What even IS vibrato? - Madeline Gordon

I, myself, am guilty of wanting to sound like a celebrity. Everyone has their singing inspirations, of course. We all have a favorite artist that we aspire to be like.
If you know me-- you know that I am probably the biggest Michael Jackson fan to ever walk the earth. BUT-- I do not try to sing like him.

Here is the reason- he is a pop singer... (duh, king of pop). I am not a pop singer!!! I am a classical/musical theatre singer. Due to this, our voices sound NOTHING alike. This is merely an example of the fact that your voice is yours and you should never try to change it. Improving your voice, on the other hand, is a different story. But improve your voice in your category and stay true to your skills. 
"Some stylized voices tend to push breath and if you copy them you may end up with a strained voice," (Sabine). THIS IS TRUE. Not for all popular singers, but you may strain your voice trying to match their sound. 

Your voice is unique, so enjoy it the way it is. 

Practicing 

When I practice, it is important that I am calm. I must be in a clean, relaxed environment. Singing requires a LOT of relaxation. Relaxation can also help with your breath support. It is important to have water nearby. If you feel scratchy or raspy, drink water. It is amazing how many problems water can fix. 

"Before practicing, work some of the muscles of your body by taking in a good breath and stretching your arms out to the sides. Then breath out and simultaneously drop your arms back to your sides. Do this several times," (Sabine). 
People sometimes don't realize that singing requires your ENTIRE body. You must learn how to incorporate your whole body. When I was a figure skater, I thought it was hard to focus on arms and legs. Now, as a singer, I have to focus on head, shoulders, arms, legs, jaw, mouth, tongue, and eyebrows... my goodness. 

"Shaking out your arms and legs will prevent any tension that might be there at the onset of vocalizing," (Sabine). Be ready to sing your heart out. Make sure your tell your body mentally how you are feeling, because your voice will portray that emotion-- which is also why you can't sing as well when you're upset. 

Vibrato

"I define vibrato as 'slight variation of pitch resulting from the free oscillation of the vocal chords,'" (Jones). 
If that doesn't make any sense, vibrato is the sound of the voice sort of "wobbling" up and down and making a vibrating sound.
This is very common in lots of different singing styles. It is something that can be developed. 

A straight tone is singing without vibrato. "

This is potentially a damaging circumstance. Straight tone singing is extremely unhealthy for the voice. Vocal nodules can result from such vocal production because of too much pressure held at the glottis to prevent vibrato from occurring in the tone," (Jones).
So, here you can see that singing straight tone isn't good for your voice. I will add more in my next blog!

Thanks for reading and happy singing!! :)