Better Belting
An in-depth guide to effective belting, for singers and singing teachers. 150 study hours (approx). *Please note that this course is not intended for inexperienced singers or novice teachers.
A Look Under the Hood - VIDEO (6' 20)
FREE PREVIEWCOPYRIGHT NOTICE
Where Do We Start?
FOREWORD
FREE PREVIEWChoose your "Course Song"
Your Course Journal
Drip Feed Schedule
WHAT IS BELT?
FREE PREVIEWPART 1 - BELT IS PRIMAL
FREE PREVIEWMonkey Pose & Elements of Primal Voice Alignment - VIDEO (4' 20)
Journal Moment #1
Exploring Primal Voice
FREE PREVIEWPART 2 - BELT IS BRIGHT
Exercise 1: Brightening & Darkening Notes (AUDIO - 3 mins)
Journal Moment #2
PART 3 - BELT IS OPEN
Exercise 2: Making Narrow Vowels "Splatty" (Wide) - AUDIO (3' 25)
Widening the mouth shape is crucial to belt
Steven Tyler I Don't Want To Miss A Thing acoustic live
Journal Moment #3
The Emotional Imperative
PART 4 - BELT IS HIGH ENERGY AND HIGH EMOTION
Exercise 3: Experiencing the Emotional Driver for Belt - AUDIO (3' 30)
Journal Moment #4
PART 5 - BELT IS TWANGY
What is Vocal Twang? - VIDEO (13' 40)
Singing With Vocal Twang - VIDEO (11' 20)
What is Twang? - VIDEO (13' 55)
Is Twang the Same as Nasality? - VIDEO (5' 10)
Applying Twang Qualities - VIDEO (12' 50)
Journal Moment #5
PART 6 - BELT IS OF A PARTICULAR PITCH RANGE
Journal Moment #6
PART 7 - BELT IS PERCEPTUAL
Journal Moment #7
Module 1 Revision Quiz: What is Belt?
INTRODUCTION
FREE PREVIEWPART 1 - ALIGNMENT
FREE PREVIEWExercise 4 - The Whispered Ah -VIDEO (7 mins)
Exercise 4.1 - How to Free the Voice by Restructuring it in Silence - VIDEO (10' 45)
Discovering the Head-Neck-Back Relationship
Exercise 4.2 - The Head-Neck-Back Pattern - VIDEO (4' 30)
Journal Moment #8
Alignment Transforms the Voice
Exercise 5 - Alignment Warm ups for Musicians Part One - VIDEO (36' 50)
Journal Moment #9
PART 2 - ESTABLISHING CLEAN, EASY TONE THROUGHOUT THE RANGE
FREE PREVIEWExercise 6 - The APC: Piano & Spoken Guide to the Pattern in Bb
Exercise 6a - The APC: Piano & Spoken Guide to the Pattern in Eb - AUDIO (1' 20)
Instructions for Using the APC
What to Listen for When Using the APC
Exercise 6.1 - The Initial APC Vowel Sounds & How to Apply Them - AUDIO (5' 40)
Exercise 6.2 - The APC on NG, in the Key of Bb - AUDIO (3' 35)
Exercise 6.3 - The APC on NG, in the Key of Eb - AUDIO (1' 25)
Journal Moment #10
PART 3 - WARMING UP
Exercise 7 - Shoehorning - VIDEO (4' 55)
Working on the Sticking Points
Exercise 7a - Straw Phonation for the Sticking Points - VIDEO (20 secs)
Journal Moment #11
Ready to Move On
FREE PREVIEWModule 2 Revision Quiz: Before Belting
PART 1 - EMBODYING THE SOUND
FREE PREVIEWPART 2 - IMPULSE
Impulse - The Origin of Vocal Sound, by Jean McClelland
Impulse Cannot be Taught, or Learned - Only Experienced
The Impulse to Sing, by Justin Petersen
We Cannot Reason Our Way to Belting
Journal Moment #12
PART 3 - THE SINGER'S KINESPHERE
FREE PREVIEWExercise 8 - Seeing, Feeling and Activating Your Kinesphere - AUDIO (3' 40)
Singing With 360 degrees of Awareness
Exercise 9 - Exploring Your Peripheral Vision - VIDEO (5' 35)
Don't Throw the Ball Away!
Journal Moment #13
Module 3 Revision Quiz: Impulse - The Emotions and the Imagination
PART 1 - BREATH AND SUPPORT
Exercise 10 - Alignment Warm Ups for Musicians (Short Version) - VIDEO (10' 15)
The Inhalation
Exercise 11 - The In-breath - VIDEO (7' 55)
The Supported Exhalation
The Supported Out-Breath - VIDEO (6' 45)
A Deep-Dive into Breath Support
Better Breath Support - Full webinar with Elissa Weinzimmer - VIDEO (1 hour 30 mins)
Journal Moment #14
PART 2 - ANCHORING
FREE PREVIEWExercise 13 - Finding an Effective Head-Neck Anchor - AUDIO (3' 20)
More Ways to Explore Anchoring
Journal Moment #15
PART 3 - LARYNGEAL HEIGHT
Exercise 14 - Locating the Main Structures of the Larynx - VIDEO (2' 50)
Anchoring & Laryngeal Height - VIDEO (13' 20)
Journal Moment #16
Take a Breath
Journal Moment #17
Module 4 Revision Quiz - The Physiological Set-Up
PART 1 - ONSETS
FREE PREVIEWExercise 15 - Voiced Consonants in Speech - AUDIO (5' 30)
Exercise 16 - Glottal Onsets: OH NO! - AUDIO (5' 10)
Exercise 17 - Balanced Onsets in Speech - HEY, YEAH! - AUDIO (5' 30)
Practising with "Easy Belt" Configurations
Journal Moment #18
PART 2 - GETTING STARTED WITH CONSONANTS
Exercise 18 - Voiced versus Unvoiced Consonants - AUDIO (9 mins)
Exercise 19 - Writing and Using a Consonant Map
Journal Moment #19
Exercise 20 - Allowing Consonants into the Mouth Space
VIDEO: Allowing Consonants into the Mouth Space - VIDEO (2 mins)
Exercise 21 - Partial De-Nasalising of Consonants - AUDIO (3' 10)
Exercise 22 - Words Beginning with H - AUDIO (2 mins)
Journal Moment #20
Module 5 Revision Quiz - The Magic of Consonants
PART 1 - PLACEMENT
Forward Placement - VIDEO (13' 25)
Journal Moment #21
PART 2 - Exercise 23 - VOWEL & CONSONANT COMBINATIONS - AUDIO (3' 30)
FREE PREVIEWFurther Vowel Explorations
Journal Moment #22
PART 3 - BEYOND THE RUDIMENTS: DEMONSTRATING vs FEELING
Demonstrating vs Feeling - VIDEO (1' 30)
Journal Moment #23
PART 4 - Exercise 24 - TOP-DOWN TRAINING - AUDIO (1' 45)
Journal Moment #24
PART 5 - SILENT PRACTISE
Silent Belt - VIDEO (2' 50)
Journal Moment #25
PART 6 - MODIFICATION OF OTHER VOWELS
Vowel Modifications (What to do with Small Vowels) - VIDEO (4' 30)
Journal Moment #26
PART 7 - LOOK UP, CHIN UP; DON'T COLLAPSE!
Look up, chin up - engage the back of the neck - VIDEO (1' 20)
FREE PREVIEWJournal Moment #27
PART 8 - SHOW US YOUR TEETH!
Snarl or Smile - VIDEO (20 secs)
Journal Moment #28
PART 9 - YOUR VOICE IS A MIRROR
Journal Moment #29
Module 6 Revision Quiz - Tips & Tricks for Better Belting
PART 1 - STILL BODY, CONSTRAINED VOICE
Journal Moment #30
PART 2 - MUSIC, MOVEMENT & THE BRAIN
FREE PREVIEWPART 3 - FIGHT, FLIGHT & FREEZE
Journal Moment #31
PART 4 - THE SINGER'S THINKING BRAIN vs THE BODYMIND
Journal Moment #32
Module 7 Revision Quiz - Why Movement is Essential in Belting
PART 1 - THIS BELT IS AVAILABLE IN MANY COLOURS
Comfort Zones & Power Zones
Exercise 25 - Singing from Comfort Zone to Comfort Zone (sung example) - AUDIO (3' 45)
Exercise 25a - Piano guide: Comfort Zone to Comfort Zone in Eb (for female voice) - AUDIO (2' 20)
Exercise 25b - Piano guide: Comfort Zone to Comfort Zone in Ab (for male voice) - AUDIO (25 secs)
"Singing with Power" vs Belting
Journal Moment #33
PART 2 - CHEST VOICE BELT (FEMALE SINGERS)
Examples of Female Chest Voice Belt up to B4 (compilation) - VIDEO (1' 25)
PART 3 - (Whisper it...): MALE & FEMALE VOICES AREN'T THE SAME!
Examples of Male Middle Voice Belt up to B4 (and one sneaky C#5)! - VIDEO (1' 25)
Journal Moment #34
PART 4 - UNDERSTANDING THE BREAK
PART 5 - NEWSFLASH! MALE HEAD VOICE & FEMALE MIDDLE VOICE BELT FEEL & SOUND THE SAME
Middle Voice Belt (Female) and Head Voice Belt (Male) - An Exploration
Exploring Box B Audio Guide - An Overview - AUDIO (4' 25) and written instructions
Wildly Different but Just the Same
Female Middle and Male Head Voice Belt Comparisons (Compilation) - VIDEO (4' 25)
PART 6 - BRIDGING
Journal Moment #35
PART 7 - FAKE BELT
Belt is 50% Performance - VIDEO (1 min)
Journal Moment #36
Module 8 Revision Quiz - Belting & Registers
Where Are We Now?
Introduction
How to Sing with a Belt Voice - VIDEO (9' 45)
SUMMARY: CHAPTER 1 - WHAT IS BELT?
SUMMARY: CHAPTER 2 - BEFORE BELTING
SUMMARY: CHAPTER 3 - IMPULSE; EMOTION & IMAGINATION
SUMMARY: CHAPTER 4 - THE PHYSIOLOGICAL SET-UP
SUMMARY: CHAPTER 5 - THE MAGIC OF CONSONANTS
SUMMARY: CHAPTER 6 - TIPS & TRICKS FOR BETTER BELTING
SUMMARY: CHAPTER 7 - THE IMPORTANCE OF MOVEMENT
SUMMARY: CHAPTER 8 - BELTING & REGISTERS
IN CONCLUSION
WHERE TO NOW?
YOUR COURSE QUICK-REFERENCE GUIDE
A GIFT FOR YOU
Before you go...
Primary References (Print)
Primary References (Online)
Photo Credits
Secondary References