Three Reasons to Get Vocal Lessons Before Heading Into the Studio
You spend months and months prepping your songs, critiquing your writing, organizing all of the parts, why skimp out on vocal training? The vocal take can make or break your entire song and it’s important to hire a coach who can guide you during your recording process. Read more!
We are going to nip this right in the bud—needing vocal lessons does not make you a bad vocalist. In fact, it makes you the best kind of vocalist: one who puts product and progress before pride! Just as the best authors need editors for their novels, and the most successful therapists need a professional of their own, and every great cosmetologist needs someone else to apply their touch-up color, so do we vocalists need vocal coaches. Whether you’re doing a few gigs a month at your local brewery or you’re Lady Gaga on tour, every vocalist benefits from a vocal coach.
Studio Stamina and Spot-Training
Whether you are in the studio for a few hours or a few days, take after take of vocals can
be taxing on anyone’s cords. Add any nerves or jitters into the mix and you may find your voice is just not as controlled as you’d like for it to be, or lasting in quality throughout the day. Then you get frustrated and start to spiral, which only makes matters worse. Many singers start to get fatigued after just a couple takes. A few great lessons can help with all of this.
As vocalists, we have to know when to “bring it,” and when to bring it back. A vocal coach will teach you about how to conserve your vocal energy for the whole session, how to make the hard stuff sound and feel easy, and what to do to give yourself rest throughout the recording process. You will learn how to give it your all while still pacing yourself. You can even select a coach that works specifically with session musicians to ensure you are getting the best expertise for the studio. Many of these coaches will work with you on the specific song(s) you plan on recording to help perfect your product and map out a vocal plan for each tune, touching on so many areas of technique so you are good to go for the whole session. Which leads us to our next point…
2. Sustainability
Coaches who have studied and trained in-depth are so knowledgeable on the human voice and its mechanics. In addition to maintaining stamina throughout the session, a vocal coach can teach you how to properly take care of your instrument long-term so that you can rely on and build a career around it. A huge part of that maintenance is dependent upon properly warming up and down (yes, down!), engaging breath rather than muscle, and other basic techniques to correct unhealthy or damaging singing. Vocal lessons can provide so many easy tools and exercises to get you on the right track.
You may have seen vocalists (or are one, yourself) who can do crazy riffs and runs, “screlt,” or add a rasp to their tone that feels so soulful, but quickly feel or sound tired, strained, or even experience pain after just an hour of gigging, or long days in the studio. We’re sure you’ve heard this a hundred times, but just in case— it should never be painful to sing. If you are experiencing pain while singing, that is a giant red flag that you could hugely benefit from just a little coaching to ensure healthy singing and avoid vocal fatigue or even injury. Remember— you don’t have to give up your unique sound and magic in order to sing healthily and sustainably, but integrating those things will take trust and patience. You’ve got this!
3. Awareness
Lastly but probably most importantly, another set of trained ears and eyes will be able to help you become more aware of your particular vocal strengths, pitfalls, and all details in between regarding your unique vocal constitution. Once you start vocal lessons, you will be shocked at how many vocal habits you have developed that you weren’t even aware of. Not only that, but your coach will show you how to lean further into your strengths and develop your weaknesses. For example:
If you tend to sound nasally on certain vowels or within a certain range, your vocal coach will help to identify those tendencies and give you tips and tricks to fix your tone that you can apply quickly in the studio. If you have a well-developed belt or chest voice but struggle to maintain a healthy mixed or floaty head voice, or if you have a gorgeous breathy tone but want to build more power and presence into your voice, your coach will be able to show you short and long-term exercises to help melt those registers together. You might find that you sound really “pinched” or strained during high notes which feels entirely out of your control, but a vocal coach may easily identify tension in your neck and shoulders and show you how to remedy that. Many of the best vocal coaches incorporate methods and solutions that seemingly have nothing to do with the voice itself; including breathing exercises, stretches and yoga or meditation, lifestyle changes, and more. Trust them, and you will get to know your instrument a lot better. You know what they say, the first step toward change is awareness.
If you’re planning to head into the studio soon to record a single, EP, or full-length album, we at Studio 45b could not recommend quality vocal lessons enough. It’s about more than just “sounding better.” It’s about knowing yourself and your voice, and making sure it lasts you a long, long time. Afterall, it is your livelihood! Or at least it’s what brings you a ton of joy. Either way, it’s worth the investment.
If you’re feeling convinced, Studio 45b offers a chance to connect right now with our professional vocal coach, Danielle Todd. Danielle has 17 years of experience performing, and draws from her own expertise, teachings from top industry professionals, and your specific needs as a vocalist to work on tone, vocal agility, vocal range, timbre, strength, and more. Everything from practical warm-ups, to emotional connection within your vocals, to singing through nerves, to developing the very fundamentals that define your artistic expression, Danielle will elevate your technique and artistry. Ready to chat? Reach out to book a consultation and we’ll talk about exactly what you want and need to take your musicianship to the next level.
We want you to feel healthy, confident, and prepared to come into the studio. Let’s connect today!
***Written by Singer/Songwriter Kayla Lunden ***