Help needed with TVS exercices

[forest_gimp]

It has been several monthes now that I have bought Pillars and have settled a daily routine.

I have already made a post showing me practising mezza di vocce and contract and release exercices from the book.

Here is a video of me practising these exercices on the notes B4, A#4 and A4

These are my most difficult notes as you can notice.

I am deeply satisfied with my high Cs and anything above, but i am wondering seriously if i will be able to beef up my head voice to sing A4s consistently. I am kind of fed up with this note because it seems if i am not very fit vocally, i am losing most of my resonance and it just doesn't sound good.

I am considering bringing back my chest voice here instead. If you think about it, is it really bridging late? True that some people would say yes because they are covering their head tones way earlier, like on F4 or F#4, but at the same time, my voice is sitting quite high ( i am tenor), so, shall i bring my chest voice up to A4 and bridge later?

I require your help because i hesitate to change my training routine and focus more on my high belts. But maybe i am too impatient... don't know what to do.

Edit : and sorry for the French accent :)

[ronws]

It doesn't sound good to you. It sounds fine, to me. You cannot hear yourself as others hear you, proven, once again.

However, Robert's latest work is including later bridging, which you could certainly do, if that makes you more comfortable. Technique is important, yes, but confidence goes a long way, too. And if you are confident that you are making the sounds you want, the confidence shines through and makes for a stronger performance.

The only other thing I noticed is that your messa di voce was not very messa. That is, it should have been soft volume to loud volume to soft volume. Your volume was even and it sounded more like contract and release.

You can also do the reverse messa di voce, loud to soft to loud, just for grins.

[gilad]

Forest: As a 4 Pillars student my self, I think you did an excellent job on the onsets. I am with Ron when it comes to your Messa Di Voce as well.

Good luck!

[Jens]

It sound good mate, just continue train. as far as bringing up chest, why not? But dont let this go, your on he right track, just to clarify you dont have to choose between late/early train both then you can choose what you wanna do for the given song cheers

[Owen Korzec]

As a baritone, those notes are some of my stronger head tones actually...I would think you can probably strengthen them as well.

But if you are a tenor, then bridging at A4 might be okay most of the time.

Generally speaking, if you can sing the note in chest voice consistently, it's not too high to bridge there for full volume singing.

[VideoHere]

or you could engage more support and just say it's time to eliminate the expectation or the perception of bridging....have one connected voice of varying intensities.

it helped me greatly when i just stopped worrying about a bridge and focused on narrowing. then it's more about contouring and vocal tract shaping rather than something to cross into or come out of. it's fine in the beginning, but then you have to move away from this i believe.

[ronws]

or you could engage more support and just say it's time to eliminate the expectation or the perception of bridging....have one connected voice of varying intensities.

it helped me greatly when i just stopped worrying about a bridge and focused on narrowing. then it's more about contouring and vocal tract shaping rather than something to cross into or come out of. it's fine in the beginning, but then you have to move away from this i believe.

Absolutely brilliant insight.

[forest_gimp]

Hello guys,

Firstly, thank you all for the advice, and taking the time to see the video.

Recieving encouragement from seasoned singers makes me think i am on the right track.

I have been able recently to feel much more chest resonance and deeper placement recently, especially in the High C area. There is indeed a feeling of narowing although this narrowing isn't straining or strangling the voice.

Here is small high C video :

I really feel that around the high C something changes in my placement and resonance. The camera doesn't really show it but what i am doing in the video is very loud and i can feel the physical efforts on my support muscles.

I hope i will be able to bring this on lower notes!

[gilad]

Damn bro! You brought it!!!

[forest_gimp]

Thanks man! Yeah, I am allowing myself a moment of self congratulation because i have been working on this stuff for monthes :-)

I am going to fuel this tread with resordings to keep you and myself acquainted with these exercices. I still need to work on the glotal attacks but it scares me a bit to practise this stuff.