These kinds of workouts are called semi-occluded vocal tract postures. They are popular with singing techniques and with voice therapists. Their purpose are three-fold, as I have come to know them at The Vocalist Studio:

Click HERE to listen to an audio lecture on the topic!

Voice Teachers use semi-occluded phonations as vocal warm-ups

1). They balance the sub-glottal and super-glottal air pressure (above and below) the vocal folds and thus help the singer to create more efficient phonation and balance with the increased velocity of air required for singing. Inherently, speech vocal mode is not efficient compared to phonations used in singing, so the semi-occluded vocal tract exercises increase the efficiency of the relationship between the singer’s respiration and vocal folds.

2). They establish a resonant track. They help the singer to get into a seamless passage through the vocal bridges (breaks), thus preparing the voice for good bridging from the lower vocal registers to the higher registers, namely, (chest to head voice).

3). They lift the voice into more healthy and successful “top-down phonation” postures. It excites the resonators (mouth, nose, sinuses), gets the overtone production placed in the “mask” and removes throaty singing.

To call these semi-occluded vocal tract postures “warm ups” do not give them justice. They do far more than just “warm up” the voice and at the end of the day, what does “warm up” really mean? I hope this explanation helps to shed some light on some popular vocal “warm ups” that so many people have done, but may have never really understood why.

Click HERE for an audio lecture on the topic!

THE VOCALIST STUDIO

Robert J. Lunte I 425.444.5053

Teacher I Coach I Artist

Founder I The Vocalist Studio

Founder I The Modern Vocalist.com

www.thevocaliststudio.com

www.thevocaliststudioworkshop.com

www.themodernvocalist.com

robert@thevocaliststudio.com

www.skype.com : “rjlseagull”

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Vocal distortion always gets a good clap at my Master Class. I don’t know exactly what its all about, but I think it has to do do with a primitive desire for the audience to want to “see blood” in the show. Of course we can’t give the audience real blood these days, but we can train techniques that create the illusion that we are in regards to the ever popular vocal effect, distortion.

Healthy distortion is produced by creating noise in the vocal tract, not by grinding tissue and that is the key to successful, vocal distortion techniques. The work flow and techniques for producing the three kinds of distortion below are provided in my new vocal technique training system, “The Four Pillars of Singing” 2.0 with full video demonstrations and book guidelines.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO A DEMONSTRATION OF TVS ‘OVERLAY’ & ‘OVERLAY WITH HUSK’ DISTORTION TECHNIQUES:

Below is a video moment from the recent TVS Masterclass in Munich, Germany. The event was sponsored by RODE Microphones, TC-Helicon and our TVS Master Certified Instructor in Germany, Anke Lopezand her German team. This is a demonstration of three kinds of vocal distortion we teach at The Vocalist Studio.

1. “Overlay” Distortion.
2. “Overlay” Distortion with Husk 
3. “ESDI” (Extreme Scream Distortion Inhale).

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 Join Robert Lunte & The Vocalist Studio Certified Instructors in Europe, Winter, 2012!

Click HERE for Details!

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PRIVATE LESSONS WITH ROBERT LUNTE

TVS is bringing our technique to all corners of the world by offering private lessons with Robert Lunte, founder of The Vocalist Studio, over the internet. With a high-speed internet connection and free video conferencing software, TVS is training singers from all over the world, in real-time. Transcending geographic boundaries, a growing number of International students regularly benefit from this innovative approach. A system so rare and hard to find, is now available to anyone with a computer and high-speed internet connection!

TVS Internet Lessons on Skype:

You will need to download and install the FREE application, SKYPE to conduct your internet lessons.

Once you have downloaded and installed skype, contact Robert Lunte for further instructions regarding the details of how to prepare for your TVS internet lesson, to include documentation on how to get set up for Internet lessons.

robert@thevocaliststudio.com

The New Internet Student SPECIAL Package : $349

ARE YOU NEW TO TVS INTERNET LESSONS?

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Robert Lunte TC-Helicon CreateXT & The Voicetone D1

Initially inspired by artists such as Steve Perry, Rob Halford, Bruce Dickinson and Geoff Tate; Robert Lunte sought a voice teacher who understood the techniques required to sing with hyper-extended range and power. The pursuit led Robert to eventually meet the legendary Maestro David P. Kyle of Seattle, WA.

Maestro David Kyle taught for over 25 years in New York, 4 years in San Francisco and nearly 30 years in Seattle. He was the preeminent private coach for rock and metal singers of the 70s, 80s and 90s; artists such as, Geoff Tate from Queensryche, Ann Wilson from Heart, Chris Cornell from Soundgarden & Layne Staley from Alice in Chains.

Robert’s home base is in Seattle, WA. So named The Vocalist Studio (TVS), the technique is inspired by Maestro Kyle. The cutting-edge strategy of TVS incorporates positive mental imagery, training with amplification, and developing head registers, so singers learn to bridge the path from chest to head voice with pop sensibility and metal edge. Robert Lunte continues the Maestro’s legacy, pushing the envelope of human phonation by incorporating new techniques and the latest scientific understandings of vocal modes, phonetics and formants into the TVS techniques that have become internationally renowned.

“Yes, there are some other products out there, but the truth is, no other brand has the same quality or kept the best interest of singers in mind.”

Key to TVS is teaching vocalists to “bridge & connect”. Modern singers develop strength and coordination to seamlessly present a full voice from the chest into their head register and enable a 4 to 5 octave range. Singers develop incredible power, and the freedom from the tension that can happen when transitioning through vocal bridges from the chest to head register.
TVS is recognized as one of the leading contemporary studio in the world for expert training for in any genre, especially the modern vocalist looking to develop a rock/pop style.

To assist vocalists who cannot train privately in Seattle, WA, on the amplified stage of TVS studios, Robert and his International team of TVS Certified Instructors have produced a detailed book, CD and DVD training system called, “The Four Pillars of Singing: Definitive Techniques for the Modern Vocalist”. TVS is also a pioneering real-time training over the Internet via web cam and offers regular “Training Vocal Athletes” workshops in Europe, making the technique accessible to an International market of singers and voice enthusiasts around the world.

Robert says he is a frequent user of his TC-helicon products, “I have all the products pretty much, but the ones I use no less than about 25 hours a week are the awesome VoiceTone Create XT and VoiceTone D1. In the studio, I have used the Voice Works & the Voice Doubler Rack systems also.”

Whether he’s teaching or performing, Robert’s stylistic demands stretch far and wide – “As a voice coach, I work with singers from all genres except serious Classical singers. As an artist, I’m a rocker… but have the capacity and sensibility to sing other kinds of music. This year I intend to release a full length progressive metal project with producers Alessandro del Vecchio & Zack Uidl… beyond that project, I will seek to work on producing music with more of a dance feel to it. I’m open and capable of just about anything, but my heart and bulk of my experience is with the rockers.”

Robert Lunte - Founder of The Vocalist Studio

Roberts own influences are also extremely varied “I swing wildly from rock and metal to new age solo instrumental music. My strongest influences that have help lead me to become an extreme vocal technique voice coach are Geoff Tate from (Queensryche), Steve Perry (Journey), Ray Alder (Fates Warning) and James LeBrie (Dream Theater). I was also influenced on the lower end of the vocal spectrum by Peter Murphy (Bauhaus) and I love Morrissey.

Beyond vocal music, I have significant appreciation for solo, instrumental guitar and piano music. I am a huge fan of Pierre Bensusan, Alex de Grassi, George Winston, David Lanz and minimalist 20th century composers such as Philip Glass & Arvo Part.

There are many songs that inspire me and each one has a different flavour.
For example, one song that has been a theme for me since I was a kid to today is “Take Hold of The Flame” by Queensryche.

We asked Robert to tell us about his Master Classes, “The Training Vocal Athletes Master Class tours have been one of the most popular services that we offer at TVS. I have conducted over 14 Master Classes in the last four years in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Greece and the US. People absolutely love it because I’m bringing the TVS “bridging & connecting”
vocal techniques to audiences that just don’t have access to this kind of vocal pedagogy.

“TC-Helicon has played an important role in this amplified, “mics in hand”
methodology.”

We present and educate audiences on the most sought after vocal techniques that all singers are struggling to understand, namely… the ability to vastly expand vocal range and eliminate constriction on high notes by training singers how to seamlessly sing through the two primary vocal registers, chest & head. Upon successful execution of bridging the registers, we then show singers how they can master the manipulation of their own laryngeal physiology to create exotic formants that will result in producing acoustic properties in the head voice that effectively remove a “windy”, Falsetto mode phonation, with an exotic vocal mode we call Twang.
Simply put, TVS techniques teach singers how to sing high notes without constricting and then phonate in the head register with an exotic laryngeal configuration we call Twang, through carefully crafted formants to make head voice notes sound like chesty belts. It’s just an illusion for the audience.
When a TVS male singer sings a G4, he is not belting in his chest voice; he is phonating vocal twang, in the head voice through dark vowels and increased pharyngeal resonance. This makes the head voice sound like a chesty belt. It’s really cool and I’m one of the best in the world and showing singers how to do this. It’s been a lot of fun and a long journey of exploration, testing and research to figure out the formula for making your head voice sound huge.

The “Training Vocal Athletes” Master Class is also about bringing cultures together, building teams and we always offer about three full 10 hour days of private lessons in each location we go. The tours are also sponsored by a few pro audio companies; TC-Helicon has been one of those companies.

I have performed for audiences as large as several thousand and as a clinician with my “Training Vocal Athletes” Master Class tours, we are starting to enjoy audiences of almost 100 participants. For a vocal Master Class, that’s pretty good!

With the update release of my training system, “The Four Pillars of Singing”
2.0 almost at completion, I find that I’m moving into a phase where I will have more time to dedicate to my vocal artistry. This year I will be releasing a set of original progressive metal arrangements that were co-written and produced by my writing partner, Zack Uidl. I will also record a few “one-offs” that are song ideas that have come from other projects in the past that I have finally had a chance to complete. I am also actively looking to work with a band as well, so I’ll keep you posted on that. To be sure, my TC-Helicon pedals will be right there with me.”

We asked Robert how he came to start using TC-Helicon to which he responded, “Honestly, there are not that many alternatives for great vocal processing other than TC-Helicon. Yes, there are some other products out there, but the truth is, no other brand has the same quality or kept the best interest of singers in mind.

I think I’m one of the few voice coaches in the world that trains students with live amplification. We pull out a PA system in a 200 seat theatre in downtown Seattle and both my student and I have wireless mics. In this “live” setting, we use the TC-Helicon VoiceTone Create XT pedal. TC-Helicon has played an important role in this amplified, “mics in hand” methodology. TVS lessons are live and we do a lot of coaching on my students music, so when we migrate from the technique to the coaching of songs, I always give my students the “secret sauce” and hand over the wireless transmitter so they can enjoy the processing. Without TC-Helicon’s VoiceTone pedals, I would be left with old springy reverb and that just isn’t as cool.”

Robert’s TC-Helicon products are also used quite heavily in his own song-writing – “I find myself usually responsible for melody and lyrics and influencing arrangement, but not playing the parts. Currently I’m working with a few producers who are working with me to develop what we call “bed tracks” that have full instrumentation already tracked and then I write the lyrics, melody and record.

Robert Lunte - Toulouse, France - Training Vocal Athletes Master Class

TC-Helicon products emerge as a song writing tool when you begin to use the different effects to create contrast in the arrangement of the songs. I believe the proper and tasteful use of the VoiceTone Pedals is not to just leave it at one preset through the entire song, but it’s more interesting to play around with different presets for different parts of the song. For example, a verse may just have a nice reverb or delay preset, but when you come to the bridge or chorus, you can enable the VoiceTone D1 and fatten the sound. This helps create contrast and colour in your music which is important to good writing. They are used the same way a guitarist would use their pedals. Now if TC-Helicon can just invent a way to make the pedal write my lyrics for me that would be great!

“Remove my ability to control my own processing when performing live and rehearsing… and you may as well remove my opportunity for anaesthesia and penicillin when I get sick!”

I have to admit, I’m a bit of a simpleton with the products compared to some customers. I’m not the guy that is going to dig in and figure out how to program minor 7th harmonies in the key of C#. To me, vocal processing is about ease and a simple user interface. It’s about “button on”, “button off”, so I can focus on my art. I probably should dig into the full capabilities of thes

e pedals more seriously, but don’t have the time and the presets I use give me what I need. You can find some videos on my YouTube channel where my students and I offer a tutorial on the VoiceLive 2 and the VoiceTone pedals that’s very helpful for people.

My favourite presets on the products I use most are: VoiceTone Create XT – Delay 23 preset VoiceTone Create XT – Reverb 13 preset VoiceTone D1 – Just got mine, I love it, but still exploring.

VoiceLive 1 – Click this link to download my presets for VoiceLive1: https://thevocaliststudio.box.net/shared/ixsii7bo5a

In the studio, I have and will continue to use the TC-Helicon Doubler. In my upcoming studio work this year, I think I will experiment with interfacing the VoiceTone D1 to the mixing board and try to see if I can use it for mixing. The D1 is so revolutionary; I want to try to use it in the studio, not just live.

I feel fortunate to have a company like TC-Helicon. Remove my ability to control my own processing when performing live and rehearsing… and you may as well remove my opportunity for anaesthesia and penicillin when I get sick! It’s that important to me and I believe for all singers. For so long, singers have been ignored by the pro audio industry. In a world of hundreds of solutions and products for guitar, there has been little to no effort put forth for live processing and pedal systems for singers. It’s absurd. But TC-Helicon has changed that. I think singers owe TC-Helicon a big thanks for making these products. They are a dream.”

When asked what piece of advice Robert would give to any new up and coming vocalist, he shared, “Those that are prepared to truly get serious about singing must find training. Without training, you will be limited to only being able to sing, or shout, in the chest voice. The essence of great vocal technique and training of it is to learn to bridge the registers and develop the head voice resonance. If you’re not training to learn how to do these things, you’re not really doing anything that most other people can’t do. If you really want people to put the beer down and pay attention, you need to learn to phonate with formant and pitch that is far outside of the common pitch regions people are accustomed to in the chest voice. This means, learn how to do the hard stuff. Find a great voice coach and practice. Then, make it a lifestyle. Maestro David Kyle used to say, “The day you think you’re done, you’re done“. The training and self improvement as a musician and artist never stops. There never is a day where you kick your feet up and say, I made it, I’m done. To be an artist, is to always be working for the next big achievement or production.

I would also say, be audacious. Some people think that means arrogance but it doesn’t. Audacious roughly translates to “fearlessness”. Be fearless, do the things that people say you can’t do or should not do. Damn the torpedoes. If all you do is what other people do, then all you get out of life is what other people get. Life seems to work and in fact, can become quite fun and exciting when you take risks and proceed without fear.

At The Vocalist Studio, my TVS Certified teachers, students and I hold a high value out of leading by example. I will not ask any student to sing anything I am not able or prepared to sing effectively myself. TVS is also about innovation, in some sense we are the contrarians in the vocal pedagogy world, we don’t follow and duplicate, we lead and innovate.

Cultivating partnerships is also a big part of the TVS philosophy. We are not a vocal organization that sits in ivory towers and insists we are right about everything or snub other methods and teachers. TVS has grown and become an International brand because of the value we put into creating win-win solutions for our students, teachers and sponsors.

I will pretty much guarantee amazing results in about 60-90 days, contact me or any of the TVS Certified Instructors around the world and we will be happy to show you how to sing amazing!”

Why not get in touch with Robert at:- http://thevocaliststudio.com/

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Robert Lunte sings an original song to introduce the “Training Vocal Athletes” Masterclass in Montpellier, France during the 2011 Spring tour.

Robert Lunte sings an original song to introduce the “Training Vocal Athletes” Masterclass in Montpellier, France during the 2011 Spring tour.

Event was sponsored by RODE Microphones and The Vocalist Studio France. Hosted by Olivier TRONQUET, TVS Master Certified Instructor. “Timeless Chains” was written by Robert Lunte, Alessandro del Vecchio & Zack Uidl.

www.TheVocalistStudio.com
www.TheVocalistStudio.fr
www.rodemicrophones.com
www.tc-helicon.com

Event was sponsored by RODE Microphones and The Vocalist Studio France. Hosted by Olivier TRONQUET, TVS Master Certified Instructor.

“Timeless Chains” was written by Robert Lunte, Alessandro del Vecchio & Zack Uidl.

LYRICS:

Timeless Chains

Silently your, beauty took my breath away…
Now comes the rain, can I feel another day.

So much time has past away from that fateful day.
So much time has passed, since you turned away.

Now timeless chains, there’s no escape
You walked Away
Just when I started to get my life back under me

Berlin skies of gray, so cold I cannot breath!
I lost mein Frauline in the storm, that marks my destiny

But here I stand defiantly mending a heart ripped to shreds in tragedy

But my face to the wind, Im washed from my sin, but you still keep haunting me

These timeless chains, there’s no escape
You walked Away
Just when I started to get my life back under me

So much time has past since that fateful day.
So much time has passed since you turned away.

These timeless chains, there’s no escape!
You walked Away
Just when I started to get my life back under me!

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Robert Lunte & Stephanie DUMOUCH discuss the “Training Vocal Athletes” Masterclass on French TV. The interview took place at the TLT TV station in Toulouse, France.

Watch what happens when the television host asks Robert to sing for them on the air.

www.TheVocalistStudio.com
www.TheVocalistStudio.fr
www.Rodemicrophones.com

Robert Lunte Teaching Student in Toulouse, France

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Robert Lunte & Stephanie DUMOUCH are featured on Mativi TV from Toulouse-France during the “Training Vocal Athletes” Masterclass. The “Training Vocal Athletes” Masterclass tours are sponsored by RODE Microphones and are widely received by European participants.

For more information regarding TVS Masterclasses and events.

ww.TheVocalistStudioMasterClass.com

For more information regarding the TVS Certified Instructor Program.

www.TVSCertifiedInstructor.com

The Vocalist Studio France - Toulouse, France - Vocal Seminar

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INFORMATION available to students of singing that offer a clear and concise path to learning advanced vocal techniques is hard to find. The supply and demand for students of singing for available voice teachers that have the ability to train advanced vocal techniques is not in the students favor. However, TVS certified instructors are the exception. TVS certified instructors learn to execute these advanced vocal techniques and they are highly trained specialists at teaching the techniques that students of singing are demanding the most. By using the effective teaching methodology developed at TVS, our certified instructors achieve astounding results for their students, very quickly. The high level of techniques students of singing can achieve in such a short period of time, is one reason why The Vocalist Studio has become the most recognized new vocal training methodology in recent years.

TVS International is a team of top voice coaches from around the world. TVS certified instructors are specialists in guiding students through the most advanced and challenging vocal techniques any singer can ask to pursue. Vocal techniques such as, register bridging, radical range expansion, vowel modification, vocal distortion, vocal modes and intrinsic anchoring are some of the most difficult vocal techniques in demand by students. TVS certified instructors offer students exactly what they are looking for and these skill sets are comparatively rare in the industry.

TVS Certified Instructors work together to produce events around the world with the “Training Vocal Athletes” Master Classes. These events bring singers and voice teachers together from many countries to share new vocal techniques that would not otherwise be presented to singers.

TVS International currently offers certified instructors in Italy, Germany, France, US and Switzerland. We are actively recruiting to expand our International team. At this time and will accept applications from experienced voice teachers from any country.  Teachers from Canada, UK, China, Holland, Spain, Russia, Japan, Australia, Denmark, Sweden,  Brazil and Mexico are of particular interest at this time. If you are interested in joining the TVS International team of Certified Instructors and Experts, contact any TVS CI or visit the contact page.

THE TVS METHODOLODY:

The ‘TVS Methodology’ involves the calibration of the physiological, acoustic and psychological singing components required to produce a high performance phonation, into organized ‘packages’ and ‘sets’, groupings of technique details and exercises which address related material to achieve the prime directive skill sets for extreme ‘bridging and connecting’.

These grouping components are further organized into sequential work flows during the practice of TVS to insure a high quality of execution. The TVS Groupings; The Onset Package, The Phonation Package, The Intrinsic Anchoring Set, and The Embouchure Set, etc.  TVS Certified Instructors will work with students to develop great vocal habits, so that singing becomes balanced continuously and consistently throughout the vocal range and a high performance human phonation capability is developed to apply to the art of singing.

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