Singing Exercises Guitar Lesson

Chapter 1: (01:59) Lesson Introduction Welcome back! Get your guitar out and get ready to sing!

** If you are playing the guitar as well as singing, then you can do the individual warm-ups together but there will be some parts of each that you will need to do separately from one another. For example, you will still need to stretch and warm-up your body before you are fully ready and able to sing at your maximum potential. The other parts of the warm-up procedure can usually be done together. Nevertheless, go through your “normal” vocal warm-up in its entirety to protect your voice and get the most out of the singing experience. Chapter 2: (02:37) Warm Up 1)Warm up the body
2)Single note hum
3)Three note hum
Chapter 3: (03:07) More Warm Up Continue warming up with the following steps:
1)Hum Me-me-me-me to mah-mah-mah mah to me-ma-me-ma-me
2)Wake up the breath with sah-sah-sah etc. Sing long and sustained at first, then five times staccato.

In general, we need to go through the warm-up process to get to this point and then begin to look at and create beauty in singing and performing. Hum a single pitch in mid voice with a pianissimo (very softly) volume level. Then, sing a gradual crescendo (increase in volume) on a succession of vowels that become brighter and brighter. So, hum softly increasing in volume u-o-a. As mentioned in the last lesson, you can do this portion of the warm-up while accompanying yourself with the guitar. Chapter 4: (03:22) Singing Process Think about the singing process process in this order:

1)Breathe
2)Sing
3)Sustain
4)Release

Without any one of these steps, the singing process cannot work properly. It is very important to think about the entire process to become a good singer. Chapter 5: (02:35) Optimal Warm-Up In general, a 20% rule of thumb for vocal warm-up is a good way to go. If you are planning to perform for an hour, a ten to fifteen minute warm-up should be sufficient. An increase in that amount should accompany a more rigorous performance or more lengthy performance. This should be done while accompanying yourself with the guitar. However, if you are playing and singing as well, you should probably spend additional time warming up your hands and wrists, and perhaps even practice chords and vocal passages together. Chapter 6: (04:50) Playing in Sync No, I'm not referring to the illustrious music of the now defunct boy-band “In Sync,” but rather playing and singing the same note at the same time. As illustrated in the last performance lesson, our first exercises were intended to facilitate playing and singing the same note at the same time we are playing. So, we played the A-chord while humming an A note. Then, we hummed a three note passage, then a five note passage, and so on. The goal of that particular exercise was to “break the ice” so to speak, since playing the same tone at the same time in sync with the chord is easier than singing a series of notes that deviate away from this simple pattern.

Exercise 1
Play an open C chord (see lesson 3 of my Intro to guitar for chord tabs if you need to) in this rhythm or "down, down, down, down." Hum a single note, then a three note passage, then a five note passage. Easy, right? Now we’re going to step it up a little bit! Hum a series of notes that correspond with this rhythm or "down, down-up, down." Watch me in the lesson if you are confused about what I’m talking about. Chapter 7: (01:22) Down Down Up Down Sing like I do in the video: "down, down-up down, down, down-up, down." This is the next level in difficulty when singing and playing together. Practice this until you feel comfortable and ready to go on to the next exercise. Remember to relax your wrist and allow the pick to flow over the strings in order to obtain a smooth and sweet sound from the guitar. Chapter 8: (06:16) Another Exercise Exercise 2
The next part of this exercise involves singing and switching between the C major and A minor chords. Play the same "down, down-up, down" strum pattern and alternate. Be sure to say "down, down-up, down" as you strum.

Exercise 3
While holding an A minor chord, strum this rhythm: "down, down-up, down." Play the Am and strum while accompanying yourself first with single note hums, then a three note scale, followed by a five note scale. Now, try it while singing "down, down-up, down." Watch me in the video to see how I do it. Sing softly at first, then louder and faster as you get more comfortable with the exercise.

**Remember, some of these exercises might be difficult at first, so take your time and relax. You may find yourself strumming when you didn’t want to or singing when you hadn’t intended to. This is normal! Work through the exercises slowly and even at half the speed that I’m demonstrating if it helps you.

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