Singers Spot Blog

The Singers Spot Blog has a new home

amygould — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:04:39 +0000

The Singers Spot Blog has its own website address now. You can find all of the old posts plus some brand new ones at http://www.singerspot.com

Have you ever been told you shouldn’t sing?

amygould — Tue, 27 May 2008 15:12:02 +0000

Have you ever been told that you shouldn’t sing? This is probably one of the worst things that anyone can hear. It may have started out innocently enough. Perhaps you were a little loud or slightly off key and someone asked you not to sing or maybe you were a teenage boy going through a voice change and someone asked you not to sing. It doesn’t matter what the circumstances were that surrounded the event, it can have an effect on a person mentally and emotionally for the rest of their life.

Click here to read more

How singing improves your health

amygould — Tue, 27 May 2008 14:47:07 +0000

This is a great article about the health benefits of singing for people of all ages.

New warm-up CD is available!

amygould — Tue, 27 May 2008 14:31:46 +0000

I’ve created a new warm-up CD. It is currently only available for download from my website, but soon will be available through CD Baby and several other online music retailers. It includes a bonus track with information about breath support and other helpful tips to improve your voice. Take a look at the information about the CD and listen to demo tracks here.

Thinking about a career in music?

amygould — Mon, 19 May 2008 14:32:48 +0000

If you are thinking about a career in music and would like more information about what careers are available, look no further. The MENC (Music Educators National Conference) has put together a very informative website with lots of information for people looking at having a career in music. It is called Careers in Music. It has 16 different job categories listed along with information about salary, job requirements, training and more. For a more in depth look at music careers, check out Exploring Careers in Music published by MENC.

What is the widest vocal range

amygould — Sun, 11 May 2008 02:13:15 +0000

I’ve often been asked what is the biggest vocal range that I have ever heard of. Many singers exxagerate vocal range and claim several octave vocal ranges. So I went to the Guiness Book of World Records to find out.

Georgia Brown is listed as having the widest range for a female voice at eight octaves. It starts at G2 and ends at G10. Here is a recording of her singing in the upper register.

Tim Storms of the USA holds the record for widest range for male voices at 6 octaves. Here is a video about him. He demonstrates how low his voice can go. Which is 8 hz. That is so low that the human ears can’t hear it. If we could hear it, it would be 2 octaves below the last b on the piano. It can only be measured by instruments.

The highest vocal note of C#8 reached by a male was sung by Adam Lopez of Australia.

To put this all in perspective, the average human voice is 2 octaves! So this is quite a bit bigger than the average human voice. In famous voices, Maria Carey is documented as having a five octave vocal range on Wikipedia.

Learn to sing on vacation

amygould — Mon, 05 May 2008 19:46:56 +0000

Want to learn to sing Gregorian Chant? Now you can take a trip to Rome, and learn to sing Gregorian Chant from a monks and nuns who made it popular. This tour is offered by Musica Viva a German company that produces tours that allow hobbyists (or professionals for that matter) to focus on their art. It sounds like fun to me!! Anyone game for a little Gregorian Chant? Check out the article that started this post.

Now you can take singing lessons online with Amy!

amygould — Mon, 05 May 2008 17:10:45 +0000

I’ve just recently figured out how to offer singing lessons online and I’m really excited about it. Now you can take singing lessons with me from the comfort of your own home. All you need is a web cam and a microphone and you are in business. These are live lessons in person with me. Not instructional videos. For more information on how to set everything up, click here. For this month only, I am offering a $20.00 discount on your first months tuition if you take lessons online. Simply go to www.lakeshoresinging.com to sign up for lessons online. The first person to register for online lessons will receive a Sing like no one is listening studio T-Shirt!

More singer jokes from Vocalist.com

amygould — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:43:51 +0000

Vibrato: Used by singers to hide the fact that they are on the wrong pitch.

Q: How many Boy Bands does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: We don’t know – lightbulbs last longer than most Boy Bands!

Q: What’s the next thing a soprano does in the morning?
A: Looks for her instrument.

Q: How does a young man become a member of a high school chorus?
A: On the first day of school he turns into the wrong classroom.

Q: How do you put a sparkle in a female singers’s eye?
A: Shine a flashlight in her ear.

Q: What’s the difference between a Female Singer and a Porsche?
A: Most musicians have never been in a Porsche.

Q: If you threw a violist and a soprano off a cliff, which one would hit the ground first?
A: The violist. The soprano would have to stop halfway down to ask directions.
A: Who cares?

Q: What’s the difference between a soprano and a terrorist?
A: You can negotiate with a terrorist.

Q: What’s the difference between a soprano and a pirhana?
A: The lipstick.

Q: What’s the difference between a soprano and a pit bull?
A: The jewelry.

Q: How many sopranos does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: One. She holds the bulb and the world revolves around her.
A: Two. One to hold the diet cola and the other to get her accompanist to do it.
A: Four. One to change the bulb and three to pull the chair out from under her.

Q: What’s the difference between a Wagnerian soprano and the average All-Pro offensive lineman?
A: Stage makeup.

Q: What’s the difference between a Wagnerian soprano and a Wagnerian Tenor?
A: About 10 pounds.

Q: What is the difference between a soubrette and a cobra?
A: One is deadly poisonous, and the other is a reptile.

Q: How do you tell if a Wagnerian soprano is dead?
A: The horses seem very relieved.

Q: What’s the definition of an alto?
A: soprano who can sightread.

Q: What’s the difference between an alto and a tenor?
A: Tenors don’t have hair on their backs.

Q: How many altos does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: None. They can’t get that high.
A: Two; one to screw it in and the other to say, “Isn’t that a little high for you?”

Q: How many tenors does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Four. One to change the bulb and three to bitch that they could have done it if they had the high notes.

Q: How do you tell if a tenor is dead?
A: The wine bottle is still full and the comics haven’t been touched.

Q: Where is a tenor’s resonance?
A: Where his brain should be.

Q: What’s the definition of a male quartet?
A: Three men and a tenor.

Q: What is the difference between the men’s final at Wimbledon and a high school choral performance?
A: The tennis final has more men.

Q: What is the difference between a world war and a high school choral performance?
A: The performance causes more suffering.

Q: Why do high school choruses travel so often?
A: Keeps assassins guessing.

Q: What’s the definition of an optimist?
A: A choral director with a mortgage.

Q: What is the difference between a high school choral director and a chimpanzee?
A: It’s scientifically proven that chimpanzees are able to communicate with humans.

Q: How are sopranos defying the laws of astrophysics?
A: The center of the universe shifts with every step they take.

Q: Why can’t many vocalists get through the door?
A: They either can’t find the key or don’t know when to come in.

Q: What’s the difference between a dressmaker and an alto?
A: The dressmaker tucks up the frills.

How do vocal chords work?

amygould — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:33:05 +0000

The singing voice is a pretty unusual instrument because it is the only one that you can’t see. Many singers have no idea what vocal chords look like or how they work. Here are some videos that I have found online that demonstrate singing voices doing different things. Enjoy!

Female vocal chords

Female vocal folds singing AH

Female singing in the low range

Female singing E and different ways to start tone – This is a great video! You can see how the vocal chords work when you start the sound different ways.

Female performing several exercises – This video shows the scope going into a patient and the footage of the nose and pharynx as it goes to the vocal chords.

Instructional video – This is the same video as above with narration. It points out some of the things that are seen on the video.

Male vocal chords

Male vocal chords singing an exercise

Male talking and singing

For more information for singers, go to singerspot.com