mpropelus Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 Here is an interesting video about Seth Riggs' take on Breath Support: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5W3_Otvm4U What do you guys think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonpall Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 It's interesting that Seth talked about keeping the rib cage up. It sounds similar to what CVT and Steven Fraser teach. A part from him saying that there is just one correct sound ideal, I agree with many of the things he said. Cool video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
random1destiny Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 Nice video. I really liked the idea that working on good laryngeal configuration will reduce how much support you NEED in the first place. Focus on making the road flat rather than getting a bigger car engine first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.Starr Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 Awesome video Explains quite alot. From when I first started singing to now I've heard mixed views on support. Many have said that you just need to be slightly firm and adjust as you need, others have said you need to work on that first before anything else. I kinda get what he's saying though and since watching have felt better support with a raised chest, not too high. As for the low larynx that is something I have to work on to get a good balance of not forcing it down. Bridging is a little harder too, again you just have to find a balance I guess. I chose a very challenging road to teach myself through videos and text and it has proved somewhat helpful, slow, but helpful, away from teachers because I have ran into allot of bogus people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronws Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Nice video. I really liked the idea that working on good laryngeal configuration will reduce how much support you NEED in the first place. Focus on making the road flat rather than getting a bigger car engine first. I love that analogy. Learning to stabilize my larynx all over again is like leveling the road so that I don't have to gun the engine to get where I am going. If you have heard me do "Live like you were dying" where I hold a note for 6 measures, that is from a balance of breath support against proper adduction of the folds, created by stabilizing the front of the larynx. Even for me, that note felt like it was going on forever and, I could have held it longer but that would have been monotonous and interrupted the flow of the song, which is more important than showing off a technical skill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronws Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 And listening to Seth Riggs, again, I see he made a technical error. Atmospheric pressure is 14.7 lbs/inch^2, not 13.7. But that's a minor quibble. I do get, now, jonpall's value in learning from him. Anyone and everyone is capable of massive breath support, push, what-have-you. Anyone that ran around in play at school or after school already knows how to push massive amounts of air. What differs is when you push air and how much. But it doesn't matter if you can push enough air to lift a Volkswagen. If you can't control what you are doing with the vocal folds, then all the breath control in the world doesn't mean anything. Some of the highest, strongest notes I have hit did not require a strong push of air. What was happening was that I was adducted to the right tension on the folds, the jaw dropped, stabilizing the larynx, resonating behind the soft palate, with enough air to make the note happen. That is exactly how I do the high notes in "The Immigrant Song." It's how I do the high notes I do in "Rainbow in the Dark." No strain at all, not strong push from the gut, though it is engaged slightly, rather than compressing with the ribs. Anyway, nice to view older material in a fresh light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VideoHere Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Awesome video Explains quite alot. From when I first started singing to now I've heard mixed views on support. Many have said that you just need to be slightly firm and adjust as you need, others have said you need to work on that first before anything else. I kinda get what he's saying though and since watching have felt better support with a raised chest, not too high. As for the low larynx that is something I have to work on to get a good balance of not forcing it down. Bridging is a little harder too, again you just have to find a balance I guess. I chose a very challenging road to teach myself through videos and text and it has proved somewhat helpful, slow, but helpful, away from teachers because I have ran into allot of bogus people. i'm no expert, but i really believe in the value of support and of improvement in breath metering or management. don't make harder than it is....it's not about herculean amounts of air, or highly pressurized abs, it's about balance. but remember better management means you are better able to control expiration which means longer held notes, you will also be able to recoil faster, to catch a needed breath when singing fast paced, or songs with wide dynamics or wide intervals. in fact, i can think of one song in particular, where you really need to have your breath management in order, or you simply can't sing the song well. i personally think it's the cornerstone of good singing. i'll bet cha 2 to 1 seth riggs is just delaying support work till later in the singer's development. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 in fact, i can think of one song in particular, where you really need to have your breath management in order, or you simply can't sing the song well. Is it a lou gramm song? I actually was doing lip trills while cycling home today and I tried the coin-clenched-between-buttocks thing without increasing volume or intensity in the trill and could trill for a couple of seconds longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
random1destiny Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 You know, this discussion has got me thinking, I feel like the actual word "support" causes so many problems, particularly it makes you think it's basically blowing air out. I imagine one of those big air tubes where skydiver acrobats practice and air is blowing upwards so fast it literally supports them mid air, or columns holding up a heavy bridge. I really like the word 'metering' and I've actually found myself using that word more recently. To me metering implies the airflow is already there if you aren't tensing and you are really just turning the valve at the faucet. This is especially true when the lung is closer to the full state and the natural forces of your body already provides a lot of the exhalation force. I know it's just semantics but words can have a big effect on interpretation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VideoHere Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Is it a lou gramm song? I actually was doing lip trills while cycling home today and I tried the coin-clenched-between-buttocks thing without increasing volume or intensity in the trill and could trill for a couple of seconds longer. indubitably....lol!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronws Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Proof that Matt is psychic. :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 My buttocks are psychic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Holmes Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 You know, this discussion has got me thinking, I feel like the actual word "support" causes so many problems, particularly it makes you think it's basically blowing air out. Exactly. It's very important to define what support is. Here is my definition: "Support is to actually support the voice. Support is to supply just the right amount of air pressure and air flow to the voice-mechanism for the specific sound you want to produce." One of the most important thing to notice from this definition is, that the values/levels of air pressure and air flow changes all the time depending on the desired sound - and as a result you have to adjust the activation of your "support-muscles" to reach those dynamic levels. If you don't reach those levels you are not supporting - even though you have different amounts of "support-muscle" activation going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonpall Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 I've got one thing to say about that last post: "G-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-aaaaaaaaaaaah!! I'm back in the saddle!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gYYc7M1VcY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VideoHere Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 You know, this discussion has got me thinking, I feel like the actual word "support" causes so many problems, particularly it makes you think it's basically blowing air out. I imagine one of those big air tubes where skydiver acrobats practice and air is blowing upwards so fast it literally supports them mid air, or columns holding up a heavy bridge. I really like the word 'metering' and I've actually found myself using that word more recently. To me metering implies the airflow is already there if you aren't tensing and you are really just turning the valve at the faucet. This is especially true when the lung is closer to the full state and the natural forces of your body already provides a lot of the exhalation force. I know it's just semantics but words can have a big effect on interpretation. that's a way that i think of it, also breath management...it's so important to get it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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