Day 13: Advanced Sweeping Exercises

From: 14-Day Range Extension Course With Camille
by Camille van Niekerk
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Description:

Today we put much of what we have learned in Part 2 together into more advanced sweeping style exercises. I call an exercise “sweeping” when it covers multiple registers of the voice with one single pattern. Each pattern will take some time to learn and put together, so we’ll practice slowly at first and make sure we understand the pattern before we sing “full out’ and stretch up to our highest notes. 

Exercises like this are a great way to test your limits and I recommend attempting them after a solid warm-up or technical practice in each part of your range independently first. If you haven’t taken some time to wake up your voice, please do that before moving on. This will ensure that you don’t overly fatigue your voice or hurt yourself by reaching or straining. Just know that in any moment when you have hit your limit you can always drop out. Never try to push through pain or discomfort. Press pause and take a mindful breath to recenter before attempting the exercise again.

Exercises 1: Zah-11th (1,123,345,567891011, fmr, rdt, tlsfmrd)
Light mix - fast & bouncy

For the first exercise we will cover an interval of an 11th up and down. Before you try this with me let's break it down. First we have 1, 123, 345 . Then we ascend stepwise to the 11th scale degree. Keep that high note in mind and let the vowel morph as needed. Depending on the pitch and where that falls within your range, you might need to drop the jaw, think backwards to lift the soft palate, or allow the mouth to open a bit wider. If it’s feeling and sounding constricted, that’s a sign that the vowel needs to be adjusted. It takes some experimentation at first, but you’ll learn over time what you need to do to keep feeling free and relaxed. From that highest pitch, we return to that bouncy feeling from the beginning. And we quickly descend to our starting pitch.

Let’s practice this a few times, slowly.

Exercise 2: Zah jumping arpeggio with turnaround 1 (1358–78987654321)
Za-ha-ha-ha

This next exercise involves leaping to get to our highest notes. That’s often how high notes appear in songs. And while leaping from one note to the next might seem more intimidating, it can actually allow us to transition between registers with more ease. That’s because we can plan the transition, rather than transitioning gradually from one pitch to the next, like we did in the previous exercise. 

First we arpeggiate a chord upward. Jumping like this will help us stay light. The next part is a turnaround. You might feel yourself relax a little bit here, which is a great way to prepare for the highest pitch. We’re not overloading our voice or using more effort than is necessary. 

The last part of the exercise is a rapid descent and release. We’ve touched the highest pitch but we quickly get to let our voice relax again.  Remember, the vowel is flexible. Let it morph as needed.

Exercise 3: Zah jumping arpeggio with turnaround 2 (121, 343, 565, 898, 565, 343, 1)

This next one involves more jumping and a lot more turnarounds. We use the arpeggio of a chord [play] and at each interval we move up and down a scale degree. Map this out again with me, just getting used to the pattern. Try it again, up to speed. 

Awesome work! It's sweeping exercises like these that have helped me move past both mental and physical barriers with my voice. There isn't a lot of time to dwell on any one sensation so you have to start learning to trust your muscle memory. They are great to add as an end cap to your vocal practice, especially once you’re feeling warmed up and flexible. You don’t need too many iterations, since they do cover a wide range. And once you’re used to the melodic pattern, they’re pretty fun to sing! 

If you can believe it, tomorrow is our last lesson in this series. We’ll wrap up with a range extension routine using several of the exercises you’ve learned in the course. 

Audio:

Range Extension Course Day 13A
Range Extension Course Day 13B
Range Extension Course Day 13C

Lessons:

Instructor: Camille van Niekerk

Camille van Niekerk is a singer, writer and vocal instructor in Southern California. Camille began studying voice and performing in musicals at age seven. In 2010, Camille began working towards her BA in Music Education at Azusa Pacific University. She then earned her teaching credential from San Diego State University and taught classroom choral and instrumental music. Shortly after moving to LA county, Camille began her private vocal studio, providing vocal coaching, ear training, and recording for students of all ages. She is constantly refining her skills and methods for greater versatility and effectiveness. When she is not teaching, Camille enjoys singing with the L.A. Choral Lab and Ensoma Creative. She lives in San Diego with her husband and loves going to the beach, practicing yoga, reading, and cooking.