Jump to content

Explain this to me.... Developing Ooo

Rate this topic


Guest

Recommended Posts

Hi everyone. I have decided that I won't give up. That all my vowels will become monsterous.... ESPECIALLY Oo.

I have been trying for months to get a powerful oo... and it comes and goes. Sometimes I have no twang, sometimes I use too much air. I have been mostly doing it in a descending fashion.

But it feels so small... so narrow... so weak? Sometimes when I add 'ee' vowel in the mix it helps make the oo stronger but a "chokey" feeling is still there.

Long story short.... today I tried something different. And achieved the most powerful oo I have ever achieved descending. If someone could help me explain/expand/abuse what I have learned then please help me.

The girl that broke my heart's name was Edith... and I was up in falsetto... and I held my breath for a bit...

Just as if... I was SHOCKED she broke my heart, my jaw dropped.... Maybe for about 5 second everything was still... I could feel the sadness. And I just cried "EEEDITH NOOOOOOOOOOOH" and right after that I switched to "Ooo" and it FULLY connected to my voice. Like what just happened?

My Ooo felt like OH but it had ALL the power and twang and feeling of my full voice....

THIS IS CRAZY. I need y-ouuuu guys to help me grow my oo !

Here is my skype: yathy93

Here is a sample of me singing & rapping: http://www.mediafire.com/listen/ghxbktebga7o4bd/LET_OFF_LET_OFF_ft_Klass17_mixdown.mp3

I don't need to bridge/connect at ALL in this song... which is EXACTLY my problem! I abuse my natural chest range too much. I need to incorporate breath support, twang, and an OPEN throat... all at the same time.... and I have no clue how to do it especially with an Oo vowel.

- JayMC

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jay, when you are rapping I assume this is your normal speaking voice but when you sing you go into "singing mode" big time. It's like it's another person singing. Singing is an extension of speech (at least to me it is). So in my opinion you don't need to worry about your vowels too much it's your whole approach to singing that needs changing. Sing it like you would speak it.

I don't need to bridge/connect at ALL in this song... which is EXACTLY my problem! I abuse my natural chest range too much. I need to incorporate breath support, twang, and an OPEN throat... all at the same time.... and I have no clue how to do it especially with an Oo vowel.

Try not to overcomplicate this singing thing too much. Actually E4 is the high note so you should probably be in some kind of "mix" there but do you need to think about it? No.

Hope this helps!

Nick

PS: I'm no expert so if Felipe or Dan prove me wrong listen to them :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ah.......the often overlooked, underrated "oo" that's my vowel....loll!!!!

frisell called it the purifying vowel and the restoration vowel.

i call it the carving, honing vowel...

i developed my "oo" first with descending head voice slides on "oo" and "ee." this gave it some hooty core to build from.

"oo" i have found is best achieved when it's set up tall (you make space in the back of the throat for it) set up as if you were going to produce an "oh" and bring the lips in just a bit. you want to resist the urge to close it down. let your throat shape it in conjunction with your lips.

do scales going from "oh" to "oo". also "aw" to "oo." (less narrow to narrow).....let the lips assist the change. keep the back open, send the tone back and up.

get acquainted with it's pointiness and the release it allows you...

also, practice swelling it, going from a hooty, falsettoey, to a full voiced one.

just explore the effect that "oo" has on your throat and voice in general.

it's not just a vowel for singing words with like "soon" and "cool." singing with shades of it can really free you up for the top notes too.

oh, i forgot to mention. it's an awesome head voice builder too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm in no way qualified to give advice, but your singing voice sounds way to different than your singing, sound contrived and forced. Just my opinion.

Nothing wrong with contriving. I do it twice on Sundays, for practice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't need to bridge/connect at ALL in this song... which is EXACTLY my problem! I abuse my natural chest range too much. I need to incorporate breath support, twang, and an OPEN throat... all at the same time.... and I have no clue how to do it especially with an Oo vowel.

... curious, and if you did all that with the poor vowel do you know how would it sound?...

Too much information and too little experience to handle it, sorry.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jay, the OO vowel will never get very powerful unless it's in the very high range. That's probably why you have a hard time with it. :)

Really? For me it seems that the vowel is most powerful in the middle range when it is supported by formant amplification. For me it has the most power in the F1 area, which is around D3 and rapidly loses power when losing F2 ampflification around A4 (talking about H2 of course, which is the most powerful harmonic). From then on, I can only do very thin and tiny sounds on OO (decently loud, but nothing compared to other vowels). Or in CVT terms: On lower notes you can sing the OO vowel in Overdrive which is quite a bit more powerful than Neutral which becomes the only option on higher notes.

Jay, your story about the OH modification really seems like you just started to sing the OO in Overdrive. OO has quite some tendency towards neutral. You could practice on OH instead, which is not that far away from OO and then modify more and more towards OO. It can also help to do scales on OH-OO. Try to think of an OH, but sing OO, if that makes sense.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Really? For me it seems that the vowel is most powerful in the middle range when it is supported by formant amplification.

Yes, the OO vowel has one of the most narrow passages and the the formant tuning will not help much because the radiating power is limited by this narrow passage. As an analogy it's very similar trying to sing powerful through a thin stirring straw, which is impossible do to the same reason. Also in relation to CVT, OO is a Neutral vowel, and Neutral is the least powerful mode in the lower and middle range. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also in relation to CVT, OO is a Neutral vowel, and Neutral is the least powerful mode in the lower and middle range. :)

Yes, but in the lower and middle range it is possible to sing an OO in Overdrive, which is more powerful. Maybe it is individual, but for me an Overdrive OO in the middle range feels a lot more powerful than a neutral OO in the high range.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Benny,

Yes of course it's very individual. And maybe you are better at singing OO in the middle range than the higher and that's why. But I doubt you are singing an OO on a D3 in Overdrive. That is most likely Curbing and prbably not even a pure OO. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are many different ways to go about oo, you need to know exactly what you want first.

Do you want the power to come from a hooty sound? Or a lot of twang? Or a lot of weight? Or a cry-like aesthetic? Or a ring? Some combination of those?

Depending on the desired sound you will use different techniques. If you can show us an example of a singer whose "oo" you admire then you'll receive more specific help.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As an interpretative resource, the use of any closed vowel will cause the perceived intensity to drop, and the use of open vowels to increase. Given of course that the same overall conditions are kept.

OO alone can not do much for the centering of the voice, just OO will send you to one extreme, make this OO too strong and dominant on your voice, and you will achieve the goal of transforming it into a monster to kill later.

Its important. Not magical.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...