my "A"s

[djohn11s]

There is something funny going on with my "A"s, and I can't tell if it is me or the recording, any advice?

Also, thanks for having me! This place seems amazing.

[Owen Korzec]

There is something funny going on with my "A"s, and I can't tell if it is me or the recording, any advice?

Also, thanks for having me! This place seems amazing.

It's you because the other vowels sound fine for the most part. If it were the recording it would all sound that way.

The way you're forming the vowel, you are amplifying the bright harmonics of the ay instead of the dark harmonics. Probably because the vowel shade is just a little off and more likely than that, you may be just be squeezing too hard.

Relax the throat a bit and try working on just that vowel in that range on a "hey" (but don't go to the "y" at the end just the first part more like heeeeeh") and hold it out...mess around with it until it sounds more boomy and round.

Could be some other things involved, maybe nasality and/or tongue tension but mainly I think it's just too much squeeze at the vocal folds. Let some more air flow through and let the larynx sit a tad lower. And it might help to try to imitate the ay's of other singers that sound better than yours. That will probably be a better way to figure out the necessary adjustments without overthinking it.

This forum is indeed really awesome!

[Steven Fraser]

There is something funny going on with my "A"s, and I can't tell if it is me or the recording, any advice?

Also, thanks for having me! This place seems amazing.

djohn11s: I don't hear any 'Ah' vowels in this rendition, they are all shaded toward 'A' as in 'Hat'. IMO, you are smiling too much :-)

[Owen Korzec]

Steve, I think he means the "ay" vowels. Like how we pronounce the letter "A". I did hear something funky about them and I think you could give a better answer as to what it was.

[eggplantbren]

Which part were you unhappy with?

[Steven Fraser]

Steve, I think he means the "ay" vowels. Like how we pronounce the letter "A". I did hear something funky about them and I think you could give a better answer as to what it was.

Owen Korzec: Ok, that makes more sense.

DJohn11s: I hear several things going on in the ay vowel:

1) You are singing it quite a bit more brightly than the rest of the vowels. For it to be more unified with the other vowels, the jaw must be dropped just a bit more, and the hump of the tongue encouraged to rise slightly higher to compensate. These two motions taken together will make a slightly broader, fuller tone, while maintaining some of the ping you have going.

2) While some of your vowels have a nice, easy vibrato, the ay does not have any. This makes it sound out-of-place by comparision. You can take some of the pressure off of these vowels by reducing the intensity by 15-20%, and they will free up.

3) As an extension of the idea in #1, keep in mind that in English, ay is actually a dipthong. You can broaden the first part of that toward E (eh) a bit, and as long as there is a flash of ee at the very end, the word carries across quite well.

I hope this is helpful.