Working with lyric tone

[DoverOs]

I've been working on operatic singing. I've realized that I have a lyric tone with a middle baritone range; where I lack the deep bass-baritone sound, but can't go as high as the lyric/kavalier baritone before my voice thins out. Normally I'm around G2/G#2 - F#4, but at my best practice I've been Bb2 - G#4/A4. The problem is that I can't keep that higher range up and don't have the time to.

So I don't really know what to do from here. I don't like it when my voice thins out at the F#4, So I would like to darken the tone. I'm looking for any tips that would help to sing more dramatically if it's even possible. Or otherwise tips on keeping my operatic voice in that higher lyric range where i can hit the high f#4/g4 more easily.

[Robert Lunte]

EASY, leverage the tongue against the back of the bottom teeth and create back pressure so that you dampen your larynx. Now the trick is, you have maintain and hold this dampened position and sing "THROUGH" it. The problem singers and students get into is, they can engage intrinsic anchoring, but they can't hold it... it collapses as the vocalise or singing continues.

You have to learn to maintain the musculature required to stabilize the intrinsic anchoring through the entire time you are phonating. But again, the beautiful , 'theatery' color I suspect you are tying to get is largely due to tongue leveraging and the resulting larynx positioning that comes from it.

[DoverOs]

Thanks for the tips! I realized that If I change the YAH and LA vowels that I normally use to an EHH vowel I get a lot more pressure and chesty sound out of the notes.

[Robert Lunte]

You need to learn the language of voice technique so you can learn how to do it easier. Sorting it all out in your head in terms of the vocabulary and what is going on, enables the body to follow.

What your said, makes no sense and that is why you will remain confused about it. You need to understand what is REALLY happening with the physiology and acoustics to make that sound. I just explained it for you above, very briefly...

You have to train the larynx to dampen and train the strength of your intrinsic anchoring... also understanding vowels is important.

Its all explained in my lessons and book, 'The Four Pillars of Singing 2.0".

[DoverOs]

you mean that what I said isn't a permanent fix : P. I sure would love to understand how to dampen and learn about intrinsic anchoring and pressure, but what I meant, that if you sing a operatic scale using "yah" and then sing the same scale using "ehh", with the ehh vowel/word/letter/sound, whatever you would call it, creates a more dramatic tone.

[Robert Lunte]

:rolleyes::/

No, nothing I'm reading here from you is a "permanent" fix. A permanent fix will come when you raise the bar on your understanding of how singing works.

There is no such thing as an "operatic scale". A vocal scale is just a vocal scale and singer's that sing other styles of music, other than opera, train vocal scales as well. My training system, which is definitely contemporary.. has over 37 scales in it and 42 workouts and I'm teaching rockers, theater people, jazz singers, you name it. So this is an example of your confusion that is handicapping your progress.

It is not "whatever we call it".... Its called the "vowel". And in singing training,,we work a lot with vowels. We train specific vowels and rather avoid others. Different vowels create different results in the vocal tract and move the larynx around (the resonant space above your vocal folds) and that changes the color and formant (the way it sounds). When you sing an "ae" vowel as in "cat" it prevents your larynx from dampening (your larynx moving down slightly) and the formant/color doesn't sound as nice. When you sing your scale on an "Eh" vowel, the #1 preferred training vowel for TVS, you move your larynx into a more dampened position and your vocal tract is set up into a better configuration to create a better sound, which you are calling a "dramatic tone"... It is more "dramatic" because when you dampen the larynx, you get a darker or more "rounder" overtone to the sound and generally speaking... a more rounder overtone to your singing is what sounds better to the ear and for any genre'.

I hope this helps... but the bigger point here that I want you to grasp is, singing technique is complicated, there is no way around it... you have to learn as much as you can about what your talking about. The body follows the mind. Quality in, quality production. If you call your training vowels, "whatever", then your going to get "whatever" out your mouth when you sing. If you specifically train an "Eh" vowel because me or someone else advised you to do it, and you also understand that when you do, it is making your larynx dampen so you can get a better tone... then that is what your body will give you... provided that you have the physical strength and coordination to support the "Eh" vowel. And that is where your practicing of your vocal workouts comes in.

And before I get too ahead of myself, paste a link in here so we can hear what your doing.

Hope this helps... there's some tough love for you.

[Trip]

Robert, does this tongue leveraging exclude the arching of the tongue? By this I mean the tip touching the lower front teeth, and the middle touching the the upper back and middle teeth.

[Robert Lunte]

No. That position with the teeth touching the back molars fine. The bigger detail is to keep the tongue forward and leveraged... the degree by which it "arches" or touches the back of the molars is VERY contingent on each individual's unique physiology. Some people need a lot, others need a little, other yet still... don't need that at all.

I, for example, don't need it at all... and I do not teach my students to do that... Frankly, I find trying to keep the back of my tongue ALWAYS touching my back teeth to be clunky and not helpful. However, for some people's physiology, it may be helpful. Initially out of the gates, I would advise to NOT try to touch the back of your tongue to your back teeth, unless it is discovered later that its helping. I think its something you don't want to do if you don't have to...

I think its clunky and awkward... but its ok to try it and some people may need it. That's my point.

[DoverOs]

Success! I'm already sounding like a dramatic/verdi baritone. I'll post how I practiced, but """don't take my word for it!""" It worked for me, but it may not work for others.

I used the Eh vowel to dampen my larynx while trying to put in a lot of chesty vibration into the vowel. And then it was a matter of practicing my high Eh notes/texture, while I balanced between the naturally high production and emulating my deep voice.

Then it all fell into place, so that I can use the deep voice but still hit high notes. It's definitely something that involves a lot of muscle memory and doesn't come naturally to lyric singers, As well as being a lot slower progression than I described it.

[Robert Lunte]

Wow, that is great to hear! I am so happy that my suggestion helped you! I would love to train with you and meet you in person and see what your doing.

All of these details we are discussing existing inside one of the groupings found in the TVS Method, we call it the "Intrinsic Anchoring Set". And when you have them all coordinated and balanced against each other it DOES kinda slip in like an old boot... it settles into place, but you have to have all the components calibrated exactly.

You build the muscle memory with onsets and sirens.

Glad this worked for you... shoot me an email sometime.