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blackeyed28

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Everything posted by blackeyed28

  1. first of all, i apologize if this is in the wrong forum. i wasn't exactly sure where it belongs. i've been using IEMs for awhile now and i personally like them and feel they have improved my vocal technique by hearing pitch easier, not straining to hear myself, etc. i use shure SCL5 earbuds w/the black foam and a senn IEM wireless. the other day i noticed something very strange. i also play bass guitar and it felt like my bass was out of tune. i checked tuning and it was correct. i would play a riff and notice certain notes to be sharp (by relative pitch perception, knowing how the riff is supposed to sound, etc). it was really strange. i double checked my tuning, ...it was fine. i even pulled out my earbuds and put them up next to the tuner (w/mic) and checked my earsbuds, ...they were fine. i put them back in and some of the notes sounded sharp (not all, just a few. example: F2~G2 were sharp, ..yet F3~G3 was OK). then, i tried something else, ...i took the earbuds out of my ear canal, ..but put them close enough to my ears where i could hear them, ..but they weren't sealed... everything sounded OK. this was really freaking me out... i could hold a certain note and push the earsbuds back in, ..sealing the canal, ..and the pitch would go sharp. i was honestly terrified since i'm the lead vocalist. so, anyway, it was late, ..so i put them down and thought to myself i would try and figure this out the next day. well, the next day, ..everything was fine. this was only a few days ago, ..but i haven't reproduced it since. so, my question to the experts, ...does ear canal pressure have anything to do with perception of pitch ?? i've been dealing with a lot of sinus issues/congestion lately... so maybe that contributed. thanks.
  2. re: the hinder vid clip i posted: i saw hinder for the first time last night (opened up for motley crue), ...he screamed his head off all night long and it didn't seem to bother him at all. it sounded as if he was shredding his cords, ...but i guess not if he's doing this night after night and his last song was as strong as his first. sounded pretty cool IMHO. also probably worth mentioning that vince was showing his range a lot last night. i've seen crue probably ever tour since theater of pain and he was singing higher and holding notes longer than ever. it was almost like he was showing off that he could do it (whereas on previous tours, he would seemingly struggle with the higher notes, and most of the time, wouldn't sing them at all).
  3. here is a better vid of what hinder is doing: (i think he suffers an aneurysm at 3:59) i'm interested to hear if the coaches think this is a healthy grit or not. i used to sing this song every gig and i would add grit and, for me, i had to be very careful not to get too carried away. i find if i get the gritty tone by "pushing" or "forcing", ..i'm in trouble by the end of the night, ..but i've found if i apply the grit without any push or force, ...i'm ok (usually). it's sometimes harder said than done, ..especially "in the moment" of a live gig.
  4. thanks. and, yes, i'm still ironing out tension issues which does cause loss of diction up in the high parts. since that video was shot, i've been working mostly with the pillars system and it's really helped extend and condition that part of my range. now, when i'm "on", i can sing those notes with ease and there is no loss of diction. it really feels great. last night i sang song after song from queensryche, journey, skid row, etc and it was just flowing out with ease. i honestly never imaged i would be able to sing those songs. i wish every night could be like last night. i suppose it's only practice until it's consistent, ..so i keep at it. yes, as rychemaiden said, it was featured in the move "Rockstar". it's originally written/recorded by steelheart.
  5. very, very impressive. it's nice to put a voice to a face!!
  6. beyondtenor, thanks for replying. i think you're right in that it is very tense/constricted. i've been focusing on using the same coordinate as in that video, ..but trying to reduce tension (as well as being very aware of larynx position). i've been singing for so long and have so many bad habits that, for me, ...it's a mental "david vs. golliath" to try and release/relax. but, i feel i'm really understanding so much more about my voice and i feel i have a good direction. i thank all the very generous people here for that. i've been moving this week, so my schedule has been all out of whack, ..but in just the short amount of time i feel i've made a lot of progress. here is a new video. i wanted to record something that challenged my range. i still have tension issues, ..but a lot less than before. i'm'also making progress in my breath support. as always, i'm open for all comments, suggestions, criticisms. anything that will help me. my current training is a mix of PILLARS and SS, ..in case anyone is interested. http://www.blackeyedsusan.cc/SS/SOhanian-WeAllDieYoung.wmv
  7. elrathion, thanks for the info. it's all making much more sense now. it just took a lot of effort, ..and it could wear me out quickly. i would get sore in my diaphragm, ..as my whole chest was very tense. also, too much of the high stuff also seemed to strain my voice and took a recovery period. but, i'm now realizing a lot of the "effort / strain / fatigue" was not necessary. now that i have a clear direction, and i've begun practicing and applying what i've learned to this coordination, ...just in this last weekend, i can sing in this mixed voice as loudly or softly as i desire. before, for whatever reason, i tensed up my entire chest (upper and lower) and increased volume as going up, ...but it turns out just to be bad habits (probably from pulling chest years ago). i think this control will reduce the strain and (hopefully) eliminate the "recovery" period. i still have a few problems to work out: 1. tension: somewhere after high C, ..my throat muscles tighten up and i'm fairly sure that's why i can't extend range past that point. i'm trying to work on this, ..as i want a few more notes of range. if i can get that, i'll be very content. 2. larynx control: again, when i'm moving up over high C, my larynx raises to the point of constricting. i can control this to an extent by faking a yawn as i feel it closing off, ..and i feel it drop a bit and i immediately get a tone/edge back in my voice (instead of the squeezed weak tone). i need to make this more automatic. 3. consistency / confidence: obvious the best part, is that i feel a sense of clear direction, ..and i'm already seeing progress. that was the purpose of this thread to begin with. thanks everyone.
  8. the first sentence is what i do now. it takes a lot of energy. a lot more than what "SLS/SS" seems to advertise. maybe the key (for me, at least) is to keep working the scales to gain strength and coordination, ...figure out how to consistently release the tensions i still do have, ..and then maybe it will become much easier over time (almost as easy as speaking, hopefully). that's kind of where i feel like i am now. thanks!
  9. when investigating SS/SLS, ...i was convinced i was singing incorrectly. i wanted the promise of more range with no strain, no tension, sing as easy as if you were speaking. i can hit some high notes, ..on some nights they come easy, ...on most nights they don't, ...on other nights not at all, ...most every performance comes with a strained voice the next day. on further investigating, ...SLS, SS, Pillars, etc, ...they talked about adducting the vocal folds to get full voice in head voice. well, since i can easily sing any journey, skid row, queensryche, etc song in falsetto without any strain whatsoever (although it sounds terrible in falsetto), ..i thought, wow, if i learn to adduct, i can sing with the ease and freedom of falsetto, ..but it will sound good (full voice). that's why i'm here. now, if i'm already singing correctly, ..but just with bad habbits. hey, that's fine, ..i want to learn to fix. but until i posted that video, ..i assumed i was pulling chest and i was doing it all wrong... and i couldn't get my falsetto to adduct to full voice, ..therefore i was getting frustrated. make sense ??
  10. i'm a little hesitant to post this, ...because it's really too early to tell, ..but steven, maybe you were right about those top notes being headvoice after all. i assumed it wasn't b/c it (1) took a lot of effort (strain in my lower and upper chest area) and i've read it's supposed to feel as easy and free as falsetto, (2) it feels like the same "coordination" as chest (falsetto feels completely different), but instead, ..when i increase pitch in chest, ..i just keep going to get to those higher notes, and (3) i can only go up to a high C when singing in this coordination. but, something interesting happened yesterday which confused (and excited) me. i was practicing my scales as usual, ..and really concentrating on breath support. results were fairly typical. i then decided to sing a few songs by myself, ..and i sang that very song in the video the same way. again, i was pushing very hard with my entire chest when hitting the top notes, ...but with a relaxed throat as much as possible. i then started working on the same coordination, the same song, ..but i focused on complete relaxation to see if it was possible. i then realized (at least yesterday), ..that i could completely relax and hit the same notes. the extra tension might just very well be a "bad habbit". i tried to sing even higher and i could. i've never sang this high in this coordination before. then it kind of hit me, ...maybe this is the headvoice (or mix) after all, ..and i just need to focus on relaxing even more to open up more range. it kind of makes sense, ...b/c relaxing is what opened up this part of my range to begin with. like i said, it's really too early to know, ...maybe this was kinda of a fluke/"good day", ...and then last night we played a crazy high energy NYE show, ..and old habbits came back and i strained my voice a bit (still struggling with that). i'm going to give it a few days of rest and then experiment more with this. oh, i forgot to mention one thing. when singing the higher notes, ...i was also concentrating on breath support. so, i was not only focused on trying to relax more, ...but i was barely using any breath. in fact, the sensation was almost that i was sucking in. i absolutely was NOT doing that...but laying off that much kind of made it feel like that. anyway, ...my journey continues... i'm hoping this is a new "breakthrough", ..but i've struck "fools gold" a few times already on this journey, ..so i have my doubts. hope everyone had a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
  11. steven, thanks always for listening and helping. i'm currently not doing any breathing exercises, ...although i always try and inhale deep into the diaphram when singing/training. fyi, the couple of times i think i was able to "connect" (mentioned previously),. ..i was in a laying down position with a pillow supporting my head. i took a deep breath into my diaphram and exhaled it without any push (sort of let gravity do it's thing). i was trying to relax everything as much as possible. however, i don't normally practice like this. i just happened to be lying in bed that night. i'll experiment with the passagio approach.
  12. real quick: you can try the files again... the apostrophe got stripped... so i removed it from the files. thanks for the quick response... i'm reading
  13. thank you, ..but i really don't think it's headvoice. it might be a "mix" since i'm not really sure what that is. but, when i hit those higher notes, ..i feel i'm still in the chest coordination, ..so it's a struggle, ..and i'm also pushing very hard from what feels like my entire chest and diaphragm. when i mentioned "i've learned to relax on the high notes", ...i'm really speaking to all of the throat muscles that i used to squeeze. i can only go up to a high C in that configuration. and i should also mention, ..when i'm approaching high C, ...i have to really concentrate or it will start to fall apart, ..and then i get nervous and will compensate by really pushing/squeezing, ..and then my voice is GONE for a few days. now, when i'm working the SS/SLS trills and nays, ..i can hit all those notes without ANY tension. and there is the classic break (that i've really worked to minimized), ..and then *poof* i'm in headvoice, ..but it's more falsetto-ish than full voiced. plus, i can go much higher than high C in this coordination. in fact, the higher, ..the easier and the more full voiced it sounds. for example (and please don't laugh)... here are 2 examples i made of really high stuff: the falsetto version: http://www.blackeyedsusan.cc/SS/She'sGone_Falsetto.MP3 and up high, i can twang it (or adduct it??) to this: http://www.blackeyedsusan.cc/SS/She'sGone_WhatIsThis.MP3 now, honestly, i have little use for that high of a range with the material we play. i've been just experimenting and trying to figure things out. i want the notes to sound like an extension, ..one full voice all the way to the top. i'm happy with the tone of what you heard in that video, ..although maybe a little nasal sounding. BUT, i'm looking to hit the notes approaching high C and beyond without all the tension. this is what SS/SLS seems to promise, ...so i've been working on it ever since i found it.
  14. this is interesting, and brings up more questions, ...when i sing, i feel a definite "switch" between headvoice and chest voice. i have no idea what the "the mix" or "middle register" would feel like, or sound like. i assumed this is because i'm not "connecting" to my head voice, ..but instead "flipping" into falsetto. so, the questions 1. when you are connected, i assume "the mix" (or middle register) is just a smooth blending of the two registers. and you no longer get the sensation of a "switch" that occurs at the passagio. is this true ?? OR, do you definitely feel a switch at some point. 2. if you watch the video clip in the previous post, ...i hit some higher pitched notes, ..am i pulling chest ?? i think so, but wanted to ask to be sure. years ago, i was not able to sing those notes at all. i eventually learned (on my own) to relax and lay off the higher notes, ...instead of straining/pushing/etc which would close off my throat. now that i'm able relax, i'm able to hit those notes and i'm using less air that before. if i sing that song over and over, it actually starts wearing out my abdominal muscles, ..not my throat/chin/etc. my question is, ..is this still considered "pulling chest" ?? or is this some kind of mix ?? again, THANKS to ALL of you for your help!! i realize i'm asking beginner questions while the rest of you are tackling advanced topics. i appreciate you ALL taking the time to help me. i've been slowly buying your books, DVDs, etc b/c i want to show you support too (so far i have SS, pillars, and raise your voice).
  15. here are a couple of mp3s i made the other night. instead of pushing, i stopped my lip rolls when i started feeling a little squeeze (around E over high C): http://www.blackeyedsusan.cc/SS/12-27-08_LipRolls.MP3 same with my nays: http://www.blackeyedsusan.cc/SS/12-27-08_Nays.MP3 notes: 1. i feel my lip rolls have really smoothed out. initially, i had big problems with an obvious tone shift during my first break (sounded like a flip to falsetto to me). i concentrated on larynx position, relaxing, not pushing, ..and daily practice. 2. these nays are the "extra nasty" flavor. for those without the SS program, ...bret manning wants you to practice nays (at first) with a very nasty tone to keep connected across the break. please dont think i really sound that way. 3. with all the xmas festivities, i was exhuasted and fell asleep early. i woke up in middle of the night and recorded these mp3s, ...so my voice is rather rough (morning voice). enjoy! edit: i thought i would add a short video of how i currently sing. this is just me, a guitar, and a video camera, ...no efx, no nothing, ...just a raw guitar and vocal. this is one of the more upper range songs, ..and so this is a pretty good example of "pulling chest". i've been pulling chest for 15 years, ...so i've learned to relax (as much as possible) as i apporach the higher parts, ..but i still hit a hard wall around high C. http://www.blackeyedsusan.cc/SS/SkidRow-PullingChest.wmv
  16. yes, i agree. i was feeling tightness on the high parts, ...and (right or wrong) i'm becoming more larynx aware, ...and my larynx was shooting waaay high on those high parts too. i was fairly confident i was flipping into falsetto, ...and i was unsure if i should keep on practicing this way (b/c i was seeing progress as my break wasn't as noticeable as it used to be). OR, if i needed to just put these scales on hold until i was connecting (and not flipping). LATEST UPDATE: i'm still having major problems connecting. even though i miraculously connected one night (i think), ..and probably 2 nights since then, ...it's always a struggle, ...and i spend a huge part of my practices making weird noises (vocal fry, sirens, lip rolls, etc), ..just trying to connect. sometimes i think i'm making progress b/c i get this scratchy kind of slightly-connected tone that feels layered on top of a falsetto tone in the head register. when this coordination happens, the nays tend to have this extra resonance as i'm going through the scales. i'm not sure what is going on with my cords, or if this is the direction i should be headed in, or not. BUT, on a couple of occasions, ..i have managed to latch on to something completely different, ...that is very clean, ..higher pitched, ...takes little breath, ..yet is much louder. however, it feels like i'm walking on a tightrope and i couldn't imagine ever being able to control that. i only get this coordination trying to latch on to a crinkle using a vocal fry (watch bret's top 3 vocal exercises on youtube and he explains this technique). it has a similar sensation to talking with a bubble in your throat (if you've ever had that happen before). very hard to describe. if it ever happens again, i'll try and record it. thank YOU all for helping! i'll record my nays and lip rolls, ..and then i'll try and record that "extra resonance" type of tone i mentioned above. all help is VERY MUCH appreciated. this is all so much more complicated, technical, and frustrating than i ever imagined. haha. i'm usually a very fast learner, ..and very intuative (even musically, i played piano as a kid, ..and have since picked up guitar, bass, and drums on my own by just watching and imitating). bridging and connecting is still a mystery. i can pull chest with the best of them, ..and then easily hit a very high pitch pinched-falsetto high note (or maybe it's a twang falsetto high note). BUT, my goal is to sing across the bridge into a full voiced headvoice. if i could correctly sing "lights" by journey before i die, ..i will die very happy.
  17. to all the vocal coaches: are some people "born with" adduction in the head voice ?? ..and the less fortunate others (like me), have to struggle to learn this coordination. i was just curious b/c when i was in college (and playing/singing in a rock band), ..the band next door to us (we practiced in a self-storage space) had just found this 16 year-old kid who they claim could "sing circles around sebastian bach". i said "cool, i'll come by and check him out", ...but i was thinking "no f**king way". he had never been in a band, had no singing experience, ...just a kid who was a friend of a friend of a friend. anyway, i showed up to hang out and, wow, ...the kid could sing. skid row, queensryche, dokken, ...you name, the kid could sing it, ..and there was no strain. i realize now that he obviously had a strong, fully adducted head voice, ...so i've probably already answered my question, ..b/c he was obviously "born with it". so now my question is, ...if some are "born with it", ..can those of us that aren't "born with it" ever reach that level by practicing/training ?? robert lunte: i wish you had a clip of randy singing "take hold of the flame" on day 1 at TVS, ..and day 90, ...and day 180, ...and so on. i would love to see what natural ability he had, ..and then how he progressed. i aspire to be able to sing that song some day.
  18. i've seen a few posts on other message boards that debate this. some say if you practce scales in falsetto,. ..you're only going to strengthen the falsetto coordination and the coordinate to adduct (into full voice) won't just happen over time. others say (and i've seen instructional video too) that if the "flip" happens, ...don't worry about it. eventually, over time and practice, your break will smooth out and erase itself. comments ??
  19. thanks steven and CotU, ...it was definitely exciting. it was interesting how the muscle memory kept the coordination as i changed exercises last night, ...but, this morning, i was having trouble again. i don't really like to practice in the mornings, ..so i will try again tonight. i know what to do now, ..so i assume it will be repeatable. if it was just a fluke, ..and i can't repeat last nights performance, ...i think i'm going to rip out my throat with my bare hands like patrick swayze did to that guy in the movie "road house". haha.
  20. UPDATE: ok, for those following along my new journey, ..i'm pretty confident i finally connected tonight. i knew i was still "flipping" into falsetto, ...although the break had been reduced so dramatically that i could "step over it" on many of the SS exercises. when "pillars" arrived, the constant breath exercises more exposed my little break. so, i followed hilary's advice with sirens in "eh", kept working lip rolls, started working pillar exercises, ....and what finally did it for me was the vocal fry. this is where you start with the vocal fry, ..which is where your cords are together, ...and you slide up and try and keep the cords together. this took 454035834058 tries, ..but finally i caught one, ..and it was a MUCH different experience/sensation than my falsetto (even tweaked falsetto) tone. after repeating this several time, ...i knew i was on to something. i then immediately tried what hillary suggested, ...worked perfectly. i did a quick scale of "nays" and it was completely connected. i did try some low larynx exercises ("mums"), ..and i realize i still have a LONG, LONG, LONG way to go. but, it's all making much more sense now. what's strikes me as funny is this: i was so frustrated with the SS/SLS system b/c bret manning would talk about "discovering" your head voice. i didn't want to "discover" anything, ...i wanted instructions on how to get there from here. but, actually, that's exactly what happened. it took a lot of listening to my voice, trying things over and over even though it felt like i wasn't getting anywhere, ..and then in the end, it felt just like a "discovery".
  21. i tried this exercise last night. even though my break has been reduced from the grand canyon to a ditch, ..i'm finding it very hard to pitch slide across it. impossible actually. i can do it but there is a definite, noticable, shift of gears. i'll keep working. this is really good to hear. i don't mind having to work/practice to get there, ...i was just terrified i was on the wrong path and would never reach my destination. thanks for your feedback also, ...i did work on this yesterday too. i was trying to stick to the scale with the low larynx and it's rather difficult for me as i transition into headvoice. i'll continue to concentrate on this too. thank you! robert, good to hear from you. we've actually been emailing a bit. i do plan on some skype lessons. i'm still waiting on my pillars and want to get familiar with the material, ..then i'm ready for some internet lessons.
  22. steven, thanks so much for listening and responding. it's all very helpful to me! i'll keep working on those bridging exercises, ..as i do seem to be making progress. and, yes, as the pitch moves to the highest parts of those scales, ..i am pinching a bit to attempt to hit those notes. i'm guessing there is a better way to do that. i honestly am not worried about being able to sing that high, ...i'm more concerned about my lower headvoice being usable (full voice sounding). i really want to develop that, ..and i'm hoping pillars will be helpful in this area. thanks again!
  23. steven, if you listen to my mp3, ...do you feel i'm still flipping into falsetto ?? before, it was obvious, ...it was a break/flip the size of an ocean. now, it feels like i have a smooth transition, ...just into falsetto. since, from my understanding, you can't connect chest and falsetto, ...either i've mastered handling the flip, ...or i have the weakest connected headvoice ever. either way, it's undesirable and unusable.
  24. yes, i agree. that's what i'm afraid of and that's why i'm asking the question. i'm not sure if i'm doing them right or not. on one hand, i'm not getting full closure, ..BUT on the other hand, i've come a long way in terms of a smooth transition (not flipping). so, it feels like i'm making progress, ..but is cord closure going to happen if i keep practicing these scales ?? or do i need to back up and try something else ?? here is a mp3 of where i am. this is the mums on a 1.5 scale. maybe this will help you guys help me. http://www.blackeyedsusan.cc/mums.mp3 if you could have heard me ~2 weeks ago, ...it was rough. huge breaks. a smooth transition seemed impossible. well, as you can hear, i've smoothed up the transitions (not perfect), ...it just feels like my head voice is too falsetto-ish. so, do you think i'm headed down the wrong path ??
  25. hello everyone, i've been studying SS/SLS for a couple of months and i've already ordered Pillars, ...which should arrive any day. my question is this: i don't think i'm achieving very good cord closure when bridging to head voice (daily scales of lip rolls, nay, mum, no - as on the SS CDs 3 thru 5). i feel like i'm making progress in bridging, ..but is this a waste of time if my cords aren't getting good closure ?? should i stop and focus on a correct head voice ?? or should i press on with these scales and closure will happen over time ?? i just don't want to be working hard every day, ..and yet doing it wrong. note: when i say i'm making progress, ...for weeks i would "flip" into falsetto, ..even on lip rolls. i feel like i've smoothed it out a lot. if i'm flipping into falsetto, ...i've somehow made it much less obvious, ..but yet my headvoice tone is weak and falsetto-ish. any help is appreciated. it's frustrating to not know if i'm doing it correctly.
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