May 23, 2025 • 43 mins
We’re back with a deep-dive Vocal Evaluation episode—perfect for singer-songwriters ready to elevate how they perform their own music. I’m coaching submissions from artists performing songs they wrote themselves, tackling common challenges like emotional disconnect, technical uncertainty, and even some songwriting tips.
Whether you’re a seasoned songwriter or just starting out, this episode is packed with insights to help you sing your songs with clarity, power, and heart.
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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):
Take what you like,
(00:01):
leave what you don't like.
At the end of the day, this is your song.
You can do with your song.
Whatever it is that you want to do.
For me, my job
as your voice teacher,
as your vocal coach,
is to make sure
that you are a aware of what it is
that you are doing,
and be that
you have options to choose from
because when we have options, we can pick
(00:23):
how we want to sing a song compared
to when we don't have options.
Well then the notes just come out
the way they come out.
Hey, VoxStar,
and welcome to From Singer To Artist.
I'm Lara
Chapman, award winning
singer and songwriter
turned viral vocal coach
(00:44):
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.
Check the link in the description
to book your first session, or grab
(01:04):
some of our other resources.
All righty.
Are you ready?
Let's get started.
My friend,
it is time
for another vocal evaluation episode
today.
We've got three Austin singers
and actually,
the theme for today is original songs.
So we always love working on
(01:25):
original songs.
We need songs
that our students have written.
Obviously covers as well,
but there's always something so special
about working on an original song
with a singer
because it really helps them
find their own sound,
because, you know, there's
nobody who has sung the song before you,
so you don't have like a clear idea
(01:46):
of what the song should sound like.
And this can be really great
to help you find your own sound.
You know, when you're
when you're seeing an original song,
some things nobody else has sung before.
And, we love helping our students
with songwriting as well.
We have a songwriting program
at Logic Studios as well.
Originally taught by me,
taken over by Coach
Juliano from our team.
(02:08):
And, yeah,
we love working on original stuff,
so let's get into it.
First singer
and songwriter of the day is Beverly.
Beverly is working on different melodies
throughout a song.
All of my songs
sound the same from beginning to the end.
And breath control.
Open to all critiques.
(02:30):
All right, Beverly, let's have a listen.
For anyone in this world
who's ever tried to hurt me,
I hope you
listen to the song.
Because I'm trying to let you know
(02:50):
how it feels. Natural.
So
imagine what is wrong in this.
It's like me.
Hey hey hey.
For anyone in this world.
Okay, great.
So obviously
super musical
because your snaps
(03:10):
are spot on every time.
So, Yeah, it's always perfect
on that two and the four.
So you know Bravo.
Because that sometimes does
feel that we need to work on
with our singers too.
Just like understanding
beat and groove in music.
You obviously understand that
either naturally
(03:31):
or it's something you learned.
Either way it doesn't matter.
You got that skill down. So. Bravo.
I love that.
I hear what you're saying
with, you know, the,
you're struggling
with creating
different kinds of melodies.
And it sounds the same from A to Z.
Obviously, this is
this is all live
in the first 35 seconds of your song,
but so far,
I can sing the entire thing back to you
(03:53):
because it's always.
But, da da da,
but, but dah dah dah.
And it just keeps repeating that. Right?
So it's that same melody over
and over again,
obviously with different lyrics.
And that is something that we want to
work on. It can be tricky.
(04:14):
I can so relate how once we have a melody
stuck in our head,
it is so difficult
to come up with something.
Now you're
also singing
this acapella,
meaning there is no other music.
I don't know if there is like a track
or some sort of music
that you have in mind for this.
(04:34):
Sometimes working together with a track.
What I like to do is just go
on YouTube or be topia,
and just type in, you know, Ariana
Grande type
beat or whoever and type beat,
and then go through,
through these beats,
some of these tracks
that producers have created
and see what I like.
And if I find something
(04:55):
that, you know, inspires
me, I write a song to that
that would
then actually be called Top Lining.
When you're only writing the melody
and the lyrics of the song,
not also the chord progression.
The chord progression
would be a part of the production,
but that doesn't matter.
And sometimes these songs
are free to use.
Sometimes you have to pay to use them.
(05:16):
What I like to do
is just use them as demos
and then
if I want to
actually create a song out of it,
I would work with a producer
to create a completely new track
that is inspired
by this other track
that I use as like an inspiration.
But anyway, so that can help.
Just having
some sort of music underneath
so that you can kind of break out
(05:36):
of that pattern.
Now, songwriting wise,
here are a couple things that you can try
to get out of that pattern.
The first thing I would do
is change the beginning note.
So if I am listening to this
or any one here on this, right.
But but
that's kind of where you're starting.
(05:57):
Da da da da da da.
That's your first note.
So what I could do
is if I go into a new song section,
I am changing that beginning note I could
take it higher up.
There you go.
That's already now a different melody,
or I can go lower.
(06:22):
I don't know, I'm
just making up melodies now, but
see how that's already
completely different
from what you were doing
just because
I changed the beginning notes. Right.
Just getting away from that first note
then takes your creativity
somewhere else.
So that's the first thing you can do
is change the beginning. Note.
Another thing you can do
is change the rhythm of it.
(06:42):
So instead of following
but but bah bah bah bah.
Which is, you know, quite wordy.
I could try and have a section,
or like a melody
in a, in a different song section.
That's a little bit
more elongated, like longer,
held out notes.
So instead of. But, But I could go more.
(07:04):
Da da head.
And, that already is different,
but it's very similar.
Like, the notes are very similar
to what you were doing,
but it is still different
because I have elongated the notes now.
So that's another thing you can try.
So we have changing the starting pitch.
We have changing the note
length, the heel of of the of the song.
(07:29):
Those are my two
go to things
when I don't really know
how to break out of this habit.
Another thing is literally going
the opposite direction with your melody,
where you're going.
So you're going that, up, up, up.
You're kind of going up. Right.
So what if instead of going up
that I'm the pop up, we go, but, but but
(07:50):
but but but but,
now I'm going down.
So we're basically just.
Yeah. Again going in opposite direction.
One goes up, one goes up, one goes down,
but still similar.
Otherwise those are my three go to things
I would recommend giving those a try.
(08:11):
Drop the lyrics. Right.
Like just play around with the melody,
drop the lyrics
completely and see what can we do
to, play around with the melody
just for the notes
and then bring the lyrics back in
whenever you have certain lyrics, like
bring those lyrics in,
but just start with the notes,
just the melody first.
(08:31):
Okay,
so those are some songwriting things,
that you can do.
I do want to mention one more thing.
When we are listening to a song,
there's usually song sections, right?
We have a verse.
We have a pre-chorus chorus
and we have a bridge.
And those are like the four most common
song sections.
(08:52):
Not all songs use all four.
And it is the you know, how we assemble
the song together is going to be
a little bit different from song to song,
but what I'm trying to say
is within a song section, we want to have
a repetition between song sections.
We want to have contrast.
So for example with your song but ba ba
(09:13):
ba ba ba ba ba ba ba da dah
dah dah dah dah dah dah
that that that that,
that the song section.
I changed that last
that last phase a little bit.
So it's not exactly the same thing
four times in a row,
but then we move on to maybe
like a pre-chorus, but,
(09:36):
but, da da
da da da da da da, right.
And
Pre-Chorus.
Going into the da da da da da
da da da da da da da da da da da da.
Into the chorus
I don't know,
I'm just making stuff up
I don't know if any of this is good
(09:56):
or anywhere
where you'd like to go with the song,
but did you hear how the song sections.
It was clear because I was like,
this is repetition, right?
And now I feel like I'm
moving through the song.
And then after the chorus,
it had it under da da da da da
da da da da da da da da.
(10:18):
We go back into the lecture
and da da da da da da da da da da da.
And modern da da da da da.
But,
and then whatever I did for
the pre-chorus,
I don't remember, but, you know, it's,
I'm recording
so you can listen back to it. But
anyways. Right.
So that way we have clear sections
(10:40):
and we,
we feel like
we are moving through the song.
And we know where we are at.
We're not getting lost. Right.
We need to have repetition
within a song section
and contrast
between the different song sections,
so that we know we are now
in a different part of the song. Yeah.
Okay, cool.
Some songwriting tips for you here,
(11:01):
I love it.
I do
want to continue listening through this
and see if we can maybe talk
about some vocal things to zero.
Turn me around.
Okay,
I hope you're listening to this song
because I wrote it to let you know.
I'm not sure, but
(11:22):
let me
thank you for having an honest friend.
Me that is not I'm not true.
But I may be weak, I don't know,
you tried to hurt me.
Okay. Yeah.
So, you know, you're not making your life
easy by, like,
picking this key that you picked,
(11:42):
but it sounds really great in your voice.
I actually really enjoy this for me.
I would probably have to bring it down
because I just have a naturally lower
pitched voice than you.
But I like where it sits in your voice,
so that's great.
You have slight nasal undertones,
so just make, la la la
la la la la la la.
(12:04):
So make sure that you're
not getting stuck in your notes.
A little. Just it's it's slight. It's.
I'm being very nitpicky here,
but you can try to work on
this is just holding your nose close.
La la
la la la la la la la la la la
and so forth. Right.
So, drop the lyrics.
Because when you're singing M and or MG
(12:28):
sounds for anyone, anyone,
anyone, it's going to be really difficult
to close your nose
and still get the words out, right.
Because, and are completely nasal sound,
meaning all of the air
and the sound is coming out of your nose
and nothing out of your mouth,
and if you close
your nose
is going to be difficult
(12:49):
to get those notes out.
Right?
So, yeah,
you can just do it on la la la la la
once that feels good.
And like,
oh yeah, I'm completely in my mouth
now you can drop that.
Like, drop the hand,
it's closing your nose.
And, sing again.
Like normally with the lyrics
and see if that made a change at all.
Otherwise what you can also do
is just imagine a little bit more space,
(13:10):
almost like a
tiny little balloon that,
that that you blew
up in the back of your mouth.
Because that is going to that space
that that created back
here is going to lift the soft palate,
and then the soft palate is lifted.
It blocks off the nasal cavity.
And when the nasal cavity
is blocked off, the
(13:31):
the sound can't
go up into our nasal cavity,
aka we can't sound easily yet.
So again,
creating a little bit
more space back
here, blowing up
that imaginary balloon
in the back of your mouth.
Pretty one in this world
actually makes it a lot easier
for me to sing these notes.
So mental note for myself
create more space back here,
(13:51):
but it also is going to
get you out of your nose.
Okay,
we're almost done here with this voice.
You couldn't break me
in the chorus with this shape.
Me?
I'm not sure.
Let me do I
what I've been making.
(14:11):
Yeah.
Highlight is maybe,
you just overshot that note there
a little bit.
Got a little excited about it.
That's okay. That happens.
That's that's
what live singing is, you know,
like, it's it's pretty,
pretty difficult to be on pitch.
And 100% of the time
I'm not going to say impossible
but pretty, pretty difficult.
And that's not the goal here with this
(14:34):
either.
Your pitch
otherwise is actually really good.
So I'm not worried about that lot.
Maybe I'm
not worried about that note at all, but
well done.
Congratulations, Beverly. Well done.
I'm excited to hear more about this song
and see, you know,
with those tips that we looked at,
if you can create more contrast
between the different song sections
(14:55):
so that we can break it up a little bit
and it doesn't feel
like you're constantly
doing the same thing.
And by the way,
this is exactly what we teach
in our songwriting program,
with Coach Juleanna.
She's our songwriting coach here
at Octave Studios.
In addition to our artist
development coach.
And so what we teach you is
how to create repetition,
(15:15):
which you are really good at,
but also how to create.
Can't contrast
so that it's not over
and over and over and over again
the same thing.
Because in songwriting,
that's really
all it comes down
to, finding the balance
between repetition and contrast.
If there's not enough contrast, like
with your song here right
now, the way it is right now,
it becomes too repetitive
(15:37):
and then it's like, okay, we heard it.
Like we don't need to hear the same thing
over and over and over again, right?
But if there's not enough repetition,
that's also a problem,
because then nobody
can sing the song back to you
because nobody is going
to remember what you did
because you didn't repeat anything.
So like I said, within the song section,
we want to create repetition, clean
some sections,
(15:57):
we want to create contrast.
And that's what Juliana can help you
with in our songwriting program.
I'm also working on a
self-guided songwriting for singers
course as well, so stay tuned for that.
Where we take this program and,
you know, transform it
into a self-guided program.
But, yeah.
And we teach you the repetition
and contrast thing and just,
(16:19):
you know,
more detailed things as well,
like our four step
lyric writing formula
to make sure that you're not writing
cliche lyrics,
that your lyrics,
you know, feel like
they're telling a story,
that you're moving the story
throughout the song.
You're not just repeating the same things
over and over again.
That they are relatable, detailed,
and obviously melody
(16:39):
writing like I talked about as well.
And also demo recording.
We teach you how to record your own demos
so that you know,
by the time you are done
with the program, which is 12 weeks long,
you have 2 to
3, if not for demos
at the end of the two.
So you have like actual songs that you
that you,
you know, you wrote and they're yours.
You have a recording of those songs,
(17:00):
which is a lot of fun.
And most importantly,
you have a system to write songs from.
Not even having an idea of where to start
to like,
okay, I know,
what I'm going to write about.
I have a system that I can follow
and actually finish the whole song too.
So anyways, let's move on.
We've got.
(17:21):
I'm not sure if I'm saying
this correctly, Gershon.
I hope
I didn't completely butcher your name
if I did. I'm sorry.
But we got another original song here
a deaf town is working on.
I don't think my singing is lively or
organic enough.
I feel like I'm a better songwriter
than singing. And Joel. Tension.
(17:42):
All right, let's have a listen.
That sounds so different now
because there was so much repetition.
But that's the power of repetition.
And Beverley's got that.
All right, get that.
Let's have a listen.
When you're playing very small.
(18:06):
Club come to the end.
Oh.
That'll be nice I like that.
I'm not sure where to start
off.
Set number four.
When what I feel is good.
(18:26):
No, these
were already better times.
Well, they inform you better times.
I late and it is the smallest.
I regret.
I'm going to pause there
and go back, to the beginning.
Now that we get a little bit of a feeling
for the song.
So, you know, here with one song,
we can clearly hear
(18:47):
where he's going into the chorus,
which is, which is great.
And so, you know,
we can learn a lot
from analyzing other people's songs
and just being like, okay,
what did they change here?
How is this,
this new melody
in the chorus here different
from the melody in the verse?
What did this person change and
(19:08):
and then just copy it.
But for your own song,
you can learn a lot
by just analyzing other people songs.
But anyway,
I want to,
focus a little bit
more on the vocal
performance here, of the song
rather than the songwriting,
because that's what I was asking for.
So let's focus more on the singing
and see what we've got here.
(19:30):
When you're
feeling very small.
Okay.
And you see.
And then very small.
So there, you're okay, you know?
Pronunciation, right?
Like articulation,
when you're feeling very small, like that
can sometimes be a great thing.
And sometimes it's almost like
(19:52):
now it doesn't sound lively
or natural anymore.
It's, you know, it's almost like,
I don't know,
almost like to musical theater
or just to proper.
So what you can try here
instead of singing very small, small
with an
L, you can almost sing
like healing very small, small or small,
small with a O, small rather than small.
(20:16):
And that already just adds
a little bit more character.
Same thing with feeling.
So instead of singing feeling,
we sing feeling
when you're feeling very small.
And that already
is completely different
from when you're feeling very small.
Slight difference.
But it
makes all the difference in the end.
So just like some,
(20:37):
you know,
like little articulation
tips, there be a little bit later
in your articulation.
Also,
I would
love to hear
a little bit of a softer tone
here in the beginning,
when you're feeling very small
compared to
then you feel then very small, then
I literally sing when you're feeling
instead of when you're feeling.
(20:58):
Excuse me, but yeah, so just, you know, a
softer side of your voice, a softer tone
to really pick us up
at the beginning of the song
and ease us into it and build
that dynamic range.
Up until the end?
(21:18):
Oh yeah.
At all. Same thing there at all.
Is that all right?
We're kind of dropping that little sound
at all.
Not confident at all.
You can even go, like, confident at all.
Like, keep that at all.
Really short or at all.
Hold it. But in a soft voice.
(21:39):
So again, like playing around
with different tones here
and in the beginning of the song
here, emotions, softer tones,
I think it's going to do a lot for you.
You're not sure where to start.
I love that Mozart love you for.
(21:59):
When what I feel is better.
Haha.
Yeah yeah, hell.
That hard.
So that part right there.
That's the word a that,
Then you kind of singing that hard.
So for me, it sounds like you're singing
when life feels dead hard like dead like.
(22:21):
And not that hard.
So careful there with the vowel.
Because we we modify the vowel too much.
It can make
it sound like we're
singing a different word
than we're actually singing,
because it's not like
I could see how you would be singing Dead
hard and dead hard.
Like it'd be like, yeah, okay, sure.
That kind of makes sense.
I would say it like that,
(22:42):
but I could see how in a song
that that would make sense.
But that's not the word to me.
That's not the word you're saying here.
It's that hard, that hard.
So think more long.
That hard rather than that dead hard.
Right?
A little bit
less wide, a little bit more long, baby.
hard.
(23:04):
So the air of hard, only at that,
at the very end.
Because otherwise it
kind of sounds like hard
compared to hard.
Right.
So we want to delay that air sound
till the end of it.
In most cases,
if you love the hard sound,
then I'm like, go for it.
We hear that in country music,
(23:24):
quite frequently actually.
Just kind of depends on the style
that you're going for.
Just something to be aware of
though.
This were.
Yeah.
Honey, honey, honey, honey.
Don't despair.
Honey, honey, honey,
hear the difference again.
It's it's
(23:45):
like we're making our articulation.
Our pronunciation lays here.
That's really
all it comes down to
is just making it lazy.
And that will help a lot with this,
guys.
Well, to hear from you.
Better times.
I made it up like this.
The smallest.
(24:05):
Yeah.
Just need small steps.
Can you keep that? Not short.
Just keep small stuff.
You just need.
So you just need small steps.
Small steps compared to small steps.
If you like the long notes, go with it.
Like this is your song,
and you do whatever it is you want to do.
(24:26):
I feel like
this would be a great opportunity
for a short note.
Just needs monster.
a lot of times as singers, we like to
over sing.
We like to hold out notes
and fill all of the depth space
as much as possible.
I'm not saying that that's
what you're doing here at all.
Just saying.
In general,
we like to oversee overseeing us singers.
(24:47):
I used to be very guilty of that as well.
But sometimes
what makes a vocal performance so great
is the space that we're leaving.
In between the phrases,
you just need small steps
that up.
That gonna
(25:07):
like just having that space there.
That space to breathe
can really,
elevate your performance there, too.
But it's really up to you.
It's not like you held out the note
for a really long time,
but I just felt like
this would be a really good opportunity
to keep the note really short.
So you have to do is, know is above.
(25:29):
Oh, you have to,
it's just a little strained up there.
You mentioned jaw tension
just looking at your neck.
It does look like
you're a little reaching.
And those neck muscles
are popping out a little bit.
Try singing that phrase
while shaking your head, if at all can.
While playing the guitar
might be a little difficult,
but give it a shot.
And yeah,
(25:50):
just kind of like a shake
that shake that loose.
one thing you can
try as well is adding an H in
front of all you have to do.
Just a practice, not a like.
Not in the end performance,
but just to get that breath flow going,
and it's not quite so tight.
It's a little bit more flowy.
Oh, you have to do,
(26:10):
And then all we got to do is,
and then all you have to do
is just decrease
that h sound, all you have to do,
and then still keep that breath flowing.
When the neck is above
some of these small, you can't.
All you have to do is, your eyes
about your lower
(26:33):
the starting line.
Yeah.
Oh yeah.
That does that sing song with you.
It's dark that, you know.
Oh, yeah.
Take a small step.
Okay. The smallest,
I like it
(26:53):
there. Get you back on.
True.
Yeah.
You get you back on track.
Get you back.
Back.
That's probably
gonna get you back on track
and get you back on track.
Back.
Make sure it's back and not back.
Back on track.
(27:14):
Back on track.
Yeah, just a little bit longer
rather than wide.
Here, on these, on these higher notes.
And then.
Yeah, just,
the neck for you
with these higher notes in this chorus,
I think what's going to make
the biggest difference
is focusing on flow.
Right? Like breath flow.
And just really focusing on exhaling
(27:37):
as much as you can,
really using all the breath.
You have to get these notes out.
That doesn't mean you don't get louder.
It just means that the vocal folds
has the air through,
because it sounds like
your vocal folds are coming together
just a little tightly and,
and then not as much air
(27:58):
can flow through the vocal folds.
And the air is basically our vehicle.
Right?
It's what carries the sound out
without breath. There is no sound.
And so the vocal folds are,
closing a little too tightly.
Then it's difficult
to get that sound out.
So if you can focus a little bit
more on
opening those vocal folds
a little more to let more air
(28:20):
come through and focus on that breath
flowing through you
and carrying your notes out.
I think that's really going to open up
your voice more.
I give you a fuller sound,
let the sound come out
and,
and sing
with a little bit less effort,
a little bit less strain and tension,
but well done.
Kept you on a lovely end, I really hope.
(28:40):
Sing your name right.
I'm so sorry if I'm not.
But.
Yeah, really nice song.
You've got some really cute
chords in there too.
Like, It's interesting to listen to this.
I really enjoy the song.
Well done.
But yeah, I hope these these little.
I can help you.
In case, you know,
you can get your own vocal evaluation,
(29:01):
whether it's an original song
or something completely different.
It doesn't matter.
Anything you want feedback on from
me and my team, we're happy to help.
We can even do private evaluations
where we're not sharing it
with everybody on the internet, too.
But just for us coaches and you,
and we literally videotape ourselves,
doing exactly this, right?
Like going through your
(29:22):
your song section
by section, phrase by phrase,
whether it's an original song or a cover,
it doesn't matter,
and give you detailed
feedback of what we are hearing
and give you exercise recommendations
to practice as well.
So if you want to get
your own evaluation from me
or my team, check with the link below.
We'd love to help you
(29:42):
and don't worry, you can let us know.
Like I said,
you know where you're submitting
your video.
You can let us know if we,
if you want to keep this,
this clip private or public,
you can let us know.
Don't you worry. All right.
We've got one more.
We've got Linette.
So Linette is working
on, I often feel tension
(30:03):
when singing or feel weak
when using my head voice.
Alrighty, Lynette, let's have a listen,
see what's going on.
I do want to start by saying
our head voice is very different
from our chest.
The higher we go
in pitch, the thinner your voice gets.
(30:24):
Like, literally, your vocal folds stretch
really long and they get thinner.
They're like a rubber band.
You cannot stretch a rubber band
and keep the same thickness
in the rubber band.
When you stretch a rubber band,
it gets thinner.
It's the same thing for the voice.
So as we are going up in pitch,
you will feel quote
unquote weaker
or thinner
(30:44):
up there
because it's literally
what's happening in your vocal force.
But there are obviously things
that we can do
to train the voice, to not lose
all the power up there.
If we want to be fed up a little bit.
But I just wanted to start
by saying that.
All right, let let's have a listen.
So I might slightly.
You let.
(31:08):
The whole thing
in my head,
feels like,
in my left hand
and, to do things,
I should have
(31:32):
plenty of time to.
Okay, okay.
I hear that voice, I hear it.
I just wanted to keep going until, like,
so I can hear the head voice,
because that's something
I specifically pointed out.
Oh, this is really beautiful
little,
(31:53):
I'm not going to lie.
I don't want you to sing this
with any more power.
It's beautiful.
It's so angelic and floaty
and raw compared to, like, a little,
now, maybe what
we would want to do,
though, is the first.
(32:13):
I assume this is your cause.
I don't know,
I'm just making assumptions here, but,
but,
you know, maybe the first time
we're singing this is more in that,
you know, soft,
angelic kind of voice,
like you're singing it right now,
which is perfection and all of it.
And then when it comes again in the
song, it's more.
(32:36):
You know, we're giving it a little more,
but it's still not, like, super powerful
or anything by
or anything like that by any means.
But I love it.
I want to go again from the beginning,
because there are a couple things
in the lower notes that I that
I wanted to point out as well.
So let's go through
each section of section.
So, I rise
(32:56):
slightly with.
The whole thing
in my head.
And
okay, so this first part here,
the first 15 seconds
I think are pretty damn close to perfect,
and I wouldn't change anything about it.
(33:17):
I really, really like this
because you're picking this up
where we're at,
like at the beginning of the song.
Nice and soft.
And you're not overworking.
You you you have you need pronunciation,
but I don't mind it.
It gives you a little bit of character.
I like it like,
(33:37):
okay.
You know, Firefly,
I, you're kind of giving the, fire.
Fire here. The difference.
So fire up.
Fire, fire, fire fire fire.
(33:57):
I don't mind either way.
I think both of these options
would be great.
Just wanted to point that out,
that you could try something else there
if you want it to. I don't mind it.
You are slightly pushing your jaw forward
there on that note.
So just be mindful of that
and love that here.
(34:18):
It has to do
things I should have.
Okay, since I trained so on dread,
I feel like you're getting
just a little shaky.
Maybe shaky is the right word.
Just a little.
(34:39):
You're losing
just a little bit of control up there.
And I think it's
because you're working a little harder
than you have to.
And like, also,
volume wise,
I would love to keep that note up there.
Okay.
Just a little, little a little softer.
And I think that's going to help you
feel a little bit more stable
(35:00):
up there in that note. But
other
than that, like, honestly, I really
I really like everything about this.
All right.
It's up
to the.
(35:23):
Yeah.
So when we're,
when we're singing really softly
and we have these long
phrases, it's really difficult
to not run out of breath
before we reach the end of the phrase
though. Do do do do do.
You keep going with it.
the time to go to bed.
Make sure that that breath
(35:44):
that you're taking there,
that that's a good quality breath.
I think you can get
just a little bit more breath in.
So that go to bed
that you can feel a little more stable
there
all the way through
the end of the note on bed.
But yeah, it's just a matter of getting
just a little bit more breath and two
ways to,
(36:07):
and so,
you
know, okay,
so that I don't know that,
but, so,
but I do know that, I do feel like.
Okay,
we heard that beautiful angelic floaty
(36:27):
head voice, breathy head voice, falsetto,
whatever it is gonna call it,
for like a good two long phrases.
Now, when we get into that repetitive,
I'm good at it.
And,
here kind of how I'm like,
creating that push and pull effect,
like that wavy effect.
But other than that, I a,
(36:51):
you don't have to go like,
crazy big with it, but,
you know, working there,
giving me just a little more voice
like what you were talking about,
I think could be really cool
in this part. And then,
when you get down to that now,
pull it back again and get soft again
just so that we can play
with the dynamic range a little bit more.
(37:11):
So how would we change that?
First
we got to get a little bit more
vocal fold closure
so that it's not too breathy. Such a,
that more good.
Right.
So we got to just get a little bit
more vocal, full closure.
Now, how do we practice that?
Try dropping the lyrics
(37:32):
and just do everything on go, go go go go
go go go go go go go go.
Just adding those G
sounds gives you
a little bit
more firm vocal fold closure.
So that's going to help stop,
stop the breathy sound a little bit.
And then obviously, you know, once
(37:53):
you're used to that
and you feel like you're,
I'm getting a little bit
more rid of that breathy sound,
then put the lyrics back in
and see if you can stay in that.
No, no, no, no, the other
not breathy sound.
And if that's right, then we gotta just
play around
with the shape of your vocal tract
to get exactly
(38:14):
the kind of sound
that you that you want to get up there.
Like,
do we want to make it a little brighter,
or do we just want
to reduce the breathiness
and still keep it soft and more warm?
That is an up to you.
I do believe that
just reducing
the breathiness is going to do
a lot for you. So,
(38:37):
if we want to make
it brighter, we don't have to go like,
nah nah nah nah nah nah.
That's a lot.
But just,
to get more of that bright
kind of sound, think more.
Shooting the sound through your roof, the
through the roof of your mouth,
through the heart, palate, hard surfaces.
Like if we send the sound
to hard surfaces,
(38:59):
it creates a brighter sound.
And if we send the sound to soft surfaces
like the soft palate for the back,
it creates a more warm, darker sound.
Hard surfaces are more reflective
and soft surfaces are more absorbent.
Is that a word?
Anyways?
It absorbs more and hard surfaces
(39:21):
reflect more, which makes it brighter.
Okay, so no,
no nah nah nah nah nah nah nah.
I'm thinking
more forward compared to la la la la la
la la la
and thinking a little bit more back here
in the. Yeah.
More in the soft palate range of my mouth
(39:42):
area of my mouth.
So that is an up to you
how you want to play around with it.
Like how bright
or how more dark and warm
do you want the tone to be?
But I would love to hear more of that.
But I don't have that.
But, yeah, just that
more connected sound up there.
(40:02):
And then,
where is where we get breathy again?
That'll be awesome
for me.
I.
Guess.
Yeah, for the other ones,
you could even play
with some, like Crescendoing.
(40:23):
They're all familiar, familiar.
Nice.
And then pull back again on or,
a crescendo means
getting louder
as you are sustaining the note,
and then you,
that's an extreme version of that.
(40:43):
I probably wouldn't do quite that much,
but yeah, you're
just getting a little bit louder.
On that note,
if you want to,
if you prefer to say 2 million or less,
I think that would be
absolutely beautiful as well.
Or to you're
gonna give it a little bit more of that,
more connected
sound that we were talking about for
(41:05):
a bit of the same thing as that there.
And then going to,
back into that softer, breathy,
your head voice, falsetto type sound,
you know, literally the sky is warm.
You can play around with it,
but oh my gosh, this is beautiful.
I love the song. I love your voice too.
You have those beautiful angelic
(41:25):
high notes up there.
Now it's just a matter of, okay,
how can we work on getting a little bit
more vocal fold closure
up there
in these high notes,
and then play around with the placement
more forward?
Makes it more bright, more back
makes it a little bit darker.
And then just play around with,
until you get exactly
the sound that you're looking for.
But well done with that.
(41:45):
Give it up for the man who oh, I love it.
Thank you guys
for sharing your original songs
with me again.
Like I said,
we love working on original music
with our students.
It just is a lot of fun.
And, you know,
we get to help you with your song
and the vocal performance of your song
and make it come to life exactly
the way you envisioned it.
(42:06):
So with this,
because you know,
I'm not getting your feedback,
like immediately, like these people
that, you know, whose songs
we just looked at,
I just gave a couple recommendations
of things that you can try.
Take what you like,
leave what you don't like.
At the end of the day, this is your song.
You can do with your song.
Whatever it is that you want to do.
(42:27):
For me, my job
as your voice teacher,
as your vocal coach,
is to make sure
that you are a aware of what it is
that you are doing,
and be that
you have options to choose from
because when we have options, we can pick
how we want to sing a song compared
to when we don't have options.
Well then the notes just come out
the way they come out.
(42:48):
So for example, with Lynnette here
in this last example,
we know if we have options,
if we can choose to sing it
more breathy or more connected,
if we can choose to sing it
more bright or more dark,
more forward, more back,
then we can make the song come to life by
using different kinds of placements
and tones and embellishments
and all that stuff,
using different options.
(43:10):
And, you know, just going
with what feels best to you,
what you like the best
rather than the only option we have,
which is just what your voice can do.
Right?
So that's my job,
making sure
that you are aware
of what it is you're doing
and that you have options to pick from.
And then it is your choice
how you want to creatively
and authentically express yourself.
(43:31):
Obviously,
we are always happy to support you
on that journey
and figure out
what makes sense, your storytelling wise,
what sounds great and,
you know, just give you our opinion
if you want to.
But at the end of the day,
it's your choice.
Whatever you want to do with your song
is totally fine with me.
Anyways, that is it for today.
(43:51):
Thank you so much for submitting
your videos.
We love doing these evaluations
and we'll catch you in the next one.
Take what you like,
(00:01):
leave what you don't like.
At the end of the day, this is your song.
You can do with your song.
Whatever it is that you want to do.
For me, my job
as your voice teacher,
as your vocal coach,
is to make sure
that you are a aware of what it is
that you are doing,
and be that
you have options to choose from
because when we have options, we can pick
(00:23):
how we want to sing a song compared
to when we don't have options.
Well then the notes just come out
the way they come out.
Hey, VoxStar,
and welcome to From Singer To Artist.
I'm Lara
Chapman, award winning
singer and songwriter
turned viral vocal coach
(00:44):
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.
Check the link in the description
to book your first session, or grab
(01:04):
some of our other resources.
All righty.
Are you ready?
Let's get started.
My friend,
it is time
for another vocal evaluation episode
today.
We've got three Austin singers
and actually,
the theme for today is original songs.
So we always love working on
(01:25):
original songs.
We need songs
that our students have written.
Obviously covers as well,
but there's always something so special
about working on an original song
with a singer
because it really helps them
find their own sound,
because, you know, there's
nobody who has sung the song before you,
so you don't have like a clear idea
(01:46):
of what the song should sound like.
And this can be really great
to help you find your own sound.
You know, when you're
when you're seeing an original song,
some things nobody else has sung before.
And, we love helping our students
with songwriting as well.
We have a songwriting program
at Logic Studios as well.
Originally taught by me,
taken over by Coach
Juliano from our team.
(02:08):
And, yeah,
we love working on original stuff,
so let's get into it.
First singer
and songwriter of the day is Beverly.
Beverly is working on different melodies
throughout a song.
All of my songs
sound the same from beginning to the end.
And breath control.
Open to all critiques.
(02:30):
All right, Beverly, let's have a listen.
For anyone in this world
who's ever tried to hurt me,
I hope you
listen to the song.
Because I'm trying to let you know
(02:50):
how it feels. Natural.
So
imagine what is wrong in this.
It's like me.
Hey hey hey.
For anyone in this world.
Okay, great.
So obviously
super musical
because your snaps
(03:10):
are spot on every time.
So, Yeah, it's always perfect
on that two and the four.
So you know Bravo.
Because that sometimes does
feel that we need to work on
with our singers too.
Just like understanding
beat and groove in music.
You obviously understand that
either naturally
(03:31):
or it's something you learned.
Either way it doesn't matter.
You got that skill down. So. Bravo.
I love that.
I hear what you're saying
with, you know, the,
you're struggling
with creating
different kinds of melodies.
And it sounds the same from A to Z.
Obviously, this is
this is all live
in the first 35 seconds of your song,
but so far,
I can sing the entire thing back to you
(03:53):
because it's always.
But, da da da,
but, but dah dah dah.
And it just keeps repeating that. Right?
So it's that same melody over
and over again,
obviously with different lyrics.
And that is something that we want to
work on. It can be tricky.
(04:14):
I can so relate how once we have a melody
stuck in our head,
it is so difficult
to come up with something.
Now you're
also singing
this acapella,
meaning there is no other music.
I don't know if there is like a track
or some sort of music
that you have in mind for this.
(04:34):
Sometimes working together with a track.
What I like to do is just go
on YouTube or be topia,
and just type in, you know, Ariana
Grande type
beat or whoever and type beat,
and then go through,
through these beats,
some of these tracks
that producers have created
and see what I like.
And if I find something
(04:55):
that, you know, inspires
me, I write a song to that
that would
then actually be called Top Lining.
When you're only writing the melody
and the lyrics of the song,
not also the chord progression.
The chord progression
would be a part of the production,
but that doesn't matter.
And sometimes these songs
are free to use.
Sometimes you have to pay to use them.
(05:16):
What I like to do
is just use them as demos
and then
if I want to
actually create a song out of it,
I would work with a producer
to create a completely new track
that is inspired
by this other track
that I use as like an inspiration.
But anyway, so that can help.
Just having
some sort of music underneath
so that you can kind of break out
(05:36):
of that pattern.
Now, songwriting wise,
here are a couple things that you can try
to get out of that pattern.
The first thing I would do
is change the beginning note.
So if I am listening to this
or any one here on this, right.
But but
that's kind of where you're starting.
(05:57):
Da da da da da da.
That's your first note.
So what I could do
is if I go into a new song section,
I am changing that beginning note I could
take it higher up.
There you go.
That's already now a different melody,
or I can go lower.
(06:22):
I don't know, I'm
just making up melodies now, but
see how that's already
completely different
from what you were doing
just because
I changed the beginning notes. Right.
Just getting away from that first note
then takes your creativity
somewhere else.
So that's the first thing you can do
is change the beginning. Note.
Another thing you can do
is change the rhythm of it.
(06:42):
So instead of following
but but bah bah bah bah.
Which is, you know, quite wordy.
I could try and have a section,
or like a melody
in a, in a different song section.
That's a little bit
more elongated, like longer,
held out notes.
So instead of. But, But I could go more.
(07:04):
Da da head.
And, that already is different,
but it's very similar.
Like, the notes are very similar
to what you were doing,
but it is still different
because I have elongated the notes now.
So that's another thing you can try.
So we have changing the starting pitch.
We have changing the note
length, the heel of of the of the song.
(07:29):
Those are my two
go to things
when I don't really know
how to break out of this habit.
Another thing is literally going
the opposite direction with your melody,
where you're going.
So you're going that, up, up, up.
You're kind of going up. Right.
So what if instead of going up
that I'm the pop up, we go, but, but but
(07:50):
but but but but,
now I'm going down.
So we're basically just.
Yeah. Again going in opposite direction.
One goes up, one goes up, one goes down,
but still similar.
Otherwise those are my three go to things
I would recommend giving those a try.
(08:11):
Drop the lyrics. Right.
Like just play around with the melody,
drop the lyrics
completely and see what can we do
to, play around with the melody
just for the notes
and then bring the lyrics back in
whenever you have certain lyrics, like
bring those lyrics in,
but just start with the notes,
just the melody first.
(08:31):
Okay,
so those are some songwriting things,
that you can do.
I do want to mention one more thing.
When we are listening to a song,
there's usually song sections, right?
We have a verse.
We have a pre-chorus chorus
and we have a bridge.
And those are like the four most common
song sections.
(08:52):
Not all songs use all four.
And it is the you know, how we assemble
the song together is going to be
a little bit different from song to song,
but what I'm trying to say
is within a song section, we want to have
a repetition between song sections.
We want to have contrast.
So for example with your song but ba ba
(09:13):
ba ba ba ba ba ba ba da dah
dah dah dah dah dah dah
that that that that,
that the song section.
I changed that last
that last phase a little bit.
So it's not exactly the same thing
four times in a row,
but then we move on to maybe
like a pre-chorus, but,
(09:36):
but, da da
da da da da da da, right.
And
Pre-Chorus.
Going into the da da da da da
da da da da da da da da da da da da.
Into the chorus
I don't know,
I'm just making stuff up
I don't know if any of this is good
(09:56):
or anywhere
where you'd like to go with the song,
but did you hear how the song sections.
It was clear because I was like,
this is repetition, right?
And now I feel like I'm
moving through the song.
And then after the chorus,
it had it under da da da da da
da da da da da da da da.
(10:18):
We go back into the lecture
and da da da da da da da da da da da.
And modern da da da da da.
But,
and then whatever I did for
the pre-chorus,
I don't remember, but, you know, it's,
I'm recording
so you can listen back to it. But
anyways. Right.
So that way we have clear sections
(10:40):
and we,
we feel like
we are moving through the song.
And we know where we are at.
We're not getting lost. Right.
We need to have repetition
within a song section
and contrast
between the different song sections,
so that we know we are now
in a different part of the song. Yeah.
Okay, cool.
Some songwriting tips for you here,
(11:01):
I love it.
I do
want to continue listening through this
and see if we can maybe talk
about some vocal things to zero.
Turn me around.
Okay,
I hope you're listening to this song
because I wrote it to let you know.
I'm not sure, but
(11:22):
let me
thank you for having an honest friend.
Me that is not I'm not true.
But I may be weak, I don't know,
you tried to hurt me.
Okay. Yeah.
So, you know, you're not making your life
easy by, like,
picking this key that you picked,
(11:42):
but it sounds really great in your voice.
I actually really enjoy this for me.
I would probably have to bring it down
because I just have a naturally lower
pitched voice than you.
But I like where it sits in your voice,
so that's great.
You have slight nasal undertones,
so just make, la la la
la la la la la la.
(12:04):
So make sure that you're
not getting stuck in your notes.
A little. Just it's it's slight. It's.
I'm being very nitpicky here,
but you can try to work on
this is just holding your nose close.
La la
la la la la la la la la la la
and so forth. Right.
So, drop the lyrics.
Because when you're singing M and or MG
(12:28):
sounds for anyone, anyone,
anyone, it's going to be really difficult
to close your nose
and still get the words out, right.
Because, and are completely nasal sound,
meaning all of the air
and the sound is coming out of your nose
and nothing out of your mouth,
and if you close
your nose
is going to be difficult
(12:49):
to get those notes out.
Right?
So, yeah,
you can just do it on la la la la la
once that feels good.
And like,
oh yeah, I'm completely in my mouth
now you can drop that.
Like, drop the hand,
it's closing your nose.
And, sing again.
Like normally with the lyrics
and see if that made a change at all.
Otherwise what you can also do
is just imagine a little bit more space,
(13:10):
almost like a
tiny little balloon that,
that that you blew
up in the back of your mouth.
Because that is going to that space
that that created back
here is going to lift the soft palate,
and then the soft palate is lifted.
It blocks off the nasal cavity.
And when the nasal cavity
is blocked off, the
(13:31):
the sound can't
go up into our nasal cavity,
aka we can't sound easily yet.
So again,
creating a little bit
more space back
here, blowing up
that imaginary balloon
in the back of your mouth.
Pretty one in this world
actually makes it a lot easier
for me to sing these notes.
So mental note for myself
create more space back here,
(13:51):
but it also is going to
get you out of your nose.
Okay,
we're almost done here with this voice.
You couldn't break me
in the chorus with this shape.
Me?
I'm not sure.
Let me do I
what I've been making.
(14:11):
Yeah.
Highlight is maybe,
you just overshot that note there
a little bit.
Got a little excited about it.
That's okay. That happens.
That's that's
what live singing is, you know,
like, it's it's pretty,
pretty difficult to be on pitch.
And 100% of the time
I'm not going to say impossible
but pretty, pretty difficult.
And that's not the goal here with this
(14:34):
either.
Your pitch
otherwise is actually really good.
So I'm not worried about that lot.
Maybe I'm
not worried about that note at all, but
well done.
Congratulations, Beverly. Well done.
I'm excited to hear more about this song
and see, you know,
with those tips that we looked at,
if you can create more contrast
between the different song sections
(14:55):
so that we can break it up a little bit
and it doesn't feel
like you're constantly
doing the same thing.
And by the way,
this is exactly what we teach
in our songwriting program,
with Coach Juleanna.
She's our songwriting coach here
at Octave Studios.
In addition to our artist
development coach.
And so what we teach you is
how to create repetition,
(15:15):
which you are really good at,
but also how to create.
Can't contrast
so that it's not over
and over and over and over again
the same thing.
Because in songwriting,
that's really
all it comes down
to, finding the balance
between repetition and contrast.
If there's not enough contrast, like
with your song here right
now, the way it is right now,
it becomes too repetitive
(15:37):
and then it's like, okay, we heard it.
Like we don't need to hear the same thing
over and over and over again, right?
But if there's not enough repetition,
that's also a problem,
because then nobody
can sing the song back to you
because nobody is going
to remember what you did
because you didn't repeat anything.
So like I said, within the song section,
we want to create repetition, clean
some sections,
(15:57):
we want to create contrast.
And that's what Juliana can help you
with in our songwriting program.
I'm also working on a
self-guided songwriting for singers
course as well, so stay tuned for that.
Where we take this program and,
you know, transform it
into a self-guided program.
But, yeah.
And we teach you the repetition
and contrast thing and just,
(16:19):
you know,
more detailed things as well,
like our four step
lyric writing formula
to make sure that you're not writing
cliche lyrics,
that your lyrics,
you know, feel like
they're telling a story,
that you're moving the story
throughout the song.
You're not just repeating the same things
over and over again.
That they are relatable, detailed,
and obviously melody
(16:39):
writing like I talked about as well.
And also demo recording.
We teach you how to record your own demos
so that you know,
by the time you are done
with the program, which is 12 weeks long,
you have 2 to
3, if not for demos
at the end of the two.
So you have like actual songs that you
that you,
you know, you wrote and they're yours.
You have a recording of those songs,
(17:00):
which is a lot of fun.
And most importantly,
you have a system to write songs from.
Not even having an idea of where to start
to like,
okay, I know,
what I'm going to write about.
I have a system that I can follow
and actually finish the whole song too.
So anyways, let's move on.
We've got.
(17:21):
I'm not sure if I'm saying
this correctly, Gershon.
I hope
I didn't completely butcher your name
if I did. I'm sorry.
But we got another original song here
a deaf town is working on.
I don't think my singing is lively or
organic enough.
I feel like I'm a better songwriter
than singing. And Joel. Tension.
(17:42):
All right, let's have a listen.
That sounds so different now
because there was so much repetition.
But that's the power of repetition.
And Beverley's got that.
All right, get that.
Let's have a listen.
When you're playing very small.
(18:06):
Club come to the end.
Oh.
That'll be nice I like that.
I'm not sure where to start
off.
Set number four.
When what I feel is good.
(18:26):
No, these
were already better times.
Well, they inform you better times.
I late and it is the smallest.
I regret.
I'm going to pause there
and go back, to the beginning.
Now that we get a little bit of a feeling
for the song.
So, you know, here with one song,
we can clearly hear
(18:47):
where he's going into the chorus,
which is, which is great.
And so, you know,
we can learn a lot
from analyzing other people's songs
and just being like, okay,
what did they change here?
How is this,
this new melody
in the chorus here different
from the melody in the verse?
What did this person change and
(19:08):
and then just copy it.
But for your own song,
you can learn a lot
by just analyzing other people songs.
But anyway,
I want to,
focus a little bit
more on the vocal
performance here, of the song
rather than the songwriting,
because that's what I was asking for.
So let's focus more on the singing
and see what we've got here.
(19:30):
When you're
feeling very small.
Okay.
And you see.
And then very small.
So there, you're okay, you know?
Pronunciation, right?
Like articulation,
when you're feeling very small, like that
can sometimes be a great thing.
And sometimes it's almost like
(19:52):
now it doesn't sound lively
or natural anymore.
It's, you know, it's almost like,
I don't know,
almost like to musical theater
or just to proper.
So what you can try here
instead of singing very small, small
with an
L, you can almost sing
like healing very small, small or small,
small with a O, small rather than small.
(20:16):
And that already just adds
a little bit more character.
Same thing with feeling.
So instead of singing feeling,
we sing feeling
when you're feeling very small.
And that already
is completely different
from when you're feeling very small.
Slight difference.
But it
makes all the difference in the end.
So just like some,
(20:37):
you know,
like little articulation
tips, there be a little bit later
in your articulation.
Also,
I would
love to hear
a little bit of a softer tone
here in the beginning,
when you're feeling very small
compared to
then you feel then very small, then
I literally sing when you're feeling
instead of when you're feeling.
(20:58):
Excuse me, but yeah, so just, you know, a
softer side of your voice, a softer tone
to really pick us up
at the beginning of the song
and ease us into it and build
that dynamic range.
Up until the end?
(21:18):
Oh yeah.
At all. Same thing there at all.
Is that all right?
We're kind of dropping that little sound
at all.
Not confident at all.
You can even go, like, confident at all.
Like, keep that at all.
Really short or at all.
Hold it. But in a soft voice.
(21:39):
So again, like playing around
with different tones here
and in the beginning of the song
here, emotions, softer tones,
I think it's going to do a lot for you.
You're not sure where to start.
I love that Mozart love you for.
(21:59):
When what I feel is better.
Haha.
Yeah yeah, hell.
That hard.
So that part right there.
That's the word a that,
Then you kind of singing that hard.
So for me, it sounds like you're singing
when life feels dead hard like dead like.
(22:21):
And not that hard.
So careful there with the vowel.
Because we we modify the vowel too much.
It can make
it sound like we're
singing a different word
than we're actually singing,
because it's not like
I could see how you would be singing Dead
hard and dead hard.
Like it'd be like, yeah, okay, sure.
That kind of makes sense.
I would say it like that,
(22:42):
but I could see how in a song
that that would make sense.
But that's not the word to me.
That's not the word you're saying here.
It's that hard, that hard.
So think more long.
That hard rather than that dead hard.
Right?
A little bit
less wide, a little bit more long, baby.
hard.
(23:04):
So the air of hard, only at that,
at the very end.
Because otherwise it
kind of sounds like hard
compared to hard.
Right.
So we want to delay that air sound
till the end of it.
In most cases,
if you love the hard sound,
then I'm like, go for it.
We hear that in country music,
(23:24):
quite frequently actually.
Just kind of depends on the style
that you're going for.
Just something to be aware of
though.
This were.
Yeah.
Honey, honey, honey, honey.
Don't despair.
Honey, honey, honey,
hear the difference again.
It's it's
(23:45):
like we're making our articulation.
Our pronunciation lays here.
That's really
all it comes down to
is just making it lazy.
And that will help a lot with this,
guys.
Well, to hear from you.
Better times.
I made it up like this.
The smallest.
(24:05):
Yeah.
Just need small steps.
Can you keep that? Not short.
Just keep small stuff.
You just need.
So you just need small steps.
Small steps compared to small steps.
If you like the long notes, go with it.
Like this is your song,
and you do whatever it is you want to do.
(24:26):
I feel like
this would be a great opportunity
for a short note.
Just needs monster.
a lot of times as singers, we like to
over sing.
We like to hold out notes
and fill all of the depth space
as much as possible.
I'm not saying that that's
what you're doing here at all.
Just saying.
In general,
we like to oversee overseeing us singers.
(24:47):
I used to be very guilty of that as well.
But sometimes
what makes a vocal performance so great
is the space that we're leaving.
In between the phrases,
you just need small steps
that up.
That gonna
(25:07):
like just having that space there.
That space to breathe
can really,
elevate your performance there, too.
But it's really up to you.
It's not like you held out the note
for a really long time,
but I just felt like
this would be a really good opportunity
to keep the note really short.
So you have to do is, know is above.
(25:29):
Oh, you have to,
it's just a little strained up there.
You mentioned jaw tension
just looking at your neck.
It does look like
you're a little reaching.
And those neck muscles
are popping out a little bit.
Try singing that phrase
while shaking your head, if at all can.
While playing the guitar
might be a little difficult,
but give it a shot.
And yeah,
(25:50):
just kind of like a shake
that shake that loose.
one thing you can
try as well is adding an H in
front of all you have to do.
Just a practice, not a like.
Not in the end performance,
but just to get that breath flow going,
and it's not quite so tight.
It's a little bit more flowy.
Oh, you have to do,
(26:10):
And then all we got to do is,
and then all you have to do
is just decrease
that h sound, all you have to do,
and then still keep that breath flowing.
When the neck is above
some of these small, you can't.
All you have to do is, your eyes
about your lower
(26:33):
the starting line.
Yeah.
Oh yeah.
That does that sing song with you.
It's dark that, you know.
Oh, yeah.
Take a small step.
Okay. The smallest,
I like it
(26:53):
there. Get you back on.
True.
Yeah.
You get you back on track.
Get you back.
Back.
That's probably
gonna get you back on track
and get you back on track.
Back.
Make sure it's back and not back.
Back on track.
(27:14):
Back on track.
Yeah, just a little bit longer
rather than wide.
Here, on these, on these higher notes.
And then.
Yeah, just,
the neck for you
with these higher notes in this chorus,
I think what's going to make
the biggest difference
is focusing on flow.
Right? Like breath flow.
And just really focusing on exhaling
(27:37):
as much as you can,
really using all the breath.
You have to get these notes out.
That doesn't mean you don't get louder.
It just means that the vocal folds
has the air through,
because it sounds like
your vocal folds are coming together
just a little tightly and,
and then not as much air
(27:58):
can flow through the vocal folds.
And the air is basically our vehicle.
Right?
It's what carries the sound out
without breath. There is no sound.
And so the vocal folds are,
closing a little too tightly.
Then it's difficult
to get that sound out.
So if you can focus a little bit
more on
opening those vocal folds
a little more to let more air
(28:20):
come through and focus on that breath
flowing through you
and carrying your notes out.
I think that's really going to open up
your voice more.
I give you a fuller sound,
let the sound come out
and,
and sing
with a little bit less effort,
a little bit less strain and tension,
but well done.
Kept you on a lovely end, I really hope.
(28:40):
Sing your name right.
I'm so sorry if I'm not.
But.
Yeah, really nice song.
You've got some really cute
chords in there too.
Like, It's interesting to listen to this.
I really enjoy the song.
Well done.
But yeah, I hope these these little.
I can help you.
In case, you know,
you can get your own vocal evaluation,
(29:01):
whether it's an original song
or something completely different.
It doesn't matter.
Anything you want feedback on from
me and my team, we're happy to help.
We can even do private evaluations
where we're not sharing it
with everybody on the internet, too.
But just for us coaches and you,
and we literally videotape ourselves,
doing exactly this, right?
Like going through your
(29:22):
your song section
by section, phrase by phrase,
whether it's an original song or a cover,
it doesn't matter,
and give you detailed
feedback of what we are hearing
and give you exercise recommendations
to practice as well.
So if you want to get
your own evaluation from me
or my team, check with the link below.
We'd love to help you
(29:42):
and don't worry, you can let us know.
Like I said,
you know where you're submitting
your video.
You can let us know if we,
if you want to keep this,
this clip private or public,
you can let us know.
Don't you worry. All right.
We've got one more.
We've got Linette.
So Linette is working
on, I often feel tension
(30:03):
when singing or feel weak
when using my head voice.
Alrighty, Lynette, let's have a listen,
see what's going on.
I do want to start by saying
our head voice is very different
from our chest.
The higher we go
in pitch, the thinner your voice gets.
(30:24):
Like, literally, your vocal folds stretch
really long and they get thinner.
They're like a rubber band.
You cannot stretch a rubber band
and keep the same thickness
in the rubber band.
When you stretch a rubber band,
it gets thinner.
It's the same thing for the voice.
So as we are going up in pitch,
you will feel quote
unquote weaker
or thinner
(30:44):
up there
because it's literally
what's happening in your vocal force.
But there are obviously things
that we can do
to train the voice, to not lose
all the power up there.
If we want to be fed up a little bit.
But I just wanted to start
by saying that.
All right, let let's have a listen.
So I might slightly.
You let.
(31:08):
The whole thing
in my head,
feels like,
in my left hand
and, to do things,
I should have
(31:32):
plenty of time to.
Okay, okay.
I hear that voice, I hear it.
I just wanted to keep going until, like,
so I can hear the head voice,
because that's something
I specifically pointed out.
Oh, this is really beautiful
little,
(31:53):
I'm not going to lie.
I don't want you to sing this
with any more power.
It's beautiful.
It's so angelic and floaty
and raw compared to, like, a little,
now, maybe what
we would want to do,
though, is the first.
(32:13):
I assume this is your cause.
I don't know,
I'm just making assumptions here, but,
but,
you know, maybe the first time
we're singing this is more in that,
you know, soft,
angelic kind of voice,
like you're singing it right now,
which is perfection and all of it.
And then when it comes again in the
song, it's more.
(32:36):
You know, we're giving it a little more,
but it's still not, like, super powerful
or anything by
or anything like that by any means.
But I love it.
I want to go again from the beginning,
because there are a couple things
in the lower notes that I that
I wanted to point out as well.
So let's go through
each section of section.
So, I rise
(32:56):
slightly with.
The whole thing
in my head.
And
okay, so this first part here,
the first 15 seconds
I think are pretty damn close to perfect,
and I wouldn't change anything about it.
(33:17):
I really, really like this
because you're picking this up
where we're at,
like at the beginning of the song.
Nice and soft.
And you're not overworking.
You you you have you need pronunciation,
but I don't mind it.
It gives you a little bit of character.
I like it like,
(33:37):
okay.
You know, Firefly,
I, you're kind of giving the, fire.
Fire here. The difference.
So fire up.
Fire, fire, fire fire fire.
(33:57):
I don't mind either way.
I think both of these options
would be great.
Just wanted to point that out,
that you could try something else there
if you want it to. I don't mind it.
You are slightly pushing your jaw forward
there on that note.
So just be mindful of that
and love that here.
(34:18):
It has to do
things I should have.
Okay, since I trained so on dread,
I feel like you're getting
just a little shaky.
Maybe shaky is the right word.
Just a little.
(34:39):
You're losing
just a little bit of control up there.
And I think it's
because you're working a little harder
than you have to.
And like, also,
volume wise,
I would love to keep that note up there.
Okay.
Just a little, little a little softer.
And I think that's going to help you
feel a little bit more stable
(35:00):
up there in that note. But
other
than that, like, honestly, I really
I really like everything about this.
All right.
It's up
to the.
(35:23):
Yeah.
So when we're,
when we're singing really softly
and we have these long
phrases, it's really difficult
to not run out of breath
before we reach the end of the phrase
though. Do do do do do.
You keep going with it.
the time to go to bed.
Make sure that that breath
(35:44):
that you're taking there,
that that's a good quality breath.
I think you can get
just a little bit more breath in.
So that go to bed
that you can feel a little more stable
there
all the way through
the end of the note on bed.
But yeah, it's just a matter of getting
just a little bit more breath and two
ways to,
(36:07):
and so,
you
know, okay,
so that I don't know that,
but, so,
but I do know that, I do feel like.
Okay,
we heard that beautiful angelic floaty
(36:27):
head voice, breathy head voice, falsetto,
whatever it is gonna call it,
for like a good two long phrases.
Now, when we get into that repetitive,
I'm good at it.
And,
here kind of how I'm like,
creating that push and pull effect,
like that wavy effect.
But other than that, I a,
(36:51):
you don't have to go like,
crazy big with it, but,
you know, working there,
giving me just a little more voice
like what you were talking about,
I think could be really cool
in this part. And then,
when you get down to that now,
pull it back again and get soft again
just so that we can play
with the dynamic range a little bit more.
(37:11):
So how would we change that?
First
we got to get a little bit more
vocal fold closure
so that it's not too breathy. Such a,
that more good.
Right.
So we got to just get a little bit
more vocal, full closure.
Now, how do we practice that?
Try dropping the lyrics
(37:32):
and just do everything on go, go go go go
go go go go go go go go.
Just adding those G
sounds gives you
a little bit
more firm vocal fold closure.
So that's going to help stop,
stop the breathy sound a little bit.
And then obviously, you know, once
(37:53):
you're used to that
and you feel like you're,
I'm getting a little bit
more rid of that breathy sound,
then put the lyrics back in
and see if you can stay in that.
No, no, no, no, the other
not breathy sound.
And if that's right, then we gotta just
play around
with the shape of your vocal tract
to get exactly
(38:14):
the kind of sound
that you that you want to get up there.
Like,
do we want to make it a little brighter,
or do we just want
to reduce the breathiness
and still keep it soft and more warm?
That is an up to you.
I do believe that
just reducing
the breathiness is going to do
a lot for you. So,
(38:37):
if we want to make
it brighter, we don't have to go like,
nah nah nah nah nah nah.
That's a lot.
But just,
to get more of that bright
kind of sound, think more.
Shooting the sound through your roof, the
through the roof of your mouth,
through the heart, palate, hard surfaces.
Like if we send the sound
to hard surfaces,
(38:59):
it creates a brighter sound.
And if we send the sound to soft surfaces
like the soft palate for the back,
it creates a more warm, darker sound.
Hard surfaces are more reflective
and soft surfaces are more absorbent.
Is that a word?
Anyways?
It absorbs more and hard surfaces
(39:21):
reflect more, which makes it brighter.
Okay, so no,
no nah nah nah nah nah nah nah.
I'm thinking
more forward compared to la la la la la
la la la
and thinking a little bit more back here
in the. Yeah.
More in the soft palate range of my mouth
(39:42):
area of my mouth.
So that is an up to you
how you want to play around with it.
Like how bright
or how more dark and warm
do you want the tone to be?
But I would love to hear more of that.
But I don't have that.
But, yeah, just that
more connected sound up there.
(40:02):
And then,
where is where we get breathy again?
That'll be awesome
for me.
I.
Guess.
Yeah, for the other ones,
you could even play
with some, like Crescendoing.
(40:23):
They're all familiar, familiar.
Nice.
And then pull back again on or,
a crescendo means
getting louder
as you are sustaining the note,
and then you,
that's an extreme version of that.
(40:43):
I probably wouldn't do quite that much,
but yeah, you're
just getting a little bit louder.
On that note,
if you want to,
if you prefer to say 2 million or less,
I think that would be
absolutely beautiful as well.
Or to you're
gonna give it a little bit more of that,
more connected
sound that we were talking about for
(41:05):
a bit of the same thing as that there.
And then going to,
back into that softer, breathy,
your head voice, falsetto type sound,
you know, literally the sky is warm.
You can play around with it,
but oh my gosh, this is beautiful.
I love the song. I love your voice too.
You have those beautiful angelic
(41:25):
high notes up there.
Now it's just a matter of, okay,
how can we work on getting a little bit
more vocal fold closure
up there
in these high notes,
and then play around with the placement
more forward?
Makes it more bright, more back
makes it a little bit darker.
And then just play around with,
until you get exactly
the sound that you're looking for.
But well done with that.
(41:45):
Give it up for the man who oh, I love it.
Thank you guys
for sharing your original songs
with me again.
Like I said,
we love working on original music
with our students.
It just is a lot of fun.
And, you know,
we get to help you with your song
and the vocal performance of your song
and make it come to life exactly
the way you envisioned it.
(42:06):
So with this,
because you know,
I'm not getting your feedback,
like immediately, like these people
that, you know, whose songs
we just looked at,
I just gave a couple recommendations
of things that you can try.
Take what you like,
leave what you don't like.
At the end of the day, this is your song.
You can do with your song.
Whatever it is that you want to do.
(42:27):
For me, my job
as your voice teacher,
as your vocal coach,
is to make sure
that you are a aware of what it is
that you are doing,
and be that
you have options to choose from
because when we have options, we can pick
how we want to sing a song compared
to when we don't have options.
Well then the notes just come out
the way they come out.
(42:48):
So for example, with Lynnette here
in this last example,
we know if we have options,
if we can choose to sing it
more breathy or more connected,
if we can choose to sing it
more bright or more dark,
more forward, more back,
then we can make the song come to life by
using different kinds of placements
and tones and embellishments
and all that stuff,
using different options.
(43:10):
And, you know, just going
with what feels best to you,
what you like the best
rather than the only option we have,
which is just what your voice can do.
Right?
So that's my job,
making sure
that you are aware
of what it is you're doing
and that you have options to pick from.
And then it is your choice
how you want to creatively
and authentically express yourself.
(43:31):
Obviously,
we are always happy to support you
on that journey
and figure out
what makes sense, your storytelling wise,
what sounds great and,
you know, just give you our opinion
if you want to.
But at the end of the day,
it's your choice.
Whatever you want to do with your song
is totally fine with me.
Anyways, that is it for today.
(43:51):
Thank you so much for submitting
your videos.
We love doing these evaluations
and we'll catch you in the next one.
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