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Falsetto or head voice?


guitarheaven

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I've read around this forum about bridging and connecting, but I don't know if I'm doing it properly. I can do it on some occasions, but I always get a falsetto-ish tone on top. Is this a weak head voice that can be strengthened or am I just bridging to falsetto? At this point I can't imagine being able to sing in a headvoice that is strong and able to blend with my chest voice. Here's a siren from G3 to G4 on 'ah'.

http://www.box.net/shared/xioofz5uj7

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Instead of going into head voice that low you could enter into "passaagio" at about E4 by modifying the ah vowel to uh or oh slightly. It feels like you are yawning and directing the tone up in back instead of out the front of your mouth. This will give you a much stronger sound at G4. You can carry this configuration up to about A4 before transitioning into head.

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Instead of going into head voice that low you could enter into "passaagio" at about E4 by modifying the ah vowel to uh or oh slightly. It feels like you are yawning and directing the tone up in back instead of out the front of your mouth. This will give you a much stronger sound at G4. You can carry this configuration up to about A4 before transitioning into head.

I can't... I don't have much of a high range. The only way I can sing an E4 without head voice/falsetto is with tons of volume. I'm not sure if i can do what you're saying.

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Yes you can.. I was exactly like you maybe with even less range. Then I found like a sweet spot with the vowels OH and EH. By sweet spot I mean everything was resonating and easy. I can take that up to G4 very consistently, A4 if I'm not tired. So try experimenting a little with OH and EH.

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guitarheaven - what you are experiencing with tons of volume at E4 is what CVT call overdrive, and yes, in overdrive the volume and brightness of tone will get very intense. What you need to do is find the passagio or curbing at E4. This is not easy to do without someone showing you how. There is a trick to it. once you find the trick you are good to go and you'll be amazed. the KTVA stage 1 video shows you exactly how to do it.

Also - we were all born with the same voice mechanics. You definitely can do this if you want to learn.

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Yeah, doing that slide in a more full tone is pretty easy. Well, maybe harder since we're not in the room with you, but you basically do what guitartrek said, modify the vowel slightly towards Uh and, as you start to approach the top note in that clip, start to restrain or hold your breath ever so slightly so that you don't get too loud and your throat doesn't hurt. There's more to it, but that's a good start. The reason why you're failing at keeping a solid sound all the way from bottom to the top of the slide, is because you're NOT doing those things. It has nothing to do with your particular voice because, contrary to popular belief, everyone can do this and you don't have to be born with this ability.

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I've read around this forum about bridging and connecting, but I don't know if I'm doing it properly. I can do it on some occasions, but I always get a falsetto-ish tone on top. Is this a weak head voice that can be strengthened or am I just bridging to falsetto? At this point I can't imagine being able to sing in a headvoice that is strong and able to blend with my chest voice. Here's a siren from G3 to G4 on 'ah'.

http://www.box.net/shared/xioofz5uj7

i love you folks, "i can't do it." of course you can!

in addition to all the great advice, follow this quick checklist:

warm up!

maintain a relaxed open throat and jaw, everything relaxed.

open your mouth (perhaps more than you think you should, not crazy open, but open ) when you sing this vowel

try "lah" instead of "ah" it may make it easier to launch

configure your mouth as if to yawn, this opens you and raises the soft palate.

tongue flat and forward resting behind lower front teeth

imagine the sound flowing straight up into the soft palate.

gently apply a little ab tensing as you acsend (optional)

vowel modify as described before

i'll bet you'll get it.

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i love you folks, "i can't do it." of course you can!

Exactly. Never tell yourself "I can't". You're giving yourself false justification to not try by telling yourself that. Instead, tell yourself "it will come in time", and truly believe it.

For me personally, when I first started long ago, the mental hurdles were what kept me down the most. Self-consciousness, self-doubt, and the fear of sounding bad will ruin everything. Address these issues very early on.

You have some excellent advice to work with here. Take it and run with it.

I'd like to add something to Videohere's advice on working with the soft palate. As he pointed out, you'll want to go with a yawn configuration. If you find yourself struggling with doing it, give this a try to get the ball rolling..

Pick a single note, then say the phrase "hung-GAH!" to it repeatedly. Place emphasis on the "GAH!!, and aim for as much of an open sound as possible. Say this phrase in almost the same manner you would envision a karate student saying "Hiiiieeee-YAH!!" as he's performing a karate chop.

After you've done this a while and become comfortable with it, try to apply it to singing exercises/scales.

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Hmmm... I've tried to do what all you have said, but probably incorrectly. What keeps happening is that when I approach E4, either I try and hold back the breath a little and my voice cracks, or I try to pull chest and my voice cracks as well. Is the 'passagio' supposed to feel like chest? Or is it something that feels totally foreign? I just recorded a slide on an E3 to E4, which I'm guessing is overdrive? On that note, it feels like I hit a ceiling.

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

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I've tried to do what all you have said, but probably incorrectly.

oh boy, mental attitude adjustment needed for guitarheaven!

what you meant to say was "i tried it again."

yes, and it was 200% better! and depending on the singer, you can be all chest voice up to e4. the ceiling as you call it, is the passagio.

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steve fraser wrote this awesome "passagio 101" lesson in the "contribution" section of the forum. passagio are the notes where you begin a transition from chest to head voice and back to chest voice. you need to learn how to navigate through the passagio to develop a seemless tonal connection with both vocal registers.

rob lunte has that video which helps quite a bit. one bit of advice...if you tense up for it (like i used to) you're not gonna transition.

i give you our fearless founder rob lunte:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8zroG9QWNc

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I can't... I don't have much of a high range. The only way I can sing an E4 without head voice/falsetto is with tons of volume. I'm not sure if i can do what you're saying.

You do can. You just do not have found the way yet. Just have confidence in that it will happen. And the lift up pull back video bob posted just above is very helpful in understanding a way to make it happen :)

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