How To Sing Well:The Basics

May 11th, 2010 Comments off

A solid foundation in the basics of singing is absolutely essential towards achieving a great voice.This is why I have decided to break down the basics of singing into simple and concise components,so that we can all understand the elementary topics we have to learn in order to improve on ourvocal ability.

You may also wish to check out some useful books on singing that I personally read,  so as to gain adeeper understanding of the various basic aspects of the art of singing!

There are 5 Basic Components of Singing:
1. Pitch
2. Rhythm
3. Breath
4. Voice
5. Diction

Let us take a brief look at each of these topics:

1. PITCH

We all know how it feels like to listen to someone sing off-key or out of tune, especially if we arein a small confined space with nowhere else to go…This is why pitch is absolutely essential for great singing. Pitch refers to the notes and soundsthat we hear when someone sings, and it determines if the song is going to sound great or not. Thesinger will have to hit various pitches in a song with a relative amount of accuracy in order to bein tune with the overall music accompaniment and harmonies.

Training ourselves to recognize pitches and intervals, to vocalize various notes as well as tocorrect ourselves when we go off-key is absolutely essential to achieving an accurate pitch whensinging.

2. RHYTHM

Every song has a certain beat, and it is essential that we keep to the basic rhythm of the song, orelse we might find that we are constantly trying to catch up with the lyrics or always laggingbehind. Rhythm also determines the groove of the song, and this is what gets us on our feet anddancing when we listen to upbeat or fast tempo songs!

A great sense of rhythm begins with learning to recognize various beat durations, to vocalize notes with different beats, as well as to be able to keep to the basic tempo of a song!

3. BREATH

Breathing is an essential component of singing, and is what most singing instructors would introduce to students during their first lesson for singing. It is also what most people would want to learn about and also ask questions about.

What most people don’t realize is that breathing is actually a very natural process, and it is certainly not difficult to achieve better breath control for singing. Understanding how we breathe for singing will be of great aid to us in achieving a great breath foundation for singing!

4. VOICE

Our voice is often taken for granted when we sing, and we usually focus too much attention on other components of singing, instead of seeking to strengthen our vocal apparatus in order to produce great sounds when singing.

Basic understanding of our voice and vocal cords is essential in order to guide us towards adopting beneficial singing habits, as well as producing sounds that are more relaxed and healthy for us to vocalize.

5. DICTION

Learning how to produce sound with our voice is not enough. We still need to shape our voice, and form words in a language that our audience will understand.This is why diction is also one of the vital basics of singing, because it determines whether our audience understands what we are singing, and whether we are able to connect with them through our song. Diction is also a key factor towards hitting the correct pitches, especially for the high notes, and this will be explained in detail in other sections of this website.

There are also other basic Musical Terms Used During Singing, and it would be good for us to understand these terms too, so as to get a more well-rounded learning experience, and also know how to communicate with fellow singers and musicians too!

Similar articles go here :  http://learn-how-to-sing.learnmoreskills.com

Quote from : http://www.your-personal-singing-guide.com/basics-of-singing.html

How-To-Draw Manga Books

May 11th, 2010 Comments off

This is my first review, but I think this is needed for those who are still new in the world of Manga art and such. If you are really willing and do not have the art basics, I only suggest one book to start with:

How to Draw Anime and Game Characters:Vol.1 – Tadashi Ozawa

Keep in mind that how to draw books do not do miracles, they’re there as a reference. YOU, your experiments, developments and practice make the difference.

The author has written this book to be a really helpful portable teacher even if you’re an art dunce. It teaches you and gives exercises about how to draw a line without a ruler, how to draw boxes, adding details, shows you proportions and angles through boxes and how the head appears when within the shape of a box.

The book contains a number of famous characters that are as a reference to every typical stereotype character found in the comic books and games (of course, up to you to divert from the norms). In this way the reader can have a rough knowledge of the nuts and bolts that runs certain characters, sharpens the reader’s observation regarding personalities of characters and more if you just pay attention. In a few words, you will be given a chance to go beyond the “Kawaii character!” comments.

Ozawa moves on to the bodies, hands and feets, which are probably the worst nightmare for a beginner. The author gives a really good explanation about how to draw such elements of a body. Different positions of these are available in the book as well as a reference to different hand and feet poses. Hair is also included in this section.

Added to all that, the author has gathered up a few people’s works and pinpointed out the mistakes of each picture, re-drawing them to give the refined version of the character. This helps the reader to realize what the usual mistakes are, therefore when in practice the reader of this book is able to correct oneself a bit easier.

A personal suggestion that it is always good to have a realistic human anatomy book accompanied with this particular book. Remember; you may want to draw manga style, but keep in mind where the body, face and features are derived from: the real world.

Presentation: 7/10
Art: 10/10
Effectiveness: This depends on the reader’s will
Price: 9/10

Overall: 8/10

PS: I thank this book in particular (and several other books) for being where I am now.

Useful pages go here : http://learn-to-draw-manga.learnmoreskills.com

Reprinted From : http://www.mangaacademy.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=1368