Choir, Singers, Vocal Team, Voice

You Were Made To Sing! (Show #68)

February 13, 2017

#DrawNear (Video Below)

4 min read

Singing Is Easy As Breathing.

As a singer or worship leader, do you ever feel your voice weakening on certain songs? It may not be what your singing, but the way you are singing it. You may be surprised, but a little technique, instead of just jumping into the song, can help your voice sail through the air. You were made to sing for the the glory of God, so why should this be difficult, how can we make this easy in order to lead worship more freely?

If you can breathe, you can speak – you can sing. Most people think when it comes to singing, there’s something more involved: pushing the voice or using extra muscles to use force. The more natural way is to use just the right amount of air, brighten the quality and to pull the voice forward. In addition to singing naturally, your speaking voice is just as close as your singing voice.

All it takes is the right amount of air to move the notes, and is just as natural as the words you speak. Today’s demo track: “Draw Near” by Jason Ingram and Kristian Stanfill via GuideTracks.co

Singing is as easy as breathing, so worship with a full breath.

Few exercises before the song

Relax the Voice. Singing in half-steps will help you relax. Singing on a 5 note pattern, going up and down the scale. This will help with range extension, flexibility and relaxation.
1. Five Note Scale on “Ooooo” 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1 Oooooo, Oooooo, Oooooo, Oooooo, Oooooo, Shed the pounds of that dragging voice Bring your voice forward, using the tone to pull the front of your face. We will use a 5 note scale, singing downward. Relax the jaw and sing into the “aaa” sound.

2. Five Note Down Scale on the word: “Meow) 5-4-3-2-1 Meow, meow, meow, meow, meow

3. Three

5 Note Up and Down Scales 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1 on ‘D’ ee——- on ‘D#’ aye—— on ‘E’ ohh—— Control the tempo let the vowels ride on your breath. Bring the “aah” in a forward placement. This brightens the tone a bit without it dragging and losing pitch. When bringing the “aah” forward it makes the tone sound a bit more brilliant.  

High as a cat’s back!

Let’s sing the song example: “Draw Near.” First, you will notice that the melody on this section ascends upward, from a third ‘A’ natural to C#, then to the half-step ‘D’ natural. Start right out on top of the sound – don’t dig for it and then come up. Think about an airplane landing on top of the note – like a cloud. Keep the pitch solid and stable. Think about your eye – pointing up to see that cloud on the words “I” / “draw” / “near” Sing: I draw near Bring out the “aah” in the word “draw” Brighten – smile a bit on the word “near” You can feel the power when you pull the word “near” – forward. you will feel it in the “ne–hah” – almost as if you had a Brooklyn accent 😉

“If you just try, you will be amazed of how.” @BranonDempsey

 

Singing the song

Let’s try out this vocal movement / vowel placement in singing the chorus of “Draw Near.” Don’t sing the parenthesis “(Jesus, I do)” use that time to rest on the note and think about the next vowel and vocal entry.
Chorus 1 Asus Bm I draw near G2 D I draw near to You (Jesus, I do) Asus Bm You draw near G2 D You draw near to me   Be careful on the first entry note – no scooping the note. You will notice a natural power in the voice without forcing the note. The sound will have a brighten quality as your pitch is not sliding down, nor are you having to dig for hitting the high note ‘A’ gain, think “eye” pointing upward on the note and keep it stable like an “airplane”. How low can you go? Same thing in singing the verses, watch how you sing the vowels. Unlike the chorus, the verse descends on the melody. The first word is “here.” Practice just that initial consonant and vowel. Sing it like this: Heh, heh, heh, heh.  

Keep the “H” sound light: 
Not too much air as this will weigh the note down. Use just enough air, keep it short and sweet. Try to keep this vocalise stable – not wobbly and no vibrato. Just sing it straight. Now add the “R” into the mix: Here, here, here, here Notice, that you are still trying to keep the “H” or “Heh” sound light, when you mix in the “R” it should sound like one syllable – not two. It’s very subtle, but this minor detail will make a huge difference in keeping the tone light. The heavier you breathe or add force to singing low notes, the note will also be heavy and you’ll run out of breath.  

Now watch the words:
quiet and soul They both fall on the ‘D’ note, as the melody shifts between a third and a whole step. You have to keep the root note ‘D’ in mind. Sing the note “soul” – this is the root note / home key of ‘D’ Same pattern continues in the second line: “you are all that I seek.” The third line moves upward on the melody. Keep this portion smooth and bridge like. The fourth line is a repeat of the opening figure of the verse. Verse: Bm G D Here I quiet my soul Bm G D You are all that I seek Bm G D A/C# Still with in me the worries of life Bm G D Here my heart is at peace

Now sing what you know!

This is just an overview of the song’s melody and to help you think of the air and notes as forward, light and stable. Much of the time when we come and to sing, we are not thinking technique. We just sing the song. but without proper technique and control, it’s like asking a runner to get up and jog at 2 am. The more you practice vocal technique and especially warm-ups, you will better the quality of your voice. Also, remember to use certain lines out of a song to use as an exercise.

Keep the breath support and note placement in mind. Try to achieve a straight-tone sound. Don’t spend your energy on bends, turns and other acrobatics – just focus on your pure and natural voice. Stay clear of the negatives and what you think about your sound. This is very much like working out, it may not feel or sound fun, but the quality is in the results.

@BranonDempsey @worshiptt  

COMING UP TODAY / WATCH SHOW #68!

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