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Bridging at low volumes is much easier!

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tjw101

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I've found that bridging from chest to head voice at low volumes is so much easier than if I'm trying to do it at full blast gig volume because the volume drop into head voice that I experience as well as change in resonance makes it really obvious and clunky.

Is microphone technique to get increased volume of my head voice the key to a convincing live performance or is it the case that my head voice will eventually be as loud as my chest voice once I have progressed further into the 4 pillars programme? I'm thinking that its the latter of the two?

I found that I was already bridging cleanly at low volumes (probably due to other training I've done before), so I'm now trying to translate that ability into my higher volumes. I wondered if anyone else had the same experience and could point me at the next best step to take to

a) increase my head voice volume/resonance, and

B) improve bridging at high volumes.

I already have the 4 pillars programme so I want to know what I should be focusing on to fix these issues?

Many thanks in advance! and hello to all as I am new here.

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I had the same problem for a while until my head voice became stronger.

The key for me was to find the balance of chest and head with pharyngeal adding the boost to make it sound the same volume.

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It's important to realize, that if you start training at a louder volume, you will ONLY be using a "volume" aspect on the lowest parts of your head voice. There's technique to be gained but it is not very much. When I started out singing in loud volumes, I would try to put a bunch of different techniques into the phrases to make it sound better, but they never did anything. How come? Simply because pushing too loud and hard doesn't facilitate that kind of technique.

If you want to work your entire head voice range, ability to sing soft notes, resonance, bridging to head voice, bridging to blend, or anything else related to head singing, you have to rely on techniques present with lighter volume.

Just something to keep in mind, if you spend twice as much time singing high notes in a lighter voice, than the time spent using a loud voice, your gonna get better, 10 times as fast than the other way around. The point is, an increase in volume does not equal an increase in technique/coordination.

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All depends on the singer and what type they are, some need to sing louder and with more power, while some need to take the light route to get Better.

Thats why there is no "best vocal method" as diffrent people need diffrent things.

I for example bridge with loud volume else My headvoice would sound to falsetto for My own taste. If you practice on singing loud your gonna get Better singing loud, if you practice only light sounds guess what? Your gonna get Better using light sounds :p

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i agree with jens....it has a lot to do with the singer and the intentions of that particular singer.

i train one day heavy and one day light.

i would never rely on a boosted mic to sound better. a heady sound with no fold adduction, no support underneath it will likely end up sounding weak at a louder volume....

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@felipe. I plan to get a couple of vocal clips online soon so I can get some feedback. thank you. watch this space :-)

@Dover. I'm already bridging quite well at low volumes, so if that is going to speed up my progress at higher volumes, that is good, but what exercises do I need to do to achieve this with the higher volume.

@Videohere. I'm a rock singer and I sing a lot. I'm working for power and longevity, so bridging into a quiet head voice at gigs doesn't work and I am still having to pull chest at gigs to get the power. any suggestions for specific areas to focus on so that my head voice get much bigger? which exercises in the 4 pillars will be best for me to do this?

Thanks guys! all advice is appreciated.

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i swear by the descending falsetto slides for improving head voice. there's a post that explains how to do it. if you want to skype with me, i'll run it by you. i also like full power octave slides with a cry all the way up. building power in the upper notes as you know takes a lot of work.

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@ Videohere

Is this the post? or is there a more in depth one?

http://themodernvocalist.punbb-hosting.com/viewtopic.php?id=4097

Its pretty similar to Octave sirens, but doing the descent only?

I suppose my belief before was that mastering the technique was really the main part of getting the sound, but you are saying that you also need to do weeks of strength training for the results to show up? I'm worried that I will do daily exercises that are instilling incorrect muscle memory - is that possible with this exercise?

I'm going to try and do some quick recordings today so will post later, maybe you can let me know if I'm doing them right.

Thanks again.

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@Videohere. I'm a rock singer and I sing a lot. I'm working for power and longevity, so bridging into a quiet head voice at gigs doesn't work and I am still having to pull chest at gigs to get the power. any suggestions for specific areas to focus on so that my head voice get much bigger? which exercises in the 4 pillars will be best for me to do this?

Thanks guys! all advice is appreciated.

Turn up the mic monitor and have the band lower their volume just a little. If asking them nicely doesn't work, then try persauding with a Louisville Slugger. After the bat treatment, find a new band.

Just kidding about the bat thing. But something has to get it through their thick skulls that the voice does not have a knob that goes up to 11 (well, except for my voice, but I am a freak of nature.) I was watching a concert of several bands. Queensryche was performing "I don't Believe in Love." And Geoff Tate did not have to scream. Because the FOH's job depends on having enough vocal mic volume to compete with the other instruments.

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@ Videohere

Is this the post? or is there a more in depth one?

http://themodernvocalist.punbb-hosting.com/viewtopic.php?id=4097

Its pretty similar to Octave sirens, but doing the descent only?

I suppose my belief before was that mastering the technique was really the main part of getting the sound, but you are saying that you also need to do weeks of strength training for the results to show up? I'm worried that I will do daily exercises that are instilling incorrect muscle memory - is that possible with this exercise?

I'm going to try and do some quick recordings today so will post later, maybe you can let me know if I'm doing them right.

Thanks again.

post #3 right....you have to believe in the method and work them day after day. it helped me greatly.

you start off light, but you'll begin to see that your voice begins to adduct up high and the airy sound goes away and gets replaced by a resonant head tone..

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post #3 right....you have to believe in the method and work them day after day. it helped me greatly.

you start off light, but you'll begin to see that your voice begins to adduct up high and the airy sound goes away and gets replaced by a resonant head tone..

yeah, fair enough. Will keep working the twanger! I'm doing a lot of quacking and it is still way too breathy, so hopefully that will all start to go away over the coming weeks. Thanks again!

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