As you may know Bruno Mars has the first single from Breaking Dawn, The Twilight Saga movie soundtrack, with the song entitled “It Will Rain”. Also he is up for a whopping six Grammy awards, including three in the top categories: album, song and record of the year.
But what does this have to do with your singing voice? I would like to break down a couple of the things that Bruno Mars is doing in his song, “Let It Rain” and give you some ideas of what he’s doing right that you can apply to your own singing voice.
First of all, let’s talk about onset. What is onset? Onset is simply the beginning sound of a sung phrase. The whole goal of singing is to turn air into sound as quickly as possible with the vibrating larynx and vocal chords. But many people have problems with getting a proper onset, meaning they allow some air to escape before turning that air immediately into sound and into singing. And an improper onset radically affects the rest of the phrase and could give you problems with pitch, power and tone.
Notice what Bruno Mars does at the outset of the song. Even from the very first word “if” you can hear that there is an immediate vocal cord connection and an immediate proper onset. This whole song is a great example of what a proper onset sounds like.

Do you aspire to be a pop singer?
Well, there is one other thing I wanted to point out for those of you who aspire to be a pop singer. Notice Bruno uses a straight tone throughout most of the song and uses vibrato only occasionally as a coloring here and there. You’ll notice that the first time he brings in even a little bit of vibrato is on the word, “meditation,” which is toward the end of the first verse, and then you don’t hear his first real vocal trill until the very end of the first. I think this is a good model for pop vocals.
Vocal trills and vibrato come about with a similar function of the through and vocal cords. Mastering one will help you master the other.
I’ve heard it said, “Learn vibrato and master it, then never use it.”
I would modify that to say, “Learn vibrato and master it, then use it sparingly.” And you could switch out “vocal trills” with vibrato, and the phrase still holds true.
Whether Jacob, Bella and Edward are singers or not, they could listen to Bruno’s song, “Let It Rain,” and they would get an idea about what proper onset and proper use of vibrato and vocal trills sounds like.
Aaron Anastasi
Leave me a comment below and let me know what you think!
Tags: bruno mars, pop singer, twilight



Leave A Reply (17 comments So Far)
RoyalD
146 days ago
Thank you Aaron your tips are very useful!
Aaron Anastasi
146 days ago
RoyalD,
You are very welcome! And thank you for the note!
Aaron
melissa
146 days ago
Well look iv been singging or 15 years at home in church at school inn 25 and i can sing i have the voice is that i fell like something is not there when i sing i fell like in screming my dream is too help the world and sing and show the ppl where im from i did it now one realy heard me sing so i hope with step i get it well help my music teacher i had i stop going becaues it cast too mush .
Aaron Anastasi
146 days ago
Melissa,
if you’re screaming when singing, that sounds like you are pulling your chest voice up on the higher notes when you should be singing in your head or mix voice. My course, Superior Singing Method, has an entire section on the mix voice, and it’s further explained in several of the sections.
I understand that private lessons can be expensive, that’s why I created an all in one course that is affordable
Best of luck to you!
Aaron
melissa
145 days ago
you think if i use this it mite help get where i what too be famous jk i wish
Aaron Anastasi
145 days ago
Melissa,
You’re cute. Well, I can tell you that it will make you a better singer, and with better singing skills you have a much better chance of having a career in music. Fame has so much to do with time and chance, of course, but it begins with a good singing voice!
Thanks for the note.
Aaron
Jose
130 days ago
Hey aaron how to improve my singing voice i dunno how
Aaron Anastasi
130 days ago
Jose,
That’s a very good, but very broad question. I spent years developing an entire course to address that very questions and help beginners to see a dramatic improvement in their singing voice within 60 days.
The course is called Superior Singing Method, and you can find it here: http://www.howtosing.com/superior-singing-method/
Also, I have a ton of free articles and blogs that should be very helpful to you.
Thanks for the comment and question!
Aaron
deola
120 days ago
Aaron,i’ve bin told dat i flatten keys when i sing,although d weather arnd here’s pretty cold esp in d morn wen i’ve 2 sing,but pls wat can i do?
Aaron Anastasi
120 days ago
Deola,
Well, I’ve got a entire section on pitch in my course, Superior Singing Method, but the short answer is that you need to build up and strengthen the muscles in your voice box to give you better control over your pitch. You do that through regularly doing vocal warm ups and vocal strengthening exercises, which, again, my course is full of.
For now begin with a matching pitch exercise. Pluck a tone on any instrument and try to match it without sliding your voice up or down to hit it.
Flat pitches could also be a result of not opening you mouth enough when singing. Slightly over-enunciating when singing comes across sounding normal and should help with your pitch.
Good luck to you!
Aaron
makayla
96 days ago
we both like to sing luv songs
Aaron Anastasi
90 days ago
Makayla,
I like to sing love songs, too!
Hope you’re well.
Aaron
AK
56 days ago
hi aaron
im a girl on 15, and i really love to sing. i sing everyday in at least 30 min. i’ve wanted to sing since i was 6, but it’s to expensive to hace a teacher. i want to learn, how to sing with my stomach, but i dont know how to practice. and i dont know, how it should feel. sometimes, when i try, i can feel, that it’s like my stomach vibrate, u know. i can feel it, if i hold on my stomach, when i sing. but when i try this, then i dont have air enought to the rest of the song, so to me it seems like a…bad thing.
i want to be a singer, i feel, that it’s the only thing to me. but im so nervous, when i have to performance, enven if it’s only for 2 persons. and im so unsure to myself. i dont even know, if i can sing.
i’ve made a song of demi lovato ‘lightweight’ and some others. would u please listen to them, and then tell, what u think? i really want to learn how to sing.
im sorry, if there are any mistakes (^^) im not from an english-talking-country
thank u
Aaron Anastasi
55 days ago
AK,
Thank you for the comment and questions.
Let’s start with your first. You want to sing from your stomach, or more commonly called, you diaphragm. That can be a tough one for many singers. I have a video that I did my best to explain it though, and it’s free and up on YouTube. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYqXCKvjY-k
Yeah, stage fright can be a very difficult thing to overcome. Here are a few tips that I give in a YouTube video to help you with that.
I hope those help!
Best of luck to you!
Aaron
AK
49 days ago
thank u so much aaron
now i see, that i forgot to put up a link to the video… im sorry for that. here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thlGLs6YQj0
i dont scream anymore, now it’s so easy to get up there and hold the tone there
i am really proud of my self 
youtube is big 

i’ve tryed a long time to sing with my stomach, or as u call it, my diaphragm, but i still dont know, how it should feel. im allso fat, and i dont know, if that can make it harder to learn to sing. i dont hope that. but i can feel, that i am getting better to the high notes
could u give me a link to your video with the stage fright ?
thank a lot again
AK
Aaron Anastasi
47 days ago
AK,
Here is the stage fright video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqYtG5Si5FE&feature=plcp&context=C4a60a83VDvjVQa1PpcFMtgZkxt9aUxvHyiSlNS-6y-tej-tY2Vb0%3D
Excess weight can make diaphragm breathing a little more difficult, but it shouldn’t effect your ability to sing too much. Many opera singers are overweight and have no problem singing powerfully. Hitting higher notes without screaming is definitely a good thing.
Aaron
AK
41 days ago
thank u so much aaron