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Question regarding vowel modification

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gilad

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Hey Guys.

I need to sing the word TIME where the I is extended. To me it sounds very compressed when i sing it. I assume that I am not modifying the vowel here. Can someone give me a tip on how I should modify the vowel here?

Thanks.

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Hey Guys.

I need to sing the word TIME where the I is extended. To me it sounds very compressed when i sing it. I assume that I am not modifying the vowel here. Can someone give me a tip on how I should modify the vowel here?

Thanks.

Should be modified to an /UH/ vowel (as in 'up') in most cases.

Here is a song where the phrase "beyond time" plays an important role and at some points in the piece the I is extended pretty decently, I think that vowel is most useful:

http://www.google.de/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CDAQtwIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DKtz-z-pANIY&ei=9SCCUqSaIcTL0QXA8oHgBg&usg=AFQjCNG9Ce0jeNhaqPfqnRVUEACWf2XWpw&sig2=ADIz1NuBxBW92GOIowAhPA&bvm=bv.56146854,d.d2k

Overcompression on an /UH/ vowel can be a problem though. Try to keep an eye on your tongue. The back of the tongue should not go too high on that vowel, it should stay more or less flat (get away from the NG position).

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I'm no teacher etc. but to me it sounds like you should lean into it more. The compression I dare not speak about, cause we might interpret it differently, but when you went down to the second note I felt you were in the correct place but not intense enough. If you take that same sound, and just swell it, then sing all of it in there.

Hard to describe :S

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I think the higher part of your time sounds more falsettoey (yet not) but when you glide down a note you really hit it. Listen for that special tone you get, try to redo it and then just swell the volume. Can't tell you it will work for sure, but it works for me. Then play around with that feeling, try some different pitches until you can control it.

To me it sounds like just a small adjustment needs to be done, so it's very close. Again, take the experts words over mine :P

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Sounds good to me. But if you want more "body" in the sound, try singing a pure Uh vowel and increase the volume just a little bit until you like what you hear. Record again and post here. :) . Still, for many songs, what you just did would work great. It just depends how much power this particular line really needs.

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depending on your voice and how want to sound, but i agree with phil.....time is composed of a diphthong. you want to ride the first part of it which is "ah" once you get past your break, plus the "ah" by the very nature of the vowel will bring in more body and fullness (if you allow it to).....higher up you round it in and bring in a shade of "oh."

when you launch the "time" hardly touch the "t" as this will cut off the air. "ah" up high (b natural) is tough..you really have to open up and get the palate up.

listen to this tune it's full of "mind" "time" "night." he's basically singing "ah"

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Ok. I just recorded another part of the song, and i was so much in it, I sang a high part. If I am not dreaming, and my piano is tuned, did I just hit an A5?? If so, what is wrong with it? Sounds very compressed. I did modify the NEW and DAY on this one.

Let me know your thoughts. I am no rocker in any sense, but this sounded kinda cool ;)

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Ok. I just recorded another part of the song, and i was so much in it, I sang a high part. If I am not dreaming, and my piano is tuned, did I just hit an A5?? If so, what is wrong with it? Sounds very compressed. I did modify the NEW and DAY on this one.

Let me know your thoughts. I am no rocker in any sense, but this sounded kinda cool ;)

Pretty much, you're singing between A5 and Bb5 if I'm not mistaken.

Nick

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On the A5 sample, its pretty much the only way, and it sounds good like that.

On "time" there is another way, but what is important is that you dont consume your energy to make what you are doing now sound full, it will note become full by forcing it or pushing.

It can actually be very usefull if you dont try to make it do what it can not. If you want your voice to sound the same, then you cant allow that change to happen on the first place, its perfectly doable and does not involve squeezing, its just different.

Hope it helps.

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Well there are the ambiguous definitions of falsetto. To reduce ambiguity I go by the NCVS definitions because they are clear. http://www.ncvs.org/ncvs/tutorials/voiceprod/tutorial/voluntary.html

I can produce that tone in a very weak, "flute-like" tone, with no effort - and no TA involvement. I bet you can do that too. That, to me, is falsetto. But the tone you produced is very bright - with strong harmonics, which would indicate TA involvement. To me that is head voice. This is also a trickier coordination than "falsetto". And the fact that you couldn't do it today would indicated that you didn't find the coordination again.

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geno: I cant do it in falsetto. My falsetto is very weak.. Dont know why... But when I did record the song yesterday, and in the heat of the moment, i was able to make that clip. No effort actually. Although it does sound pushed...

So when you say I didn't find the coordination, you mean that yesterday it happend out of luck, by mistake i found the right coordination but can't get the same now because I didn't pay attention to the coordination? :)

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I think Felipe always uses the classical definition of head voice and falsetto. Classical head voice (at least for males) is sung in M1 (which would be "chest voice" by the NCVS definition). Both, the NCVS head voice and NCVS falsetto would be just called 'falsetto' in classical singing, because they are both within M2. For NCVS head voice they sometimes use the term 'falsettone' in classical singing.

In a pitch are that high the strong bright harmonics are more probably caused by lots of twang and not by the TA involvement.

I do agree, though, that the NCVS definitions are more practical because as you write there is a clear technical difference in the use of falsetto vs. head voice.

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