This video is about how to find your natural singing voice. I received this question from Sanskriti, a subscriber to Power To Sing. She asked:
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“Can you please just answer one question for me. How do I discover the best voice for me that connects with the people?”
Inside this video I’ll give you one easy exercise to reveal your natural singing voice…that honest and natural sound that really connects with everyone that hears you!Hi I’m Chuck Gilmore, International Vocal Coach and Founder of Power To Sing.
Each week I teach you lessons in vocal technique so you can build a powerful and confident singing voice. If you haven’t subscribed yet, please subscribe to my channel, Power To Sing. Be sure to click on the bell so you’re notified when I post special videos for you each week!
Sanskriti continues:
“All around me people would try to teach me various techniques that’ll help me cover more songs or diverse artists or copy styles. But what I wanna do is develop my own style that connects and is unique to me. That can’t be copied!
“I wanna be a famous singer. I don’t care if it’s breathy like Alicia Keys or forward like Beyonce. I wanna be like Sanskriti, unique! And I wanna find that voice and work on it. That beautiful, though not necessarily, technical voice. Thanking you in Anticipation, Sanskriti”
What a fantastic question Sanskriti’s asking. I love that she wants to sound like herself and not like someone else. But how does she find her natural singing voice? How do you find yours? |
First, eliminate everything in your voice that’s artificially added. Subtract tension, strain, squeeze, reach.
Here’s a simple exercise to uncover your natural voice without introducing tension. Start in your lower range and sing “ah” down to the bottom of your voice like this: [Demo]. Stop on the lowest note where you can still hear a good tone. Don’t growel do a vocal fry. [Demo]
Now go back up about 5 notes. This should be close, within a note or two, to the pitch where you speak…the natural area of your speaking voice.
Now, in this area of your speaking voice, say “Fah”. Now say “Fah” slowly three times and sustain it. [Demo] Pick your own pitch…not the one I’m demonstrating. Do it several times. Each time make sure your voice is comfortable, without tension, strain or effort. Just a relaxed “Fah”. [Demo]
On the same comfortable pitch, say “Fah” and sustain it while going up and down two notes. [Demo up and down 2 notes] Maintain the same relaxed feeling as before. This is your natural singing voice. This is your natural sound.
What does it feel like to you? Tell me in the comments section below this Youtube video.
It should feel relaxed and easy. If you were talking comfortably to a friend, having a pleasant conversation, this is how your voice would sound and feel if you sustained a few words.
It’s free, easy, and relaxed. There’s nothing artificial added to the tone. Your tone is uncluttered and unmanufactured. Your words are easy to understand. Your voice is free from tension, squeeze and reaching.
A second way to find your natural singing voice is to maintain a balanced voice. Primarily you want the vocal cords to feel, as they felt just now, as you sing melodies everywhere in your vocal range. You want your lowest to highest notes to maintain the same natural sound.
You want the free and easy interaction of airflow from the lungs through the vibrating vocal cords without tension or squeezing from extrinsic neck muscles. [Demo Ah G3-G4 and back]
The hard part is maintaining this natural singing voice on high notes. Too often we squeeze and strain as we sing higher. Cracking or breaking is common. Flipping into falsetto changes our natural sound. Singing breathy and airy so we can sing higher is another way we lose our natural singing voice.
You CAN maintain your natural sound while singing higher. You do this by learning to transition from chest to head voice without manipulating your voice. This is called bridging and everyone can do it.
Bridging helps you use your natural singing voice throughout your range especially on high notes.
- Start by doing exercises for your vocal type. Your vocal type is not whether you’re soprano, alto, tenor or bass. Your vocal type describes what your voice tends to do as you sing higher. For example, do you tend to strain, or break or go into falsetto, go breathy, or maybe mix?
- To discover your vocal type, download this free PDF entitled “Get Your Vocal Type”. You can get it here, or in the description area below this YouTube video.
- This PDF contains links to a vocal test. Take the test and get your vocal type.
2. Then watch the videos about your vocal type and download the exercises for your vocal type.
This PDF will give you links to vocal cord exercises to help you sing anywhere in your range with your natural singing voice.
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I’m Chuck Gilmore with Power to Sing. You can sing higher with beauty, confidence and power. I’ll see you inside the next video.
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