Pamelia S. Phillips

Article / Updated 11-14-2022

To shape and sing the tip consonant sounds in the table below, the tip of your tongue touches the alveolar ridge. The voiced consonants are D, L, N, and Z. The T and S don’t require any voice, so they’re unvoiced consonants. While shaping these tip consonants, make sure that your Tongue’s tip is moving from your bottom front teeth to the alveolar ridge behind your front teeth. The tip of your tongue curves for the D and T and flattens more on the alveolar ridge for the L and N. Lips are released and free of tension. As you move from the consonant to the vowel, your lips may be shaped for the vowel sound as the tongue’s tip touches the alveolar ridge. The consonants in the table may be pronounced differently in other languages. For American English, you want the tip of the tongue to touch the alveolar ridge for the tip consonants. For other languages, the consonants may be made with the tip of the tongue touching the teeth. For this exercise, practice curving the tip of the tongue slightly so it touches the alveolar ridge for the D and T, and flattening on the alveolar ridge for the L and N. Practicing D, T, L, N, S, and Z D T L N S Z do to Lou new sip zip doe toe low no sap zap dab tab lab nab sing zing If you have a lisp, make your S with the tip of the tongue against the roof of your mouth (not your teeth) while the sides of your tongue touch your teeth. If your S sounds too similar to a leaky tire, release the grip on the tip of your tongue. Practice saying the word its. You say ih and then place the tip of the tongue against the alveolar ridge for the t. Then the tip of the tongue releases in the center for a tiny stream of air. Release the air slowly to feel and hear the s. Hold out the s to feel the movement of the airflow. When singing the words don’t you, can’t you, and could you, or any other combination that has a D or T next to a Y, make sure that you say, “Could you?” and “Don’t you?” and not, “Could jew” or “Don’t chew.” You can get a laugh in a song in the wrong place if you chew too much on the wrong consonant combination.

Article / Updated 09-16-2022

Vibrato, the variation of a sustained tone or pitch, is one of the differences between singers and styles of music — how much vibrato they use and whether they use it all the time. A normal vibrato rate is five to eight pulses or fluctuations in the tone per second. Vibrato can be fast or slow, depending on the singer. A really slow vibrato is sometimes called a wobble, which is often created by a lack of breath coordination. Vibrato that’s too fast is called a tremolo and usually results from too much tension somewhere in the throat or neck area. When you sing, one option is to use straight tone, with no vibrato or variation in the tone. You can use straight tone when you sing various styles of music, but you want the straight tone to be a choice, because it’s a different sound. Knowing how to move from straight tone to a tone with vibrato is important in adding variety to your singing tone. Young male singers (before they hit puberty) don’t have vibrato, but almost everyone else has it or can acquire it. One way to understand vibrato is to listen to other singers, especially classical singers. Almost every classical singer has vibrato. Listen to the pitches as the singer holds them out, to hear the variation of the tone. After you spend some time listening to others, record yourself singing a song that has sustained pitches. Listen to the recording of you singing. Notice the variations of your tone as you hold out the pitches. You may find that the vibrato was there all along, and you just didn’t know it or didn’t know what it was called. Common vibrato patterns Classical singers use vibrato on sustained tones except in some contemporary or modern music and early classical music. For this material, they use straight tone and vibrato. Musical theater singers use both vibrato and straight tone. Vibrato is commonly used in earlier musical theater and straight tone is often used in contemporary material. Musical theater singers often start the note with straight tone and then allow the vibrato to come in. Folk singers tend to use straight tone and some vibrato. The rate or variations in pitch during vibrato are not as drastic in the folk singer compared to the classical singer. If you think of vibrato as an ornament to the sound, then the classical singer uses lots of vibrato to ornament the material and the folk singer uses only some vibrato. Rock, pop, country, and R&B singers often use straight tone and some vibrato on sustained tones. Because these styles of music have fewer sustained tones than classical music, the singers have fewer opportunities to use vibrato; therefore, it isn’t considered a characteristic of the style. That doesn’t mean the artists don’t use it, but they use it more sparingly than a classical singer. The artist singing the style of music may have to adjust the use of vibrato when singing different styles of material because some artists cross over between styles of music.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-02-2022

The best way to become a better singer is to work on singing exercises that help you improve your tone and technique. These exercises can range from simple vocal warm-ups to drills that help you build your skills and fine-tune your sound. After you warm up your voice, you’re ready to tackle the world of vocal exercises, starting with a drills for practicing breath control and working on your tone.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 09-24-2021

The craft of singing requires you to do several things at one time starting with aligning your body and breathing. Whether you’re preparing for an audition or a performance, the successful presentation of any song includes preparing yourself as well as your song.

Article / Updated 06-20-2019

Breathing is breathing, right? Not so with singing. For singers, good breath control and strong lungs contribute to powerful performances. It all begins with knowing how to breathe from deep within your body — from your diaphragm, actually, which is a membrane of muscle and tendons located between your lungs and abdomen. Follow this checklist to ensure that your breathing helps make your singing better: Each breath drops low in the body. Open your throat to prevent gasping. Chest stays steady as you inhale. Body movement consists of the lower abdominal area and the ribs expanding upon inhalation. With exhalation, the abdominal area moves in as the air is slowly released.

Article / Updated 02-15-2017

Always kick off a practice session by warming up your voice for 10 to 20 minutes. Select a vocal exercise that starts in the part of your voice that’s easy to sing. Sing the warm-up exercise softly at first and then gradually increase your volume. Here’s an exercise you can use to get your voice warmed up and ready to practice. It starts lower in your voice and gradually moves up the scale. The exercise lists the word hum because humming (singing a note with your teeth open and your lips closed) is a great way to warm up the voice. Feel free to use this exercise and move higher or lower in your range to help warm up your entire voice. Even if you don’t read music, you can use this exercise as a warm-up because the pattern in the figure sounds like the first three notes of the chorus in “Do-Re-Mi,” the song the children sing with Maria in The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Using the song as a guide, think of the notes in the pattern as using the syllables do-re-mi-re-do.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

The next time you watch a professional singer, observe the posture. Posture plays a large part in how well you sing. If you hunch over, your lungs can't inflate fully; and if you fidget, you distract your audience — and yourself. Use the following list to correctly position yourself for singing: Feet are hip-width apart with feet parallel. Knees are unlocked with the weight evenly distributed on the three points of the feet — the tripod. Spine is long and straight, from bottom to top. Head is centered over shoulders; chin is parallel with the ground. Shoulders are back but down and released. Arms are hanging at your side.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Learning a new song to sing can be intimidating, but by using the following steps, you can integrate a new song into your repertoire without much difficulty. As with any new skill, learning a new song is a process, made easier if you break it into manageable steps: Memorize the words as a story — write out the text as sentences with punctuation. Tap out the rhythm. Sing through the melody — without words — using a single vowel such as ah or oh. Sing through the melody with the piano accompaniment without words. Put it all together: words, rhythm, melody, and acting.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Deciding what you're afraid of is the first big step in conquering stage fright, or performance anxiety. Some common fears include cracking your voice, looking stupid, or being afraid of audience rejection. Make a plan to eliminate the fear by following these tips: Make a practice checklist to make sure you're technically prepared for your performance. Work on your technique so you know you can depend on your voice under pressure. Expect to be nervous and feel adrenaline before a performance. Think positive thoughts. Sing for friends before the big performance to work out the anxiety.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

The big tip to use on singing auditions is to know the typical behavior for your style of music. Pop-rock auditions are more laid-back than opera auditions. The way you dress for the opera audition is very different from how you dress at the pop-rock audition. Knowing these specifics increases your chances of getting the gig. This list highlights some tips to help you at auditions: Choose songs that highlight your vocal strengths. Pick stories you want to tell. Prepare your music in a notebook so your songs are easy to locate. Or bring your recording to sing along with. Polish your resume and print out your headshot to take to the audition. Ask an accompanist to read through your song before your audition. Choose your outfit wisely based on expectations for your type of audition. Polish your acting skills.