May 19, 2025 • 24 mins
Frustrated that some singers seem to have that natural talent—like they were just born to sing—and you… weren’t? Good news: sounding like you were born to sing is 100% a trainable skill. And the secret behind that effortless, emotionally moving sound? Dynamic singing.
In this episode, I’ll show you exactly what dynamic singing means, why it matters way more than vocal range or power, and how you can start developing this skill right now. If you’ve ever thought, “I sound fine, but something’s missing…”—this is what you’ve been missing.
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👉 Want to know exactly what your voice needs to improve? Get a vocal evaluation from our professional coaches here: https://lessons.voxtapestudios.com/vocal-evaluation
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
if you look at
(00:01):
a lot of these
singers out there
who are seeing a lot of success,
they don't have the biggest vocal
range on the planet or the belters belt
or, you know, whatever.
Right?
Like,
what exactly it is
they do doesn't really matter, right?
Like how high they sing
or how low they sing or how powerfully
they sing or whatever.
(00:21):
It's something else
that makes them
successful in their singing.
And that's something else.
Is dynamic singing.
Hey, VoxStar and welcome
to From Singer To Artist.
(00:41):
I'm Lara
Chapman, award winning
singer and songwriter
turned viral vocal coach
and the host of this show
at VoxTape Studios.
We help singers
from all over the world
level up their voices
by teaching them
the three fundamental skills
all singers need
technique, awareness and artistry.
Whether you're looking to go pro
or just develop your voice for fun.
My team and I are here to help.
(01:03):
Check the link in the description
to book your first session, or grab
some of our other resources.
All righty.
Are you ready? Let's get started.
Maybe what?
What you've
experienced, or maybe you've seen this in
somebody else is you,
(01:25):
you know, started practicing
and you're hitting all the right notes.
You're singing in tune, right?
You're singing the right notes
at the right time.
And you sound pretty decent, right?
Like there's no vocal cracks or,
or anything like that.
Like it's it's solid. It's there.
But you still feel like.
Like, why doesn't
it sound like the original?
Like, why don't I sound,
(01:47):
quote unquote as good as insert person
here, right. Insert other singer here.
And I actually I see this a lot in like,
you know, singers out there
where they sound like
they took a couple voice lessons maybe.
Right.
Like they worked on their voice
a little bit, but that's just exactly it.
(02:07):
They sound like
they took a couple voice lessons
and not necessarily like,
oh, wow, this person was born to sing.
And that is the kind of reaction
that we want, right?
Like sounding
like we were born to sing like it's
our God given talent or gift or
whatever it is
that you want to call it, right?
Like it's that natural thing that happens
(02:31):
when you when you sing.
It's just like,
yeah, this sounds so natural, like,
this is just what you were born to do.
And, contrary to popular belief,
that is actually something
that can be learned, this natural sound.
I think a lot of people can agree
that, singing is, is something
that can be learned,
(02:51):
but a lot of people think
that you can only take it so far.
I believe you can take it
as far as you want,
even if you start with zero talent.
Even if we have to start with learning
how to match pitch,
like you can get to a really,
really, really great, level.
Even as good
as some of the pros out there.
But we need to be able to identify
(03:12):
first what makes them that good, right?
Like what makes them sound
natural because, like,
if you look at
a lot of these singers out there
who are seeing a lot of success,
they don't have the biggest vocal
range on the planet or the belters belt
or, you know, whatever.
Right?
Like,
(03:33):
what exactly it is
they do doesn't really matter, right?
Like how high they sing
or how low they sing or how powerfully
they sing or whatever.
It's something else
that makes them
successful in their singing.
And that's something else.
Is dynamic singing.
Okay, so
dynamic singing is
what's going to help you go from
(03:55):
hitting the right notes at
the right time
and sounding good doing so to sounding
like you were born to sing, okay.
And it has nothing yet
to do with storytelling.
I mean, kind of,
but it's not like,
you know, the performance side of it.
It's really still vocally.
What are you doing?
Right?
(04:16):
Like, not how you standing on stage
in any of that.
Obviously that's also very important.
But dynamic singing is
is the is the answer here.
And that is something
that can be learned.
Let's first talk about what
dynamic singing even is.
Dynamic singing doesn't just go into
what notes you're singing,
(04:37):
but rather how you are singing each note.
Are you singing that
note in a breathy voice?
Are you adding twang on that note?
Are you adding a riff on that note?
Maybe you're
sustaining it
on straight tone, and only at the end
you're adding a little bit of vibrato.
Maybe you're crying into the notes.
There's a million different
things that you can do,
and we can talk about
all these things, but,
(04:57):
it's how you sing each note,
not just are you hitting the right
notes, yes or no? Yes. Awesome.
Good. Like, no, no, no.
Now it's like, okay,
how are we singing that note?
We're taking it a level deeper.
So dynamic singing
consists of 2 to 3 parts
depending on how you separate it.
(05:18):
The first part would be
the tone that you're using right.
Like are you singing it
in a breathy voice?
Are you adding twang on it?
Is your larynx
really low,
giving you a little bit
more of a dopey, warm, rich sound?
Or is your larynx high
giving you a brighter sound?
Is it, maybe light or maybe more?
(05:41):
More heavy?
Are you singing it
in chest voice
or mixed voice or a mixed belt or a head
dominant mix or head voice.
Right.
Like that influences your tone as well.
So basically,
just anything that changes
the, the tone of, of your voice,
by the way, tongue position
really affects your tone as well.
So like that typical Shakira sound, that
(06:02):
high level.
Well, that,
that kind of sound right there.
That's the tongue.
Whatever.
Whatever.
That's without the tongue
engaging in the back.
So tongue position
can influence your tone as well.
So that's one side.
The other thing, would be embellishments.
So that would be are you riffing?
Are you adding vibrato?
(06:23):
Are you adding
crys or vocal flips or yodels?
Those are like in the same,
kind of family.
Are you adding ghost notes?
What do your onsets
and offsets look like?
Are you scooping?
Are you attacking? Are you stepping?
There's,
a lot of different embellishments,
like these things
that we can use
(06:43):
to kind of,
like, spice up
our, our singing, And then lastly,
if we're,
if we want to look at like a third part,
then that would be
the actual dynamics in the sense of,
the volume that you're using
when you are singing.
So sometimes I take
tone and volume in one
(07:04):
because the volume that you're using
can really influence your tone.
Sometimes, like you separate it.
It's really just kind of
like whatever works for you.
But that's just the sheer volume, right?
Are you loud? Are you soft?
Are you somewhere in between?
How loud are you singing?
And those three things together
are what make, sing.
What make your singing more dynamic
(07:26):
and basically
how I'm usually describing it.
Maybe you've you've seen me
or heard me talk about my cake
analogy before,
but hitting the right notes
at the right time and sounding
good doing so.
That's like the actual cake,
the thing that you bake. Right?
But if we want to, like,
make an awesome cake,
we got to add some frosting to it, right?
(07:48):
And that's dynamic singing.
Your dynamic singing is your frosting.
And with that frosting
we can add different
flavors, different colors.
We can add a lot of frosting
or not a lot of frosting. Right.
There's such a thing
as like a naked cake.
And that has very, very,
very limited frosting on it,
giving it that quote unquote naked look.
Right.
(08:08):
And,
I personally love those kinds of cakes
because I don't love a ton of frosting,
but whatever tickles your fancy. Right?
So, dynamics is where you can let
your personality start shining through
and just keeping your listeners
and your audience engaged
because you're showing us
(08:29):
all these different flavors, right?
Like you're always giving us something
new, and it's not like, okay, yeah,
we heard it right.
Like we never really quite
know what to expect.
Like what's going to come next.
And it keeps us pulled in.
And again,
we do that
through Tone's embellishments
and your volume.
Now, one way to practice
dynamic singing
is by literally
(08:49):
just working on different kinds of tones
that your voice can create,
and different kinds
of embellishments
that you want to incorporate
into your singing.
That's one way to develop
dynamic singing, and that can work at Vox
Pop Studios.
We prefer a different approach,
because the problem with that
is that at the end of the day,
(09:11):
you might be able to sing
with a breathy voice
and with twang and in a mixed belt and,
with vibrato, or you add a riff, right?
All these different things
that you can do,
you might be able to do all of them,
but you might still not sound
very musical or natural
because you don't really know what to
(09:34):
use, where.
And so how we teach dynamic
singing here at VOC Sape
Studios is through listening.
First
you'll learn
how to identify these different tones
and embellishments
in other singers first,
and then and don't get scared, okay?
(09:56):
Hear me out.
And then you copy them.
You imitate them
so that you can get a feel for it.
And then you go and make it your own.
Right?
Because if we just stop at the imitation,
then you're going to be
a great impersonator.
But that's not necessarily
what you might want to do.
And so,
we want to make sure
(10:16):
that we don't stop at imitation,
but that we then also learn
how to, how to make changes to it
based on what feels right to you.
But the listening step
is the step that a lot of people skip,
and then
they never really develop
that sense for musicality.
(10:37):
Which is what makes them sound
not super natural when they sing.
And if you can teach yourself
how to listen,
then you can teach yourself musicality
and that's what's going to help.
You sound like you're born to sing,
like you're a natural singer.
Okay, so I want to show you an example,
(10:58):
of of dynamic singing.
And literally,
I could pull up anything on YouTube
and be like, okay, here's
how this is sounding. Dynamically.
I literally just opened YouTube,
and the first thing that showed up
was Sabrina Carpenter Tiny Desk Concert.
So we're going to,
look at just a couple seconds of it.
(11:19):
And what I'm going to do is I'm going to,
you know,
pause the video after each, phrase
and point out
the different tones
and embellishments that I am hearing.
And I want you to do the same thing.
Right? Like, what are you hearing?
What's the tone of her voice here?
What embellishments is she using
(11:39):
so that, you know, you can,
you can start copying her
because if you don't know
what you're listening for,
you don't really know how to change it,
right? Like, because then you don't know.
It's like,
you know, like those pictures
where, it's the same picture twice,
but you need to find, like,
five differences,
and then you look really hard
(12:00):
and be like, oh,
they're like,
the color of the
t shirt is different, or it's an egg
on the plate instead of a broccoli or,
you know, like whatever.
Like it's the same picture
with a couple differences.
It that's kind of what we're doing here
in vocal training.
We want to be able to tell
how are you different from the song
(12:20):
that you're trying to sing?
What are the differences?
Spot the differences
and then make the changes again.
That doesn't mean that
you should copy the song,
you know, and
and only ever sing it that way.
No, but that's how we learn musicality.
That's how we learn dynamic singing.
And then we go and make it our own.
Okay,
(12:41):
so don't be afraid of copying somebody.
This is actually really,
really, really helpful.
But okay.
Anyways, so I'm going to go through this
Carpenter Sabrina Carpenter,
tiny Desk concert
the first couple seconds, at least,
so that you can train your ears
to hear these different tones
and embellishments,
because that's step number one.
All right, let's have a listen.
(13:04):
So cute.
Oh, wow.
It's quite impressive okay.
Oh I leave quite an impression.
So here we're
we're quite soft
I would say this is kind of like a leaf.
It's kind of like an a mixed voice here.
It's not.
Oh, I'll leave quite an impression.
Like, she's not heavy.
She's quite mixed.
(13:25):
And soft here, volume wise.
Definitely not loud.
It's quite clean sounding, right.
It's just not a lot of vocal fry.
And then impression. Impression.
And at the high note
it's just a little bit softer.
But it's not a huge contrast there.
It's not.
Oh it's quite an impression.
(13:47):
It's always quite an impression.
Right.
It's yes, it's
a little heavier on the pression
but it's not a huge contrast.
Fluffy to be.
Okay, a
lot of stuff
happening on five feet, to be exact.
Five. Five.
(14:07):
So she's like.
Like she has a little a vocal flip there.
Fuh fuh fuh v.
And then she's riffing on feed, fluffy.
So she has a vocal crack
and then she's riffing.
And then to be the exact
a P is in a head. Heftier space.
(14:28):
Exact. Exact.
She's kind of like
falling off of the notes,
dropping off of the note, and,
volume wise and tone wise,
she's really, like,
switching back and forth
between the different registers.
So it's like stronger,
weaker, stronger, weaker.
And that gives it
this really cool
back and forth
(14:49):
contrasting kind of
a push and pull effect.
We're wondering I was like,
You are wondering why.
You're wondering
why she's she's
showing a little country there.
She's not it's not.
You're wondering why. It's.
You're wondering
what she's scooping into that note.
A close, close went.
(15:11):
So there she's back up into a head, voice
much softer.
Close went Listen,
she's just speaking that word, right?
She's not. Not.
It's she's not.
Oh, my gosh, this is, so much happening.
Close went missing.
She's close. Went missing.
She's she's speaking the word
missing, but.
(15:34):
Yeah.
My buddy another riff
is way where back into her voice,
where they're at.
And then, she's kind of like,
flipping or, like, crying
into where they're now.
She's flipping
where they're at, and then at,
so she's dropping off of,
(15:55):
but she's not singing.
It, it it's more it,
it so it's, a little brighter,
a little.
Yeah.
Just not so. Not so rich. Not so dark.
But here in this first part.
Oh, my goodness,
there's so much happening already.
She starts out really softly,
(16:15):
then she or like mixy
and then she's going more
into register changes
rather than staying in that mix.
She's just constantly flipping
back and forth,
but, obviously still quite laid back
like nothing crazy
loud or anything like that just yet.
now, and, you're still at it.
(16:36):
Okay, now.
Now I'm gone.
She sounds so country.
They're. It's awesome.
So now I'm gone.
So she's down in a chest voice
because it's pretty low.
She's, scooping into the.
Now I'm gone, but you're.
But but she's kind of like, right.
Like barely speaking the word
even, you're still in, in.
(16:58):
So it's not in but in.
Now I'm gone.
But yeah.
So she's singing you're still
and not your.
You're still is,
you're still in again very country.
I love it.
Next to me.
Not next to me.
(17:19):
Like, it's like so short.
Super short, super easy.
Oh, okay.
If you're watching the video,
you can really see how she's, like,
spreading her mouth on separation.
separation, and she's like, red
really scooping up.
So she's constantly
(17:39):
like, ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba
ba ba ba.
Right.
Like singing, singing,
throwing the note away.
Singing, singing,
throwing in the note away.
And then in separation.
Scooping up to the end.
She's really spreading her mouth.
Giving her that brighter sound.
(18:01):
Together.
Okay.
There's so many spoken parts in here.
Heard
you heard
is back up into in a head voice.
And then together.
Together.
She's kind of like speaking that word.
she is not singing.
That's actually the
background singer singing.
(18:22):
She's just coming in on her
chair back
together, and, she's not singing.
Heard she's not singing that,
she's just singing her jaw.
So again,
head voice up there
and then back into her
chest, your, sound. That's true.
You just have to take me
(18:42):
here.
Okay, then he's kissing you.
She's, It's so spoken.
You'll just have to chase me.
So he's not going.
Yo, y'all just have to take taste.
Y'all just have to taste me.
So she's not going
into, like, a breathy head
voice up there, but rather
you'll just have to chase me to taste.
(19:06):
It's a little more balanced
compared to what
we've been hearing her do so far.
It's a little bit
more of the same through, like
there is a register change.
Yes, but it's not an obvious change,
you know?
So, taste me, taste me.
It's a little mixer,
like a head dominant mix.
(19:27):
Rather than taste me.
You forever.
Forever.
She's kind of speaking that again.
I feel like she's speaking
a lot more here in this live performance
than she is on the actual track,
but it's cool.
That's a lot of character.
if you go on forever.
(19:49):
Same thing here. It's a little more.
It's not here
if you want, but more if you want,
if you want forever.
So yeah, it's a little,
little mix here, a little bit less.
Just her voice.
You do a little bit of vocal fry there.
So.
(20:11):
Okay.
Till it's very lazy.
Two and a two.
And then she's going to to
has a little vocal flip there too.
And like an abrupt
register change again.
So Sabrina
Carpenter is a really skilled singer.
(20:32):
And she's doing abrupt register changes.
She's also doing mics.
So far, none of this has been like,
belted, right?
Like where it's like, oh, wow.
Like, yes,
we have really built the dynamics
and we're super able to hear
it's all still quiet, laid back, like,
I would say,
we haven't surpassed
(20:54):
more than,
like 50% of like,
the volume or power that,
that she can do.
But it sounds,
it really interesting,
like we don't need more power
because a lot of times,
singers
can fall into that trap of, like,
I need to add more power to,
you know, create,
these dynamics and all that.
(21:15):
I'm like, no, actually, it's
not just it's not just power.
That creates dynamics.
All of these things here create,
dynamics as well.
anyways, I hope you
you kind of understand, like
you get the gist of like, oh, okay.
Like there's a lot happening
that maybe you already hearing,
which is great.
Maybe you're not hearing it. Yeah.
So the first step to dynamic
(21:37):
singing is listening
and training your ears
to hear these different things
that these singers are doing. Right.
What tones
are they using,
what embellishments are they using,
and how powerfully are they sing?
How loud is it?
And and then try and copy it.
Right.
Like remember that picture?
Like it's the same picture twice,
but there's like five
small little changes.
(21:57):
We want to be able to do that
with our voice as well,
so that we can see and hear,
and feel the exact difference
between what they're doing
and what we're doing,
and then start making
a little tweaks again.
We don't stop there
because then you would just be a carbon
copy. We don't want that.
You once you learn
how to do it, you
then go in and start making changes to
(22:19):
whatever it is
that the original singer is doing
so that you can make it feel more like
that's what you want to do.
But copying
these singers can really help you
develop the sense for musicality and,
you know, figure out what works where,
why are they doing this here?
And obviously
we want to keep the storytelling
aspect of it in mind. Right?
(22:40):
So that's why I said, well,
storytelling is kind of a part of it,
but also not really like,
it's, it's it's a part of storytelling,
because there's a lot
that goes into storytelling
when we're performing,
but we do want to make sure
that whatever vocal choices
we make, like what
tone and embellishments we're using,
(23:00):
that it makes sense
in the story that we are telling,
So that it's not just,
I'm showing off
all these different things that I can do,
but rather
it supports the story of the song,
whatever it is that you're doing. Right.
So storytelling is kind of a part of it.
But, anyways, your homework,
(23:20):
oh my gosh,
who am I to give you homework?
But anyways,
what I would love for you to do
is train your ears
exactly this way, right?
Like phrase by phrase,
and then just repeat it right?
Like if you're doing it on
a computer, it's
a little bit easier than here
on this little iPad.
Like just move it
back and forth, back and forth
and like listen again.
What else do you hear?
What else do you hear?
What else do you hear.
So that you can really go
(23:42):
into the nitty gritty,
tiny little details,
and start incorporating
that into your own singing as well?
I promise
you, it's gonna make a huge difference.
It's what's going to help you go from
oh yeah, that was pretty good to
oh my gosh, they're amazing.
So practice this.
This is called dynamic singing.
(24:02):
It's the frosting on top of your cake
okay.
So go ahead and practice this
I hope this was helpful.
Send me a DM on Instagram
at Vox Pop Studios
if you have any questions about this.
Okay.
other than that, that's
pretty much it for today.
I'll catch you in the next one.
if you look at
(00:01):
a lot of these
singers out there
who are seeing a lot of success,
they don't have the biggest vocal
range on the planet or the belters belt
or, you know, whatever.
Right?
Like,
what exactly it is
they do doesn't really matter, right?
Like how high they sing
or how low they sing or how powerfully
they sing or whatever.
(00:21):
It's something else
that makes them
successful in their singing.
And that's something else.
Is dynamic singing.
Hey, VoxStar and welcome
to From Singer To Artist.
(00:41):
I'm Lara
Chapman, award winning
singer and songwriter
turned viral vocal coach
and the host of this show
at VoxTape Studios.
We help singers
from all over the world
level up their voices
by teaching them
the three fundamental skills
all singers need
technique, awareness and artistry.
Whether you're looking to go pro
or just develop your voice for fun.
My team and I are here to help.
(01:03):
Check the link in the description
to book your first session, or grab
some of our other resources.
All righty.
Are you ready? Let's get started.
Maybe what?
What you've
experienced, or maybe you've seen this in
somebody else is you,
(01:25):
you know, started practicing
and you're hitting all the right notes.
You're singing in tune, right?
You're singing the right notes
at the right time.
And you sound pretty decent, right?
Like there's no vocal cracks or,
or anything like that.
Like it's it's solid. It's there.
But you still feel like.
Like, why doesn't
it sound like the original?
Like, why don't I sound,
(01:47):
quote unquote as good as insert person
here, right. Insert other singer here.
And I actually I see this a lot in like,
you know, singers out there
where they sound like
they took a couple voice lessons maybe.
Right.
Like they worked on their voice
a little bit, but that's just exactly it.
(02:07):
They sound like
they took a couple voice lessons
and not necessarily like,
oh, wow, this person was born to sing.
And that is the kind of reaction
that we want, right?
Like sounding
like we were born to sing like it's
our God given talent or gift or
whatever it is
that you want to call it, right?
Like it's that natural thing that happens
(02:31):
when you when you sing.
It's just like,
yeah, this sounds so natural, like,
this is just what you were born to do.
And, contrary to popular belief,
that is actually something
that can be learned, this natural sound.
I think a lot of people can agree
that, singing is, is something
that can be learned,
(02:51):
but a lot of people think
that you can only take it so far.
I believe you can take it
as far as you want,
even if you start with zero talent.
Even if we have to start with learning
how to match pitch,
like you can get to a really,
really, really great, level.
Even as good
as some of the pros out there.
But we need to be able to identify
(03:12):
first what makes them that good, right?
Like what makes them sound
natural because, like,
if you look at
a lot of these singers out there
who are seeing a lot of success,
they don't have the biggest vocal
range on the planet or the belters belt
or, you know, whatever.
Right?
Like,
(03:33):
what exactly it is
they do doesn't really matter, right?
Like how high they sing
or how low they sing or how powerfully
they sing or whatever.
It's something else
that makes them
successful in their singing.
And that's something else.
Is dynamic singing.
Okay, so
dynamic singing is
what's going to help you go from
(03:55):
hitting the right notes at
the right time
and sounding good doing so to sounding
like you were born to sing, okay.
And it has nothing yet
to do with storytelling.
I mean, kind of,
but it's not like,
you know, the performance side of it.
It's really still vocally.
What are you doing?
Right?
(04:16):
Like, not how you standing on stage
in any of that.
Obviously that's also very important.
But dynamic singing is
is the is the answer here.
And that is something
that can be learned.
Let's first talk about what
dynamic singing even is.
Dynamic singing doesn't just go into
what notes you're singing,
(04:37):
but rather how you are singing each note.
Are you singing that
note in a breathy voice?
Are you adding twang on that note?
Are you adding a riff on that note?
Maybe you're
sustaining it
on straight tone, and only at the end
you're adding a little bit of vibrato.
Maybe you're crying into the notes.
There's a million different
things that you can do,
and we can talk about
all these things, but,
(04:57):
it's how you sing each note,
not just are you hitting the right
notes, yes or no? Yes. Awesome.
Good. Like, no, no, no.
Now it's like, okay,
how are we singing that note?
We're taking it a level deeper.
So dynamic singing
consists of 2 to 3 parts
depending on how you separate it.
(05:18):
The first part would be
the tone that you're using right.
Like are you singing it
in a breathy voice?
Are you adding twang on it?
Is your larynx
really low,
giving you a little bit
more of a dopey, warm, rich sound?
Or is your larynx high
giving you a brighter sound?
Is it, maybe light or maybe more?
(05:41):
More heavy?
Are you singing it
in chest voice
or mixed voice or a mixed belt or a head
dominant mix or head voice.
Right.
Like that influences your tone as well.
So basically,
just anything that changes
the, the tone of, of your voice,
by the way, tongue position
really affects your tone as well.
So like that typical Shakira sound, that
(06:02):
high level.
Well, that,
that kind of sound right there.
That's the tongue.
Whatever.
Whatever.
That's without the tongue
engaging in the back.
So tongue position
can influence your tone as well.
So that's one side.
The other thing, would be embellishments.
So that would be are you riffing?
Are you adding vibrato?
(06:23):
Are you adding
crys or vocal flips or yodels?
Those are like in the same,
kind of family.
Are you adding ghost notes?
What do your onsets
and offsets look like?
Are you scooping?
Are you attacking? Are you stepping?
There's,
a lot of different embellishments,
like these things
that we can use
(06:43):
to kind of,
like, spice up
our, our singing, And then lastly,
if we're,
if we want to look at like a third part,
then that would be
the actual dynamics in the sense of,
the volume that you're using
when you are singing.
So sometimes I take
tone and volume in one
(07:04):
because the volume that you're using
can really influence your tone.
Sometimes, like you separate it.
It's really just kind of
like whatever works for you.
But that's just the sheer volume, right?
Are you loud? Are you soft?
Are you somewhere in between?
How loud are you singing?
And those three things together
are what make, sing.
What make your singing more dynamic
(07:26):
and basically
how I'm usually describing it.
Maybe you've you've seen me
or heard me talk about my cake
analogy before,
but hitting the right notes
at the right time and sounding
good doing so.
That's like the actual cake,
the thing that you bake. Right?
But if we want to, like,
make an awesome cake,
we got to add some frosting to it, right?
(07:48):
And that's dynamic singing.
Your dynamic singing is your frosting.
And with that frosting
we can add different
flavors, different colors.
We can add a lot of frosting
or not a lot of frosting. Right.
There's such a thing
as like a naked cake.
And that has very, very,
very limited frosting on it,
giving it that quote unquote naked look.
Right.
(08:08):
And,
I personally love those kinds of cakes
because I don't love a ton of frosting,
but whatever tickles your fancy. Right?
So, dynamics is where you can let
your personality start shining through
and just keeping your listeners
and your audience engaged
because you're showing us
(08:29):
all these different flavors, right?
Like you're always giving us something
new, and it's not like, okay, yeah,
we heard it right.
Like we never really quite
know what to expect.
Like what's going to come next.
And it keeps us pulled in.
And again,
we do that
through Tone's embellishments
and your volume.
Now, one way to practice
dynamic singing
is by literally
(08:49):
just working on different kinds of tones
that your voice can create,
and different kinds
of embellishments
that you want to incorporate
into your singing.
That's one way to develop
dynamic singing, and that can work at Vox
Pop Studios.
We prefer a different approach,
because the problem with that
is that at the end of the day,
(09:11):
you might be able to sing
with a breathy voice
and with twang and in a mixed belt and,
with vibrato, or you add a riff, right?
All these different things
that you can do,
you might be able to do all of them,
but you might still not sound
very musical or natural
because you don't really know what to
(09:34):
use, where.
And so how we teach dynamic
singing here at VOC Sape
Studios is through listening.
First
you'll learn
how to identify these different tones
and embellishments
in other singers first,
and then and don't get scared, okay?
(09:56):
Hear me out.
And then you copy them.
You imitate them
so that you can get a feel for it.
And then you go and make it your own.
Right?
Because if we just stop at the imitation,
then you're going to be
a great impersonator.
But that's not necessarily
what you might want to do.
And so,
we want to make sure
(10:16):
that we don't stop at imitation,
but that we then also learn
how to, how to make changes to it
based on what feels right to you.
But the listening step
is the step that a lot of people skip,
and then
they never really develop
that sense for musicality.
(10:37):
Which is what makes them sound
not super natural when they sing.
And if you can teach yourself
how to listen,
then you can teach yourself musicality
and that's what's going to help.
You sound like you're born to sing,
like you're a natural singer.
Okay, so I want to show you an example,
(10:58):
of of dynamic singing.
And literally,
I could pull up anything on YouTube
and be like, okay, here's
how this is sounding. Dynamically.
I literally just opened YouTube,
and the first thing that showed up
was Sabrina Carpenter Tiny Desk Concert.
So we're going to,
look at just a couple seconds of it.
(11:19):
And what I'm going to do is I'm going to,
you know,
pause the video after each, phrase
and point out
the different tones
and embellishments that I am hearing.
And I want you to do the same thing.
Right? Like, what are you hearing?
What's the tone of her voice here?
What embellishments is she using
(11:39):
so that, you know, you can,
you can start copying her
because if you don't know
what you're listening for,
you don't really know how to change it,
right? Like, because then you don't know.
It's like,
you know, like those pictures
where, it's the same picture twice,
but you need to find, like,
five differences,
and then you look really hard
(12:00):
and be like, oh,
they're like,
the color of the
t shirt is different, or it's an egg
on the plate instead of a broccoli or,
you know, like whatever.
Like it's the same picture
with a couple differences.
It that's kind of what we're doing here
in vocal training.
We want to be able to tell
how are you different from the song
(12:20):
that you're trying to sing?
What are the differences?
Spot the differences
and then make the changes again.
That doesn't mean that
you should copy the song,
you know, and
and only ever sing it that way.
No, but that's how we learn musicality.
That's how we learn dynamic singing.
And then we go and make it our own.
Okay,
(12:41):
so don't be afraid of copying somebody.
This is actually really,
really, really helpful.
But okay.
Anyways, so I'm going to go through this
Carpenter Sabrina Carpenter,
tiny Desk concert
the first couple seconds, at least,
so that you can train your ears
to hear these different tones
and embellishments,
because that's step number one.
All right, let's have a listen.
(13:04):
So cute.
Oh, wow.
It's quite impressive okay.
Oh I leave quite an impression.
So here we're
we're quite soft
I would say this is kind of like a leaf.
It's kind of like an a mixed voice here.
It's not.
Oh, I'll leave quite an impression.
Like, she's not heavy.
She's quite mixed.
(13:25):
And soft here, volume wise.
Definitely not loud.
It's quite clean sounding, right.
It's just not a lot of vocal fry.
And then impression. Impression.
And at the high note
it's just a little bit softer.
But it's not a huge contrast there.
It's not.
Oh it's quite an impression.
(13:47):
It's always quite an impression.
Right.
It's yes, it's
a little heavier on the pression
but it's not a huge contrast.
Fluffy to be.
Okay, a
lot of stuff
happening on five feet, to be exact.
Five. Five.
(14:07):
So she's like.
Like she has a little a vocal flip there.
Fuh fuh fuh v.
And then she's riffing on feed, fluffy.
So she has a vocal crack
and then she's riffing.
And then to be the exact
a P is in a head. Heftier space.
(14:28):
Exact. Exact.
She's kind of like
falling off of the notes,
dropping off of the note, and,
volume wise and tone wise,
she's really, like,
switching back and forth
between the different registers.
So it's like stronger,
weaker, stronger, weaker.
And that gives it
this really cool
back and forth
(14:49):
contrasting kind of
a push and pull effect.
We're wondering I was like,
You are wondering why.
You're wondering
why she's she's
showing a little country there.
She's not it's not.
You're wondering why. It's.
You're wondering
what she's scooping into that note.
A close, close went.
(15:11):
So there she's back up into a head, voice
much softer.
Close went Listen,
she's just speaking that word, right?
She's not. Not.
It's she's not.
Oh, my gosh, this is, so much happening.
Close went missing.
She's close. Went missing.
She's she's speaking the word
missing, but.
(15:34):
Yeah.
My buddy another riff
is way where back into her voice,
where they're at.
And then, she's kind of like,
flipping or, like, crying
into where they're now.
She's flipping
where they're at, and then at,
so she's dropping off of,
(15:55):
but she's not singing.
It, it it's more it,
it so it's, a little brighter,
a little.
Yeah.
Just not so. Not so rich. Not so dark.
But here in this first part.
Oh, my goodness,
there's so much happening already.
She starts out really softly,
(16:15):
then she or like mixy
and then she's going more
into register changes
rather than staying in that mix.
She's just constantly flipping
back and forth,
but, obviously still quite laid back
like nothing crazy
loud or anything like that just yet.
now, and, you're still at it.
(16:36):
Okay, now.
Now I'm gone.
She sounds so country.
They're. It's awesome.
So now I'm gone.
So she's down in a chest voice
because it's pretty low.
She's, scooping into the.
Now I'm gone, but you're.
But but she's kind of like, right.
Like barely speaking the word
even, you're still in, in.
(16:58):
So it's not in but in.
Now I'm gone.
But yeah.
So she's singing you're still
and not your.
You're still is,
you're still in again very country.
I love it.
Next to me.
Not next to me.
(17:19):
Like, it's like so short.
Super short, super easy.
Oh, okay.
If you're watching the video,
you can really see how she's, like,
spreading her mouth on separation.
separation, and she's like, red
really scooping up.
So she's constantly
(17:39):
like, ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba
ba ba ba.
Right.
Like singing, singing,
throwing the note away.
Singing, singing,
throwing in the note away.
And then in separation.
Scooping up to the end.
She's really spreading her mouth.
Giving her that brighter sound.
(18:01):
Together.
Okay.
There's so many spoken parts in here.
Heard
you heard
is back up into in a head voice.
And then together.
Together.
She's kind of like speaking that word.
she is not singing.
That's actually the
background singer singing.
(18:22):
She's just coming in on her
chair back
together, and, she's not singing.
Heard she's not singing that,
she's just singing her jaw.
So again,
head voice up there
and then back into her
chest, your, sound. That's true.
You just have to take me
(18:42):
here.
Okay, then he's kissing you.
She's, It's so spoken.
You'll just have to chase me.
So he's not going.
Yo, y'all just have to take taste.
Y'all just have to taste me.
So she's not going
into, like, a breathy head
voice up there, but rather
you'll just have to chase me to taste.
(19:06):
It's a little more balanced
compared to what
we've been hearing her do so far.
It's a little bit
more of the same through, like
there is a register change.
Yes, but it's not an obvious change,
you know?
So, taste me, taste me.
It's a little mixer,
like a head dominant mix.
(19:27):
Rather than taste me.
You forever.
Forever.
She's kind of speaking that again.
I feel like she's speaking
a lot more here in this live performance
than she is on the actual track,
but it's cool.
That's a lot of character.
if you go on forever.
(19:49):
Same thing here. It's a little more.
It's not here
if you want, but more if you want,
if you want forever.
So yeah, it's a little,
little mix here, a little bit less.
Just her voice.
You do a little bit of vocal fry there.
So.
(20:11):
Okay.
Till it's very lazy.
Two and a two.
And then she's going to to
has a little vocal flip there too.
And like an abrupt
register change again.
So Sabrina
Carpenter is a really skilled singer.
(20:32):
And she's doing abrupt register changes.
She's also doing mics.
So far, none of this has been like,
belted, right?
Like where it's like, oh, wow.
Like, yes,
we have really built the dynamics
and we're super able to hear
it's all still quiet, laid back, like,
I would say,
we haven't surpassed
(20:54):
more than,
like 50% of like,
the volume or power that,
that she can do.
But it sounds,
it really interesting,
like we don't need more power
because a lot of times,
singers
can fall into that trap of, like,
I need to add more power to,
you know, create,
these dynamics and all that.
(21:15):
I'm like, no, actually, it's
not just it's not just power.
That creates dynamics.
All of these things here create,
dynamics as well.
anyways, I hope you
you kind of understand, like
you get the gist of like, oh, okay.
Like there's a lot happening
that maybe you already hearing,
which is great.
Maybe you're not hearing it. Yeah.
So the first step to dynamic
(21:37):
singing is listening
and training your ears
to hear these different things
that these singers are doing. Right.
What tones
are they using,
what embellishments are they using,
and how powerfully are they sing?
How loud is it?
And and then try and copy it.
Right.
Like remember that picture?
Like it's the same picture twice,
but there's like five
small little changes.
(21:57):
We want to be able to do that
with our voice as well,
so that we can see and hear,
and feel the exact difference
between what they're doing
and what we're doing,
and then start making
a little tweaks again.
We don't stop there
because then you would just be a carbon
copy. We don't want that.
You once you learn
how to do it, you
then go in and start making changes to
(22:19):
whatever it is
that the original singer is doing
so that you can make it feel more like
that's what you want to do.
But copying
these singers can really help you
develop the sense for musicality and,
you know, figure out what works where,
why are they doing this here?
And obviously
we want to keep the storytelling
aspect of it in mind. Right?
(22:40):
So that's why I said, well,
storytelling is kind of a part of it,
but also not really like,
it's, it's it's a part of storytelling,
because there's a lot
that goes into storytelling
when we're performing,
but we do want to make sure
that whatever vocal choices
we make, like what
tone and embellishments we're using,
(23:00):
that it makes sense
in the story that we are telling,
So that it's not just,
I'm showing off
all these different things that I can do,
but rather
it supports the story of the song,
whatever it is that you're doing. Right.
So storytelling is kind of a part of it.
But, anyways, your homework,
(23:20):
oh my gosh,
who am I to give you homework?
But anyways,
what I would love for you to do
is train your ears
exactly this way, right?
Like phrase by phrase,
and then just repeat it right?
Like if you're doing it on
a computer, it's
a little bit easier than here
on this little iPad.
Like just move it
back and forth, back and forth
and like listen again.
What else do you hear?
What else do you hear?
What else do you hear.
So that you can really go
(23:42):
into the nitty gritty,
tiny little details,
and start incorporating
that into your own singing as well?
I promise
you, it's gonna make a huge difference.
It's what's going to help you go from
oh yeah, that was pretty good to
oh my gosh, they're amazing.
So practice this.
This is called dynamic singing.
(24:02):
It's the frosting on top of your cake
okay.
So go ahead and practice this
I hope this was helpful.
Send me a DM on Instagram
at Vox Pop Studios
if you have any questions about this.
Okay.
other than that, that's
pretty much it for today.
I'll catch you in the next one.
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