For The Singers

Hi to all you vocalists out there that are involved in your worship teams. This last week we have had a really valuable vocal team night, attended by our backing vocalists. We are so blessed to have Jono McNeil as part of our team (an amazing vocalist/professional singer/vocal coach etc etc…) some of you may have been at his vocal workshop at our London conference in March. Anyway, He has been training us, teaching us, and inspiring us to really use the voice God has given us to its every potential.

His workshops have been so valuable I thought we should share this wisdom with all you guys as well & hellip; So here are some of Jono McNeil & rsquo;s top tips for those of you singing regularly in your church services & ndash;

HYDRATION - Our voices are made up of many parts but most importantly, two vocal cords (vocal folds) that vibrate at different very high speeds in our larynx to create sound. It's a delicate process and we want to make sure that they are given the best chance to create a brilliant sound. Hydration maybe a simple idea but there's sometimes a little confusion in this area. The cords work best when they have a nicely hydrated mucosal layer enabling fluid vibration. That water needs to get through to them though. A quick swig before a worship set is not going to do much more than wet your mouth. Water takes time to get through the body to hydrate the chords from within. Before a singing session, you should be sipping room temperature water (cold water restricts circulation) consistently up to 4 hours before. Grab a 1.25 litre bottle and that would be a great place to start. Believe me, when your voice is well hydrated, it'll free you up to get all of your best notes and the most beautiful elements of your tone. A winner.

WARM-UP - So many singers know this is important but it seems so many neglect to prepare their voices well with a decent warm-up. Sometimes we have to be a little more creative about this, especially if you live in a London flatshare with thin walls! Consider arriving at your church early and finding a quiet secluded space, or perhaps something discreet on the tube or even an empty park. Wherever it is, your voice will love you for it and you'll find it's much more sustainable and easy to use. Some people like to purchase warm up cds - I love this myself as it means I can put my brain into auto pilot and just do what the cd says to me. It also means I get something substantial rather than a token "mee mee mah mah" for 30 seconds! Many good singing teachers will record their lessons for you so you can use that as a good warm up to run. When you get to your warm up, begin easy; humming scales, lip trills, "ng" sounds. Then open up gradually covering less range in each scale but each time allowing yourself to go a little higher. If you feel any sort of tension, go back to the last exercise and nurture your voice through that difficult patch. Remember what an athlete might go through without a proper warm up and stretch; cramps, torn ligaments etc. Look after your voice like an athlete cares for their body and you'll have a far more reliable voice on your hands.

ANIMATION - I've always been fascinated with energy in voices. Why do some voices make me want to dance or loudly sing along or buy a ticket? There is something about a voice that is animated that compels listeners on a deep level. When the tone quality is glistening and the lyrics seem almost to be penetrating your soul, something really special is happening. How do we get 'animation' in our voices? Here are some thoughts. Diction. An underrated yet essential singing component. Try singing a line of one of your favourites songs with hardly any consonants and then try again exaggerating every consonant as much as you can. Listen to the difference in sound and tone quality. Vowels love consonants. The better your crisp consonants (diction) are being executed, the better your vowels and consequently your overall tone quality will be. Colour. Colour refers to the various tone qualities we can bring to the voice. What if we were to explore a more nasal sound, a breathier sound, a harsher brattier sound and the combine them all creatively into a musical phrase. This kind of experimentation with the the voice is an exciting way of exploring new ways to express what we're singing, although it may seem a little odd at first. The voice has an exciting range of possibilities so why not use them?!

HARMONY Have a listen to-  

“It is Well With My Soul” – Avalon o Unison o Layering o Counter melodies o Omit vibrato  

“Surely” – Israel Houghton o 3 part gospel o Unison  

“How Deep the Father’s Love” – Phillips Craig and Dean o One harmony at a time o Layering  

“All I Need Is You” – Hillsong United o Descant 4:30

Happy singing all! Jono McNeil

Also, this is my absolute favourite vocal performance of all time (gives me goose bumps every time I watch it)–

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wupsPg5H6aE

What happened Whitney???

Hope all of this helps & ndash; it really helped us! Let & rsquo;s hope for lots more workshops with Jono!

Be blessed, Nikki xx