Warning: If you’re not a singer, then this will DEFINITELY be boring! lol
As I gain more notoriety as a vocal coach, I find myself being asked more and more questions about whom I studied with, how long did it take me to reach my current level of ‘expertise,’ and how I ended up developing “The Arceneaux Approach” to singing. So here’s the story of my voice…
At the age of 12, I began to realize that I enjoyed singing a lot more than the average person did. Unfortunately, at the time, I didn’t actually sound much better than the average person did. So, I decided that I would practice until my voice was perfect. I joined both my church choir and my high school choir, and I even formed a singing group with some friends. On top of all that, I would practice for hours on end, every single day. Then one day, at the age of 14, I received THE WORST piece of vocal advice ever: I was told by a choir director that, “Singing is like lifting weights. You push until your voice gets tired, and then it heals back even stronger.” Now at this time, I had no prior formal musical training whatsoever. As far as I – an inexperienced 14 year old – was concerned, this choir director was an expert. So, not only did I listen intently to her advice, but I put it into practice every single day. At choir rehearsal, at school, and at group rehearsals with my friends, I would belt out with all my might until I was hoarse (or at least a little husky). Of course, it didn’t feel too pleasant, but I really thought that it was the only way to strengthen my voice… until I began to notice that I was going hoarse faster and faster with each rehearsal. Finally, the inevitable happened… I woke up one morning, barely able to speak. At first, my parents told me it was just a cold or sinus infection, but I didn’t feel sick at all. I went to a throat specialist and was diagnosed with nodules – callouses that develop on the vocal folds from misuse, that make it difficult for the folds to close properly to produce sound.
The doctor told me that I had two options – surgery or voice lessons. I chose voice lessons. Before this happened, I had always thought of voice lessons as being reserved for opera singers or Broadway stars. So I wasn’t exactly excited about working with a voice teacher. After all, I surely didn’t want to sound like Pavarotti… I wanted to sound like Wanye Morris, from Boyz II Men! …still… The fact remained that I couldn’t sound like either one of those guys, if I had no voice at all. So I began reluctantly studying voice, at the age of 14, under the guidance of David Malisaint. David Malisaint taught a singing method based on the same principles of Seth Rigg’s Speech Level Singing technique (SLS). This is the same vocal technique used by such vocalists such as Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, the late Luther Vandross, Josh Groban, Beyonce, Anita Baker, Mario, Shanice Wilson and many others.
This technique barely focuses at all on breathing or the diaphragm. SLS strictly focuses on training the vocal folds themselves. My work with David Malisaint was life changing. With him, not only did I make a full vocal recovery, but I learned that I didn’t have to yell in order to reach high notes.
My lessons with David consisted almost entirely of vocalizing through various scales. From start to finish, throughout the entire hour, I would sing scales… with occasional water breaks (room temperature water, of course). I was confused at first, because I had been led to believe that singing for extended periods of time automatically caused vocal damage. I had damaged my voice once already, and I was paranoid about it happening again. David would tell me, “It’s not how long you sing; it’s how you sing.” He was the first to teach me that singing scales could be therapeutic and that – if done right – it could even restore a hoarse voice. In fact, he ended my doctor mandated vocal rest and demanded that I vocalize daily for AT LEAST 20 minutes.
Every scale and syllable had one purpose – to strengthen the transition between my chest and head voice registers. That transition area, referred to as the “passagio” or “mixed voice” was the foundation of my studies at that time. The idea was that, if that bridge between my chest voice and head voice was strong, then my entire voice would be strengthened. One huge help in understanding this approach was the practice of doing scales at a pianissimo dynamic level (very soft volume). This took the weight off of my chest voice and allowed me to blend seamlessly into my head voice. Before my studies with David, I would always strain and then flip into a weak falsetto. After a few weeks of vocalizing with him, however, I could sing seamlessly throughout my entire range – there were no flips, cracks, or breaks.
I studied at David Malisaint’s studio for about two years. There are 2 main lessons that I took away from my work with him: 1) Daily vocal exercise is of the utmost importance. 2) Healthy/free high notes result from “releasing” your voice into your upper range, rather than “pushing” it there.
Everyone noticed the change in my voice: I began to get solos in my church choir, I became the lead singer in my R&B group, and girls asked me to sing to them in the courtyard at lunch (seriously… lol). But my studies weren’t over yet. Yes, my voice was healthy now. My tone was clear, and I had a fairly wide range. However, my voice lacked the POWER of the singers that I looked up to. I wanted to be able to belt with force and intensity, and I knew that there had to be a way to accomplish this vocal feat. My work with David made me realize that there were people out there who knew things about how to remove limitations from the voice, and I became determined to find those people.
…Read Chapter 2: “My Adventures In The Pretentious World Of Classical Music”
I am very interested in this. Thank you
No problem. There’s more on the way
wow this is very interesting! It totally explains the philosophy behind your lessons! It makes me want to practice even more!
hi, i am in london . how do i get hold of your dvd and how much will it cost me
hi, i am in london. how do i get hold of the vocal exercises dvd and how much will it cost me
Nice story..I like your dedication and love for singing.Now I think I also have to try….
wow, you give me hope.
you really do.
Interesting journey – I’m puzzled by the fact that, despite the teaching philosophy re the role of notes and syllables, your scale exercises tend to be done on one vowel at a time – song lyrics don’t do that. I am researching the design of scale exercises which more closely mimic what happens when singing words across the ‘breaks’ – may be room for discussion here.
I have to read on. Only starting out have always had a passion for singing.
Have always wondered how they reach those high notes with so much confidence.
wow simply the best! thank you for helping with my voice..
Its really interesting………..
thank u for the tips and helping me with my voice i really think u can help me
thank u for the tips and helping me with my voice i think u can help me
thank u for tips and heipin me
Cheers lots, I’ve found this info extremely good!
You are truly blessed. I myself am a vocalist and have gone through vocal training from a tender age however, I was also given some the advice as your choir director. Today, while there has been great improvement to my vocal quality, skill, tone and general ability, I feel that I can do much more with the voice that God has given. I am also a teacher, so I am speaking all throughout the day. As a result, together with probably some incorrect techniques, I often would get hoarse sometimes to the point where I can’t even speak. I am also an active worship leader at my church. I am very much interested in doing your course, however, I live in Trinidad (Caribbean). Is there some way that I can get hold of your programme besides youtube (lol) Maybe a training CD or a book. Thank you so much and keep up the incredible work. God bless.
Funny thing on how I can related to you Eric. I asked my choir teacher one day on how to sing with better tone. She told me in order to have better tone I’d have to sing with more air. At that time I had little to no singing experience which lead to me trying to sing with all air. I was told by my friends whenever I sang that I sounded as if I was always out of breath. It was very frustrating on me to fix this horrible habit of my and break out the habit of using 80% of my throat. But luckily your videos have given me AMAZING information and guidance to sing proper. I am now confidence in my voice and ready to reach the next level. Thanks Eric
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