🎙️ In this episode of Vocal Tips in 10, we’re diving into the power of vocal dynamics—and how shifting your volume and intensity can instantly transform your performance and create a deeper emotional connection with your audience.
Dynamic contrast isn’t just about singing louder or softer. It’s about using those shifts to tell a story, evoke emotion, and stand out as an expressive, intentional vocalist. Whether you’re singing pop, soul, musical theatre, or anything in between, understanding how to use dynamics can help you move people with your voice.
I’ll walk you through practical exercises to help you build control, explore your expressive range, and start using dynamics with confidence and purpose.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
00:00 The Power of Dynamics in Singing
03:18 Exercises for Dynamic Control
07:27 Challenging Your Vocal Range
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Hi everyone! Welcome to Vocal Tips in 10. I'm so glad you're here. Today I want to jump into the power of dynamics as a singer. The power of being able to sing in more than one gear with more than one volume level. For a number of reasons. First and foremost, dynamics. The ability to be louder, softer, everywhere in between. To be able to ebb and flow, build and pull back.
They are such an invaluable tool for being able to communicate emotions and feeling and vibe and story to your listeners. And first and foremost guys, that is our job, to communicate to our listeners. Of course, I love vocal technique, vocal health. I can geek out about those things all day and they are the foundation. Without those things, it's really hard for us to convey the story.
as best as we can because we're missing some of those foundational tools. But they aren't the end goal. The end goal is to be able to move somebody, make somebody feel something. Whether that is joy and they wanna jump up and dance, whether that is that they are less alone in their stress or their sadness or their anger, whatever it is. And so dynamics are incredibly needed to be able to tell that story. Think about if I'm trying to tell you.
about how scared I am of something and I say it all like this with a really loud, right? What's that Will Ferrell character on Saturday Night Live where he can't attenuate his voice? I know I age myself there, so. But if I just said it all like this, yeah, I'm really scared, you guys. It's just I'm super nervous about it. The volume, the dynamic I'm using, my tonal quality does not remotely align with that.
Right? Scared, nervous is more quiet, more hesitant. So dynamics are just so unbelievably needed for us as singers to be able to tell a story, to be able to communicate emotion to the listener. So I want to give you some exercises to play around with them.
And I also just want to bring up the fact that if you feel like you struggle with dynamics, and when I find this, it's almost always louder, is more comfortable for singers, then we want to look at some foundational technical things. if you can only hit, let's say, the higher notes with really big, powerful volume and it feels impossible at lighter volumes,
That means you're probably lacking some control and some of those more foundational tools that we really need as singers to help those vocal folds connect together in the way that we need without a bunch of pressure. So if you find yourself kind of only able to sing at one volume, and a lot of times that's louder, but then I see singers on the flip side that feel like they can sing really light.
but as soon as they build volume, they start to really squeeze the throat. It starts to fatigue. It doesn't feel good. That's a technical issue that we need to work on and you probably want to get some support with. So just to keep that in mind, dynamics are really important to know that we have good flexibility and control and good healthy baseline function and technique in our voice And then on top of that, they're just an absolutely necessary tool.
So let me give you an exercise that is such an oldie, but such a goodie that will first really help you check in to see, I have the control and that kind of optimal function that I'm looking for as a singer? And then two will help you build that even further. In classical voice, this is called messa de voce. In non-classical, it's one note that we are going to hold starting at a light volume,
So like a baby is in the room or somebody's in the room and you don't want to wake them up, then you're going to build to a full volume. That means crescendo. That just means to slowly build volume, sing out at that full volume and then decrescendo or diminuendo. That just means to go from full volume back into that softer, lighter volume back to where you started. All on one note. So it's a one note dynamic exercise. It is so...
good for you. I forget to do this sometimes myself and then I come back to it and I'm like, ⁓ my gosh, it feels great in some parts of my range and kind of wobbly in others. And that's when I know I need to go back and work on that just really great foundational skill, that balance of flexibility and control
So the exercise sounds like this, one note, that's it. Start with a light volume, slowly build to a full volume, slowly pull back back to that light volume.
Up and down your range, friends. It might seem easy and you might be here like, this is the tip you're giving me, Amber. Go try it. I don't care how advanced you are or how beginner you are. It's so good for you.
So let's try one more for giggles.
and you're gonna take that up and down your range. Mesa de voce, it is tale as old as time. It's been around forever and it's stuck around because it works like a champ. And then another exercise that I love
the dynamic triads exercise, one, three, five, three, one, triads are just the foundation of a chord. You're going to start to the bottom note at full volume, like you're singing to somebody across the street from you. You're gonna move to conversational volume, like you and I are just chatting. And then you're gonna move to really light volume, like you're singing and somebody's asleep in the room, so you don't wanna wake them up.
back to conversational volume, back to singing to somebody across the street. In classical terms, you would call that forte, full volume, mezzo forte, medium volume, which is what I call conversational volume, piano, light soft volume, back to conversational, mezzo forte, back to forte, full volume.
So let me do one and let you hear what it sounds like.
Full volume, medium volume, light volume, like I've got a baby in my arms. If you're watching this on YouTube, you can see. I put up my arm, a little baby sleeping there. I need to sing, but I don't want to wake them up. Back to that conversational volume and full volume. What's great about this one is it's also really fantastic for Register Connect because as we sing lower in our range, our vocal folds naturally get thicker. Well, as we sing with fuller volume.
our vocal folds get thicker. Well, doesn't that line up nicely? As we go higher in our range, our vocal folds naturally thin out. Well, as we sing with less volume, our vocal folds naturally thin out. That lines up fab too. So in a perfect world, we can take this exercise where we go from full volume to lighter volume, lower to higher, up and down our range.
without vocal breaks and cracks. That's the goal. If you jump into it and go, not there, Amber, that's A-okay, then it's a great one for you to work on. So both of these exercises might seem simple, but they do so much. And like I said, not only are they gonna help you from that functional, technical vocal standpoint, but being able to have control over your dynamics is just huge. It's a just must have for singers.
The last thing I will say is if you are somebody who tends to like lock into one gear, right, whether that is really loud, really soft and anywhere in between, if you feel like I just don't have those kinds of dynamics, I don't have that kind of control and I really want it, work on both of these exercises. They are great for you. The other thing I would love for you to try is challenge yourself. Take a section of a song.
that you feel like you can only sing in one volume. Let's say it is a big full volume and I want you to just try and cut 25 % from that. Just pull it back in volume a little bit and try it like that. Once that feels doable, pull it back a little more. Pull it back a little more and kind of just notice when you start to struggle. If it's right from the beginning, that's okay. These are great exercises for you. If you're like, oh, I actually have more control than I think,
Then really think about what am I actually doing to get those dynamics to be able to shift more successfully here? On the flip side, if you are somebody who sings really light and soft, to challenge yourself, try to add 25 % Bump it up a little bit in volume, bump it up a little bit more. Just because we want to have as many tools as possible available to us as singers.
And man, dynamics are just a huge one. I hope this is helpful, you guys. If it is, I hope you will follow, share with a friend who could benefit from this too. I have a free training right now all about movement and how that is such an invaluable tool too for us as singers. I break down 25 different movement tools to take you through everything from effective warmups and cool downs to technical work to performances on stage because we need it for all. Try and sing totally standing still.
See how that goes guys. So check it out. Also, I have a fantastic vocal pro membership. You can try out for two weeks absolutely free. I'll have those links down in the show notes. and if you feel like you need a little bit more individualized attention than either of those options, book a free consultation. You can book it with me or my fab associate coach, Eva Cassell. I hope you guys have a great week. I hope it involves singing and see you in the next episode.
