Description:
The foundation for a strong voice is a good connection to your breathing muscles. Place one hand on your ribs and one hand on your low belly, just beneath the belly button. With your abdominal muscles relaxed, inhale and exhale. We should feel expansion, and then contraction.
Next, inhale and exhale on a strong hiss. Notice what you feel during the hiss. Some singers feel a slight flexing outward; others feel their muscles engage and stay in that expanded “inhale” position for longer. The important thing is: those muscles are doing something!
Transfer this feeling of gentle engagement from a hiss to a hum.
Exercise: Hiss to hum (single pitch, then student-led vocalization)
Of course, we don’t begin to sing by hissing. We need to train this same engagement at the onset of sound. To do this, we’ll pulse on a hiss, then a hee [demonstrate hiss x 2, hee x 2, hee 12321]. Two hiss pulses, two hee pulses, and a 12321 pattern.
Exercise: Hiss x2, Hee x2, Hee 12321
This gentle engagement at the beginning of a phrase (and continued engagement as you continue singing) eventually becomes second nature! If it feels unnatural to you today, commit to starting your practice with these exercises for the next few weeks, and see what happens as a result.
Lessons:
- 1: Welcome
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2:
Warmup
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3:
SOVT’s
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4:
Onset
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5:
Dynamics & Resonance
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6:
Conclusion
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.