Voice & Melody Activation for Newbies

Unlocking the Music Within

Singing has loads of benefits¹:

• It helps your health (including strengthening the immune system, the breath, the upper muscular body, and even reducing physical pain).

• It increases self-confidence

• It reduces stress

• And, when we sing together, it literally harmonizes us by synchronizing our heartbeats

And yet, so many humans believe that they can’t sing. This Wonderful World is here to help fix that.

Everyone Can Sing

That’s right -you heard me: everyone. The percentage of humans who actually have the physical condition called “congenial amusia” (that makes it hard for them hear differences in pitch and tone²) is somewhere between 0.5%³ and 4%⁴ of us. This means that the likelihood of you being one of those people is very small, even if your parents or your friends have discouraged you. That being said, most of us have the ability to sing (and some might even suggest that, with treatment, the tone def are also included⁵). It is our birthright to sing. So, let’s clear up some basics:

What really makes a good singer?⁶

1. The ability to match a pitch: to start getting better at this, simply start humming along with your favorite songs.

2. The ability to hold that pitch with breath support: There’s tons of breathing techniques that can help you with this. But, the easiest thing to do is to sing along with your favorite songs in full volume.

3. The ability to remember and replicate music: To get better at this, practice learning some of your favorite songs and singing them a cappella (without music).

4. The ability to express emotion honestly and fully: To get better at this, simply spend more time feeling your emotions; the more you allow yourself to feel the feels, the easier they are to express.

All that to say: there is much hope for you as a singer. With these simple singing practices, not only can you sing other people’s songs, but you are equipped to make your own music! To do so, all you need is confidence in your inherent ability to create melody.

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The Innate Nature of Melody: Wordless Singing

Most of us have been listening to music for our whole lives. Without knowing it, through our listening, we have subconsciously acquired a whole repertoire of melodic possibilities that are itching to come out to play. Making music is a part of being human. Here’s a fun practice to help you discover your innate melodies:

Kitty Cat Voice Activation

The magic of the Kitty Cat activation is its absurdity. Fun is the first rule of singing -everything else is bonus. In this practice, you are not going to sound good. You will, however, clear out the furr balls that have kept you from giving it a good go. Here’s what you’re gonna do: Sing like a kitty cat. That’s right: you’re gonna meow. Sometimes you might even mrouw.

What you might not realize is that each and every one of us have a singing kitty inside. This kitty cat is well versed in melody, and all the musical elements of expression that make it. For this kitty cat, emotive song is inherent.

Need proof?

Let’s do it.

I mean it. You’re gonna feel ridiculous. Don’t back down! After years of teaching folks to sing and directing group singing experiences, this is a tried and tested method. Just do it 😽

• We’ll start with a Kitty Cat Anthem. Don’t be bashful: show your kitty cat pride! Here’s an little example -meow your heart out!

• Now, let’s do a Kitty Cat Lament. Let your inner kitty wail in sorrow for the one that got away. For example:

• Finally, let’s do a Kitty Cat Lullaby. Softly serenade the moon with your sweet kitty cat sounds, like these:

See, Kitty Cat? You too can make music! Go ahead and keep at while you’re doing dishes, or in the shower, or driving in the car, or making dinner, or cleaning the house, or in the line at the grocery store -all public places getcha bonus points, and extra extra points if you get others to join in!

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Musical Elements of Expression

What you may have noticed in the Kitty Cat songs is that you naturally understand the functions of different musical elements.

• Mood: You already know what sad music sounds like, what happy music sounds like, and what soothing music sounds like.

• Speed: You already know how fast music conjures feelings, and what slow music does.

• Volume: You already know the impact of loud music vs. quiet music.

With those simple and intuitive elements, you can create a wide range of emotional experiences. Let’s try it out with vocables.

Vocables

Another word for vocables could be gibberish. Basically, it’s a fancy term for sounds and syllables that have no meaning. Babies do it immediately -and if they can do it, so can you!

That being said, the fact that vocables have no intellectual meaning does not make them any less meaningful or powerful; like all music, the meaning is abstract but still present. Many cultures around the world use vocables in their music to express the inexpressible. Singing vocables improvisationally is a vital part of my life and my self-care.

To get your feet wet in this super inherent part of human expression, let’s first break it down a bit:

Vowels

Create the sound. Each vowel creates a different shape of the mouth and feeling.

Let’s Do It!

Sing each vowel: ah, eh, ee, eye, oh, oo. Pay attention to:

• How your mouth is shaped

• What your tongue is up to

• Where you can feel the sound in your body (your belly, your chest, your heart, your throat, your face, the top of your head)

• How you generally feel when singing it (it’ll be an abstract feeling, but just go with it).

Consonants

Close the mouth to stop the sound. They cannot exist without a vowel counter-part. (similarly, vowels need consonants to close the sound so that we can breathe). Ultimately, consonants are what mark meter and create the rhythm in words and vocables (Rhythm, in its most simple form, is a pattern of sound and silence).

Let’s Do It!

Say the following syllables a few times each. La, Da, Fa, Ka, Ma, Na, Wa, Sa, Ba, Ta

Pay attention to how each consonant changes:

• How your mouth is shaped

• What your tongue is up to

Note that each vowel and consonant combo (syllable) creates a different effect and feeling. La, for example, creates a very different experience from Ta, which is very different from Lee and Tea. If you’ve ever heard different genres of music use vocables, you’ll notice that different kinds of music tend to use certain syllables more than others to create the energy or effect of that music.

Let’s Do It!

Sing the melodies of your favorite songs without words. Try out different syllables to get a feel of how different vowels and consonants have different effects. What matters most in this exercise is the expression of emotion using different syllable combinations.

Keep going! Start fiddling around with your own vocable melodies to express your emotions. When you feel happy, challenge yourself to make a happy little tune. When you feel sad, challenge yourself to sing about it without any words. Just snap your fingers or clap your hands and see what happens.

Music is INSIDE of you.

Let. It. Out.

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Now, Start Writing Your Own Songs!

Lyrics that Lift: Songwriting for Peace with (our) Nature

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Read More About the Foundations of Reflective Art with:

The Heart of Reflective Arts: for peace within and all around

1. https://www.useyourear.com/blog/ear-training-and-tone-deafness#:~:text=Can%20a%20tone%20deaf%20person,to%20intermediate%20and%20advanced%20skills.

2. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5437896/#:~:text=Congenital%20amusia%20(commonly%20known%20as,except%20for%20spatial%20orientation%20problems.

3. https://www.vocaladvancement.com/en-us/blog/article/can-anyone-be-taught-how-to-sing#:~:text=Some%20scientists%20suggest%20that%2C%20like,these%20studies%20have%20been%20negligible.

4. Ibid.

5. https://www.singupfoundation.org/singing-health#:~:text=Singing%20is%20an%20aerobic,could%20mean%20for%20the%20NHS.

6. https://www.useyourear.com/blog/ear-training-and-tone-deafness#:~:text=Can%20a%20tone%20deaf%20person,to%20intermediate%20and%20advanced%20skills.