Author: Shannon Chung

Categories
Voice

Vocal Care

Hi! My name is Shannon and welcome to Shannon Studios. Subscribe to my blog to learn more about the voice!

What is voice therapy?

Voice therapy helps people with voice disorders change vocal behaviors and heal their vocal cords. The therapy helps your voice sound stronger and more like before the voice disorder.

Voice therapy can also help prevent a voice disorder. And people who are transgender may benefit from a type of voice therapy called gender-affirming voice therapy.

What are voice disorders?

Vocal disorders occur when your vocal cords vibrate out of synch or don’t fully open or close.

Voice disorders affect your voice box (larynx), and can cause a consistent or inconsistent change in your voice. The larynx is the area of your throat that contains your vocal cords. It also has the muscles you need to talk, breathe, and swallow.

Voice disorders can change the quality, pitch, or loudness of your voice. Your voice may sound strained, husky, or weak. Sometimes, your voice becomes a whisper or disappears altogether.

To reduce your risk of developing a vocal cord lesion, you should avoid:

  • Singing or talking excessively if you have an upper respiratory infection.
  • Talking excessively or speaking loudly without adequately resting your voice.
  • Drinking alcohol excessively and consuming too much caffeine (which dries out your vocal cords).
  • Smoking or being in smoke-filled rooms.

You can also put healthy habits into place to care for your vocal cords and reduce your risk of getting sick.

  • Drink plenty of water.
  • Wash your hands often.
  • Get a good night’s sleep.
  • Use a microphone if you need to project your voice.
  • Warm up your voice before singing or prolonged speaking.
  • Rest your voice in anticipation of future speaking obligations.
  • Use a humidifier in your home to keep your vocal cords hydrated.
  • Use stress reduction techniques, cognitive therapy or yoga to lessen muscle tension.

Whether you are struggling with nodes, respiratory issues, a minor cold, mucous, or stress/vocal fatigue, most of the below will apply to any of these challenges.

What is the definition of a voice disorder? Answering this will help you see the point of doing the vocal exercises even if being a singer is not your goal.  

Definition: Vocal disorders occur when your vocal cords vibrate out of synch or don’t fully open or close. The cause can be nodes, a cold, stress on the cords, etc…

I will come at this from a “fitness” approach! So when you train as an athlete you have to take the proper precautions to prevent burnout or fatigue and to increase strength/muscle you have to train with proper nutrition, warm-ups, cools downs, etc, etc. The same goes for your larynx or voice box or vocal folds (which are essentially your muscles for your voice) you have to train your voice just as much as you train the muscles in your body AND as a teacher or fitness instructor or anyone who uses their voice for their job, vocal exercises are vital. They are awkward at first, but eventually, they become easy habitual, and super fun! 

Steps to Strengthening Your Voice:

  1. Diet/nutrition for your voice.
  2. Vocal exercises.
  3. Supplementation for your voice.

Diet/nutrition:

  • Water water water, hydrate hydrate… simple and no-brainer but it’s absolutely vital.
  • Every morning have some warm water with some MAUNKA honey. Not just any honey will do hunny 😉 Must be Manuka because it has anti-bacterial properties. High amounts of methylglyoxal give Manuka honey antibacterial qualities, as well as antiviral, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. Manuka honey helps to treat colds, flu, wounds, and other infections. Keep it on hand during cold and flu season. It’s an easy way to treat a cough or a nasty sore throat!
  • When you have flare-ups or you have important events coming up, reduce inflammatory things such as alcohol and coffee. They dry out your vocal cords… Also, cut out citrus or highly acidic foods when you are having trouble. 

Vocal Exercises:

  • HUMMMMM humming at a low volume, nothing aggressive is extremely helpful to your cords. To INCREASE your vocal cord strength throw the below Spotify warm-ups on and try to do 10 min of vocal cord training per day. This will build up the stamina in your vocal cords. I added breathing exercises that will also help you engage your core. Even if your core is strong, these exercises show you how you use your core with your diaphragm. If having trouble achieving this on your own, contact me so we can get you correctly using your voice.  Vocal exercises Link
     

Supplementation:

I’m Sick and Have a Flare-Up – Now What??

  • Please remember the following instructions:
  • Bowl water and pour it in a bowl and add mint and eucalyptus essential oils into the water. Put a towel over your head and breathe in the steam through your nose and breathe out.

At the end of the day, all of these little things can make a big difference.

For more exercises and tips on singing, subscribe to the blog and follow Mille Studios on IG

https://www.instagram.com/shannon.studios.vancouver/

Categories
Art

A Year Of Work

Musical Journey
Me and My Thoughts
Surfacing
When In Danger
Photo by Vivian Klien
My Pen and Ink Self Portrait in the style of Surrealism
Categories
Voice

5 Ways to Connect With Your Audience

This post is all about how to give it your best when performing. The best performance is not always about how perfectly you sang the song, but how well you were able to connect with the audience. Connection is all about creating a feeling. Therefore, the most effective way to measure how well you did on a performance is if people felt something. Below is a photo of Herbert Kwan Owner of Music Life Academy (Pianist, Music Composer and Arranger). We have performed many times together over the years and the 5 tips below are just some of the things we picked up along the way.

Connect yourself with the song.
Spending some time on the message of the song, will have huge benefits in your own growth as a singer. You will learn the lyrics faster, become even more invested and you will be able to give your best performance because your delivery will become more authentic. Example: “She Used To Be Mine” by Sara Bareilles is one of my favourite songs to perform because I can feel the message. I know the lyrics so well that I can dig deep and connect with the piece. This is a song that cannot rely solely on vocal technique; it must have just the right emotion intertwined with your vocal ability. This grants people permission to feel alongside you and they will naturally connect with you if you take the first step of showing a little vulnerability.

Introduce the song appropriately.
Short and sweet is important, because if you go on too long you may of course lose your audience. Be yourself and tell a little joke if it’s appropriate, or if it is a serious tone, think ahead of time why you took on this performance and share why the cause resonates with you as well as the meaning of singing the song you are about to.

Stage presence.
As Brene Brown has shared with the world through her research on vulnerability… The best leaders, speakers, and performers are often those who show some vulnerability – being themselves. This is one of the most brave and courageous things a performer can do. When you reveal to your audience your true self and show up, guess what, your audience will as well; and great connections ignite between you and your audience. Sometimes stage presence looks like a big dance party, while other times, it might be a quiet lyric with the intentional pausing and phrasing that the message deserves. Either way, choosing the appropriate energy level for your stage presence will ensure for a fabulous performance. For musicians this also applies. When Herbert sits down to play at the piano, he too must use his body language from the moment he steps onto the stage, to the way he sits down, to how he places his hands on the piano; it commands the rooms. These are the little things that Herbert would teach at his Music Life Academy.

Breath, breath, breath to create a performance of ease.
Have fun with the band and engage by starting a steady clap during a chorus. An all time favourite is to of course invite the audience to sing along with you to songs that everyone knows such as “Stand By Me” by B.E. King. Hold the mic out to the audience and get them involved. This gives you time as well to take a few breaths.

Pretend you are having a conversation.
Match your facial expressions to the mood and feeling of the lyric, line by line. Use eye contact, pause and be passionate. If you do this, you are bound to connect. Phrasing is an art. Essentially singing is speech with a melody. Some of the greatest speakers of all time are those that pause with intention. They choose their moments to speed up their phrasing or to hold onto a idea and captivate their audience. Or they draw out an essential word with a controlled tone along with eye contact.

I can’t wait for you to try some of these strategies. One of the best feelings, is when you finish a performance where people are left wanting more because they felt it.

Categories
Voice

Inhaling Exercise – Feel How to Open Your Back Muscles

It’s already strange enough as singers to have “breathing exercises” as everyone knows how to breath right??

Well if that isn’t crazy enough that vocal instructors reteach you how to breath… now we break it down even further to isolate what is happening when we inhale specifically when singing. I promise we are not over thinking this and if you practice your breathing along with your other vocal warm ups, you will see a dramatic improvement in holding that big note or adding some endurance and control to those delicate notes.

Therefore, let’s dive right in to an inhalation 🫁 exercise. This is vital to practice. As we say at Mille Studios, train your body, train your voice. Once you know and understand what your body is doing, you will prevent injury and vocal strain.

Let’s 1st feel How to Open Your Back Muscles:

Try this to quickly open your back for an easy inhalation:

1. Find a sturdy chair and sit with your elbows resting on your knees. In this position, you sit and lean forward, with your elbows on your bent knees and your back straight. You don’t have to bend over far only far enough to allow your back to relax.

2. With your elbows on your knees, take a breath and imagine that you can put the air into your back- as if your lungs are all along your back and you want to fill them with air. You may notice that the muscles in your back feel like they’re lifting and opening for the air to come in the body.

3. Take a few more breaths and notice the sensations of your back opening.

4. When you think you feel your back releasing and opening as you inhale, try opening your back more quickly. Open the same muscles along your back without worrying about inhalation. When you open the muscles, the air comes into your body and you don’t have to worry about inhalation – the inhalation happens because you’re opening the muscles.

For more exercises and tips on singing, subscribe to the blog and follow Mille Studios on IG

Instagram: instagram.com/mille.studios.vancouver

Categories
Events Voice

Prairie Naturals Gala Men’s Health 

A few weeks ago, I attended and performed at the Vancouver Club – At an event put on by Prairie Naturals, in Support of the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation. It was really a special evening that I felt honoured to be a part of. My heart felt full when I left, which is a great sign of time well spent and therefore makes for a priceless experience. The evening was elegant, relevant, simple as well as heartfelt and intimate.

I was fortunate enough to not only be a guest, but also a participant. I had the pleasure of performing with a well known jazz artist in the Vancouver Community Esther Celebrini. Our performance was special as we were doing this in support of Men’s Health. We curated our songs with the intention of tapping into the importance of Mental Health, so we could connect with the audience. We covered everything from Shallow – A Star Is Born, to Nothing Else Matters by Metallica… 

Fab Forever Band – Sound Check
Trevor Linden
Shannon – Owner of Mille Studios
Esther Celebrini & Shannon Chung

Trevor Linden spoke with complete authenticity as did TC Carling and Shea Emry… The vulnerability in sharing their stories was an example of great strength as well as courage. I hope to see more and more of these moments occur in our community – as change starts with the sharing of meaningful conversations.

My favourite part of the program would have to be when Dan Murphy, broadcaster with Rogers Sportsnet And Hockey Night in Canada asked the questions to Trevor, TC Carling, and Shea. Dan brings out the best in people and this evening was no exception. I learned a tremendous amount on men’s health and the challenges. Together they did a fantastic job connecting with the room – giving us some insight on their own mental health journeys. The purpose was to normalize (but not minimize) the discussion on men’s mental health. Hopefully with more events such as this, men will find the space to speak out about their health whether it be physical health or emotional/mental. 

Last but not least, the evening ended with an incredible key performance by the Fab Forever Band. They truly were fabulous as they took us back in time with all of our favourite Beatles hits. Thank you Prairie Naturals ❤️

Categories
Voice

How to Create A Rich Full Tone When Singing

Achieving a resonant, rich, and full-sounding vocal tone is tough! But it is also extremely rewarding. If you are struggling with it, you have come to the right place. It is a matter of “yet”, so let’s get to it!

Try these exercises below to help with your tone.

One of the most common requests during the first lesson is, “How do I sing with a bigger full voice?” When we dig a little deeper, the term they are searching for is tone. We all have a unique quality to our voice and a singers tone is what makes us gravitate to certain singers. While Norah Jones is completely different from Lady Gaga, what is clear is that they are both pleasant to listen to because they are aware of how to sing in a relaxed way whether singing at the bottom of their range or at the top of their range. It is never tight or squeaky because they know how to use their nasal and throat “spaces”; essentially they are relaxed and they have proper air flow in those spaces. Today’s post is a quick digestible look at what tone is, and how to be aware of how to achieve proper tone when singing.

What is tone? How to achieve a rich full tone?
Today we are strictly speaking about vocal tone, which refers to the quality of your singing voice, apart from pitch (hitting a musical note or musical tone is different and about singing the note / being on tune). As we talk about vocal tone today, it’s how you sound when singing a note. How we achieve great vocal tone is when we work with your breath in your nose and throat spaces – and then how the breath comes out of those spaces will be the result, which is the tone of your sound. It is about paying attention to how your body uses its breath to produce sound. How your body works together with air is ultimately what creates your unique tone and the exercises below will help you figure all this out. These exercises will help you take notice of how your body is using its air flow and they will allow you to play with the sound so you can feel where the air is going. Recap:

  • To get a rich tone, it is about creating space in the nose and throat and then blend the two together.
  • Again, tone is about how the body and breath work together. 

EXERCISE 1 Steps to find what your nose space feels like:

  • Before we start, let’s relax and hum a medium level pitch. Nothing else should move. No pinching in the throat. Your goal is to not force anything out and just feel the vibrations.
  • Now with your mouth closed, try taking in a really large amount of air through your nasal cavity and then sigh with a comfortable pitch.
  • As you breath in, you should be able to feel the space in your nasal cavity as you breath in the air through the nose; take notice of where you can feel the cool air. Where is it going? After you do it a few times, see if you can relax and let the air spread to the sides of the nose down into the throat and then of course all the way down your airways.
  • Now do the same thing but this time after you breath in all the way comfortably we will not sigh on the exhale, but rather hum AND most importantly, your mouth will open and close while making a nice easy hum sound.
  • Each time you do this, you should be able to feel your nasal and throat spaces become more and more at ease. This exercise may seem simple, but doing this everyday will allow you to loosen up and not get tense and tight. One of the number one problems when people go to push their range, especially when singing high is, they tighten up (almost squeezing out the note) and end up sounding brighter than they want to or “shouty”. This exercise will helps you stay relaxed and prevent voice strain. This will become like muscle memory if you are consistent in doing it regularly.

EXERCISE 2 Steps to find your throat space:

  • We will do what are called “Yawn inhales” and they help us to feel where the breath goes into the throat. 
  • When you breath in you shouldn’t be able to hear the air going in down the throat.
  • Now after we breath in, we will hold a note with the mouth open use “ah” and use a lower note in your range and feel that the throat space should feel relaxed and open and the resonance should be rich and full.
  • Once you achieve this, move to the last exercise below.

EXERCISE 3 Steps to blend the nose and throat space:

  • Now blend the two together.
  • Start with a medium note in your range and hum.
  • If you are not sure what note to start with, it should be vibrating in your nasal cavity.
  • As you start to hum in the nose space, slowly begin to slide down into the throat space while you open and close the mouth.

Hopefully this is helpful and I encourage you to try this at home. Play with sound, play with your voice. Don’t worry about what comes out when you are on your own. Think of trying these exercises like learning a drill for the first time in your favourite sport. Let’s take basketball for example, the first time you learn to do a lay up it is probably awkward and uncomfortable. You may feel uncoordinated, not sure which foot goes first and the same goes for singing. At first it might not come out right, but keep trying. Get cozy and comfy with your sound and you will become the best singer you can be.

Categories
Health & Lifestyle

Glowing Skin For An Everyday Make Up Look

Everyday make up look at Blanche MacDonald

For the last few years, I have shifted my mindset with the way I think about my skin. I now enjoy the process of completing my skincare routine morning and evening. I used to think of it as a chore and I was focused on what I didn’t like about my skin, rather than what I do like about it. I strive to not pick myself a part, but rather love the skin I am in.

So what changed?

My Grandmother said to me once (at the age of 91) “When you are 90, you wish you looked 80 and when you are 80 you wish you looked 60 and then of course when you are in your 40’s you wish you looked 30 or 20… The sooner you realize that there is beauty at every age you will start living in the moment and enjoying the skin you are in.” This made complete sense and it is very true. We are always looking at the past as being the good old days and we never even stop to think that maybe these are the good old days… Also one of my favourite songs by MACKLEMORE FEAT KESHA – GOOD OLD DAYS 

Enjoy your skin, your passions, your routines and whatever moment you are in… otherwise, “You’ll miss the magic of these good old days.” I look forward to seeing what you create with some of my favourite products. Put on your favourite tunes and I hope you enjoy the process of creating a soft everyday make up look.

My fav’s:

  1. Thayer’s Toner Cucumber – Witch Hazel Facial Toner – Cucumber Thayer’s Remedies
  2. Alive Aqualyn and HA – AqualynHA Revitalizing Skin Moisturizer with Hyaluronic Acid – for Face and Body https://www.shopalive.ca/shop/product/the-beauty-bundle/
  3. Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream https://www.sephora.com/ca/en/product/charlotte-s-magic-cream-P433520?skuId=2486272&icid2=products%20grid:p433520:product
  4. Make Up Forever Primer https://www.sephora.com/search?keyword=make%20up%20forever%20primer
  5. Danessa Myricks Beauty Illuminating Veil Liquid Highlighter https://www.sephora.com/ca/en/product/danessa-myricks-illuminating-veil-liquid-highlighter-P469457?skuId=2439867&icid2=products%20grid:p469457:product mixed with Make Up Forever Foundation mixed with https://www.sephora.com/ca/en/product/matte-velvet-skin-full-coverage-foundation-P434023?skuId=2106441&icid2=products%20grid:p434023:product
  6. Dior Forever Natural Velvet Matte Compact Foundation – use this to set the face https://www.sephora.com/ca/en/product/diorskin-forever-perfect-matte-powder-foundation-P297404?skuId=2595072&icid2=products%20grid:p297404:product
  7. Benefit Cosmetics Hoola Bronzer https://www.sephora.com/ca/en/product/hoola-matte-bronzer-P290636?skuId=2520419&icid2=products%20grid:p290636:product
  8. NUDESTIXTinted Blur Contour Sculpting Stick
  9. DiorDior Forever Couture Luminizer Highlighter Powder
  10. Too FacedBetter Than Chocolate Eyeshadow Palette
  11. MAKE UP FOR EVERAqua Resist Color Pencil Eyeliner
  12. KVD BeautyTattoo Liner Vegan Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner
  13. Jaqueline Hill X Morphe Brushes or MORPHE X ARIEL SIGNATURE LOOK 12-PIECE FACE & EYE BRUSH SET https://ca.morphe.com/collections/brush-sets/products/morphe-x-ariel-signature-look-12-piece-face-eye-brush-set
  14. Benefit Cosmetics Brow Pen – Benefit CosmeticsGreat Brow Basics Pencil & Gel Set
  15. Benefit Cosmetics Mascara – Benefit CosmeticsBADgal BANG! Volumizing Mascara
  16. Kevin Aquan Eye Lash Curler
  17. KVD BeautyEverlasting Hyperlight Vegan Transfer-Proof Liquid Lipstick
  18. KVD BeautyEverlasting Lip Liner
Categories
Voice

Expressionism Through Your Voice

One of my favourite artists and singers would have to be Alicia Keys. I love listening to her music with my headphones in particular. To me her music moves me, her talent is, of course, undeniable, but to me what makes her one of the most important artists of our time, is her ability to truly connect to others through her voice; both through her lyrics, interviews and books. Her message is always inspiring and she uses her superpower “the voice” to do good. This beautiful piece, “A Beautiful Noise” is incredibly soulful. This duet is gorgeous because of the joy that is spilling out of them. Being able to speak up and advocate for ourselves in a responsible way (without yelling or judgement of others) is a beautiful thing.

Alicia Keys, Brandi Carlile – A Beautiful Noise (Official Video)

Music is our universal language and it can teach us many things about ourselves because it gets us out of our heads and into our hearts where compassion, empathy and understanding lives. It is also where we find our grit and for those that love music and do it because they truly love it, keep going. One of the best quotations from Alicia Keys is… “I’d rather believe in my own choice and see it all go wrong than do something I’m not fully convinced of and later feel guilty about it.” Alicia Keys

If you are questioning whether you are enough or whether you should keep making music; it starts with you… Believe in yourself, keep going.

Categories
Art

“When In Danger” By Shannon Chung

Mille Studios is all about voice training and music, as well as visual arts. I also use music to fuel and inspire my drawing pieces. I primarily work with pen and ink as well as a pencil. My approach to drawing or painting is to listen to one song over and over to really connect with the song with regards to the lyrics, message, composition, rhythm, and really everything about the song and what it means to me. I listen to whatever is resonating with me to help express what is in my mind. Sometimes the pieces are my journal of a challenge I might be facing and other times the pieces attempt to depict something I am learning or a story I am reading. Hope you enjoy the explanation below of my piece entitled, “When In Danger” which was inspired by the song “To Be Treated Right,” by Chris Cornell.

“When In Danger” By Shannon Chung

“When In Danger”

Pencil, Pen and Ink

By Shannon Chung

Coming soon to @mille.studios.vancouver I will be launching a series of drawings that I have been working on periodically over the last six months. For now, here is a little teaser of what I’ve been up to. This piece is about all the hats we wear from day to day and what happens to the different roles we play when under pressure, versus on a safe typical day. If you are fortunate to generally live and work in a safe space where one can truly be themselves and dive right into their creativity – imagine if that was stripped away. The significance of the title… “When In Danger” is to ask yourself who you are when in danger or when faced with a threat or even a challenge. The piece is meant to take a moment to look inward and ask yourself if you choose “courage over comfort” * when times are hard…

I was inspired by “Daring Greatly” written by Brené Brown, who is an American research professor, lecturer, author, and podcast host. Brown is known in particular for her research on shame, vulnerability, and leadership.

@brenebrown

@mille.studios.vancouver

Categories
Voice

3 Tips For All Singers of All Levels

  1. Take care of your instrument which happens to be your voice as this blog is all about singing. You can’t go out and buy another set of vocal chords, so be sure to treasure them. This means, water water water 💦 It is so simple but we often skip it or do not realize how much we require. What to avoid before singing? Make sure to never stuff yourself, especially before a performance. Some foods and beverages to avoid prior to singing are mucous producing foods such as dairy, stimulants such as caffeine and spicy foods, soft drinks, refined sugars, chocolate, iced drinks and alcohol. Pro Tip! How to sing or perform when getting over a cold with excess mucous? Hydration in the form of steam (head over a bowl of boiling water, with a towel over your head), is seen by many singers as the very best way to get the folds hydrated, and to shift thick mucus which might clog them up. This saved me in 2018 when I was getting over a cold but had to perform Phantom of the Opera at River Rock Casino.
  2. Practice, practice, practice and be patient. Practicing scales, improving your tongue-soft palate coordination, repeating tongue and lip trills and simply humming are a few fabulous little warm-up exercises to get your vocal cords loose and ready for singing. To improve your range start your vocal warm ups with humming. Don’t push too hard or strain your voice. Humming is almost like a massage and if done consistently as part of your routine you will be able to increase your lower and higher range.
  3. Breathing – Never skip breathing exercises. No matter what level you are, every singer will agree that breath control is the most important foundational component to singing well, with ease and it will protect your voice so you can sing for a lifetime. This is what gives power to all your registers. Breathing exercises are an excellent start for those looking to improve their ability to sing and while it is tempting to just skip all the warm ups and learn a song by singing it over and over – you will not improve as much as you would like and often times it will cause injury. Breathing is what will make your tone, pitch and strength to your voice.
Being Consistent Gets Results

Thank you for reading and I look forward to building this blog with suggestions from you. I will be taking each one of these tips and going into more detail with specific exercises for breathing technique. Lastly, there are many approaches to singing and vocal coaches will have their methodology. Rather than debating which way is right or wrong, I believe one of the most important parts of finding success goes beyond talent but being consistent. Think of your vocal training just like fitness training.