Big lie no. 9(last)

9:24 PM Edit This 0 Comments »

Big Lie #9 - To sing with power, especially up high, you need to exert
a great deal of physical effort.


Truth - Your power does NOT come from more force applied. It comes
from utilizing frequencies and airflow in the most efficient way. Archimedes
said, "give me a long enough lever and I can move the earth itself." To get
vocal power, one uses a figurative form of leverage.

When you produce tones in the upper registers the way your voice was
designed, you will use LESS airflow and less force than you do on lower
notes!

There are some simple exercises that automatically train your vocal cords
to stop stretching and straining and start "zipping up" for the high notes.
Then you will necessarily use less air to produce tone.

WHY? Because the little half inch space through which all the air flows
when speaking and singing actually get's even smaller! So if the cords
close off half their vibrating length, you should expect to use only half the
air to produce tone.

The cords will actually close off even more length and shift into "whistle
range" way up high (like Mariah Carey's signature sounds).

So with only half the airflow going through the cords, it should be even
easier to sing a high note than lower notes. So why does it feel so difficult?
Because many a singer tries to get 2nd gear results by staying in 1st gear!

If you don't train your cords to "zip up," you only have one other alternative
to reaching higher notes--and that's stretching the vocal cord muscles tighter!

Now, what do you do to produce more power?

Once you have learned to easily move into the higher notes, you can apply
more airflow as needed to produce more volume. It will feel like "leaning
into the note." The key is to regularly do some exercises that keep you from
venturing back into the "try harder to get louder" mindset.

And there's another way to increase the "size" of your sound!

It's called "formant." This is a lost vocal art that's coming back. It involves
experimenting with the shape of the mouth and throat until you find a
"resonating frequency" that causes the sound waves to actually double and
sometimes TRIPLE one another!

To illustrate this, the next time you are in the shower, you can find the
shower's "resonating frequency" by starting to sing "ooooh" down low and
sliding slowly up in pitch until you reach a pitch that makes the shower
seem to "fill" with the sound.

Stop there and sing that pitch and you'll notice that the entire shower
becomes part of your voice!

If you could change the dimensions of the shower, you could eventually
get the same effect on all notes! Fortunately, you CAN change the shape
of the inside of your mouth and throat and find THEIR "resonating frequency."
This can cause a doubling of your vocal volume without any extra push
whatsoever.

I hope you've learned a lot from this series. Be looking for your "Vocal
Tips" newsletter from time to time, and don't forget to go check out what's
new at singingsuccess.com

Keep singing,


Singing Success Inc.

Big Lie no. 8

9:20 PM Edit This 0 Comments »

Big Lie #8 - Singing is just a skill, like law or accounting, and thus
can be educated into someone.


Truth - Music, especially something as personal as singing, is more than
a degree to earn. It is connected deeply to the soul and has the ability to
move people on a deeper level than most other "mundane" things on earth.

This LIE has an opposite which is equally a LIE. There are actually 2
ditches to avoid beside the road!

One tells you that singing is just a "skill people learn and a degree people
earn!" It says that you just have to take the right courses and you can put
the diploma on the wall and begin your "practice."

As far as I'm concerned, the established education system is to blame for
this lie.

What's strange is that, once the joy of singing has been beaten from the body
of most singers who make it through the college program, they have little
left to them except a teaching career of some sort. So to some degree, this
is a "true" lie. You get your degree and then you can start your "practice"
of teaching others to do what you did.

But if you desire to sing well, a degree will guarantee you absolutely nothing
toward your goal.

To be fair, there is a ditch on the other side of the road also: It tells you that
you shouldn't do any "study" at all. Just do it! Just sing! This normally comes
from a fear of the other ditch. "They'll mess up my sound."

If I must fall into the ditch, this is the one I prefer. That's because I'm a "free
spirit" who likes to float on inspiration. But this ditch is not the truth either.
So you need to stay out of both ditches to make progress.

You should indeed "just do it" and never stop (unless you have damaged
your voice--then you need some vocal rest first). But you CAN learn how
to improve and sharpen your abilities for the rest of your life.

The best illustration I can think of is this: Imagine I found a painter beside
the road who was doing portraits. He was very good. But he only had 3 tubes
of oil paint. A black, a white, and a brown. So I ask him why he didn't use
more colors. He says "because I only have these three tubes of paint!"

Brett finds singers like this all the time. They say "This is all I've got!" He usually
answers, "You have no idea what you've got." Then he proceeds to give them
more colors to paint with, vocally speaking.

He has no interest in forcing them to paint like Picasso or Rembrandt. He
just wants them to have all the colors they desire. It's very exciting to watch.

I hope you stay out of the ditches and...

Keep singing,

PS--If you'd like to see how some of this works, go the website and watch
the free lesson here.


Singing Success Inc.

Big Lie no. 7

6:02 AM Edit This 0 Comments »

The 9 Biggest Lies About Singing

Big Lie #7 - It takes great effort and the coordination of many varied
muscles to sing correctly.


Truth - If you are having difficulties right now, chances are, you actually
have TOO MANY muscles trying to help! Singing "as designed" is easier
than doing it wrong, and gives you more satisfying results.

A large part of the "difficulty" most people experience in their singing starts
inside their own brains. Don't get me wrong. It's not ALL in their brains,
but it usually starts there. They trick themselves out. It usually happens like
this:

A singer gets hold of a song they like and it has one of those high notes that
sounds very impressive on the radio. That high note is part of the reason they
bought the song to try and sing. They put it on and start to sing along and as
they approach the big moment, they realize that they are approaching the end
of their range!

What do they do then? They make a choice.

Possibility #1: They "go for it," pulling up their chest voice and just blasting
through it. Of course if it's not too far above their break point, they either
make it and feel pain, or they don't make it and falsetto kicks in (usually
embarrassing them).

Possibility #2: It's right on the edge of their break and they make it but they
are never sure they'll make it the next time. They always feel insecure about it.

So...the next time rolls around

They try the song again, and as they approach the note that's supposed to
make them feel great, a strange dread and fear kicks in. They begin to "work
up to it" in their mind.

Their neck begins to show veins. The muscles under the chin jump in to help
also. (I've had students tell me that their entire neck and back hurts after
singing!) They may even begin to breathe irregularly, reducing oxygen supply
to the areas that need it.

So here they are in a wrestling match with their own bodies, wondering
why singing is so "hard."

The truth is, by the time their minds tell them how hard it is to hit this high
note, they've enlisted every muscle in the region to "help" and all those
muscles jump on board. The trouble is--it causes more strain and can even
do damage to the tiny muscles that actually make the sound.

Part of what Brett Manning has to teach singers caught in this trap, involves
some exercises to dis-engage all those external muscles so they get out of the
voice's way.

To show you what I mean, try one of Brett's simple exercises here:

Start on a comfortable note and sing "la, la, la" up the scale until you get
just past the limit of "comfortable" and then return down the scale.

Now place the flat of your thumb under your chin and press upward
VERY slightly. Sing the same scale again and chances are, you'll feel the
muscles under your chin start to press your thumb downward. These muscles
are NOT needed for singing, and in fact they only add to your strain.

This time go up the scale and try to consciously keep those muscles from
pressing against your thumb. You may not be able to get them to relax
without doing some of the other exercises in Brett's program to get the
strain off your vocal cords. But most likely you WILL be able to do this,
and you'll notice that your voice enjoys this new sensation.

Next time, I'll reveal a lie about the nature of singing itself that can
severely limit you if you believe it.

Until then, check out Brett's program here.

Keep singing,


Singing Success Inc.

Big Lie no 6

6:01 AM Edit This 0 Comments »

The 9 Biggest Lies About Singing

Big Lie #6 - Either you have talent, and thus CAN sing, or you don't have
talent, and can NOT sing.

Truth - Since almost everyone can speak, and the speaking mechanism is the
same as the singing mechanism, almost everyone can sing--and should, if they
desire to!

This is a "non-technical" lie, but it has affected so many people that you
wouldn't believe it. I meet singers all the time who have spent the better part
of their lives wanting to sing, but believing this BIG LIE.

Of course, I know that NOT all people possess the same degree of singing
talent. But the BIG LIE says "Give it up! You shouldn't sing because you're
not...(fill in the name of any famous singer)."

My job brings me a unique perspective. You see, I've enjoyed some fame as a
singer in the Contemporary Christian music field. And I know for a fact that
many already famous singers still feel inadequate and yet we are singing
despite those feelings!

I remember telling Brett Manning some time after he had helped me so much,
"I always felt like a fake...like any minute, they'd realize I had no real talent."

So if you have the dream to sing (or play an instrument), and have a little time
to give to it, you can become quite good at it. I personally know several who
have gone so far as to make an income from it--in their later life!

If you do the right exercises, you can get your voice into shape far more
quickly than you think. There a couple of pitfalls that must be addressed
though:

Pitfall #1: You think you're too old.

This is so far from true and yet so commonly believed. Just think of the
singers you like to listen to. Are any of them near your age? Most people
say "Yeah. How'd you know?" Because everybody says that. You're about
the age of many of your favorites.

Pitfall #2: You packed away your dreams and you haven't taken them out lately.

Well, it's time. Think of all you've accomplished that you DIDN'T like!
Don't you think you could accomplish something that you DO like? If you
long to sing, you can be taught to find your voice and let it go do its thing.

Pitfall #3: You're intimidated by other singers you know.

My answer to this is that you have no idea how wonderful it is on the other
side of that wall of fear until you push through it. The only question is
how much fun you allow yourself to have in the process. Get yourself
some "secret weapon" instruction and watch people's reaction when
your voice cuts loose! Check Brett's program out here.
I hope you will always, always, always...

Keep singing,

PS--There's another lie that you'll hear about next time--It has to do with
how hard you need to work at this.


Singing Success Inc.

Big lie no. 5

2:36 AM Edit This 0 Comments »

The 9 Biggest Lies About Singing

Big Lie #4 - You will need special instruction to learn how to breathe
correctly for singing.

Truth - You were born breathing correctly. You've continued to breathe.
You breathe in, and speak easily on a regular basis. YOU KNOW HOW
TO BREATHE ALREADY!

If you feel you are breathing ineffectively for singing, find a baby and
watch them breathe. They are doing it just like it needs to be done for
singing.

In fact, I can tell you how to check yourself, right now. Find a comfy
spot on the carpet and lie down with your back against the floor. Now, just
breathe normally in a relaxed manner. Feel your stomach with your hand
as you breathe.

Do you feel how your abdomen rises and falls with each breath? That's
how it was designed to work. As you breathe in, your abdomen moves
outward.

Now, do some singers breathe poorly for singing? Yes! But it's not
because they've missed out on any special instructions. It's because they
are trying some strange way of breathing only when they sing. Or maybe
they are getting nervous and trying TOO HARD. Or, they are thinking
more about breathing than about singing!

I personally have noticed myself getting short of breath in the middle of
singing or speaking in public. At that point, I realize I've been holding my
stomach in so I won't look fat!

So if you can get your mind off of breathing (or looking thin) and get back to
singing, your breath will normally regulate itself.

The only thing I say is this: If you notice that you are holding your stomach
in while breathing, just let it hang out. If your chest is rising when you breath
in, then you're probably holding your stomach in.

So stop doing that and you've got your breathing back to "baby normal,"
which is what you want for singing. In my humble opinion, that's about all
the "studying" you need to do about breathing.

Much of classical training in the area of breathing is built on the strange
assumption that your breath should regulate your tone production. But
our method teaches that a singer should concentrate on tone production and
allow that to regulate their breath!

If that paragraph is confusing, it's not worth laboring over.

Just remember that if you are making your vocal cords come together and
produce a pleasing tone, your lungs and "diaphragm" will deliver just the
right amount of air! Work on the tone, the breath will take care of itself.

Our system is covered completely in Brett Manning's Singing Success
Program. Check it out here.

Keep singing,

PS- Next time, I'll talk about the big lie about "falsetto" (That mushy tone
people flip into when they reach their break.)


Singing Success Inc.

FriendsterTalk the last confession

4:36 AM Edit This 0 Comments »
i confess
i feel like i don't wanna be in here in FT anymore.What's the use here?..i just haven't talked to anyone
here.I feel invisible.I just don't wanna be here but i still want to be here.I still haven't made friends with the others.I only have a few friends..that's why i so lonely.I have made my decision,but you'll find out.
(last confession)

end~

i'm gonna miss you!

2ne1-I dont Care

2:52 AM Edit This 0 Comments »


luv it!
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