guitar67 Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 Can anybody give me some tips on how to sing high notes quietly? I have a pretty typical baritone voice but whenever I go past a D4 I can't help but start belting out the notes much louder than necessary. It's not a range problem, I'm sure - I can get up to an A4. But does this have something to do with vocal weight? An example of the sound I'm going for is anything by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Anthony Kiedis can always seem to make his higher notes sound just as quiet and relaxed as his low notes. Whenever I go up high it gets really loud and I feel pretty tense as well. Any tips? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar67 Posted February 15, 2013 Author Share Posted February 15, 2013 Okay, thanks for the help, I'll give that a try. But Anthony Kiedis' high notes don't sound like head voice. It definitely sounds like chest voice to me. Is there any way I can get the same effect, but with chest voice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VideoHere Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 great video dan. you make it look so easy. a suggestion i would like to add is be aware of the onset...start light to end light. don't onset too heavy or you'll lock up, or have too much weight to shed on the way up. singing light and consistently connected throughout is not easy, especially if you have a big voice, or a "sing heavy" mentality in place. you have to "mentally lighten" as well. support is required to control your exhalation. another thing to keep in mind when you practise softly which can really throw you off is the room's acoustics. a really dead room, (with wall-to-wall carpeting, drapes, bed spreads) can really throw you off as opposed to a more live room....high celiings, hardwood floors, reflective items. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar67 Posted February 15, 2013 Author Share Posted February 15, 2013 Sure. Check out this song at 1:03 when the chorus starts. I can sing the first part "Tell me baby whats your story" just fine, but when he goes up to "where you come from and where you wanna go..." I can't help but practically yell it out. My jaw gets really tense too. But Anthony sings it just fine, he's not exactly "quiet" about it, but he certainly isn't yelling it like I am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar67 Posted February 15, 2013 Author Share Posted February 15, 2013 great video dan. you make it look so easy. a suggestion i would like to add is be aware of the onset...start light to end light. don't onset too heavy or you'll lock up, or have too much weight to shed on the way up. singing light and consistently connected throughout is not easy, especially if you have a big voice, or a "sing heavy" mentality in place. you have to "mentally lighten" as well. support is required to control your exhalation. another thing to keep in mind when you practise softly which can really throw you off is the room's acoustics. a really dead room, (with wall-to-wall carpeting, drapes, bed spreads) can really throw you off as opposed to a more live room....high celiings, hardwood floors, reflective items. Thanks, I'll give this a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VideoHere Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 can you send a video of this guy's voice (live)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eggplantbren Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Anthony Kiedis is probably not singing as quietly as you think. Chest-voice-sounding notes on high pitches aren't quiet. They'te medium at least Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felipe Carvalho Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Can be done, but hardly will fit RHCP material. I would like to know too which song and which part. If it was Journey I would understand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VideoHere Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 this is no big deal. here's what i want you to do, to get in that part of the voice. replace the lyrics with the sound "wee" or "wuh." don't sing the words, sing every word and syllable using "wee." don't squeeze! keep the mouth from spreading! "tell me baby, what's your story." i counted 8 "wee's" "wee" "wee" "wee" "wee" (quick breath) "wee" "wee" "wee" "wee." sing these just like you would sing the words. see if that doesn't help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronws Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 head voice and a well-mixed track, done by a professional recording engineer with a producer right at his elbow. And, may I add, Flea is just demonic, slapping that bass. Yummy groove in this song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar67 Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 Thanks guys! This really helps a ton. I'm definitely going to try some of these tips next time I practice, probably tomorrow. I'll report back and let you know how it goes :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felipe Carvalho Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar67 Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 I gave it a try today. Using the suggestions I got here I was able to control my volume a LOT better. VIDEOHERE's "wee" exercise really helped a ton. I'm still not 100% there, but I'll keep working at it. I definitely feel like I'm heading in the right direction now. Thanks for the help everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danielformica Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 You can't be 100% there in a couple days no matter what exercise is given.. It takes months a bunch of months:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar67 Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 Exactly :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronws Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 Let me add that bunch of months alone is not the solution, by itself. I have sung for a long time, and probably a lot of it the wrong way. And since being in this forum almost 3 years, I have improved in that time, as well. It's not how long you have sung, it's not how long you sing in a given session, it is how you sing that is important. Focus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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