Back to basics - Help building a vocal foundation through Overdrive

[anonimuzz]

So, now that I've allowed myself to be embarrassingly noisy, I thought I should start seriously working on twang and support, and in order to do that, I decided to focus on improving my overdrive (CVT method), because the energy it requires to go high, plus the twang and all of that, will give me a strong foundation for everything else. I always thought I knew how to twang/support, but when I tested it out, applying what I theoretically know wasn't so simple: http://www.box.net/shared/vd2svlm9u4

Backing off of the twang a bit, or at least, trying to turn it into a more finished sound, wasn't great either. In short yells, it didn't feel so bad...: http://www.box.net/shared/v2q76bqb3x

...But sustaining the sound is pretty different: http://www.box.net/shared/l2f2zq80ud .

I wouldn't be able to slide that way up to G4 without "hurting" myself, that's why I stopped right there. Please ignore all the off-pitchness in the clips, I really wasn't worried about that.

What do you hear in my recordings that needs serious fixing to make these notes possible? Btw, G4 is not a goal note at this time, I just wanted to show you what happens throughout the whole passaggio, to give you a clearer picture. In my "Gran Torino" topic, you gave me good tips about recording, but for now you will still have to put up with bad quality, unfortunately. I didn't even record these in my computer; I used my mp4 player, since I wasn't at home.

[jonpall]

Have you tried letting those high notes resonate more from your head than the lower notes? Sounds like your doing the classic "pulling chest". I'm not entirely sure what you're asking for here. Do you f.ex. have a song that you'd like to sing or sing something similar to? Around G4 or even lower, for men, it starts to become a good idea to switch from overdrive to a different mode (CVT) as you go up in pitch.

[anonimuzz]

I need help with twanging and supporting in general, because I feel I don't do neither of them as well as I thought. I assumed Overdrive would be a good mode to practise those because it's usually said that it's easier to learn than Curbing, but if this is too high to use overdrive for a beginner, I can find a better way to approach it, I guess. I didn't have any song in mind, at first, but after choosing to work on my overdrive, I set "Valentine's Day", from Linkin Park, as my test song.

I'm only really interested in the part after 2:24, lol, where he repeats "On a Valentine's Day" a million times.

Theoretically, I know that I should resonate higher, but in practical terms, I have no idea how to do that. I thought resonating more in the head simply meant "use more twang and brighten the tone".

[jonpall]

I'm only really interested in the part after 2:24, lol, where he repeats "On a Valentine's Day" a million times

To sing like that you definitely don't need to twang as much as you're doing in those clips of yours. That's just standard overdrive, below the passagio. Can ty record yourself attemping that line?

Also, I think that if you want to work on just twang, try neutral instead of overdrive. Much easier, I think. Much less things you have to think about. But if you want to work on twang with very loud volume in overdrive going to either edge or MLN (and with bit darker sound colour than you're doing), you try one of Jamie Vendera's full voice sirens exercises, like I'm doing here: http://www.box.net/shared/ulyiyrr3sr

[anonimuzz]

Well, that line is too high for me, so even though this was recorded without warming up, you won't find me doing much better than this even after 1 hour of vocalises: http://www.box.net/shared/il8bhtyjfq

Also, those sirens are impossible for me to do 0.0

[ronws]

Anonimuzz, thanks for linkin in some fine Linkin Park, first off. The Valentine's Day chorus is not really louder or even belted, that I can tell. Just well resonated. That is, you could do it in low head voice. The rest is amplification and harmony from doubled tracks, combined with the fuzz of the guitar. The complete sonic picture is that it is really loud but, in actuality, he's not singing really loud. Just in head voice with a good vowel sound.

In my opinion.

[anonimuzz]

You're welcome, ronws. In my mind, low head voice would be too gentle for that part, but I may be imagining a different sound than what you're describing. Could you or someone else demonstrate, please?

[jonpall]

Well, that line is too high for me, so even though this was recorded without warming up, you won't find me doing much better than this even after 1 hour of vocalises: http://www.box.net/shared/il8bhtyjfq

Also, those sirens are impossible for me to do 0.0

You're already doing it well here! What are you worrying about? :)

[jonpall]

Hmm, after listening to that Linkin Park song again, it sounds like it's rather curbing than overdrive, but he's using very little hold/cry so it's hard to tell. However, that high note is a F4 so it's definitely possible to sing that chorus in overdrive, like you're doing in your clip.

[anonimuzz]

You're already doing it well here! What are you worrying about?

Well? No! It has the loudness of overdrive, but I feel pretty tense, more in the beginning of the sentence than on the last word ("day"), because of the vowels. It's just that my voice never cracks or anything. I was never (really, never) hoarse or with a scratchy throat after singing, no matter how long and how bad I did it. But really, I wouldn't be able to sing that song until the end. I need to find a way of making it comfortable, but I haven't been able to do it by myself.

[anonimuzz]

As an update, I just wanna let you know that my practice is slowly getting me results and the G3-G4 scale in overdrive (or in some other mode particularly twanged and annoying) is getting more sustainable, step by step. Right now, I think I found an adequate volume for the notes, and I am being able to twang them a lot, but I still haven't found the right amount of twang, because my support is still faulty and I have to use more twang than normal to compensate that. Eventually, I'll even it out and I'll also start thinking about hitting them in tune, as I know how often I'm offpitch. I also need to practise long clean notes, without vibrato. I'm only trying to put vibrato everywhere to disguise any possible shakiness and to see, more or less, how much control I could pretend I had.

http://www.box.net/shared/x06fj9f5c8

[ronws]

I think you're twanging fine. If you are wanting a darker sound (overtones present that sublimate the brightness of twang) at this part of the range, you could still keep the larynx relatively low. As I have found, you can have a stable larynx about mid-position and still twang. Lower the jaw a bit and widen the corners of the mouth just a little bit (I know some vocal systems and coaches don't like this. Oh well...) But it sounds like you've already got an excellent foundation to go whereever you want to go.

[anonimuzz]

Tks, ronws. I also thought for a really long time that a low larynx and twangy sound didn't work together, but they do, and as someone said in another thread, operatic singers are great examples of that. I haven't been able to control both of them yet, but I'll experiment with what you said and see if it works. Soon, I plan on having a voice lesson, so the one-on-one work will get me there even faster =D