This new singing tips video is a response to some of the confusion I've heard/seen around YouTube and in general surrounding singing and how to sing!


Specifically, I want to debunk three lies:

(1) That singing is "natural" and in order to sing like a pro, you just have to forget about technique and FEEL the music! While this is, to some degree, part of the art and craft of singing, so many people underestimate how much time and effort goes into finding your singing voice.

(2) That if you can't learn how to sing a song the very first time you attempt it, you'll never be able to sing it! This is a huge mental block people experience, and I want to explain how this is simply NOT the case.

(3) That belt singing or big hefty sounds require a ton of TENSIONS and EFFORT in the face and throat. This is a misconception! Even though performers make "belting faces" and emote in their faces when they hit high notes, it has nothing to do with the production of sound. In fact, when done correctly, singing should feel basically effortless (except for the breath production down below).

What do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? Leave me a comment!

xo Fel

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Yo yo yo!

Here is my newest video on how to sing low. Remember that it is important to utilize breath support and getting the resonance in the mouth. This video teaches healthy ways to accomplish these singing tasks!

Try out these tips and let me know how it goes!

xo Fel

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Friends!

This new video breaks down Taylor Swift's Blank Space and offers appropriate vowel and lyric modifications that help you place the sound in a way similar to Taylor's clear, resonant tone. This isn't necessarily the highest or most challenging song, but it's a great way to practice practice opening the back of your throat and not tensing so you know where to place the sound -- that way it won't fall flat while you're singing.

I hope you like this video!

Love,
Fel

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Hey y'all,

This new singing video will help you go from "bad singer" to good singer (or at least decent!). Included are some basic tips for beginner singers who don't know exactly where to begin. This video is geared toward answering the questions that unexperienced singers often ask. So if you're just starting out at the very beginning of your singing journey and feel like you might "suck" (haha), then be sure to tune in because I don't want to leave you out in the cold.

Keep Singing!

xo Fel

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Singer dudes!

Check out this new video if you're interested in learning how to sing like some of today's big POP STARS! Included are a few different singers who have different tones (Adele, Ariana Grande, Sam Smith, and more).

xo Fel

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Hey errybody!

Here is my newest singing tips video on how to strengthen that HEAD VOICE of yours! Watch this video to learn (1) how to find your head voice, (2) migrate it more forward in the face, and (3) eliminate breathiness and "aim" the sound to maximize volume, without strain.

Check it out here! Thanks :)

Love,
Fel

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Hello my singer friends!

I've recently received a lot of questions from singers who find their default singing voice is airy, breathy, and seems to pop up into a more soprano-y head register that's difficult to control or make powerful. For some singers, it seems almost impossible to locate a grounded chest voice. This new video of mine addresses the top 3 ways to find a grounded, resonant CHEST VOICE.

You can find the link to this video below. Enjoy!

xo Fel

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In case you haven't heard, my new mega singing course SINGING TRANSFORMATION: 360 DEGREES OF VOCAL TRAINING is open for enrollment this week!!

I want to quickly answer 3 of your top singing questions that keep popping up during this week of Singing Transformation enrollment --

1. How do I know if I'm singing with my OWN voice?

You already know the answer to this one: if you love singing and have some practice under your belt, you already have a voice! Done! Congrats! You have a voice!!

But here's the KEY -- to stop fighting against your sound. The best singing is the EASIEST singing. No joke. We don't need tricks or compensations. We just need to get out of the way and make way for our sound to resonate.

And we do that through: (1) supported breath, (2) a relaxed body, (3) mental visualizations that help you ready, aim, fire your sound so it hits EVERY TIME. No mystery, no surprises. It all just comes from practice, and a plan.

2. No matter how much I practice, my weaknesses never get better! Will I ever improve?

Heck yes! If you've studied with voice teachers in the past and haven't made progress, you're in the majority. In fact, voice teachers sometimes serve to REINFORCE bad habits because you meet with them every week, sing with bad habits, and they never correct you. Then you go home and practice without goals or strategies in mind, and nothing ever seems to change.

It's super common. But singing is just like any other skill - you need the right instruction and the right guidance. If you have mental or physical blocks that make it hard to sing correctly, it's time to change the conversation.

As a teacher, I'm all about the MIND-BODY connection. Saying that one thing that will get your body to react. And then pairing that visualization or prompt with your practice, every single time.

Habits are annoying, sure. But they can totally be broken. You just need a new approach. Soon, your mind and body will relearn what feels NORMAL -- and what feels normal will be awesome, relaxed, singing. :)

3. What happens when I go to learn a song and it's too hard?

Here's a freeing fact: if you can sing it in warmups, you can sing it in a performance.

So often, the act of adding lyrics, melody, and a character/context to a song freaks us out so we think we have to abandon technique. Suddenly the "big note" at the end seems super intimidating, even though we've sung the note 100 times during practice!

I discuss the Song Performance process in great detail in Singing Transformation, but a HUGE key to making songs accessible is to break them down into small, manageable chunks, and then sing one or two lines as a vocal warmup.

Similarly, if you find there's a really helpful vocal warmup or even vowel sound that gets your voice pinging out beautifully, you can APPLY those vowels and warmups to the song at hand.

Again, this is a multi-step process that I get into in more detail, but it's actually much easier to relate songs to warmups than you think.

A lot of us expect to hear a song, check out the sheet music, and BAM! sing it perfectly. But it doesn't work like that. Take it from me -- sometimes, the first time I sing through a song, I sound like a weirdo.

But once you find your groove, break it down, modify vowels, and understand that lyrics are not all that different from your vocal warmups, you'll be golden.

ALSO!
One more thing - registration for Singing Transformation is OPEN as of yesterday. The deep discounts and bonuses are good only through this week, and certain options will sell out, so please don't wait that long if you're interested in bundling in personalized instruction with me!!

the link is http://www.SingingTransformation.com



okay thanks for reading and sending your questions!!

xo Fel



P.S. I know I zipped through these 3 questions, but Singing Transformation: 360 Degrees of Vocal Training gets into all these topics, in great detail. I also address:



-How to practice

-How to know if your voice "feels" right

-Mixing your chest and head voice

-Adding power to your sound

-Breath support

-Relaxation

-Delivering an awesome performance at a concert or audition

-Self-confidence



Live written Q&A also allows you to ask me any question, any time, and certain tiers of enrollment include Google hangouts and personalized video critiques. And it's all only through Monday my friends--

http://www.SingingTransformation.com?

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Hi singer buds!! The song "Bang Bang" by Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj is everywhere right now - and for good reason. It's SUCH a cool song, featuring impressive vocals from these three women.

Many of you requested I make a singing tips video to teach you how to approach it, so voila! 

How to Sing "Bang Bang" by Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj >




Please check it out and leave me a comment to let me know what you think!

Love,
Felicia

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Hey buds! Here is a another singing tips video on how to eliminate tension, strain, vocal pain or fatigue while you sing.

*Make sure to watch through to the end just in case you missed my COOL SECRET ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!*

**Or just make sure you visit SingingTransformation.com !**

Thanks for watching, and enjoy!

xo Fel

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Hey, cool friends! My latest singing tips video is all about Vocal Range -- and how to bust through vocal "ceilings" to sing higher, freer notes.

*Be sure to watch the whole video because it contains a SUPER SECRET ANNOUNCEMENT AT THE VERY END SHHHHHH*

**Okay the announcement is this: SingingTransformation.com !**

:) Enjoy! xo Fel

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Hey there!! I'm SUPER close to finishing my long-awaited Singing Transformation Course. (woooo!) 

I've been designing this mega singing curriculum for more than 2 years, and I'm finally on the verge of wrapping it up (plan is to release in early September...thank you for your patience during the process).

In the course I'm going to cover everything you need to know about CONSISTENT, POWERFUL, and CONFIDENT singing. It will include instruction videos, sequenced warmups, daily conditioning, audio downloads, and even some word-and-image PDFs of me doing singer stretches and lolling and other crazy stuff like that (you know how I roll).

Plus a select number of enrollees will get to work with me one-on-one (more details to come...) :-)

Badass singers who are famous today started off just where you are: with questions, concerns, and confusion. You deserve to stop being confused and reach your potential. It's my sworn goal to help you demolish bad habits and prove that you don't have to be born "gifted" in order to sing beautifully. Truth is, the hurdles and roadblocks we build for ourselves are so often imaginary.

I want to show you (1) how simple good singing really is, (2) how powerful it is to KNOW your own voice better than anyone else does, (3) how integral CONFIDENCE, self-talk, and mental imagery is to good singing.

BUT! Before I finalize everything, I need to make sure I've covered all your questions. This is where you come in, my friend!! Please take a few minutes to answer this super-short survey (it's totally anonymous, and literally one question haha) --

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Hi singer friends!! I've just finished my latest singing tips video, this time breaking down "Chandelier" by Sia! It's a super cool song that got requested by lots of you on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and this blog.

When it comes to singing and creating a signature sound (like Sia), you don't manipulate the cord, you manipulate the resonant space in your face and mouth. Please watch and let me know what you think! Was this helpful? Which parts of the song give you the most trouble? Which songs / singer styles would you like me to break down next? Thanks, as always, for watching!

Love, Fel

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My new singing tips video is called How to Sing "Problem" by Ariana Grande! "Problem" is a high, fast, non-stop belting extravaganza -- but it becomes much less of a "Problem" if you know how to keep the words forward in the "mask" section of your face (see what I did there). 

This video takes each lyric, breaks it down, and rewrites it with crazy "singer voodoo" phrasing listed for you on the screen, so you know exactly how to approach the lyrics with a relaxed, open throat and pingy, forward belty placement.

   

 The trick with vowel mods is that they SOUND the same to the listener but are ultra singer friendly and much easier to place. I would NEVER be able to sing "Problem" if I took the lyrics at face value and didn't take time to rewrite every line. And the same goes for any song I've ever belted. 

Please leave comments or questions, and share with friends who love Ariana Grande, love to sing, or who are curious about the bizarre workings of singer voodoo!! 

 Happy singing!!! Love, Fel

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Darlings! Check out my latest singing tips video about vocal vibrato. 

What is vibrato, how do you know if you're doing it right, and how do you know if you're doing it wrong? 

Watch and let me know what you think!!


Please don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel! I'm making a lot more videos lately so be sure to get in on the action!

Love and viiiibbbbbbrrrraaaaattttooooo,
Fel

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The number one topic singers ask me about is belting. I can't blame them -- belting is super fun to do, incredibly popular, and sounds super cool when you nail it.

A lot of you have joined my complete, A-to-Z belting course called Belt Your Face Off!, which is loads of fun and incredibly effective. It's the "belting mothership," and is a comprehensive look at belting that takes you, step-by-step, through warmups, practice sessions, homework, audio downloads, and enables you to master belting. I highly recommend you check it out if you're serious about studying belting.

But what if you're just dipping in your toe? Maybe you're just a little bit curious, and aren't ready to take the plunge? What if you want a "crash course" in belting -- the cliff notes, if you will -- before you decide if you're ready to go on the Belt Your Face Off! journey with me?

Behold! A brand new, completely free, completely fun belting course (taught by me) that teaches you the top three steps to belt singing ! It's called Belting Crash Course and features over 40 minutes of video spread out over three easy lessons (with a couple surprise bonuses). There are also audio downloads and text guides to help you.

So far, 350+ students have enrolled in one week!

To join in the belterly fun, click here to enroll >

Hope we get to belt together!!

Love, Fel

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Hello! Here is a brand new singing tips video about breathing while singing. It was inspired by one of my Belt Your Face Off students, who recently asked:

"Should my breathing be conscious and deliberate, or is it automatic and on autopilot?"

It's a great question that requires we delve more deeply into breathing. So I posted a response video to my YouTube channel. Check it out below! And hopefully this will clear up some lingering Qs you might have about breathing from the diaphragm and using a supported sound.

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I heart you, Katy Perry

The other day, while singing along to "Dark Horse" in the car, which I do constantly, (I'm obsessed) I realized I wanted to know exactly what Katy Perry does to sound so distinctive and awesome. So I decided to listen to some of her most popular tracks (over...and over...and over...) and figure out exactly what she does, from a technical standpoint, when she delivers a song. The video below -- "How to Sing Like Katy Perry" -- is perfect for singers who are hoping to emulate elements of her signature style, or use her vocal choices as a jumping off point (or if you just want to straight-up copy her...!).

Not gonna lie... I'm super excited about this video.

Katy Perry is obviously a hugely popular and successful singer-songwriter with legions of fans and tons of hits. But she's also an impressive vocal technician who has developed a rich, interesting, and distinctive sound.

After I finished editing the video, I realized that it also helped convey not just Katy Perry's artistic choices, but the wide range of technical choices available to artists who are developing their tone and style. The video just scratches the surface, but it gives you a bit of insight into the kinds of detailed vocal work that solo artists put into creating a signature sound that separates them from the rest of the world.

Please check it out, like it in YouTube, and share with friends! (Oh, and subscribe to my channel!)

Love,
Felicia

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Why is everyone so afraid of voice cracking?? And what can we, as singers, do to prevent the dreaded wobble? Check out my brand spankin' new singing tips video -- "Voice Cracking and How to Prevent It" -- for advice on combatting the process of cracking. In it, I crack a lot like a complete weirdo. Hopefully you will lol with (at?) me.

(This video has also been added to the Free Singing Tips area of this blog, which is a collection of handy singing articles, videos, and singing advice. Check it out if you haven't visited yet!)

What do you think about cracking? Have you ever cracked during a performance? Are you terrified of cracking while practicing, or have you learned to embrace your voice's vulnerabilities as you learn and grow? 

Leave a comment in the comments section below!

Love,
Felicia

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Hiya! If you're a singer, please check out the trailer (above) I made for my exciting new Online Video Critique service, which is really picking up some steam via my website. It's an amazing way for me to connect to singers across the world -- I love to hear and see you sing!

How It Works: All you have to do is film your video, fill out the form on my website, checkout with PayPal, and we're in business for a quick 1-3 business day turnaround, in which I send you a filmed video of me critiquing your performance and vocal technique (and whatever else you're working on). Check it out and let me know what you think!

Sign Up Today >>

On a related note, there's a prize in order. Those of you who were generous enough to take my nifty little singing survey this past week (see previous post to get up to speed) were automatically entered to win a free Online Video Critique. I received 78 responses and all your answers were incredible -- detailed, open, honest -- the works! Thank you for sharing your experiences with me. This will help me tremendously as I continue to hone my teaching style and offer more or more online resources for you guys.

I'm pleased to announce that the winner is.... Justin C.!

Look! I made some nifty #charts

Justin, I've sent you an email letting you know and also listing the next steps. I'm psyched to work with you! Wooooo!

As for any possible one-on-one phone chats to discuss your answers, those still might happen in the next several weeks, so look in your email inbox for a message from me. I'll email you all a thank-you note regardless, but will also set up chatting time via email when I'm ready to get the ball rolling.

I'm so thrilled to be part of such a cool community of singers, actors and theater-lovers. Everybody, let's do a virtual dance together. [Does virtual dance.]

See you soon!

Love,
Felicia

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Here is my face, smiling at you, like, "Please take my survey lol!"

*Note: As of Friday, April 25, 2014, submission has been closed. Thank you to all who participated! The winner will be announced later today.*

Are you a singer? An aspiring singer? Do you belt it out in the shower?

If so, I'd love for you to help me out by taking a quick survey.

Is there a prize involved? Heck yes! One survey-taker will be randomly selected to receive a free online video critique from me! (What's a video critique? Learn more here >)

So what's the survey about?

In an ongoing effort to bring more beautiful, free, effortless, joy-filled singing into the world, I'm searching for ways to better serve my private and online voice students.

Lately, I've been very interested the concept of fear and what holds us back when we perform. 

Would you mind lending a few moments to offer your opinions? 

You can remain 100% anonymous.

Cool bonus: I'm also looking to phone interview some of you for further research.

If you're interested in potentially having a little one-on-one chat with yours truly, simply fill out the survey as truthfully as possible, leave your email at the bottom, and be sure to check "yes" when I ask you if you're open to speaking over the phone. 

If I feel you're a good candidate for an interview, I'll email you and we can schedule a time to speak.

Thank you, friends! I can't thank you enough for participating!

Love, Felicia

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What?? Two new singing tips video in one week?? I've gone insane!

This new video answers a question I get a lot:

"Felicia. What can I do to improve my singing technique, right now?"

Some of you may think the answer is "nothing," but that's actually not true. Of course, anything worth achieving takes lots of practice, and this is certainly true of singing. But there are a few things you can do -- right now -- to enhance your sound and improve your singing technique immediately.

Check out the video below for my best 3 tips for making big singing strides -- today!

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Hi, singer friends! I've been getting a lot of questions from my voice students and from many of you via social media about how to sing "Let It Go" from Frozen in the style of Idina Menzel, so I decided to make a quick vid giving you some singing tips on how to approach the super challenging (and fun) ending which sweeps up to a high E flat.

To sing "Let It Go," I adopted some key vowel modifications that will help you pop out the high belting easily and without tension.

Check it out below and let me know what you think!




Learn more about Belt Your Face Off here >

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