Kim Chandler "Funky 'n Fun" Vocal Training Series - Guidance Notes

GUIDANCE NOTES

1 Copyright © 2016 Kim Chandler

Kim Chandler "Funky 'n Fun" Vocal Training Series - Guidance Notes

A little about Kim Chandler MMus(Dist) BMusEd AMusA

Kim is a leading contemporary vocal coach and an in-demand session singer.

She has busy private vocal studios in Marbella (Spain) and London (UK)
where she coaches a select clientele of well-known artists, artists in
development, professional singers and other vocal coaches. She is a sought-
after vocal coach in the media for TV, radio, magazines and websites, and she is a regular
presenter for vocal workshops, master classes and national & international vocal
conferences. Kim works regularly as a vocal coach at Abbey Road Studios and has
contributed chapters to “The Ultimate Guide To Singing” and “Teaching Singing in the 21st
Century”.

Academically, Kim was a Senior / Principal Lecturer in contemporary singing at London

College of Music and Leeds College of Music. She is the Head of Communications of the
British Voice Association, having formerly served as President and as a Director. As a
performer, Kim maintains a busy session singing career with over two decades of high-end
industry experience. Aside from her voice being heard on hundreds of jingles worldwide,
she has also worked with a diverse array of national and international artists. For more
information visit Kim’s official website: www.kimchandler.com.

Kim says : "I was looking for something to practice to that I personally
found motivating, interesting, challenging and presented in a style that I
liked and related to as a pop singer. Back in 2000 I couldn't find anything
that really fitted the bill for me, so I decided to produce something myself.
This CD series is the result and features the sorts of exercises that I've
found help develop breath control, balanced tone production, accurate
pitch, articulation, range, flexibility, creativity etc. I myself along with my
many clients love it - I know you will too!"

This CD series is an introduction to a range of exercises that help improve vocal technique
and develop the ear. It isn't intended to replace singing lessons, but rather is designed to be
a support product; a 'cross-training' vocal program to get & keep the singing voice in shape
between lessons. It provides warm-up and workout material for beginning singers through
to experienced singers. It's not meant to be covered from beginning to end without
stopping, but should be approached in a more modular fashion; customising its use to your
own needs and level.

* Warning: vocal exercises shouldn't ever be done whilst driving due to potential loss of
concentration and in case dizziness occurs!

2 Copyright © 2016 Kim Chandler

Kim Chandler "Funky 'n Fun" Vocal Training Series - Guidance Notes

Funky 'n Fun 1 - Vocal Exercises

(Beginner to Intermediate)

This CD is designed for pop singers to use as a 'taster' for the sorts of ways that they can
start to improve their singing voice. It’s an introduction to a range of basic exercises that
serve as a motivator to develop the voice to a better level of control. More experienced
singers should also find this CD's exercises useful as a warm-up. There are both male and
female vocal cues provided on most of the exercises, so follow the octave that’s most
suitable for your vocal range.

TRACK LISTING
1. Introduction
2. Staccato/Pulsated breathing exercise
3. Warm-up "sirens"
4. "Catch breath" exercise
5. 13-15 count exercise
6. Long note exercise
7. Articulation exercise
8. Pitch accuracy exercise
9. Vowel exercise
10. Flexibility exercise
11. Range exercise
12. "Licks" exercise 1
13. "Licks" exercise 2
14. Improvisation exercise – Slow Jam

3 Copyright © 2016 Kim Chandler

Kim Chandler "Funky 'n Fun" Vocal Training Series - Guidance Notes

Funky 'n Fun 1 Guidance Notes

Track 2: Staccato/Pulsated Breathing. Stand up as tall as you can - lengthening up through
the back of your head - shoulders down, chest expanded, feet shoulder-width apart, knees
soft. The breathing action feels like it takes place in the abdominal area, expanding out as
you breathe in and going in as you breathe out. Place your hands on your lower abdomen so
that you can feel what's going on:

 Inhale: sip in air through pursed lips as if breathing in through a small straw. Don't
overfill with air! Pace yourself.
 Exhale: hiss the air out again. Gently contract the stomach muscles with small
inward/upward movements.

Track 3: Warm-up Sirens. Only go as high and low as you can whilst ensuring a gentle
stretch of the voice, increasing the range as you start to warm up. Don't try to match my
range - customise the exercise to your vocal range. Sirens need to be done in a smooth
fashion - no ‘breaks’ in the voice (i.e. no missing notes, no clunky changeovers):

 "Lip Bubble" - slow and controlled bubbling action with a couple of fingers under
both cheeks gently lifting the cheeks up so that the lips can ‘bubble’ freely.
 "Tongue Trill" - a rolled ‘r’. Not everyone can do this with their tongue – if you can’t,
try the ‘lip trumpet’ instead formed by puffing the lips out.
 "Ng" - the back of the tongue is high to form this sound.
 "Hum" - lips together, teeth apart inside mouth to create space.
 "Oo-ee-oo" - try to keep consistency of tone across your range. Keep the tongue and
voice placed forward (ie. 'bright and ringing').
 "Yay"s – these are useful for warming up your chest/full voice. It is advisable to
leave the warming up of your heaviest, loudest voice until last.

Track 4: The 'catch breath'. *Nb: You don't sip when you breathe for singing - it's a short-
term measure for exercise purposes only.

The short inhale goes straight to the abdomen in a recoiling action (i.e. feel the stomach pop
out). The exhaled 'hiss' should be long & controlled. The second part of this exercise
features again a short, deep inhale but inaudible this time (the ‘singer’s breath’) and is
followed:

 firstly by a long 'm', 'mm-eee' and 'mm-ahhh',

 secondly by a long 'n', 'nn-eee' and 'nn-ahhh', and
 lastly by a long 'ng', 'ng-eee' and' ng-ahhh'.

Try to keep these steady & consistent, and you may feel a buzzing sensation around your
nose area known as ‘forward placement’ or ‘mask resonance’.

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Kim Chandler "Funky 'n Fun" Vocal Training Series - Guidance Notes

Track 5: 13/15-Count Breathing. Take it easy with this one at first! You eventually need to
sing right through to the 13 or 15 count - don't sneak a breath, if you can avoid it, because it
defeats the purpose of the exercise. Don’t sing it too loudly either. If it becomes too easy
over time, you can sing it a little stronger. The two 13-counts are warm-ups only, and the
real test for the catch breath is the one straight after the 1st 15-count - this is the one you
must concentrate on. This catch, 'recoil' breath is quick, deep and low in the body, but also
needs to be as silent as possible, achieved through an open mouth & throat.

Track 6: Long notes. Each long note is 12 bars long as a goal to work towards over time.
Hold the note as long as you can with a controlled, even and clear tone. You should feel very
little air coming out through the lips (use your fingers to check). Avoid all shakes and bumps
in the sound. If you need a challenge after mastering a steady 12-bar note, you can add in
controlled dynamic changes (louds & softs) as I have demonstrated on the CD. Avoid
pushing notes out of tune when getting louder and don't allow the tone to get harsh. The
airflow should not increase markedly when getting louder, it should stay consistent.

Track 7: Articulation. This exercise makes sure the tongue, teeth, lips and jaw are a co-
ordinated team in readiness to form words clearly. It’s a percussive rhythmic exercise too,
so make sure that you stay exactly 'in the groove'.

Track 8: 5-note scale. This pitch accuracy exercise starts with singing 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1
thereby identifying the notes of the scale you're singing in any given key and must be sung
in tune:

 Basic level: do the whole exercise this way.

 Intermediate level: doing this series of notes faster puts more challenge on pitch
accuracy. Add one double-speed 5-note scale (as per the CD).
 Advanced level: add two double-speed 5-note scales (as per the CD).
 'Evil' level: add three double-speed 5-note scales (as per the CD) if you dare!

You can also move between these various levels of difficulty as you desire.

Track 9: Tone development and vowel shapes. The 5 basic vowel shapes for singing are: 'A'
- ah, 'E' - eh, 'I' - ee, 'O' - oh and 'U' - oo. For this exercise, breathe in slowly. As you go from
A to E to I to O to U - let each vowel shape morph slowly into the next. I suggest you do this
exercise in front of a mirror. Keep your mouth comfortably open - especially for the 'ah' and
'oh' (approx. 2 fingers distance between teeth) and make sure your tongue is relaxed with
the tip staying behind the bottom teeth. Put an index finger on your chin to discourage
closing up too much for ‘ee’ and ‘oo’ in particular. The higher the exercise goes, avoid
getting louder or breathier - maintain a clear, controlled tone on all vowel shapes.

Track 10: Flexibility + vowels. Keep this exercise light and make sure that each note can be
heard clearly (no indistinct 'pitch-mush', as I call it, or separating the notes with an “h”).
Only cover the range you can without straining your voice.

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Kim Chandler "Funky 'n Fun" Vocal Training Series - Guidance Notes

Track 11: Range extension. Only take this one as low and high as you can with good quality
tone and strain-free. Allow yourself to 'grow' into these wider ranging exercises over time.

*Hint: to help stabilise the larynx (voice box), it can help to think down when singing higher,
and think up when singing lower.

Track 12: Easy 'Licks'. The 1st lick is the root note & down to the b7, the 2nd lick is the root
note & up to the b3, the 3rd lick is a downward moving '3-noter': root, b7, 5 (make sure you
sing all the notes distinctly) and the last one is two 'scoops' on the root note. This exercise is
done in a 'call and response' style. Only do the range you can without straining your voice.

Track 13: Harder 'Lick'. This one requires a little more vocal flexibility and musical ability +
you can experiment with creating your own licks to go along with the track.

Track 14: Slow Jam. I felt it was a good idea to finish with a creative improvisation exercise.
The idea is to make up your own melody on the spot, either using already existing lyrics
from other songs, ‘scat’ sounds like imitating an instrument or make up your own lyrics at
the same time as the melody. It's based on a simple minor blues progression so it is quite
straight forward to follow. Have fun 

6 Copyright © 2016 Kim Chandler

Kim Chandler "Funky 'n Fun" Vocal Training Series - Guidance Notes

Funky 'n Fun 2 - Vocal Exercises

(Intermediate to Advanced)

This CD is designed for pop singers who have already developed a certain amount of vocal
control & technique and is an extension of the foundational technical work covered on
“Funky ‘n Fun” CD1. It’s a warm-up and workout resource that features the sorts of
exercises that I've found help develop breath-to-cord co-ordination, tonal balance, ear-to-
voice co-ordination, articulation, range extension, flexibility and improvisation.

This CD also introduces some basic musical concepts such as vocal harmonies, rhythmic
subdivisions, different scales, modes, chords, intervals etc. - all of which get taken to a
whole new level on CDs 3 and 4. There are both male and female vocal cues provided on
most of the exercises, so follow the octave that’s most suitable for your vocal range.

TRACK LISTING
1. Introduction
2. Breathing exercise
3. Chromatic scale warm-up
4. Warm-up "sirens"
5. Focus exercise
6. Twang exercise
7. Articulation exercise
8. Interval exercise 1
9. Interval exercise 2
10. Flexibility & range exercise 1 (major)
11. Flexibility & range exercise 2 (minor)
12. "Licks" exercise 1
13. "Licks" exercise 2
14. Improvisation exercise – Funky Jam

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Kim Chandler "Funky 'n Fun" Vocal Training Series - Guidance Notes

Funky 'n Fun 2 Guidance Notes

Track 2: Breathing exercise (unvoiced). This exercise features rhythmic subdivisions of the
pulse beat into 2, 3 and 4 and gives you fine control over your breathing. Stand up as tall as
you can - lengthening up through the back of your neck - shoulders down, chest expanded,
feet shoulder-width apart, knees soft. All the breathing action feels like it takes place in the
abdominal area, expanding out as you breathe in and going in again as you breathe out:

 Inhale: sip in air through pursed lips as if breathing in through a small straw. Don't
overfill with air - pace yourself.
 Exhale: hiss the air out again. Gently contract the stomach muscles with small
inward/upward movements.

Track 3: Chromatic warm-up exercise. Pitch accuracy is important in this exercise as the
semitone (half-step) distances can take time to get accustomed to when you may be more
used to the major scale. Whilst adopting the “oo” shape make sure that very little air is
coming out through the lips (use your fingers to check). Keep the tone as clear as you can
throughout the exercise and only take it as high as you can without straining.

Track 4: Warm-up sirens. This is an ever-increasing pitch slide or ‘siren’ from 1 octave to 3
octaves in 10 steps. Only go as high as you can whilst ensuring a gentle stretch of the vocal
range. Sirens need to be as smooth and connected as possible from bottom to top of range
and at a moderate volume only. You may need to transpose (change key) this exercise to fit
your own range.

Track 5: Focus exercise. This uses the ‘forward placing’ properties of the letters ‘m’ and ‘n’
to ‘focus’ the voice. Try humming first before doing to the exercise to feel the ‘buzz’ in and
around the nose and lips. Spend equal time rhythmically on the ‘m’ and ‘n’ before each
vowel to get their full benefit. Make sure that you open up on the vowels sufficiently when
you get to them too. The order of the vowels is ‘ee’, ‘eh’, ‘ah’, ‘oh’ and ‘oo’. The 5 th slide at
the end is optional, but if done, should be as smooth as possible.

Track 6: Twang exercise. This exercise takes the previous one to the next level of intensity
by using ‘twang’ to further brighten the voice. Twang can sound a little strange if you
haven’t heard it before, but it’s very effective. Twang can be felt around the nose but
shouldn’t be felt in the throat. Only take this exercise as high as you can whilst retaining a
good level of control and freedom. Don’t allow the back of the tongue to remain too high or
drop too far down when you open out to the ‘ah’ - find the perfect balance for your voice.
Small adjustments make a big difference to the overall tonal balance.

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Kim Chandler "Funky 'n Fun" Vocal Training Series - Guidance Notes

Track 7: Articulation exercise. This exercise works out the articulators, i.e. primarily the
tongue, lips etc., helping to co-ordinate them as a team and focusing on the percussive side
of the voice. Using variations on the text “tick tock tickety tock”, it is also a rhythm exercise,
so make sure you stay strictly in time. Stretch the tongue out afterwards at full extension
and hold for up to 10 seconds.

Track 8: Interval exercise 1. An interval is defined as the musical distance from one note to
another. The melodies we sing are a series of intervals, up and down, which is why it’s
necessary to learn to sing them accurately (‘ear-to-voice’ coordination). This exercise
teaches you the names of the smaller intervals up to a 5th:

 minor 2nd (‘semitone’ or ‘half step’)

 major 2nd (‘tone’ or ‘whole step’)
 minor 3rd
 major 3rd
 perfect 4th
 perfect 5th

Make sure you concentrate on really taking in each interval as it’s identified in the exercise.

Track 9: Interval exercise 2. This exercise takes the previous one to the next level by
exercising the larger intervals up to an octave. The voice doesn’t generally like to do larger
intervals fast and may be quite resistant at first, so be vigilant about getting back down to
the lower ‘pedal’ note in the double time section - don’t allow the voice to ‘close the gap’ by
making the interval smaller through changing the pitch.

Track 10: Flexibility & range exercise 1 (major). This exercise combines major scales and
arpeggios (broken chords) to help build vocal flexibility and stretch the vocal range (the
latter arpeggios have a 2-octave span).

*Hint: to help stabilise the larynx (voice box), it can help to think down when singing higher,
and think up when singing lower.

Track 11: Flexibility & range exercise 2 (minor). This exercise is based on the Dorian mode
(a minor mode with a major 6th) and the arpeggio of the minor 9th chord (root, minor 3rd,
5th, minor 7th, 9th) which complements this mode. This is a good workout for the lower
range in particular. Ensure that all movements between notes are smooth and connected.
There is also the opportunity to improvise in the 4 bars (measures) between each key
change.

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Kim Chandler "Funky 'n Fun" Vocal Training Series - Guidance Notes

Track 12: ‘Licks’ 1. This exercise starts with octave jumps to establish the right voice quality
and then descends with a fast minor pentatonic pattern - a common scale used in black-
influenced pop music (i.e. soul, funk, r&b etc). As with all the exercises, only take it as high
as you can without straining in any way, and make sure that every note in the lick can be
heard distinctly.

Track 13: ‘Licks’ 2. This melodic sequence is based on patterns commonly found in Pop/R&B
style. It also features a stylistic ‘flip’ from chest voice to head voice. A harmony is added
above so that you have the choice of either continuing to follow the melody or taking the
exercise higher by following the harmony line.

Track 14: Improvisation exercise – Funky Jam. This exercise is for coordinating your creative
brain and voice. The idea is to make up your own melody on the spot, either by using
already existing lyrics of songs and modifying them, ‘scat’ sounds that imitate the sound
instruments make or by making up your own lyrics spontaneously. Note: the chord
sequence is deliberately quite challenging to follow at this level. It’s not easy to find that
melodic ‘thread’ - have fun!

10 Copyright © 2016 Kim Chandler

Kim Chandler "Funky 'n Fun" Vocal Training Series - Guidance Notes

Funky 'n Fun 3 - Challenging Patterns

(Intermediate to Advanced)

Having taught singing for many years, I noticed that the vast majority of vocal exercises are
based around the major scale. Since there are many other patterns being used all the time
in songs, I decided to put something together where singers can still work out their voices
but also learn many of the musical patterns that instrumentalists learn as a matter of
course. It’s challenging but rewarding!

This CD is designed for the more advanced singer who wishes to become more musically
educated about the ‘vocabulary’ of the music they sing. It is based on the principles of
developing musicianship in a highly practical, singing-based fashion. It progresses from the
easier patterns to the more challenging ones, but does presuppose a certain degree of vocal
technique proficiency and music theory training. If a particular pattern is too fast at first, I
suggest you take the provided ‘formulas’ given for the patterns (on the audio in the case of
the scales & modes and on this sheet for the chords) and play them more slowly on a
keyboard or guitar in order to learn them.

Unlike the other CDs in the “Funky ‘n Fun” series, this CD has the added feature of having
the vocal cues panned to the left channel of your player. This means that you can learn the
pattern first by listening to the vocal on the left, pan to the middle to hear both the vocal
cue and the accompaniment and then pan just to the right to hear the accompaniment only
when you feel that you can do it on your own. You can also switch back and forth as you
need whilst it’s playing.

The vowel shapes used are only a suggestion. You may decide to change these or try
different sounds such as humming, lip or tongue trills or even adding your own lyric (e.g. “I
will never, ever be the same” fits to the pentatonic scales). Once you know the patterns
better, you could also change the timing to make it more syncopated and vary the patterns
to make them more interesting musically. I’ve sung them quite straight to make them easier
to learn. The vocal range covered is deliberately generic – a 2 octave range from G to G
which should suit most singers. Choose the octave most appropriate to your vocal range.

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Kim Chandler "Funky 'n Fun" Vocal Training Series - Guidance Notes

TRACK LISTING
1. Introduction 26. Minor 6th Intervals
2. Major Triads 27. Dominant 7th Chords
3. Major 2nd Intervals 28. Mixolydian Mode
4. Ionian Mode/Major Scale 29. Dominant 9th Chords
5. Sus 2 Triads 30. Dorian Mode
6. Minor 2nd Intervals 31. Minor 7th Chords
7. Minor Triads 32. Major 6th Intervals
8. Aeolian Mode/Natural Minor Scale 33. Augmented 7th Chords
9. Major 3rd Intervals 34. Wholetone Scale
10. Major Pentatonic Scale 35. Minor 7th Intervals
11. Major 6th Chords 36. Lydian Mode
12. Minor 3rd Intervals 37. Major 7th Chords
13. Minor Pentatonic Scale 38. Major 7th Intervals
14. Minor 6th Chords 39. Major-based Chord Compilation exercise
15. Harmonic Minor Scale 40. Major 9th Chords
16. Perfect 4th Intervals 41. Phrygian Mode
17. Sus 4 Triads 42. Minor/Major 7th Chords
18. Melodic Minor Scale 43. Octaves Intervals
19. Diminished Triads 44. Minor-based Chord Compilation exercise
20 Tritone Intervals 45. Minor 9th Chords
21. Blues Scale 46. Locrian Mode
2. Augmented Triads 47. Half-diminished Chords
23. Perfect 5th Intervals 48. Diminished Scale (Tone/Semitone)
24. Chromatic Scale 49. Diminished 7th Chords
25. Triads Compilation exercise 50. Intervals Compilation exercise

Intervals: are defined as the distance from one note to the next. Since all vocal melodies are
based around the various intervals, it’s important that singers exercise these distances
regularly and accurately. The larger interval jumps are the most challenging for the voice.

Chords: a chord is a group of notes sounded together and chord sequences/progressions

form the harmonic foundation of the songs we sing. The smallest chord is a ‘triad’ which, as
its name suggests, is made up of 3 notes. For exercising purposes these chords are
‘arpeggiated’ or sung as separate notes or ‘broken chords’.

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Kim Chandler "Funky 'n Fun" Vocal Training Series - Guidance Notes

Here are the ‘recipes’ for the chords covered in this CD:

Major triad: 1 3 5
Minor triad: 1 b3 5
Augmented triad: 1 3 5
Diminished triad: 1 b3 b5
Sus2 triad: 1 2 5
Sus4 triad: 1 4 5
Dominant 7th chord: 1 3 5 b7
Major 7th chord: 1 3 5 7
Minor 7th chord: 1 b3 5 b7
Minor 7 b5 or Half-diminished chord: 1 b3 b5 b7
Diminished 7th chord: 1 b3 b5 bb7
Augmented 7th chord: 1 3 5 b7
Minor/major 7th chord: 1 b3 5 7
Major 6th chord: 1 3 5 6
Minor 6th chord: 1 b3 5 6
Dominant 9th chord: 1 3 5 b7 9
Major 9th chord: 1 3 5 7 9
Minor 9th chord: 1 b3 5 b7 9

There are many more chords than these to master – this is just a starting point!

Scales/Modes: Scales and modes are the sequential series of notes that melodies are based
on. There are many in usage, but some are more commonly used than others. From the
classical tradition comes the Major scale, Harmonic Minor scale, Melodic Minor scale,
Chromatic scale, Wholetone scale etc. The scales more commonly used in pop vocal
melodies are the Major and Minor Pentatonic scales, the Hexatonic scales such as the Blues
scale and Minor Hexatonic (not covered in this program) and some of the modes,
particularly the Aeolian mode (Natural Minor scale), Dorian mode, Mixolydian mode and
less commonly the Lydian mode. The remaining scales/modes such as the Phrygian mode,
Locrian mode and the Diminished scale are occasionally used in Pop/Rock, Jazz and Heavy
Metal.

Again, there are many more scale and mode patterns in existence if you wish to explore
them further – the choice is endless!

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Kim Chandler "Funky 'n Fun" Vocal Training Series - Guidance Notes

Listening examples for scales & modes in pop repertoire:

 Major Pentatonic scale: “Valerie” – Amy Winehouse & Mark Ronson version
 Minor Pentatonic scale: “Master blaster”* - Stevie Wonder
 Blues scale: “Sweet child of mine” – Guns ‘N Roses (closing riff)
 Chromatic scale: “Don’t you worry ‘bout a thing” – Stevie Wonder
(Chorus melody)
 Wholetone scale: “You are the sunshine of my life”* – Stevie Wonder
(Intro section)
 Diminished scale: “Just” – Radiohead (Intro instrumental riff)
 Dorian mode: “Thriller” – Michael Jackson (Chorus melody)
 Phrygian mode: “Careless whisper” – George Michael (ascending sax line)
 Lydian mode: “When we dance” – Sting (Verse)
 Mixolydian mode: “Tell me something good” – Rufus & Chaka Khan (Verse)
 Aeolian mode: “I will survive”* – Gloria Gaynor (String line)

(* There are exercise versions of riffs from these songs featured on “Funky ‘n Fun 4 –
Challenging Riffs”)

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Kim Chandler "Funky 'n Fun" Vocal Training Series - Guidance Notes

Funky 'n Fun 4 - Challenging Riffs

(Intermediate to Advanced)

Throughout my singing career I’ve maintained a fascination with instrumental lines, largely
due to the fact that I started out my own musical life as an instrumentalist. I see my own
voice as an ‘instrument’. It is my belief that the most powerful combination for a vocalist is
to have greatly developed technique closely allied with a high level of musicianship that’s
the equal of instrumentalists of note. The desire to develop this winning combination of
technique with musicianship inspired the creation of this product.

This CD is designed for advanced pop singers who already have a well-developed ear and
vocal technique. It should be approached in a modular fashion, covering only a few of the
exercises at any one time. Its purpose is to bring some fresh exercises and ideas to your
vocal workout ‘diet’. Many of these exercises are difficult – know and respect your limits.
More detailed advice is provided inside this cover.

The history of vocal exercises begins hundreds of years ago with classical singing and as a
result of it being around so long, many of the resources available for challenging vocal
exercises are classically based, but I’m not a classical singer. Jazz singers over the years have
studiously transcribed instrumental jazz lines to ‘learn from the masters’ thereby developing
their ears and vocal ‘chops’ to great effect, but I’m not a serious ‘jazzer’.

As a pop singer myself and for my many pop clients my mission is to find exercises that are
challenging to my vocal technique and my ears but are presented in a way that’s in line with
my musical tastes. For the purposes of the creation of this product I decided to delve into
the world of famous instrumental lines in the popular music repertoire to find challenging
riffs to exercise to; something truly inspirational and motivating that will keep singers
wanting to practice.

This double CD set is the result of that search and is comprised of a series of funky
instrumental and instru-vocal riffs; the vast majority of which are from well-known hit songs
by a mixture of American and British artists from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, used as vocal

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Kim Chandler "Funky 'n Fun" Vocal Training Series - Guidance Notes

exercises. The range of styles covered includes funk, soul, disco, acid jazz, latin pop, swing,
pop and reggae. These riffs have been carefully chosen for their broad appeal and for the
level of challenge they bring to the advanced contemporary vocalist, in addition to being
lots of fun to sing!

There are bass lines, string lines, keyboard lines, horn lines and some wordless,
instrumentally-inspired vocal lines (hence the term ‘instru-vocal’). Some riffs stretch the
vocal range. Some are tricky to pitch which helps develop ‘ear-to-voice’ co-ordination. Some
require agility because they are fast, embellished or require large interval jumps. Some have
highly syncopated rhythms which need to be dynamically and accurately articulated, and yet
others contain long phrases which challenge breath control.

This CD is not designed to be sung from beginning to end in one session. Make sure you are
well warmed up first before attempting any of these exercises. They should be included as
part of a balanced practice regime. Learn each pattern from the demonstration CD and then
move onto the backing tracks CD to see how you do by yourself. Don’t do anything that feels
wrong for your voice. Customise the exercises to your vocal range and abilities. Change
octaves if need be or lay out until you can join in. Don’t strain your voice!

It may be noted that the work of the legendary Stevie Wonder features heavily on this CD –
this is by design as he is both a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist of enormous skill and
influence, and he happens to have written some of the most iconic riffs in popular music!
This aspect aside, the riffs that have been selected for this product are only just the
beginning of the journey into this way of vocalising – there are many others out there to be
found and used in kind.

Due to the fact that the vocal exercises modulate many times within one exercise, the
chosen excerpts have been completely re-recorded from scratch. In order to understand the
original musical context to which these riffs belong, it is strongly suggested that your source
the original recordings - a valuable educational process in itself, especially considering the
breadth of material presented here. You can find the information you need to track down
the originals from the track listing of this CD.

Finally, it is my hope that this innovative concept in advanced contemporary vocal exercising
inspires you to search for more such challenging riffs to use in your practice program –
enjoy!

16 Copyright © 2016 Kim Chandler

Kim Chandler "Funky 'n Fun" Vocal Training Series - Guidance Notes

TRACK LISTING (featuring riffs from)

1. Introduction
2. “There’s nothing like this” – Omar
3. “Sir Duke” – Stevie Wonder
4. “Chameleon” – Herbie Hancock
5. “I wish” – Stevie Wonder
6. “Car Wash” – Rose Royce
7. “You are the sunshine of my life” – Stevie Wonder
8. “Too Young to Die” – Jamiroquai
9. “JFS” – Maysa
10. “Superstition” – Stevie Wonder
11. “Jungle Boogie” – Kool and the Gang
12. “What’s going on?” – Marvin Gaye
13. “I wish” – Stevie Wonder
14. “Boogie Down” – Al Jarreau
15. “Master Blaster” – Stevie Wonder
16. “Pick up the Pieces” – Average White Band
17. “I will survive” – Gloria Gaynor
18. “Sir Duke” – Stevie Wonder
19. “Colibri” – Incognito
20. “Another Star” – Stevie Wonder

17 Copyright © 2016 Kim Chandler

Kim Chandler "Funky 'n Fun" Vocal Training Series - Guidance Notes

Funky 'n Fun Course Outline

The following 8-level course is a logically structured, progressive way of working through the
“Funky ‘n Fun” complete set of vocal exercises. This outline incrementally increases in
technical and musical difficulty, and like patterns are placed together where possible.

It is suitable for self-paced learners or singing teachers to use with their students. It is
recommended that playlists of each level be compiled in iTunes and all the exercises in each
level be mastered before moving to the next level. It is also suggested that the original
songs that the “Funky ‘n Fun 4” exercises are based on are listened to beforehand for
establishing the musical context (e.g. YouTube, Spotify etc).

* Once learnt, please practice the batch of exercises in each level on a randomised setting
such as ‘shuffle’ in order to keep them fresh

Level 1 (Foundation 1 – “F1”)

 FnF1 Track 2 (Breathing)
 FnF1 Track 3 (Sirens)
 FnF1 Track 6 (Long note)
 FnF3 Track 2 (Major triads)
 FnF3 Track 3 (Major 2nds)
 FnF3 Track 4 (Major scale)
 FnF3 Track 9 (Major 3rds)
 FnF3 Track 10 (Major pentatonic scale)
 FnF4 Track 3 (“Sir Duke” 1 – Stevie Wonder)
 FnF4 Track 4 (“Chameleon” – Herbie Hancock)

Level 2 (Foundation 2 – “F2”)

 FnF1 Track 4 (Catch breath)
 FnF1 Track 7 (Consonants)
 FnF1 Track 9 (Vowels)
 FnF3 Track 6 (Minor 2nds)
 FnF3 Track 7 (Minor triads)
 FnF3 Track 8 (Natural minor scale)
 FnF3 Track 12 (Minor 3rds)
 FnF3 Track 13 (Minor pentatonic scale)
 FnF4 Track 5 (“I Wish” 1 – Stevie Wonder - melody based on 1-2-b3)
 FnF4 Track 6 (“Car Wash” – Rose Royce - melody based on minor pentatonic scale)

18 Copyright © 2016 Kim Chandler

Kim Chandler "Funky 'n Fun" Vocal Training Series - Guidance Notes

Level 3 (Lower Intermediate 1 – “LI1”)

 FnF1 Track 5 (Breathing)
 FnF1 Track 8 (Pitching)
 FnF1 Track 10 (Flexibility)
 FnF2 Track 8 (Intervals 1)
 FnF3 Track 5 (Sus 2 triads)
 FnF3 Track 15 (Harmonic minor scale)
 FnF3 Track 16 (Perf 4ths)
 FnF3 Track 17 (Sus 4 triads)
 FnF3 Track 23 (Perf 5ths)
 FnF4 Track 8 (“Too Young to Die” - Jamiroquai)
 FnF4 Track 13 (“I Wish” 2 – Stevie Wonder)

Level 4 (Lower Intermediate 2 – “LI2”)

 FnF1 Track 11 (Range)
 FnF1 Track 12 (Licks 1)
 FnF1 Track 13 (Licks 2)
 FnF2 Track 2 (Advanced breathing)
 FnF3 Track 11 (Major 6ths chords)
 FnF3 Track 14 (Minor 6ths chords)
 FnF3 Track 18 (Melodic minor scale)
 FnF3 Track 26 (Minor 6ths)
 FnF3 Track 32 (Major 6ths)
 FnF4 Track 10 (“Superstition” – Stevie Wonder)
 FnF4 Track 20 (“Another Star” – Stevie Wonder)

Level 5 (Upper Intermediate 1 – “UI1”)

 FnF1 Track 14 (Blues jam)
 FnF2 Track 3 (Extended sirens)
 FnF2 Track 4 (Chromatic warm-up)
 FnF3 Track 19 (Diminished triads)
 FnF3 Track 24 (Chromatic scale)
 FnF3 Track 27 (Dominant 7th chords)
 FnF3 Track 28 (Mixolydian mode)
 FnF3 Track 31 (Minor 7th chords)
 FnF3 Track 35 (Minor 7ths)
 FnF3 Track 43 (Octaves)
 FnF4 Track 12 (“What’s Going On” – Marvin Gaye)
 FnF4 Track 14 (“Boogie Down” – Al Jarreau)

19 Copyright © 2016 Kim Chandler

Kim Chandler "Funky 'n Fun" Vocal Training Series - Guidance Notes

Level 6 (Upper Intermediate 2 – “UI2”)

 FnF2 Track 5 (Focus exercise)
 FnF2 Track 6 (Twang)
 FnF2 Track 7 (Advanced articulation)
 FnF3 Track 20 (Tritone)
 FnF3 Track 21 (Blues scale)
 FnF3 Track 22 (Augmented triads)
 FnF3 Track 36 (Lydian mode)
 FnF3 Track 37 (Major 7th chords)
 FnF3 Track 38 (Major 7ths)
 FnF4 Track 2 (Major 7th chords)
 FnF4 Track 11 (“Jungle Boogie” – Kool & The Gang - based on the Blues scale)
 FnF4 Track 16 (“Pick up the Pieces” – Average White Band)

Level 7 (Advanced – “A1”)

 FnF2 Track 9 (Intervals 2)
 FnF2 Track 10 (Flexibility – Major)
 FnF2 Track 11 (Flexibility – Minor, based on the Dorian mode and Minor 9th chords)
 FnF3 Track 25 (Triads compilation)
 FnF3 Track 30 (Dorian mode)
 FnF3 Track 33 (Aug 7th chords)
 FnF3 Track 34 (Wholetone scale)
 FnF3 Track 39 (Major chord compilation)
 FnF3 Track 44 (Minor chord compilation)
 FnF3 Track 45 (Minor 9th chords)
 FnF3 Track 50 (Intervals compilation)
 FnF4 Track 7 (“You are the sunshine of my life” – Stevie Wonder - based on the
wholetone scale)
 FnF4 Track 15 (“Master Blaster” – Stevie Wonder)
 FnF4 Track 19 (“Colibri” - Incognito)

20 Copyright © 2016 Kim Chandler

Kim Chandler "Funky 'n Fun" Vocal Training Series - Guidance Notes

Level 8 (Advanced – “A2”)

 FnF2 Track 12 (Licks 1)
 FnF2 Track 13 (Licks 2)
 FnF2 Track 14 (Funky Jam)
 FnF3 Track 42 (Min/Maj7th chords)
 FnF3 Track 29 (Dominant 9th chords)
 FnF3 Track 40 (Major 9th chords)
 FnF3 Track 41 (Phrygian mode)
 FnF3 Track 46 (Locrian mode)
 FnF3 Track 47 (Half diminished chords)
 FnF3 Track 48 (Diminished scale)
 FnF3 Track 49 (Diminished 7ths chords)
 FnF4 Track 9 (“JFS” - Maysa)
 FnF4 Track 17 (“I Will Survive” – Gloria Gaynor)
 FnF4 Track 18 (“Sir Duke” 2 – Stevie Wonder)

21 Copyright © 2016 Kim Chandler