Increasing stamina

[jonpall]

Hi! I believe that the reason why I seem to have much better luck singing songs in the tenor range at home than at band practise, is simply due to stamina. Everything is harder when the volume is up, your guitar is strapped on (for most of the songs), your posture might not be perfect, etc.

So I was wondering if you guys could give me any advice on how to increase stamina for singing in the tenor range?

I'm thinking that maybe it's a good idea to simply do my vocal exercises, sing some of my favorite songs, but just simply put in a lot of hours, making sure I rest for a few minutes (or hours) whenever my voice feels a bit tired. Then, hopefully, gradually my voice should get more stamina.

Any comments?

[Steven Fraser]

Hi! I believe that the reason why I seem to have much better luck singing songs in the tenor range at home than at band practise, is simply due to stamina. Everything is harder when the volume is up, your guitar is strapped on (for most of the songs), your posture might not be perfect, etc.

So I was wondering if you guys could give me any advice on how to increase stamina for singing in the tenor range?

jonpall: Seems you have ideas about what might be affecting your stamina in band practice. My suggestion is to work directly on those issues. Think deeply about how the higher volumes may be making the rehearsals harder... and then adjust your approach or technique so that you sing just as easily and well at that volume. Practice at home with your guitar strapped on, and checkpoint your posture when with your band. In fact, it may be useful for you to simulate your band environment in your home practice.... crank up the track, sing into a mic, wear the guitar, gyrate, emote... you get the idea. And, VIDEO yourself through an entire practice session with your band... and watch critically for the signs of losing ground.

And, don't forget physical training. Just remaining standing for 45 minutes at a time takes energy. If you are not already doing it, walks and medium-weight work will strengthen and stretch skeletal musculature so you have endurance beyond what you need.

While endurance (stamina) benefits from persistent training, even small improvements in technique can lessen the overall effort. In some of your rehearsals, set a goal to work a section of the song to the point that you can sing it with your best technique maintained through several runthroughs. When you can bring it to rehearsals repeatably, then its much more likely you'll be able to bring it to the performances.

[jonpall]

Thanks, Steven. Good ideas.

[VideoHere]

can you explain what you mean when you say "stamina" ??

[jonpall]

Isn't it self explanatory? What I mean is that you should not only be able to sing ONE difficult song well, in the beginning of the set, under perfect conditions, but have the endurance to do it song after song, night after night with pretty much the same sound.

[chele1000]

Can I add that stamina, as explained in the very last post, also requires taking very good care of your voice while not singing. And, also keeping yourself in good shape so you also have physical stamina. Can't sing well night after night without having the energy to hold it up! So, good rest and lots of liquids too! :)

[Marcus]

As a lot of people said, building physical strengh is good for vocal stamina. Work out at a gym a few times a week and do some running or spinning to work on cardio too. This, along with working out your voice, will help you build stamina. I'm of the opinion that your body (support muscles) should tire before your voice do when you're singing.

[jonpall]

Lots of good ideas. Thanks.

[VideoHere]

Isn't it self explanatory? What I mean is that you should not only be able to sing ONE difficult song well, in the beginning of the set, under perfect conditions, but have the endurance to do it song after song, night after night with pretty much the same sound.

okay then, stamina for me means:

mental imagery...positive affirmations: "tonight i will bring this venue to their knees with my vocals." "i am an indestructable vocal machine." "i will not tire till i exit the stage."

speaking with varied volume & varied pitch when i'm not on stage (my old days,lol!!!).

8 glasses of room temp. filtered water per day (mandatory, no missed days).

diaphram pumps

lat (back pumps) pumps

neck muscle stretches

lots of sleep

sirens (loud, soft, high low, varied, fast, slow)

practice correct (as can be) vocal technique

[Robert Lunte]

Cardio-Vascular, run! Sit ups, ab workouts... lean weight training with cardio.

[Kevinh]

When you say tenor range, what notes are you referring to exactly. I am taking classical training and plan to sing opera in a few years and one thing that I realized is that not covering the tenor passagio (E, E#, F, F#) will wear you out quickly. I know most pop and contemporary singers sing fairly open but one idea is to preserve your voice a little throughout the set and cover you sound a little so you actually have something left near the end.

Also, stamina requires your body to be physically fit, so I suggest cardio on a daily basis if possible. I do 3-5 miles a day to build up lung capacity and be able to control my airflow well, and this applies to all singing.

Chest workout also is good to open up your body and build up some strength but I was warned against really heavy lifting because that creates strain on your neck and larynx when you workout, and after extended periods, will make it harder to sing the tenor top (high A to high C). Ab workouts are also essential.

And as previous poster mentioned, this is a long process and requires you to take care of your voice. Partying alot, drinking heavily, smoking, etc. will only work against you.

[jonpall]

Tenor range, I don't know, something like E4-E5 (the 2 Es on each side of the male high C). Although a tenor would of course often go much lower than that, but rarely higher. But to me, E4-E5 has been the difficult part of my voice, but I've made good recent improvements. Even with grit there :)

[Freddie]

I think that the chords are so small that they really cant improve significantly by just singing for extended periods of time. I may be wrong.

But as previous posts here a fit body and healthy circumstances in general will affect the stamina positive. And ofcourse improving technique and making sure that good habits are maintained and bad habits are reduced.

Also positive emotion will definitely help. Just going for it and trusting your voice. I often get this sensation when doing live shows and afterwards notice that Im less worn out than after a regular band practice. And I party a lot before/after doing live sets.

A quick fix list:

Check what vowels you use on phrases you feel is wearing you out and try some vowel modification.

Make sure you hear yourself properly!

[drew77]

Kevin.....could you elaborate on what you mean by singing open and "covering" the notes. I've heard these terms before, but I've never really gotten a clear answer as to what they mean. Thanks

[gno]

jonpall - could it be that your monitor system at band practice isn't loud or clear enough or isn't compressed? If you are singing with no strain at home, maybe it is a matter of making sure your vocal monitor is loud enough, eq'd right, ect. It could be as simple as putting a compressor on the vocal signal. You don't need a compressor when singing at home, but without one at practice, you may have to sing loudly more often just to hear yourself over the drums.

[Kevinh]

Kevin.....could you elaborate on what you mean by singing open and "covering" the notes. I've heard these terms before, but I've never really gotten a clear answer as to what they mean. Thanks

It's a little difficult for me to actually explain the concept but I can hear a distinct difference when others do it, and can feel different sensation in my body when I do it.

Pavarotti explains the following 2 clips:

The idea is that the male throat closes around the passagio (E-F# for most tenors) and if the notes are sang open, the sound is strangled and white. Covering modifies the vowel so the sound is darker and you don't get the a very obvious register change from the chest voice to head voice. Ideally you want the passagio to sound the same as the notes preceding the passagio.

In the first video, Pavarotti modifies the vowel from a pure [ah] to a [aw] vowel that is close and to the o vowel. It creates more space in the mouth and throat and adds more support via the diaphragm. Although I have read that alot of tenors cover by changing the vowel towards the [ee] vowel.

[Steven Fraser]

In the first video, Pavarotti modifies the vowel from a pure [ah] to a [aw] vowel that is close and to the o vowel. It creates more space in the mouth and throat and adds more support via the diaphragm. Although I have read that alot of tenors cover by changing the vowel towards the [ee] vowel.

Kevinh: I think if you survey all of the approaches to 'cover' you will find that the vowels are modified toward those with lower first formants, shaded so that the overall tone quality is more consistent (as you mention in another section of your post). Specifically, /a/ ah gets modified toward /o/ and then toward /u/, and /E/ get modified to /e/ and then to /i/. For this latter approach, I can think of no better example than Alfreo Kraus.

In the ah series of tenor voice vowels, closing the vowel also reduces the frequency of F2, bringing it down so that it can align with one of the lower harmonics, usually the 3rd or the 4th, in a process which Donald Miller has popularly termed 'Second Formant tuning'. Pavarotti was a master of it. I disagree with him that it necessarily takes 10 years to learn. ;-)

[Steven Fraser]

Kevin.....could you elaborate on what you mean by singing open and "covering" the notes. I've heard these terms before, but I've never really gotten a clear answer as to what they mean. Thanks

Drew77: In the spoken Italian language, there are shadings of the vowels which are termed 'open' or 'closed', and rules related to syllabic stress (accent pattern) in which the open or closed form of the vowel is to be used. Physically, the open form of a vowel is done with the mouth slightly more open (that is, with more jaw drop and/or less lip rounding) than the 'closed' form. So, an open vowel has a more open mouth, and a closed vowel has a more closed mouth. When singing, Italians are not so picky about where in the word the vowel comes. They are much more concerned about making the very best, most resonant vowel.

Acoustically, the open vowels have higher tunings for both F1 and F2 resonances. With subtle vowel changes, the singer is optimizing the resonance characteristics of the voice to better suit the note being sung... making the voice more resonant/powerful, more easily produced, and more pleasing to listen to.

As the tenor voice proceeds upward from the center of the middle voice, the usual approach to retaining resonance is to let the mouth, (and the vowels) become progressively open by dropping the jaw, a technique called 'aggiustamento' (adjustment). This technique moves F1 and F2 higher as the harmonics go progressively higher through the scale. While effective, this strategy only works so far. If continued too high, the voice becomes pushed, shouty, strident, and does not transition to the high voice well.

So, classical tenor voices (and many others) have had success by letting the vowels adjust until about 3 half steps below the top of the middle voice, and then shading the vowels toward the more closed pronunciation, without actually closing the mouth. Rather, the shading of the vowel toward the closed form is done by letting the tongue do the shaping. The resulting vowel is perfectly acceptable to the ear of the listener, is fairly easy on the voice, and allows the singer to drop the registrational weight that it must to transition to the top voice. If it is awkward at all, it is because in the passaggio the alignment of harmonics and resonances is not perfect. However, it can be transitioned successfully using the closed vowel forms.

And, just to say it, the singer could also let the mouth close to accomplish something like the same thing. However, the formant tunings which result are different, especially in the relative tuning of F1 and F2. Each singer has to learn which approach gets them the effect that they want.

[denamurray]

I agree with a lot of what has been said. When in rehearsal or practice it is absolutely NOT necessary to perform at full tilt. If you are using a microphone, I often suggest that singers pretend the microphone is their audience when rehearsing. The only thing of importance when rehearsing is that you get on the same page as your band, if you are in one, becoming a unit. If soloing, it is practicing with the idea that you are in the process of breaking some bad habits that keep you from the endurance you seek. Yes, rest is important, but not as important as learning how to rehearse and practice appropriately.

A lot of endurance comes with the art of breath technique. I am not necessarily talking about how to use the diaphragm. I am talking about how to inhale the proper amount of air in order to engage the diaphragm and all support mechanisms correctly.

In my latest book, "Vocal Strength and Power" I have created exercises to correct the most common of bad habits, as well as help by showing you how to apply and practice this method in songs. I highly recommend this book. I know it will help as it has so many others, including instructors, already. It was just released this last November by Hal Leonard Corp. and includes a review by Steven Fraser.

Hope I have helped in some way