Guest Posted November 26, 2012 Share Posted November 26, 2012 Hey all, I have been doing my descending oo, ee, slides/sirens in head voice notes, usually I am more successful in bridging on vowels like "eh" or "a" (as in cat). Voice is still awkwardly breaking much of the time, usually at the beginning of practicing I can achieve a smooth blend but towards the middle/end the voice begins "flipping" again. Also it feels difficult to sustain notes over 10seconds in the upper register, however I can hold much longer in the lower-mid notes. Can anyone suggest some things to do to have freedom, strength, and blend in the upper register? (Please don't say "get a coach" lol) Thanks in advance. - JayMC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mivke Posted November 26, 2012 Share Posted November 26, 2012 For me, what seems to be working (except help from my coach xD) is to basically just make sure my basics or working, then aiming for consistency and comfort. I'm a beginner myself, so I do not have any insider info to share. But for me I find progress by singing, doing the basic exercises most people already know about WHILE making sure I do not loose my foundation. This is harder than it sounds but at the same time quite easy since all you have to do is put in focused time to see progress. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 26, 2012 Author Share Posted November 26, 2012 Thanks Mivke, I noticed today that just doing plain old humming sirens I could bridge better and easier. Basics do help especially when in uncharted territory lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.Starr Posted November 26, 2012 Share Posted November 26, 2012 Found this video helpful Nothing wrong with flipping and breaking, it's a learning curve of knowing when to let things take control. Keep it light, don't push and support through to the end. You'll get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danielformica Posted November 26, 2012 Share Posted November 26, 2012 Jay most likely if you have been practicing lots of headvoice slides your cords are used to being slightly more apart than in chest. My advice would be to practice like you sing. I had the same problem years ago i was so convinced that by practicing headvoice high it would get stronger and stronger and i totally neglected my chest/fullvoice and I ended up struggling. You need to work out your voice like you sing in other words you wouldnt flip or sing in a pure headvoice. So don't practice like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VideoHere Posted November 26, 2012 Share Posted November 26, 2012 great advice...work on both...work to merge both...it takes time!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronws Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 Rats, Jay. I wanted to say "get a coach," just to see what it felt like to say it. Now, I can't. I liked Daniel's reply the best. Nothing I could add to it and I'm not a pro, anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VideoHere Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 owen, there are a lot more benefits to those descending head voice slides than just building a stronger head voice. most importantly, you are building a coordination and memory to help keep the voice lifted so it's habitually positioned up and away from the throat. this way there's less inclination to pull up from below and more towards descending onto or landing on top of a high note. also, these light slides make a great warmup/warmdown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share Posted November 28, 2012 ^^ I'm going to have to agree with BOTH of you. As a beginner its easy for me to see what exercises help me the most. The descending head voice slides are GREAT and help you get the "floaty" feeling. However Owen is right when he says you gotta go bottom-up too! Slowly and gently sirening from bottom-top AND top-bottom is much more effective than going down a one way street. It's something you can incorporate right away, it doesn't take long to siren throughout the whole range... is it uncomfortable? sometimes yes, but that is the only way lol! Thanks guys, great advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronws Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 What I like about resonant tracking is that it is a multi-tool. You find your resonance, balance of breath for phonation, and onset, all at once. Resonant tracking could also be called fast-tracking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VideoHere Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 ^^ I'm going to have to agree with BOTH of you. As a beginner its easy for me to see what exercises help me the most. The descending head voice slides are GREAT and help you get the "floaty" feeling. However Owen is right when he says you gotta go bottom-up too! Slowly and gently sirening from bottom-top AND top-bottom is much more effective than going down a one way street. It's something you can incorporate right away, it doesn't take long to siren throughout the whole range... is it uncomfortable? sometimes yes, but that is the only way lol! Thanks guys, great advice! jay, the biggest mistake one can make (i know, i've done it) is to associate an exercise with a sound ideal. those head voice slides have done more to strengthen my head voice musculature than i can tell you. they get very strong and rich sounding after a while and help you get to the merge with chest voice musculature you need, to get to your mix without digging up from below. just because an exercise feels lightweight doesn't mean it's not conditioning and developing the vocal musculature. i remember doing exercises saying to myself, this feels like nothing, this doesn't feel like it will build anything....but man was i wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronws Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 As a beginner its easy for me to see what exercises help me the most. More a mental question than a technical question. How do you know that it has helped you? Has it made a note or a song that you are working on easier? Everyone is working on some song. I'm working on a few, right now, nothing even I would care to post, as yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now