[00:01] skills in the world and it takes a lot of time and effort to master. But in entire process into just one month. So come with me in this journey and find out exactly what I did to transform my voice from this. Oh, freedom is mine and
[00:17] voice from this. Oh, freedom is mine and I know how I feel to this. Oh, freedom I know how I feel to this. Oh, freedom is mine and I know how I feel. My name is Zikos and I'm going to learn how to sing for 30 days. Let's get it. The
[00:31] ability to sing is highly valued in the world of Vtubing, which makes sense considering its Japanese idol influence, but also in an industry focused on utilize it becomes a more of an important factor. So, if you can do more
[00:44] have a way to stand out in an everexpanding sea of VTubers. To even challenge, we need to come up with a plan. Having a plan allows us to break down the overwhelming task of learning how to sing into much much smaller
[00:58] bite-sized pieces. This way, we can have clear goals to strive for each and every day and avoid the risk of burnout or losing drive. There are three key parts to my grand plan. Direction, routine, and performance. Direction was to ensure
[01:11] learning. With only a single month to work with, I needed to get the best bang advice, doing proper research, and diligently tracking everything that I've learned. My path to singing proficiency needed to be as clear as possible. No
[01:24] distractions, no confusion, and minimal roadblocks as I completely lock in for this challenge. So, with that in mind, I split my learning across four weeks. grasping the basics. Week three was polishing the basics and exploring my
[01:38] voice. Lastly, week four was all about practicing songs that would be in my set list on day 30's life performance. More on that later. My routine was to keep me seriously, I might as well not be doing this at all. This meant showing up even
[01:51] when I don't want to and dedicating everything I had into this endeavor for tricky part is balancing it with my full-time job, making content, and streaming alongside whatever life has to throw at me. So, how did I do this?
[02:05] Well, my solution was simple. I set clear parameters for myself. A minimum practicing, and any free time will be spent learning, whether that's from YouTube videos, feedback, or analyzing my own singing as I go. This way, I can
[02:18] actually singing while still enhancing my knowledge of vocal techniques through study. But you might be asking yourself, why don't you just use that extra time to sing more? More singing equals more improvement, right? Well, for one, I
[02:31] Houston number in the middle of the office. But more importantly, think of a competitive boxer if you don't know how to even throw a punch. I can sing all I want, but if I don't know what I'm doing, then I won't get very far. And
[02:44] plus, I don't know if you've noticed from my other video, but I just love performance will be the result of everything that I've learned put together to serve my biggest personal goal out of this entire challenge, to
[02:56] live out one of my biggest aspirations as a VTuber. You see, I started my Vtubing journey completely starruck by these VTuber idols who could perform and sing their hearts out to their fans. And I wanted to be just like them, if at
[03:08] least partially. Even if I'm not selling out venues at large concert halls by the end of these 30 days, I do want to host a live performance from my lovely and supportive community in the form of a special karaoke stream. Even if it was
[03:20] special karaoke stream. Even if it was self-imposed, the pressure was on. be completely transparent with you guys and say that I'm not starting from zero. I've had about 3 months worth of voice lessons about 3 years ago and casually
[03:33] sing every now and again. However, it has been a very long while. I mean, 3 exercises and only really practiced during the once a week session. But this time, I really wanted to give it my best shot and see how far I can push the
[03:47] said, we need to have a starting point. So, I recorded myself singing a new song that I have no practice with, but it's one that I really enjoyed. Feeling good one that I really enjoyed. Feeling good by Michael Bubé. And I'm feeling
[04:00] [Music] good. That's what I mean. For me,
[04:13] For me, for me. Oh, stars. When you shine, you for me. Oh, stars. When you shine, you know how I feel. Oh, freedom is mine.
[04:25] know how I feel. Oh, freedom is mine. And I know how I feel. It's a new dawn. And I know how I feel. It's a new dawn. It's a new day. It's a new life. A new life for me. And I'm feeling good.
[04:41] Yeah, it's not great, but it's also not terrible. Mostly, there is potential. I that out. Now, the first step of the plan was to set a direction. There are so many educational singing videos out there. So, where do we even start? Well,
[04:56] out to my followers on Twitter to get some advice as I knew some of them sang. And while the post itself didn't get a lot of replies or attention, please works. The replies from those that did contribute were fairly useful.
[05:09] talented friends who took time out of their busy schedule to give me some of their busy schedule to give me some of their singing advice. Koozie, their singing advice. Koozie, >> but I'd be suffering trying to
[05:23] >> but I'd be suffering trying to >> Zashido. certified voice teacher and bro is so passionate at singing and music that he
[05:38] actually offered more than just advice. We agreed on weekly check-ins where I feeling good and he would give me feedback. And this feedback would go on to play a very key part in this challenge. So, I don't know how it
[05:51] me with a voice teacher now, but I really shouldn't take him for granted consultation. So, a lot of practice and learning is still on me. However, now step was to compile them into a list. The biggest standout I hear was breath
[06:06] supported by the first bit of feedback from Zash. It's an odd thing to say, but from Zash. It's an odd thing to say, but it's time to learn how to breathe. researching it, but breathing technique is actually very important for singers.
[06:21] And it makes sense. If you break it down, breathing is a lot of what singing is, at least at the most fundamental level. It's basically just air moving out your mouth to create a sound. The speed of the air dictates the intensity
[06:34] the passageways like your mouth and throat dictate the type of sound that gets produced. [Music] that to control our breathing we must focus on our lungs, mouth or even our
[06:49] throat. But in reality your abdomen is actually what does most of the heavy lifting. Sure, abs themselves don't make a sound, but they are crucial in by controlling the amount of breath you take in and release. You can even test
[07:02] this out for yourself right now. Take your hands and put them around your waist. Now say s. Notice how your abs move. Pretty cool, right? In Zash's issues would be fixed with proper breathing. And he's quite right. But
[07:17] getting to grips with proper breathing techniques would be difficult. But alas, I binged countless videos to try to wrap my head around it. And I focused hard on I can understand that feeling between my abdomen and my breathing. I made sure to
[07:30] keep track of things like how it felt to suddenly contract my abs, how it felt to let out a big sigh of air, how it felt to lock up my abs, and how it felt to important to ask myself these questions so that I can become more intimately
[07:45] aware of how my body worked while breathing and by extension while was aware, the better control I had over it. The first practice session was focused on making my breathing more even. I had this tendency to expel a lot
[07:58] had less air later in the phrase, which made it trail off. To tackle it, I sang a phrase whilst keeping the same intensity all throughout. Birds flying high, you know how I feel. Yes, this does
[08:14] this to understand the feeling of singing evenly. On day three, I sort of figured out how to sing the E sound. Something that plagued me for the longest time. Okay, so I think I just figured out how to sing the E.
[08:28] >> I think I figured out how to get it up so that it's it feels more free and less so that it's it feels more free and less tense. So instead of me, it's me. tense. So instead of me, it's me. [Music]
[08:46] only the start of solving this difficult sound and the very concept of vowel modification, which would play a very big role later. Day four, I tried those vocal workout videos. And after just 20 minutes, my voice became so tired to the
[08:59] was never a big fan of drills or workouts, so this just cemented that >> brother. >> However, I still needed to continue on stop midway through the day. My voice was tired, but it wasn't in pain. So, I
[09:15] figured I was okay enough to continue. And I'm glad I did because when I practiced feeling good, my mouth and throat sort of just opened up out of throat sort of just opened up out of nowhere. It felt amazing.
[09:32] phrase, and I had to suffer the feeling of embarrassment when I belted out this part of the song, knowing that my neighbors and housemate could probably neighbors and housemate could probably hear my terrible screeching.
[09:48] [Music] But on the bright side, I did discover more of my potential, be it very briefly. It finally made me understand what singers meant when they say singing should feel effortless. This was a huge
[10:01] boost in motivation and made me even more excited to continue on. However, it would not be enough to stop feelings of embarrassment. And it would get so bad that when I tried to sing higher notes on day five, I would notice how loud I
[10:13] got and immediately stop myself out of reflex. It was frustrating because I knew I couldn't improve if I couldn't get past this feeling. But today was just not it. However, over time, I learned to gradually be more comfortable
[10:26] with getting louder and louder until I was able to continuously belt out notes. The feeling of embarrassment never went away, but I grew more used to it, especially knowing that I had to if I wanted to improve. It wasn't easy, but I
[10:40] pushed myself through. Day six rolled around and I decided to start my session by measuring my hissing length. No, not the type of snake kissing. the type of snake kissing. >> I'm a snake. I'm a swy little snake
[10:52] snake. Basically, how long I can do this. This is a good exercise to measure how good your breath control is. The longer you're letting out that hiss, really focus on how your abs move. It can
[11:06] contract, but it can also expand. Allow it to move as it needs to, but ensure that it's gradual, gentle, and smooth. My starting length was 22.5 seconds. for now and check it back every now and again until the end of the challenge to
[11:19] see how well I get. While the hissing was decent, the rest of the day was pretty bad when it came to energy. I felt really tired, but I powered through was a pretty mid session all in all, and constantly doing these vocal workouts
[11:32] motivation with each passing day. However, something happened that would these days, when I go to bed, I usually like to spend a bit of time scrolling. you know, as you do. And I'm really glad I did because I stumbled on this vocal
[11:46] coaching video with Ado in the thumbnail. And guys, if it involves Ado, I'm clicking. This video from Chris Leipe talked about how important voice was, how playing around with all sorts of weird sounds and noises that
[11:59] a better understanding of what your voice is capable of, and in turn allow you to control it better because now you've unlocked these new feelings.
[12:13] always under the impression that I had to always do these scales and workouts and other boring and tedious exercises to get better. But now I've been taught something very valuable, which fits my learning style to a tea. And from this
[12:26] voice would become a large part of my in day seven, the first week of the challenge was over. I learned a lot already, but we're only getting started. When we sing, the parts that actually
[12:40] get sung are the vowels. And I know it might seem like a well duh sort of >> But this is actually very important to understand. And here's why. For singing, we have five vowels. A, E, E, O, and U.
[12:54] the vowels that we use in English. A, E, I, O, and U. Try this. Pronounce the letters A, I, and U very, very slowly and notice what happens. The letter A is
[13:06] actually a combination of the singing vowels E and E. A A A. Likewise, for the letter I, it's a combination of A and E. I And for you, it's E and U. Eu. U. See
[13:23] grasping the idea of vowels and applying it in practice. There were a few moments that made it click for me. One of which was when I was singing You Raise Me Up, because of how high the belted up note was. But after learning about vowels, I
[13:37] noticed that I was singing up with an O vowel, like up, you raise me up. So, as an experiment, I modified my pronunciation to be more of an ah up.
[13:49] And this small change worked wonders. You raise me up You raise me up to walk on stormy seas. Oh, that's the >> I didn't realize at the time, but I found out much later that this was
[14:02] accessed my mixed voice. To quickly explain, placement is where your voice sits when singing. Something like this a would be placed at the front of the mouth, whilst something like this a would be placed at the back of the
[14:15] would be placed at the back of the mouth. mixed voice is the middle register between your heavier chest voice
[14:27] and your letter singing voice. I found that you can practice switching between these by doing a siren exercise like so.
[14:41] cracking into head or falsetto because right before that crack is actually video by Studio West explains this really well. But alas, while I can celebrate this win, the experience also highlighted my weaker vowels, E and U.
[14:55] could about them and found that I was actually closing my airways and that certain mouth shapes can really help open up my airways while still through. For example, instead of singing E like this, E,
[15:12] E like this, E, I can sing it like this. E I can sing it like this. E E their use cases, the ladder provides a bigger volume of air to work with, which
[15:26] notes. I also started to religiously practice the A, A, E, O, and U exercise from Victoria's video to get the hang of vowel control so that I could access day nine, I took a small break to go see my first ever concert,
[15:42] Baby Metal, at the O2 Arena. And boy, was that a crazy first concert. Let me tell you, I was screaming my ass off with no regard to vocal technique with no regard to vocal technique whatsoever. But it was so worth it.
[15:58] looked into how to properly warm up. Like, I knew what to do, but I hated >> Hey, this man just I don't want to do this no more. At least until I found because it crushed my preconceived notions on what a vocal warm-up should
[16:11] that I saw from him. It reframed my understanding of it from strict exercises to freedom of exploration and discovery, focusing on being intimately familiar with your own voice. All the way from the weird
[16:31] to the crazy and everything in between. practice shouldn't be about sounding good. In fact, you should feel okay with
[16:44] perfect time to do so as you can explore, experiment, and just generally And at the end of the day, that's what singing should be, right? As I were two vital things that I would learn. Leaning into the breath and
[17:00] sent in my second week's recording to Zash, he responded with some key where he described the sensation of leaning into the breath. This was to help with gradual movements of the abdomen as breath is being expelled.
[17:14] talked about earlier. For downward sensation, I like to think of this as This was to mitigate the tendency of my larynx to rise as I reached higher and uncomfortable feelings like straining or being stuck. There's this really
[17:29] the higher you go, the more of a downward sensation you should apply. Of but this way of thinking worked for me. That being said, I must stress the point that you don't have to keep your larynx down. It can go high like this. It can
[17:44] down. It can go high like this. It can also be neutral like this or it can be also be neutral like this or it can be low like an oper. The important thing here is to keep it relaxed and flexible. So on with this
[17:56] days in the week to understand and practice them by applying my newly found knowledge to songs. The way I went about it was I slowed down the song and sang every single vowel very slowly but also very deliberately to understand that
[18:11] vowel shapes, and the feeling of my downward sensation. As the Navy Seals say, "Slow is smooth, smooth is fast." >> Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Let's >> At least I think it was them who said that. I'm I'm not entirely sure. I I
[18:25] don't. And with that, my second week came to a close. It was a very dense in spades because now I can use what I've learned of the basics and have fun week three, which would produce some interesting results. Or so you'd think.
[18:40] However, week three started off pretty rough. It was a long day. I was physically and mentally drained. I didn't have the energy to do anything. challenge. So, I pushed myself to practice. It was frustrating singing
[18:54] songs that I knew I could do better with but just couldn't due to all the fatigue. On day 17, Zash sent me some feedback. The main takeaway was that I didn't have as much control of my larynx as I should have as it kept trying to go
[19:06] up. Ultimately, the downward sensation of the previous week was not properly feedback Zash gave to me was to think of the words you're saying and let that guide you. Say the lyrics as poetry
[19:18] aloud or to an audience or person. This helped a lot with developing a more expressive tone and voice while also diverting away from the hyperfixation on allowing myself to relax a little more, helping reduce tension as I focused on
[19:31] expression. And because our last week was coming up, Zash offered to set up an official call to coach me in real time. This is the closest we'll ever get to challenge. So, I was super excited and grateful for the opportunity. Until
[19:44] techniques I learned during the first two weeks, I did a lot of voice around with my range to see what my extremes were and where my breaks happened, which gave me a good look at what I could be capable of. Time
[20:11] However, after this, Zash did tell me that my voice range was about a high baritone. This was a wonderful time as I would start to finally learn to accept my voice and how I sound. >> Accept yourself.
[20:24] >> Adam's influence during this really came through as well as I'd begun to play around with how I could express myself through singing with different dynamics, voice effects, etc. And I allowed for myself to just go all over the place and
[20:36] be okay with it. On day 20, more things started to click. Notes that I used to struggle with now felt more manageable. I even compared my first rendition of Feeling Good from day one to now and was blown away by the difference as I had
[20:48] not heard it for a while. Oh, freedom is mine and I know how I feel. Oh, freedom mine and I know how I feel. Oh, freedom is a mine and I know how I feel. It's a
[21:02] new dawn. It's a new day. It's a new life. A new life for me. life. A new life for me. It's a new dawn. It's a new day. It's a
[21:14] It's a new dawn. It's a new day. It's a new life. A new life for me. And I'm feeling good. And I'm feeling
[21:29] good. I was indeed feeling good. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, at least temporarily. As I ran into the dreaded wall on day 21, I felt stuck and even felt like I was
[21:43] regressing. I was plagued with this for 4 days. The final week started off half of the final stretch was frustrating to say the least. I knew what good technique was, but for some reason, my body just wouldn't do it. I
[21:57] ended up overthinking every single little thing, and I swear it nearly drove me insane. This slump also resurfaced some bad memories. See, when I first began V tubing, I uploaded a cover of one of my favorite jazz songs,
[22:10] Fly Me to the Moon by Frank Sinatra. It was to celebrate my first 100 subs. Look how far we've come, huh? At the time, 100 subs was huge for me. It marked a to the people that helped me get there. So, I figured I'd release a short cover
[22:27] knowing how to mix or record covers at all. But gosh darn it, I gave it everything I had, only to be met with laughter from a close friend at the time. In fairness to them, they did apologize, but it was already too late.
[22:43] Like dominoes, it brought back other bad memories where I faced some of the same judgment. Being laughed at by friends and being told to stop because I was and being told to stop because I was just that bad. And looking back, yeah, I
[22:56] that was pretty bad. I'm not going to lie. I was I was pretty terrible. I I would not listen to me back then either. But those moments did tear down any semblance of confidence I had, which wasn't a lot to begin with. And fast
[23:11] forward to present day, those memories would only grow louder no matter how tried to focus on the basics, thinking that my fundamentals would carry me through. But no matter what I tried, nothing worked. And I only grew more and
[23:24] more frustrated and doubtful, getting into my own head and asking myself, "Am challenge? Am I going to get laughed at again? Was all that effort enough?
[23:36] Am I enough?" [Music] Zash that I finally had a breakthrough and was able to overcome the wall. He
[23:48] didn't just coach my vocals. Zash did something more than that. He taught me the best parts of it. >> The thing you have to remember and you your own voice. >> He showed me that going at my own pace
[24:02] those who had years and years of experience while I had very little. Yet, I was still making great progress. So, it was unfair of me to compare myself to >> You're comparing yourself to people who've probably been using their voice
[24:16] for a while. You just started. And if you can pat yourself on the back a bit here because like I said and I'll continue to say it just how far you've come in the matter of a month. >> Imagine after a year if you continue to
[24:30] work at this. If you can try to focus, you know what? Let me take it a day at a time. Let me focus on my voice. Let me focus on what I can do. As you go on and work on things, you will find that, oh, there's an aspect of my voice that not
[24:43] many other people have either. and oh, I like this part of my voice, you know, and the more you discover, the more you play, the more you'll fall in love with >> He taught me to trust my body to know what to do, to stop overthinking. I've
[24:57] process of learning and practicing techniques hour after hour, day after day. So, trust that it'll be there when you need it, so that you can focus on self-expression and having fun. And so with my self-confidence not only
[25:10] restored but also bolstered, I used the final five days of the challenge to practice every song on my set list diligently, but also not forgetting to enjoy myself in the process. Day 30, performance day. Right before stream, I
[25:23] did a hissing exercise one last time. Oh my god. Oh, that's a lot. That's a lot. That's a lot. Let's go. New record, baby. 32 seconds. 10 seconds more than
[25:35] what I started with. So, I was pretty chuffed with that. However, when it came to the performance, I was nervous to say the least. Oh, I'm so I'm so nervous. the least. Oh, I'm so I'm so nervous. Say hello, Chad. You're on camera. Woo!
[25:50] I started off shaky, but after I decided to do this, verb watchers, are you ready for a concert? [Music]
[26:02] I felt my nerves start to fade. my body finally loosening up and my anxiety turned into excitement. >> What it meant to me will eventually be a memory of a time when I tried so hard and got so far.
[26:17] and got so far. But in the end, it doesn't even matter. more comfortable to the point where nervousness was totally replaced with just fun. Total complete unadulterated fun. You'll be back soon, you'll see.
[26:35] fun. You'll be back soon, you'll see. You'll remember you belong to me. You'll You'll remember you belong to me. You'll be back. Time will tell. You'll remember be back. Time will tell. You'll remember that I served you well. Oceans rise,
[26:49] that I served you well. Oceans rise, empires fall. We have seen each other empires fall. We have seen each other through it all. And when push comes to show, I will send a fully armed battalion to remind you of my love.
[27:04] battalion to remind you of my love. You'll be the one complaining when I am gone. [Music] [Music] And no, don't change the subject
[27:16] And no, don't change the subject cuz you're my favorite subject. By the for singing. I learned to accept my own voice and stop trying so hard to sound like others. And I know react content gets a bad rap, but the ones where the
[27:29] vocal teachers react to a song and give their insight was something I found very recommend them. And I even made a playlist with those and also all the for this entire 30-day challenge. That'll be linked in the description
[27:43] while you're down there, don't forget to leave a like and subscribe. And if I could be real with you guys for a moment, I may not have the best tone or going to be selling out any stadiums
[27:56] anytime soon, but I've accepted where I am, and I want to keep moving forward. I want to sing more, and I hope you guys are going to be joining me for the ride. Maybe one day I'll release some originals. Maybe one day I'll even
[28:10] perform live to more than just 30 people on stream. And maybe one day, just maybe one day, I can go up on stage and express myself to the world as an idol.
[28:22] But until then, as I continue to dream these dreams of mine, I'll keep performing. I'll keep having fun as I continue to do things my way. Ciao.