Is this twang?

[VideoHere]

Is this twang that I'm feeling?

Is this the twang that I've been looking for?

Is this twang, or am I dreaming?

'Cause you've really got a hold on me ....

yes, I have butchered another song, making no apologies to David Coverdale ....

However, in all seriousness, sort of, twang, it does a body good.

Everybody have fun tonight

Everybody twang chung tonight.

One of my favorite authors was Mark Twang.

I am descended from the Twang Dynasty.

Keep trying, you'll get the twang of it. (come on now, that was a good one. (he says, ducking flying vegetables.))

this whitesnake song is a good one when you want to sound sexy and make people think you're better looking than you really are...lol!!!!

[ronws]

this whitesnake song is a good one when you want to sound sexy and make people think you're better looking than you really are...lol!!!!

Now, look who made a funny! Well done, Bob. A rather piquant bon mot.

Also, someone had mentioned "twanging vocal chords together." IMO, one does not "twang" chords together. I agree with Lunte, twang is a formant, as it were. A resonant set-up. Proximity of vocal folds to each other is another matter.

My opinion and $1.70 USD will get you a Diet Coke.

[Mr Bounce]

I think Rob is right. Twang is twang. It's a specific coordination of muscles in the throat. I used to confuse twang with some sort of raised larynx nasally thing and it's taking a lot of practise to isolate the twang and bring it into healthy singing.

[Robert Lunte]

Now, look who made a funny! Well done, Bob. A rather piquant bon mot.

Also, someone had mentioned "twanging vocal chords together." IMO, one does not "twang" chords together. I agree with Lunte, twang is a formant, as it were. A resonant set-up. Proximity of vocal folds to each other is another matter.

My opinion and $1.70 USD will get you a Diet Coke.

Hi Ron... I love ya bud, but I don't believe I said that 'twang was a formant'? I don't hear myself saying that. Twang is not a formant, twang is a vocal mode characterized by cricoid tilt, narrowing of the epiglottic funnel, amplification of 2000-3500 Khz frequencies and strong vocal fold compression. Because most of these components are physiological, vocal modes are physiological. Formants are are acoustic components. Dealing with overtones, frequencies, partials, etc... Consistent with TVS Methodology, we train physiological and acoustic components together to build a high performance "TVS Phonation Package" in our training.

Thinking about all the physical and acoustic details we discuss endlessly here on this forum in terms of a "Phonation Package", and then getting to really understand those components conceptually and then training to build the muscle memory and coordination of them together, is key to really solving many of the mysteries one singing technique. These 'groupings' that are organized into training work flows, is a big part of TVS Methodology. The benefit is, amazing results and because the work flows are very much to the point, it becomes an efficient way to learn how to sing. TVS students get results very quickly...

But no, twang is a vocal mode... formants are 'things' that live in the "Steve Fraser" , acoustic world.

[ronws]

Robert, you are not the one who said that and I am truly sorry that you thought that I was making that comment about you.

"Also, someone had mentioned "twanging vocal chords together." IMO, one does not "twang" chords together. I agree with Lunte, twang is a formant, as it were. A resonant set-up. Proximity of vocal folds to each other is another matter."

That is what I actually wrote. I used the word "someone" in order to be polite and not raise a stink. Epic fail, evidently.

I thought that I was agreeing with you that twang is a formant but you are saying it is not a formant. Though in your last line, you say it is a formant, which may be a typo.

It had been my understanding that twang was one thing and vocal fold compression was another. Either way, I stand corrected.

Peace, love, and understanding.

[Robert Lunte]

Ron, no need to "stand corrected"? Your cool, relax... Just confusion in the written medium is all. Twang and compression are not the same thing.

Twang is the vocal mode that creates compression. We get compression from a vocal mode known as, 'twang'... and from another vocal mode known as 'quack'. These two TVS vocal modes give us compression.

Quack we use in the training to build strength and coordination, but not in singing... its the ugly duckling.

Twang we use in the training and in singing because of its more favorable aesthetic... its the beautiful swan.

This is a classic TVS video. This is my friend and producer, Jason Shavey from Synergy Productions in Seattle, WA. When recording, you need a personal monitor system like this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RgDF1MzlQs

[Singers Advice]

There are not different kinds of twang. There is no such thing as 'nasal twang'. People often confuse nasality with twang and its not the same thing.

When I said nasal twang I didn't mean forcing it into the nose. There is no forcing involved its more of a sensation! And there is also no constriction you have to be retracted and there is minimum effort to the vocal folds. The nasal port is half open to prevent the larynx from constricting.

I'd really like to hear some examples of this type of twang that don't include the use of a half open nasal port if possible?

In Estill technique I learnt about oral twang with a closed velor port and nasal twang with open velor port. I know other techniques do not believe in this but there are different types and I have been using them in my proffessional career as a vocalist and vocal instructor for years. You should try them out.

[Robert Lunte]

I just don't see the relationship between the nasal cavity and twang? Twang is a vocal mode that involves configurations in the larynx and surrounding areas of the vocal tract... nasal is a resonant cavity, part of the vocal tract I suppose, but other than the fact that the nasal cavity is part of the cocktail of resonators and thus part of the singing experience..

I suppose any twang sample you here has a nasal resonant component to it, like any vocal mode would... twanging without the use or influence of the nasal cavity is probably impossible.

I feel like I'm being asked to demonstrate using my feet without using my knees... I don't understand the relevance?

I fear that you are confusing nasality with twang... a common mistake that many people that need to understand more about twang.

[Elrathion]

Hey Joereece

I'd like to chime in and help you while you're saving up for a program or some private lessons.

Keith rightfully spotted that you switched to falsetto while dropping the chest musculature going over your passagio. This is what happens naturally with most people training this. In a sense the question is not if you can twang, but where you need to train the twang the most.

The twang or pharyngeal is like a figurative glue which allows you to connect beter, get a firmer adduction w your cords. If your really high notes will be really pingy, twangy and with alot of headvoice musculature, your notes before that need to be "prepped" in order that when reaching those top ones, the voice can transition nicely.

The importance of training the passagio:

I think it's most importance for your voice (and any really) to don't forget to pay ALOT of attention to that difficult zone in your voice. It's not the B5, C5, ETC ETC which in the end will stay your most difficult notes, they will become as easy as a D4 perhaps, but those notes in between where the voice naturally wants to swap musculature all together is where the problem is. TRAIN THE HARD ZONE DOWNWARD (A4-B4 to like a B3)

I would like to stress that for a beginner singer there is not such a thing as too much twang or pharyngeal in that particular range. You can offcourse do it wrong that's why doing it w a teacher is much beter. Pavarotti says in an interview that during the FIRST 6 MONTHS his face would get ALL RED and it felt like he was being strangled, and the note quality was totally sacrificed. He says eventually the voice gets trained and takes on more body. He also asserts that most people give up there cse they think it will damage their voice and NEVER reach the full firmness he has over his passagio.

The golden thing to remember here is: the BUILDING BLOCK is NOT the perfected state. Often we want to fast forward to a non over adducted, non high larynxed sound, and sometimes even a low larynxed vibrant sound depending on style. However how do you teach someone this? Very few blessed people can just combine the bite in the voice with a stable larynx of the bat. That's why you seperate them initially, discover your limits safely, really train the mechanisms until it kicks in as a second nature. Once this is established you bring in other mechanisms, and they will naturally start to both work in your voice. While before they were polar opposites.

The twang or pharyngeal think of it like a pissed baby crying. That little baby adducts his cords like HELL all because of the huge airpressure would otherwise would ruin his precious little chords. He can do that for hours no problemo, doesn't ruin his voice. Would he however go halfway with his closure and apply alot of breath pressure, that would be lethal for the little guy. In the end, we're not gonna go that far as to sound like a baby while singing, that would be aweful, but we can learn about how much strenght can be developped from there!

About investing for your voice:

if you're serious about singing it should have big value for you. In the end what's money if you get a good voice. You can always make a dollar more or less. your voice will last you a lifetime. I invested alot of money myself training with teachers in different countries, and I think if you would ask Robert or anyone who teaches here, they prolly emptied their piggybank many a times to get some vocal thruth.

you can always add me to skype under the same name if you need some help, and continue training that voice. the best results and the safest route for you is always with a good ear though.

Good luck!

[ronws]

A crying baby also uses nasal resonance because he or she has not yet been trained by society to avoid anything with the word "nasal" describing. As singers, I think, we are trying to get back to what we once did naturally. Culture can be the biggest impediment to singing.

Singing is mental (I keep saying that and should probably stop.)

[VideoHere]

elra, great post.

i think it's important for folks to realize when you train hard, your singing voice may actually take a back seat at times to sounding good.

you are going to work through things that can appear like you've hurt your voice or you feel like you lost something in your voice, but as long as your haven't done something damaging, just worked really hard that day, you bounce back.

it's very similar to doing dumbell curls....you might add more reps with the same weight or you might add more weight, or you might bend over and do a concentration curl which attacks the muscle from a different point.

the next day you're a little sore because you called in areas of the muscle that you never worked before, but cumulatively it still builds the muscle.

some days i work light and some days i work heavy...lol!!!

[ronws]

elra, great post.

i think it's important for folks to realize when you train hard, your singing voice may actually take a back seat at times to sounding good.

some days i work light and some days i work heavy...lol!!!

I think these two statements should be stickies.

You've got to make some funny noises that you will eventually temper into something nice.

And the voice changes from day to day. Some days, you absolutely nail everything you do and other days, you feel lucky if you can even speak correctly. It happens to everyone. I have book of interviews with some of the great opera stars of days past. And they mentioned how the voice changes day to day. Especially problematic when they would have a two or three night engagement, let alone a run of an opera for a month or so.

[Elrathion]

Yes ,>

Learning to sing is such a rollercoster ;> Some notes which are easy the next day you have more issues with the other day. Then you feel you need to diagnose your voice all over again and see what you did different there :p