Singing Lesson Notes

Andrew (Anwar) is 19 years old and has been singing his whole life.
He started playing guitar two years ago, which increased his interest in music.
He wishes to improve his singing overall.
He currently has around 31,000 followers on TikTok and aims to grow his following.
He identifies a need to correct his vibrato technique, which currently involves moving his head.

Defining Vibrato: Vibrato is oscillation in tone caused by consistent air and vibrations of vocal folds.
Student's vocal goals: overall improvement in singing, correct vibrato technique

Humming: Five notes up and five notes down to gently start vocal fold movement.
Vocal exercise: "Me, me, ma, mo, moo" to work through comfortable vocal range.
The importance of warming up before singing, likening it to warming up muscles before exercise.

Chest voice: Described as full sounding and punchy, used for talking.
Head voice: Described as floaty and soothing, used for atmospheric singing (e.g., Billie Eilish).
Voice Types: Bass, baritone, tenor for men; sopranos for females.
Most men are baritones, and most females are sopranos.
Student has warmth in his lower register and good notes in his higher register, indicating a beautiful range.

Student feels most comfortable singing in a higher range, similar to Billie Eilish or Daniel Caesar.
He notices he can sing some songs with a lower voice and others higher, feeling comfortable in both.
Explanation: He is likely flipping between registers subconsciously, showing natural ability.

Mixed register involves using both chest and head voice for consistent sound throughout the range.
More common in musical theater, classical singing, and opera.
Pop/folk music typically isolates chest or head voice.
Mainstream radio often features lower female voices and higher male voices in the same range.

Artists student sings: Billie Eilish, Daniel Caesar, Shiloh Dynasty, Olivia Rodrigo, Frank Ocean.
These artists typically sing in the head voice/tenor range.
Lower range practice: Elvis (bass baritone), Michael Buble, Frank Sinatra.

Student mentions practicing a song by Miles Catton (from "Sinners") with a deep voice.
He found it difficult because he's used to singing higher and was using his head to create the blues-style vibrato.
Goal: To be equally good in both ranges for more options.

Student sang a song, incorporating both chest and head voice especially in the chorus.
Observation: Chin movement during singing.
If you lift your head up, you probably feel a little bit of a stretch in your neck. Right? And so all of that is actually already kind of putting you out of alignment with your instrument.
Instead of compensating and thinking that this is gonna get you higher, instead, I want you to feel like there's space in the back, especially as you're lifting higher. In the sky

Keeping a finger on the chin helps stabilize it and prevents larynx displacement.
Lifting the head can feel like adding emotion but displaces the instrument (vocal cords).
Maintaining a neutral chin position helps find more space and stability.

Aspirations (breaths) between notes were noted as stylistic choices.
Exercise: Sliding between notes to ensure smooth transitions without clicking or stopping the sound.

Practice sliding up and down notes to smooth transitions.
The goal is to glide through notes rather than clicking into each one.
Practicing accelerations (faster vibrations) to find the distances between notes.

Exercise: Sliding notes into the head voice range, focusing on gradual transitions.
The body may naturally want to switch into head voice to avoid stretching the chest voice.

When you're adding a vibrato almost, like, post the sound coming out, if that makes sense. It should all be in that same mechanism. So same thing, feeling suspended.
Hand position helps feel the space of the interior of the mouth to lift correctly.
This is to keep the tone and placement of your voice high as opposed to down and pressed.

The lowest part of the song from "Sinners" doesn't fit his vocal range.
When someone's comparing themselves to someone, Right, thinking, oh, I can't sing that low or, like, I'm not good enough to sing that low when it's just physio physio.
Reminder: The same note can have a different context based on chest voice vs. head voice.
Vibrato should be natural and not forced.