21st Century Voice Lessons

The 21st-century Voice Teacher

Back in my day…

I’m not really that old, but I still went to college before things like smart phones, YouTube and Wikipedia.

I had one Voice Lesson per week, recorded the lesson on a tape player, and went to the library to listen to operas on CD and record player. (Hah Gawwwwwd I’m so old!)

Nowadays, if you want to learn how to do something like change headlight on the car, clean out your kitchen disposal, or flip on the light switch (seriously, that’s a thing), just check out YouTube.

The best thing about being a 21st-century Voice Teacher in Boulder, CO is that I can have my own YouTube channel that highlights my specific ideas of the technique, the actual warm-ups that we work on, and my rambling thoughts about how to learn a song.

For instance, if you want to take an Online Voice Lesson with me, all you really need to do is log on to my YouTube page and pick one of 20 lessons that you like to work on for the day and go to town!

The progression and advancement of the vocal technique is really up to the student, and the teacher is only as good as the student that’s willing to work for it.

So, step right up to https://www.bouldervoicelessons.com/schedule and sign up for an Online Voice Lesson. This vocal technique change my life, and I’m pretty sure it’ll open new doors for you.

Peace,
Josh
Boulder Voice Lessons

Vocal Technique Lessons from down in the dirt!

I was taking my jujitsu class the other day, and the teacher told us to walk down the line and get partners.

I went to the beginning of the line to shake hands with my next best friend for the hour, and even though I am a pretty tall dude of 6’2”, I got to my partner, shook hands, and continue to gaze up, and up, and up at the face of the 6’8” giant in front of me.

Turns out the dude was an ex-marine, easily had 100 pounds on me, and pretty much laughed with me (in a friendly way) as I tried to wrap him up for the whole hour. It was like a 5-year-old wrestling with his 40-year-old father.

He rolled me up pretty hard, and I walked away with multiple bruises and tweaks to just about everywhere on my fragile frame. Great times!

Point is, I was working out and trying to better myself, and even though there was some pain, I kept at it and finished the work out with this huge sweaty dude...

That’s how you improve.

You have to put in the time on anything, especially your voice, and especially your singing technique.

So, whether you want to get better at performing, technique, singing in tune, or memorization, it’s not that different than drilling wrestling moves with an ex-Marine, taking a yoga class, or summiting a 14er peak (that’s a mountain in Colorado talky). Get down in the dirt, roll your sleeves up, and get to work!

Do you want to have the best instruction on how to improve your singing techniques? Sign up for a voice lesson here:
 
https://www.bouldervoicelessons.com/schedule/
 
(Online Skype/Facetime/Facebook Messenger voice lessons available to the whole world!)

Peace!

Josh
Boulder Voice Lessons

Microphone with Elvis Filter

There’s no denying – Elvis was the King.

Girls screamed.

Men wept.

If only we could click a button and sound like Elvis.

Yeah right…

This old friend of mine had an “easy way” idea, and bought a crazy expensive microphone - all the bells and whistles. He hired a professional guitarist to record for a few hours with him at his home studio.

He sent me the demo, and the only thing I could think of was that I wish that he had spent the $3000+ dollars on Singing Lessons and Musical Coachings rather than that microphone.

It made me realize that having the fancy microphone and recording set up will not an Elvis make, or be any better than using your iPhone Microphone, if you don’t sound good.

I showed him a few of my singing warm-ups and vocal techniques and we worked for few months together, and his voice improved. He started doing the work, started doing the techniques, started really concentrating on drilling those exercises.

Big difference.

Sign up here for a lesson and I’ll show you what we worked on (If you're not in the Boulder, CO area, we can still work on Skype/Facetime)

https://www.bouldervoicelessons.com/schedule/

Peace!

Josh

Boulder Voice Lessons

Man Fined $149 For Screaming In His Car While Singing ‘Everybody Dance Now’ Too Loudly

“I was thinking they wanted to pass, but they called on the speaker ‘Please go to the right side.’ I stopped and four police came, two on each side, and checked the inside of the car. Then they asked me if I screamed. I said no, I was just singing.”

I found that gem on the most hilarious site ever, FML news.

Good grief…

I’m going to get in touch with this guy and sponsor him with a few lessons.

“I don’t know if my voice is very bad and that’s why I got the ticket, but I was very shocked.”

Bless his heart…

I talk a lot about learning the vocabulary of the technique here at Boulder Voice Lessons. It’s important to know the definition of the follow words:

Chest Voice
Falsetto Voice
Head Voice
Coordination
Function Tone
Fundamental Pitch
Fundamental and Harmonic Resonances

…and the list goes on and on…

The ability to produce the sounds that these words define CREATE a complicated and beautiful tone. It’s a tone that people sit up in their chairs, or edge closer to the stage, to hear. They’ll say something like, “whoa… I don’t know how that person is making that sound, but I like it!”

That’s the sound we make here at Boulder Voice Lessons.

There are a bunch of ways to learn how to create this sound:

Private Lessons in person with yourz truly
eBooks
Boulder Voice Lessons “How to Sing” YouTube Videos
Online Singing Lessons via Skype or Facetime or Facebook Messenger

But, the most complete way to learn to sing is to combine all those options.

So, get in touch with me, and let’s chat.  There are lots of changes afoot here at Boulder Voice Lessons, and I want you guys in on the ground floor! I can’t wait to share it all with you as soon as it’s ready.

Until then, check out the YouTube Lessons, and if you haven’t signed up for the email list yet, do that here:

https://www.bouldervoicelessons.com/5tips

(You’ll get a FREE eBook, 5 Tips to Sing Better, for your efforts)

Sign up for a Singing Lesson here!

https://www.bouldervoicelessons.com/schedule

Pe@ce!
Josh
Boulder Voice Lessons

www.BoulderVoiceLessons.com

Get some history in your ear

Jerry Hadley was arguably America's greatest operatic tenor in the 20th century.

He gave a revolutionary interview that probably ticked a lot of people off. This is required listening, so click on that video right after you finish reading this.

He talks about getting history in your ear, and learning the style of the music from the greatest singers that have ever been recorded.

He talks about how opera singers are notoriously bad for not knowing the history of the human voice, and being overly concerned with placing your voice in a specific spot, worrying too much about technique, and worrying whether not you’re doing it.

So check out the video, and then do some research... stand on the shoulders of the giants before you. Learn from them. This applies to all music, pop, jazz, opera, musical theater, whatever.

It is up to the Singer to improve and conquer the world. My favorite quote from this interview is the following:

“The teacher is only as good as the receptacle to which he is giving that information.”

You do not need anyone’s permission to sing… so go out there and get learnin’!

Start your Singing Lessons in Boulder journey today!

https://www.bouldervoicelessons.com/schedule

Peace!
Josh
Boulder Voice Lessons

I can't stop starting at 'dat Class

The perks just keep on coming, my friends.

When you are in the studio here at www.BoulderVoiceLessons.com, we do an Old Skool thang that has been tested through time.

All the Singing Students in the studio, at the end of the semester, get together for a studio class.

We all gather to sing in front of each other, wall practice the same technique, and basically… we all sound awesome.

Bestable of all, we get to practice the songs we've been werkin' on in front of real life non-digital people!

This is where your skillz get put to the test.

Competition, my lovelies, is what makes the cream rise to the top…

"Anyone who imagines they can work alone winds up surrounded by nothing but rivals, without companions. The fact is, no one ascends alone."
- Lance Armstrong (The greatest, hardest working athlete that ever lived)

So, get on that bike/horse/eagle, fly over here to www.bouldervoicelessons.com, and sign up for your free eBook filled with great singing tips!

Singing Lessons live here in Boulder. Sign up here: https://www.bouldervoicelessons.com/schedule

Peace!
Josh
Boulder Voice Lessons

Little Orphan Annie Got it Right

The sun WILL come out tomorrow.

Actually, the sun has been “coming out tomorrow” for about 4.5 billion years. Don’t quote me on that…. ask Neil Degrasse Tyson.

The point is, that barring some total black hole collapse, the sun will continue to come out for the foreseeable future…

You can bet your bottom dollar on that.

No matter how terribly your day is going, you can count on this:

Tomorrow will come.

We can take this idea and put it towards the idea of Building Vocal Technique.

Muscles take time to grow, and if you work them out one day, the next day, they’ll probably be stronger.

It’s a simple, yet complicated idea, and different from getting 1000 likes on your new hairdo selfie, it’s certainly not instant gratification. It takes time - lots of time!

So get started on your 10,000 hours of voice building today, and check out my new YouTube videos.

You can learn any technique on YouTube, but ultimately only you can put in the time, and get stronger…for tomorrow.

For Singing Lessons in Boulder, schedule your time here:

https://www.bouldervoicelessons.com/schedule

Peace!
Josh
Boulder Voice Lessons

How to Increase Range and Size of Your Voice

Do you want to have a louder voice?

Would you like to have more textures and tones to work with? 

It all begins by strengthening the muscles that control the falsetto. 

Don't know how to strengthen those muscles? Have no fear - Here is a YouTube Lesson that will teach you how to do it:

Sing up for your Voice Lesson Here:

https://www.bouldervoicelessons.com/schedule

Peace!
Josh
Boulder Voice Lessons

Breath Support

Breath Support in singing seems like it should be obvious...

The more air that is flowing over the vocal cords, the louder the sound will be.

The muscles that hold the vocal cords together need to be strong enough to withstand the air pressure. That's where the Voice Building exercises come in (if you haven't seen the YouTube Singing Lesson, Click Here)

You want as much air as possible passing over the vocal cords...It's like the difference between a trickle of water slowly flowing out of a faucet, verses a fire hose that is consistently blowing water out of the opening. 

• You have to be willing to let the air out

• You have to be willing to make a loud sound

• You have to open the jaw, and let the breath pour out.

Take a breath, and sigh out loudly and quickly. The longer you can let the air flow out, the more "breath support" you have. Time yourself - work on making the air come out for a longer amount of time. 

That's about as simple as it is. 

Questions? Hit me up with an email, or Sign up for the email list, and you'll get a free eBook - 5 Tips to Sing Better

Thanks!
Josh

Subscribe to our Email List and get a free eBook about 5 tips to Sing Better.

Opera is.....

Opera has been around for about 400 years!

Talk about an enduring artform.

It combines theater, music, dance, costumes, sets, foreign languages, deep-seated human emotions.... and, it’s generally very long!

An operatic technique takes years and years to work on. Do you remember the amazing singer, Jewel? She was studying to be an opera singer, and after hearing it would take over 10 years to even get the technique going, she decided to sing pop music.

The rest, is history.

But, the classical technique can give you the foundations for a unique pop, rock, or jazz, or rap vocal sound.

Listen to this song by Adele.

I hear some great chest voice, some really wonderful falsetto, some coordination between the two registers, and then some mix, which adds some more emotion to the sound.

She is using all of those techniques to add different colors, timbres, and emotions to this beautiful song. (“someone like youuuuuuuuu – great falsetto example)

The techniques she uses are possible to learn, and I can show you how!

Start by watching my two free videos on YouTube, and then send me an email to set up your lesson. I can teach online, so even if you’re in a different time zone, we can work on the technique!

Sign up for the email list and get a free eBook about 5 tips to sing better!

Sign up for a lesson here:

https://www.bouldervoicelessons.com/schedule