HELP

[D.Starr]

Anyone know any good exercises to get this sound?

The way he hits those Gs is amazing. Light and connected, full voiced.

Recently I posted the audio with me doing some creaky/witchy/cry style thing up in the good old “passaggio”?

Well I really can’t sing past E4 now without some form of distortion or grip. I think I may have introduced a bad habit.

I either have to flip to falsetto so I don’t grind or force in that sound. The sound is really bad though, it’s starting to grate my cords and doesn't sound very pleasant.

I've tried a few things to get rid of it but nothing is happening.

Here’s the clips again.

https://www.box.com/files/0/f/0/1/f_1232479131

https://www.box.com/files/0/f/0/1/f_1232479673

Maybe I just need to stick at it and blend it into a more natural tone but it’s starting to grip at my neck muscles.

Anyone know any good exercises that will keep me connected? I want to be full voiced and not light but connected, I tend to flip if I do it too light.

I just need something to get rid of this gripping in my neck. It’s really frustrating.

[Guest]

D. Starr, I think you're in the same position I've always been in: you want to work on your technique, but you also have gigs every week, so you don't want to bust yourself down to the basics and feel like you're shirking your practice duties. Basically, you and I can 'fake' it... enough to get paid steadily... but we want it to be more versatile, more comfortable, and just generally more like our heroes. Am I in the right neighborhood here?

I struggled with that catch 22 for years and I still do sometimes, but the lesson I keep relearning is that the stuff that got me the gigs to begin with won't disappear if I neglect it for a week. Your ear, your soul... that stuff isn't going anywhere, and it's not like if we don't sing any DECENT A4s during practice, we won't be able to sing any DECENT ones during the gig. We could probably take 5 years off and still have that same old decent A4 we started off with. Since that's the case - since, for example, your decent A4s aren't going anywhere - you may be better off spending your practice time hitting GREAT E4s and trying to ensure that none of them are AS BAD AS DECENT. Know what I mean?

I'm just kind of throwing random notes out there, because I'm sure we're at different points in our development, but I just wanted to reassure you that your game won't fall apart if you REALLY go back to basics for a bit. You don't want to get stuck in that old trap of saying "I know I can do this. I'll just try one more time" 20 times until you're hoarse... pride goeth before a fall!

[ronws]

D, he's in head voice. But resonating like a big dog. And so can you. You answered your own question. You are gripping. Let it go, release.

You can do this.

And props to the guy you linked. I liked his interpretation of this. Not an MJ clone, but a true "cover," in his own voice. As you should do.

[Owen Korzec]

He's doing some killer F1/H2 formant tuning, I think that's what you are hearing.

The TVS late bridging approach isn't too far off from this. KTVA could definitely get you these sounds as well. Not sure about CVT.

But most importantly private lessons. Someone's gotta show you how to nail that tuning.

You may also be able to sort of learn it just by imitating this guy to the best of your ability. Try to find that kind of resonance he's getting by experimentation.

[VideoHere]

you might be wrong in your assumption that he's "light."

you aren't him.

you might need more or less breath tension to achieve a similar sound per your particular voice.

[Guest]

Vedo is great, one thing you notice is that he doesn't "hold back" he's resonating like a beast. He's using a boatload of twang and you can hear some of the "darkness" or relaxed larynx sound.... Vedo can sing on par with a female singer if you saw the battle rounds of The Voice.

Look at his face, it's very open and relaxed, cheeks boned activated... upper lip is slightly up and forward which helps resonance even more.

There's no short cut to sing like this... nail the passaggio with YOUR voice... then slowly slowly build towards this style. There's no doubt you can produce this sound D.Starr I have heard your voice... but if your falsetto is weak let it BE weak.

Let yourself be vulnerable in order to learn.... you're not going to beat out vedo and all the singers you admire unless you find your OWN way to get to that result. Like videohere said you might have to dampen your larynx or sing more heavy mass or more light mass.

Sing the whole song in head voice as low as you can. Then try singing it with a similar texture right at the passaggio. I don't think vedo has a completely developed mixed voice... I just think he's one of the naturals who figured out what worked for him.

D.Starrr.... if you hate falsetto so much then get rid of it. Train until the point where your head voice is so big and boomy and powerful there it will make your speaking voice submit. Not the other way around... you are not Michael Jackson yet... you need to trust yourself and everything you have learned up until this point to get you to those notes.

The biggest problem is you're not going to like what you sound like at first... call it the pain period (I'm there now) but eventually have faith and determination in those parts of your voice and create the beauty you seek.

Try applying a dark timbre... being witchy as #@$) is only part of the equation for me....

Look at it this way.. since your falsetto is underdeveloped the sound is "dark" right? I could be wrong. If you record yourself flipping the sound becomes darker right after you "brighten" up and get witchier to maintain adduction.

For me... I have to do both apply twang AND darkness to maintain the masculine quality of my voice.

Go Ngg all the way up to passaggio then switch to Uhhh and hold it there for a bit... if you lose witchiness then you fail. The vowel itself (if you don't like Uh try whatever works for you) helps maintain masculine texture "darkness" which is what an undeveloped head voice sounds like.. dark... woofy... how can a bright powerful chest tone mix into something that is woofy and dark?

But... I could be totally wrong so take this with a grain of salt pal :)

[VideoHere]

you know another thing to realize also is he standing on wall to wall carpet or hardwood floors? ...how high is the ceiling...that sounds like a pretty "live" room acoustically which will amplify (and mislead you) as well.

if you sing in a very live room with its natural amplification even a substandard singer can end up sounding good.

[Guest]

Videohere you should see this guy on the voice... it's so inspiring him seeing him compete and STAND his ground with female singers.

Maybe his technique is not perfect... maybe he hasn't read a book on singing... but if you know his story and really listen I think he's a well-rounded r&b/pop singer with or without amplification.