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Ozone

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Hey, I'm new to the forum. I've been singing for a while now. Well actually I've been singing for a couple years now, but just now I've decided to take this singing thing seriously and try and become a better vocalist.

Actually, I'm just a 17 year old guitarist :D who got stuck as the lead singer of my band cause we couldn't find a good lead vocalist. And cause the other guys felt that I was the best singer of the bunch, I got thrown in front of the mic....

I don't have a vocal couch just get, but I've got pretty good pitch(if I do say so myself...). I know the difference between head voice, chest voice falsetto and all of that stuff. I've been having some trouble nailing those high notes(go figure :D). My range (without breaking in to falsetto or head voice) is from about D2 to (when I'm really warmed up) C5. I'm most comfortable in the C3-F4 range. I think I'm a baritone, not sure thought.....The one thing whats really confusing is that everyone on the internet (well, every male singer at least) says that their "breaking point" is at E4-F4. So when I sing those high notes(ie. A5-C5) before my break am I belting chest tones or am I in fact singing in my mix? (Sorry if that didn't make any sense, I'm kinda new to vocalist-lingo :D).

I've recorded myself (with my cellphone..) singing those high notes and they sound pretty decent and don't seem forced. However, sing an B or C5 doesn't feel that great.... Sometimes my larynx rises up quite a lot(feels like I'm choking...), and the tone isn't ideal. It sounds (and feels) a bit thin and doesn't have a lot of power. My neck tenses up a little and I just doesn't feel "right". It's not like it's causing any pain or anything like that :D but it sure as hell does't feel good. Do you have any exercises etc. to help with stabilizing my larynx and singing high notes with power ?

Another problem I'm having is with my head voice. I'm 99% sure that I'm singing in head voice but the problem is that I can't seem to get rid of that opera tone... I can't think of any uses of head voice in my bands music (we're a 70s-80s style rock band). It only sounds appropriate when singing along to Queen songs :D. So, how can I get that Robert Plant/Joe Elliot/David Coverdale type of tone in head voice?

I know the short answer to all of these questions is probably "get a vocal coach" but do you guys have any tips etc. for me before getting a couch. (Nearly all of the vocal coaches in my area are on summer holiday right now and I think I'll get a couch sometime in August.).

Thanks for any advice in advance.

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Don't have any software or hardware for that :(..... But I'll try to put something together tomorrow. I'm not doubting you or anything cause you obviously have more experience than me :D, but is in necessary to have a clip of me singing in head voice? Also, if I can manage to record something what should I do? Sing some scales or just show you the high notes?

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Don't have any software or hardware for that :(..... But I'll try to put something together tomorrow. I'm not doubting you or anything cause you obviously have more experience than me :D, but is in necessary to have a clip of me singing in head voice? Also, if I can manage to record something what should I do? Sing some scales or just show you the high notes?

You have to post a clip or else the comments will not be beneficial for you.

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Just found out I could use my Mac's internal mic and record via soundcloud! So, here it is.... It's a bit rough, but gimme a break :D It's 12:15 pm here and I've got to go to work tomorrow morning :D

http://soundcloud.com/ozone123/0910919291293128412749124912-1

Those high notes sound really embarrassing and thin :D But what the hell, what you've gotta do is what you've gotta do.... So are those in my chest voice or mix. There're definitely not in my head voice because I can't transition from chest to head without a break in my voice yet :|

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Don't have any software or hardware for that :(..... But I'll try to put something together tomorrow. I'm not doubting you or anything cause you obviously have more experience than me :D, but is in necessary to have a clip of me singing in head voice? Also, if I can manage to record something what should I do? Sing some scales or just show you the high notes?

People's words are often different than how they sound. One guy here was sure he was a heavy baritone but finally hearing a recording of him showed no such heaviness.

Tenor is approximately C3 to C5. F4 is your 1st passaggio, common for tenors. C5, you are not in chest, whether you think so, or not. In fact, you transitioning somewhat into head somewhere between F4 and G4. What's happening at about C5 to D5 is a tonal shift in just about all singers. It's a physics thingy. It's what most people mistake for head voice or falsetto. Falsetto is, to me, a tonal quality and some have defined it as being without much resonance or containing a lot of air in the sound. When you sing above C5, do you hear a lot of air or is it just "lighter" than you expect? If there is not a lot of air, it is a head note.

Don't worry about the "quality" of your singing. Go ahead and post. This place is has a number of people willing to help. All you have to do is pick what works for you.

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Hey, I'm new to the forum. I've been singing for a while now. Well actually I've been singing for a couple years now, but just now I've decided to take this singing thing seriously and try and become a better vocalist.

Actually, I'm just a 17 year old guitarist :D who got stuck as the lead singer of my band cause we couldn't find a good lead vocalist. And cause the other guys felt that I was the best singer of the bunch, I got thrown in front of the mic....

I don't have a vocal couch just get, but I've got pretty good pitch(if I do say so myself...). I know the difference between head voice, chest voice falsetto and all of that stuff. I've been having some trouble nailing those high notes(go figure :D). My range (without breaking in to falsetto or head voice) is from about D2 to (when I'm really warmed up) C5. I'm most comfortable in the C3-F4 range. I think I'm a baritone, not sure thought.....The one thing whats really confusing is that everyone on the internet (well, every male singer at least) says that their "breaking point" is at E4-F4. So when I sing those high notes(ie. A5-C5) before my break am I belting chest tones or am I in fact singing in my mix? (Sorry if that didn't make any sense, I'm kinda new to vocalist-lingo :D).

I've recorded myself (with my cellphone..) singing those high notes and they sound pretty decent and don't seem forced. However, sing an B or C5 doesn't feel that great.... Sometimes my larynx rises up quite a lot(feels like I'm choking...), and the tone isn't ideal. It sounds (and feels) a bit thin and doesn't have a lot of power. My neck tenses up a little and I just doesn't feel "right". It's not like it's causing any pain or anything like that :D but it sure as hell does't feel good. Do you have any exercises etc. to help with stabilizing my larynx and singing high notes with power ?

Another problem I'm having is with my head voice. I'm 99% sure that I'm singing in head voice but the problem is that I can't seem to get rid of that opera tone... I can't think of any uses of head voice in my bands music (we're a 70s-80s style rock band). It only sounds appropriate when singing along to Queen songs :D. So, how can I get that Robert Plant/Joe Elliot/David Coverdale type of tone in head voice?

I know the short answer to all of these questions is probably "get a vocal coach" but do you guys have any tips etc. for me before getting a couch. (Nearly all of the vocal coaches in my area are on summer holiday right now and I think I'll get a couch sometime in August.).

Thanks for any advice in advance.

Based on the clip, I can safely say you actually don't 100% know what you think you know. The beauty of singing is that vocal truth is like peeling the layers of an onion. You think you understand it, but gradually you discover more and more and more. Don't confuse your lack to produce something with the idea that it can't be done or isn't out there like so many think.

Firstoff, your chest voice. In the clip you are digging into maybe 5-10% of your voice AT best. This might not currently make sense to you, but it will dawn to you over time. This chest voice builds a foundation for the high notes, if done correctly. If you get enough grounding in your chest voice (enough, not too much), your larynx won't feel pushed to rise, and it will naturally thin out some to allow head voice musculature to come in.

The very fact that you think you know this is chest voice, is slowing you down. At this stage my best recommendation is not to make any assumptions about your voice yet, but trust the experience & guidance of a vocal coach or some people who know a lot about the voice and can put their money where their mouth is.

Since the lower chest notes are weak, the medium and high notes were all falsetto (which you mistake for chest voice). It's irrelevant to think of yourself as any fach yet, and I wouldn't allow anyone to label you until way later into your carreer. Then your vocal color might determine your song choice, combined with were your voice wants to sit. Right now you need to DISCOVER your voice.

As far as the mix goes... it's not really this mistery or magic place like a lot of people make it out to be. All it is, is that your voice should always have a correct ratio of chest musculature, head musculature, and twang or pharyngeal. But even this is too theoretical. Practically you just exercise your butt off around your passagio range, playing with vowels, trying to take up more chest, running scales from top to bottom, etc...

Remember that ALL elements in your voice are interrelated. When I practise a lot of twang/pharyngeal exercises, it's gonna make my headvoice more pingy, and my chest vowels might get more bright naturally. When I exercise a lot of headvoice, my chest voice might be more dampened and subdued. You attack the voice from every angle until it falls into proper balance.

Record yourself on a 5 tone scale taking the vowel A up. Start from your bottom range to your high range. Listen back carefully, and analyse yourself. Where are you TRULY in chestvoice in your opinion? Where are you in "mix"? Where are you in head? What are you doing good, what are you doing wrong? Developping a critical ear like this is CRUCIAL if you even wanna attempt to train yourself without a teacher. Lets see what comes out of this little experiment.

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The fact that you are singing in a band I wouldn't try to figure out if you were a baritone or tenor. Those classifications are used for classical/choral singers. If I were you I would do what all your favorite singers did at your age and that's sing your favorite songs experiment with your voice. The way to becoming a good singer is singing. As far as advice if you want to learn some technique but dont have a teacher just take the 5 tone scale start on c below middle c and take it up on ah eh ee oh oo each vowel, start solid not to loud and not soft be confident, when you get to where you can seem to go any higher go back down. Make sure you take a good low breath don't raise your shoulders or chest.And don't get louder as you get higher. Do this for 20 min before you start singing songs then sing some songs. That's a good start have fun

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To me it sounded like you sang the second arpeggio (C4 to C5) in a light head voice. And on the first arpeggio (C3 to C4) you cracked on C4 which makes me think that is the point at which you are transitioning to the head voice. If you want to develop a "single register" where it sounds like chest throughout your entire range, the quickest way is with a teacher that knows what they are doing. There are plenty of them right here on the forum. But even with a teacher it is going to take A LOT of work and dedication. Good luck.

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Thanks for all the responses. I've gotta couple of questions :

Elrathion:

Firstoff, your chest voice. In the clip you are digging into maybe 5-10% of your voice AT best. This might not currently make sense to you, but it will dawn to you over time. This chest voice builds a foundation for the high notes, if done correctly. If you get enough grounding in your chest voice (enough, not too much), your larynx won't feel pushed to rise, and it will naturally thin out some to allow head voice musculature to come in.

Okay, I hear you but could you clarify what you mean by digging in? Sing with more volume, focus more on singing from my diaphragm? I get that you're telling me not to focus on the terminology, but I can't help it :D

Also, how do I develop a better chest voice? Just by singing scales over and over again? Or is there something I can do sometimes as an alternative?

Again, thanks a lot for the responses, maybe now I can start really taking control over my voice.

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my suggestion is not a popular one, but you build a chest voice my slowly and gradually singing strongly and with support through basic scales.

each day you practise, you run the voice up the scale till you cannot go anymore without straining. you do this day in and day out.

obviously there's more to it than that, but that's at the core of it.

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Got it, thanks. I'm gonna follow all your advice and start practicing more with scales and start focusing more on my overall voice. I've actually been singing from about 6 pm today till now (=about 7 hours in total). Not non-stop though..

I'm going to try and remember to post back an update in a week or two and see if I've made any progress.. Can't wait....

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remember Ozone, it's quality before quantity. Focused practise for 20 mins trumphs 6 hours of wailing away at a karaoke or at scales without any concrete direction to where you are taking this.

You need to brace yourself for the long run too. I think the golden 21 day rule really works in singing. 21 days to learn a new habbit. Since you have a lot of habbits to learn and unlearn, don't expect 5 minute fixes :p

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remember Ozone, it's quality before quantity. Focused practise for 20 mins trumphs 6 hours of wailing away at a karaoke or at scales without any concrete direction to where you are taking this.

You need to brace yourself for the long run too. I think the golden 21 day rule really works in singing. 21 days to learn a new habbit. Since you have a lot of habbits to learn and unlearn, don't expect 5 minute fixes :P

And the clouds part, and the sun shines, and the angels sing "Amen!"

This was part of Caruso's "secret." Doing things correctly, which came with great concentration, whether it was scale work, breathing work, rehearsing a song, actually performing the song.

I had not heard about the 21 day thing. My understanding of operant conditioning comes from dog training. I trained my dog. There have been times when he squared off against another dog and I command off and he breaks off in mid-snarl.

Point being that the focus should be changing habits rather than "breaking" habits. The good thing should become the new habit, reinforced by reward. The old habit extinguishes from lack of use, because of lack of reward.

So, when one is wanting to improve a skill or thing, keep your focus on the right thing that you want to become a habit, rather than focusing on stopping the old thing. Any stopping is stress. Brake pads, muscle strain, impact, what-have-you.

And more to the point of your post, Ela, doing the right thing. Stop when you get tired or start to revert to the old thing. Beginning singers should practice in short spurts. You will actually achieve quicker results that way. By only doing the right thing when you practice a short time, each time, the "right" thing becomes a habit. Ancilliary to that should be the recognition of when you are getting tired. Don't push it. Learn to recognize exhaustion and give it a rest, literally.

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