Chords for Sing Riffs and Runs! | Tutorials Ep.48 | Riffs and Runs

_ _ What's up? _ _
Terrible! _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [Em] _ [F] _ _
[Dm] _ _ _ _ [G] _ _ [Am] _ _
_ _ I'm Tara with Tara Simon [Em] Studios.
And I'm Coach Jeremy.
[F] And today we're [G] going to be talking about how to sing [N] riffs and runs.
Super exciting!
Okay, so Jeremy here is sitting at the piano because he designed this exercise
and I wanted him to [B] show everybody what to do as something like a preliminary [Am]
into [B] riffs and runs.
Like, I've never done it before.
I don't really know how.
What's a good first step or what's a good exercise to get my [D] voice into the habit of [A] moving with agility?
Right?
So Jeremy, why don't you talk about it?
[D] So, the exercise itself, it starts with like a toggle and then it takes you into a scalar movement up and down.
And it's just getting you used to moving quickly and lightly.
So a lot of times to move quickly you need to lighten up the tone a little bit.
And so this exercise does that for you.
Yeah, absolutely.
And so [Dm] really the first two things, well not the first, the things of riffing and running [Em] is pitch and timing.
So any melody can be [D] modified when you modify those two things.
[B] That's really what a riff or a [G] run is [C] comprised of.
And we're going to show you [D] an audible example of what that [Em] means in this exercise.
Okay?
So [G] I'm going to be the student [C] and Jeremy is going to be the coach.
And he's going to [Bm] take me through this exercise.
I'm going to give you an [Gb] example first of what someone [Bm] who needs to work on pitch [D] sounds like.
And it's going to be kind of muddier and slurred.
And then I'm going [C] to give you an example [E] next [D] of what [G] a fixed pitch [C] would be.
Because that's the first thing we have to [D] master is the pitch.
How do we [C] sing in the center of the pitch?
Because if [Em] you're [D] singing off center of the pitch in a regular [C] melody, trust me, it's going to be even [D] more [G] highlighted in a riff [C] or a run.
Yeah, absolutely.
So [E] forget [D] about the modification of timing for now.
We're [C] worried about doing [E] these vocal agility [D] exercises on the center [C] part, the head of the pitch.
[Em] Okay?
[D] So take me through it, Jeremy.
Okay.
[C] So this is – most times I'll start it slow, [E] but we're going to go ahead and [A] speed it up because it's terrible.
_ _ _ [Gbm] Here it goes. _
_ _ [E] _ _ [A] _ _ [D] I'll do it again for you.
[B] _ _ _ _ [E] _ [D] _
So [Em] it's five toggles.
One and two and three and four and five and then [E] go up and then go down.
Hearing that right?
Yep.
Okay, great.
So I'm going to kind [D] of be [G] a beginner [C] and someone who's struggling with pitch so that you hear what that [Bm] sounds like, the muddiness, and then I'm going to crisp it up for you.
[A] Okay?
Here we go.
[Em] I'm going to play [Db] along with you.
You can play along [C] so that they can compare my lack of pitch to yours.
Perfect.
One, two, ready?
[B] _ _ _ _ [Gbm] _ _ _
Hear [C] how I was flat in some places.
I couldn't quite keep up with the piano and I [Db] was very muddy and slurry with it.
Okay?
[E] What you want to do if you sound like this is [A] slow down this exercise.
So – _ _
_ [N] _ _ _ _ Give yourself more time for your voice to calibrate the steps in which you're singing, those intervals.
Okay?
And then slowly speed it up.
And if you can do it to tempo sounding like this, you're ready for the timing part of [A] it.
Okay?
Here we go.
One, two, ready?
Go.
[Gb] _ _ _ _ _ _
[E] _ Okay?
We'll do a couple more so that they can hear it.
[Bb] _ _
[F] _ _ [D] _ _ _ [Bb] _ [B] _ _
[E] _ _ _ _ [B] _ _ [C] Okay.
So nice and crispy, right?
[Bm] Now, that's a melody, guys.
That's not [Bb] necessarily an ornamentation or a melodic modification.
[C] How do we make that [G] into a riff or a run?
We [Bb] would go back to what the original [Em] melody is and then modify the rhythm of it, essentially.
Yep.
Or [G] move around the melody as [C] well.
Yeah.
So, _ [Ab] what's a good example of that?
What do you want me to [A] do to make it a riff or a run?
_ [B] I'm going to do kind of what we prefer [C] to as a Babble and Brook [D] for this one.
But you can change it.
[A] You can modify it how you want.
_ _ [D] _ _ _ [G] _ [C] _ _
_ [Bm] Okay.
So, I kind of changed the melody of the descending [C] line.
Yeah.
So, it's the same notes, but it's [D] a different rhythm.
And so, then [G] it [C] sounds like kind of like a run, right?
[D] It is a run.
_ [Bm] I'm still going [C] from top to bottom with no movement in between.
[D] I'm just holding certain notes [B] and speeding [C] up others.
Okay?
So, let's try.
We'll [D] do a couple of those and then we'll do one more modification [C] of tempo or of timing
so [D] that you can hear another version [C] of what the same melody with a different timing would [E] do to it.
Okay?
One, [B] two, ready, go. _
_ _ _ _ _ [Bb] _ [C] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [B] So, now, [Bb] what if we [D] took the [C] run, right?
Da-da-da-da-da.
And we held the [Bm] top and then sped it up.
So, we kind of waterfalled off of [Em] it.
Ba-da [Bm]-da-da-da-dum.
One, two, three, four.
Yeah? Got it.
Okay, let's try that.
[A] _ One, two, ready, go. _
[D] _ _ _ _ _ [A] _ [Bb] _ _
[C] _ _ [D] _ _ [Em] _ _ [B] _ _
[Em] _ _ [D] _ _ _ [G] _ [C] _ _
[E] So, you hear how setting it at the top, [C] sticking it real quick, and then just simply [Ab] falling off of that note [A] totally changes the da-da [E]-da-da-da,
something very vanilla, into [Bm] something a little [C] spicy. Right, exactly.
You know that little [Em] hair flip?
That's me.
Right?
[C] It's just a little flip.
So, this, [D] guys, this is the beginning to learning [C] how to [Em] sing [Dm] riffs and runs style.
This is vocal [B] agility [C] here.
This is not just, okay, I can sing the melody on [D] pitch, woo-hoo [Bm] for me.
That's actually a big [C] victory.
But if you [Em] are at the level where [D] you feel like you're ready to level up your [C] singing game and give it a little bit more [D] oomph, this is where [B] it's at.
This is the very starting [C] point.
Now, if you feel like, wow, I [D] love this, I've really mastered [B] this, and [D] you want more, check out the description box below because there is a course called Riffs [G] and Runs designed just for you for these purposes.
The [F] veronica.
You can even do the hand if you want, but you won't need it because it breaks down very specifically and [Em] systematically [A] how to do more of this in a much [F] bigger and complex way.
So, this is just a little tip of the iceberg of what you would get in that four-week course called Riffs and Runs.
[E] So, make sure that you check that out.
And if you're new to [Eb] the channel, make sure you subscribe, hit that [F] notifications button.
We do tutorials once a week.
We do Sing Better in Seconds.
If you don't know about it, you're [G] missing out.
And we also do vocal coaching reactions.
So, listen, guys, thank you so much [F] for being the best part of our channel.
We love you.
We are proud of you.
Spread love, not germs, and faith, not fear today.
[G] Be a blessing in someone's life, and we will see you guys in the next one.
Bye.
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