nd can be the most difficult for beginner singers. By listening to scales played on piano without singing can also assist ear training. Practicing your singing acapella style (without a backing track or music) is also a good way to listen intently to your own voice/pitch.

Vocal Tip #17
Mix voice
A question I am often asked is “How do I sing in mixed voice?” Well first you need to understand what the term “Mix” means.
“Mix” describes the blending of chest voice & head voice. It really is essential for every singer to be able to improve the connection in both registers, so that singing through your bridge/break becomes much easier, a lot smoother and without an obvious flip.
My first tip in being able to sing through your mix is as you start to sing higher you need to drop weight and a little volume from your chest voice.
Nearly every singer I have taught has come to me with this problem of carrying too much weight from the chest into the higher part of their voice and as they get higher, the volume suddenly gets louder and louder and the flip occurs.
When singing through the bridge you will need to concentrate on keeping the larynx low, even though it will raise slightly but we don’t want it to jump up and splat( hit the top).
Some students take their chest voice up past this transition point giving their voice absolutely no chance to “re-coordinate” or change gears. The solution? Blend some head voice into your sound before you get to the “bridge”. In fact it is a good idea to always have an element of head voice present in your sound as it will help you create a seamless range.

Vocal Tip #18
Helpful Hints for a Healthy Voice
* Increase fluid intake 4-8 ounces of water per day.
*Avoid excessive or frequent throat clearing-try sipping water instead.
* Frequent throat-clearing or coughing can be injurious to the vocal cords.
*Excessive cough, mucus production, or throat clearing may be an indication of an underlying disorder such as Laryngopharyngeal Reflux.
*Get plenty of sleep. Fatigue can cause the voice to sound hoarse.
*Use plenty of breath support. Your lungs are the generator of the voice. Take advantage of them.
*Minimise caffeine, alcohol and dairy intake. These can dry out the vocal cords and/or create thick mucous.
*Avoid menthol throat lozenges. These can dry the throat.
*Avoid smoking, people who smoke, and noxious fumes.
These are irritating and damaging to the vocal cords.
*Be aware of background noise. Raising your voice above others in a loud environment can cause straining and vocal abuse.
*Change your toothbrush every 6 weeks, or pour boiling water over it.
*If you have a sore throat, throw out your toothbrush or boil it so you don’t get reinfected
*Don’t do prolonged, loud and vocally aggressive laughing or crying
*Don’t eat just prior to performing (allow a gap of 3 hours before a gig).
*Use a microphone for public speaking, practice microphone techniques to keep your voice relaxed and at a comfortable level. Learn to recognize the first signs of vocal fatigue (hoarseness, dry throat, tension, and poor vocal projection).
*Don’t use aspirin or similar medication. It has a tendency to cause bleeding and predisposes the voice user to vocal fold hemorrhage, especially when used for menstrual cramping.

Vocal Tip #19
High notes
Singing the high notes is rarely accomplished by brute force, but unfortunately this is often the singers first instinct. By doing this you will shut down the higher range in a second. Tone is very important in the upper range, if you are singing up high with brute force the tone will be compromised & distorted. Never sing louder than 85% of your full voice, it’s unnecessary and will fatigue your voice prematurely.
Always make sure you are warmed up and hydrated before you attempt the high notes. Keep your tongue near the front lower teeth as it will want to retract as you sing higher muting the sound.
Concentrate on your breath support, singing up high needs to be supported.
Allow yourself to feel relaxed, try not to anticipate the high notes, this can cause tension and stop the notes from coming out with ease instead think about the emotion and expression you want to convey, this is much more beneficial for obtaining those high notes.

Vocal Tip #20
Use your Pharyngeal Resonator to create a better mix voice.
The Pharyngeal resonator is the area at the back of the throat, back of your mouth and behind your nose. You can feel the pharyngeal resonator by saying “ng”, like in “sing”. It’s not like any other resonator, it’s more like an application that you use to blend your chest and head voice, it will help you to create a much better mix voice. It’s function is a little bit like the conduit between the two areas. You can’t really have a pharyngeal sound on it’s own, you need to work out how much you need for the type of sound you are after.

Vocal Tip #21
Why space in the mouth is important
When you sing try thinking about creating space in your mouth. Space is important for resonating the sound and increasing the range. Dropping the jaw helps for a start, but you need to consider the back of the throat too. This area needs to be relaxed, and the tongue must lie flat and forward. Additionally, arching the soft palate will assist in creating more space. Singing teachers often teach the “up and over” method for getting the soft palate to extend up just before a high note is sung. This method really helps assist the harmonics to ring through the top the head. The low larynx is another thing to think of when creating space in the mouth. Think of the sensation of yawning, this is a great way to find the open space in the mouth. In singing, space created by opening the front of the mouth enlarges the resonating tube that extends from the larynx through the throat and mouth (pharynx). This increased resonating space enhances the tone produced.

Vocal Tip #22
The Importance of timing.
Some people naturally have excellent timing, others have to work hard at it. Timing is essential for all harmony singers and those doing improvisation or ad-lib in their songs. If you are out of time the chords in the accompaniment will not match the notes you are singing. Some singers prefer to sing right on the beat others like to sing just before or just after. The basis of good timing is the ability to feel the pulse and keep in time.