New Online Interactive Singing Classes!

Technology is so cool these days!  No matter where you live -- you can do classes online, in real time, with real people!  My new 7 Easy Steps for Singing Like A Pro! classes start soon!  Check it out!Beth Lawrence's Online Singing Classes!

Jennifer Lopez Is a Better Singer after ‘American Idol’

American Idol Helped Lopez to Become a Better Singer

Jennifer Lopez has credited “American Idol” with pushing her to “grow as an artist” after stepping down as a judge from the TV talent show.

The “On The Floor” singer has quit the panel to return to performing but insists her two years serving as a mentor to contestants has helped her to evolve.

She tells MTV News, “Whenever it’s things like that, where you’re working with other people, like the audience, or even another artist, like we did with the contestants on the show, you learn, you grow. And whatever I’d tell them, it was funny, it was like telling myself. Like, ‘Don’t forget, when you’re onstage ... make sure you connect and make sure it’s about the feeling.’

“Because we all get caught up, when we’re the ones standing there, and everybody’s watching. But it’s about forgetting about that and conveying a feeling. And I always feel like whenever I was telling them this over the past two years of doing Idol, that it was helping me grow as an artist as well.”

Lopez calls her “American Idol” stint a career highlight, but admits she is ready to step back into the spotlight as a singer.

She adds, “It was a great experience to sit there and do that for a while, and I honestly feel like it was put in my life for a reason, to be part of my journey and part of my growth, because it definitely did that. But as much as I love the show, this (singing) is what I do.… And that was fun and it was great, but this is what I do.”

The Toddler's Voice

Sing like a toddler

Have you ever heard toddlers when they're unhappy, tired, or just want attention? The voices could break glass! When I'm teaching voice, I often say, "How would a two year old sing this?'  The answer: They just LET THEIR VOICES OUT. They don't TRY to do anything with their voices; just natural, released voices that have incredible volume. Most of the time my students get it in their heads that when they sing, they have to control, cajole, or 'project' their sound. All that does is lead to constriction, pushing, and too much compression on the vocal cords. I can't stress enough that to sing correctly, you must release, never push the voice. There's a huge difference. You'll get so much warmth and volume when you use the body as a resonating chamber rather than pushing the voice or forcing volume by trying to 'project'. If you feel like you're pushing too much, 'sing like a two year old'!

Why Take Voice Lessons?

One excellent reason for taking voice lessons is simply to get the vocal skills that will become second nature to you.  As you begin singing better, without thought or stress, then what happens?  You stop thinking about your voice, and start focusing on your story.

Your story is what underlies the lyric and is your means to inspire, instruct, or touch your audience.  Never forget that you are a storyteller, first and foremost.  Being a technically good singer is just icing on the cake.  The mark of great singers is not how brilliant their techniques are, but how adept they are at eliciting emotion from their listeners.

Take voice lessons to learn how to sing better and overcome your vocal challenges so that you can stop thinking about technique, and begin thinking about the character who is singing through you.

Voice lessons allow you to stop thinking about technique
 and start thinking about the story you're telling

Pronunciation

One thing I work on a lot with my singers and speakers is pronunciation.  I remind them that even though they may feel that they are speaking or singing clearly, usually they are not being clearly understood.

When you take the stage, you've got to remember that your audience has probably never heard you before, the topic you are speaking about, or the lyrics to your songs.  When you introduce yourself, most of your audience will be hearing your name for the first time, so you want to make sure that they understand your name and what company you are with!  Don't just toss it off like it's a grocery list, say your name as though it's very important to you, and important for the audience to know, also!

Most singers think that their lyrics are very clear, but it's my experience to the contrary.  I rarely understand someone's lyrics.  So I work with singers in opening up their words.  Not to over-pronounce and be phony or exaggerated, but to make space inside their mouth for the words to come out clearly.  When you don't do this, you smash your words down and they aren't understandable.

To practice, just experiment with exaggerating your lyrics or spoken word, and test it out on your friends.  Ask them if you sound over the top.  If so, back off a bit.  But I'll bet you'll be surprised that they'll say 'I understood you fine - you weren't exaggerated at all!'  What feels too open to you, is probably just about right in the real world of singing and speaking!  Be confident enough in yourself to speak or sing in a way that you will be heard, and understood.  Don't be afraid to pronounce your words.

Open up your words

Having Trouble Hitting High Notes?

Hitting the High Notes

One of the most common complaints I hear from singers is 'I can't sing high!'  Usually when they try to hit 'high' notes, their throat closes up and they can't squeak out the note!

The culprit is almost always the larynx, or voicebox.  It's connected to the base of the tongue, so that when the larynx raises, the base of the tongue generally raises. If the tongue is raised then your sound gets blocked.

But that's only a part of the problem!  The real issue is the position of the larynx, and how it affects your vocal production.  If your larynx jams up when you do an ascending line, or 'high' note, you are essential 'strangling' the tone, and not only does that cut off the sound, but it's really uncomfortable, too!

In Bel Canto singing, on which my Lawrence Vocal System is based, the larynx is supposed to stay in a relaxed, lowered position throughout your range.  Thinking of keeping a 'yawning' feeling when you sing opens the throat and keeps the larynx in the right position.  It will take some awareness and practice, but once you learn to keep the larynx in that correct position, your singing will be unbelievably easy!

                                                      

Got Vocal Nodules? Rest Your Voice!

Vocal rest for Singer's Nodules - http://allaboutvoice.com/healthy-voice-blog.html

What Is Your Song About?

When I'm working with students and they've just finished singing a song for the first time, the first question I ask is - 'what is this song about?'  Shockingly, most people say 'I don't know!'  How can you tell a story, when you don't know what the story is about?  Well, I guess you could, but if you don't have a clue about what story you're telling, don't expect your audience to care a bit about your song!

Singing is about communication, and in order to have your audience feel something you have to be feeling something yourself.  Otherwise, you're just spouting empty words and phrases with no emotion behind them.  You might as well be speaking a foreign language or gibberish!

Look at your lyrics.  Understand the point of view of the character who is singing through you.  Get to the subtext of the lyric….what emotion underlies the words you are singing?  Then, feel that emotion, don't just sing the words, feel the words.  Your audience will not only understand your story, but they will relate to the emotion contained in the lyrics that you are expertly delivering.

So before you even start singing a song, ask yourself 'what is this song about?', making sure that the lyric is appropriate for your age, as well as your life experience.  A ten year old girl shouldn't be singing a song about divorce or a lost love, but strangely I hear this with students all the time.  Pick a lyric that you can relate to emotionally, then let those emotions carry through the story of the song.  You will connect with your audience in a way that will make your performance emotionally supercharged and unbelievably memorable!

So, 'what is your song about?'

Let Emotion Help You Hit Your Notes

A really amazing thing happens when you lock into the emotion of your song and stop thinking about technique -- you can easily hit notes that might be a challenge for you.  Why does this happen?  First, because since singing is 90 percent mental, when you stop thinking about your problem notes, your emotion gives you the vocal power to hit those notes easily.

Second, when you're singing in the emotional moment, your fear disappears!  Fear keeps you from going fully for a note, and without total conviction and full support, your fear will keep you from your best performance.

 

So get into the emotion of your song, stop thinking, and let your voice fly free!

                                                              

Don't Sing Like a Trumpet Player

I recently worked with a man who had played trumpet all his life.  He had bought my book From Shower To Stage….7 Easy Steps for Singing Like A Pro!, and when he got to the breathing section he hit a snag.

When you sing, you have to have a soft belly, and essentially breathe from the diaphragm, allowing the tummy to be relaxed.  He was so used to making his stomach tight, and pushing out the sound while playing trumpet, that it was a major adjustment for him to breathe with a soft belly.

If there's any tension in your body there will be tension in your throat.  In the Lawrence Vocal System you let all that tension go, relax the tummy, relax the jaw, relax the throat, and just allow your unimpeded voice to flow out.  It's that simple!

But most of my students have to do a lot of work on letting go of past conditioning, both mental and physical.  They have to learn that the way they used to sing no longer works, and they have to be open to adopting a new way of approaching their vocal production.  Their willingness to let those old habits go will speed their ability to sing easily without strain or stress.

So if you used to play trumpet and push your sound out with a lot of force; if you used to support your tone by pushing your stomach out; if you used to make your voice louder by putting more pressure on your throat; just know that those are old destructive habits that no longer serve you. Let go of the idea that you have to sing like a trumpet player. There is a better way!

Can You Say 'Ahhhhh?'

One of the secrets to great singing, which also happens to be one of my 7 Easy Steps for Singing Like A Pro!, is keeping an open throat while singing.  In order to get a rich, full sound, you want the soft palate raised while the back of the tongue stays relaxed and flat.  This gives maximum 'space' for your tone to exit the mouth without obstructions.  Many times when the throat is not fully open, you will get a sound that is pinched.  When the tongue is raised in the middle, your sound shoots right up the nose, giving you a very nasally sound.

So how do you develop an open throat?  Simple!  Start practicing a fake 'yawn,' feeling the throat open and widen as you do this.  When you've mastered the 'yawn,' then just adopt that same open feeling before and during your singing.  This will raise the soft palate, flatten the tongue and lower the larynx.

Remember when the doctor would look in your throat with the tongue depressor?  Same thing.  He was flattening your tongue as your 'ahhhhh' raised the soft palate!

So the next time you begin singing, think of how your throat feels when you say 'ahhhhh' and keep that open feeling as you sing.  A simple concept, but one that takes practice and awareness.

To sing well, just say 'ahhhhh'!