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keoladonaghy

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Everything posted by keoladonaghy

  1. Tá fáilte romhat (Irish Gaelic for "you're welcome") :cool:
  2. Aloha. Pretty close. When the "a" is unstressed (as it is in that word), it's closer to an "uh" sound. So "ee moo-uh" KD
  3. You know what's amazing, Robert (at least to me), is in doing the laryngeal dumping you taught me in our last session, I noticed that there is a lot less vertical movement in the sensations I'm feeling as I move above C4. In addition to helping me bridge earlier and cleaner, it just doesn't feel like the head voice I was used to, where the sensation started moving upward through the bridge. My voice "feels" much more stable, sounds fuller, and I can see how using that technique one might think that they are really not going into head voice, but pretty clearly it is. It was a revelation. I mua! (Hawaiian for "forward ho!")
  4. Billy Budapest: I encourage you to take Robert up on his offer. I bought his 4 Pillars system a bit over a year ago when he offered a free lesson along with it. I was skeptical about how appropriate it would be for me, based on what I had read and and presumed just from the wording of some of the PR materials. I thought it was much more focused on producing hard rock and metal singers, while I was trying to develop a better voice for Hawaiian and a lighter pop-rock style. I had taken some lessons from a Brett Manning associate who was excellent, but I just instinctively felt that Robert's system and he as an instructor would really get my voice where I want it to be. Progress hasn't been as fast as I would have like because of some extreme demands on my time, but after a year and perhaps only 10-12 lessons, I'm hearing the results that I wanted. I was concerned for a while that the voice I was developing was a bit too edgy for what I wanted to do, and recently Robert introduced me some new things, having me ease up on the twang, getting a light mass phonation going, focusing on getting a purer vowel sound, and voila! It's been magic. I've heard David Kyle's name but really didn't know much about him or his pedagogy beyond knowing the names and voices of some of the people he trained. If I had judged Robert or Pillars based on that, I would have missed out on a wonderful opportunity. You obviously know more about him and the "Seattle school" (if there is such a beast) than I. Give Robert a shot; you've got nothing to lose and potentially a lot to gain.
  5. If you decide to look at The Four Pillars system, Robert does have an associate in the U.K.: http://www.thevocaliststudiouk.com/ Good luck, Keola
  6. D.Starr: My recommendation is not to go looking around and buying another program, but put that money towards getting a couple of lessons, be it one of Brett Mannings's associates, Robert Lunte here or one of his associates, or another qualified person. I did SS for a while, and getting a couple of lessons from Jesse Nemitz at Brett's studio made helped me make significant progress. I moved to Robert Lunte's Four Pilliars and have had probably 12-15 lessons with him over the past year. Nothing can replace having a knowledgeable teacher diagnose what you are doing. I had my first session with Robert in about two months (been extremely busy), and he showed me a new move that is taking me into completely uncharted territory, a place that I never would have found myself if I had relied just on his CDs. I live in Hawai‘i and used Skye for both. Works great. Just my 2 cents.
  7. Positively inspiring, James, mahalo for sharing. I've been dealing with weight issues all my life as well. I've been working with Robert L. for about a year now, and realizing that the weight and lack of physical activity is probably holding me back as much as anything else. It's gotten to the point where I've had to go on a CPAP, which is a pretty good indication of where I was from a cardio-vascular standpoint. I recently started a workout routine and found a group of like-minded friends who are supporting each other. Hopefully it will bear fruit. Your willingness to share your story is also a great motivator, so again, thanks.
  8. I've taught at the Kaua‘i Music Festival for a few years now (I teach composition in the Hawaiian language, so I probably can't help you). But one of the individuals how has presented for several years there is Jason Blume: http://www.jasonblume.com/ He's done some pretty detailed analysis of trends in songwriting and keeps up with what is popular today. His focus is more on the pop and country styles, but a lot of what he teaches is applicable in many styles. He's had a few big hits himself, but seems to focus as much if not more on teaching these days. David Pack (Ambrosia) has also taught at KMF and our Academy's workships, and has handed out some very helpful materials. If I can find my copies and David doesn't mind I'll scan them.
  9. ebjohnston89@gmail.com: Aloha. I'm a student of Robert's in Hawai'i, though had to suspend my lessons for a few months in order to finish writing my Ph.D. dissertation. I bought TVS when Robert began offering it with a complimentary lesson, too. I had been hanging around the forum for a bit, following the discussions and trying to learn the terminology. I'd previously taken lessons from Jesse Nemitz at Singing Success. To be honest, had it not been for that free lesson, I probably would not have signed up for lessons from Robert, and it would have been my loss. I saw him to be a very high energy guy here, I took (or rather, mistook) him to be very defensive about his pedagogy and didn't think we would have been a bad fit. It only took that first lesson to convince me that I was completely wrong. All of the negatives I had perceived were simply his passion for the work he does and unfailing belief in his pedagogy. And while I'm (IMHO) a relatively laid back person, I started feeding off of his energy and his no-nonsense approach. I needed to be pushed a little harder, he sensed it and pushed. My humble suggestion: hold off on the questions until you have a chance to schedule a Skype session with him. Ten minutes of F2F with him will be infinitely more value than a dozen forum exchanges, clear up any misperceptions (I had many), and get you going down the right road with TVS.
  10. briesmith: I'm another who uses the Four Pillars, and previous used Singing Success. In both cases, I supplemented the program with Skype lessons - Jesse Nemitz for SS and Robert for T4P. There is no way I would have made the progress I did without the personalized feedback they provided. I need their ears to tell me what I'm doing right and wrong, otherwise I would have been reinforcing bad habits. Sounds like you could benefit from it as well. To echo rownws: I don't practice every day, and it was difficult for me to discipline myself NOT to practice every day and allow my voice time to recouperate. I often found that I made leaps in improvement after having four or five days of solid practice, then taking a few days off. Unfortunately I'm at a crucial time in writing up my Ph.d. dissertation and have had to suspend my lessons to focus on that. But once it's done, I'll be back at it.
  11. I'm on a Mac, so I use GarageBand. While it's not visible on their main site, iTunes actually has a very nice selection of karaoke tracks, so you can buy them one at a time. Some of them are excellent; I was shocked. I drop the MP3 into a stereo track, create a mono one for myself (for which, of course, you can add verb, compression, echo, eq, etc). Great for practice and recording/playback.
  12. Rich, I did SS also, and still use some of their exercises. I also took several Skype lessons from one of Brett's associates, Jesse Nemitz. I realized that the combination of the two was necessary for success. I didn't know enough to be able to diagnose my issues, and found that I was doing some exercises wrong, and it prevented me from progressing the way I could. Nearly every lesson I did with Jesse resulted in immediate improvement. Last December Robert Lunte made an offer to give everyone who bought his Four Pillars system for a period of time a free Skype lesson. I took one and was hooked. Jesse was great, but he was fairly laid back (though still enthusiastic and passionate), whereas Robert is a bit more aggressive and in your face. I kind of liked that, he pushes me harder that I might myself, expects me to "get it" which makes me work, and I see the results. Both were very good with diagnosing problems. Even though TVS looks like it may be made for more aggressive and edgier styles than you (and I also) want to achieve, the pedagogy and techniques Robert teaches are applicable to any style. I like the sound that Robert is helping me get to, with just enough edge to make it interesting. I don't think you can go wrong either way, or perhaps with someone else. Jesse and Robert have been the only folks I've used. But getting feedback from someone who can help you diagnose issues in invaluable, IMHO.
  13. When you look at it that way, the bridge metaphor works for me again. Mahalo Steven. I'd have to identify a few salient characteristics to make the monkey metaphor work, though :cool: I spent about 6 months reading up on metaphor theory for my Ph.D., and now can't get out of my mind.
  14. I'm finding myself, from my humble perch near the bottom of the totem pole (hope our non-US members know that metaphor), agreeing with Martin. To me, the term "bridge" implies a gap, and that you are having to create something to get across it. Robert agreed with my assumption that there is an overlap between chest and head - the passagio. Call it transition or mode-switch or something else, but the use of a bridge as a metaphor for this doesn't work for me anymore.
  15. Tip-toe around it? Seems like Robert has it by the trunk, Martin by the tail, and they are playing tug-of-war with it. Not a complaint, mind you; I enjoy the debate. :P
  16. Aloha Robert, yes, I'm definitely twanging. So you can have twang in head voice, and you can have falsetto in head voice - both modes, correct? Can you have head voice without twang not be falsetto either? If so, is there a term for that mode, like a neutral head voice? It seems I can get into head fairly low without twang, though twang is essential in getting through the passagio.
  17. OK, I have another question for Robert or anyone who cares to answer: If head voice is a register, and falsetto a vocal mode within that register, what do you call it when you are in head voice but not using falsetto? Is it a "neutral" mode and not referred to as anything else, just simply head voice/not falsetto? It seems if there is a name for the mode called "falsetto" it would be useful to have one for the other uses of that register. Robert - no analysis paralysis here, it's not affecting my work/practice. Just my natural academic curiosity at work.
  18. Mahalo Robert. Yes, I'm getting at least F4 now and sometimes to G4. Since our last session I've been able to let go of a lot of the tension that has been holding me back, and finding getting up there much easier. Re: my questions: I was trying to drawn some things out from Martin regarding his question about head voice and what the range has. I wasn't sure if he was challenging the "head voice is a register" assertion or not. I was curious if there was any reason why different registers couldn't overlap, if it was part of CVT or whatever. From what you have taught me I felt pretty confident that they do, and as you say, that the "mixed"/middle/covered voice was actually head voice. Re your reply on falsetto and twang. I did try that today and found I couldn't do both. When I tried to apply twang I could only do it in the "covered" voice you've taught me. It actually has me wondering, and I'll need to go back to listen to some recordings of *some* Hawaiian "falsetto" singers. I'm pretty sure some are not in falsetto mode, but actually in head voice. Their tone is just too thick and edgy, I think, to be falsetto as you've taught me to differentiate it from the head voice. P.S., and before you ask , I'll contact you for a new session when I get back from Sweden the week of the 13th. Too crazy right now to squeeze one in.
  19. This is coming from someone who has only been studying voice for a little over a year, about 9 months of it with Robert, so please correct me if my assumptions are wrong. I had always assumed that there was a chest voice and falsetto, as that's all I could ever do. Hawai‘i has a rich tradition of falsetto, I've heard it since I was young and could do it, albeit poorly, for years. As I mentioned in a previous post, the break in the voice is an appreciated stylistic device in the tradition. It wasn't until I met and talked to a well-respected falsetto practitioner, Mahi Beamer, that I realized this transition could be done without the break in the voice. He personally does not like the break, and only utilizes it in his performance to express a specific emotion in the performance. Even in those early years, I realized that there was a bit of an overlap between my chest and falsetto voices, but never figured out how to smoothly transition through what I now know to be the passagio. On to my current assumptions. In working with Robert, he was the first person I heard explain that this "mixed"/middle voice was actually a low head voice, and that there is an overlap in the ranges of chest/full/whatever-you-want-to-call-it and head voice. How far down my head voice goes, I haven't explored it yet. I know I can go down to at least C4 at this point, maybe lower. I can get to F4, sometimes as high as G4, in chest. So this "mixed"/middle voice overlap is at least C4-F4. I seem to be able to transition between the two anywhere in that range, in some places better than others. They are clearly to me two different voices (whether you call them registers or modes, I don't know), and at some point in there there is a transition, not a "mixing". So does this overlap support or contradict the statement that head voice is a register? Can registers, as opposed to modes, overlap like this?
  20. Here's a video of friend of mine from Maui doing Hawaiian falsetto. You'll hear him move in and out of falsetto. Something interesting about the tradition is that the break in the passagio is something that is appreciated, it's considered part of the style. We call it "ha'i", and it comes partially from the chant tradition. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lmn1uui1Y-Q
  21. I knew Iz, he did not sing falsetto. He had a very light tone to his voice, in spite of his size. But yes, he did have a pretty good range on his high end. There is a very strong tradition of leo ki‘eki‘e (falsetto singing) in Hawaiian music. I'll see if I can find some vids that will show it.
  22. Just out of curiosity, has anyone ever heard Seth Riggs sing? I did a quick search and could only find vids of him talking about singing.
  23. TS: You may want to go back a few messages in this forum and check out the "Covering" questions.... " thread that has been going on here for a while. There are some fascinating and informative discussion of the terminology regarding that range you're referring to. I agree with what I think you're saying. Personally I find to my ear that the juiciest part of male vocals tend to fall in the D4-G4 range (except for some exceptional folks), though more of the song tends to be below that. I was working with Robert Lunte today on a song where the meaty parts are a D4-D#4-E4 chromatic run and a punch on G4. It sits right in my passagio, and is tricky for me, trying to decide to hold on to the belt/twang on the E4 or going into head voice. Six months ago I would have had to use a weak falsetto to hit any of those notes. Working with Jesse Nemitz at Singing Success last year and Robert this year I've learned to get a more balanced tone which is far less bassy and boomy in the low range, and fuller at the top, using the "top-down" phonation Robert stresses. In my lesson today I asked him for us to focus on the lower and low-middle part of my range, because I felt I hadn't focused enough on it, focusing instead on the passagio the range above it. It went great and I'm glad I did; it took us into experimenting with new techniques that I think will be really beneficial. Good luck with your studies.
  24. OK, just trying to explain the sensation I'm feeling as I work into head voice when I fail to do the onset package. Maybe I mis-interpreting what I'm feeling. Not holding me back, I don't think. I don't feel that sensation when using the onset package and twang, so think I'm on the right path. It's when I don't use twang and the jaw drop that I feel it. Just curious what's going on physiologically, and curious about adduction as it's largely been absent from this conversation about covered voice and twang. Perhaps it's irrelevant to the discussion. Mahalo, Robert, from your analytic quadriplegic. :D
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