October 20, 2021 • 36 mins
Eric talks with Ariana Grande about her vocal range, how Broadway influences her music, touring, and the struggles of perfect pitch, and how it can be both a blessing and a curse. We also get to learn more about Eric and how being a vocal coach is all about listening and thinking on his feet.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:15):
Pushkin. I had asked you which was your favorite vocal exercises,
and you said the roller coasters up and down. Can
you give an example of that so people know what
you were talking about? Oh, okay, aim high on the
low note, very quiet, he well, perfect, much better, much better,
(00:43):
much better. I needed to stretch it out. That was
Ariana Grande singing. She may be world famous for her
spectacular voice, but that's really just one part of who
she is. She's also one of the sweetest and most
caring people I know. So when I asked her if
she'd be down to demonstrate how a voice lesson works,
she said, sure, let's do which is a good Yet,
(01:09):
Let's try this on a wee wee wee wee wee wee.
Then I might say, give it a little more support
on the high note. Wee wee wee wee wee. Now
just to loosen up your shoulders. Wee wee wee wee wee. More,
(01:31):
Oh my gosh, we we wee wee wee wee. You're
probably more familiar with hearing her singing songs than exercises.
Songs like positions dangerous woman, thank you, next, God is
a woman, you know? There's a lot of hits in there,
so I won't keep going with that. You might have
(01:51):
grown up with her on Nickelodeon, where she played the
adorable book shall we say, very dimwitted Cat Valentine on
the show Victorious, or you might have actually seen her
on Broadway, where she first got her start in the
musical thirteen Yesterday. Identified thought, well, she sounded a little
not you, because you don't ever get stiff. But let's
(02:13):
say something was feeling stiff or whatever, I'd say, hey,
move around, loosen up your body a little bit. I'm
so stubborn when you ask me to move, I'm always like,
I don't want to flail around. He I'm waving my
arms now, just so everyone can visualize. Yeah, it's not
just stubborn on that. Hey, there's been times when I've
(02:39):
given you an exercise and you I told someone this
one time. I said, yeah, there's times I'll say I'll
play in it and you'll go I'm literally like Eric,
that's insane. It'll literally be like no, no, no, no, no,
no no no, And I'm like Eric, that's seventy eight notes.
I don't have time, that's a whole or I have
(03:01):
to sing God as a woman in four minutes. I
don't have this kind of time. This is backstage as
I'm Eric Vitro in this podcast, I'm inviting you into
my studio to hear how some of the most successful
and famous singers work on their craft, the art of singing.
(03:23):
They also happen to be students of mine, so I
have to say I know them pretty well. We'll talk
about everything their vocal process, their careers, how their emotional
life affects their voice, and how it all intertwines with
their lives. For me, being a vocal coach is all
about listening and thinking on my feet. I ask a
(03:43):
student to do a vocal exercise, and then how their
voice responds determines what the next exercise should be. I
have to ask myself a lot of questions along the way.
How does their voice sound at that moment or how
did it react to the exercise. What I hear tells
me what my student needs at that moment. I'm so
glad we just did that because now people can understand
(04:04):
that's how a voice lesson works. I've learned by doing it,
because you're now singing an a cappella. I think it
improves people's ears because they're really hearing themselves. Oh yeah,
it's not fun. Yeah, and they're singing along with the
piano they don't even know, like the little tiny things
where it goes a little in and out. Arianna and
I have been working together for over fourteen years now,
(04:26):
well maybe even more. I think we met in two
thousand and seven. We don't always spend all of our
time with singing lessons, though, I mean, we've had some
great conversations and we've spent some really fun holidays together. Guys,
we painted each other mugg Are we okay? Yeah? I
think we are okay because it was really fun, no surprise.
(04:49):
The one she painted was gorgeous and amazing and creative,
and mine was okay. But let's rewind. Let's go back
to the beginning, because of course her journey started before hours,
did Now, didn't your grandmother take you to your first audition? Yeah,
so Nona took me to audition to sing the national
anthem at the Panthers game. That was a really cool moment.
(05:13):
I remember singing on the ice and being freezing cold,
and it was like my first real gig, and I
sang the national anthem for the Panthers, my hometown, Florida's
hockey team. Oh say, can you see Biemesy At this point,
(05:43):
she's only eight years old, but if you could see her,
watch her when she sings this. She has this beautiful
look in her eyes, and she's already connected with the audience.
You can really predict she's going to go somewhere with
this singing thing. And it was so fun because I
used to go to the games all the time anyway
as a kid. My parents would take me, and I
had really bad luck. I was hit by the puck
(06:05):
like twice, and so I got to ride the zam
bony like because they felt bad because my wrist was
like broken and mangled, and I was like sad. So
I was already a huge Panthers fan growing up, so
getting to sing and having that be my first like
real gig kind of was so sweet and so special
(06:26):
and so yeah, it was really cool. And I remember
finishing and being like, I want to do it again,
only you would get hit it. That is my total luck.
That really set the pace here. It sure did. But really,
Ariana says the bar high with everything she does. I mean,
have you heard this girl saying I Have Nothing by
(06:46):
Whitney Houston. It's one of the hardest pop songs there is. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
I love that song. That's always one of my favorites.
That was one of our first songs that we did
together when we had our one of our first lessons, right, yeah, exactly.
I remember I always think of you with that song
and how great it was, and I think it's one
of the best songs ever written. I love that song
(07:06):
so much. And then when David Foster came and played
the piano for you that night, I remember it. For
anyone who doesn't know, David Foster is a hugely successful
songwriter and producer. His really long long list of collaborations
includes artists like Slean, diond Whitney Houston, Michael Boblet. The
list is endless. That was so insane. I remember being
(07:28):
like so in awe and just so shook that that happened.
This was obviously a way later for those listening who
don't know the context. This was after thirteen and after
I met Eric and he had introduced me to David
and I got to sing it with him, and that
was a really cool thing that was at the Forum.
(07:48):
But She's also saying it at my house at parties.
The only parties, just for context, that I've ever been
to in my entire life, have all been Eric Vitro parties.
Just so everyone knows, I have been to four parties
in my life and they've all been Eric Vitro parties.
It's not true, it is, I promise they were the best.
It's so much fun. There's always so much music and
(08:09):
so much singing and great company. So I gotta tell you,
there's something really so special about seeing Ariana sing in
an intimate setting, you know, in a house or in
a backyard at a small party. Of course, not all
of the parties we had were small and cozy. For
one of them that her mom, Joan and I threw together,
we actually crammed about three hundred people in a gigantic
(08:31):
tent we put up covering my tennis court. We brought
in all white sofas and chairs. We placed a gorgeous
grand piano right in the center behind the pool, and
the pool was filled with floating white candles. So it
was pretty magical. But whether she's at a stadium with
fifty thousand people or in a tent, anytime that Ariana
is singing. She brings her all even when she's doing
(08:53):
karaoke with friends. Oh my god, that was the best
night of my life. That was so much fun, and
I remembered I was mesmerized because well, first of all,
you knew every song, every melody, every lyric, and you
(09:16):
could improvise on them, which was amazing. But also, I
don't know if I've ever seen you look more joyous.
Here's the other thing, more at peace. You looked so peaceful,
like ah, I wondered if you wanted to talk about
it a little bit. How has that developed your voice
and taste? I think the theater music gives me so
(09:37):
much joy. That was the most fun night. It was
like such a precious thing. Theater babies. It's just a
different kind of nostalgia. Listening to musical theater is a
different kind of fulfilling car ride, you know, like if
you throw on some avenue que or wicked in the car,
like you're just guaranteed to feel comforted. Most Broadway songs
(10:00):
have longer sustained notes than pop songs. Do you can
hear it here where Arianna sings the theme song from
Beauty and the Beast to it can be and so
in order to sing them well, people have to develop
their lung capacity on their breadth support so they can
hold those longer notes. Also, broadway songs usually have wider
(10:23):
pitch ranges, so singers need to do vocal exercises and
learn techniques that will increase their range. These are a
few of the reasons singing these songs are so helpful
and developing someone's voice. However, there is a really big
difference in the way you use your voice when singing
pop as opposed to Broadway. There's a humongous difference. Of course,
(10:43):
you use a totally different part of your voice for
each And of course I don't you know what I mean,
Like I would never sing a Broadway song with my
pop placement, but you know, I grew up singing theater,
so of course that's where my heart is. I wish
I got to do more of it. I wish I
could go beyond Broadway. I wish I could go sing
more musical songs. That's like the easiest, most fun most soaring, freeing,
(11:05):
beautiful feeling. Ever as singing show tunes. That to me,
it's like my heaven. But of course, like you can't
use that placement on a pop song either you know
what I mean, Like you can't sing like been here
all night, like you can't like been here all day
by got me a walk inside to side. Well I'm
(11:32):
trying to hide it. I forgot the words and I
wrote them, So there you go. You could do it.
I just don't think it would be standing over here
with your body. I don't know. Thank you. Next, Yes,
d up with sean body wasn't a much you or
(11:52):
break up with your boyfriend? Can you imagine that? And
as soprano you got me some type of way. I
don't know. That's not funny. I'm just a feeling this way. Yeah, yeah,
no no no, say no no, no, no, no no.
This is backstage Pass with Eric Vitro and we'll be
(12:12):
right back. Thanks for listening to backstage Pass. Let's get
back to chatting with Ariana Grande, getting back to voice lessons.
Remember what I said earlier, A voice teacher has to
really listen to where a singer is at in the moment.
(12:36):
They might be physically tired, or they might have oversung
the day before, or they might have been doing interviews
and talking for hours before their lesson. All of these
factors determine what the warm up needs to look like.
Sometimes a singer will tell me what's going on, but
usually I can hear it in their speaking voice when
they come in, and I know what we need to
do that day. It could be that they're stressed, which
(12:58):
creates a tight, constricted tone, so I'll use techniques that
help them loosen up so they can sing more freely
and feel more flexible. Or they might be singing too
heavy in their lower range, which makes it impossible to
make a smooth transition into their higher notes. There are
days when I just go, all right, this is going
to take a little longer. It's going to be a
little bit more of a process to warm up their voice,
(13:19):
but I always know we're going to get there. A
lot of people really don't like those wide range exercises
starting really low and going really high, but you do. Yeah.
I like the big stretches. I like can't wait. I
always want to go really really really high, and You're
always like, we have to warm up your low range.
You're like, we have to exercise the whole thing. Relax,
And I'm always like ready to go, and she always is.
(13:42):
She's always ready to go. But she's also a perfectionist,
and that means she can be really hard on herself.
Oh I am so I'm so so so brutal with that,
you know you I am. I Yeah, No, I'm very
I can't stand it. Yeah, But anyway, you have that
(14:03):
incredible ear that's like ridiculous, thank you, ridiculous. It makes
it very annoying to work with me. When you have
a great sense of pitch, it can drive you crazy
if you hear the slightest note off. I always had
a very very very like picky sensitive ear, and it's
kind of made me into a perfectionist and kind of
(14:26):
this neurotic control freak. And when it comes to camping
my own vocals and vocal production and arranging and producing
and stuff like that, if the EQ changes even a
little bit, I'll be able to tell Yeah, I don't know.
It's always been something that I've noticed in a big way,
(14:47):
and I think that's been a great thing to kind
of grow into having all the control over in my life.
I've just been I've learned, you know, how to do
it myself throughout the years and kind of like that's
been really cool. My MD Johnny, he said that my
ears are like a telescope, and I can analyze the
(15:08):
surface of Mars. But it's a blassing and a curse,
because like, it's wonderful to be able to articulate what
I want and how exactly I want my voice to
be mixed. And you know, of course, that's how you
create a sound, and that's how you can control your
tone and have that be a part of your sound.
But I wish I could just relax. I think it
(15:30):
can be easy for fans to forget how much work
goes into being a professional singer. There's constant interviews, writing
and recording sessions, rehearsals, and being on tour. Touring is
really hard, and that's why so often I do FaceTime
warm ups with my students on their performance days, usually
in their dressing rooms before the sound checks or the shows.
(15:50):
The schedules and traveling can be grueling. Plus think about
it being around all those people. It can lead to
a lot of colds and flues. Ariana does shows all
the time when she's sick. To her and most singers
I know, canceling a show is devastating. You don't want
to disappoint yours and you know how much work everyone
(16:11):
is put in, from the dancers, the musicians, the crew,
the makeup people, the hair people, everybody. Everyone is working
behind the scenes for every single show, and you don't
want to let them down by not getting on the stage.
But when your ear nose and throat doctor tells you
that not canceling could lead to you canceling an entire tour,
or could even result in permanently harming your voice, you
(16:33):
have to cancel. You just have to. I've unfortunately had
to cancel a couple of shows in the past, of course,
like six years, because I think that it is physically
so demanding and so strenuous to do hundreds of shows
around the world, and it's incredible, but it's also physically
(16:54):
very tasking, and between the traveling and the flying and
the bus and everything, and it's like your body kind
of becomes very run down. And I know for me personally,
I was sick for like four out of ten months
on the Sweetener tour, and thankfully I had to cancel
like one show, I think or two, but one of
them was because I had a tomato allergy. But thankfully
(17:16):
the rest of it I was either healthy or able
to sing around the conditions I was dealing with, which
was like bronchitis for most of it. I think the
reason why I was able to get through so many
shows as I was when I was sick was due
(17:39):
to our work together and our warm ups. Like I
would wake up with just air coming out, and just
like no sound would be able to come out, and
I would I would go to my sink to brush
my teeth and like start waking up my body and
I would go and sometimes air would come out, and
sometimes it wouldn't, and sometimes sound would come out, and
(18:00):
sometimes it wouldn't, and I'd say, okay. I would stay
silent for two more hours until I ate breakfast and
I did my routine, and then I would do a
little more like then it would come back a little
more and then I would rest again, and then by
the time it was ready for warm up time, I
could get out the sounds that I was that I
(18:21):
needed to get out. And by the end of our
work together, like we would do our warm up and
then we would take our little five minute breaks and
I'd be silent for five minutes, and then we do
another fifteen minutes and I'd be silent for another five minutes.
We do another fifteen minutes, and by the time that
I was ready to go on stage, my voice was
making all of the sounds, like all of the notes
were there. And when she's on tour, there are times
(18:43):
when she can be thirteen or fourteen or fifteen or
however many hours ahead of LA time. Eric used to
wake up at crazy times when I was overseas on
tour to warm me up, and it would be like
the sweetest, best blessing ever. I was like, Wow, thank God,
all right. Just so you understand, on the days that
I did those warmups at two or three in the morning,
(19:05):
I would actually do them from bed. I mean, it's
too cold to get out of bed and go downstairs.
So let me explain how I did it. I have
a whole riek set up in my bedroom. I have
an adjustable bed that sits me up so I'm in
a good sitting position. I have a table that swings
out over me with my keyboard on it and my
laptop so I can see her, and we go from there.
(19:26):
That work was really what kept me healthy for ninety
nine percent of the tour, and I really am appreciative
of that. I don't want to miss my opportunity to
say that our work together kept me healthy and I didn't.
Thank god, I've never had to cancel a tour because
of a hemorrhage or been at a loss, you know
what I mean. So it's just been such a blessing
(19:47):
to learn how to sing around those things with you,
and to sing and have technique that has been evolving
and maturing and improving over the years, and get through
hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of live shows
where I'm singing live for two hours at a time,
(20:09):
and I'm very appreciative. I think a lot of that
is just our work together and training to become a
healthy vocalist. Thank god, I've been able to sing through
things like that because it starts from the moment you
wake up. You don't warm up forty five minutes before
the show, and you don't you know, put it down
the second you get off stage. It starts from the
(20:31):
minute you wake up. Thank God, I think I've had
pretty good luck. I thankfully you've never had to cancel
massive amounts of shows or anything because of my voice.
It's been such an incredible blessing, and it's been a
lot of work. Yeah, it has been a lot of work,
but it's been so much fun it doesn't really feel
like work. And I gotta say, for better or worse,
(20:53):
for Ariana, that spirit and drive is constantly there. I
remember one night at the Forum and you did like
I think it was six shows in a row, which
I thought was insanity, but you were making up for
one that had to be canceled, and your mother pulled
me aside and said, would you please please encourage her
just to rest tonight. And I went, well, of course
(21:15):
she's gonna rest, Joan, and she went no, I don't
think she is. And I said, I don't know what
you're talking about. And then I went over to you
and I said, now you're gonna rest your voice tight,
and you looked at me and said, no, I'm going
to the studio. And I was like, oh, it's one
in the morning. You can't go to the studio, and
you went, no, I'm going to I'm very inspired and
i want to record. Yeah, you're very upset with me
(21:35):
that night. See that's the thing. There's like it's like
once it's on autopilot, like once the chords are like,
oh I got it. Whatever show schmow we can do
this sweeteners show whatever. Like once it's in autopilot and
your body's like not recovering from bronchitis, you're just kind
of like, oh, yeah, the notes are there, they'll come out.
(21:57):
Let's go to the studio after whatever. So it's like, yeah,
you're not pleased with me that night. I think I
was scarred from that night though, because I just know
you weren't going to go home, even though in my
mind I was thinking, I can go home and rest,
rest that voice. And I'm always trying to send out
that mental telepathy, that vocal juju. Come on, drink a
(22:18):
lot of water, get some rest, get twelve hours sleep tonight.
But no matter how much I do it, and no
matter how many times I tell someone, rest your voice,
go home, don't go to that party. After party, what
a bore. But you know, sometimes they don't always listen,
but I do. I'm always listening, And because I listen,
I'm pretty aware of how my students voices are constantly changing,
(22:39):
hopefully for the better, hopefully improving. I was curious, though,
what Ariana thought about her vocal evolution, so I asked her,
how would you say your voice has changed over the years.
Oh that's a good question. It's funny because I listened
back to like my first album and I sound like
(23:00):
a baby. But I don't know when when it kind
of grew up. I guess even listening to old talking
voice was really kind of I think tired, which my
whole body was, to be fair, but I think I, yeah,
(23:21):
I hadn't found the balance yet with my schedule and
doing all that promo in the beginning, and doing all
that in the first few years of the music stuff.
I think my speaking voice and my singing voice were
they sounded so different because I think they also were tired.
I think that also strengthened my voice in a way
(23:41):
where like now, it really takes a lot, lot, lot,
lot lot more abuse to get me to that whispery,
raspy point, you know. But I don't know my voice
is healthier now through the years of touring and needing
to push through the shows and learning healthy placement and
(24:07):
kind of you know, having to make tain that. I
think it's just been experience in years of learning and
singing all these songs so many times, you know. Yeah, Well,
I think I think for people listening it's a lesson
in that I think, first of all, you were so
young when you were doing so much, and I think
(24:28):
that when you're young like that, your your vocal chords
aren't fully developed, so they're not not reach maturity. And
also when you're young, it's hard to always remind yourself,
Oh yeah, I should be supporting my speaking voice as
well as my singing voice, and I should take some
vocal rest tonight, and I should go to sleep. So
I think it's hard to remember those things. So I
think the combination of you learning, learning technique, your voice maturing,
(24:52):
and like you said, you had to sing through it
and get through it, and I think that also made
you stronger. Yeah, that's how I look at it. And
also all of our lessons and being able to work
through the exhaustion together and somehow always find a way
to make it all come out and feel beautiful and
healthy doing it. Like I don't remember many times where
(25:16):
I have like sunk through something and been like, oh,
thank god it happened and we got through it, you
know what I mean. Like, I feel like we've always
put in the work to make sure that even at
my most exhausted points, the vocals are the least of
our issues, I would agree with that that's never been
an issue for us. If anything, well Ariana really had
to deal with was her shift from Nickelodeon start to
(25:37):
growing into what she wanted to be as a recording artist. Yeah,
in the way beginning, like putting out the Way was
really freeing and terrifying for me because I was so
convinced that I had to be one thing, because people
knew me from my show that I was doing from Nickelodeon,
(25:59):
and I was playing a character that a lot of
people knew me as, and I was kind of terrified
to do what I actually wanted and make the music
that I actually wanted to make, can have my brown
hair and be you know where thigh high boots and
what I wanted to be. I think that was also
a really big moment for me. It was putting out
(26:20):
my first single that like was on my first album
and taking that risk, like from the way beginning too.
You know. I think obviously as time went on, you
got to know more and more and more of me
as I lived in as the music became more and
more personal. But I think even just from the very
first single like that was a huge risk, you know,
It was a really incredible turning point for me. It
(26:44):
certainly worked out really well because The Way went triple
platinum at the age of nineteen. Our next guest is
the star of the Nickelodeon show Sam and Kat, and
she already has a top ten hit. Here to make
her television debut performing The Way. Please welcome Ariana Grande
featuring Mac Miller. One of my favorite pictures of us
(27:06):
is at Ellen underneath the show, and you had just
done The Way, and you looked so happy when we
were in the dressing room during her vocal warm up.
I just knew this was going to be the beginning
of a huge career. Of course, I wasn't the only one.
Everybody could see it, her fans, her friends, her family,
and a few minutes after it aired, Katy Perry actually
(27:28):
texted me and said, that girl is totally awesome. I
think she's the best voice in pop music. Do you
remember the first year you came to LA we spent
Thanksgiving together and we had it here at my house.
Your mom organized the entire thing. That was when I
learned Grand's an adjective. It's not just a name, it's
a model to live by. Your grandparents flew out, and
(27:51):
we were in the living room like a bunch of
us after dinner, and you saying I have nothing. I
played it and then I got up and your grandfather
was standing in the doorway. He hadn't come in, he
was just standing in the doorway observing everything. And I
said to him, you must be so proud of Arianna,
and he just nodded, said anyone, she's got it. And
(28:13):
I remember that was so touching to me, and so
I wanted to say to you, you've got it. We've
had some really beautiful special memories together. And yeah, you
and I have had like the best and most special
and most challenging and most beautiful times together, and we've
sung through it all. And it's been such a journey,
(28:35):
you know, it has been, that's for sure. That's a
beautiful journey. It feels like it's still the beginning in
a weird, funny way, you know. And I do know,
because this is just the beginning of a long and
beautiful career. I tell my students all the time, just
(28:55):
being talented isn't enough to guarantee success. It's the commitment
to your craft, your work ethic, your willingness to learn
and grow and to practice, and by practice I mean
practice a lot. Aside from her obvious Volk gifts, it's
connecting to her passion and working hard that helped Ariana
build such a fantastic career. That's what creates the magic.
(29:17):
That's what creates a true star, and isn't that true
for all professions? For me, experience in our friendship growing evolved,
that's been the best part of the relationship. I mean,
I'm aware she's a superstar in the eyes of the world,
but when we're alone, just the two of us in
my music room, nothing has changed from our first days together.
(29:38):
I hope hearing about Arianna's vocal journey has inspired you.
Knowing her has definitely inspired me. Each week I'll be
sharing a vocal tip, something I do with my students
that you can try at home, and this week's tip
is influenced by Ariana Grande herself. Stick around after the
(30:01):
break for this week's vocal tip and more from Ariana Grande.
And now for this week's vocal tip. I'm so glad
Arianna talked about her warming up process because it doesn't
(30:22):
matter how great your talent is, whether you're a singer
or a dancer, an actor, if you play an instrument
or play a sport. To get your best performance, you
need to warm up. I always like to do breathing
exercises at the top of every class. There's a million
of them, but I'm going to show you one that's
pretty simple and basic and easy to foul. Try this
at home. Put one hand on your chest, and that's
(30:45):
just to remind you to keep your chest up, your
ribs expanded. Then put one hand on your abdominal muscles
right around your belly button. Take in a deep breath,
so you're going to inhale, and as you inhale, allow
your abdominal muscles to slightly expand. And then when you exhale,
I want you to pull your abdominal muscles in, pushing
(31:06):
the air out. And as you're pushing the air out,
you're going to make a hissing sound. So try that
one more time. Take a deep breath in, allowing your
abdominal muscles to expand, and then pull them in as
you push the air out, making the hissing sound. When
(31:30):
you do this, count in your head and see how
long you can count for. The goal is to just
keep elongating that so that you take in deeper and
deeper breaths. You really fill your lungs to capacity. Start
stretching them so you can take in more air every time.
This way you can hold notes and songs longer or
sing longer lines without having to take a breath in
(31:50):
the middle. Now that you're connected to your breathing muscles,
let's try doing some of those roller coaster slides Ariana
talked about. Some people like to call them sirens. I
like to do them after the breathing exercises, So let's
try these at home. We're going to start on an
evowel because that's really the easiest one to keep forward
up front on the roof of your mouth. So what
(32:11):
I want you to do is, first take a deep
breath in and say he focusing all the vibrations of
that e vowel right up front on the roof of
your mouth. Try that. He Then take a deep breath,
and this time we're going to slide up and down,
(32:31):
just a short slide. He, So try to keep those
vibrations right up front on the roof of your mouth,
keep your mouth relaxed, and don't make it too loud.
Keep it nice and easy. These should feel very very
comfortable to do. Now, do a medium slide where you
(32:53):
go a little bit higher. He Next, let's do a
really long one, as high as you can comfortably, never straining,
but stretching almost to the very top of your range. Good.
(33:20):
They should feel very easy, very relaxed. You can wiggle
your body around as you do them. You can wiggle
your jaw just to keep everything loose and relaxed. Once
you feel like you've really gotten it and mastered it
on the E vowel and it feels comfortable, try other
vowels like ooh, oh ah or a. Now. I'm a
confirmed multitasker myself, so during my morning routine, I always
(33:44):
try to do a few other things so I'm not
wasting any time. What I do is I start my
day with a little warm tea, and then I toss
a Yuka shower bomb under the hot water to open
up my breathing passages. I sing the roller coaster slides
in the shower, because let's face it, when you're in
a hot, steamy shower, you can't help but feel relaxed
as you slowly warm up your voice. This process is
(34:06):
a great step towards developing the muscle memory singing freely
without tension. If you want to try out the vocal
tips from this episode, I'd love to hear you. Use
the hashtag Backstage Pass pod on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, or
wherever you like to post. I can't wait to hear
your voices. Let me know how it goes, Maybe, Ma Me,
(34:27):
Ma Me. Backstage Pass with Eric Vitro is written and
hosted by me Eric Vitro and produced by Morgan Jaffee.
Katherine Giardo is our managing producer. Emily Rosstech is our
(34:48):
associate producer. Mixed and mastered by Ben Holliday. Additional engineering
help from Jacob Coorski. Mia Lobel is our VP of Content.
Director of Development Justine Lange helped create the show, thanks
also to Jacob Weisberg, Heather Fame, John Schnars, Carli Migliori,
Christina Sullivan, Eric Sandler, Maggie Taylor, Hoole, Morano, Daniello Lacan
(35:11):
and Royston Bazzerd. Original theme music by Jacob and Sita
Steele for Premiere Music Group. We record at Resonate Studios.
Fred Talisen does our videography and the photography is by
Ken Sawyer. Special thanks to Michael Lewis for inspiration and
the best guidance anybody could ask for, and for this episode,
thanks to Peter Stengard for mixing and mastering to LuSE
(35:32):
Grande Backstage Pass with Eric Vitro as a production of
Pushkin Industries. If you like the show, please remember to share, rate,
and review. I mean that really. To find more Pushkin
podcast listen to the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts or wherever
you listen to podcasts. Okay, and by the way, only
(35:54):
you would have a dog that can actually sing and
sing in tune. Yeah, it's like really bizarre. He sounds
like he has auto tune on, but he's learned from
the best. He listened to all the vocal exercises and
to lus's found to his voice.
Pushkin. I had asked you which was your favorite vocal exercises,
and you said the roller coasters up and down. Can
you give an example of that so people know what
you were talking about? Oh, okay, aim high on the
low note, very quiet, he well, perfect, much better, much better,
(00:43):
much better. I needed to stretch it out. That was
Ariana Grande singing. She may be world famous for her
spectacular voice, but that's really just one part of who
she is. She's also one of the sweetest and most
caring people I know. So when I asked her if
she'd be down to demonstrate how a voice lesson works,
she said, sure, let's do which is a good Yet,
(01:09):
Let's try this on a wee wee wee wee wee wee.
Then I might say, give it a little more support
on the high note. Wee wee wee wee wee. Now
just to loosen up your shoulders. Wee wee wee wee wee. More,
(01:31):
Oh my gosh, we we wee wee wee wee. You're
probably more familiar with hearing her singing songs than exercises.
Songs like positions dangerous woman, thank you, next, God is
a woman, you know? There's a lot of hits in there,
so I won't keep going with that. You might have
(01:51):
grown up with her on Nickelodeon, where she played the
adorable book shall we say, very dimwitted Cat Valentine on
the show Victorious, or you might have actually seen her
on Broadway, where she first got her start in the
musical thirteen Yesterday. Identified thought, well, she sounded a little
not you, because you don't ever get stiff. But let's
(02:13):
say something was feeling stiff or whatever, I'd say, hey,
move around, loosen up your body a little bit. I'm
so stubborn when you ask me to move, I'm always like,
I don't want to flail around. He I'm waving my
arms now, just so everyone can visualize. Yeah, it's not
just stubborn on that. Hey, there's been times when I've
(02:39):
given you an exercise and you I told someone this
one time. I said, yeah, there's times I'll say I'll
play in it and you'll go I'm literally like Eric,
that's insane. It'll literally be like no, no, no, no, no,
no no no, And I'm like Eric, that's seventy eight notes.
I don't have time, that's a whole or I have
(03:01):
to sing God as a woman in four minutes. I
don't have this kind of time. This is backstage as
I'm Eric Vitro in this podcast, I'm inviting you into
my studio to hear how some of the most successful
and famous singers work on their craft, the art of singing.
(03:23):
They also happen to be students of mine, so I
have to say I know them pretty well. We'll talk
about everything their vocal process, their careers, how their emotional
life affects their voice, and how it all intertwines with
their lives. For me, being a vocal coach is all
about listening and thinking on my feet. I ask a
(03:43):
student to do a vocal exercise, and then how their
voice responds determines what the next exercise should be. I
have to ask myself a lot of questions along the way.
How does their voice sound at that moment or how
did it react to the exercise. What I hear tells
me what my student needs at that moment. I'm so
glad we just did that because now people can understand
(04:04):
that's how a voice lesson works. I've learned by doing it,
because you're now singing an a cappella. I think it
improves people's ears because they're really hearing themselves. Oh yeah,
it's not fun. Yeah, and they're singing along with the
piano they don't even know, like the little tiny things
where it goes a little in and out. Arianna and
I have been working together for over fourteen years now,
(04:26):
well maybe even more. I think we met in two
thousand and seven. We don't always spend all of our
time with singing lessons, though, I mean, we've had some
great conversations and we've spent some really fun holidays together. Guys,
we painted each other mugg Are we okay? Yeah? I
think we are okay because it was really fun, no surprise.
(04:49):
The one she painted was gorgeous and amazing and creative,
and mine was okay. But let's rewind. Let's go back
to the beginning, because of course her journey started before hours,
did Now, didn't your grandmother take you to your first audition? Yeah,
so Nona took me to audition to sing the national
anthem at the Panthers game. That was a really cool moment.
(05:13):
I remember singing on the ice and being freezing cold,
and it was like my first real gig, and I
sang the national anthem for the Panthers, my hometown, Florida's
hockey team. Oh say, can you see Biemesy At this point,
(05:43):
she's only eight years old, but if you could see her,
watch her when she sings this. She has this beautiful
look in her eyes, and she's already connected with the audience.
You can really predict she's going to go somewhere with
this singing thing. And it was so fun because I
used to go to the games all the time anyway
as a kid. My parents would take me, and I
had really bad luck. I was hit by the puck
(06:05):
like twice, and so I got to ride the zam
bony like because they felt bad because my wrist was
like broken and mangled, and I was like sad. So
I was already a huge Panthers fan growing up, so
getting to sing and having that be my first like
real gig kind of was so sweet and so special
(06:26):
and so yeah, it was really cool. And I remember
finishing and being like, I want to do it again,
only you would get hit it. That is my total luck.
That really set the pace here. It sure did. But really,
Ariana says the bar high with everything she does. I mean,
have you heard this girl saying I Have Nothing by
(06:46):
Whitney Houston. It's one of the hardest pop songs there is. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
I love that song. That's always one of my favorites.
That was one of our first songs that we did
together when we had our one of our first lessons, right, yeah, exactly.
I remember I always think of you with that song
and how great it was, and I think it's one
of the best songs ever written. I love that song
(07:06):
so much. And then when David Foster came and played
the piano for you that night, I remember it. For
anyone who doesn't know, David Foster is a hugely successful
songwriter and producer. His really long long list of collaborations
includes artists like Slean, diond Whitney Houston, Michael Boblet. The
list is endless. That was so insane. I remember being
(07:28):
like so in awe and just so shook that that happened.
This was obviously a way later for those listening who
don't know the context. This was after thirteen and after
I met Eric and he had introduced me to David
and I got to sing it with him, and that
was a really cool thing that was at the Forum.
(07:48):
But She's also saying it at my house at parties.
The only parties, just for context, that I've ever been
to in my entire life, have all been Eric Vitro parties.
Just so everyone knows, I have been to four parties
in my life and they've all been Eric Vitro parties.
It's not true, it is, I promise they were the best.
It's so much fun. There's always so much music and
(08:09):
so much singing and great company. So I gotta tell you,
there's something really so special about seeing Ariana sing in
an intimate setting, you know, in a house or in
a backyard at a small party. Of course, not all
of the parties we had were small and cozy. For
one of them that her mom, Joan and I threw together,
we actually crammed about three hundred people in a gigantic
(08:31):
tent we put up covering my tennis court. We brought
in all white sofas and chairs. We placed a gorgeous
grand piano right in the center behind the pool, and
the pool was filled with floating white candles. So it
was pretty magical. But whether she's at a stadium with
fifty thousand people or in a tent, anytime that Ariana
is singing. She brings her all even when she's doing
(08:53):
karaoke with friends. Oh my god, that was the best
night of my life. That was so much fun, and
I remembered I was mesmerized because well, first of all,
you knew every song, every melody, every lyric, and you
(09:16):
could improvise on them, which was amazing. But also, I
don't know if I've ever seen you look more joyous.
Here's the other thing, more at peace. You looked so peaceful,
like ah, I wondered if you wanted to talk about
it a little bit. How has that developed your voice
and taste? I think the theater music gives me so
(09:37):
much joy. That was the most fun night. It was
like such a precious thing. Theater babies. It's just a
different kind of nostalgia. Listening to musical theater is a
different kind of fulfilling car ride, you know, like if
you throw on some avenue que or wicked in the car,
like you're just guaranteed to feel comforted. Most Broadway songs
(10:00):
have longer sustained notes than pop songs. Do you can
hear it here where Arianna sings the theme song from
Beauty and the Beast to it can be and so
in order to sing them well, people have to develop
their lung capacity on their breadth support so they can
hold those longer notes. Also, broadway songs usually have wider
(10:23):
pitch ranges, so singers need to do vocal exercises and
learn techniques that will increase their range. These are a
few of the reasons singing these songs are so helpful
and developing someone's voice. However, there is a really big
difference in the way you use your voice when singing
pop as opposed to Broadway. There's a humongous difference. Of course,
(10:43):
you use a totally different part of your voice for
each And of course I don't you know what I mean,
Like I would never sing a Broadway song with my
pop placement, but you know, I grew up singing theater,
so of course that's where my heart is. I wish
I got to do more of it. I wish I
could go beyond Broadway. I wish I could go sing
more musical songs. That's like the easiest, most fun most soaring, freeing,
(11:05):
beautiful feeling. Ever as singing show tunes. That to me,
it's like my heaven. But of course, like you can't
use that placement on a pop song either you know
what I mean, Like you can't sing like been here
all night, like you can't like been here all day
by got me a walk inside to side. Well I'm
(11:32):
trying to hide it. I forgot the words and I
wrote them, So there you go. You could do it.
I just don't think it would be standing over here
with your body. I don't know. Thank you. Next, Yes,
d up with sean body wasn't a much you or
(11:52):
break up with your boyfriend? Can you imagine that? And
as soprano you got me some type of way. I
don't know. That's not funny. I'm just a feeling this way. Yeah, yeah,
no no no, say no no, no, no, no no.
This is backstage Pass with Eric Vitro and we'll be
(12:12):
right back. Thanks for listening to backstage Pass. Let's get
back to chatting with Ariana Grande, getting back to voice lessons.
Remember what I said earlier, A voice teacher has to
really listen to where a singer is at in the moment.
(12:36):
They might be physically tired, or they might have oversung
the day before, or they might have been doing interviews
and talking for hours before their lesson. All of these
factors determine what the warm up needs to look like.
Sometimes a singer will tell me what's going on, but
usually I can hear it in their speaking voice when
they come in, and I know what we need to
do that day. It could be that they're stressed, which
(12:58):
creates a tight, constricted tone, so I'll use techniques that
help them loosen up so they can sing more freely
and feel more flexible. Or they might be singing too
heavy in their lower range, which makes it impossible to
make a smooth transition into their higher notes. There are
days when I just go, all right, this is going
to take a little longer. It's going to be a
little bit more of a process to warm up their voice,
(13:19):
but I always know we're going to get there. A
lot of people really don't like those wide range exercises
starting really low and going really high, but you do. Yeah.
I like the big stretches. I like can't wait. I
always want to go really really really high, and You're
always like, we have to warm up your low range.
You're like, we have to exercise the whole thing. Relax,
And I'm always like ready to go, and she always is.
(13:42):
She's always ready to go. But she's also a perfectionist,
and that means she can be really hard on herself.
Oh I am so I'm so so so brutal with that,
you know you I am. I Yeah, No, I'm very
I can't stand it. Yeah, But anyway, you have that
(14:03):
incredible ear that's like ridiculous, thank you, ridiculous. It makes
it very annoying to work with me. When you have
a great sense of pitch, it can drive you crazy
if you hear the slightest note off. I always had
a very very very like picky sensitive ear, and it's
kind of made me into a perfectionist and kind of
(14:26):
this neurotic control freak. And when it comes to camping
my own vocals and vocal production and arranging and producing
and stuff like that, if the EQ changes even a
little bit, I'll be able to tell Yeah, I don't know.
It's always been something that I've noticed in a big way,
(14:47):
and I think that's been a great thing to kind
of grow into having all the control over in my life.
I've just been I've learned, you know, how to do
it myself throughout the years and kind of like that's
been really cool. My MD Johnny, he said that my
ears are like a telescope, and I can analyze the
(15:08):
surface of Mars. But it's a blassing and a curse,
because like, it's wonderful to be able to articulate what
I want and how exactly I want my voice to
be mixed. And you know, of course, that's how you
create a sound, and that's how you can control your
tone and have that be a part of your sound.
But I wish I could just relax. I think it
(15:30):
can be easy for fans to forget how much work
goes into being a professional singer. There's constant interviews, writing
and recording sessions, rehearsals, and being on tour. Touring is
really hard, and that's why so often I do FaceTime
warm ups with my students on their performance days, usually
in their dressing rooms before the sound checks or the shows.
(15:50):
The schedules and traveling can be grueling. Plus think about
it being around all those people. It can lead to
a lot of colds and flues. Ariana does shows all
the time when she's sick. To her and most singers
I know, canceling a show is devastating. You don't want
to disappoint yours and you know how much work everyone
(16:11):
is put in, from the dancers, the musicians, the crew,
the makeup people, the hair people, everybody. Everyone is working
behind the scenes for every single show, and you don't
want to let them down by not getting on the stage.
But when your ear nose and throat doctor tells you
that not canceling could lead to you canceling an entire tour,
or could even result in permanently harming your voice, you
(16:33):
have to cancel. You just have to. I've unfortunately had
to cancel a couple of shows in the past, of course,
like six years, because I think that it is physically
so demanding and so strenuous to do hundreds of shows
around the world, and it's incredible, but it's also physically
(16:54):
very tasking, and between the traveling and the flying and
the bus and everything, and it's like your body kind
of becomes very run down. And I know for me personally,
I was sick for like four out of ten months
on the Sweetener tour, and thankfully I had to cancel
like one show, I think or two, but one of
them was because I had a tomato allergy. But thankfully
(17:16):
the rest of it I was either healthy or able
to sing around the conditions I was dealing with, which
was like bronchitis for most of it. I think the
reason why I was able to get through so many
shows as I was when I was sick was due
(17:39):
to our work together and our warm ups. Like I
would wake up with just air coming out, and just
like no sound would be able to come out, and
I would I would go to my sink to brush
my teeth and like start waking up my body and
I would go and sometimes air would come out, and
sometimes it wouldn't, and sometimes sound would come out, and
(18:00):
sometimes it wouldn't, and I'd say, okay. I would stay
silent for two more hours until I ate breakfast and
I did my routine, and then I would do a
little more like then it would come back a little
more and then I would rest again, and then by
the time it was ready for warm up time, I
could get out the sounds that I was that I
(18:21):
needed to get out. And by the end of our
work together, like we would do our warm up and
then we would take our little five minute breaks and
I'd be silent for five minutes, and then we do
another fifteen minutes and I'd be silent for another five minutes.
We do another fifteen minutes, and by the time that
I was ready to go on stage, my voice was
making all of the sounds, like all of the notes
were there. And when she's on tour, there are times
(18:43):
when she can be thirteen or fourteen or fifteen or
however many hours ahead of LA time. Eric used to
wake up at crazy times when I was overseas on
tour to warm me up, and it would be like
the sweetest, best blessing ever. I was like, Wow, thank God,
all right. Just so you understand, on the days that
I did those warmups at two or three in the morning,
(19:05):
I would actually do them from bed. I mean, it's
too cold to get out of bed and go downstairs.
So let me explain how I did it. I have
a whole riek set up in my bedroom. I have
an adjustable bed that sits me up so I'm in
a good sitting position. I have a table that swings
out over me with my keyboard on it and my
laptop so I can see her, and we go from there.
(19:26):
That work was really what kept me healthy for ninety
nine percent of the tour, and I really am appreciative
of that. I don't want to miss my opportunity to
say that our work together kept me healthy and I didn't.
Thank god, I've never had to cancel a tour because
of a hemorrhage or been at a loss, you know
what I mean. So it's just been such a blessing
(19:47):
to learn how to sing around those things with you,
and to sing and have technique that has been evolving
and maturing and improving over the years, and get through
hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of live shows
where I'm singing live for two hours at a time,
(20:09):
and I'm very appreciative. I think a lot of that
is just our work together and training to become a
healthy vocalist. Thank god, I've been able to sing through
things like that because it starts from the moment you
wake up. You don't warm up forty five minutes before
the show, and you don't you know, put it down
the second you get off stage. It starts from the
(20:31):
minute you wake up. Thank God, I think I've had
pretty good luck. I thankfully you've never had to cancel
massive amounts of shows or anything because of my voice.
It's been such an incredible blessing, and it's been a
lot of work. Yeah, it has been a lot of work,
but it's been so much fun it doesn't really feel
like work. And I gotta say, for better or worse,
(20:53):
for Ariana, that spirit and drive is constantly there. I
remember one night at the Forum and you did like
I think it was six shows in a row, which
I thought was insanity, but you were making up for
one that had to be canceled, and your mother pulled
me aside and said, would you please please encourage her
just to rest tonight. And I went, well, of course
(21:15):
she's gonna rest, Joan, and she went no, I don't
think she is. And I said, I don't know what
you're talking about. And then I went over to you
and I said, now you're gonna rest your voice tight,
and you looked at me and said, no, I'm going
to the studio. And I was like, oh, it's one
in the morning. You can't go to the studio, and
you went, no, I'm going to I'm very inspired and
i want to record. Yeah, you're very upset with me
(21:35):
that night. See that's the thing. There's like it's like
once it's on autopilot, like once the chords are like,
oh I got it. Whatever show schmow we can do
this sweeteners show whatever. Like once it's in autopilot and
your body's like not recovering from bronchitis, you're just kind
of like, oh, yeah, the notes are there, they'll come out.
(21:57):
Let's go to the studio after whatever. So it's like, yeah,
you're not pleased with me that night. I think I
was scarred from that night though, because I just know
you weren't going to go home, even though in my
mind I was thinking, I can go home and rest,
rest that voice. And I'm always trying to send out
that mental telepathy, that vocal juju. Come on, drink a
(22:18):
lot of water, get some rest, get twelve hours sleep tonight.
But no matter how much I do it, and no
matter how many times I tell someone, rest your voice,
go home, don't go to that party. After party, what
a bore. But you know, sometimes they don't always listen,
but I do. I'm always listening, And because I listen,
I'm pretty aware of how my students voices are constantly changing,
(22:39):
hopefully for the better, hopefully improving. I was curious, though,
what Ariana thought about her vocal evolution, so I asked her,
how would you say your voice has changed over the years.
Oh that's a good question. It's funny because I listened
back to like my first album and I sound like
(23:00):
a baby. But I don't know when when it kind
of grew up. I guess even listening to old talking
voice was really kind of I think tired, which my
whole body was, to be fair, but I think I, yeah,
(23:21):
I hadn't found the balance yet with my schedule and
doing all that promo in the beginning, and doing all
that in the first few years of the music stuff.
I think my speaking voice and my singing voice were
they sounded so different because I think they also were tired.
I think that also strengthened my voice in a way
(23:41):
where like now, it really takes a lot, lot, lot,
lot lot more abuse to get me to that whispery,
raspy point, you know. But I don't know my voice
is healthier now through the years of touring and needing
to push through the shows and learning healthy placement and
(24:07):
kind of you know, having to make tain that. I
think it's just been experience in years of learning and
singing all these songs so many times, you know. Yeah, Well,
I think I think for people listening it's a lesson
in that I think, first of all, you were so
young when you were doing so much, and I think
(24:28):
that when you're young like that, your your vocal chords
aren't fully developed, so they're not not reach maturity. And
also when you're young, it's hard to always remind yourself,
Oh yeah, I should be supporting my speaking voice as
well as my singing voice, and I should take some
vocal rest tonight, and I should go to sleep. So
I think it's hard to remember those things. So I
think the combination of you learning, learning technique, your voice maturing,
(24:52):
and like you said, you had to sing through it
and get through it, and I think that also made
you stronger. Yeah, that's how I look at it. And
also all of our lessons and being able to work
through the exhaustion together and somehow always find a way
to make it all come out and feel beautiful and
healthy doing it. Like I don't remember many times where
(25:16):
I have like sunk through something and been like, oh,
thank god it happened and we got through it, you
know what I mean. Like, I feel like we've always
put in the work to make sure that even at
my most exhausted points, the vocals are the least of
our issues, I would agree with that that's never been
an issue for us. If anything, well Ariana really had
to deal with was her shift from Nickelodeon start to
(25:37):
growing into what she wanted to be as a recording artist. Yeah,
in the way beginning, like putting out the Way was
really freeing and terrifying for me because I was so
convinced that I had to be one thing, because people
knew me from my show that I was doing from Nickelodeon,
(25:59):
and I was playing a character that a lot of
people knew me as, and I was kind of terrified
to do what I actually wanted and make the music
that I actually wanted to make, can have my brown
hair and be you know where thigh high boots and
what I wanted to be. I think that was also
a really big moment for me. It was putting out
(26:20):
my first single that like was on my first album
and taking that risk, like from the way beginning too.
You know. I think obviously as time went on, you
got to know more and more and more of me
as I lived in as the music became more and
more personal. But I think even just from the very
first single like that was a huge risk, you know,
It was a really incredible turning point for me. It
(26:44):
certainly worked out really well because The Way went triple
platinum at the age of nineteen. Our next guest is
the star of the Nickelodeon show Sam and Kat, and
she already has a top ten hit. Here to make
her television debut performing The Way. Please welcome Ariana Grande
featuring Mac Miller. One of my favorite pictures of us
(27:06):
is at Ellen underneath the show, and you had just
done The Way, and you looked so happy when we
were in the dressing room during her vocal warm up.
I just knew this was going to be the beginning
of a huge career. Of course, I wasn't the only one.
Everybody could see it, her fans, her friends, her family,
and a few minutes after it aired, Katy Perry actually
(27:28):
texted me and said, that girl is totally awesome. I
think she's the best voice in pop music. Do you
remember the first year you came to LA we spent
Thanksgiving together and we had it here at my house.
Your mom organized the entire thing. That was when I
learned Grand's an adjective. It's not just a name, it's
a model to live by. Your grandparents flew out, and
(27:51):
we were in the living room like a bunch of
us after dinner, and you saying I have nothing. I
played it and then I got up and your grandfather
was standing in the doorway. He hadn't come in, he
was just standing in the doorway observing everything. And I
said to him, you must be so proud of Arianna,
and he just nodded, said anyone, she's got it. And
(28:13):
I remember that was so touching to me, and so
I wanted to say to you, you've got it. We've
had some really beautiful special memories together. And yeah, you
and I have had like the best and most special
and most challenging and most beautiful times together, and we've
sung through it all. And it's been such a journey,
(28:35):
you know, it has been, that's for sure. That's a
beautiful journey. It feels like it's still the beginning in
a weird, funny way, you know. And I do know,
because this is just the beginning of a long and
beautiful career. I tell my students all the time, just
(28:55):
being talented isn't enough to guarantee success. It's the commitment
to your craft, your work ethic, your willingness to learn
and grow and to practice, and by practice I mean
practice a lot. Aside from her obvious Volk gifts, it's
connecting to her passion and working hard that helped Ariana
build such a fantastic career. That's what creates the magic.
(29:17):
That's what creates a true star, and isn't that true
for all professions? For me, experience in our friendship growing evolved,
that's been the best part of the relationship. I mean,
I'm aware she's a superstar in the eyes of the world,
but when we're alone, just the two of us in
my music room, nothing has changed from our first days together.
(29:38):
I hope hearing about Arianna's vocal journey has inspired you.
Knowing her has definitely inspired me. Each week I'll be
sharing a vocal tip, something I do with my students
that you can try at home, and this week's tip
is influenced by Ariana Grande herself. Stick around after the
(30:01):
break for this week's vocal tip and more from Ariana Grande.
And now for this week's vocal tip. I'm so glad
Arianna talked about her warming up process because it doesn't
(30:22):
matter how great your talent is, whether you're a singer
or a dancer, an actor, if you play an instrument
or play a sport. To get your best performance, you
need to warm up. I always like to do breathing
exercises at the top of every class. There's a million
of them, but I'm going to show you one that's
pretty simple and basic and easy to foul. Try this
at home. Put one hand on your chest, and that's
(30:45):
just to remind you to keep your chest up, your
ribs expanded. Then put one hand on your abdominal muscles
right around your belly button. Take in a deep breath,
so you're going to inhale, and as you inhale, allow
your abdominal muscles to slightly expand. And then when you exhale,
I want you to pull your abdominal muscles in, pushing
(31:06):
the air out. And as you're pushing the air out,
you're going to make a hissing sound. So try that
one more time. Take a deep breath in, allowing your
abdominal muscles to expand, and then pull them in as
you push the air out, making the hissing sound. When
(31:30):
you do this, count in your head and see how
long you can count for. The goal is to just
keep elongating that so that you take in deeper and
deeper breaths. You really fill your lungs to capacity. Start
stretching them so you can take in more air every time.
This way you can hold notes and songs longer or
sing longer lines without having to take a breath in
(31:50):
the middle. Now that you're connected to your breathing muscles,
let's try doing some of those roller coaster slides Ariana
talked about. Some people like to call them sirens. I
like to do them after the breathing exercises, So let's
try these at home. We're going to start on an
evowel because that's really the easiest one to keep forward
up front on the roof of your mouth. So what
(32:11):
I want you to do is, first take a deep
breath in and say he focusing all the vibrations of
that e vowel right up front on the roof of
your mouth. Try that. He Then take a deep breath,
and this time we're going to slide up and down,
(32:31):
just a short slide. He, So try to keep those
vibrations right up front on the roof of your mouth,
keep your mouth relaxed, and don't make it too loud.
Keep it nice and easy. These should feel very very
comfortable to do. Now, do a medium slide where you
(32:53):
go a little bit higher. He Next, let's do a
really long one, as high as you can comfortably, never straining,
but stretching almost to the very top of your range. Good.
(33:20):
They should feel very easy, very relaxed. You can wiggle
your body around as you do them. You can wiggle
your jaw just to keep everything loose and relaxed. Once
you feel like you've really gotten it and mastered it
on the E vowel and it feels comfortable, try other
vowels like ooh, oh ah or a. Now. I'm a
confirmed multitasker myself, so during my morning routine, I always
(33:44):
try to do a few other things so I'm not
wasting any time. What I do is I start my
day with a little warm tea, and then I toss
a Yuka shower bomb under the hot water to open
up my breathing passages. I sing the roller coaster slides
in the shower, because let's face it, when you're in
a hot, steamy shower, you can't help but feel relaxed
as you slowly warm up your voice. This process is
(34:06):
a great step towards developing the muscle memory singing freely
without tension. If you want to try out the vocal
tips from this episode, I'd love to hear you. Use
the hashtag Backstage Pass pod on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, or
wherever you like to post. I can't wait to hear
your voices. Let me know how it goes, Maybe, Ma Me,
(34:27):
Ma Me. Backstage Pass with Eric Vitro is written and
hosted by me Eric Vitro and produced by Morgan Jaffee.
Katherine Giardo is our managing producer. Emily Rosstech is our
(34:48):
associate producer. Mixed and mastered by Ben Holliday. Additional engineering
help from Jacob Coorski. Mia Lobel is our VP of Content.
Director of Development Justine Lange helped create the show, thanks
also to Jacob Weisberg, Heather Fame, John Schnars, Carli Migliori,
Christina Sullivan, Eric Sandler, Maggie Taylor, Hoole, Morano, Daniello Lacan
(35:11):
and Royston Bazzerd. Original theme music by Jacob and Sita
Steele for Premiere Music Group. We record at Resonate Studios.
Fred Talisen does our videography and the photography is by
Ken Sawyer. Special thanks to Michael Lewis for inspiration and
the best guidance anybody could ask for, and for this episode,
thanks to Peter Stengard for mixing and mastering to LuSE
(35:32):
Grande Backstage Pass with Eric Vitro as a production of
Pushkin Industries. If you like the show, please remember to share, rate,
and review. I mean that really. To find more Pushkin
podcast listen to the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts or wherever
you listen to podcasts. Okay, and by the way, only
(35:54):
you would have a dog that can actually sing and
sing in tune. Yeah, it's like really bizarre. He sounds
like he has auto tune on, but he's learned from
the best. He listened to all the vocal exercises and
to lus's found to his voice.
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