Trill tempos 3-4

RH = 100 bpm
LH = 84 bpm

#3 Singing with closed vocal chords

I've gotten pretty good at "releasing" the tone, that is singing without straining by engaging the throat muscles we use to swallow. I've trained those rogue muscles to relax, but at the expense of having my vocal chords properly. So my tone is light and free throughout my range, but it isn't very powerful and it sounds a bit light and operatic. Turns out pop music is the hardest to sing correctly because it requires the vocal chords to come together securely to create a tone that has very little vibrato and is very close to speech. Most singers, to get that sound, strain their voice and engage their swallowing muscles: that closes the vocal chords without fail, but the tone is tight. Releasing the tone (not using the swallowing muscles) but still keeping the vocal chords tight is a real trick that few singers have mastered. Maybe only the greats. But, at the risk of sounding cocky, I'm gonna get there. To drill, I sing a loud "Aaaaa" throughout my range. It's ugly as hell, but saying "aa" as in "bat" or "cat" forces the vocal chords to stay closed.

By the way, keeping the vocal chords closed and tight together is what it means to "press in" . . . a term some singing teachers love. Pressing in is not exclusively about singing louder or pumping more air through your body, although that's part of it. The foundation of it is keeping those vocal chords tight together, which results in volume and proper breath support.

#2) Intervals on the guitar

I've made a flashcard for every interval you can create above an open string, all the way up to a 13th. Some of my guitars go up to a 14th, but 14ths are sounding too theoretical, so I'm starting memorizing 13ths. What I do for each interval is envision of the name of the note and register of that note formed above each open string.

#1 Interval Flashcard Drills

So, this is what I'm doing with my flashcards as of now.

1) sing all intervals up and down
2) sing all major chords, root, 1st, and 2nd inversion using the flat, natural, and sharp spellings for each family
3) ditto for minor chords, augmented chords, and diminished chords
4) sing all dominant seventh chords up and down
5) sing all major seventh chords up and down

Remember . . . if you can sing it you can hear it . . . if you can hear it, you can play it . . .

How is everyone doing?

Hi Everyone,
Making these lesson vids is so fun. Has anyone tried 'em?

Hey! First posting ever!

So I've gone the whole nine yards and started a youtube channel, etc. First thing I posted were a few ideas on piano technique. Everything else that's coming is guitar related. It's going to be intense, guys. And so worth the work! Curious if anyone else sees the fretboard the way I do.