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I'm thinking of starting Anthony Frisell's workout (The tenor voice)


Opaa

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This is a lot of text, you have been warned!

Ok so I am hugely interested in following the instructions in the book (I already read the whole thing), but it seems so difficult to do on my own. It seems so hard to analyze my own voice, progress and technique and follow a textbook and manage to do it right.

I don't know where else to turn, but some people here are familiar with the Frisell method so I'll give it a shot. Maybe you have time to check out and answer some of my troubles, it will be greatly appreciated! Here are my questions:

1) Pulling the detached headvoice / falsetto down to the bottom of the range.

-Am I not supposed to advance to other exercises until this is completely achieved?

2) Neglecting the chest-voice muscles for now. The idea is to get rid of the incorrect way of pulling chest up and to get the whole singing range under the control of head voice muscles.

-So that means no James Lugo-workout for now, even though it has given me some results? Also how about band practices and working on songs, surely I will pull more or less chest doing those?

-I guess I shouldn't use any other workouts especially during the first phases of Frisell's workout?

3) Ken Tamplin stresses that one should FIRST stretch the chest up and then he can pull the headvoice down if he wants. Frisell stresses the opposite.

-Is Frisell's approach able to deliver the kind of big, powerful tones in the high range that Ken Tamplin certainly has?

4) Is there any danger when singing the purest form of falsetto and bringing it down to the bottom of the range?

-CVT might describe this as a "flageolet" sound, it starts around Tenor C and it shouldn't be sung lower than that or it will cause a "split in the voice". It's dangerous, says CVT!

-Frisell mentioned that sometimes when tenors search for the pure falsetto sound they might accidentally "flip into it" around tenor C. He says that this is the correct, pure form of falsetto and that should be brought down in the range. This might mean, that it indeed might be a flageolet that Frisell is talking about.

-So is it possible to do this "pure headvoice thing" wrong? Can it be dangerous?

5) Do you happen to know if there are singing teachers around who teach this "Frisell method"? Does Frisell give skype lessons (I didn't find that out with google)?

I don't know wether I should start Frisell's method or stick with all the "Rock n' roll methods". Also if I start Frisells method I don't know how to do it right. I'm quite lost here, but hopefully these questions might get me in the right direction. I have a lot of questions, but I wanted to keep this "short" :)

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I can only answer number 4 with certainty: no, there is no danger whatsoever. Not what can be said about 3), I would say. Any chest-pulling above your normal speaking range is potentially dangerous unless you're really good at supporting the voice. So try and see where in your standard, speaking, unsupported voice you start feeling tension related to shouting (like at a football game or to a friend in a crowd or down the street). That's the point where generally you should start using your head-voice configuration.

For the lowest male voices it's as low as G3 and for the highest - around E4. So if you're a standard baritone, it would be best to start the transition at around Bb3/B3.

This answers your first question as well. Bringing head voice coordination to the bottom of the range is the ideal goal but it takes a LOT of time and I'm not even sure it's possible. So my personal goal is to bring it as low as the top or near-top of my normal speaking range, which is around A3.

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Also if I start Frisells method I don't know how to do it right.

Hi Opaa,

I feel the same way.

I've stopped practicing the exercises because I'm unsure wether I'm doing it right or not. The best thing for me would be to find a teacher who teaches those principles. Unfortunately I live in CVT land (Denmark) and I don't know how to find one here.... Second best thing would be audio samples of the workouts, so I can really get an idea of how the exercise sounds when done right.

2) Neglecting the chest-voice muscles for now. The idea is to get rid of the incorrect way of pulling chest up and to get the whole singing range under the control of head voice muscles.

I don't think this is very realistic... Neglect chest voice during the exercises, yes. But don't sing in a falsetto/girly way when you're with the band. The exercises should exercise your head voice muscles and make them stronger.

The way I understand it, most people have an imbalance between their head and chest voices, there chest voice being much stronger than their head voice. The goal is to have the registers balanced so they are able to cooperate in a mixed voice througout the range. Please correct me if I'm wrong ;)

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with certain voice types, especially thicker, heavier weight voice types there a tonal disparity that exists between their head and chest voices, or as frisell call it an antagonism.

especially with these types of voices there simply is no performing voice without the use of both head and chest voice musculatures in varying degrees...depending on the note, the vowel, the lyrics.

like i said in another post...you can strengthen the head voice all you want, but there is no performing voice with just head musculature used to sing with, no how, no way.

try it yourself...try to sing just using the head voice musculature....with a powerful head voice it will invariably lack cut, and ring, and substance. the chest voice musculature has to be involved in the production of the tone.

now if you just use chest voice musculature, that liability will be limited range and a thick, less agile voice.

the real skill is in the balance of both.

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Thanks for the answers.

"Second best thing would be audio samples of the workouts, so I can really get an idea of how the exercise sounds when done right."

I agree.

I guess I have to find out if there are teachers who teach these principles here in Finland. A good, knowledgeable, professional teacher, who understands the process of head voice development. That would be a life-saver :) I'm getting so lost in the self-study... This isn't so easy.

"try it yourself...try to sing just using the head voice musculature....with a powerful head voice it will invariably lack cut, and ring, and substance. the chest voice musculature has to be involved in the production of the tone."

How can I tell when the chest musculature starts being involved in a head tone, where's the line?

Also one extra question: If Lugo's workout (or basically any other "chesty" workout method) gives me good results, can there still be some hindrance or harm, since by using a "chesty" workout I'm neglecting the Frisell's headvoice approach? And could these two approaches be combined? The reason I ask this is, because Frisell so often stresses that pulling the chest up incorrectly will definitely sabotage or stop the process of the developing headvoice.

Man, I want to progress. The way Frisell describes the ideal results from his approach sounds like just what I'm ultimately looking for! But it seems so impractical or even impossible approach to fit into the real life, band situations and stuff, at least without a teacher. But the way he describes the ability to diminuendo and crescendo on each of five basic vowels on any note of the range (especially the passagio) with the mixed voice configuration, from the fullest possible tone to the lightest head tone, with just a hint of chest left.. I know that's what I want!

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But the way he describes the ability to diminuendo and crescendo on each of five basic vowels on any note of the range (especially the passagio) with the mixed voice configuration, from the fullest possible tone to the lightest head tone, with just a hint of chest left.. I know that's what I want!

but understand this level of development (above) takes many years and a lot of practise. this is the holy grail!

why don't you call him. he's a very likable man. call after 9:30 e.s.t. (usa). mention that bob, the man with the video store in yonkers, said you wouldn't mind asking him a few questions.

compliment him on the book!

212-246-3385

sometimes you just have to reach out to these people.

how do know when chest musculature kicks in?

please explain.

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"but understand this level of development (above) takes many years and a lot of practise. this is the holy grail!"

Yes.. And it seems that so few reach this kind of development with their voices. I guess so few people even have the knowledge of what it takes.

I guess I'm a bit of a sceptic when it comes to voice pedagogy, because I don't want singing teachers and methods that might lead me into wrong direction. But on the other hand if I'm afraid to use whatever is at hand and end up doing nothing then I will surely get nowhere.

Even though Frisell's book is full of information and it get's easily confusing, it has no audios etc, still he has laid down in his book how to step by step develop this kind of "superior state of development", and I've never read anyone describe that process before so accurately and knowledgeably. That really gives me some hope.

Thanks for the number Bob! I'm considering it..

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