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Hey singers!
I'm Justin Stoney the founder of New York Vocal Coaching
welcoming you to episode one of Voice Lessons Online.
This is a show where passionate voice teachers
from all over the world help us to learn
from some of the greatest singers of all time.
In our first episode we're studying the First Lady!
That's right the First Lady of Song,
Ella Fitzagerald.
♪ Gee, I wonder where my basket can be ♪
♪ Nothing but blue skies ♪
♪ Give that rhythm everything you've got ♪
♪ Don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing ♪
Ella Fitzgerald is a jazz legend
with unmatched mastery of style, tone, texture,
improv and emotion.
Oscar winning director Vincente Minellie said,
"If you want to learn how to sing, listen to Ella."
So let's do just that!
Zac Bradford is going to tell us about Ella's improv.
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Ella Fitzgerald was a master improviser.
She could do with her voice what "jazz greats"
like Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker did with their horns.
One of my favorite aspects of Ella's improvisation
was her use of a wide pitch range.
In this clip of "Lover Man", Ella improvises an alternate melody
with a range of over two octaves.
In the original tune, there was only a range of one octave.
I think we can all learn from Ella,
that by using a wider pitch range in our improvisation
we create the potential for enhanced expressivity.
Enjoy this clip of "Lover Man"...
♪ The night is cold and I'm so alone ♪
♪ I'd give my soul just to call you my own ♪
♪ Got a moon above me but no one to love me ♪
♪ Lover man oh where can you be ♪
♪ I've heard it said that the thrill of romance ♪
♪ Can be like a heavenly dream ♪
That was beautiful.
Ella Fitzgerald is also considered to be
one of the greatest scat singers of all time.
In this clip, Ella cleverly makes reference to other
well known jazz standards including "Chattanooga Choo Choo"
and "I'm Beginning To See The Light".
See if you can pick them out
in this virtuosic performance of "One Note Samba".
♪ [scatting] ♪
So inspiring!
Now I know that a lot of singers watching a clip like that
might feel a little overwhelmed at the thought of
learning to improvise.
But like anything, improvisation takes practice.
When I'm working with my singers
I encourage them to just start with one key concept
and just focus on that for a little while.
So whether it be learning to develop or create motifs,
or using a wider pitch range,
by taking this simple approach you can make
even the most mysterious of topics such as improvisation
more manageable to learn.
And where better to start for inspiration
than with Ella Fitzgerald.
Thanks for that good sir!
Now here's Julie Reumert to talk about Ella's vocal registration.
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Hi, I'm Julie Reumert and I'm so excited to be with you today
to talk about the vocal range of a very special lady,
Ella Fitzgerald.
Now Ella has a vocal range that spans from
Db3 all the way to Db6.
In those three octaves she's got quite the range.
And we hear a beautiful chest voice, lots of different colors.
A mix that is just unbelievable,
almost horn-like.
She can sound like any instrument.
A beautiful, powerful head voice,
and she uses it all when singing.
Now let's take a listen to that vocal range in action.
♪ [scatting] ♪
♪ Blue skies ♪
Now wasn't that amazing?
Here she is starting on an Eb5 in her head voice,
going all the way down through her mix
into her chest voice.
And then, only to go back up through chest, into her mix,
and then into her head voice.
Now there is a way to practice this on your own.
I like an exercise that sounds like this...
I use the words Bab-adee-ah.
But you can use any words you want.
It's jazz so, in any improvisation
you can pick the words that come to your mind.
♪ Bab-adee-ah Ba-dee-ah Ba-dee-ah ♪
I go to my head voice, and then to my mix,
and then down to my chest.
♪ Bab-adee-ah Ba-dee-ah Ba-dee-ah ♪
And that way I can explore my vocal range
in a similar way to Ella Fitzgerald.
Now Ella says,
"The only thing better than singing..."
"Is more singing!"
And I love that quote.
So I hope that you can have fun
with your vocal range
and have as much fun as it sounds like
Ella is having when she's doing these
beautiful, beautiful phrases.
Awesome points Julie.
Arbender Robinson!
Tell us about Ella's use of character and physicality.
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Hello there, hello there, hello there!
So, often times I have artists that work with me
at New York Vocal Coaching and one of the questions
that comes up all the time is:
What do I do with my arms?
What do I with my body?
And by watching these videos you're able to see
how sometimes the answer is, simply play.
Play and see what we discover.
So watch this first clip and just see how
the music and the lyrics and the tone of the song
begin to influence Ella Fitzgerald in discovering
what movements and gestures may have value for the song.
Check it out...
♪ She was truckin' on down the avenue ♪
♪ Without a single thing to do ♪
♪ She went a peck, peck, peckin' all around ♪
♪ When she spied it on the ground ♪
♪ She took it ♪
Awesome!
And now let's go a little further
and look at sometimes how just playing in the music
and having fun in the music
can also bring discoveries to some of the movements
and the gestures that the body will naturally want to do
inside of the music.
So take a look here...
♪ Oh why was I so careless with that basket of mine ♪
♪ That itty, bitty basket was a joy of mine ♪
♪ A-tisket, a-tasket, I lost my yellow basket ♪
And finally, this is my favorite.
Sometimes as we respond and as we
allow ourselves to dance and play
and have fun inside of the music with that sense of play,
we then discover natural reactions
and natural vocal inflections that will happen.
And there's one natural reaction that happens in this moment
that's really, truly my favorite
and I'll share it with you right here.
Check it out...
♪ ... Happy again, again ♪
♪ Was it red? ♪
♪ No no no, no ♪
♪ Was it green? ♪
♪ No no no, no ♪
♪ Was it souris? ♪
♪ No no no, no ♪
♪ Just a little yellow basket ♪
[Laughter]
Alright that's all I have for you today.
But sometimes discovering what the body
wants to do naturally inside of the music
is the best way to really figure out what
gestures you want to do.
Instead of pre-planning them, discover them with just a sense of play.
And we can see the great Ella Fitzgerald doing just that.
Thank you so much!
Very inspiring!
Now, Andy King!
What about Ella's longevity?
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Hey, hey folks!
I'm Andy.
So, obviously, Ella Fitzgerald's voice was incredible.
But you know what's wild?
She sounded that amazing through most of her life.
Can you imagine sounding that good at your peak?
And on top of that, sounding like that for decades?
Mind-blowing.
I want to show you two clips of Ella
singing the same song decades apart.
First let's listen to her singing "One Note Samba" in 1969.
♪ [scatting] ♪
I mean, come on!
And now, here she is singing the same song in 1984
when she was sixty-seven years old.
♪ [scatting] ♪
Absolutely insane.
Did you hear how flexible her voice continued to be?
Did you hear how much life and energy she continued to have?
So, what can we actually learn from this?
Here's the deal- we can't stop time.
And we can't stop our bodies from aging.
Darn.
But, what we can do is care for our aging voices.
How?
By eating a balanced diet, exercising,
singing efficiently and healthily,
and using our voices and artistry with vibrancy,
energy, and life.
So, part of my job is to help my singers realize their full potential,
while also doing it in the most efficient way possible.
Personally, I want to continue making healthy sounds
for the rest of my life.
And I want to guide my students and you to do the same.
Contrary to what we may think, it's possible to keep singing
in our sixties, seventies, and eighties.
And we only have Miss Ella Fitzgerald
to look to for inspiration.
Thanks Andy!
And thanks to all of our experts!
I'm going to share what I've learned from Ella in a moment.
But first, here are some ways to fill your vocal journey...
with blue skies.
To get to know our team of experts,
visit us at VoiceLessonsOnline.com.
Sing Like Never Before is the new book by Justin Stoney.
Get ready for a singing book that is truly like no other.
For more information visit SingLikeNeverBefore.com.
If you'd like a vocal course that you can do at home,
check out the Voice Lessons To The World Vocal Course.
This 12-part program takes you on a singing journey
from beginner to master level vocal exercises.
You can find it at VoiceLessonsToTheWorld.com.
Or if you'd like free vocal tips sent to you each day,
sign up at DailyVocalTips.com.
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As a Voice Teacher, I always like to say
that “variety” is the spice of vocal life.
What does that mean?
It means that if we learn to sing multiple styles well,
it not only helps us stylistically, but technically.
It’s like cross training for the voice.
And we wind up healthier, more balanced, and more versatile.
Ella exemplified this kind of stylistic variety.
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Sure, she’s known as a jazz singer.
But notice how elements that we might associate
with other musical styles are woven into her sound.
For example, she has the open-throated head voice
and smooth vibrato that we might associate
with a Classical singer...
♪ [scatting] ♪
She has the acting, the diction, and storytelling
that we might find in Musical Theatre...
♪ I've wined and dined on Mulligan stew ♪
♪ And never wished for turkey ♪
♪ As I hitched and hiked and grifted too ♪
♪ From Maine to Albuquerque ♪
♪ Alas I missed the Beaux Arts Ball ♪
She uses the belt that we hear in all of our contemporary styles...
♪ One of these mornings ♪
♪ You're gonna rise up singing ♪
We even hear distortion elements
that we associate with Rock, Blues, and Gospel...
♪ I don't like crap games with barons or earls ♪
♪ [scatting] ♪
So, basically - it don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing,
that blues, that opera, that theatre, that gospel.
Ella teaches us that the human voice is a galaxy of sound
just begging us to come and play.
Let me leave you with a quote from Ella:
“Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do."
"Where there is love and inspiration - I don’t think you can go wrong.”
Amen Ella.
We’re so grateful for your love and inspiration.
We’ll see you next time for more Voice Lessons Online!
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