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benny82

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benny82 last won the day on June 7 2017

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  1. I made a short clip about it. This is just on my cell phone. No special EQ or something like that. Was a little bit too close to the phone so excuse the plosive puffs. https://app.box.com/s/i2sb1pcz3u4irg6nz9cxwinini0uw72l The key vowel you can train this sound on is /OE/ as the 'e' in the word 'herb' Of course the EQ'ing also takes part in his special sound. I also think that the fact that he is a lower voiced guy is involved too. Fabio Lione would probably not be able to get the same sound color, no matter how hard he tries.
  2. Muscle memory can be a beast. If you program it to some unneccessary tension it can get very hard to get rid of misbehaviour. The excercise is indeed great to get the proper narrowing in the back of the vocal tract that gets you a more "deep" placement.
  3. @Kevin Ashe is right though. They key is (just as in the high range) to stay "connected". This also means that, at some point, fold closure gets so strong that a registration into M0 ("vocal fry") will happen. Many people make the mistake of opening the folds (usually by dumping the larynx) to prevent the registration into vocal fry. But that registration is the natural thing to happen in the low range. Even basses sing their lowest notes in M0. It just sounds fuller and more resonant compared to a tenor voice. Just don't ignore the fact that there must be a registration event in the low range and train to have a smooth transition from M1 -> M0 in the low range just as you would train the M1 -> M2 transition in the high range. Once you have the smooth connection and learned where to switch, the power in the "unknown" register will develop over time. Of course don't expect to be able to do the same things a bass can do in this range.
  4. Depends a bit on what your understanding is about "chest voice" or "head voice". In the middle range you use a coordination that is not the same as your speaking voice and also not the same as your falsetto. It has the vibratory mechanism of the speaking voice, which is why some people would say it is still "chest voice", but it has the resonance mode of falsetto, which is why some people say it is "head voice". Others just call it "mixed voice" There are several methods to learn the coordination and for everyone something different tends to work better or worse. Personally I prefer to train to "get out of speaking mode" in the low range, which makes it easier to get into the covered coordination needed for the passaggio. One method for this is to start in falsetto above your middle range and siren it down as low as you can, the vowel OO works well for that. This leads to a very dopey/breathy low range coordination. After that you remember the posture you had in the low range and sing a strong AH vowel through that postuere. Then you siren that AH vowel up into the high range. It feels a bit like "smoothing out" the differences between falsetto and chest voice. You strengthen your M1 by going from a slightly more dopey position which gives you less resonance boost in the low range and works out the vocal mechanism more. The twang/edge mechanism will take over the role of your main resonator. A stronger M1 can be stretched further into the higher range and the goal is to stretch it up to the point where M2 becomes strong enough, which is usually somewhere between A4 and C5. If you want a very systematic approach to learning this I recommend to look into the 4 Pillars.
  5. It's normal for the beginner. This area is the passaggio. The main reason for the voice cracking there is that the upper vibratory mechanism (M2) is too weak in that area and will not work, while at the same time the lower vibratory mechanism (M1) loses its resonance amplification. The coordination has to be learned to sing your lower register through the whole passaggio without the aid of the "chest resonance".
  6. So here is a little test about M1 vs. M2 that I would like you to do. I think this helps quite a bit about M1 vs. M2 (and @Felipe Carvalho I have seen you do similar things on YT); - start on a low note in your speaking range on typical speaking volume - sing AH as breathy/dopey as possible - then add Edge/twang to the note without increasing volume If you do not increase volume your voice should go into vocal fry because the twang increases the fold closure/resistance and the breath pressure will be not enough to cause a full vibration - increase breath pressure very slightly until you phonate a clean note again (just overcome the TTP), now you are on that clean Edge/Twang sound. Now go higher in pitch and do this exact excercise on each note in your range. What you will notice is that your range is divided into three parts by this excercise 1. in the low part of your range you will just hear the quality change breathy -> fry -> edgy 2. in the middle part of your range you will hear the quality AND a flip, breathy -> fry -> flip -> edgy 3. in the high part of your range you will just hear the quality change again My personal understanding is that a flip indicates a switch of register. So part 1 is your "only M1" range. Part 2 is where both registrations are easily possible, but M2 will be too weak and you should train to use M1 over the full range of part 2. Part 3 is where M2 should be your standard registration and in this part it is powerful enough to be used. Personally, my part 2 spans about an octave from G3 to G4 (maybe A4). From A#4 I on I can definitely sing very powerful with my falsetto.
  7. 1. Yes, I would think so, too. I do think that the lower male voices can do a powerful M2 from something like A4 on, though. 2. Sorry, you are right. What I wanted to say is that the width (not the amplitude) of the signal is the "vertical depth". Thus a more "square" shape has a higher vertical depth than a "bell curve shape" for example. Titze describes in his article about reading the EGG how you can put the signal sideways and mirror it to kind of get a "picture" of the vocal folds similar to the animations Rob posted. I forgot about the turn sideways when talking about the depth.
  8. Very interesting read @Felipe Carvalho and a lot more clear than most articles about the M1 vs. M2 thing. I would also agree with almost everything you said there. Here are some further points to think about. Hope they contribute to the thread: 1. Is M2 the same as "falsetto"? The thing is that falsetto usually describes a certain sound that is very light and sometimes breathy. It goes a bit in the same direction as Rob's question. There is definitely a distinct difference between a counter tenor falsetto and a rock tenor "fake belt" or "reinforced falsetto". The latter can even produce an Overdrive/Shout sound color, which falsetto cannot do. 2. An interesting thing that in terms of sound color or perception of "vocal mass" the amplitude of the EGG signal seems to be a defining factor. While the "knee" in the EGG signal indicates involvement of the body of the folds, which could be describe as the "horizontal depth" or "mass" of the vibration, the amplitude of the EGG signal indicates the "vertical depth" of the vibrations. Some studies I know have shown that the "vertical depth" of the vibration seems to correspond to the perception of "mass". Thus, a possible answer to question 1 would be that rock tenors do not have more body engagement but more vertical adduction compared to countertenors.
  9. Yes, as opposed to the balloon excercise, this one is really for the diaphragm. I remember Steven Fraser describing a similar excercise with a book on your stomach here.
  10. It's simply a misunderstanding. The diaphragm is an inhaling muscle, so it will not be strengthened by exhalation excercises (like blowing into a balloon). It is also debatable if the diaphragm even needs to be specifically strong for singing. You might want to refer to the other thread about the diaphragm that we had recently. When people say "strengthen the diaphragm" in many cases they are actually referring to the exhalation muscles. And regarding those it is very important that they work freely and are able to "push" heavily when needed. These are the muscles you also train with the balloon excercise. If you really want to put the diaphragm under some load you can try to put a finger in your mouth and suck as hard as you can
  11. I can definitely relate to that. I think it has more to do with endurance though than with strength. Singing in that sense is more like Marathon running than 100m sprint. Marathon runners do not have specifically storng leg muscles usually. What they need is coordination, rhythm and endurance, to keep their muscles going for a long time. Aside from that I still think that, if anything, the exhalers need a lot more strength and endurance training than the diaphragm. The diaphragm is pretty much used 24 hours non-stop. It is probably one of the most used muscles in the body. The exhalers though are not used to supplying the pressure required for singing on a constant basis. Especially not to sustaining that pressure over longer periods. And actually, most excercises that are advertisted as "diaphragm training" mostly focus on the exhalers instead of the diaphragm.
  12. Very well put. This is what I mean. The opposition of the diaphragm is needed to get better and more smooth control. It's the only reason why we don't sing on the exhalation muscles alone. There is no need to specifically strengthen the diaphragm imo. The power it naturally has is usually enough to provide the needed opposition. The exhalation muscles have to overcome the oppsition of the diaphragm to create pressure on the lungs and this pressure needs to overcome the resistance of the vocal folds and vocal tract to create airflow and sound.
  13. Exactly my thoughts. Support is a lot more about control than about power. There is no need to "strengthen" your support or to train the diaphragm. Actually, if you look at the size of the instrument (the vocal folds), the lungs and breathing muscles are vastly oversized and way too powerful to drive such a small instrument. One should also consider that the diaphragm is an inhaling muscle and not an exhaling muscle. People often tell you to "hold back" air with the diaphragm to reduce pressure on the larynx. But why would you want to "hold back" if you could just push less hard with your exhaling muscles. The real "magic" in support is learning to make very small and controlled actions with those big muscles, especially the exhalers and not the inhalers.
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