Manolito Mystiq

Thank you Danielformica and Draven Grey! @Draven Grey: I was not running out of air. I practiced the note. Usually the note is held for 16 seconds, so I practiced to hold it for 30. Interestingly, the exercise you give was the very first one I got back in 2002. Anyway, I thought that I was holding the long notes too long, but after listening back the performance, I believe I could have easily done them longer—meaning I could worry less about such things during a performance. Just go for it. With the “be”-note [3:44] it appears that I slowly went to a more relaxed and more resonant state. Are we on the same page on that? I feel that I was trying to have a lot of volume in a mixed state, while this acoustic, non-amplified environment asks for either a more classical or a more beltier approach to stand out (something former Phantom Ramin Karimloo blended exceptionally well). Thanks again.

Dear all, It has been a while that I have visited this forum. I have been very busy with my studies—having completed my BA in Musicology and currently finalising my MA in Applied Musicology. I did keep on working on my singing, however. Yesterday, “The Music of the Night,” a song that I auditioned with at the Conservatory of Rotterdam over a decade ago and that I had used for my singing lessons with many different teachers, was one I had never actually performed—until now! Indeed, there appears to be balancing issues with volume between me and the piano. On the other hand, I asked several attendees whether they felt there were problems with it, but they all did not notice them live. While I do think we could work on balancing our instruments, I believe the recording is augmenting the issue quite a bit. I am really satisfied with the performance—especially my acting abilities, intonation, enunciation, and stage presence. I could be more confident with the fermata notes just doing them as long as I want, rather than thinking I might do them too long (I think the “soul”-note [2:32] is great, the “be”-note [3:44] is just about right, the ”night”-note [5:20] is executed pretty well, but could easily be five seconds longer). I could also definitely stabilise and pronounce my “ring” more. Manolito Mystiq

This can only make it harder. Your vocal folds along with your false folds and your glottis regulate both the airflow and airpressure; your lungs (and thus diaphragmatic breathing) is important for the capacity of air and the consistency of flow. You especially don't need so much airflow on strong, connected sounds, but you do need air pressure. This means that you don't need to take so much air for high notes in a connected setting. Singing in falsetto for instance, requires a lot of air, because the airflow is so high and so you lose air quickly. I suggest you don't think about your diaphragmatic breathing. For now, only pay attention to keep your voice open: Retract your false vocal folds: practice inhaling and exhaling WITHOUT making any sound; you might notice that you're opening up your voice in order to stay silent. Then try to sing a scale with the same sensation.Use a more simple scale: C-D-E-D-C and up and up. Use the "Mum-Mum" sound to keep it warm and round. Use the "Nay-Nay" sound to make it sharp and compressed.Go back and forth between the two sounds to find a balance that could work.Good luck.

Thank’s for your comments, Robert! Alberto is too busy for private lessons. He’s creating his own system: Universal Voice System! So now we have CVT, EVT, UVS, and TVS, haha! My teacher, Marco, is using Alberto’s new method as well as EVT. I know that there’s a TVS certified teacher in the Netherlands, but since we can work so well together, I will keep having lessons with Marco for the time being—especially since he is also an actor and he knows how to shape my performance. I could blast it out more than I’m doing right now. It might be the Singing Succes training over the years. On the other hand, clearly I’m not using a musical belt, which is far more demanding and I think not even suitable for this material. LaBrie wouldn’t be able to sing a setlist of 2+ hours with a musical belt. I’m practicing “Eyes of a Stranger” as well. I think my control of my high range is quite solid. I just need to do more and more!

I know, that’s why I’m taking those lessons. Do you have any comments about me singing the song?

The teacher is a graduated musical theatre student. He’s specialized in Estill Voice Training and knows some CVT, too. I know the differences, I was just pointing out how he noticed the difference of my singing. I also practiced a musical song with him: “’Til I Hear You Sing,” which I can manage, but needs more work because I’m not used to belting as a musical singer. The teacher can guide me well and we understand each other. He did mention that I’m already very capable; we’re mostly working on the little details to make it ‘perfect’. I do feel I still sound so sharp and thin, but I might incorrectly perceive it that way because I hear myself, which is never accurate.

Note: This was recorded with a phone and it was placed behind me, so the quality is not good and the position is not so good either. As I mentioned in my other thread¹: “Today, I had a singing lesson, and the teacher (specialized in Estill Voice Training and musical theatre) was baffled at how good I could manage rock material—I sang Dream Theater’s “To Live Forever”—which is so different from belting material in musicals. Often when I sing musical material I get commented how blended it sounds, but that I’m not belting my parts. This is not necessarily wrong, unless I want to audition for a musical role, where it is required. It’s a bit like “Who Wants to Live Forever”, but then the musical version. The first time I heard it, I felt, man, what is that guy doing? It’s like he needs so much effort to reach those high notes, which sound so loud and massive, compared to Freddie’s more flexible approach.” I am satisfied with the performance. It’s a little pitchy here and there, but I especially like the ‘live’ in ‘to live forever’ part and the final note. ---------- 1. http://www.themodernvocalistworld.com/topic/10289-being-“ready”-as-a-singer-while-still-not-believing-it/ EDIT: Something went wrong. I swear I opened up the Review My Singing page. I probably clicked on the wrong ‘Submit Topic’ button (other page). Feel free to move it to the right folder. Sorry guys and gals.

There is a nice backing track. The only problem with that one is the last bit, which seems out of rhythm. You can find it here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/karaoke-hits-rock-hard/id582198827

Yes, especially in singing, 'singing out of range' is a bit of a complicated term. I would add 'comfortable' with it: singing out of your comfortable range, because the range is there, but it's not controlled. Now obviously, there are high lyric singers who can sing much easier in the high range than low dark singers – indeed, up to a point where a part will sound out of range – but in this case I feel you can sing this song, but you need to improve your control. Because even in the easy parts you're quite very pitchy. By the way there are dark heavy singers who can indeed sing the part, but the whole feel and sound is then changed so much, a thing that must be considered, like Josh Young singing ‘Heaven On Their Minds’. But again, in your case, I think your voice is capable of a song like this.

Also, what seems to be happening in the part 9:37? ‘You started to believe, the things they say of you, you really do believe this talk of God is true? And all the things you’ve done, will soon be swept away, you’ve become to matter more than the things they say!’ Is that really a switch from passagi?

Yesterday I did this song with the Big Hucband (university band): I made the arrangement, too, so I was excited how it would sound as a whole. Unfortunately, I forgot the lyrics here and there, but I'm more than satisfied how it went. Comment and critique all you want, Mano

That's not what I meant to say. I meant that you can't be 'specific' at that age. So soprano or alto, maybe even mezzo, but not specific: lyric soprano, dramatic mezzo, etc.

Since you're 16, your voice hasn't fully developed yet, so you can't be sure what kind of a specific voice type you have. Also, voice types are usable in the classical world, not so much in the contemporary commercial music world. Your voice sounds rather dark, but I've heard classical singers with such a dark sound who were categorized as soprano, so there you go.

That's why I said, 'sort of'. According to an EVT specialist, I zip my vocal folds from around that point. From around C6 I start sounding quite radically different.

C6 is probably sort of my second passagio, because it's so hard to hit that note, while the Bb5 and especially the E6 are so easy!