Mic Technique

I’ve been looking into how I can improve my mic technique from research online. After research, I’ve come to the conclusion that mic technique is based on what mic you use and the way you hold and project vocals towards the mic for a better quality sound/experience for audience. This is also determined on the P.A used and so on, also based on posture helping project vocals better. Here are some of the websites that have helped me understand the technique and how to pursue it -

http://music.tutsplus.com/tutorials/microphone-technique-for-vocalists--audio-2469 http://www.vocalist.org.uk/microphone_techniques.html

Vocal Range

Recently I’ve been working on my vocal range, whilst doing warm ups daily and making sure I’m warming up every-time I sing this week in vocal lessons I’m hoping to have progressed a few keys higher/lower. I believe I have a better higher range than low. However I'm looking into improving both ends of the scale. Every lesson I’m going to ask my tutor to see if my vocal range has progressed which hopefully it will. My current vocal range is F#3 to G5 and I can belt to B4 for my first test I’m very proud and feel I've accomplished quite a wide range as yet. I’m looking forward to lengthening my range. These images shall help you understand where about my range is on the scale-

Lesson 4

The Good, Bad And Ugly (Vocals)

Today in our lesson we learnt about what is good,bad and ugly for our voices and how each can affect/help in each way. This lesson helped me understand what can help for making myself healthier for my instrumental goals, I believe making the small changes of stopping smoking and drinking water will benefit my voice hugely long term.

Good

• Yawning- Relaxes the voice and works the abdominal muscles. 
• Steam- Good way to hydrate the voice in short bursts
• Water at room temperature- Good for hydration 
• Singing- is safe if correct technique is used.

Bad

• Cold water- Can cause muscle tension which may lead to vocal problems. 
• Spicy food- Can cause acid reflux which can be problematic for the voice.
• Dairy products- Can cause excess mucus production which can affect voice control.

Ugly

• Whispering- Is very bad for the voice as too much air is forced through the larynx which is drying and can cause fatigue. 
• Shouting- Over extended periods can lead to vocal damage.
• Throat sweets- Cause vocal fold numbness.
• Smoking- Irritates and dries the tissue of the throat, particularly the vocal tract. It can also promote acid reflux and decrease lung function.
• Alcohol- Causes severe dehydration.
• Clearing throat- It forces vocal folds to meet abruptly.

Lesson 3

Lesson 3 -Falsetto quality 

In today's lesson we were practicing Falsetto quality. Falsetto quality is a breathy, gentle sound and is very sweet. It is very common to use Falsetto in harmonies and Fold, Jazz and Pop music. To do Falsetto quality you need to let lots of air pass through the larynx as if you where blowing over the top of a bottle.

In today's lesson I sang Birdy- Skinny Love. I Found Falsetto quality quite simple as I naturally sing in a higher range as find it quite natural. However this is dependent on what song I sing and whether its a belt or not. I found the song skinny love quite simple in terms of basic Falsetto. 

I have not yet recorded my attempt however I will soon. 

Lesson 2

Lesson 2 -Speech Quality 

In Todays Lesson, We learnt about Speech Quality, a singing style that is close to our speaking voice. Speech Quality has no vibrato, thick fold cover and uses minimal effort. I believe speech quality is a quality I have more ability within as its near to a comfortable range that use daily whilst speaking, I find it easy and effortless to sing within. 

Within the lesson we were given the choice of 6 songs. We had to pick the one we believe fits best within our voice. I choose Do i wanna know ?- Arctic monkeys. I picked this song as I know it well and I'd sung it before. We were given 10 minutes to learn a part of the song and then to record it. I spent some time listening to the song and understanding how to sing it within my own style of speech quality. I recorded myself singing the first verse so that I could determine which parts I needed to work on more, and sang accapella to help get the feel of the song. After recording the song I didn't enjoy how I sounded as I did it accapella, so am going to record the song again with me playing piano whilst singing in speech quality. From being recorded however I had a better understanding of where I was messing up and struggling.

Speech Quality Attempt - Arctic Monkeys- Do I wanna know?

Lesson 1

Lesson 1- Vocal Warm Ups 

In today's lesson we were taught on the benefits of vocal warm ups,this included how to do them as-well as their benefit and then towards the end of the lesson we preformed a song of our choice to show our ability and style of voice. 

I learnt that vocal warm ups are the most beneficial way to keep your voice from harm and improve vocal range. Here is each warm up there beneficial qualities- 

• Range- Scales,Arpeggios,Sirening,Expand exercises, Interval exercises.
• Tone- Humming,Vocal Fry, Tongue/Jaw, Placements/Vowels,Lip/Tongue trills.
• Breathing- Breath control,Support,Understanding the connection between breath and vocal control.  -Breathing Warm Up
• Articulation- Tongue Twister, Facial warm ups, Massage,Jaw exercises, Trills  

I really enjoyed the learning the benefits of using vocal warm ups, and will continue to use them before singing, I believe this will benefit long term so I don't end up with Vocal problems later on in life. 

For my performance I  preformed Birdy-Shelter, I enjoy preforming this song as i believe it shows my ability to use my Falsetto quality and others. I played piano whilst performing, I played the song twice as first time I got very nervous and couldn't play piano with the shakes, however I overcame my fear and preformed. I would like to re preform this song as make it more my own and not do it as much like the artist. I believe within my vocal studies I will learn how to stylistically appropriately change a song. Performance- Birdy- Shelter Cover