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Hey Singers!
I’m Justin Stoney, the Founder of New York Vocal Coaching
welcoming you to Ep. 9 of Voice Lessons Online,
the show where passionate Voice Teachers from all over the world
help us LEARN from some of the greatest singers of all time.
What if I asked you to name a singer who could sing rock,
country, pop, folk, jazz, theatre, operetta, and latin music?
And not just sing them.
But sing them with a voice that defined a generation.
Could you think of one?
Well, now you can.
Linda Ronstadt…
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But, it wasn’t just Linda’s versatility that captured hearts
for over 4 decades.
It was the charm, the emotion, the authenticity,
the bravery, and the fun.
I can’t wait for our team of experts to help us learn more
about the fair Queen of Rock…
Starting with Andy King!
Who is here to share about Linda’s Vocal Flexibility…
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Hi everyone! I have the great pleasure
of talking with you about vocal flexibility
and how Linda Ronstadt exemplifies this.
Before we listen though, let’s define what I mean when I say "flexible".
We could take this to mean flexible when it comes to the genres you sing
Which Linda Ronstadt is a fantastic example of.
Or physically vocally flexible, which is what I’m going to be focusing on.
So, what do I mean?
Vocal flexibility has to do with the ability
to blend our registers, use our resonance optimally
move quickly between notes, sing with musicality,
and breathe efficiently.
Let’s take a look at a few clips of different genres
where we'll hear the flexibility of her voice.
The first 2 clips are from “Poor Wandering One” from The Pirates of Penzance,
and the third is “Tracks of my Tears.”
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Here we heard three excellent examples of pure flexibility.
In “Poor Wandering One” we heard melismas, a.k.a vocal runs,
head voice (a very flexible register), and staccati.
In “Tracks Of My Tears” we heard some chest dragging with nasal resonance,
twang, and also some beautiful head voice near the end.
Again, all flexible elements.
All of that said, there are LOTS of things for you to explore and work on.
A few might include working on your staccato,
working all of our registers- especially the high highs,
register blending- going from chest to mix to head and back,
cross-training different genres of music,
and of course physically stretching our bodies.
Finally, and most importantly, patience and persistence are key.
And if you need inspiration,
we only have Linda Ronstadt to look to.
Awesome Andy. Next, Kristy Bissell.
What can we learn about “Vocal Tract Cross Training”?
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If I had to pick one singer that I would want to sound like,
I would have to pick Linda Ronstadt.
One factor in particular that I think makes her a stand out vocalist
is her vocal tract positioning.
But first, what is a vocal tract?
We all have one.
The vocal tract starts at our lips and goes all the way down to the larynx.
Think of it like a tube - if you make it bigger - you get a fuller sound.
If you make it smaller and more narrow, you get a brighter sound!
When we listen to Linda sing, we are hearing a lot of depth
and that is what I would start with if I wanted to sound like her.
Let’s have a listen to her singing “Tumblin’ Dice” where she gets some
fuller vocal tract positioning.
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I love that song so much.
Some of the ways she is achieving this sound is darkening the vowels.
Her larynx is neutral, if not slightly lowered at times
and her soft palate has a few moments where it’s lifted.
Let’s listen to another example of her singing with those factors in mind.
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Are you starting to hear it?
She certainly has brighter qualities but it’s mixed with that
neutrality and depth.
My sneaky suspicion is that her
sounds have something to do with her cross-training.
Cross training is when you don’t just learn one way of singing.
For example, I am cross-trained.
I have sung a lot of contemporary styles but I have also sung classically.
In interviews Linda said, “I don’t record any type of genre of
music that I didn’t hear in my family's living room.”
And she talks a lot about just how diverse her listening was.
So, whether it was actually training with a teacher or just listening to a wide variety,
it gave her an immense palate of sounds.
If she had only done pop then perhaps she would have had brighter sounds to her.
Who knows!
My suggestion?
Try singing some of these songs and mimic her.
Don’t be afraid to really give it and just howl!
Like Linda Ronstadt!
And, have fun!
Great stuff Kristy. Now, Kacey Velasquez!
How about Linda’s ability to “Speak Into The Notes”.
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Hey singers!
Linda Ronstadt is an amazing singer and a great performer.
And she also has an awesome chest voice.
Chest is our low notes and middle notes
and it's also most people's day to day speaking voice.
We call it our chest voice because we can actually feel
vibrations in our chest when we speak or sing in our chest voice.
Linda is a perfect example of when you
speak into the notes that you sing
you can easily access a strong and solid sounding chest voice.
So let's take a listen to these next few clips
and hear how Linda really speaks into the notes that she's singing.
It almost sounds like she's talking her melodies.
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So awesome.
We can do similar exercises when we're practicing
accessing our chest voice.
So we'll start just by practicing speaking words like "Go" and "Hey".
So give that a try. Go!
Hey!
Awesome.
Now what we're going to do is drag those words up high.
So we'll start with "go".
Go.
Hey.
And then we can simply put a melody onto it.
But it's that same space.
♪ Go ♪
♪ Hey ♪
Go! Hey!
You can explore your chest voice by doing things like that.
Speak into the notes that you're singing,
and then sing the full phrases.
Hope you guys enjoy and I'll see you soon!
Excellent!
And David McCall, tell us about “singing where you can feel it.”
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Linda Ronstadt is the epitome of a versatile singer.
From pop, to Mariachi, to Broadway, to American Standards,
there’s nothing her voice couldn’t do and do remarkably well.
In November of 1974, she released her 5th studio album
“Heart Like A Wheel” under Capitol Records and it went Double Platinum,
thanks in large part to the song “You’re No Good.”
In “You’re No Good” Ronstadt demonstrates the concept of singing where you can feel.
If you're a singer and you listen to her,
you can hear immediately where she is ‘placing’ her voice
- or more technically - where she is sending her air and focusing her vocal vibrations.
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She’s in complete control.
She sounds forceful and yet gentle. Powerful and vulnerable.
She nails that ‘sweet spot’ in singing.
That place where the emotional expression of the song
meets the vocal physical expression of the song.
The emotion doesn’t outrun the vocal and the vocals don’t hold back the emotion.
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You can hear - and almost feel - her voice.
Sharp, clear, clean and focused.
I almost “feel” it in the roof of MY mouth.
By singing where she could feel
- emotionally and physically - Linda Ronstadt left her mark
on a generation of music makers and music lovers.
Thanks David!
And thanks to all our experts!
I’m going to share what I’ve learned from Linda in a moment.
But first - here are some more ways to fire up a Heatwave for your vocal journey!
To get to know the Voice Lessons Online team or schedule a lesson,
visit VoiceLessonsOnline.com.
To get your copy of Justin Stoney's book
"Sing Like Never Before", visit SingLikeNeverBefore.com
If you'd like a vocal course that you can do from home,
check out the Voice Lessons To The World Vocal Course.
Our 12 part program takes you on a journey
from beginner to master level vocal exercises.
Find it at VoiceLessonsToTheWorld.com.
If you're a voice teacher looking to master your craft,
join our worldwide community at VoiceTeacherTraining.com.
Finally, if you'd like free vocal tips sent to you each day,
sign up at DailyVocalTips.com.
Well 40 years.
That’s a long career for any singer.
And in those 40 years, Linda used her voice to help us feel heartbreak,
love, longing, hope, loss, joy- the depths of human experience-
as well as any singer ever has.
But, as you might know, these days Linda isn’t singing.
She’s bravely battling any singer’s
worst nightmare… not being able to sing at all…
Now I can even really, I can't even sing in the shower.
Do you try?
Yeah, but it doesn't, I can't make sound.
I can't- my vocal cords won't make the repetition.
It won't even come out.
She was diagnosed with a degenerative brain disease in 2013.
When did you start noticing there was something wrong with your voice?
2000.
Was it faltering?
Yeah, I would start to sing and it would just clamp up.
It was like a cramp, it was like a freeze.
My voice would freeze.
And I said there's something wrong with my voice.
And people would say oh you're just a perfectionist.
And I'd go no, there's really something systemically wrong.
And it's very slow moving, this disease.
So it took a long time to really finally manifest.
I can’t even imagine this, and I’m sure you can’t either.
I mean, we spend so much of our time thinking -
how can I make my voice better?
Why am I not where I want to be?
When will I get there?
I guess we never really think to ask - what if I couldn’t even do it at all?
Well, all I can tell you is this.
One of my voice students, let’s call him - Uncle Joe -
has been Linda’s biggest fan since the 70s.
And after more than a decade of working with Joe,
I know one thing: at today’s lesson, we’re singing a Linda song.
He even keeps all his Linda books at my studio
because he figures that’s the best place for them.
Where the singing happens.
So, what’s the point?
Well, Linda can’t sing anymore.
But Joe can sing Linda.
And Joe sings because of Linda.
And Joe will keep on singing Linda even though Linda can’t even sing Linda.
And I guess that’s the most important thing that I’ve learned from her.
And from Joe.
That the work we do as artists, as teachers, it lives on in the lives of others.
In a place that disease and death can’t even touch.
So, thank you for what you were Linda.
But, more - I want to thank you for what you are...
A singer. ALWAYS.
♪ Somewhere out there ♪
♪ Beneath the pale moon light ♪
♪ Someone's thinking of me and loving me tonight ♪
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