Matthew’s enthusiasm for music is infectious, and his students certainly agree; they say he is “easy to work with” and “gives great feedback.”  In addition to teaching, Matthew is an award-winning composer and songwriter with many film and television credits, including the new Starz series “Gravity” which premiered on Friday, April 23.  Awesome job, Matthew!

The week will kick off with “Music Monday” on May 3, an event in which schools, community and professional organizations will perform one piece of music simultaneously at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, 11 a.m. Mountain Time, 12 p.m. Central Time, and 1 p.m. Eastern Time.  NAMM hopes that by having everyone sing the same song at the same time, music will transcend all genres and unite people through the melody and the act of performing the piece together.

NAMM is also encouraging people to pick up an instrument of their choice and play any time on May 3 as part of the Music Monday celebration.  This is the sixth year that NAMM has supported Music Monday, which is also hosted by the Coalition for Music Education in Canada and has grown to more than 2,000 schools since its inception.  You can register your school or organization as a participant in Music Monday by e-mailing musicmonday@namm.org.

If you plan to take part in Music Monday on May 3, tell us how you’ll be getting involved!  Will you be participating in the group song, or playing an instrument?

So…for the first time EVER, we are offering new students 40% off on your first month of voice or music lessons* when you purchase your lessons on Friday, November 27, 2009.

If you were thinking about getting started with music lessons or singing lessons, now is your chance. If lessons are not your thing, lesson packages make fun and unique holiday gifts for family members and friends. We have never offered a deal this great – and it’s for ONE DAY ONLY. You will not be able to get this deal at anywhere else.

We know that signing up for lessons is a big step. You are committing to something new and must find time in your schedule and room in your budget to get started. It’s a very involved decision and we definitely recognize that. But, that is also why we are really excited to offer our 40% off Black Friday sale to all new customers. With savings like these, you don’t really have an excuse to not pick up that guitar, tune up that piano or flip on the karaoke machine and get started with lessons.

You only have one day to take advantage of this offer. So once the tryptophan-induced sleepiness  from your Thanksgiving Turkey dinner wears off, pick up the phone and give us a call at 877-231-8505 on Friday to book your lessons. We will be looking forward to your call!

*For more information, click here or visit http://takelessons.com/black-friday-music-lessons. Customers must call in and mention the Black Friday 2009 offer to receive the discount. The offer is not currently available for online booking.

When I first began my professional
singing career, still in my teens, I  was extremely dissatisfied with the
explanations I had been given for how and why the singing voice works. I just
couldn't make my voice do the things I wanted it to. Admittedly, I had pretty
high expectations.

Fortunately, I went to my public
library and happened on a copy of "Science and Singing" by the late,
great Ernest George White of London, England. After decades of scientific research,
White discovered how the voice and vocal tone actually originate in the four
sets of sinus cavities in the head, not in the throat/vocal cords, as was
previously believed. White taught people to speak who had had their vocal cords
surgically removed – just by training them in controlling the air in their
sinus cavities.

He explains in his book that the air
vibrating in an enclosed space (the head) acts as a musical instrument, similar
to a flute or a recorder or even air moving through a keyhole and producing
sound. He felt that the vocal cords, or vocal folds as he preferred to call
them, merely aided in regulating the flow of breath from the lungs up to the
head, where the sound was actually produced.

Unfortunately for me, White had
already passed away in 1940, so I began my own attempts at playing with the air
in my sinus cavities. After many months of study, pretty much by trial and
error, I found that I was actually a first soprano, not a second soprano, as I
had thought. I found that it took much less air – and a lot of control – to
maintain my high notes, but that I now HAD control. And I really began to
develop my own unique singing voice, after years of trying to sound like
everyone else that I admired. Wow – even my high expectations had been reached.

When I moved to Austin a few years
later, I began teaching singing (and piano) as my day job. I taught all kinds
of people how to sing and speak, from age 8 to age 72. Many of my students
found great success with playing with the air in their sinuses – remarking
that, although they hadn't had success with traditional exercises, they could
now make their voices sound clearer and they could control the voice. There is
a lot of joy in learning that what was once a mystery can be placed under control
in a fun and musical way.

But what actually ended up putting the
true icing on the cake for what I now call "Yoga For the Voice"
technique was my study of kundalini yoga, and subsequent training as a
kundalini yoga instructor. I found that by incorporating yogic breathing and
exercises, and sometimes even chanting yoga mantras, my students and I were
able to make even more progress in controlling our vocal instruments. Not to
mention the improvements in health, speaking voice, keeping the sinuses free and
clear, and gains in personal confidence.

Some of the benefits we discovered:

* You learn exactly what your vocal
range is and why – your vocal range is determined by the shape, number and
quality of the sinus cavities in your head.

* You discover how to create the very
best tone your voice is capable of making – when you can keep as many muscles
as possible out of the way of creating a pure tone in the head, you have the
basis of beautiful, unencumbered musical sound

* You feel the difference in your own
body – singing feels healthy, beautiful and under your control. If it feels
right, it actually is right. The reverse is true as well – if it feels wrong,
then there is some work to be done, usually in releasing some tension and
muscular effort that is getting in the way of the tone.

* A side benefit includes keeping the
sinuses free and clear – it actually helps your overall health in addition to
your vocal health. Ernest G. White's sinus exercises have been used solely for
the purpose of keeping the head cavities clear, and can be helpful for people
with  allergies and other problems which create mucus in the sinuses.

* White's exercises can be used to
improve your speaking voice and your vocal projection – they are excellent for
actors, teachers and public speakers as well as for singers. In general, if one
is just using the exercises for speaking purposes, the vocal range is more
limited and focused on the actual speaking voice than in singing training.

* For children, I tend to break it
down to very basic, easy-to-understand exercises. I think the sinus concepts
are too difficult for most children to grasp, so I try to give them exercises
they can easily understand and have fun with.

In the beginning stages of vocal
training, a typical "Yoga For the Voice" lesson will consist of three
parts. First I teach the student two different kundalini breathing techniques
that have proven useful to the singing student. We next begin the sinus
exercises from Ernest George White's teachings, starting to find what I like to
term the "musical architecture" inside the voice student's head, i.e.
her/his particular set of sinus cavities. The last part consists of integrating
what we have learned into "full body" exercises, which enable the
student to start to experience her/his full vocal instrument, from the solar
plexus to the top of the head. I sometimes use traditional vocal exercises for
this step or, depending on the student, chanting exercises.

If you are interested in exploring
"Yoga For the Voice" further, my voice lessons are available
privately at my music studio in Austin, Texas. In addition, I offer lessons
over the phone and over the Internet as well (using Skype), making myself
available to you wherever you are in the world.

ABOUT gfire

gfire is a professional
singer-songwriter, DJ, voice and piano teacher and Kundalini yoga instructor
based in Austin, Texas. She has taught literally hundreds of students how to
use their voices more effectively. For more information, please visit
http://gfiremusic.com.

Where did this love of singing originate? Why is that people all over the world love to hear music and love to sing?  What are the deeper social purposes that singing fulfills?  In this article we look at vocal expression in the dawn of human history in order to trace the fundamental social needs singing fulfills.

When looking for the origins of music, we are looking at a period of prerecorded history. There are no song remnants, movies, videos or tapes available. No written records, or texts to guide us to the shape or structure of early music. We know from anthropologists, geologists, and other researchers of human history that as the dust settled on the Jurassic period, as the giant dinosaurs disappeared from the earth, early men formed societies and thrived in several locations on the planet.  Without any record of the music-making capacities of early societies—prior to the written records left by Sumerians and Egyptians 6000 years ago, we have little to show us how early man in the Paleolithic era, 12,000 to 25,000 years ago exhibited musical expression.

Early primitive groups. To find primitive song forms, musicologists have studied the societies surviving to this day, which contain remnants of Stone Age culture. Small isolated groups of people around the world, now confined to living in the harshest environments, driven there by the rapacious advance of modern civilization, still maintain the earliest forms of social organization. These groups include the Pygmies of the equatorial forests of Gabon and Ituri, the Bushmen of Southwest Africa, the Semang of the Malayan jungle, the Veddas of Ceylon, the Andamanese, the Australian aborigines, the Eskimos of arctic North America, and the Selknam and Yamana tribes of Tierra del Fuego at the southernmost tip of South America.

These groups have in common an economy based on hunting and gathering and of following their prey and moving from season to season. They do not practice agriculture, nor do they build fixed habitations.  Men are usually the hunters and women the gatherers. Men use weapons in the hunt; the primary weapons being the spear and the bow and arrow. The only professional class is the shaman or medicine man.  Usually these are men, but this is not universal. And women in all these societies have primary healing and medicinal roles in relation to childbirth, childrearing, healing the sick and rites of passage at the time of death.

Archeologists have uncovered remnant evidence of musical instruments used in Stone Age times, which are corroborated by musical practices amongst surviving societies today. Animal bones were fashioned in to wind instruments, such as the flute, and into percussive sticks.  One of the earliest musical instruments used in Africa was the bow. Cave paintings from Paleolithic times reveal telling evidence of musical practices for the purpose of sustaining life or of denying fearful spirits.  Drawings depict men dressed in animal costume—thereby invoking the magical powers of animals; dancing and playing instruments such as the flute. Dancing is closely associated with the hunt.  There are spiritual, ritual, and survival overtones in these societies dependent upon the hunt for survival.

Do the war dance. As dance is driven by rhythmic activity, generated by men playing early percussive and wind instruments, primitive songs associated with the hunt dances or war dances came about when people uttered sounds to invoke the spirits and or to express strong emotions, impressions or sensations.  Often the uttered sounds were not articulated words conveying meaning, but rather were repeated syllables that captured a feeling or expressed a sensation. 

For example, a greeting song of the Yamana tribe of Tierra Del Fuego goes like this:

    Ha ma la  Ha ma la Ha ma la
    O la la la,  la la la la la  la.   (Primitive Song : 57,58)   

Another song example from the Yamana, made up of emotive sounds expresses a vague mood rather than a word meaning:

    Ma-las-ta xai-na-sa, ma-las-ta, xai-na-sa.
    Hau-a la-mas ke-te-sa, hau-a-la-mas ke-ta-sa.

These are sung to a fixed tune and repeated as a chorus or rhythmic utterance accompanying a dance women and girls perform.

Early songs were based on the rhythmic movement needed to perform the dance. When words were added and made to conform to the rhythm, poetry began.  Drama also began with the performance of the dance, since performers took on the character of the animals, spirits or gods they were seeking to please with their dance.  Primitive song is a communal activity, as ceremonies are a main focus of the social life of the tribe.  Song became the way to communicate with the supernatural and to express joy, grief and other strong emotions.

Some of the early songs. Primitive singers developed phrases, which were often repeated to drive home the meaning of the words of the song. The poetry and drama of the songs became quite elaborate and had the power to evoke strong responses in the listeners or participants and to create a vivid awareness of the present scene or unknown powers at work. A song sung by the Pygmies of Gabon when preparing for an elephant hunt provides an example:

The melody line of this music may have been of the simplest form; a five or six note melody starting at the highest note and descending to the lowest note, and this repeated for each line of the verse, except on the repeated refrain at the ends, where the voice may rise for emphasis and the Elephant Hunter is exhorted to take his bow.  But the power and drama of the scene and the extent of what is at stake are clearly present in the language of the verse.

This example demonstrates important features of primitive languages that have great bearing on the poetic content of primitive song. The languages of early people are skillful in dealing with a kaleidoscope of impressions, whether visible, emotional, or audible.  Early languages have words, which cover a vastly wider range than civilized languages for such matters as colors or effects of light and shade, or the movements of animals, or the relations of bodies in space.  In some Eskimo languages, a noun can have many forms, each with its own shade of meaning.  The aboriginal Australians of Arnhem land have a rich vocabulary for catching the precise impression of natural things.  A dictionary compiled by a British Missionary of the Yamana language of the Tierra Del Fuego region of South America contained over 30,000 words in daily use; a tribute to its richness and diversity.

Primitive languages lack words for general and abstract ideas but they have an immediate impact for those who know them. Quite a complex picture may be presented very rapidly in a concentrated form, as in a line from a song of the Australian Aranda:  

“ngkinjaba iturala albutjila”

“Nginjaba” means both “sun” and “afternoon”, “iturala” means “in the heat or brightness of the sun” and “albujika” means “to turn homeward”. Thus the whole line means “To turn homeward in the afternoon when the sun is bright and hot”. (Primitive Song, 22,23)

 The purpose of the early songs. Songs of early societies can be viewed as serving either sacred or secular purposes, and these categories are not mutually exclusive.  The elephant hunt in the above example is viewed as a secular affair but with supernatural overtones. The elephant is a being whose spirit merits homage, while its conquest is a dangerous life and death affair.  Song in early societies became a way to deal with the mysteries of life that must be mastered; it was an enhanced art of words—words being the chief instrument men have of forming a relationship with the unknown.  Shamans and medicine men or healers had a large role in the composition and performance of songs. They often composed the prayers and incantations, and served as the song leaders in the performance of songs at ceremonies.  Singing was not confined to them, though certain songs in certain cultures were closely guarded by them and could only be performed by those who have been admitted to the Shaman role.  These may be songs about the origins of the tribal group or the history of the tribe in its struggles with the supernatural.

Summary. This completes this brief review of the origins of song.  It is astonishing how different is music and song today, with our romantic song literature and modern musical forms!! Nevertheless, songs still deal with ancient deeply felt human needs in the struggle with the mysteries and challenges of living in a dangerous world full of wonder and challenge.  Songs continue to tell our stories, to make sense of our trials and triumphs and to explain the spiritual and supernatural wonders of living on this earth.

————————————-
Article written by TakeLessons instructor, Richard Kalman. Richard is an excellent singing teacher in Berkeley, CA. With a BA in Music,
Richard is lead vocalist/keyboardist for his jazz harmony group, a
former member of two award winning choirs, and busy teacher of piano,
vocals, and guitar. Richard teaches fundamental singing techniques, and
works with jazz, popular music, blues, gospel, folk, ethnic music, and
broadway singing. Richard has a degree from CSU Sonaoma in Music
andJazz Studies, and has received his Adult Education Teaching
Credential from the University of California, Berkeley.

REFERENCES: 
PRIMITIVE SONG, BY C.M. Bowra, World Publishing Co. 1962
NEW GROVE DICTIONARY OF MUSIC, Edited by S. Sadie.
MaCMILLAN publishers Ltd. 1980.

Ancient civilizations discovered powerful truths about vocalizing and singing that are relevant to modern students of voice and song.

We all go through our daily lives speaking, humming, and singing some of the time without realizing the effects of things we do half-consciously.  Or maybe we just suspect it!  Well here are some facts!!

By focusing on singing, speaking, or chanting the vowels (A,E,I,O,U) we release a myriad of emotions in an uplifting and healing manner.

Chanting or singing mantras are based on vowel-combinations that when chanted in a particular way produce a vibrating effect on our entire system, our nerves, glands, and the brain.  Here are some vowel sounds to use for warmup drills.  Singers, performers of all kinds, and instrumentalists may benefit from using these simple exercises.

A (pronounced “Ah”)  Induces a state of calm, peace, serenity.  Resonates at the toop of the thorax and esophagus (upper chest). The vibrations have a healing effect on the heart.  A(pronounced as in “glass”) resonates in the upper part of the lungs.

E(pronounced “eh”)  Develops self-confidence. It resonates in the neck, throat, vocal chords, teeth, and thyroid glands.

I (pronounced “ee”) is the vowel of laughter.  It resonates in the bridge of the nose and crown of the head, affecting the brain and organs of the skull.

O (pronounced as in “home”) Turns inward and gives the sensation of seriousness, completion, and perfection.  It vibrates in the lower part of the lung, heart, and stomach.

OU (pronounced “oo”) has a similar sensation to O, but sweeter.
It vibrates in the lower abdomen, affecting the kidneys and stomach.

Simple warmup exercises that help you get emotionally clear and refreshed:

• Balancing the Whole Body:  A   E  I (pronounced ahh-ee)  O  OU
• For the ears: ENN
• For the nose and sinuses:  MA
• For the head and jaw:  YA  YOU   YAI
• For the stomach:  HUH  HUH  HUH

Vowels are to be sounded with the full energy of a deep breath.  For example, when using I (pronounced ah-eee), inhale first, and then without exhaling, sound a strong and piercing EEEEE, parting your mouth as in a smile.  Keep at the same pitch. Keep sounding as you exhale but do not use up all your air. Rest and repeat the exercise 3 to 4 times. Soon you will notice a definite vibrating effect in your head which is pleasant.  This activity helps to clear the brain, eyes, nose, and ears.  This is a good morning exercise!!

Richard is a voice, guitar and piano instructor in Berkeley, CA.

Seems like an obvious question – to learn to sing; to become a famous star on stage; to be rich and successful!  I read about an established professor at an Ivy League university who wanted to quit smoking, so he took voice lessons, which launched him into a significant career on the stage in mid-life; a true life experience with surprising consequences.  However, there are many reasons that people take singing lessons and fame is only one of them.

As I’ve observed, people engage in the process of singing for many reasons: to be more confident in life in general; to overcome some of their fears; to fulfill a life-long dream of taking music lessons; to have the opportunity to receive the personal focus and attention that private voice lessons provide; to discover a latent talent that you didn’t know was there; to be more assertive; to speak more clearly; to hear peoples’ comments about one’s beautiful voice; or maybe to have a new life adventure.

In my experience as a voice teacher, I’ve enjoyed watching people discover what happens inside when they confront their desire to engage in the process of performing and singing.  Sometimes a light comes on, or old fears get triggered and need to be worked through.  One of my voice students would finish each lesson with the statement:  “This is so cool.”  It can be an inspiration for a teacher to observe people take on these challenges and come through to a new level of confidence and discovery. 

It can also be inspiring to be a part of that process by engaging directly with the voice student when their fears come forward, and discovering creative ways to overcome the fear and emerge on the other side freer and more confident.

Why take voice lessons?  If some of the above lead to fame and riches, great, but maybe the fame and riches can also be internal rather than external and occur outside the spotlights and more in the soul. Both can be important.

Remember, you’re never too old to start singing lessons in your town. You’ll benefit personally and, who knows, maybe you’ll get rich and famous!

- Guest contributor, Richard Fey

Unfortunately, we had to figure out what to do with those criticisms.  I did, however, take singing lessons by a very fine instructor during my university days.  I learned how to use my voice very effectively–as a singer, and occasionally found myself observing that my speaking voice was receiving some benefit from that singing training, too, but I didn't know quite how.

It wasn't until I went to graduate school at the Dallas Theater Center that something revolutionary happened to my voice and my attitude towards my use of it–both as a speaker and a singer.  What I discovered was that the focus and resonance I had learned as a singer was no different that what was needed for an effective speaking voice as well.

I discovered that the difference between singing and speaking is one of dynamic range–the highs and lows, the sustention of notes beyond what would be considered as 'speaking' is more extravagant, but the training should be the same.  The instrument being used is the same, the most intimate instrument that we play, because it is produced solely from within.  If we begin to think of our speaking and singing voices as one and the same, we can apply all the rich, focused vibrations we learn to produce while singing directly to our speaking voice. 

Breath does not control the tonal quality of the speaking/singing voice–that is produced by working as if we're not using any breath at all. Of course, we need a constant supply of breath to create the vibration of the vocal folds, but after that breath stream becomes a sound stream, it's up to resonance and wave reflection to take over.  The sound is conducted through the bones of the face and head.  So, when we learn to focus that sound stream onto the hard palate, and upwards into the nasal bone, forehead and cranium–we produce a beautiful unforced resonant quality–especially when we also create a more generous open cavity in the mouth. 

So what's to stop us from speaking the way we sing?  Try this experiment:  Create your own little melody in your mid-range for this phrase: "This is the way to feel the focus".  Focus your voice (by thinking it there!) onto the hard palate as you do this rather slowly.  Then speak the line while maintaining that feel of the vibration on your hard palate, sailing up into your head (hopefully). 

Don't you enjoy that placement, that richness of tone?  It can be yours for the asking–when you have the feel of singing while you speak! So, don't be satisfied with a singing voice that works one way–and a speaking voice that is lodged in the back of your throat, raspy, or of another sort of poor quality.  Let's not leave the speaking voice out of the quality equation. Train the whole voice by remembering to always have a 'little song in your speech, and a little speech in your song'!

- Guest contributor, Nancy Krebs

How many times have we watched a vocalist stand frozen and expressionless on a stage and been bored by their performance, regardless of how beautifully it was sung? Have you ever watched a singer and felt uncomfortable because you could see how uncomfortable they were? 

Vocal students commonly forget one important aspect in their practicing; they forget to practice performing.  While technique such as breathing, resonance, pronunciation and vowel placement are all important aspects of practicing for vocal students, performing or acting their repertoire is just as important.

Once a song is learned, it needs to be analyzed.  What is the mood of the music? What do the lyrics say?  Measure by measure, map out a script for yourself.  What expression will you have on your face?  Where will you look?  How will you stand; or will you sit?  What kinds of gestures will you use and where will you use them?

Once you have a game plan, it should be incorporated into your practicing.  So many times I’ve heard singers say they were just going to wait until their performance and let it be an organic experience.  Unfortunately, we all have nerves and 99% of the time this will backfire on us.  By the time you put your song up in front of an audience, the acting or performing should be second nature to you.  You don’t want to have to think about it in the moment. 

Practicing your performing will make you a better performer.  When you are a good performer, the audience will hear what you are singing.  They will enjoy your performance without being distracted by your awkward or uncomfortable presentation. 

Even the youngest of students can benefit from this.  Would you send a young violinist up on stage without teaching them how to use their instrument?  Probably not!  The singer’s instrument is their body.  It is the entire body, not just the vocal chords.  Teaching them to perform and use their body in an effective way helps them to feel prepared for their moment on stage. Being prepared builds confidence.  Confident singers are effective communicators of music.

———————————–

By Guest Contributor and TakeLessons Instructor, Christie Lynn Devoe.

Along
with being an instructor for TakeLessons.com, Christie has an impressive performance resume, as
well.  She spent 7 years as a working actor
and singer in New York City. During her time in New York,
Christie performed in many Off Broadway musicals, several operas, on television
and in film.  She has performed at Madison
Square Garden,
at the Original Improv Comedy Club, and was seen at the NJPAC performing “The
Lord of the Rings Symphony” with the New Jersey Symphony.  She studied vocal
music performance at Montclair
State University
under world-famous counter tenor Jeffrey Gall and music education at Asbury
College.  She also had the great
privilege to study acting in New York under the amazing Gene Frankel. Christie now resides in Howard County adives singing lessons in Baltimore and the surrounding area.

Where:
New York Eye and Ear Infirmary
Voice and Swallowing Institute
New York, NY

Are you a pro, or taking singing classes in New York? In honor of World Voice Day 2009, MusiCares,
along with the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary and KayPentax, is
co-sponsoring a day of free voice screenings for New York-based
professional vocalists. The event will take place on April 4 from 9
a.m. to 4 p.m. at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary's Voice and
Swallowing Institute. The screenings will be provided free of charge
and are needs-based. Each eligible singer will receive a complete vocal
assessment, including assessment by a laryngologist, a stroboscopic
exam of the vocal folds, and vocal function testing.

Vocalists must be pre-screened for eligibility and schedule their appointments through MusiCares. For more information and to schedule an appointment, call 212.245.7840 or 877.303.6962.