Sing It Stupid!!!

     On Sunday I was fortunate enough to attend the SLS Teachers Vocal Master Class with Seth Riggs and Greg Enriquez in HollyWood, CA.  Learning from these masters has proven to be the single most influential force in my teaching career, and Sunday was no exception.   As a vocal technique instructor, my job is to hear what is going on inside of your throat, and it is a skill I am constantly refining.   I wish every student had the opportunity to be exposed to the kind of mastery that Seth and Greg have accomplished. Although that may not be possible, it is possible for me to give you as much information as I can, via this blog site.
    One thing that I already knew but was solidly reinforced last Sunday was the importance of vowels.  Let your mantra as a singer be "Vowels are everything!!"  When I am listening to a singer, I listen for a pure vowel.  Many singers who have a heavy chest voice will constantly widen or "open" the vowel, causing a splat sound and resulting in the distortion of the word.  For example, a singer whose larynx tends to be high may sing the word "love" on a high note, but what comes out is the word,  "Lav."  Many singers don't even realize this is happening until they listen back to a recording of themselves.
     The good news is that there is always help!  If you can't afford to work with a qualified instructor, you can still help get control of your larynx and the tendency to splat or open vowels.  During my volunteer lesson in front of a whole theatre of voice teachers, I chose to sing Adele's "Someone Like You."  Greg walked up to me and whispered in my ear, "Sing it Stupid.  Just be dumb."  I knew immediately that what he was trying to accomplish was a lower, more stable larynx in my mix voice.  The result was astounding, and every teacher wanted to know the "secret" that Greg has whispered into my ear.  Ha!
   There are many exercises throughout this website that employ the "dumb" sound as a tool for stabilizing the larynx.  Record yourself and listen closely to the vowels in your words.  Does "love" sound like "Laav?"  Does "girl" sound like "Gal?"  If so, sing it dumb!  Although the dumb sound is a temporary, unfinished sound, it will allow you to experience a free and stable larynx.  Singing will become so easy, you will think you must be doing it wrong!  
Keep Singing!
 Melody