GEAR

singer puts on them, the faster that happens. almost more crucial for singers There are ways to rehab, though. like them to fi nd balance. When GERSON: If singers just scream their singers make the transition from heads off every night, they can also end singing low notes to high notes, up with polyps and even paralysis of the the larynx can go up and down vocal cords—so it’s very important not to physically, chasing the pitch. It’s push yourself too hard until you know what unhealthy and causes a lack of you’re doing. If it hurts, stop. release on high notes, among other things. My job with singers How do you build strength? like Chester and Scott is to STROUD: When I work with the American help them stabilize the larynx Idol winners as they’re going on tour, they’re and feel that release. Even if it’s surprised by how much work it is to do a whole not aesthetically what they’re concert rather than a couple of songs. Make going for onstage, it helps them sure you warm up for 20 minutes before a prevent infl ammation of their show, like stretching for a marathon. Focus on vocal cords. exercises that take you up and down the scale, GERSON: If you are going Adam Lambert lip trills and such. Adam Lambert, for example, to sing with grit, as I often has very rangy material. He’s very aware of the do, pacing yourself is very nuances and subtleties of his voice, and warms important. Eddie Vedder defi nitely does Can sprays and lozenges help? up thoroughly before he sings. When you that. You want to learn singing technique to GERSON: Anything that keeps you practice between shows, focus on sustaining protect your voice—and with experience, you lubricated is great. Mostly, just sip water. If notes right in the bridge areas where your voice can go beyond and still smoothly recover. you have a problem with infl ammation, the transitions from lower to higher. old Frank Sinatra trick is to chew Justin Timberlake is very aware a couple of aspirin and swallow of his bridges—I gave him one ‘I’ve never met anyone them slowly without water, then lesson and was impressed by start to sip temperate water about how well he knew the nuances who is truly tone-deaf and 15 minutes later. of transitioning to different parts STROUD: There are layers of of his voice. can’t learn to sing on key.’ mucous on the vocal cords. You want to keep the mucous thin and –Ruth Gerson What about getting a the vocal cords agile, so sipping grittier sound? water consistently for hours is the STROUD: What you’re hearing is overdrive, What are the differences among the best way to keep the whole system healthy. similar to the effect on a guitar. You’re blasting head voice, chest voice and falsetto? I also like a throat spray made by Thayers. How anyone—and we mean anyone—can too much air between the cords, and typically GERSON: I think of chest voice as my It’s all-natural—you breathe in the mist and pulling the vocal cords a little tighter than speaking voice, which sits in the register of it goes into the throat. learn to sing more sweetly they should be. I’ve worked with Chester a cello or viola, and my head voice as the Bennington from Linkin Park and Scott Stapp classical sound I create in a higher register, How does singing for stage and of Creed, and both sing with a lot of grit. It’s sounding more like a fl ute. For men to sing studio differ? Artists as stylistically and generationally Gerson founded the San Francisco Vocal what gives them the most beautiful tone. in a head voice—or a mask voice, GERSON: It’s similar to fi lm versus live diverse as Billie Holiday, Sam Cooke, Roger Coaching school, served as a vocal Next is positioning. You want your jaw to as it’s sometimes called—they theater. Stage microphones are much less Daltrey and Lady Gaga have proven again instructor at Princeton University and drop open to about the width of two fi ngers have to aim air into the nasal- sensitive than studio mics, so in a studio and again that the right vocal performance invented the Singingbelt System, a device for most notes, with the tongue curved like a pharynx area. If you fi nd the right singers may have to adjust to do a lot less. can touch the listener’s deepest emotions— that helps singers develop breath support. Pringle and the tip resting behind the bottom position and air pressure, you can That being said, there are singers like Bono while the wrong one can abuse the She is also a noted artist in her own right teeth, but not pushing. The palate should comfortably blend your head and who use stage mics like the Shure SM58 eardrums of innocent bystanders. Learning whose latest album is called Deceived. be open in back, like you’re about to yawn. chest voices to hit certain notes. when he records. I assume he does that in to channel your own inner songbird can be Finally, there’s ear training. I’ve never met STROUD: A lot of people confuse order to bring the way he sings onstage a challenge, but there are steps even the What’s the key to singing well? anyone who is truly tone-deaf and can’t learn falsetto with head voice. Singers into the studio. most monotone singer among us can take GERSON: First, there’s breath support. If to sing on key. should be able to sing from chest STROUD: In the studio it’s easy to get to sound a little sweeter. I squeeze the neck of an infl ated balloon, voice up to head voice without the right EQ on the headphones, but you To discover how to fi nd, develop and only a tiny bit of air is needed to vibrate the How important is technique? fl ipping into falsetto, which means have less sound control onstage. I highly preserve your voice, we sought the advice lip—it’s all the air underneath that supplies the STROUD: If you push the vocal cords too hard, they need to bring their vocal cords recommend in-ear monitors and learning of experts Dave Stroud and Ruth Gerson. pressure to make the sound. The vocal cords they can start to swell and stop vibrating as closer together when they go what works as far as EQing goes. If the mid Stroud is a renowned coach who has work the same way, so learning to control they should. They produce less sound, so the through bridge areas. and upper-mid frequencies in the vocal mix worked with Ben Folds, Jamie Cullum and that pressure in your lungs is important. singer starts pushing more air to compensate GERSON: It’s important for are pulled back, a singer might not feel like others. As an American Idol consultant, he Next is breath placement. You want the air and the process starts to feed on itself. The male singers to develop falsetto he or she is cutting through and therefore has also polished the voices of artists like to focus on one place in your mouth—I have more air you push, the more the cords swell regardless of whether they over-sing. If those frequencies are boosted, Adam Lambert and David Cook. Stroud people press lightly on the roofs of their and eventually they can develop calluses. As Danny Clinch plan to use it, since it opens though, it’s easier not to feel like you need to recently launched VocalizeU, an interactive mouth to feel where they’re aiming the air, we get older, vocal cords naturally stop being up resonance and strengthens push too hard to get a good performance. app designed for singers and musicians. but singers can adjust placement based on as plump and agile—and the more abuse a Eddie Vedder breath control. –Michael Gallant 56 57 M5-Vol2-Mag-BETA-v18b.indd 56 I like a throat spray8/29/11 11:13 PM M5-Vol2-Mag-GOLD.indd made 57 by Thayers. It’s 9/2/11 4:29 PM + GEAR FEATURE JULY/AUGUST 2011 all-natural—you breathe in the mist and it M MUSIC & MUSICIANS MAGAZINE goes into the throat. MMUSICMAG.COM – Dave Stroud