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Please critique my progress, or lack thereof, through the passaggio


Jody

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This is from middle C to top C on the AH vowel. I am choosing the AH vowel because for me it’s the most challenging and I want to accurately gauge my progress.

Am I straining? What do I need to change? Am I a Tenor?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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You're doing a good job. Not perfect, but keep it up and it will be. Sounds like you're approaching the passagio by adding a cry and modifying towards O as in "woman". Try posting a song that goes as high as this. That would be a good next step. Whether you're a tenor or not only matters for classical singing, really. It has more to do with the "bigness" of the voice than the range. If you can sing very low notes with pretty loud volume, then you might be a bass. I suggest that you don't worry about it.

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I appreciate the feedback, jonpall:) Yes, I am not happy that the AH is turning into an O:( But it makes going into the passagio a lot easier .. of course, when applying it to a song that needs an AH and I do an O, it sounds bad.

I'll upload a couple of short clips of 2 separate songs .. just the part where I need to hit the G above middle C and perhaps you could let me know how I am doing:)

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Your onset needs some work as you are sliding up to the first note of the arpeggio most of the time - I think you will find the whole ordeal a touch easier if you had a solid first note. Other than that, sounds good.

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may i offer a couple of suggestions?

sing a little lighter for now, configure to a yawn, and try transcending to the "oh" a little earlier, try it by the third rep. see if that doesn't help you.

be sure it's a nice gentile "ah" onset as in "hot"... don't sing the "h" (i hear a little h before the tone, not required)keep the soft palatte raised and proceed upward trying to maintain a sigh-like mouth opening throughout and not moving your mouth. as you ascend keep the throat relaxed and open and just let the folds do the pitch change. don't make any attempt to adjust your mouth. also, keep a consistant volume throughout.

at this time, i wouldn't worry too much about holding on to the top note. just try to get the feel of the ascent without any manipulation of the articulators.

this is a great exercise to feel your way through your passagio without adjusting anything.

hope this helps.

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Many thanks, videohere, very helpful advice. I was thinking of the same thing regarding ''transcending to the "oh" a little earlier'' :) My own sensation while doing the exercise was that I was straining, it didn't feel very comfortable .. I would guess that I was in 70% chest and 30% head, at the notes where I should have been 50/50.

Thanks guys, I am really glad I found this forum :)

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A little embarrassing :) Here is a short clip of me trying to hit the G note above middle C, in an old Paul Simon song called, ''Slip Sliding Away''.

I begin the phrase with my chest voice, before going to that G note. My voice breaks over the consonant D in the word ‘’sliding’’. Then I do a ‘’hootier’’ attempt, easier to sing, but less natural. Both don’t sound natural .. they don’t sound like a natural extension to my chest voice! Feedback very much appreciated.

One more go at the same thing :) Here I somehow compressed and narrowed it more .. is it better?

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Listening to the original clip with the arpeggios - you are doing it right. You are modifying the ah correctly through the passagio. It takes a lot of working through that area to make it feel more comfortable. And you can shade the vowel to make it sound even better. Tony from VocalPower does an excellent job in his videos demonstrating the "ah" vowel through the passagio and you wouldn't even know it is modified.

You started to crack around E4 - which is normal - this is where the mod starts. Just keep the breath support going and the right vowel mod. You should also work on scales and sirens to smoothly adjust to the vowel mods. You can start to modify slightly lower so it isn't such an abrupt change.

I agree with jonpall - don't worry about your vocal classification. No matter what classification, bass or tenor, we all have the same capacity to develop our high range. You definitely could sing any of the "tenor" songs if you wanted to develop it.

Just keep working at it - it becomes easier and easier, but it takes a long period of time for it to become second nature.

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Many thanks, videohere, very helpful advice. I was thinking of the same thing regarding ''transcending to the "oh" a little earlier'' :) My own sensation while doing the exercise was that I was straining, it didn't feel very comfortable .. I would guess that I was in 70% chest and 30% head, at the notes where I should have been 50/50.

Thanks guys, I am really glad I found this forum :)

glad to help. these are suggestions per this particular exercise.

on that "sliding" try pronouncing "sliding" less speech like, and less literally...try to shade to more of a "slahdin." this way you can ride the "ah" vowel which keeps the breath moving.

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Thanks for your reply, guitartrek. Yeah, mastering these exercises and then applying them to songs can take a lot of years. I've been doing them for over 10 years and still can't sing properly through the passagio :( I've got a heavy chesty voice, so learning to lighten up as I move up has been quite difficult.

I checked out Tony from vocalpower, I like his style and way of teaching. I think he has three videos on YouTube, I watched them all, but didn't come across the one you mention, where he does the AH vowel through the passagio, I'll look again. Thank you for your post.

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Thanks for another very helpful post, videohere :) Modifying the consonants as in ''ah'' instead of ''i'' (as in eye) and leaving out the ''g'' in ''sliding'', is a great suggestion, I've tried it and it's now working a lot better :)

That's what I meant when I said earlier that it would be good to see teachers talk a little more about how to apply all these exercises to songs. Thanks again :)

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Thanks for another very helpful post, videohere :) Modifying the consonants as in ''ah'' instead of ''i'' (as in eye) and leaving out the ''g'' in ''sliding'', is a great suggestion, I've tried it and it's now working a lot better :)

That's what I meant when I said earlier that it would be good to see teachers talk a little more about how to apply all these exercises to songs. Thanks again :)

doing vocal exercises and singing actual songs..yes, there's quite a difference there.

what i have learned to do with every song is look closely at the lyrics. then diagnose the words and syllables to see where the vowels are, and the breath-interrupting consonants.

try to minimize breath interruptions the best you can. sing on the vowels

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