looking for good advice

[rushingcandle]

hello everyone. i came to this forum because i'm really in a rut, if i do say so myself. i'm 18; i started singing when i was 10. i stopped singing once my voice changed at 13. when i finally turned 16, i started looking for ways to get back the power and balance i used to have. i started with singing success; i tried out the whole program, and while it did help me develop my head voice, i thought it focused too much on extending range.

i then found ken tamplin's method, which has helped me tremendously in understanding what i need to do to regain my voice again. he specializes in rock/metal styles, although he also knows a lot about Pop and Soul styles, which is essentially the style i'm looking toward. i've been working with it, and though i feel it's helped me, i can't help but think that throughout exercises i'm subconsciously pulling chest voice even if it doesn't hurt, and my voice is perfectly fine the next day.

this is a clip of me playing around, with SSB; not really paying attention to what key i'm singing it in, but all in all, i need help. i'm almost definitely pulling the stuffing out of my chest voice, based on how i broke after holding out that 'e' vowel. i'm surprised i haven't lost my voice yet or developed nodules, but i certainly do not want to start. all in all though, i want to ask you guys for your feedback and advice on what i can do to improve whatever 'technique' i have left, as i'm not very good at analyzing technicalities in the voice, but would certainly love to learn to do so with you guys.

https://www.box.com/s/b7f07d884a8e34241486

thanks so much.

[izzle1989]

hello everyone. i came to this forum because i'm really in a rut, if i do say so myself. i'm 18; i started singing when i was 10. i stopped singing once my voice changed at 13. when i finally turned 16, i started looking for ways to get back the power and balance i used to have. i started with singing success; i tried out the whole program, and while it did help me develop my head voice, i thought it focused too much on extending range.

i then found ken tamplin's method, which has helped me tremendously in understanding what i need to do to regain my voice again. he specializes in rock/metal styles, although he also knows a lot about Pop and Soul styles, which is essentially the style i'm looking toward. i've been working with it, and though i feel it's helped me, i can't help but think that throughout exercises i'm subconsciously pulling chest voice. i don't want to discount his

this is a clip of me playing around, with SSB; not really paying attention to what key i'm singing it in, but all in all, i need help. i'm almost definitely pulling the stuffing out of my chest voice, based on how i broke after holding out that 'e' vowel. i'm surprised i haven't lost my voice yet or developed nodules. all in all though, i want to ask you guys for your feedback and advice, seeing as this forum is filled with many talented and informed people.

https://www.box.com/s/b7f07d884a8e34241486

thanks so much.

That was pretty good. You have a great tone and resonance to your voice, but it seemed like you lacked legato.

You can improve this and your overall voice by doing anything possible to train you ear and your voice. Start from the foundation of singing which is posture.

1. Posture-Tall with an elevated sternum/Ears over shoulders, shoulders over hips, hips over knees, and knees slightly in front of ankles.

2. Breathing- the breath should travel low in the body, but this will not be possible unless you relax the muscles around the torso. I personally like to stretch the muscles around my torso while taking deep breaths to improve the release of tension during the inhale. One thing to remember when breathing low is to not over exaggerate the motion by collapsing the sternum. Keep the posture from the previous post while releasing the lower torso.

3. Phonation- the onset is the key to setting up the proper type of phonation. The onset should be a balance in between breathy and pressed. I personally like to give myself a reminder of the correct way to phonate by over exaggerating these two co ordinations then finding balance in between. I also like to connect the breath with the tone by using lip rolls. If you can't lip roll you can also use tongue rolls.

4. Resonance- the resonance of your voice is directly affected by the position of the larynx and shape of the vocal tract. Pay special attention to the shape of you mouth when singing certain vowels and pitches. You should be looking for which vowels and consonants cause the most tension the try to modify the vowels that cause problems. Ideally you should be going from an Ah as in father to an Aw as in awful to an uh as in up when ascending the scale. Obviously there is more to this and the changes should not be abrupt, but this will directly help to influence to position of the larynx and keep the vocal tract open.

5. Articulation- When pronouncing certain words/consonants pay attention to your jaw and tongue and check for tension under the chin. I have found that most of people's problems with tension stems from depressing the root of the tongue. You can help to alleviate this by vocalizing with the tongue in between your lips or using the "ng" exercises.

All of these recommendations are pretty generalized, but they do come from my experience with the same problems. Nothing is more important than finding a trained voice teacher that can work with you one on one. There are plenty on this site including the owner.

Good luck and let me know if you run into any problems.

[rushingcandle]

thanks so much for your constructive words and feedback! by legato, do you mean a smooth transition from note to note? and if so, in singing, what are the elements of producing a good legato? does one's articulation affect legato?

[Mr Bounce]

I think you already have a very nice voice. I noticed the pitch first, and second, the phrasing could be smoother (legato).

But that said, you have a really good natural instrument and I hope you keep training and seeing how far you can go!

[izzle1989]

thanks so much for your constructive words and feedback! by legato, do you mean a smooth transition from note to note? and if so, in singing, what are the elements of producing a good legato? does one's articulation affect legato?

All of the things that I mentioned will affect the legato line.

[BrunoFortes]

Excellent voice! Needs more control, though. Keep it going.

[Steven Fraser]

thanks so much for your constructive words and feedback! by legato, do you mean a smooth transition from note to note? and if so, in singing, what are the elements of producing a good legato? does one's articulation affect legato?

rushingcandle: Yes, articulation affects legato. Here are some things that you can practice that will improve your legato:

1) When you sing a syllable of a word, determine which vowel sound you will sustain, and which one(s) you will do very rapidly. Candidates here are all dipthongs and tripthongs. The goal is to sustain the longer sound, and let all the other ones happen as rapidly as possible.

2) Whenever possible, make the consonants short in duration, but long enough to be clear. Of consonants, the ones most often done too-shortly are M and N.

3) Look at each verse, or chorus of a song, and decide which phrase you want loudest, for whatever reason your interpretive sensitivites indicate. Within each phrase, decide the starting volume, the 'top' volume, and how you will finish.

This analysis will help you understand when a note must crescendo in its middle, when it should sustain its volume, and when it should diminish in volume during its length. This decision, note by note in a phrase, helps the singer plan where crescendos should be placed in the line to support the interpretive (expressive) intent.

4) To support the performance of #1, practice a line of text from a song, and sing it 'out of time', with no regard to rhythm, but sustaining all the chosen vowels, and rapidly pronouncing the shorter ones.

5) to practice #2, sing the same text in time, making all the consonants take minimal time, and the vowels sustained.

6) to practice #3, put a dynamic plan in the score or lead-sheet you are using, to indicate the volume levels and transitions you have chosen. Go back, and sing the whole thing on a single, sustained vowel (pick your fave) and do the volume plan. When you can sing it to your satisfaction that way, pick a different vowel and repeat.

Then, go back and sing the verse with just the vowels, no consonants. You will likely laugh when you do this... its way funny, but will help you learn that attention to the vowels will help you work the text into your voice. Also, it will reveal those places where you simply must breathe.

7 Finally, put all these skills together. Start at your chosen volume, and, (sustaining the emphasized vowels and minimizing the others), move from syllable to syllable with the consonants rhythmically and clearly placed. Work your dynamic plan.

The result will be wel on the way to a nice legato.

I hope this is helpful.

[rushingcandle]

thank you so much for the feedback, everyone, it means quite a lot! c: - i really appreciate it, and will work with what steven fraser and izzle have suggested. and steven fraser, those tips actually really make sense! i will work those into a song and see if i can find an opportunity to upload a clip once i find the opportunity to.

[izzle1989]

You are very welcome :cool:

[Anders]

Great voice but you need to work on pitch. I heard you shift through many keys but the funny thing is that you actually ended in the same key that you started.

To me pitch is not important at your stage but it will be. Great voice but you need to work on pitch try to find a band to sing in. Or even better record yourself if you have the opportunity. If you do you will sooner or later hear what is wrong. But as I said. You have a great voice to start with.

[rushingcandle]

agreed. i wasn't paying much attention to pitch on this one, so i expected fluctuations with pitch, but generally my pitch issues usually extend to being sharp or flat at times more than key changes. either way i could benefit from some good ear training to help hear intervals better.

[izzle1989]

agreed. i wasn't paying much attention to pitch on this one, so i expected fluctuations with pitch, but generally my pitch issues usually extend to being sharp or flat at times more than key changes. either way i could benefit from some good ear training to help hear intervals better.

Don't worry about this too much. You pitch will improve as you are able to better control your voice.

Trainear.com is a great tool.