FAQ's...

1. What is singing?
A good place to start... singing is, basically, the process of using the human voice as a musical instrument. Technically, however, singing might be defined as a kind of sustained speech, using an expanded pitch and dynamic range.

2. What's the secret to singing well?
The ability to always maintain a speech-level production of tone - one that stays "connected" from one part of your range to another. You don't sing like you speak, but you need to keep the same comfortable, easily produced vocal posture you have when you speak, so you don't "reach up" for high notes or "press down" for low ones.

3. Is it difficult to learn how to sing well?
Not at all! But, although it's easy to understand, it takes time and patience to coordinate everything so that you can do it well.

4. How do you determine a singer's range?
The most important factor to consider is the basic quality of the voice. Assuming that your speaking voice is clear and unforced, your singing voice should be based on the quality of your speaking voice.

5. What can I expect my vocal range to be after practicing the SLS technique?
Everyone has a different vocal ability, but, typically:

· Basses should be able to sing low E to G above middle C.
· Baritones should be able to sing low G to B natural just below the Tenor high C.
· Tenors should be able to sing C (below middle C) to E above high C.
· Altos should be able to sing low C (below middle C) to high C.
· Mezzo-Sopranos should be able to sing G (below middle C) to Eb above high C.
· Sopranos should be able to sing G (below middle C) to F above high C.

All voices should be able to maintain a connected, speech-level production of tone throughout their entire range.

6. Aren't those extremely high notes for voices in those classifications?
Not if the larynx is in a relaxed, stable, speech-level position, allowing your vocal cords to adjust freely with your breath flow. When practicing the SLS techniques, those pitches are well within the technical ability of most people.

7. How do you determine what the tone quality of a singer's voice should be?
A singer's tone should be determined by his or her own individual vocal anatomy - a blend of the top, middle, and bottom resonance qualities that results when the singer's larynx stays relaxed.

8. Doesn't correct breathing play an important part in the ability to produce good tone?
The importance of breathing in singing has been overemphasized by voice teachers. Correct breathing is a by-product of good technique - just as is one's resonance quality. You should never work directly at developing your breath unless you have a sloppy posture and a depressed rib cage (which collapses uncontrollably when you expel air). You indirectly develop the proper breath support for your tone as you condition your larynx not to move and your outer muscles to relax. When you use a speech-level approach to singing, everything, including how much air you use to move your cords, happens automatically.

9. Should I change my tone production for different moods and styles?
No! Most differences in singing styles are built into the music itself - the sequence of notes and certain conventions of singing that are popular during a particular place and time in history. When you adjust your voice to accomplish certain tonal "ideals," you run the risk of interfering with your speech-level tone production, which is very dangerous to your vocal health. Your voice can, however, be "colored by your mind." If you are thinking about what you are singing, there will be slight differences in your delivery, but not in your basic production.

10. Should my vocal technique be the same for choral (ensemble) singing as it is for solo singing?
Yes, you should always use the same vocal technique, whether you sing solo or in a group. However, choral directors sometimes want you to modify your tone (change the way you sing) in order to blend with the other singers in the group. This may be okay for those singers who have developed a solid vocal technique, but dangerous for those - the majority - who haven't. You blend, all right - but at what cost? A singer should never compromise correct speech-level technique.

11. As a beginner, what type of material should I be singing?
You should avoid any material that puts a great demand on your voice from a dynamics standpoint. Select songs that are more melodic, not those that need "punch" or require a "dramatic" dynamic level. As I've said already, singing songs is not vocal technique. Just because a teacher encourages you to "sing out," or gives you hints on how to interpret what you sing, does not mean you are learning vocal technique. Style and interpretation are no substitute for vocal technique. Without good vocal technique, style and interpretation are greatly restricted.

12. What is a good dynamic level to practice?
Mezzo forte (medium loud) at the loudest. However, you must never forget why you practice exercises. You do so to set up the correct balance between your exhaled air and your vocal cords, allowing you to sing at a speech level, and to then have your neuromuscular system live with that balance. As far as volume goes, you should only sing as loudly as you are able to maintain your balance with a steady, normal vibrato. The intensity, or loudness, of that tone will come once the muscular coordination to produce pitches freely is established.

13. How much should I practice?
You should practice as much as you perform, even more. They are not the same thing. Performance is the culmination of your vocal conditioning to meet the artistic demands you place on your voice for the purpose of communicating and projecting ideas and emotional experiences to your listener. Regular vocal practice keeps your voice aligned for efficient coordination, so that any temporary diversion from good technique can be recognized easily and corrected quickly.

14. Should I sing differently in rehearsal than I do in performance?
Yes, especially when learning something new. In rehearsals, all wise singers save their voices - not in the sense that you only have just so much to give, but to keep your voice relaxed during a potentially stressful situation. Rehearsals by nature are very demanding on a voice. It's stop-and-go as you learn notes, check pitches, work on blend, and everything else. This makes it very easy to fall back into old habits. Therefore, you should do what is called "marking" your music - singing lightly or even dropping the high notes down an octave, until all the notes are learned and you know what's expected of you. Once you know where you are going with your voice, your neuromuscular system will be much more cooperative in helping you sing the right notes with the proper technique.