Newbie question: where does one start?

[TimR]

I've been lurking a while; I looked for an FAQ but didn't find one.

The discussion here seems very knowledgeable but over a beginner's (my) head.

Is there a logical progression to improving one's singing? Head voice, formants, resonance, vowels, ........so many concepts here, most of them new to me. Where does one start?

I've played brass, mostly trombone, and sung in church choirs for decades, but I've never had any idea of proper vocal technique, and I'd like to work on that. I downloaded the Fillemore book, and it has interesting exercises as well as some descriptions that seem a mite dated.

Any youtube series that are worthwhile?

[bigmike092]

i would say practice inhaling and exhaling. inhale by expanding the area between your navel and sternum, back on the opposite side, and the lower part of your rib cage sideways without drawing in air. let the expansion pull in air for you don't suck in any air, then practice letting out the breath in a slow but steady manner. I think it's by keeping the ribs expanded and contracting the solar plexus and back but im still not sure on it and support is one of those concepts where you get people saying different ways to do it and with some giving conflicting advice, even among teachers. so basically just experiment and using the search function on this forum you can find a lot of good old support threads to.

also I would add, without a teacher progress is usually difficult and slow (unless your gifted) because you cant actually see the results and stuff can be hard to figure it out. then of course you have to practice it correctly over and over after that to get it down. so you likely need a lot of patience, and also I would add sometimes just sing for fun instead of worrying about technique all the time.

for youtube series check out phil moufarrege. hes a teacher that posts here that has a lot of good videos.

[TimR]

It depends on your specific problems. But generally it looks like this for how i teach:

- learning how to breathe properly

theres more stuff after but those are the first building blocks that are crucial to get first i believe.

Thanks. An idea of major building blocks is exactly what I was looking for. Much appreciated!

I breathe when I play trombone; I'm curious as to whether there is any similarity between the type of support necessary to play a brass instrument with that of singing.

I'm not sure I have a head voice, I may actually have to take a lesson on that one.

[VideoHere]

yes! that fact that you play a wind instrument is a major advantage. your singing will benefit from that ability.

to me, how you begins depends on your goals....

are you looking to sing professionally or just for pleasure? the path you take, in my opinion as a singer, would be different.

[TimR]

yes! that fact that you play a wind instrument is a major advantage. your singing will benefit from that ability.

to me, how you begins depends on your goals....

are you looking to sing professionally or just for pleasure? the path you take, in my opinion as a singer, would be different.

My goal is not professional, no. I sing in a traditional church choir (traditional, liturgical pipe organ type services). I consider myself a section singer and player rather than a soloist. My trombone playing has benefited enormously by taking lessons from someone who really understands and explains the mechanics of playing. So it seems likely to me my singing would be better if I knew what I were doing. I get fatigued too quickly especially if singing in the upper part of the baritone range. I would like to be able to sing longer without tiring and to have access to the tenor range without strain. I'm also 61, and don't want to lose what I have by singing with bad mechanics, if that's possible (it happens to brass players as they age, if they are not using the correct mechanics).

[Gina Ellen Vocalist]

Thanks. An idea of major building blocks is exactly what I was looking for. Much appreciated!

I breathe when I play trombone; I'm curious as to whether there is any similarity between the type of support necessary to play a brass instrument with that of singing.

I'm not sure I have a head voice, I may actually have to take a lesson on that one.

For sure there is, It should give you a good start. I played saxophone since I was 8 and it helped me

[ronws]

I am reminded that, at least on one biography, Ronnie James Dio played french horn as a kid.

[TimR]

I do want to thank everyone for the suggestions.

I'm busy doing searches on vowels. Lots of stuff new to me, some of it over my head.

Unfortunately it raises a question on support which I'll ask in a new thread.