May 9, 2025 • 59 mins
I finally tackled one of my most requested covers—“Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. But this song is no walk in the park. It’s got huge belts, emotional dynamics, and intense phrasing, which makes it both challenging and rewarding to sing.
In this episode, I break down my process for making this song my own, including:
- Adjusting the song structure for my voice
- Tackling those tough high notes in the chorus
- Adding my own flavor to a well-known song
If you’ve ever wanted to take a popular song and make it uniquely yours, this one’s for you.
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👉 Not sure 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
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(00:00):
honestly I'm excited to edit this uh
(00:02):
this episode so that I can hear like listen back haha
and see what this sounded like
I hope that this wasn't just like absolutely awful haha
hey Vox star and welcome to from singer to artist
(00:23):
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
(00:45):
check the link in the description
to book your first session
or grab some of our other resources
Alrighty are you ready
let's get started
I think it's fair to say that at the end of the day
we don't want to sing exercises
we wanna sing songs right
well so today
I'm actually going to coach myself through the song
shallow from a Star Is Born
(01:06):
sung by Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga
one of my faves I sent out an email to our list
asking which song I should do
I gave a couple recommendations
and most of you guys voted for uh shallow
and so I was like alright cool
let's do shallow how hard can it be
I've sung that song on stage before
(01:29):
well that was pretty
me changing completely the way I sing and just
you know forcing and pushing my voice
which is why I ended up with a vocal injury uh
eventually and so I'm like yeah
I'm sure like you know I've improved a lot since then
I can probably sing the song and well
turns out I was practicing it a little bit
(01:50):
I was like oh my God
this song is so much harder to sing
because immediately
my old habits of just forcing and pushing through
start kicking in so this is gonna be a challenge um
but that's okay that's we're keeping it real
this is what it's all about
I am not perfect by any means
and I'm gonna work on this song
(02:11):
and see if I can get around my old challenges
which is pushing and forcing
and kind of like yelling instead of melting
the chorus at least
now I did not prepare much for this at all
I have a lyric sheet prepared here
so that I can take notes
as I am working through the song
and also I had a um
(02:33):
a producer create a track for me for the song
because the goal at least for me
the goal that I set for myself is
whenever I am coaching myself through a song
um at least here for this podcast for the show
I want to actually record a cover for it as well
like from a to Z finished cover
so this is the practice session
(02:55):
not the recording session
I I can record that as well
maybe that would be a fun episode to like
actually seeing you know
how many takes do you take and uh
like what's the recording process like
so I'll be sure to record that as well
but today is just a practicing session
but I had someone record um a track for me
like produce a track for me
(03:16):
and I moved some parts around
I added an extra chorus
I cut out some interludes and things like that
so the actual outline
of the song is gonna be a little bit different
but other than that
I'm gonna keep it pretty close to the original
I decided to do it in the original key as well
but I did not prepare much for this at all
(03:36):
just had the track made with the different
um like a little bit of a different outline
and try to sing it yesterday
and was like oh my God
this is gonna be so much harder than I thought
it was gonna be and now here we are today recording it
so wish me luck let's get into it
the first thing I'm gonna do is just sing
through the first uh
part of the song
(03:57):
just to kind of see how does it feel in my voice
and if I need to make any tweaks
and as I'm singing through it
I'm gonna Mark any spots that feel a little weird
to me but I'm gonna keep going with it
so let's just get started with this and um
see what we've got
and shout out to Daniel Parks
for creating this track for me thank you
(05:22):
okay I'm gonna pause right there
cause obviously this is like the first change
I was like I wanna actually add a chorus in here
um because I'm gonna be singing the song by myself
and I wanted to make sense
um and you know
make it make sense outside of a movie setting as well
so to me this outline of verse pre chorus chorus
(05:43):
verse pre chorus chorus post chorus the in the Sha Sha
that's a post chorus um going into that
that's kind of like the bridge of this
of this song back into chorus
post chorus like to me that was just a song
(06:04):
a structure that I felt like
made a little bit more sense to me
as like an actual like
song that stands on its own two feet without it
you know being in a movie or anything like that
so what I'm trying to figure out here is
how do I wanna sing this first chorus
so what I just did was I sang it down the octave
(06:24):
cause she sings it like Lady Gaga sings it
I'm above the deep and right
like she sings it up there
belted that wasn't a belt
but she sings it up there
but because the song at
least starting in the second chorus um
it's just gonna be a lot through the
through the rest of the song
so I need to make sure that I can pace myself
(06:46):
so I have two options
or at least I am giving myself two options here
and I need to pick which one I like better
either I'm gonna sing it down the octave
which is what I just did or at least something like it
uh or I'm gonna sing it in the actual original octave
but softly so something like a
(07:11):
and something like that compared to a I'm off the tea
that's what the second chorus is for right
so uh
I'm gonna sing
um'cause the first verse and pre chorus are are easy
I'm gonna sing this first chorus
down the octave one more time
and see what can I do with the last
(07:34):
we're far from the shallow now
cause crash through the surf
oh hahaha like we're far from the shallow now
like that goes too low for me um
but we're far from the shallow
(08:11):
something something like that so I'm not going so super
super low some of the notes are still coming out
so
I just need to play around with that for a little bit
crash through the surf
(08:32):
so that's one option let's try a different option
crash through the surf
that would be another option so I
I would say somewhere between those two
it really is
just gonna matter what's gonna translate the best
(08:56):
in the studio so like when I'm
when I'm gonna be recording this in the studio
it might sound really good
going down to a far from the shallow now oh
like
if I can make that sound really cool in the studio
that could work really well
if I'm singing it live though
I would not go for that option
because it's just not gonna translate as well
(09:18):
in a live setting so in a live setting
I would probably do we'll fall from the shallow night
oh
something like that um because that's just gonna carry
a little bit more'cause
if you're super low in your range
in a live setting
it's really hard for the audience to hear it
even if you're like this close to the microphone
(09:40):
like it's so hard to hear it so anyways
if I can make it work in the studio
um
and like sing it low and make that sound really good
I'm gonna go for that uh if not
I'll go for the for the higher option
it probably also just depends on how is
how my voice is feeling that day
cause like when I was trying that yesterday
that low like well far from the shallow now oh
(10:03):
it came out a little bit better than what's happening
today but that's okay
we'll see
maybe the high notes are gonna come out easier
today than yesterday
but um
I wanna keep going with the rest of the song
because from here on out
that's what's gonna be the hard part of the song
is actually singing these high notes
so let's keep going we're far from the shell
(10:29):
honestly that I felt pretty good but either way
moving on to the second verse
(11:32):
and then it goes into in the shower okay
but a couple things I'm gonna look at
before I get into that part
so going back to that first verse
or the second verse rather
tell me something boy
so here I wanna start building a little bit more uh
so that you know
it's like we're we're keeping it moving
(11:53):
we're keeping it moving
it's not like the same soft thing again um
but the or do you do you
do you that came out a little weird
so I wanna look at that
(12:13):
I need more
so if I am like changing the vowel from you to you
from you or do you
more so I'm
I can change it and it's easier to sing it that way
but then it's already coming out too much
(12:36):
I feel like right or do you need more like ah
it's too much for the second verse
because up until this point
it's been very chill
that would be too much of a change for my taste
so I don't want to modify that you so much
I wanna keep it a little bit more in that ooh
(12:57):
that closed ooh vowel shape so or do you
oh I like that a lot more or do
you need more
I don't like the drop off on you or do you need more
(13:18):
hear that you has two notes I don't like that or do you
oh I like that um
better and then also
I'm really opening up that more on the end more
more like a more rather than a
(13:39):
I like the more open sound there compared to
or do you need more right
like do you hear the do you hear the difference
I'm opening up more like more rather than yo
or do you more that would be both or do you need more
is neither or do you need more
(14:03):
is the U open the more closed or do you uh
you is closed more is open
that's the one that I like and you know
when you're recording in the studio
I will probably try a couple different versions
and then see which one I truly like the most
when I actually hear the recording
but just in my brain right now I'm thinking
(14:26):
or do you need more
you closed more a little bit more open right
so hardcore I like that kind of like so
so so hard kind of like scooping into the sew
I do wanna make sure that I'm not overdoing it
(14:49):
because with scoops
we have to be super careful so that
you know they're not getting if
if if we do too much of them or they're too dragged out
like it can it can get a little muddy on almost
so I don't want to do that
so I wanna make sure that I'm sliding
but it's um to the point kind of slide
uh ain't it
(15:10):
I keep so hardcore so hardcore
something like that and also um
core hardcore I'm not singing hardcore like with ours
but rather so hardcore core
same with more more hardcore um
(15:31):
I'm kind of like opening up to an ah sound ah
rather than a er um
that's just how I like to sing it
if you prefer doing it differently
you can do differently
ain't it and I keep in it so hardcore
and do you hear that little cry on hard
so hard so ha ha ha
(15:52):
that's a cry it's a vocal cry
um so hardcore
maybe I like it on the recording
I'm gonna have to see which one I like better
so hardcore that's without a cry
that's one of these other things where I'm like
I need to make sure that I'm not doing too much of them
cause I know myself I like to cry too often
he he he um
(16:13):
and and then I can be a bit much
but we'll see
we'll see how that goes on the on the recording
but then the pre chorus so I'm happy with the
with the verse that way then the pre chorus I'm for
I like changing the phrasing there a little bit
(16:36):
so you
because at the end of the day when I'm singing a cover
I wanna make sure that I can
give it my own flavor a little bit
so instead of singing I'm fall and
which I think is what the original is doing
it's been so long since I heard the original honestly
but uh
I wanna change the phrasing there a little bit
(16:57):
um
falling and I like that uh
that pulse or that slash where you're like
reattacking the same note
so you're attacking it twice
I'm falling
I just that one was good
yeah that one was good
cause I have to make sure that I'm going
(17:17):
all the way up to the note
and then I'm not starting to go a little flat
um
fall
and like yeah
I need to keep it bright enough
I think is what I need to do um
and then just thinking
(17:37):
a little bit of a lift here in my upper lip
my cheeks here also kind of like a little huh little
yeah a little lift right there
helps me to stay a little brighter
and get all the way up to the note
and all
(18:01):
so I just added a riff there because I was like
I wanna do something I don't know what I wanna do
but that's kind of what just came out
um I'm not a riffer
like there's some natural riffers out there
I am not one of those people
doesn't mean I can't do it
I can do it
but it's not something that comes naturally to me
(18:21):
and I would very rarely choose to add a riff somewhere
where it's not already written
because that's just like not really what I do
like that's not a part of how I usually express myself
but uh
if you saw the episode where coach Juliana was uh
(18:42):
coaching me through the song
Video Games by Lana Del Rey
that was kind of like the first time where I realized
like oh my gosh
like I'm drawn to some higher notes
and I'm usually never drawn to like
alter the melody to make it be higher
then what it originally is
usually I wanna go lower
(19:02):
that's where I feel more comfortable
and so I feel like here
it's kind of like a similar situation
where usually I wouldn't add a riff
but for some reason I'm like there's time there
it adds a little bit of a flavor
it's not an insane kind of crazy or super fast riff
but it just adds a little bit of flavor
which again not usually something I'm drawn to
(19:23):
but here I feel like why not right so in all the good
change
something like that
but I think I'm in a different key now
so I'm just gonna back up this track here
(20:02):
I wanna make sure that I'm not holding it out
(20:23):
I am myself I like that that one was good
the same thing for me here
and the lift uh in my upper lip on falling
I need to do the same thing here for chin chin
(20:44):
uh because if I don't do that um
my tendency is to go like to get too heavy fortune
and if I wanna riff quickly and accurately
I need to make sure I'm not too heavy
(21:05):
because the heavier your voice is
the harder it's gonna get to sing these notes
and especially you know
when you're doing like a riff
like agility kind of stuff right so
change hmm that makes it so much easier so much easier
so keeping that light love it and in the back
(21:31):
myself
I'm gonna keep that one short
because I need to prepare for the course
hehe hmm I fear myself I'm a
right
I wanna make sure that I have a good breath there
before I get into the course
obviously when you're recording in the studio
you can punch in like
you can like stop recording after Fear Myself
(21:55):
and then take all the time you need
and then I'm off the deep
even get into the chorus there
but obviously
I wanna make sure that whatever it is I'm doing
I can make work in a live setting as well
so I'm gonna keep that fear myself
I'm
and keeping that short now the course
(22:17):
this is the part that everybody wants to know about
so I'm sorry it took me this long to get to it
but this is the hard part
this is the part where it gets super belty
super high difficult to sing
I wanna make sure that I am setting myself
up for success here
from that first note I know that my tendency is to
(22:37):
squeeze my vocal folds together too tightly so like a
and that kind of sound and that just
there's barely any air coming through
which makes it really hard to sing so
um couple things that I want to think about
I either want to start the note on a vocal fry like a
(23:01):
um I'm off the deep end
something like that like the I'm uh
to make sure that I'm not like
punching that note way too harshly
I either wanna do that or basically add an H right
and go like I'm of the deep end
that's just gonna help me get that breath flow going
(23:23):
right cause the H is gonna push my vocal folds apart
so that that breath can start flowing through
now every time I add an H though
I need to be careful that I'm not going right
and like a huh kind of situation where then the um
the ABS start squeezing
and then it shuts off the breath again
(23:44):
and because the vocal folds are squeezing together
too much so if I am adding an H
I need
to make sure that it's a flowy kind of H and not a
like a hook kind of H right
like a squeezed kind of H
but before I dig into the course too much
I actually wanna try it on um
like just just explore some breathy voice first
(24:06):
to make sure
my vocal folds are not gonna squeeze on me too tightly
so something like a huh huh
I'm off the deep end
I'm off the deep end obviously that's in a head voice
not in a chest voice or like a chest dominant mix
(24:27):
where I actually wanna sing it
but that just is a good reminder for me to be like
chill girl okay
like we don't need to work so hard
I'm off the deep end
ha hum hum hum hum
ha
(24:49):
friend
okay not bad I need to modify deep
and
that deep is a little deep
a little too heavy I'm gonna use my um
my straw thank you
a revox my risona straw
(25:09):
I love it oh my gosh
makes everything so much easier
so I'm gonna sing that part that I'm of the deep
even just that phrase through the straw
see what happens
oh
okay
I'm gonna add a little bit of a of a head shake to it
(25:34):
oh
oops
hmm it's not really getting that flow out
so I'm gonna try it on a puffer fish instead
okay
I'm feeling a little bit of like phlegm come through
so that's telling me like
(25:55):
not perfectly super warm up in that uh
range of my voice feeling that phlegm
it's it wants to come out
so I'm gonna just keep vocalizing over it
and the more I do it the more that phlegm is gonna
vibrate off of my vocal folds essentially um
but I'm gonna make sure that I'm not gonna ha
ha on my vocal folds
cause that's gonna make them really tired and scratchy
(26:17):
and I don't definitely don't want that
so one more time actually
let me try it in a head dominant sound first
okay that's easy
okay I'm feeling my tongue get a little grabby
so I'm gonna stick out my tongue
and do a gentle tongue bite
(26:37):
so that's just
sticking out your tongue and biting on your tongue
hmm
okay
hmm
it's get it gets a little not raspy
this is cause it's not raspy it's phlegmy
there's a little bit of a difference there
but let me try it on the on the words again
(27:03):
deep end now that was a lot better
on deep end is getting a little too spready maybe
so this is this is a new trick um
or I mean I've been doing it for a while
but just yesterday
I was doing a lesson with somebody new
Hannah from Australia shout out to Hannah and um
(27:24):
she was struggling a bit with going
a little too wide in her sounds
like first it was too head dominant
then we explored a little bit more of a chest
dominant sound and it started getting a little spready
and so I told her like put your fingers on the
like your index fingers in the corners of your mouth
kind of like creating train tracks for for your mouth
(27:47):
that way you're gonna keep yourself
from spreading your sound too much
and it's gonna get a little more mixy
and a little bit less shouty
at least that's the goal behind it
so I'm gonna try the same thing here for myself
oh my God that works so well haha
(28:08):
that was that was incredible
so just catch me singing like this
for the next 30 minutes hahaha
but no literally you're putting
you're putting your voice on little train tracks
so that it can't derail right
so it's not getting too shouty too spready
one more time
two more not enough breath
(28:32):
and that's much better
I prefer like I I don't feel so spready now
I'll never meet the interesting thing um
well actually let's try it first
so I'll never meet the so the meat part is not
not that hard for some reason
(28:52):
it goes up to an E flat and like I said earlier
E's
and E flats are sometimes easier for me to sing than
C's and d's for some reason
or C's and b's uh
but anyway so that meat was pretty easy for me
if you're struggling with that
make sure that you're not going meat
(29:13):
like
scooping up to that note too much on that mmm sound
keep that hmm short
this is something I Learned from coach Emily
if you've seen the episode where she's coaching me
on the song uh
Beautiful Things by Benson Boon
you'll um you'll see uh
how she's telling me to not use my mmm
(29:36):
for the word man as much
because it creates too much pressure
so I am working on that now
and also that I'm not scooping up on my consonants
so literally
like placing my consonants right on top of the note so
and not meat scooping up to the notes
(29:59):
so that's something I'm personally working on
thanks to coach Emily cause she pointed that out to me
nobody ever has pointed that out to me before
so yay coach Emily um so I'll never meet
it's the so
that is coming out
pretty much exactly the way I wanted to um
just being careful that I'm not going mmm meat right
(30:20):
like almost
like curling my lips inwards to make that mmm sound
but barely touching my lips
round and then ground
that note or that word is for some reason my enemy
hahaha always
(30:42):
that note
or that word has been the hardest in the entire chorus
and I don't know why
but we're gonna we're gonna find a solution for it
so let's try the train tracks see what what happens
and okay that was not bad
I felt my tongue wanting to retract slightly
so I'm just gonna have a mental image of my tongue uh
(31:05):
pushing uh up
up against the inside of my bottom teeth
to see what happens
the
and OK that one that last one was better
the adjustment that I made was
(31:25):
I inhaled through a yawn
uh sometimes my larynx likes to get stuck up too high
a little bit
and obviously when you're singing high notes
your larynx is gonna move up and it is gonna be higher
uh but I wanna make sure that it's not getting stuck
up there so um
I inhaled through a yawn to just kind of like
(31:47):
reset my larynx
push it down before I start singing the note
now unfortunately
I can't take a breath in the middle of that sentence
right
is how it how the phrase goes I can't go on that
that would be kind of weird um
(32:07):
and also it would be such a short breath
that I probably wouldn't have time to really push the
larynx down anyways
through my inhalation so
I'm gonna have to make sure that I'm taking
a low larynx breath
or a yawning kind of breath before all never meet
and hope that it's gonna like
sustain
that loose larynx feel through the entire phrase
(32:30):
even after the high meet
and okay so that was okay but grow grow
(32:51):
I need to adjust that
that tone or that vowel there slightly
ground
so if I if I'm going to too bright to uh
lifted like I did with the word falling and change
(33:12):
that worked really well there
here that's not working at all
it's making me scratchy in my throat
and we definitely don't want that
that's not working
so need to approach it from the opposite uh
angle or try at least and see what happens
if I create a little bit more space back here
and instead of thinking you know
I need to be loud and powerful and forward
(33:33):
I'm gonna think 80%
and a little bit more space in the back of my mouth
and that's better um ground
and and also
just making sure that I'm only going to the diphthong
(33:53):
the second vowel sound of the word ground
at the very end of the word
so ground has grow
ah those two sounds right
ah and oh ground
so I need to make sure that I'm singing grow
the ound at the very end and not ground
(34:15):
right
like I'm delaying the ooh part of the word ground as
as long as possible
and yeah that works so much better for me
just locking that like just opening up more back here
like I was gonna say lock it in
but it feels like it's locked in when it's right there
(34:36):
but I'm I just need to think further back
and also don't be so loud
and then keep going with surface
so crash through the surface
so there I always want to put in an R
and it always messes with me um
so instead of singing surface
I'm gonna sing surface crash through the
(35:02):
I'm gonna try and push in here with my
like into my jaw into my masseter muscles
with my fists to see if that's gonna help on surface
the funny part is sir sir is fine
but the fuss the fuss part
the surface part is
is causing me some issues for some reason
(35:26):
us OK that was better
first I'm gonna try it on LA LA LA LA
ah
it's too loud I need to reduce my volume hold on huh
huh huh
(35:49):
breathy breathy breathy again
I'm I'm telling that to myself
to remind myself to use more breath
and not let my vocal folds squeeze again
this is a song that I've been doing before
I changed the way I sing
so I wanna get back into my old habits
which makes this so hard
but I can do this I can do this OK huh
(36:13):
it us that made a world of difference
an absolute world of difference in my effort levels
right so I'm gonna keep a mental note of that
if I'm recording this in a studio
and I'm feeling myself getting too ugh right
too squeezy just do a couple ah
(36:35):
huh
a couple size like that um
to reset my voice and then get back into it
and then we'll fall from the shell
so there's a different ways to do that uh
we'll fall from the shell
oh I can go down there
and I think I'm going to in the first chorus
(36:57):
and then not to do it in the second chorus um
because I need to pace myself right
like I need to make sure that I'm not already
giving you everything I've got in that first course
because we've got some more
a long way to go right so
um I'm probably gonna go crash
(37:23):
oh into the post chorus in the shallow and so forth
but let's try this chorus with the music in all the
(38:07):
oh
yeah it's not bad in the show
oh
okay so that's feeling a little
a little too heavy
need to make sure I'm not going too heavy there
so in the Shallala
(38:28):
um so let's see
hello I think I'm gonna
let me try that again
I'm gonna really lean into those H's in the shop
hello cause again
(38:49):
that's gonna remind my vocal folds to open up
and not get too squeezy in the
oh so there I don't have that in the
oh
if I do it that way it's a little easier
that's actually what's written in the
(39:14):
hello I prefer that in the Sha ha Sha LA LA LA lo
that's what's written in my lyrics
so I assume that that's how they're doing
it makes it easier to sing because
it's almost like giving me a reset in the Sha ha LA
LA low compared to in the Sha LA LA LA
that's just kind of like all the same right in the Sha
(39:40):
that makes it easier
so I'm definitely gonna do that in the
oh
and I do think I can get away with like 20% less volume
uh on all of that
(40:20):
oh yeah that feels good
that feels good I like that
let's go into that bridge part
(40:57):
oh
I'm on the deep even okay
uh before we keep going on the
that held out note feels great and easy
um
I can maybe try and see if towards the end of the note
I can add some vibrato so that I'm
I'm adding a little squiggly line to my notes here to
(41:18):
um you know
be like add vibrato
so straight first and then go into vibrato
let me see if I can do that
I don't know if I can but we'll figure it out
I need to make sure that I'm pacing myself
through this pre chorus
because if it's too much all the time
like starting from the second chorus till the very end
it's just gonna be a lot right
(41:40):
so I need to make sure that I'm building here so that
oh and I'm far from the shallow
so I like adding some vocal fry here to keep it easy
to not get into it too hot
oh oh
(42:02):
ah
oh I could do that
add a little bit of breathy ah ah
uh
like a little bit like a breath release
I like that oh
ah
I'm doing like a little vocal flips here um
that's also giving myself a little bit of a break
(42:23):
and it adds a lot of character
you know
it's just so funny because a lot of times we hear like
these cool uh
like stylistic tools that people use
like that singers use in their songs
and we're like that sounds so good
and it's like yes
obviously it sounds good but also it has a purpose
it's helping the singer
do whatever it is they need to do right
(42:43):
like
pace themselves or give themselves a vocal reset or uh
whatever it is right
like sometimes we as the audience are like
oh that was such a great choice
sometimes for the artist it's like
well I have to because that makes it easier to sing
hahaha you know
killing 2 birds with one stone
why not so anyways oh
(43:11):
oh
yeah I need to make sure I'm not
I'm not going to oh
right hahaha
too rich too open'cause again
that's just my tendency oh
uh
yeah I'm gonna think a little bit more forward
a little bit less uh
a little bit less frog'cause when I OK
(43:33):
so I need to explain this
the frog that makes sense um
when you're thinking of you know like
um you know
like frogs can like inflate their throats
so that's kind of what I'm thinking here
if I wanna create like that big
that kind of sound I'm imagining like a
a frog blowing up their throats
(43:54):
like I'm creating all of this space here
I don't want to do that because I'm
I need to pace myself right
that to me I'm thinking it sits more like right behind
like right between my teeth
rather than
which is more in the back of my throat um
(44:17):
feels good it's just completely different tone right
so it's a little bit more of that
falling and change kind of sound
I'm gonna make that blue and then the
(44:38):
oh yeah I don't
I don't love the vibrato there'cause like
the note felt awesome until I started adding vibrato
so that tells me
there's some sort of tension creeping in somewhere
that I need to release it's probably in my neck so um
(45:05):
I can't I started thinking about it and then I started
I I stopped doing the shake in my head whoa
oh okay
actually
it's not bad if I'm not engaging my neck muscles
it's not bad so I'm gonna
I'm gonna keep working on that so that I can go
(45:32):
and start adding the vibrato there on that last beat um
straight through the
through the rest of the thing and then going into that
I'm of the
and uh
directly right
so oh oh
(45:56):
and so let's practice this with the track
(46:25):
and okay so I'm not directly going into the chorus
I like dropping off of that note
so I'm gonna
I'm gonna try doing like straight tone into vibrato
dropping off of the note taking a breath
and then going into that out of the deep end um
(46:48):
into that chorus there
and then maybe I can change the phrasing like the
the rhythm a little bit on
and rather watches us die
and just to switch it up a little bit
but I wanna look at uh
(47:10):
this ending here because the track we changed it here
let's listen to the track and I'm just gonna Mark
(47:32):
so different ways to sing this the fall from the
oh that way or fall from the
oh sliding up is gonna be so hard um
or maybe a far far from the
(47:58):
and just hold that note forever oh my God
what note is that hold on I probably shouldn't know
it's an E OK great love it
now
let's see if that actually is easier for me to sing
an E than a C hahaha maybe I spoke too soon
(49:03):
oh
maybe go down in the
I don't I don't think I need to go up anymore
first of all
it's more difficult for me to sing that second of all
um I I we did a lot of high belting already
(49:24):
I don't need to do more
so I'm not gonna do more in the show
I like going up there though
BA BA BA so little arrow up um
to not like to remind myself
I wanna go up on that ending there and then I hit the
(49:55):
oh and then we're
we're keeping the ending uh
simple let's try the whole song
let's just see what happens
cause the the most difficult thing for me
for this song is gonna be pacing
pacing pacing pacing pacing
pacing
and reminding myself to breathe in through a yawn
so that I can reset my larynx
so that it's not gonna get stuck up too high
(50:19):
huh
hmm
(52:29):
oh oh
(52:53):
oh no
no no
no hold on
hold on I wanted to do
more lifted I forgot to do the lifted part shallow now
(53:58):
oh the high note sucked haha
I mean it could have been better
could have been a lot better
but uh that's it with the high note there at the end
um I'm not sure yet
if I am actually gonna do that in the end recording
or if I'm gonna pick a lower note
or something different
(54:18):
because I don't know how that's going to translate as
like an overall
uh like in the context of the song
like I I now know that I can do it
and that I can get that to sound good in a recording
and I can get that to sound good uh
on stage if I need to um
but the question is is it necessary right
(54:41):
like just because you can
doesn't necessarily mean that you should
and so I am not sure yet what I wanna do there
if that is gonna sound really awesome or it's like
yeah or if it's just kind of like a
oh yeah cool
she can do that but like
was it really necessary you know
like I don't want it to be like so offy
(55:03):
you know what I mean so um yeah
I'm gonna I'm not
I'm not sure yet
I'm gonna keep playing around with that
and probably record a couple different versions
when I'm quote on quote in the studio
I'm gonna record it right here haha
um and then send it to a producer um
and I'm gonna you know
just give him a couple different takes
(55:23):
and then we can see uh
how is it gonna sound in the context of the song
do we wanna go up there or not
what makes the most sense
so but now I know I can do it
I coach myself through it
so I'm like okay
if I wanted to do it I can
now it's just a matter of do I want to or not okay
but okay so to recap
what do I need to pay attention to in the song
(55:44):
there are certain parts
where lifting my upper lip is really gonna help me
so that would be in like the pre chorus
in the falling and change and in the bridge on that oh
that part right there
so when I'm like a little bit higher in my range
but it's not like super high and it's not like belty um
(56:05):
like it I mean it is kind of belty
but it's not like belt belt um
there keeping that lift is gonna help me
if I keep that lift in the chorus
it's gonna get too spready and too wide and too shouty
because of that so in the choruses and the big notes
the the belty kind of notes
I need to make sure that I'm pacing myself
that I'm not spreading that I'm going more down
(56:28):
that I'm placing the sound a little further back
that I'm resetting my larynx
that I'm breathing in through a yawn as much as I can
to give myself the space and to reset the lyrics
and that I'm pacing myself
that's the hardest part um
it's really
this is one of the songs where it's difficult to
find that in
at least for me to find that in between
(56:50):
where it's not like I'm off the
it's not that but it's also not like shouty
it's that in between that's the hardest part
and so I need to continue working on that a little bit
and and finding that 60% uh
space there or the 80% maybe in the course
(57:11):
it's 80% in the Sha Sha LA LA LA LA LA lows
it's 60% so yeah
that's what I need to focus on mostly
I would say for this song honestly
I'm excited to edit this uh
this episode so that I can hear like listen back
haha and see what this sounded like
I hope that this wasn't just like absolutely awful haha
(57:33):
but yeah it's
it's interesting you know um again
this is a song that I sang with a lot of bad habits
and getting out of these bad habits is so hard
like I have sung
songs that are way more difficult than this like
um the Benson Boone song for example
right that Coach Emily was helping me with um
(57:55):
that's a beautiful things right
please say I want you I need like
I mean it's maybe not more
a more difficult song
but it's like at least just as difficult
but that song is so much easier for me to sing
because I never sang that song in the old way right
like how I was singing before
(58:16):
I changed the way I sang before
I focused on releasing tension
and not squeezing and all of that stuff um
this song I did before and so
now it's kind of hard to not fall back into these old
habits so this is a really good challenge
uh and I'm gonna continue working on this
continue reminding myself to just ha
(58:41):
huh
sigh let the breath come through
not pinch my vocal folds and hope for the best
I hope this was helpful when you are singing the song
uh as well
I hope that what I'm coaching myself on uh
are some things that you can
take into your own vocal practice as well
but yeah
I'll be sure to take you into the recording studio
(59:03):
aka right here
but actually recording the vocals and takes and
and then we'll go from there
Alrighty that's it
thank you so much for making it to the end
I hope this was helpful
and I will catch you in the next one bye bye
honestly I'm excited to edit this uh
(00:02):
this episode so that I can hear like listen back haha
and see what this sounded like
I hope that this wasn't just like absolutely awful haha
hey Vox star and welcome to from singer to artist
(00:23):
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
(00:45):
check the link in the description
to book your first session
or grab some of our other resources
Alrighty are you ready
let's get started
I think it's fair to say that at the end of the day
we don't want to sing exercises
we wanna sing songs right
well so today
I'm actually going to coach myself through the song
shallow from a Star Is Born
(01:06):
sung by Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga
one of my faves I sent out an email to our list
asking which song I should do
I gave a couple recommendations
and most of you guys voted for uh shallow
and so I was like alright cool
let's do shallow how hard can it be
I've sung that song on stage before
(01:29):
well that was pretty
me changing completely the way I sing and just
you know forcing and pushing my voice
which is why I ended up with a vocal injury uh
eventually and so I'm like yeah
I'm sure like you know I've improved a lot since then
I can probably sing the song and well
turns out I was practicing it a little bit
(01:50):
I was like oh my God
this song is so much harder to sing
because immediately
my old habits of just forcing and pushing through
start kicking in so this is gonna be a challenge um
but that's okay that's we're keeping it real
this is what it's all about
I am not perfect by any means
and I'm gonna work on this song
(02:11):
and see if I can get around my old challenges
which is pushing and forcing
and kind of like yelling instead of melting
the chorus at least
now I did not prepare much for this at all
I have a lyric sheet prepared here
so that I can take notes
as I am working through the song
and also I had a um
(02:33):
a producer create a track for me for the song
because the goal at least for me
the goal that I set for myself is
whenever I am coaching myself through a song
um at least here for this podcast for the show
I want to actually record a cover for it as well
like from a to Z finished cover
so this is the practice session
(02:55):
not the recording session
I I can record that as well
maybe that would be a fun episode to like
actually seeing you know
how many takes do you take and uh
like what's the recording process like
so I'll be sure to record that as well
but today is just a practicing session
but I had someone record um a track for me
like produce a track for me
(03:16):
and I moved some parts around
I added an extra chorus
I cut out some interludes and things like that
so the actual outline
of the song is gonna be a little bit different
but other than that
I'm gonna keep it pretty close to the original
I decided to do it in the original key as well
but I did not prepare much for this at all
(03:36):
just had the track made with the different
um like a little bit of a different outline
and try to sing it yesterday
and was like oh my God
this is gonna be so much harder than I thought
it was gonna be and now here we are today recording it
so wish me luck let's get into it
the first thing I'm gonna do is just sing
through the first uh
part of the song
(03:57):
just to kind of see how does it feel in my voice
and if I need to make any tweaks
and as I'm singing through it
I'm gonna Mark any spots that feel a little weird
to me but I'm gonna keep going with it
so let's just get started with this and um
see what we've got
and shout out to Daniel Parks
for creating this track for me thank you
(05:22):
okay I'm gonna pause right there
cause obviously this is like the first change
I was like I wanna actually add a chorus in here
um because I'm gonna be singing the song by myself
and I wanted to make sense
um and you know
make it make sense outside of a movie setting as well
so to me this outline of verse pre chorus chorus
(05:43):
verse pre chorus chorus post chorus the in the Sha Sha
that's a post chorus um going into that
that's kind of like the bridge of this
of this song back into chorus
post chorus like to me that was just a song
(06:04):
a structure that I felt like
made a little bit more sense to me
as like an actual like
song that stands on its own two feet without it
you know being in a movie or anything like that
so what I'm trying to figure out here is
how do I wanna sing this first chorus
so what I just did was I sang it down the octave
(06:24):
cause she sings it like Lady Gaga sings it
I'm above the deep and right
like she sings it up there
belted that wasn't a belt
but she sings it up there
but because the song at
least starting in the second chorus um
it's just gonna be a lot through the
through the rest of the song
so I need to make sure that I can pace myself
(06:46):
so I have two options
or at least I am giving myself two options here
and I need to pick which one I like better
either I'm gonna sing it down the octave
which is what I just did or at least something like it
uh or I'm gonna sing it in the actual original octave
but softly so something like a
(07:11):
and something like that compared to a I'm off the tea
that's what the second chorus is for right
so uh
I'm gonna sing
um'cause the first verse and pre chorus are are easy
I'm gonna sing this first chorus
down the octave one more time
and see what can I do with the last
(07:34):
we're far from the shallow now
cause crash through the surf
oh hahaha like we're far from the shallow now
like that goes too low for me um
but we're far from the shallow
(08:11):
something something like that so I'm not going so super
super low some of the notes are still coming out
so
I just need to play around with that for a little bit
crash through the surf
(08:32):
so that's one option let's try a different option
crash through the surf
that would be another option so I
I would say somewhere between those two
it really is
just gonna matter what's gonna translate the best
(08:56):
in the studio so like when I'm
when I'm gonna be recording this in the studio
it might sound really good
going down to a far from the shallow now oh
like
if I can make that sound really cool in the studio
that could work really well
if I'm singing it live though
I would not go for that option
because it's just not gonna translate as well
(09:18):
in a live setting so in a live setting
I would probably do we'll fall from the shallow night
oh
something like that um because that's just gonna carry
a little bit more'cause
if you're super low in your range
in a live setting
it's really hard for the audience to hear it
even if you're like this close to the microphone
(09:40):
like it's so hard to hear it so anyways
if I can make it work in the studio
um
and like sing it low and make that sound really good
I'm gonna go for that uh if not
I'll go for the for the higher option
it probably also just depends on how is
how my voice is feeling that day
cause like when I was trying that yesterday
that low like well far from the shallow now oh
(10:03):
it came out a little bit better than what's happening
today but that's okay
we'll see
maybe the high notes are gonna come out easier
today than yesterday
but um
I wanna keep going with the rest of the song
because from here on out
that's what's gonna be the hard part of the song
is actually singing these high notes
so let's keep going we're far from the shell
(10:29):
honestly that I felt pretty good but either way
moving on to the second verse
(11:32):
and then it goes into in the shower okay
but a couple things I'm gonna look at
before I get into that part
so going back to that first verse
or the second verse rather
tell me something boy
so here I wanna start building a little bit more uh
so that you know
it's like we're we're keeping it moving
(11:53):
we're keeping it moving
it's not like the same soft thing again um
but the or do you do you
do you that came out a little weird
so I wanna look at that
(12:13):
I need more
so if I am like changing the vowel from you to you
from you or do you
more so I'm
I can change it and it's easier to sing it that way
but then it's already coming out too much
(12:36):
I feel like right or do you need more like ah
it's too much for the second verse
because up until this point
it's been very chill
that would be too much of a change for my taste
so I don't want to modify that you so much
I wanna keep it a little bit more in that ooh
(12:57):
that closed ooh vowel shape so or do you
oh I like that a lot more or do
you need more
I don't like the drop off on you or do you need more
(13:18):
hear that you has two notes I don't like that or do you
oh I like that um
better and then also
I'm really opening up that more on the end more
more like a more rather than a
(13:39):
I like the more open sound there compared to
or do you need more right
like do you hear the do you hear the difference
I'm opening up more like more rather than yo
or do you more that would be both or do you need more
is neither or do you need more
(14:03):
is the U open the more closed or do you uh
you is closed more is open
that's the one that I like and you know
when you're recording in the studio
I will probably try a couple different versions
and then see which one I truly like the most
when I actually hear the recording
but just in my brain right now I'm thinking
(14:26):
or do you need more
you closed more a little bit more open right
so hardcore I like that kind of like so
so so hard kind of like scooping into the sew
I do wanna make sure that I'm not overdoing it
(14:49):
because with scoops
we have to be super careful so that
you know they're not getting if
if if we do too much of them or they're too dragged out
like it can it can get a little muddy on almost
so I don't want to do that
so I wanna make sure that I'm sliding
but it's um to the point kind of slide
uh ain't it
(15:10):
I keep so hardcore so hardcore
something like that and also um
core hardcore I'm not singing hardcore like with ours
but rather so hardcore core
same with more more hardcore um
(15:31):
I'm kind of like opening up to an ah sound ah
rather than a er um
that's just how I like to sing it
if you prefer doing it differently
you can do differently
ain't it and I keep in it so hardcore
and do you hear that little cry on hard
so hard so ha ha ha
(15:52):
that's a cry it's a vocal cry
um so hardcore
maybe I like it on the recording
I'm gonna have to see which one I like better
so hardcore that's without a cry
that's one of these other things where I'm like
I need to make sure that I'm not doing too much of them
cause I know myself I like to cry too often
he he he um
(16:13):
and and then I can be a bit much
but we'll see
we'll see how that goes on the on the recording
but then the pre chorus so I'm happy with the
with the verse that way then the pre chorus I'm for
I like changing the phrasing there a little bit
(16:36):
so you
because at the end of the day when I'm singing a cover
I wanna make sure that I can
give it my own flavor a little bit
so instead of singing I'm fall and
which I think is what the original is doing
it's been so long since I heard the original honestly
but uh
I wanna change the phrasing there a little bit
(16:57):
um
falling and I like that uh
that pulse or that slash where you're like
reattacking the same note
so you're attacking it twice
I'm falling
I just that one was good
yeah that one was good
cause I have to make sure that I'm going
(17:17):
all the way up to the note
and then I'm not starting to go a little flat
um
fall
and like yeah
I need to keep it bright enough
I think is what I need to do um
and then just thinking
(17:37):
a little bit of a lift here in my upper lip
my cheeks here also kind of like a little huh little
yeah a little lift right there
helps me to stay a little brighter
and get all the way up to the note
and all
(18:01):
so I just added a riff there because I was like
I wanna do something I don't know what I wanna do
but that's kind of what just came out
um I'm not a riffer
like there's some natural riffers out there
I am not one of those people
doesn't mean I can't do it
I can do it
but it's not something that comes naturally to me
(18:21):
and I would very rarely choose to add a riff somewhere
where it's not already written
because that's just like not really what I do
like that's not a part of how I usually express myself
but uh
if you saw the episode where coach Juliana was uh
(18:42):
coaching me through the song
Video Games by Lana Del Rey
that was kind of like the first time where I realized
like oh my gosh
like I'm drawn to some higher notes
and I'm usually never drawn to like
alter the melody to make it be higher
then what it originally is
usually I wanna go lower
(19:02):
that's where I feel more comfortable
and so I feel like here
it's kind of like a similar situation
where usually I wouldn't add a riff
but for some reason I'm like there's time there
it adds a little bit of a flavor
it's not an insane kind of crazy or super fast riff
but it just adds a little bit of flavor
which again not usually something I'm drawn to
(19:23):
but here I feel like why not right so in all the good
change
something like that
but I think I'm in a different key now
so I'm just gonna back up this track here
(20:02):
I wanna make sure that I'm not holding it out
(20:23):
I am myself I like that that one was good
the same thing for me here
and the lift uh in my upper lip on falling
I need to do the same thing here for chin chin
(20:44):
uh because if I don't do that um
my tendency is to go like to get too heavy fortune
and if I wanna riff quickly and accurately
I need to make sure I'm not too heavy
(21:05):
because the heavier your voice is
the harder it's gonna get to sing these notes
and especially you know
when you're doing like a riff
like agility kind of stuff right so
change hmm that makes it so much easier so much easier
so keeping that light love it and in the back
(21:31):
myself
I'm gonna keep that one short
because I need to prepare for the course
hehe hmm I fear myself I'm a
right
I wanna make sure that I have a good breath there
before I get into the course
obviously when you're recording in the studio
you can punch in like
you can like stop recording after Fear Myself
(21:55):
and then take all the time you need
and then I'm off the deep
even get into the chorus there
but obviously
I wanna make sure that whatever it is I'm doing
I can make work in a live setting as well
so I'm gonna keep that fear myself
I'm
and keeping that short now the course
(22:17):
this is the part that everybody wants to know about
so I'm sorry it took me this long to get to it
but this is the hard part
this is the part where it gets super belty
super high difficult to sing
I wanna make sure that I am setting myself
up for success here
from that first note I know that my tendency is to
(22:37):
squeeze my vocal folds together too tightly so like a
and that kind of sound and that just
there's barely any air coming through
which makes it really hard to sing so
um couple things that I want to think about
I either want to start the note on a vocal fry like a
(23:01):
um I'm off the deep end
something like that like the I'm uh
to make sure that I'm not like
punching that note way too harshly
I either wanna do that or basically add an H right
and go like I'm of the deep end
that's just gonna help me get that breath flow going
(23:23):
right cause the H is gonna push my vocal folds apart
so that that breath can start flowing through
now every time I add an H though
I need to be careful that I'm not going right
and like a huh kind of situation where then the um
the ABS start squeezing
and then it shuts off the breath again
(23:44):
and because the vocal folds are squeezing together
too much so if I am adding an H
I need
to make sure that it's a flowy kind of H and not a
like a hook kind of H right
like a squeezed kind of H
but before I dig into the course too much
I actually wanna try it on um
like just just explore some breathy voice first
(24:06):
to make sure
my vocal folds are not gonna squeeze on me too tightly
so something like a huh huh
I'm off the deep end
I'm off the deep end obviously that's in a head voice
not in a chest voice or like a chest dominant mix
(24:27):
where I actually wanna sing it
but that just is a good reminder for me to be like
chill girl okay
like we don't need to work so hard
I'm off the deep end
ha hum hum hum hum
ha
(24:49):
friend
okay not bad I need to modify deep
and
that deep is a little deep
a little too heavy I'm gonna use my um
my straw thank you
a revox my risona straw
(25:09):
I love it oh my gosh
makes everything so much easier
so I'm gonna sing that part that I'm of the deep
even just that phrase through the straw
see what happens
oh
okay
I'm gonna add a little bit of a of a head shake to it
(25:34):
oh
oops
hmm it's not really getting that flow out
so I'm gonna try it on a puffer fish instead
okay
I'm feeling a little bit of like phlegm come through
so that's telling me like
(25:55):
not perfectly super warm up in that uh
range of my voice feeling that phlegm
it's it wants to come out
so I'm gonna just keep vocalizing over it
and the more I do it the more that phlegm is gonna
vibrate off of my vocal folds essentially um
but I'm gonna make sure that I'm not gonna ha
ha on my vocal folds
cause that's gonna make them really tired and scratchy
(26:17):
and I don't definitely don't want that
so one more time actually
let me try it in a head dominant sound first
okay that's easy
okay I'm feeling my tongue get a little grabby
so I'm gonna stick out my tongue
and do a gentle tongue bite
(26:37):
so that's just
sticking out your tongue and biting on your tongue
hmm
okay
hmm
it's get it gets a little not raspy
this is cause it's not raspy it's phlegmy
there's a little bit of a difference there
but let me try it on the on the words again
(27:03):
deep end now that was a lot better
on deep end is getting a little too spready maybe
so this is this is a new trick um
or I mean I've been doing it for a while
but just yesterday
I was doing a lesson with somebody new
Hannah from Australia shout out to Hannah and um
(27:24):
she was struggling a bit with going
a little too wide in her sounds
like first it was too head dominant
then we explored a little bit more of a chest
dominant sound and it started getting a little spready
and so I told her like put your fingers on the
like your index fingers in the corners of your mouth
kind of like creating train tracks for for your mouth
(27:47):
that way you're gonna keep yourself
from spreading your sound too much
and it's gonna get a little more mixy
and a little bit less shouty
at least that's the goal behind it
so I'm gonna try the same thing here for myself
oh my God that works so well haha
(28:08):
that was that was incredible
so just catch me singing like this
for the next 30 minutes hahaha
but no literally you're putting
you're putting your voice on little train tracks
so that it can't derail right
so it's not getting too shouty too spready
one more time
two more not enough breath
(28:32):
and that's much better
I prefer like I I don't feel so spready now
I'll never meet the interesting thing um
well actually let's try it first
so I'll never meet the so the meat part is not
not that hard for some reason
(28:52):
it goes up to an E flat and like I said earlier
E's
and E flats are sometimes easier for me to sing than
C's and d's for some reason
or C's and b's uh
but anyway so that meat was pretty easy for me
if you're struggling with that
make sure that you're not going meat
(29:13):
like
scooping up to that note too much on that mmm sound
keep that hmm short
this is something I Learned from coach Emily
if you've seen the episode where she's coaching me
on the song uh
Beautiful Things by Benson Boon
you'll um you'll see uh
how she's telling me to not use my mmm
(29:36):
for the word man as much
because it creates too much pressure
so I am working on that now
and also that I'm not scooping up on my consonants
so literally
like placing my consonants right on top of the note so
and not meat scooping up to the notes
(29:59):
so that's something I'm personally working on
thanks to coach Emily cause she pointed that out to me
nobody ever has pointed that out to me before
so yay coach Emily um so I'll never meet
it's the so
that is coming out
pretty much exactly the way I wanted to um
just being careful that I'm not going mmm meat right
(30:20):
like almost
like curling my lips inwards to make that mmm sound
but barely touching my lips
round and then ground
that note or that word is for some reason my enemy
hahaha always
(30:42):
that note
or that word has been the hardest in the entire chorus
and I don't know why
but we're gonna we're gonna find a solution for it
so let's try the train tracks see what what happens
and okay that was not bad
I felt my tongue wanting to retract slightly
so I'm just gonna have a mental image of my tongue uh
(31:05):
pushing uh up
up against the inside of my bottom teeth
to see what happens
the
and OK that one that last one was better
the adjustment that I made was
(31:25):
I inhaled through a yawn
uh sometimes my larynx likes to get stuck up too high
a little bit
and obviously when you're singing high notes
your larynx is gonna move up and it is gonna be higher
uh but I wanna make sure that it's not getting stuck
up there so um
I inhaled through a yawn to just kind of like
(31:47):
reset my larynx
push it down before I start singing the note
now unfortunately
I can't take a breath in the middle of that sentence
right
is how it how the phrase goes I can't go on that
that would be kind of weird um
(32:07):
and also it would be such a short breath
that I probably wouldn't have time to really push the
larynx down anyways
through my inhalation so
I'm gonna have to make sure that I'm taking
a low larynx breath
or a yawning kind of breath before all never meet
and hope that it's gonna like
sustain
that loose larynx feel through the entire phrase
(32:30):
even after the high meet
and okay so that was okay but grow grow
(32:51):
I need to adjust that
that tone or that vowel there slightly
ground
so if I if I'm going to too bright to uh
lifted like I did with the word falling and change
(33:12):
that worked really well there
here that's not working at all
it's making me scratchy in my throat
and we definitely don't want that
that's not working
so need to approach it from the opposite uh
angle or try at least and see what happens
if I create a little bit more space back here
and instead of thinking you know
I need to be loud and powerful and forward
(33:33):
I'm gonna think 80%
and a little bit more space in the back of my mouth
and that's better um ground
and and also
just making sure that I'm only going to the diphthong
(33:53):
the second vowel sound of the word ground
at the very end of the word
so ground has grow
ah those two sounds right
ah and oh ground
so I need to make sure that I'm singing grow
the ound at the very end and not ground
(34:15):
right
like I'm delaying the ooh part of the word ground as
as long as possible
and yeah that works so much better for me
just locking that like just opening up more back here
like I was gonna say lock it in
but it feels like it's locked in when it's right there
(34:36):
but I'm I just need to think further back
and also don't be so loud
and then keep going with surface
so crash through the surface
so there I always want to put in an R
and it always messes with me um
so instead of singing surface
I'm gonna sing surface crash through the
(35:02):
I'm gonna try and push in here with my
like into my jaw into my masseter muscles
with my fists to see if that's gonna help on surface
the funny part is sir sir is fine
but the fuss the fuss part
the surface part is
is causing me some issues for some reason
(35:26):
us OK that was better
first I'm gonna try it on LA LA LA LA
ah
it's too loud I need to reduce my volume hold on huh
huh huh
(35:49):
breathy breathy breathy again
I'm I'm telling that to myself
to remind myself to use more breath
and not let my vocal folds squeeze again
this is a song that I've been doing before
I changed the way I sing
so I wanna get back into my old habits
which makes this so hard
but I can do this I can do this OK huh
(36:13):
it us that made a world of difference
an absolute world of difference in my effort levels
right so I'm gonna keep a mental note of that
if I'm recording this in a studio
and I'm feeling myself getting too ugh right
too squeezy just do a couple ah
(36:35):
huh
a couple size like that um
to reset my voice and then get back into it
and then we'll fall from the shell
so there's a different ways to do that uh
we'll fall from the shell
oh I can go down there
and I think I'm going to in the first chorus
(36:57):
and then not to do it in the second chorus um
because I need to pace myself right
like I need to make sure that I'm not already
giving you everything I've got in that first course
because we've got some more
a long way to go right so
um I'm probably gonna go crash
(37:23):
oh into the post chorus in the shallow and so forth
but let's try this chorus with the music in all the
(38:07):
oh
yeah it's not bad in the show
oh
okay so that's feeling a little
a little too heavy
need to make sure I'm not going too heavy there
so in the Shallala
(38:28):
um so let's see
hello I think I'm gonna
let me try that again
I'm gonna really lean into those H's in the shop
hello cause again
(38:49):
that's gonna remind my vocal folds to open up
and not get too squeezy in the
oh so there I don't have that in the
oh
if I do it that way it's a little easier
that's actually what's written in the
(39:14):
hello I prefer that in the Sha ha Sha LA LA LA lo
that's what's written in my lyrics
so I assume that that's how they're doing
it makes it easier to sing because
it's almost like giving me a reset in the Sha ha LA
LA low compared to in the Sha LA LA LA
that's just kind of like all the same right in the Sha
(39:40):
that makes it easier
so I'm definitely gonna do that in the
oh
and I do think I can get away with like 20% less volume
uh on all of that
(40:20):
oh yeah that feels good
that feels good I like that
let's go into that bridge part
(40:57):
oh
I'm on the deep even okay
uh before we keep going on the
that held out note feels great and easy
um
I can maybe try and see if towards the end of the note
I can add some vibrato so that I'm
I'm adding a little squiggly line to my notes here to
(41:18):
um you know
be like add vibrato
so straight first and then go into vibrato
let me see if I can do that
I don't know if I can but we'll figure it out
I need to make sure that I'm pacing myself
through this pre chorus
because if it's too much all the time
like starting from the second chorus till the very end
it's just gonna be a lot right
(41:40):
so I need to make sure that I'm building here so that
oh and I'm far from the shallow
so I like adding some vocal fry here to keep it easy
to not get into it too hot
oh oh
(42:02):
ah
oh I could do that
add a little bit of breathy ah ah
uh
like a little bit like a breath release
I like that oh
ah
I'm doing like a little vocal flips here um
that's also giving myself a little bit of a break
(42:23):
and it adds a lot of character
you know
it's just so funny because a lot of times we hear like
these cool uh
like stylistic tools that people use
like that singers use in their songs
and we're like that sounds so good
and it's like yes
obviously it sounds good but also it has a purpose
it's helping the singer
do whatever it is they need to do right
(42:43):
like
pace themselves or give themselves a vocal reset or uh
whatever it is right
like sometimes we as the audience are like
oh that was such a great choice
sometimes for the artist it's like
well I have to because that makes it easier to sing
hahaha you know
killing 2 birds with one stone
why not so anyways oh
(43:11):
oh
yeah I need to make sure I'm not
I'm not going to oh
right hahaha
too rich too open'cause again
that's just my tendency oh
uh
yeah I'm gonna think a little bit more forward
a little bit less uh
a little bit less frog'cause when I OK
(43:33):
so I need to explain this
the frog that makes sense um
when you're thinking of you know like
um you know
like frogs can like inflate their throats
so that's kind of what I'm thinking here
if I wanna create like that big
that kind of sound I'm imagining like a
a frog blowing up their throats
(43:54):
like I'm creating all of this space here
I don't want to do that because I'm
I need to pace myself right
that to me I'm thinking it sits more like right behind
like right between my teeth
rather than
which is more in the back of my throat um
(44:17):
feels good it's just completely different tone right
so it's a little bit more of that
falling and change kind of sound
I'm gonna make that blue and then the
(44:38):
oh yeah I don't
I don't love the vibrato there'cause like
the note felt awesome until I started adding vibrato
so that tells me
there's some sort of tension creeping in somewhere
that I need to release it's probably in my neck so um
(45:05):
I can't I started thinking about it and then I started
I I stopped doing the shake in my head whoa
oh okay
actually
it's not bad if I'm not engaging my neck muscles
it's not bad so I'm gonna
I'm gonna keep working on that so that I can go
(45:32):
and start adding the vibrato there on that last beat um
straight through the
through the rest of the thing and then going into that
I'm of the
and uh
directly right
so oh oh
(45:56):
and so let's practice this with the track
(46:25):
and okay so I'm not directly going into the chorus
I like dropping off of that note
so I'm gonna
I'm gonna try doing like straight tone into vibrato
dropping off of the note taking a breath
and then going into that out of the deep end um
(46:48):
into that chorus there
and then maybe I can change the phrasing like the
the rhythm a little bit on
and rather watches us die
and just to switch it up a little bit
but I wanna look at uh
(47:10):
this ending here because the track we changed it here
let's listen to the track and I'm just gonna Mark
(47:32):
so different ways to sing this the fall from the
oh that way or fall from the
oh sliding up is gonna be so hard um
or maybe a far far from the
(47:58):
and just hold that note forever oh my God
what note is that hold on I probably shouldn't know
it's an E OK great love it
now
let's see if that actually is easier for me to sing
an E than a C hahaha maybe I spoke too soon
(49:03):
oh
maybe go down in the
I don't I don't think I need to go up anymore
first of all
it's more difficult for me to sing that second of all
um I I we did a lot of high belting already
(49:24):
I don't need to do more
so I'm not gonna do more in the show
I like going up there though
BA BA BA so little arrow up um
to not like to remind myself
I wanna go up on that ending there and then I hit the
(49:55):
oh and then we're
we're keeping the ending uh
simple let's try the whole song
let's just see what happens
cause the the most difficult thing for me
for this song is gonna be pacing
pacing pacing pacing pacing
pacing
and reminding myself to breathe in through a yawn
so that I can reset my larynx
so that it's not gonna get stuck up too high
(50:19):
huh
hmm
(52:29):
oh oh
(52:53):
oh no
no no
no hold on
hold on I wanted to do
more lifted I forgot to do the lifted part shallow now
(53:58):
oh the high note sucked haha
I mean it could have been better
could have been a lot better
but uh that's it with the high note there at the end
um I'm not sure yet
if I am actually gonna do that in the end recording
or if I'm gonna pick a lower note
or something different
(54:18):
because I don't know how that's going to translate as
like an overall
uh like in the context of the song
like I I now know that I can do it
and that I can get that to sound good in a recording
and I can get that to sound good uh
on stage if I need to um
but the question is is it necessary right
(54:41):
like just because you can
doesn't necessarily mean that you should
and so I am not sure yet what I wanna do there
if that is gonna sound really awesome or it's like
yeah or if it's just kind of like a
oh yeah cool
she can do that but like
was it really necessary you know
like I don't want it to be like so offy
(55:03):
you know what I mean so um yeah
I'm gonna I'm not
I'm not sure yet
I'm gonna keep playing around with that
and probably record a couple different versions
when I'm quote on quote in the studio
I'm gonna record it right here haha
um and then send it to a producer um
and I'm gonna you know
just give him a couple different takes
(55:23):
and then we can see uh
how is it gonna sound in the context of the song
do we wanna go up there or not
what makes the most sense
so but now I know I can do it
I coach myself through it
so I'm like okay
if I wanted to do it I can
now it's just a matter of do I want to or not okay
but okay so to recap
what do I need to pay attention to in the song
(55:44):
there are certain parts
where lifting my upper lip is really gonna help me
so that would be in like the pre chorus
in the falling and change and in the bridge on that oh
that part right there
so when I'm like a little bit higher in my range
but it's not like super high and it's not like belty um
(56:05):
like it I mean it is kind of belty
but it's not like belt belt um
there keeping that lift is gonna help me
if I keep that lift in the chorus
it's gonna get too spready and too wide and too shouty
because of that so in the choruses and the big notes
the the belty kind of notes
I need to make sure that I'm pacing myself
that I'm not spreading that I'm going more down
(56:28):
that I'm placing the sound a little further back
that I'm resetting my larynx
that I'm breathing in through a yawn as much as I can
to give myself the space and to reset the lyrics
and that I'm pacing myself
that's the hardest part um
it's really
this is one of the songs where it's difficult to
find that in
at least for me to find that in between
(56:50):
where it's not like I'm off the
it's not that but it's also not like shouty
it's that in between that's the hardest part
and so I need to continue working on that a little bit
and and finding that 60% uh
space there or the 80% maybe in the course
(57:11):
it's 80% in the Sha Sha LA LA LA LA LA lows
it's 60% so yeah
that's what I need to focus on mostly
I would say for this song honestly
I'm excited to edit this uh
this episode so that I can hear like listen back
haha and see what this sounded like
I hope that this wasn't just like absolutely awful haha
(57:33):
but yeah it's
it's interesting you know um again
this is a song that I sang with a lot of bad habits
and getting out of these bad habits is so hard
like I have sung
songs that are way more difficult than this like
um the Benson Boone song for example
right that Coach Emily was helping me with um
(57:55):
that's a beautiful things right
please say I want you I need like
I mean it's maybe not more
a more difficult song
but it's like at least just as difficult
but that song is so much easier for me to sing
because I never sang that song in the old way right
like how I was singing before
(58:16):
I changed the way I sang before
I focused on releasing tension
and not squeezing and all of that stuff um
this song I did before and so
now it's kind of hard to not fall back into these old
habits so this is a really good challenge
uh and I'm gonna continue working on this
continue reminding myself to just ha
(58:41):
huh
sigh let the breath come through
not pinch my vocal folds and hope for the best
I hope this was helpful when you are singing the song
uh as well
I hope that what I'm coaching myself on uh
are some things that you can
take into your own vocal practice as well
but yeah
I'll be sure to take you into the recording studio
(59:03):
aka right here
but actually recording the vocals and takes and
and then we'll go from there
Alrighty that's it
thank you so much for making it to the end
I hope this was helpful
and I will catch you in the next one bye bye
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