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CVT modes sounding pressed?

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benny82

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Currently we have an interesting discussion on CVT in a German board where I post a lot, and a lot of the guys and girls there say that the centered CVT modes sound pressed and not freely vibrating to their ears.

I did an example and I'm pretty much sure that I am not pressing, just centering Overdrive on a G#4.

So the question to the CVT guys: Do you ever use centered modes in actual singing? Do you share the opinion that the centered modes kind of sound like too much compression?

Personally, I think I don't ever use centered CVT modes. I always use a somewhat lower Larynx than the centered mode which makes my voice vibrate more freely and gives me better vibrato. However, It DOES make accessing the modes more difficult, as it is not centered.

So here is the example. The first one is me, the second is from the CVT library. Overdrive on G#4 (I think).

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/69231116/OverdriveGis.mp3

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Yes, it definitely wasn't pressed by me, but a lot of people, even experienced teachers, say that it sounds pressed, or for a better word, like too much compression.

It is also hard to get a vibrato going in that coordination. For that I have to lower the larynx more and relase some of the compression, which also increases demand on support.

I'm under the impression that the centers of the mode are setups that are spefically efficient for the given vowel but are most often not what you actually use in singing. But if you use the centers as a starting point and then slowly modify towards your desired sound you get a phonation that is as efficient as possible with respect to the vowel and the sound you desire.

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I'm under the impression that the centers of the mode are setups that are spefically efficient for the given vowel but are most often not what you actually use in singing.

That depends. A singer rarely only uses one mode. They most often use several modes during a song depending on lyrics, interpretations etc. :)

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The centers of the modes are good for three or four things IMO:

1. Practice

Getting familiar with the extremities of the voice in every direction. Coupled with the 6 variables of color, the centers is a very good analysis of the different "areas" of the voice.

2. Warmup

Reminding yourself of those different areas/extremities

3. Bad equipment/monitoring etc.

Knowing that if you cant hear yourself in a loud environment, you will be relatively safe in overdrive/edge.

4 It can be a shortcut to learning how to sing: I know this will be considered a controversial statement in here:

If you stay in one mode, you will not experience any passagio.

In my experience, once you're familiar with the centers, you can begin to play with volume and color.

The problem occurs if you think of the modes as "Gears" because holding on to that image leads to a very rigid way of singing.

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