Rodrigo Fabián Valdéz

Hi guys!

It's been a while since the last time I wrote here.
I'm NOT proud to admit that I didn't practice regulary for the past months so I didn't get any results, but I was able to identify some aspects I need to improve right now.

Mi BIGGEST problem is the lack of strenght and coordination to achieve a good vocal fold compression. My voice sounds too weak with a lot of air comming out.

I know the KEY onset is the Q&R, and I practice everytime I do my routine. Then, I try to singerzise - "quacking like a duck" and by using the words "Nyat" and "Yeah".

The other onset I think I could add to my routine for now is the "Pulse&Release". Now, I'm into some soft acoustic songs and I can listen that light mass phonations sound great. Am I right? Also, will the P&R help me with my vocal fold compression? I'm not in a hurry. I'll train and wait with patience until I have enough control of my glottis before I try anything else.

Thoughts?

Thank you in advance guys, I'll try to be more involved in the formum from now on.

​Hi! Well, you read what Robert posted. We should start posting there our opinions. I will explain myself better tomorrow in the topic Robert created. But, just as and advance, I think the most important thing here is that you should understeand the whole material and try to know what skill you need the most right now. In my case, it is vocal fold compression and fix my tendency to use too much the dark overtones. So Q&R and edging vowels for now.

I will post what I understeand with more details tomorrow in the other topic. Please go there and we will continue the conversation.

I'm glad my training is inspiring someone. Maybe you will do that for me later if I feel down or lazy!

Hi guys! I'm Rodrigo again.

I hadn't been training due  flu I had and now I started again.
As you may guess, I'm a begginer and I have tons of ideas and questions. This one is really cool, and you will see why.

I found out that the FBR is awesome but it has tons of information and for the part-time musician, it is critical to know what to practice in order to make more productive sessions. I've been playing gutiar for 15 years now, and also I play a lot of styles (classical, rock, acoustic, percusive, etc) and the key to progress and still have fun is to have goals. I mean, personal, realistic and short-terms goals that you can acomplish in a few weeks or months and then move on to another thing. Set a new goal, and keep moving.

Now that I'm into singing, I can have practice sessions for 45 min 5 to 7 times a week. Some of them even until 1 hour. So I was doing this things to get better in things that I need to get better now. I do this:

---Resonant tracking
1 T&T Slow then Fast 2 T&R the same way and 3 R&R only fast
---Support training: Robert's excercises and a few more that I've been doing since I took classical lessons, more focused to feeling the awearness of the support process ( really easy ones, but gives awesome results)
---Onsets
Well there is a lot here in the book. I have to get more compression, and I tend to sing with a lot of dark overtones amplified. And an excess of these does not sound well for me.
What do I do? The following: Q&R since F3 to F3 (Sometimes G4 or A4, if I can do them without push, pain or constrictions) and I repeat 2 times that onset in every note, except for Db4 to E4, when I repeat 4 times the onset. I do this because my bridge is around those notes. And Robert says we have to practice those notes harder because those are the difficult ones (and I is so true!). Then I follow with a few attemps of A&R. If it is too hard for me, I don't do it. I listen to my body.
After that, I do edging onsets in the same range, maybe 2 times per note. Sometimes 3.
---Sirens
Well, not too much to say here. I do melodic 5th as Robert show us. Two times, at least, focusing on Q&R onset and some of T&R. I don't go too high, at least not for now.


I hope my way to train this can inspire you to think and organize your practice schedule if you're not doing it now.

For the most advanced TVS people... how do you practice the FBR? Do you think I'm doing it right?

Rock-on!

Hi Gneetapp!

Thank you! Those words help me a lot, man. I didn't know Robert could help us so much here... as it is not as good as a personal lesson, it really makes the difference compared with other programs i tried. I mean, the coach is there when he can! And after I read his comment, I review the material (book and video lectures) and I could understeand even more why I have to practice that. And how to do it.

I am going to get better. That's for sure. I have the motivation, the time and the right program. I am just starting this journey, and it seems as an awesome one.

Robert, thanks.

I know Q&R is fundamental, as you say, for the FBR... I practice it. I know there is not a magical onset, of all I had to do would be master that one (wouldn't that be great? haha).

I will add those points to my current routine.

I can hear I'm out of tune, and I know that it is for my current physical limitations. I don't have the hability to control my voice yet -I don't have my muscles as strong and trained as they have to be. But I have to do one day at a time, with no rush. And doing it every single day, if possible.

Again, thank you. I wasn't expecting you to read my topic, so imagine my surprise when I saw you did! I shared it here mostly because I want to keep a record of my first take on one particular song. I think this is a safe enviroment, full of students of singing that only want to be better. I think this forum is just like one about Classical Guitar that I'm a member too, where you can post any awful performance and expect kind, polite and encouraging answers from the other users. With that in mind, it wasn't difficult to make this topic. People here seems to be that way.
The other reason, is that I want to keep this here now, so people will be able to see that there is a before and after "the four pillars of singing" as soon as I post again here. I mean, when I can actually sing.

Hello! My name is Rodrigo, I'm from Argentina and I am a begginer in this singing world.

I will practice with The Four Pillars of Singing, by Robert Lunte, every day, por about 45min to 60min. I will love to practice a little bit more, but I'm a college student, and I also play guitar and I have to give that instrument another 60 or 75 minutes a day.

Music is my passion, and I want to perform for the people in my city and people in another cities near mine. So, not a big deal... I am sick of listening bad singers in live gigs here, so I will put up an effort to be better. To improve, to have a good technique, and sing for many years. In my living room, and in small bars.

All those goals seems a little impossible for my right now, when I start thinking. But I decided that I have to go one step at a time, slow, but consistent progress, with more small goals, that gide me to my ultimate desire.

I want to think of this as the "Before" part of every "Before&After", so when I come back here in a few months, I will post an update so I can see if I improve in some way.

I like this song, and the singer of The Calling was a huge inspiration for me when I was a kid and I wanted to sing. Now, thanks to Rob and his program, I have an idea of what do I have to practice in order to sing it!

So, I think I have to expand my range so I can move with more freedom. So the sirens will do that work. Always remembering that I don't have to push, and I have to bridge early (since I'm a begginer).
You can here (and love) the darker overtones amplified, so I guess the D&R onset is KEY! Robert says he loves it, and it gives you the impression of a much "worked" technique. And for this song, it is CRITICAL. You can't sing this in tune but without the darker overtones, it would just sound too flat! And I saw a lot of covers in Youtube of guys doing that. I know better, I know what to work on.

I didn't use any special thing to record. My dinamic cheap mic plugged in my notebook directly, and I used the render of the REAPER, but without any effect. It sounds decent, just for you to hear the imperfections (and, belive me, there is a lot!)..

Well, here it is.



If you listen to it, please don't hate me LOL

 

Well Rob, as usual, an amazing answer!

1- I have to say that the lip and tounge trills are famous exercises and give a lot of benefits, so not doing it or even repleacing them with the work in the Module 1 of the FBR was a huge surprise for me. But I was even more surprised when I tried them and I could feel the difference in a couple or days! This is the kind of secrets that makes the difference in the every-day-practice. I'm still a raw begginer in this method, but even in the warm up routine I knew my money was well spended.

2. Here I have to say that I live in a tropical area, where the humidity level in the air is really a factor to consider along with the temperature- summer it is really hot and heavy, and when the season change to fall and winter, it gets cold and breathing all the water in the air every night while I sleep makes my voice a little hard to control, and it could hurt a little when I speak or sing. I know this shouldn't be the case for Seattle, even knowing that the temperature should be much lower than here. It is in big part for the ammount of water in the air. Of course there is a lot more to consider when analizing the weather. I'm not an expert, but I have to study some of that in depth for college.
Besides, I know a lot of singers that start having bad days in singing this time of the year here.

3- As I say, I know my money was well spended and when I have the chance I would love that you to listen to me and have a feedback. Having 1-on-1 lessons for Skype would be amazing. But right now, the program is all I can afford. Maybe when I start working I will contact you for lessons. I like investing in lessons.

Hi Robert!

As I own a copy of the program, I practice the FBR and I read the content in the book. You give us a great way to warm up, and I have to say that working with the track and track, track and release and release and release feels more close to singing that doing lip trills or tounge trills -with all the respect I have for those, since they helped me when  I was a starting my journey. Anyway, I find that the cold weather doesn´t let me have my full voice when practicing sirens and singing for fun. I was wondering if anyone has the same problem and if there's any tip that could help me.

I will try to do the T&T and the T&R as many times as needed in order to have my muscles ready to do the rest of the FBR. I hope it works.


And about the tea, I also read that in my copy of 4PoS. It does sound awesome, but I was thinking in something else that I could buy in the grocery store neart to my appartment. Even if there's not as effective as the Singers' Tea.

Hi! My name is Rodrigo and I'm a new student.

I have some problems because the summer is over and now we are in the autumn in Argentina, where I live. Last month I followed a couple of simple rules listed in my copy of The Four Pillars of Singing, like drink water before, during and after my training, and that water has to be in a room temperature.

Every year I have the same issue: I have a hard time warming up my voice, so I can´t train as hard as I like, and I got tired earlier -not to mention that it is impossible to practice high notes without sounding awful and hurting a little bit, so I don't practice that.

I'm an atlhete, not a pro athlete, but still, I played basketball for almost 10 years and now I'm into swimming. With propper warm up, I was always able to practice the sport as usual, no matter how was the weather. For that, I used to warming up twice as hard, and not starting untill I felt my muscles were ready to do the work.

Having said that, is there an effective way to warm up before I start with calibrating my onsets and do the "heavy work" with the sirens? And how should be the hidratation? Is there some kind of tea that would help me to recover faster after a vocal work out that could have help you guys? I mean, one can hear a lot about the benefits of green tea, mixed up with honey, lemon and other stuffs, but, is it work?

Thanks!