The Pathway to Great Singing (Workshop Video 1 of 4)

The promise of this video is simple. I’m about to make your singing a whole lot better. Your life a lot more fun. And your impact on the world a lot more significant.  This video is your Pathway to Great Singing .

 

 

It’s possible. Maybe singing is extremely important to you like it is for my students, Johnny Little from Mississippi, who sings at his church to connect with other people to try and show them what his faith means to him. Or like Timotha Lanae, a singer-songwriter in Los Angeles who couldn’t live without music and singing because it’s her truest form of expression.

 

 

 

 

 

Thousands of my students from all over the world have the same passion for singing as Johnny and Timotha. They have dreams for their singing that they want to come true.  However, they have challenges with their voices.

 

Hi, I’m Chuck Gilmore, Founder of the Power To Sing Website and YouTube Channel, where, with over 350 videos, 45,000+ subscribers, and 12 million+ views I teach thousands of singers world-wide.

 

Welcome to my brand-new video series entitled: The Pathway to Great Singing.

 

I’ve met singers from all over the world who have problems with their voices. I’ve met professionals who have gigs every night who know they’re straining for high notes. They can feel it during their songs and their voices get raw by the end of the night. Often, they’re hoarse the next morning.

 

They come to me for help because they’re worried about losing their voices and their livelihood.

 

Reaching for high notes is the most common problem singers experience. They feel their voices straining when they’re singing. If they don’t sing hard and loud enough, they sound weak and breathy. Yet, if they sing too hard, their voices tighten up. Sometimes they crack and break. Frequently their pitches are flat or sharp.

 

Do you ever feel frustrated or discouraged because you want to be a great singer but just keep falling short? Do you want to be the lead singer, but your voice just isn’t working right?

 

Maybe you love performing in community theater, like me. You love being in great shows. And more than anything you want to have a great audition, so you can get the lead singing role. There’s hardly anything more disappointing than not even getting a call back.  (Yes, that’s happened to me). How many times have you ended up in the ensemble instead of getting the role you wanted?

 

Your confidence takes a hit every time you experience a vocal problem.

 

If you can relate to any of these or similar problems, please keep watching because this video is going to help you. Significantly!

 

In this first video I’m going to show you a POWERFUL NEW BLUEPRINT for your singing. You’re going to discover a proven way to transform what you’re already doing and become a confident singer.

 

This blueprint will help you develop a reliable, consistent and powerful tone so you can make a real difference in the lives of the people you care for, like your family, your community, your friends and fans, or even the world.

 

So, if you’re a professional singer but you know you’ve been abusing your voice, or you’ve gotten really good at covering your weak spots, or you’ve taken voice lessons before, but they didn’t seem to help, or you’re coming back from a long layoff and you want to get your voice working again, this video will help you.

 

The goal of this video series is simple: to equip you with a proven plan. A plan that makes singing fun again. And, by the way, this is not just about singing professionally (and making a living doing it) although if you follow this plan that could happen.

 

It’s about a plan to give you the vocal freedom to confidently sing any song you want. It’s about your voice always being consistent. (Imagine what it would be like to go into your performance knowing your voice is going to do exactly what you want).

 

It’s about gaining the range, tone quality and power in your voice to improve your performance.  It’s about the thrill of a stranger walking up to you and saying, “I love your voice”. I only need one person to say that, and my evening’s a success!

 

Before we begin I have to warn you. Some of the things I’m going to share may seem so simple it would be easy to dismiss what I’m going to say. That’s why before we go any further it’s critical that you’re aware of two important beliefs that will directly impact you now and in the very near future.

The first belief can best be explained by the story of when I first met the Los Angeles Vocal Coach of the Stars, Seth Riggs. In the fall of 1996 he put on a vocal workshop at our local high school. I attended with my wife and 3 oldest daughters.

 

Within a few minutes several singers were asked to demonstrate how well they could sing as a result of Seth Rigg’s technique.

These singers were impressive, for sure. And Seth Riggs taught Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Madonna, Bette Midler, Natalie Cole and many other big stars. In fact, his students had won over 100 Grammys.

 

To me none of that mattered. I believed the famous stars he taught and the singers at the workshop were born that way…born with a special gift to sing.

 

My belief, based on experience with my voice, taught me that unlike Seth’s students, I was not born with a special gift to sing. I knew I couldn’t sing like that. I knew my range was limited. I knew where my voice cracked and strained. I knew my vocal cords were not built like theirs. I was not genetically capable of singing like that. To me, this was a fact.

 

What about you? Do you think you’re genetically limited too? Do you think it’s impossible to increase your upper range? Do you believe you’ll never be able to improve your tone?

 

I can relate because I’ve experienced those feelings.

 

But, what if it didn’t have to be that way? What if instead your vocal cords could do much more than you realized? What if all you had to do was learn a few special exercises?

 

The second belief can also be explained by a story. I had taken voice lessons during high school, college and post college. Overall, these lessons did not help me increase my range or my confidence. I’d taken lessons from university trained teachers with master’s degrees and PhD’s who were great singers themselves.

 

I believed they knew what they were doing and that they were doing everything they could to help me.  But since I didn’t improve much, that confirmed my feeling that I was genetically limited, and no teacher or technique could help.

 

Maybe your previous singing lessons never made a real difference in your voice. Your range never increased, your break is still there, your voice still jams up, you still strain for high notes and you’re still dissatisfied with your singing.

 

If these are your beliefs, you’re feeling right now, the same way I did…skeptical. Skeptical there’s anything that will help.

 

A few minutes into this vocal workshop something happened with my voice that startled me.

 

Mr. Riggs had the whole group of us…probably a 100 or more do a vocal exercise called “bubble lips”.

 

You put your fingers below your cheeks along your jaw line and push up gently to lift your cheeks upward. Then, while saying “uh” you blow air through your lips which makes a bubbling sound.

 

He played a long musical scale that took me high into my voice. Higher than I’d ever been before. But the crazy thing is my voice didn’t jam up or crack. [Demo]

 

I felt this sound go up into my head without any trouble. It startled me. I realized I had just vocalized higher than ever before in my life.

 

“What was that”, I wondered? “How could I have made a sound that high without my voice jamming up or without it cracking or breaking?

 

When I went to this workshop, I believed I was born with vocal cords that couldn’t sing like those people and that there was no teacher or technique that could help.

 

In an instant, I had an experience that completely changed those beliefs. I easily vocalized higher than I ever had with a teacher we’d only met a few minutes earlier!

 

And other people around me did it too, so I knew it wasn’t an accident or a fluke! Could I have been wrong about my genetics or that no teacher or technique could ever help me?

 

With one new vocal exercise, my reality shifted in a major way.

 

I understand your experiences with voice lessons or workshops may not have been as positive as this one was for me. Until this time nothing really made a difference in my voice.

 

Maybe nothing’s worked for you. You might be wondering, “can I really solve the problems I’m facing with my voice? Can I really get better?”

 

I promise you tons of singers have had these same problems and questions. Singers like:

 

Margareta from Sweden…was unhappy with her high notes as she sang for her yoga class.

Jared from England…solo artist who had to strain to hit the high notes.

David from Israel…a professional singer who was muscled up with no high notes.

Calli from Australia…who was breaking and cracking as she sang higher.

Paul from Los Vegas…a busy professional singer who pulled chest.

Hassine from France…a PHd student and singer who strained as he sang higher.

Bajit from India…who had trouble singing from low to high notes.

Mary from Atlanta…who needed more power in her voice for worship service.

 

And many, many more.

 

We’ve all heard that voice of discouragement in our head, telling us it’s impossible.

 

And I’m here to show you it IS possible.

 

Today, you’re going to learn something new that be a huge shift in your understanding of singing.

 

In this first video, I’m going to share a blueprint that reveals the number one critical key to significantly, massively, hugely improve your singing.

 

I’ve prepared this blueprint for you because I’ve seen singers of all skill levels completely lost and unsure what to do about their voices.

 

If you’ve followed me on YouTube for a while, you already know this is very similar to my own experiences with my voice.

 

After a major fail singing a solo at church, I quit singing solos for more than 20 years. But all that’s changed now. What I’m about to teach you has completely revolutionized my singing. Now I’ve performed in over 37 musicals with many lead singing roles. The success I’ve experience has been a constant source of joy, excitement and fulfilment.

 

It’s possible for you to have this same success! It’s made everything better with my singing and my life, and I want you to have that too! It’s the whole reason I’m doing this.

 

The transformation in my voice began when I experienced that moment in the vocal workshop when the vibration shifted into my head without any tension or breaks. I wasn’t sure what I’d felt because I’d never experienced anything like that before.

 

I knew I couldn’t sing that high, because I’d never come close to those pitches.

 

However, this moment in this workshop showed me I was mistaken about my voice and maybe this technique was different and might help me in a way I’d never experienced before.

 

Six weeks later I started experiencing what seemed like miracles in my voice.

 

I sang from the E above middle C to the F just one ½ step higher.  I’d never been able to do that, and I was 43 years old.

 

Now my upper range has increased by over an octave, the quality of my voice has enriched, and my confidence has grown significantly!

 

I developed vibrato, something I didn’t think was possible.  My first teacher told me, if you aren’t born with vibrato, you don’t have it. But she was wrong!

 

After this I started auditioning for musicals and eventually was cast in lead singing roles, which is exactly what I’d been hoping for. Roles like Daddy Warbucks, Don Quixote, Fagan, Peron, Captain Hook, Scrooge, The King (King and I) and many others.

 

My students are experiencing similar successes.

 

For example, Stu Thaler from Arizona. Stu always played music and sang. After his retirement at age 62 he started a band but needed to work on this voice. He was struggling on the high notes. Within one week of doing special exercises the high notes got a lot easier and Stu’s band got a lot better.

 

Katie Marshall is a 25-year-old dancer from New Mexico. She was in the cast of “A Chorus Line” and was having a problem with a solo. It was high and she could only sing it very lightly. Within a few weeks she was able to gain much more power. Her director was so impressed he told her she probably didn’t even need a microphone anymore. Now Katie’s a singer who can dance!

 

And then there’s singer-songwriter Timotha Lanae who I mentioned earlier. After singing in a concert with Stevie Wonder, she wanted to get serious about working on her voice.  Even though she’s a professional singer, she knew she was cheating her way through some problem areas of her voice. With just a few weeks of work her upper and lower range began expanding as her middle range got more and more solid.

 

Everything I’m about to share with you is exactly what’s helped Stu, Katie, Timotha and 100’s of singers worldwide. It’s the same thing that’s helped me get so many lead singing roles.

 

This is what’s available for you!

 

Now, I’m going to give you the critical key. The key to improving your singing, and reaching the success and joy that’s waiting for you!

 

The Bridge Blueprint.

I’ve mentioned something called the blueprint. The full name is The Bridge Blueprint. The purpose of the Bridge Blueprint is to help you get on the pathway to becoming a great singer.

 

To get started, I created a PDF to give you more value from this training. Here’s the download link: https://www.powertosing.com/PDF The Bridge Blueprint

Hit pause on the video now so you can download your own copy. Once you’re ready, let’s continue.

 

As we go through each part of the blueprint, I want you to identify any areas of opportunity for improving your voice.

 

Let’s get started.

The Bridge Blueprint – The Key to Great Singing

 

• What is the bridge in your voice?

 

It’s a transition area in your voice. This is the transition you experience as you sing from your low notes to your high notes.

 

In musical terms it’s called the Passaggio. Sometimes it’s called the “Middle” or “Middle Voice”. Some singers refer to it as “my break area”.

 

If you’re a guy whose voice has changed, your first bridge begins at the A below middle C if you’re a deep bass, or at the E above middle C if you are a typical bass, baritone or tenor.

 

If you’re a girl, your bridge begins at the E above middle C if you’re a low contralto, or at the A above middle C if you’re a typical alto or soprano. Young men before puberty bridge here also. For both men and women’s voices, simply speaking, your first bridge goes up about 3-4 half tones.

 

Now, I’ll refer to singing in and through the bridge as “bridging”.

 

• There are three key parts to bridging successfully; air, vocal cords, and sound wave vibrations:

 

As you sing, air from the lungs moves through the vocal cords which creates sound wave vibrations. As you sing higher, the vibrations shift from the chest and throat into your head cavities.

 

As this happens the vocal cords also adjust appropriately. As the pitch ascends, vibration or resonance shifts from chest to both chest and head together.

 

The chest and head resonance combined is called Mix because it’s a mix of chest and head resonance. As the pitch goes higher it becomes only head vibration better known as head voice.

 

• What happens at the first bridge if we can’t bridge successfully?

 

1. Outer neck muscles strain and squeeze the vocal cords and pull the larynx higher. This causes the vocal cords to lose coordination which causes a cracking or breaking sound. You might yell, which can injure your vocal cords.
2. The vocal cords don’t adjust as needed and flip into falsetto
3. The vocal cords let too much air through which sounds very light or breathy

 

• Why do so many singers have problems at the first bridge?

 

Some singers don’t. They’ve been born with the ability to bridge without difficulty. The rest of us struggle because we can feel the vibration moving upward and it’s strange and uncomfortable. We don’t know what to do. We panic. We go into swallowing mode and the larynx rises as the voice jams up.

 

• What happens when you bridge successfully?

 

1. The outer neck muscles do not engage and squeeze the vocal cords. This allows the vocal cords to function effortlessly. The transition from low to high notes is easy. There’s no straining, reaching, or breaking into falsetto.
2. The vibration shifts easily from the chest, to the bridge, and into the head cavities and back down. You can sing       in  chest, mix and head voice without any interruption in tone quality. You sing with confidence and power.

 

Bridging is the key skill that causes tremendous improvement in your voice and enables you to reach your singing and performing goals.

 

Hands down, bridging is “job 1” for singers. If you can’t bridge, then you’ll always be limited as a singer.

 

Without being able to bridge, those singers who can bridge will overtake you. It’ll get harder, not easier to sing. You’ll continue having vocal issues and risking your career, you’ll be overlooked for solos and lead singing roles. You’ll always be plagued with self-doubt about your voice.

 

Now that you have greater understanding about the bridge, the BIG question is, how DO you bridge successfully? That’s exactly what I’ll show you in the next video.

 

Inside this next video you’ll discover your vocal type. Knowing your vocal type enables you to choose tailored exercises specific for your voice. That means you’ll learn to bridge rapidly so you can get better faster.

 

It doesn’t matter if you’re a newer singer or a busy, gigging performer, what you’ve learned here today is a game changer in becoming a great singer. It makes your life so much more fun, and your impact on the world a lot more significant.

 

Before we go today, I’d love to hear from you. Tell me, what would your life look like if you could be the singer you’ve always dreamed of?

 

How will life be different when you can complete every performance easily without your voice feeling strained?  How will it feel when you consistently get the leading roles and the solos? How will it feel when someone says to you: “I love your voice”!

(From personal experience, it’s about the greatest thing in the world)

 

Let me know in the comments below! I’m going to read every one, and I’ll respond to as many as I can.

 

If you’ve found this video useful, please share it on Facebook, Twitter or send the page URL to a friend.

 

Bridging gives you the ability to have absolute control and freedom with your voice.

 

Amazing things start happening with your voice. The connection with your audience gets stronger.  It becomes easier to inspire and motivate your audience.

 

More importantly, what you’re learning in this workshop puts you on the right path to get there!

 

Next up in video #2, you’ll take a vocal test to discover your vocal type!

 

I can’t wait to see you in the next video!