Feel really nasally

[D.Starr]

OK so I've been working on tryna bring down head voice and working on bridging doing some Nays, NGs sirens and humming sirens, kinda mixed in with some lip buble sirens too.

Now I feel my voice has kinda brightened a little and I know once I work on this and connecting everything etc, I can beef things up.

I feel like I can feel a hold now when I sing in certain areas and I've begun to use more support in my passaggio area, but I feel that I'm jamming the sound into my nose.

Here's a clip I recorded over MSN with a friend. I really felt released and easy to sing but feel I jammed it up into my nose.

No tension what so ever and I believe it's around G4/A4. Something I've never been able to hit.

http://www.box.net/shared/c9pp8movymqgakxi9yfo

Is there a way to lean away from having a nasally sound and kinda beef it up just a smidgen?

[Spectrum]

Hey,

Well you don't want to work away your nasality too much, as it does help with resonance. You want to find a solid, consistent tone before you try to alter it.

Anyway, smelling something foul is usually enough to close off the nasal passage, blocking any sound from entering it. Work on keeping the same sensation while singing, i.e. imagine that you are smelling a huge turd. LOL, I know it sounds stupid, but it works.

[Ronron]

Define " nasal ", please.

I think you are much less nasal than you think you are.

[VideoHere]

there's not enough of you to make an evaluation....lol!

[D.Starr]

Hey,

Well you don't want to work away your nasality too much, as it does help with resonance. You want to find a solid, consistent tone before you try to alter it.

Anyway, smelling something foul is usually enough to close off the nasal passage, blocking any sound from entering it. Work on keeping the same sensation while singing, i.e. imagine that you are smelling a huge turd. LOL, I know it sounds stupid, but it works.

Haha I shall attempt to sing next time I go to the toilet haha. Yeah I kinda understand and try and work on it.

Define " nasal ", please.

I think you are much less nasal than you think you are.

I wouldn't say I'm EXTREMELY nasally but it just feels like the sound is really jammed up in my nose.

there's not enough of you to make an evaluation....lol!

Haha sorry it was kind of a quick thing me and a friend was going over. Because it's like G4/A4 ish it's really high up for me, yet I felt a big release when I sang it.

Not sure if I could find another song with that note.

[Mr Bounce]

I think I know what the problem here is. Your support isn't strong enough. I love this type of compressed, strong yet free tone, characteristic of typical RnB artists and boy bands. When I try to sing this way I have to drive it into my nose otherwise my throat just dies. I have learned with myself that better support fixes the problem, so maybe this will help? I often push it into the nose and realise that is not quite right.

[D.Starr]

I think I know what the problem here is. Your support isn't strong enough. I love this type of compressed, strong yet free tone, characteristic of typical RnB artists and boy bands. When I try to sing this way I have to drive it into my nose otherwise my throat just dies. I have learned with myself that better support fixes the problem, so maybe this will help? I often push it into the nose and realise that is not quite right.

How do YOU personally engage your support?

I'm sick of reading thread after thread of people telling people how to support, there's plenty of methods I've tried and nothing seems to work.

At the moment I'm moving my stomach out and tensing my abs to keep it stable when moving back in, keeping the ribcage expanded as well.

Also is it a good thing to see veins in the neck when singing? I see plenty of professional singers doing it. I always question whether they should be seen.

[gno]

I've been using KTVA imagery for breathing. Keeping the chest energized with good posture, breath in by moving the abdominals out and keeping the chest in place. When breathing in - do not take a full breath. 1/2 to 3/4 only. (It is easy to exaggerate breathing in by taking a huge breath. This will only create more tension as it is tough to fight the diaphram which wants to squeeze the breath out.) When singing / exhaling, push down on the diaphram. I used to try to "pull up" the abdominals, but I find Ken's way of "pushing down" is much better for me and results in more consistent breath support.

[jonpall]

I like to just keep my rib cage up during sung notes. That way, my abs kind of automatically figure out just the right amount of work they need to do for any give note.

[D.Starr]

I like to just keep my rib cage up during sung notes. That way, my abs kind of automatically figure out just the right amount of work they need to do for any give note.

Just keeping a noble chest right?

I can kinda feel the pressure of the abs working.

[jonpall]

D.Starr, yeah that's right. Try doing it, i.e. keeping a noble chest during a sung note and you'll find that it's your abs, lower back and intercoastals that actually keep your chest up. Pretty interesting/weird, eh? But your abdominal region should be relaxed during inhalation - very, very important for stamina. And don't raise your shoulders as it can produce an indirect throat tension.

[ronws]

Keep the chest "noble." The breathing is done with the abs.

Your tone was not nasal. Not even as much as the Backstreet Boys. Using the sinus and nasal cavities is perfectly right. For a free and unblocked nasal passage simply adds to resonation. It is only when you have closed off your sinuses or have a cold with blocked sinuses that you really sound "nasal."

A truly nasal sound comes from blocked nasal passages or a constriction in the nasal passages.

[Mr Bounce]

Yes D. Starr, I think the "noble" chest thing is kind of what I do. If I focus on keeping my rib cage expanded, it seems to really help with holding the breath back.