Big Choruses

[youngbuck]

Hey folks, I've struggled with long, sustained notes typically found during the chorus of popular songs and was wondering what I can work on to be able to sustain a note with a nice open tone?

Examples of what I'm talking about range from songs by modern rock groups like

or Whitney Houson's rendition of I Will Always Love You

. The choruses have sustained notes, usually higher than the other melodies.

The best example I have of myself attempting something close to this is about 2:59-3:12 in this clip

, where I find that the voice is much to wobbly, thin, and I also have a tendancy to involuntarily add grit to my voice singing things like that, not stylistically.

What can I work on to produce a clear, sustained vocal tone typical of a "big" chorus?

Thank you!

[Felipe Carvalho]

young, I could say that what Whitney did was a very good use of dynamics, making use of lower intensity on the verses and going strong/using open vowels on the chorus to create the release of tension...

However, I find it a bit sillt to say things in this way... First because these are samples from singers usually held as a reference of performance, ino they are that good... And second the truth is, as you may suspect, there is a huge difference of skill. You are still a bit raw, maybe you even know what you would have to do but the execution hold you back.

So training, study, and of course, singing a lot. You will get it.

Good luck.

[youngbuck]

Thank you Phil and Felipe for your responses!

Thanks for the encouragement Felipe, I know my question was a bit silly but what you said regarding dynamics and execution really help me understand what I should be working on and thinking of while practicing.

Phil, your explanation of tension puts my problem in perspective, I really do feel choked off at points. I will try your method to learn better breath support.

[mathdel]

Can you post a snippet of you trying to sing one of these songs? It would be easier to help. You didn't use a mixed voice register in the song you covered. The song from Sixx A.M. requires mixed voice register in the high-balanced mix. Or something between curbing and belting if you prefer. It's also really important to feel compression near your nasal cavity and not in your throat in order to keep it away from straining.