Excercises. I'd appretiate some help regarding my compression.

[Xamedhi]

Well, in 2008 I took some lessons and misunderstood a lot of the concepts I was being taught.

One of those was "relaxing" and the "yawn" sensation.

I became obsessed with that and worked to avoid any kind of tension I had, while applying always that "yawning" sensation, which I used incorrectly as I overdid it and caused a series of problems, to the point that some kind of pain or bothering sensations appeared on my soft palate. (Edit: To clarify, I left this bad habit some months after I started applying it, altough after I still opened more than normal and unconsciously I was lowering my larynx too much.. making my voice sound very "swallowed")

I don't need that exaggerated openness as I have kind of a natural shaping tendency. lol ..

The "relaxed" feeling, in time, made me sing with a constant falsetto-ish configuration, even in my chest voice.. when I had to do a very low note instead of using a vocal fry, for example, I just went with air..in falsetto.

Edit1: I got those things right like in 2011, And have been working in a more normal and correct way since then. But the relaxed glottis and breathy still remained.. until now, that I am working on the metal he heh..

Singing like that for 4+ years I think has reduced my ability to compress...or twang, (I still have a little confusion about those terms) to have that metal, brass, edge on my voice. Whatever you wanna call it. Even If I do my best effort my voice still sounds a bit breathy, even though I a using as little air as possible.

In my headvoice the problem accentuates. I find it very difficult to add, even if am trying to do it very thin, that compression, muscle.. or whatever I need to make a sound with more "core". It still sounds breathy.

I wanted to ask some help in this aspect.

Is there any excercise specialized in working and developing that metallic, compressed sound?

When I was practicing today I found that starting with a glottal attack onset makes kind of easier to find that closure. Should I keep practicing like that? Or can it cause some kind of damage to my folds if I abuse that onset?

Today I used it a lot and didn't feel any pain, tickle.. no problems at all.. In fact and hour or two later when my voice was more rested, I felt in my speaking voice a lot "stronger".

Could you recommend me some kind of excercise for this please?

Getting better at my chest voice compression will help my headvoice too? Or is it advisable to train them separately..

Any help or comment will be highly appretiated.

Thanks in advance, guys.

[Xamedhi]

Currently the range of my chest register is aprox C3 to F-F#4 .. I have been using it for some time up to G very well and A4 when I can.. But I feel it drains a lot of my stamina when singing too much. ( in headvoice I can go up to like D5 without any tension.. from up there I start to constrict external muscles, anyway, my headvoice sounds too breathy.. even if I make my best effort to engage a lot of muscle )

Now that I have discovered my head voice I am working on bridging around F - F# as that seems to be the sweetspot.

I will keep strenghening my chest voice Thank you very much for your input!

I have seen all your videos in youtube hehe Your are a great coach

Question..

Is it normal to start losing compression and strengh after an hour or so when singing?

Is that what people refers to as stamina?

[Xamedhi]

Thank you very much for your help

I will keep doing excercises and see how much improvement there is in 2 weeks or something from now.

[Keith]

It is normal to get tired, yes. Working on bright vowels helps with twang. Working with "gug" helps with adduction. Compression occurs when sub-glottal pressure exceeds super-glottal pressure. Try holding your breath for a few seconds then open up into a vowel.

These are some if the things that have helped me. Results may vary. Post a clip if possible.

[VideoHere]

learn to cry.....just like a baby.....throughout your entire range. study up on the benefits of simple, natural crying.

[Xamedhi]

Thanks for your replies, guys

@Keith, thanks for the suggestions. Those open vowels, just as Phil has told me too, have worked very well, and I have just been working today with that.

I found that "gug", "Buh".. or things like that help a lot

@VIDEOHERE, or Bob.. as I have seen people tells you, heheh... Well, actual crying for me tends to be falsetto-ish hahah.. That is what "natural" is for me, lol

But yeah.. I am working on it now, and everything feels so different from what I have been doing in the last months, even years.

Now I am starting to feel like the "core" of my voice, something tangible.. instead of an always airy voice.

Thanks again Keith and Bob for your help

Now I have some serious work to do and a lot of exercises to try :P

[Xamedhi]

Here I post 2 examples of the difference between what I have been doing and what I am trying to do now.. since like 2 weeks ago or so..

It is pretty clear the difference between the breathy and the non breathy ones.

In the non breathy examples, I tend to lower the larynx a bit, I don't know why I do that.. but when I try to have that more brassy sound it just happens. Hard to dissociate for now.

This is my hardest try to maintain that compression.. but in some very short high notes I tend to lose that, as that is "easier" for me, I have memorized it for so long. Well, high notes in general tend to lose that, and in my headvoice even more, it sounds almost like falsetto.

https://soundcloud.com/sebabergmann/example-1

https://soundcloud.com/sebabergmann/example-2

Tell me if there is any problem when trying to hear them.

Thanks in advance for any insight on the matter :)

[Xamedhi]

After your advise yesterday.. I worked today very well and was able to get to a G quite easily and then bridge. And maan! I was so amazed to be able to hit a C2 today, and a D2 with some resonance.

Your suggestions have worked wonders on me, man. Seriously, I never had thought that a simple wide open AA would do the work I have been looking for!

I'll keep you updated with my progress, Phil.. thank you very much, again.

PD: I'm looking at USB mic's prices hahah to get one and then talk about Skype lessons heheh.

PD2: I read your reply on my comment on your Youtube channel heheh

I don't think there is a trick that fixes all.. or that there is an answer to everything or whatever. he heh.. I believe in hard work and conscious muscle memorizing. I love taking my time to build as much control as I can. I love to practice for hours. And for me, the journey is definitely as fun as the results and the voice I will achieve in 2 or 3 years.

Thanks again, mate :D

[VideoHere]

crying isn't falsetto.....

this little one hasn't had time to take any lessons....already can wail to a tenor high c with some nice twang and watch as he ascends nicely into head voice. also notice the consistency of his "embrasure"...lol!!!

if he can do it, you can too!

and this one, he's already got distortion and his whistle register going on....a rather interesting technique with the head action......lol!!!!.....i didn't check it but the whistle has got to be near (or above) c6..

[Xamedhi]

Hahah That is so awesome, lol

I was joking anyway, ha ha .. I am practicing a lot now, and trying to change my habits. When I talk for too long, I lose that and my voice turns breathy... and breathiness brings more breathiness.. so I can't give in at any moment heheh.

What I mean is that this falsetto-ish feeling of total relaxation I feel is my natural way of "protecting" myself, my voice.. so it is also a psychological thing I have to work on. I have been so slammed and battered about the fact that "throat singing is bad" and bla, bla, blah.. that I am uncounsciously like.. "protecting my voice from damage".. even if it is more incorrect or damaging than the other route. Using muscle is normal, that is something I just now understand.

Thanks for the input Bob!

[Adolph Namlik]

Xamedhi,

You can also find Phil's videos on our Social Home Page. He's been a regular contributor and has been "Featured" regularly !

Have you joined our Social Networking site as of yet ? I've sent you an invitation.....

Once you've joined, you can find ALL of Phil's videos by navigating to his profile page >>

http://www.themodernvocalist.com/profile/PhilMoufarrege

Regards,

Adolph

[Keith]

Bob could just post the crying baby video in every technique thread, as it applies to all questions :)

[Danielformica]

I'm going to disagree though I respect and think Phil is very good at what he does. But I don't think you need to think, "bridge early or bridge late' you need to bridge exactly where your voice wants to bridge. And everyday its going to be slightly different according to vowel, sleep,intensity level, dryness etc.. The thing is the "passagio" is never a lock and load situation its very organic always changing like your muscles in the morning. Some mornings you dont need to stretch your body for working out as much as others but you need to know your body and what that feels like. All you can do is manage the "bridge". So you work the chest voice comfortably and your falsetto comfortably then your full voice or mix or middle voice or whatever you call it will be more successful..

in other words let your voice tell you where it wants to "bridge" :)

[ronws]

I got so stuck on this "one voice" thing, that I don't know where I bridge. Makes me want to quote Robert Plant from that one song. "Where's the confounded bridge?"

:D

[kevinsongwriter]

I am a big advocate of building the chest because otherwise there's nothing to mix with up high, or many people come to me with a nice mix but they are only able to mix around the F4 and cannot bring any more heaviness up higher which is what they are looking for. So I teach them to stretch that chest higher so they start to mix LATER and then bam heavier sound. But they don't lose that ability to go lighter!

I built a heavy sound FIRST, then learned how to LIGHTEN it as my sound was too heavy for my liking. But now I have the choice to go back between the two and many shades between.

I find that if I don't encourage the stretching of the chest students get too comfortable and they start bridging super early. They may be singing a scale that goes up the D5 but they're bridging on the E4, the rest is all headvoice, and then they wonder why they can't hit chesty phrases on the A#4, its' because in the exercises they are bridging WAY BEFORE THAT A#4 and haven't built any strength in that area.

This is some great in depth info! I'm currently trying to get a heavier sound like you mentioned, got Ken Tamplins program and am hoping to really build my chest up as I I'm an ex SLS singer. Plus I'm a tenor so naturally it seems I need to spend more time working chest voice (or so ive been told)

Also, VIDEOHERE's post about the cry is great. Ive found the cry useful for strengthening and finding release in mix voice. That's one of the better exercises I found from my SLS days, along with the "ah ah" pharyngeal Monkey " exercise lol.

[VideoHere]

the cry is not just a fabulous exercise. it can be employed as a way of singing a song as well. a cry can be just what you need to get through a difficult passage. when used right, it can make your voice sound great.

be sure to support the cry so you have something to lean on.

[Steven Fraser]

the cry is not just a fabulous exercise. it can be employed as a way of singing a song as well. a cry can be just what you need to get through a difficult passage. when used right, it can make your voice sound great.

be sure to support the cry so you have something to lean on.

Bob: I learned the cry from Oren Brown in a seminar in the Fall of '76, and incorporated it in to my performance onsets. The resulting tone was very penetrating, and one listener commented to me privately after a solo that he felt I was 'singing INTO him'.

It seems that singing this way provokes strong sense of connection between the singer and listener.

[VideoHere]

yes steve! i agree.....i relate.

crying seems to evoke the inner feelings of the singer too.