Last time, I wrote about the process of expanding on the image of the song, but voice training has also begun alongside that.
Of course, it’s training to build basic singing ability, but in the first session, we started by checking my current vocal ability and vocal range.
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Voice Training for the First Time in Ages
It’s not that I’ve never had voice training before, but since I spent many years singing in choirs, most of my training was in classical vocal music. It had really been a long time since I’d had vocal training for popular songs.
Feeling a little nervous, I headed to Shinsaibashi, where the studio for the voice training session is located.
The voice coach was a woman who seemed a little younger than me.
Warm-Ups and Vocal Exercises
After a brief meeting with introductions and such, we started making sounds right away.
First, we went through several patterns of vocal exercises that served as both warm-ups and basic practice.
Breathing exercises using abdominal breathing, lip rolls, humming… and so on.
These are the same kinds of exercises used in classical training too, so for me, they were things I was already used to doing.
“So they do similar things in pop music too…”
Just as I was thinking that, after listening for only a short while, the teacher said, “Ah, you don’t need this exercise.”
I guess you really can tell a lot just by listening to someone’s voice.
Checking My Key Range
It seems she decided I already had the basic techniques needed for singing, so we quickly moved on to the next step: checking my key range.
Following the teacher’s instructions, I produced sounds at various pitches.
She checked everything from fairly high notes to low notes, and also checked my falsetto.
The results of the key check were sent through the manager to the producer, and will be reflected in the songwriting.
The teacher advised me, “If you let your guard down, your vocal production quickly becomes classical.”
Popular vocals are pretty difficult.
Looking Ahead to the Next Voice Training Session
As for the next lesson, she said, “We’ll skip all the basic exercises and move straight into practical training using existing songs.”
She told me, “Please think of a song you like,” but what should I sing…?
It’s not like I can sing the Candies or AKB48 songs I usually sing at karaoke…
If I had to name some fairly well-known existing songs that are close to the image of the kind of song I want to sing, there would be “Katte ni Shiyagare” (Kenji Sawada), “Koi o Tomenaide” (COMPLEX), “Garasu no Shonen” (KinKi Kids), “Saudade” (Porno Graffitti)…
Well then, what should I do?
(To be continued)
