“That can’t be how to sing. It’s too easy!!!”

That’s the comment I hear most often from my students.

Then the student feels so vulnerable. It’s scary. “If I don’t have to continue struggling to get the sound right, what happens now?”

“You become an artist,” is my answer.

You can’t be listening to the music, lyrics and the creative impulse if you are worrying about your voice. When that struggle is gone and singing is easy, then you can be completely in the music. That is when you are able to truly listen. That is when you become an artist.

Sing Like You Speak™ technique is specifically designed to train performers to become artists. The end result is rock-solid, ‘too easy’ singing through healthy vocal technique. And that is why you sing like you speak.

It all begins with speaking on musical pitch. Sing Like You Speak utilizes the natural ease of speech as the foundation for singing. You can talk all day long without giving a thought to pitch, tone quality or breathing. Then you hear your intro played and you immediately use your voice differently – unnaturally.

That is not what happens when your phone rings. The phone rings, you answer and say, “Hello!” No worries about key or tone or breathing. Simple and easy.

Depending on whom you see on the caller ID you will say “Hello” with different inflections taking your voice to a new pitch each time. Give a thought to how you say “Hello” when it’s your best friend; your mother-in-law; a telemarketer; your favorite aunt; the manager you’ve been trying to get signed with for 2 years.

Each time you answer the phone you will say “Hello” on a different pitch, with different tone quality and different intention. The cool part is that you do all this subconsciously – without conscious thought or decision. It all happens as a perfectly natural response to the situation.

This perfectly natural response to the situation is the reason why SLYS students say, “That can’t be how to sing. It’s too easy!” When you use speech as the initial impulse for phonation, making sound with the voice, you can also use the naturally inflected emotional response to the situation of the lyrics and to the music.

Inflected speech moves around in pitch. You could actually notate your speech on the musical staff. You’ll be surprised at how wide your range is when speaking. Have a conversation with your pet while you have an instrument handy. Listen carefully to the sound of your speech. When you hear a word that stands out find the pitch on which you just spoke. Find out just how wide your speaking range is and you’ll learn the potential of your singing range.

When you speak on pitch with Sing Like You Speak™, you don’t just match the pitch or reach for the pitch with the word. You inflect to the pitch. This connects you to the emotion or intention associated with that specific word on that specific pitch. Inflected speech also connects to the deepest core muscles that support the sound – a connection you can actually feel.

Go back to experimenting saying “Hello” when you answer the phone. Notice you don’t make “Hello” match the pitch you’re thinking of to express your greeting. Your voice simply goes to an appropriate pitch all by itself.

Inflected speech does helps to:
• Connect deeply, emotionally to the music and lyrics
• Speak or sing on any pitch within your range easily
• Respond truthfully to the music and lyrics
• Power up the voice – powerful resonance and emotionally powerful
• Blend head voice, chest voice and mix into 1 voice
• Recover the joy of singing with power and freedom

You may not be aware of how you are holding, gripping, straining or otherwise interfering with your singing. That’s perfectly normal. You may only be aware that your voice feels trapped inside of you or that you are struggling.

Once more back to experimenting saying “Hello” when you answer the phone. Notice that there’s no muscular tension the helps you say “Hello.” Now try saying it enthusiastically. Observe how your abdominal muscles work to make the sound. That’s diaphragmatic breathing at work. You didn’t give a thought to diaphragmatic breathing but it worked naturally.

Notice how you speak in different ranges without thinking about it and without strain or struggle. This is the result of emotionally inflected speech leading to:

• A healthy instrument that is 1 voice throughout the entire range
• A fully embodied, emotionally inflected voice that responds to the demands of storytelling, intension and character
• Deeply connected vocal production you and feel physically
• Consistent step-by-step process producing a consistent result

Every Sing Like You Speak™ exercise focuses on the process that yields these star-quality results. You will use words and phrases – never just scales and arpeggios on pure vowels. Contemporary music is about communicating. When that communication is honest and connected to core muscles through your speech then you have rock-solid, powerful, free singing.

Try using inflected speech in your practice. Make sure that you are really saying something to someone. Keep insisting on speech and your understanding of the inflection will sharpen. Then imitate the inflected speech to begin the exercise or phrase. Then you too can say,

“That can’t be how to sing. It’s too easy!!!”

Go to http://RockSolidSinging.com to get 3 free how to sing videos.