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VOWEL MODIFICATION COMBINATIONS THAT ARE POWERFUL?

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Robert Lunte

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I think you are basically talking about the same. It's just that calling it "shaping" gives more of an indication that it is only a slight adjustment.

In singing didactics there is basically two ways and either one may work better on a certain individual: You can either train for certain shapes of the vocal tract, using things like "resonant spaces" or picture words or imagination of a yawn or whatever. OR you can train on certain vowels to get the vocal tract shape you want and then apply "vowel-shadings" to get the vowels you actually wanted to sing while trying to keep as much of the vocal tract shape of the vowel that worked well for you on a certain note.

Training vocal tract shaping by other means has the benefit of not relying on vowel modification but may be a little more difficult in the beginning.

Everything you said here is exactly what I'm saying. Vowel "modification" for me changes the sound of the vowel too much; vowel "shaping" retains more of the pure vowel sound.

For me changing the way a word sounds on purpose to make it easier for you - as a rule - is a big no-no. That's what the grunge guys did and to me its lazy singing.

Sure, guys like Freddie Mercury sang "forev-ah" instead of "forev-er" but he didn't do it because the vowel was hard, he did it because singing a pure "er" sounds weird to the ear; its not how we say it. But that has more to with speech recognition of the human ear than singing technique or training.

My song performance mantra is " sing it like you'd day it. Works every time.

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Kevin, we are developing training content. Not all training content has to be directly applied to singing. To think that any technique that is invented, has no value to the singer in any way, unless it can be directly applied to the act of singing, is something I can't agree with you on and I don't think you believe that either... do you teach your students some kind of semi-occluded phonation to warm up? Lip trills or resonant tracking on nasal consonants? If so, then there you go... nobody is going to do lip trills when singing, but it sure as hell adds value to singers when warming up, getting stronger, etc... And in any case, strengthening your musculature and becoming more verse and coordinated with vowels does help your singing? So, I guess Im not clear on what your arguing for? Are you saying, "don't develop vowel modification workouts and experiment with ways to build more strength and musculature because.... Im not going to use a "contract & release" onset when I sing a Journey song"?

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Actually no, I don't use lip trills, hums, or nasal sounds etc. for warm ups with my students; I go for full on sounds right away. Neutral sounds. As the voice warms up, we go to more open sounds and higher tones. I use lip trills and hums more for warm downs.

No, I'm not saying that ALL vocal exercises have to be geared to a singing aesthetic, obviously there are only certain ways one can build certain co-ordinations and build muscular strength, and those exercises don't have a specific relation to singing songs, but I think eliminating as many that don't and staying with what does makes for quicker success.

I will say I don't advocate vowel modification workouts because I don't believe in vowel mods. But that's semantics and my personal choice in how I teach and the methods I use to sing. If it works for others, that's fine. I just choose not to.

Something like "Contract & Release" is a great technique for learning that raspiness you do in the video; but there are other ways to build musculature that have a more direct application to singing than "C&R".

I understand the desire to train as many things in as many ways as possible, and Robert we all know you're a geek on that stuff; but I approach things in a bit of a simpler, more direct fashion. Nothing wrong with either mindset - just personal choice.

I don't like wasting time - I'm getting older - so straight to the meat and potatoes please!

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i've gotten great strengthening results with crying like a baby (like dave brooks advocates).

each day I make it a point to just cry all different ways...it sounds well, like crying...lol!!!!

other days I meow my ass off....lol!!!

I'm not a fan of "sob" so much. I think SLS overuses it to get resonance and I think it is the major reason the majority of SLS singers tend to sound thin.

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Last year, three specialized onsets I developed help work the interarytenoids, in fact that was the main purpose of the specialized onsets. This above demonstrated "contract & release", "attack & release" & "dampen & release" onsets. I want to now find what vowel combinations will do a similar thing.

It would be more of combining consonants with vowels that would achieve similar results to things like "attack & release" and "dampen & release" not vowel combos.

"Contract & Release" is a consonant/vowel combination of "Mm" and "ae"

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Guys, it's called vowel MODIFICATION, so you only MODIFY the vowels and not really sing a completely different one (not unless perhaps if your extremely high in pitch). I think most of you are just saying the same thing, except how you would go on about teaching/learning it.

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Contract and release uses 3 concepts that can help induce cord closure if done slowly and purposefully.

The contraction part of the exercises contains the application of twang, larynx lowering, and slighty lowered & back jaw... and keeping the tongue on the tip of the teeth.

Sounds like a lot to do but it really really does work and you can FEEL the closure working. I think Rob is looking for vowel combos that NATURALLY have this type of closure or combinations that can help build it.

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Modify means slightly alter. In Lilli Lehmans book "How to sing" she would tell you to sing the vowel but think on the other vowel. There were several illustrations with the main vowel in BOLD TYPE and other vowels above and below for you to think while singing the main. I guess that was to help you get the idea of shaping the vocal tract for difficult vowels in certain areas of the scale.

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Guys, it's called vowel MODIFICATION, so you only MODIFY the vowels and not really sing a completely different one (not unless perhaps if your extremely high in pitch). I think most of you are just saying the same thing, except how you would go on about teaching/learning it.

That's right. I think we're getting into semantics here. When I think of Vowel Modification - it is changing the formants of the "Spoken" vowel to handle different pitches. The art is to change only slightly so that it sounds like the same vowel. You can call that Vowel Shaping if you want, it is the same thing.

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Yep, I think the root of that discussion is mainly the 'belting' or 'belty resonance' thing. There is this video where Rob suggests the modification of EE -> EH and OO -> OH on high notes, which is a quite big modification. Of course that video is directed to beginner's (I think) just to make the point more clear. I think what some guys want to point out here is, that you don't need to modify to a completely different vowel to sing high notes.

However, in CVT, there is also that statement, that if you want to sing 'metallic' (= 'belty', 'chesty', whatever...) you are limited to the vowels EH, OH, OE depending on which mode you choose. Vowels like OO and EE are impossible on high notes in metallic mode according to CVT.

So, if you want to sound really really beefy on really high notes you have to stay away from OO and EE or you will sound more 'heady'. In this case you really need to go to a different vowel, not only modify it. Of course this is a matter of sound choice ('belty characteristics') and doesn't mean that you can't sing high notes on OO or EE.

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Im not a tech geek Kevin and Im not wasting time. Im developing training content that helps singers and has proven to help singers every single day... including the specialized onsets. The specialized vowel modifications will also help singers greatly and innovations on vowel modification that create training content for singers to get stronger and more coordinated is a valuable endeavor, worthy of respect.

"shading" vs "modifying" its synonymous and is the same damn thing Kevin... no need to argue semantics...

In any case, I think I have what I need... this is not going to turn into a discussion about how Kevin thinks that new vowel modification innovations and ideas for singers to train are geeky and a waste of time... What is my other option Kevin, to not create new content? To not try to be innovative and help singers? To not come up with new ideas and just take the easy way out? Just make videos on YouTube only and hope people will by my mediocre product that is never updated or never has any new ideas in it like so many of my colleagues? No, that is not how I roll... I push myself, my product and my clients forward... and yes, maybe even the industry of voice pedagogy forward in some modest ways... That is how you make a difference in the world...

.... on the other hand, in Kevin's defense, I do tend to be big on "systems", creating categories, lists and organizing technical details about voice training... The experience of training singing technique can be very abstract and vague for many... I don't have to tell you guys that... so systems like work flows, specialized onsets, specialized vowel modification sets, etc... sit on the front lines of eliminating the mystery and questions about how to train singing technique. I have always said that TVS & "Pillars" is first and foremost about training. Training techniques and training content for students of singing to train. "The Four Pillars of Singing" is a gym, I am a physical trainer for your voice. I'm not a doctor, Im not a research scientist, I am a physical trainer.

Those of you that contributed to the idea were very helpful. Thank you...

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Hah, Tuche'! You have been zinged by the ever informed and talented membership of the TMV World Forum! Ya Kevin, I think you modify more then you lead on ... btw, I have heard this "Run to the Hills" sample and it sounds great!

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"uh" (book) is a great vowel to build a head voice like no other provided you find the pocket in your voice and support it well.

many great singers have strong "uh" and it can have a range that goes more towards "uh" as in (love).

and the "oo" that's the tuning vowel...the unsung hero.... when it's produced from an "ah" or an "oh."

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Bob, according to the "Closed Vowels - Not Singer Friendly" vowel table in "The Four Pillars of Singing", "OO" as is "took" gives you the upside down horseshoe , IPA symbol. "Uh", is more like "run".

"OO" as in "woman", sits well with me because it is very closely related to "Uh", however, IPA "U" as in "too".. is a bitch.

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I checked out the CVI vowels today and I thought it was interesting that there is no "Uh", "Ah" or "oo" for any of their modes? In particular, to not use "Uh" or "Ah", seems to be a missed opportunity?... just an observation this morning as I rake over the information.

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Robert... the "i" vowel as in sit when ascending the scale if combined with serious twang can yield some real muscle building results!

And then as soon as the passaggio is clear switch back to eh as in "hey" and descend. Works REALLY good with TVS.

And the ooh as in woman is great in general...

Rob I think your missing something though... I know the TVS book mentioned top down. Some vowels which are not good ascending the scale can turn out to be great when DESCENDING from head voice. I'm no expert but for example descending from "oo" and ascending from "ouh or Uh" is freakin' AWESOME.

The special onsets combined with the TVS foundation building routine was honestly worth every penny... thanks for inventing TVS rob x)

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Great post Jay... thanks for your input and you are welcome for the TVS inventions... yes, I am proud of these specialized onsets... they are just great! NOW... in regards to the ever evolving TVS pedagogy, we endeavor to combine the specialized onsets with specialized or recommended vowel combinations and we have some REALLY kick butt, NEW training content for singers!!! the onsets + the new vowel modifications would seem to "complete the circle" and give just about everything angle a student could train...

Im actually put a lot of work into it today... not a full day of teaching, so using the time to pound on this information and experiment here in my studio for the book...

Yes, it is clear to me that "ih" is a big player in this story ... And yes, descending vs ascending has to be considered.

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