1. Conditions for learning vocal music
To learn vocal music well, you must have certain conditions, that is, have good musical quality, master the corresponding basic music knowledge and skills, and have a good voice condition.
1. Musical quality
Musical quality refers to a person’s keen hearing, distinct sense of rhythm and good musical feeling in terms of music, which is what we often call pitch, rhythm and musicality. A person's musical quality has both innate and acquired factors, and acquired factors are the main factors. People who have a keen sense of pitch, rhythm and musicality have the qualities to learn music.
2. Basic knowledge and skills of music
People with musical qualities must learn basic skills and knowledge of music if they want to further study music. Basic music skills include: sight-singing practice Ear, music theory knowledge, keyboard instrument basics.
Sight-singing and ear-training are the basis for learning music. To accurately discern and sight-sing scales, intervals, rhythms, and melodies, you must learn sight-singing and ear-training.
Music theory is also the basis for learning music. Only by learning the corresponding music theory knowledge can you sing accurately and well.
Keyboard instrument basics: The study of keyboard instruments and music theory knowledge complement each other. Only with a certain keyboard foundation can you carry out auditory training and sight-singing exercises. Vocal exercises and other exercises are inseparable from keyboard instruments.
3. Voice conditions:
Most people believe that to learn to sing, you must have a naturally good voice. This statement is both correct and one-sided. It is naturally beautiful and beautiful. A good voice is an advantage for learning to sing, but having a good voice does not necessarily mean you can learn to sing well, and many successful singers did not show their naturally beautiful voices before training.
The physiological conditions for singing and speaking are exactly the same, but singing entirely in the state of speaking cannot reflect the artistic characteristics of singing. Because speech pronunciation is a subconscious "natural" pronunciation, while singing vocalization is a conscious "unnatural" pronunciation. Using scientific vocalization methods to consciously exercise the vocal organs can achieve a state of consciously controlled singing and vocalization from speaking subconsciously. . Therefore, anyone who can speak can learn to sing as long as they have certain musical qualities.
2. How to learn vocal music
Learning should include two aspects: learning of singing skills and basic theoretical knowledge of vocal music.
1. Learning the basic theory of vocal music
To have a certain singing ability, you must first understand the physiological mechanism of vocalization, such as understanding the structure of singing organs, the simple principles of singing vocalization, sound The principle of singing, the division of singing tunes, the use of singing tunes and the relationship between vocal areas, the methods of using singing voices, etc.
In addition, when training singing skills, you must master the breathing method of singing, the application of breathing, understand the fulcrum of breathing, and commonly used breathing practice methods. Learn to identify the nature of sounds, the division of voices, and understand the characteristics of bel canto, ethnic and popular singing, and voice health care.
Learning to understand the theoretical basis of vocal music can help you practice without blindness and have clear goals. In addition, looking at other people's vocal music treatises, vocal music videos, TV, recordings, etc. will bring you great inspiration, which will be of great benefit to you when practicing singing, and will help you avoid detours.
2. Learn from a vocal teacher
Singing is a highly technical and practical subject. You can learn about singing and vocalization only with written materials on vocal music theory and teaching. And training is very difficult. Because it is difficult for words to accurately express the connotation of singing skills, coupled with differences in personal physiological conditions, understanding and comprehension abilities, it is even more difficult to learn based on written materials. Practicing vocalization and singing according to the methods in the book cannot judge the accuracy of the method and whether the sound effect is correct. Such practice is not only ineffective, but may also lead to wrong singing pronunciation.
Therefore, when learning to sing, especially in the beginner stage, you must find an experienced vocal teacher for guidance, practice according to the teacher's method, and truthfully tell the teacher your experience, difficulties, gains, feelings, etc. during practice, so that the teacher can follow your instructions Personal characteristics, teach students practice methods with high accuracy and quick results. When studying, you should pay attention to using your brain more and your voice less.
3. Singing training content
Vocal training has a complete, scientific and systematic training method. It includes:
1. Breathing training
Singing breathing is the driving force for vocalization and the foundation of singing. Without good breathing methods to control and use the breath, there will be no beautiful and sweet singing. All voice performance techniques are inseparable from breathing. Clark argued in "On Breathing" that the first thing a singer should do is to learn proper breathing. Pressman believed in his "Physiology of the Larynx" that breathing is the vitality of sound. It is said in traditional Chinese vocal music treatises: "Qi is the teacher of sound. If the qi is weak, the sound will be thin, if the qi is turbid, the sound will be stagnant, and if the qi is dispersed, the sound will be exhausted." It also shows that singers at home and abroad, both ancient and modern, attach great importance to breathing in singing. important role.
To learn to breathe, you must first understand how to breathe. There are three breathing methods:
(1) Upper chest breathing. This type of breathing is a method of controlling your breathing with your upper chest. The amount of inhalation is small and shallow, reaching only the upper part of the lungs, which can easily cause tension in the muscles around the larynx and neck, resulting in a tight, dry, and inelastic sound. This kind of phenomenon is more common among beginners, especially amateur singers. This is a bad breathing method that needs to be corrected.
(2) Abdominal breathing. This kind of breathing is a breathing method that relies on the expansion of the soft ribs and the swelling and contraction of the lower abdomen. It inhales deeper than Upper Chest Pose, but has its limitations. Due to inhaling too deeply, the breath is often not smooth, which affects the part where the sound is produced. The tone in the middle and low range is dull, the sound lacks flexibility, and the sound appears low.
(3) Thoracic and abdominal combined breathing. This kind of breathing is a breathing method that uses the chest, diaphragm, ribs, and abdominal muscles to control the breath simultaneously. This breathing method is recognized and commonly used in the vocal music circles at home and abroad in modern times as a scientific breathing method that conforms to the laws of physiological mechanisms. This breathing method has many advantages. It has strong ability to control the breath, exhales evenly and controlledly, can store more breath, has an obvious breathing fulcrum, expands the sound range, and harmonizes the high, middle and low sound areas.
It’s not enough to know how to breathe. It also requires long-term and unremitting practice before you can use it freely when singing. There are two commonly used practice methods now.
Inhale quickly and exhale slowly: This breathing method is the most commonly used one when singing. It should be practiced regularly. The specific method is: inhale quickly, pause briefly, and exhale slowly. You can feel it this way: imagine that a very close friend who has not been with you for a long time suddenly appears in front of you. You gasp in surprise, almost shouting, and then stop in this state. After a few seconds, it seemed as if there was an external force pushing the lower abdomen back. I felt that my lower abdomen was fighting against this external force, and I exhaled slowly. At this time, the diaphragm plays a strong supporting role.
Inhale slowly and exhale slowly: Inhale slowly, pause briefly, and then exhale slowly. You can experience it this way: when you receive a bouquet of your favorite flowers and you are happily smelling the fragrance of the flowers, you will find that your chest is lifted forward and upward naturally rather than artificially, and the rib muscles, including Expand the waist to all sides at the same time, maintain this state, and only relax and inhale the muscles below the abdominal diaphragm. When blowing the air, think of blowing out a candle. Blow down the burning candle, but don't blow it out. Just like that, keep the candle light neither rising nor extinguishing it. Keep it for a little longer, and then breathe again. To achieve this requirement, the inhalation must be as natural, calm and gentle as when smelling flowers. Exhalation must be even and controlled. Similarly, if you want to practice inhaling slowly and exhaling quickly, take a slow breath and blow out the candle all at once.
2. Vocal exercises
Vocal exercises are the most basic and simple exercises for training vocal skills.
In fact, it is to extract the most basic and simple motives or phrases that make up the melody of the song, match them with simple vowels or syllables, and practice singing repeatedly by moving semitones up or down in the appropriate range. There are various methods and steps for vocal practice, and there are many schools of thought. However, no matter what methods and steps are used, the following goals are achieved:
(1) Consciously use the breath to make sounds, and gradually control the breathing with the diaphragm.
(2) Form the correct larynx position, liberate the larynx, stabilize the laryngeal organs, closely coordinate the movement of the vocal cords with breathing, adjust appropriately, and when singing notes of high, medium, low, and different strengths, All have better sound effects.
(3) Train the method of adjusting the vocal cavity, and appropriately expand the adjustable shape of the vocal organs-the pharyngeal cavity, oral cavity, and laryngeal cavity. Using the head cavity and chest cavity, which cannot adjust the shape of the singing organs, through the adjustment and use of the singing cavity, the volume can be increased and the tone can be beautified.
(4) Breathing, larynx (vocal cords), and vocal organs work closely together to produce sounds in coordinated movements, achieving unified vocal areas, full of intensity and timbre changes.
In addition, appropriate vowel sounds should be selected during pronunciation exercises. When starting vocal practice, among the six vowels a e i o u u, not everyone can sing them all in a balanced manner. Therefore, with the help of the teacher, you need to start practicing with the most natural and beautiful vowels. In this way, it will be easier to adjust the vowels. Focus on the position and coordinate the role of sound waves in the buzzer. After you have practiced the most convenient and natural vowels, gradually adjust them to promote other vowels, and the progress of vocal practice will be much faster.
The vocal exercises are initially based on the natural vocal range and gradually expand to the range of the middle vocal range. On the basis of practicing the middle voice area, further expand the range to achieve the sound characteristics and range that the voice part should have.
3. Singing language
Singing language is an important part of vocal training.
Singing is a form of musical expression that combines musical voices with language to further express feelings. Singing language can directly reveal the literary and ideological content of the song, highlight the style of the work, and Click directly to display the song image and artistic conception.
The general requirements for singing language are: the initial consonants are accurate and dexterous, the final shapes are well maintained, the rhymes come back naturally and at the right time, and the yin and yang should be kept in mind. Priorities must be clearly distinguished, and the tone and tone must be handled well.
The prefix must be pronounced correctly, but not fatally. When the word head is bitten, it should transition to the belly of the word naturally and timely. After the belly of the word is clear, the sound should be collected and returned to the rhyme in a timely manner. We must pay attention to the connection between the three, so that the transition is natural and smooth, forming a whole. In addition, pinyin must be pronounced accurately, such as "l" and "n", "flat tongue" and "warped tongue", "f" and "h", "front nasal rhyme" and "back nasal rhyme" must be distinguished, and the intonations must be distinguished. precise.
Singing language must be closely integrated with the breathing, vocalization, and chanting of singing. Singing language must be coordinated with flexible breathing and smooth and penetrating vocals in order to achieve a profound and touching effect.
4. Studying hard, practicing hard, and using your brain are the keys to learning vocal music well.
When learning vocal music, you must study, think, and experience carefully when the teacher teaches you, and take good notes. Vocal music learning notes are a mirror that reflects the process of learning vocal music. They should describe the vocal exercises used at each stage, song teaching materials, teacher requirements, practice results, main problems and correction methods, etc. After returning home, you must insist on practicing according to the teacher's requirements every day. This is the key to learning vocal music well. Success does not favor lazy people, and those who only rely on face-to-face practice will not make progress.