Total newbie

katia.b

Hi there,
I bought the PRO course (+WW) last week - a bit of an impulse purchase: I have no music/singing experience (i.e. I am too embarrassed to even sing Happy Birthday out loud and don't know the first thing about notes/vocal range etc.), but I get really moved by music and singing, so decided I needed to do something about it. Do you have any tips for total newbies?
I assume I should start with the week-end warrior? If so, should I just practice the exercises after having watched the videos? How often? For how long? How/When do I know that I can move on the Vol 1?
Also, when Ken suggests women 'just do the exercises an octave higher' - I find that quite hard. Should i just not worry and then do the DIVA exercises?
Thanks for your help
Katia

highmtn

Hi, katia.b.

Welcome to your new world. Be very accepting of yourself and willing to work over a period of time to see what you can do with your voice. In some ways, you will have the advantage of not having a lot of bad habits to overcome.

Do start with Weekend Warrior, and spend as much time with it as you need to. Do the exercises in the octave that feels most comfortable to you. All men and all women don't necessarily do the Dude or Diva exercises. Some do a combination of each. We're all different. Do the Dude exercises if they seem to fit, or vice-versa.

Watch the videos. Then watch them again. Plan on watching them periodically, because you'll notice things that slipped by you before. Then start doing the audio exercises.

You can start out doing a half hour at first, but you should aim towards doing more like an hour per day, 5 to 6 days a week. It may take you a while to build up to that.

Plan on staying with Weekend Warrior for about a month and see how you're doing then. If everything is seeming easy, then you may want to start Volume 1. The Volumes should take you about 12 weeks each, and that's moving along pretty fast.

Don't rush anything and take all the time it takes for YOU to get comfortable with each phase of the course.

All the Best!

Bob

katia.b

Thanks Bob. When should I maybe send an audio recording in to check I'm doing things right?

highmtn

Give yourself some time to go through the exercises several times. Get a routine going and then record just the first basic LAH scale. Let us have a listen to that. After a couple of weeks, unless you get stuck.

rkirsner

Katia- I, too, am a rank beginner... And I have Found working On volume 1 on a daily basis Has been very helpful.

I sit, Or sometimes Stand,In my closet, Do scales for 15 or 20 minutes,Watch a bit of Ken's videos,And then sing a list of songs. It's been so much fun– my main problem is Practicing until the wee hours of the morning And not getting a lot of sleep:-)

I suggest that do not be too critical of yourself; Remember,No one just picks up an instrument and automatically knows how to play it Without lessons and practice.I strongly recommend Posting the ahhh vowel in the Newbies section Within the next three or four weeks –Bob's advice is amazingly helpful. Personally, I'm okay Even if I simply end up singing in the shower–The main thing is to have fun!

bentk

Be sure to absorb all the content from VOL 1 and weekend warriors. They will get you started. If things are unclear for you, just ask or search on the forum. You will probably get your answer here.

Some things i did not understand so well from the volumes, or maybe i didn't pay enough attention to it, i don't know. The forum helped me for these kind of things.

Focus on the Lah feeling first. Really bright, one of the most important things for good cord closure. Get the right support, and try to shake of any tension where it isn't needed. Or redirect the tension to your belly support of course, that's why you use support! But not all tension can be simply redirected to your abdominal support.
Learn to use a wide open jaw position, but not painfully wide.

There is more to singing than these things, but these are pretty major if you ask me.

All the best,

Ben