Video Lessons: Style & Technique Masterclasses

Audio tells you how a note should sound. Video shows you how the human body actually produces that sound.

In singing, small unconscious physical habits — jutting the chin forward, tensing the back of the neck, or pulling the corners of the mouth back like a grin — constrict the pharynx and choke off resonance. You can practice an exercise fifty times, but if your jaw is locked, your high notes will stay tight and exhausted.

That is why the Styles section in Time to Sing pairs audio accompaniment with high-definition video demonstrations by vocal coaches Kirill Zolygin and Karina Schwarz.

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The Three Vocal Styles (Pop, Musical, Classical)

Vocal technique is not one-size-fits-all. Singing Mozart requires an entirely different acoustic setup than singing a Broadway belt or contemporary pop ballad.

Inside the Styles tab, exercises are grouped into three distinct vocal traditions, available in Basic and Pro levels:

1. Pop Style: Natural speech-level singing, relaxed conversational vowels, subtle ornamentation, and effortless forward placement without operatic vibrato.
2. Musical Theatre: Broadway mix, clear diction, forward twang, and sustainable high money notes that project emotional storytelling without vocal cord blow-out.
3. Classical Style: Expansive pharyngeal resonance (chiaroscuro), tall oval mouth shaping, lifted soft palate, and rich acoustic warmth across the entire range.

Both female and male video demonstrations are available so you can mirror a coach whose vocal anatomy and register transitions match your own.

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The Dual-Page Screen: Video on Top, Theory on the Bottom

When you open an exercise from any style, the screen uses an intuitive two-story layout:

Page 1 (Top): The Coach Video

• Visual Demonstration: Watch the coach demonstrate the phrase in HD video. Observe their mouth opening, jaw drop, lip rounding, and relaxed shoulder posture.
• Fullscreen Mode: Tap the video to expand into an immersive fullscreen viewer to study micro-movements up close.
• Audio & Mute Controls: Toggle sound on or off, or use the audio buttons to practice along with the track.
• Horizontal Swiping: Swipe left or right to seamlessly advance to the next exercise in the curriculum without leaving the screen.

Page 2 (Swipe Up): Technique Notes & Backing Track

• Swipe up from the video to reveal the exercise breakdown: why the pattern was chosen, which vowels to focus on, and common pitfalls to avoid.
• Sticky Audio Player: The playback controls lock to the bottom of the screen, allowing you to play the backing track and read the technique notes simultaneously.

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What to Watch Closely in the Video Demonstrations

To get the most out of every video, watch for three key physical cues:

1. The Inhale (Quiet & Low): Notice that the coach's shoulders never rise when breathing in. The rib cage expands gently and the lower abdomen releases silently.
2. Jaw & Tongue Position: On higher pitches, observe how the jaw drops downward and slightly back (not forward). The tip of the tongue rests gently behind the lower front teeth rather than bunching up in the back of the mouth.
3. Vowel Modification: Watch how wide vowels (like "Ah") narrow slightly toward an open "Uh" as the pitch climbs into the upper register, preventing the throat from squeezing.

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Offline Video Downloads

Rehearsal studios, theatre basements, and backstage dressing rooms are notorious for poor cellular reception.

Tap the Download icon on any video page to cache both the video demonstration and the accompanying audio to your device. You can run through your entire lesson completely offline wherever your rehearsals take you.