by Bob Rose

Singing your own songs is more difficult than performing covers for some very good reasons:

1. The vocal is the melody and words and in essence is the song.

2. Your creation is sometimes not yet definitive melodically or lyrically.

3. You haven't decided completely how to approach the vocal

4. There is no vocal reference like a song that has stylistic techniques ­after all, it's your original.

5. You may not know how to execute what you have in mind.

You're working it out, and it's kind of like the first time you sang your favorite song with the music and vocal lower in volume than yours ­what a shock! Didn't sound as good, did it?

So you tell yourself you can't sing or you can sing though not as well as you would like to or certainly not as good as "so and so."

Maybe you've had some vocal lessons that did or didn't help much. It's a crap shoot finding someone who can really help you. It's like a good friend of mine, Ted Ashford, used to say: "Very few people can really help you, but almost anyone can hurt you." Do you still have any problems? Of course, everyone does.

Remember, you have a mental, emotional and physical instrument.

When you work at singing you're not only studying method and technique like an external instrument (guitar, piano, bass, etc.) but are training a little animal inside that (until you get it under control) is not always predictable or reliable. How do I know? I've "been there, done that" several times, but now I've discovered a lot more workable answers you can use when these things come up, and I want to share them with you.

Support

• The expansion of the rib cage.
• Maintaining its position.
  
  
• Using the diaphragm at the bottom of the lungs.
  
  
• Interaction between the diaphragm and abdominal muscles.
  
  
• Controlling the interaction for even air stream distribution equaling
  the regulation and control of the air stream.

Connection

• The proper knitting of the vocal cords from low to high (i.e., your entire range).
  
  
• Linear air flow from stomach to mouth from chest to head voice.

Placement

• The unimpeded flow of air to its desired destinations (technically and stylistically).
  
  
• Control of resonant placement.

Conclusion:

All this is accomplished by a simple and natural vocal method designed to speedily getting your entire instrument (mechanism) in line so you are free to create the melodic and lyrical nuances in line with your songs.