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singerss like d angelo?

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Benns

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hey guys,

I have always admired voices like d angelo, prince and maxwell. I understand, we can only change our singing voices to an extent but i was just wondering if anyone has any got any tips as to how i can sing more like them? And also, i have ntoiced that their voices are very different from other r&b singers like usher, neyo etc. Does anyone know any singers that have that really gospel, soul ish kinda singing voice like maxwell, d angelo?

Thanks!

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@Martin H

What exercises would assist in manipulating both "light mass" and high larynx. There is a lot of emphasis in keeping a low larynx in SLS and Opera technique. Why would someone purposely raise the larynx (often a cause of constriction)...

From what I understand a dopey dump sounds such as "mum, mum, mum" is good to learn to control a larynx and a bright edgy "nay nay nay" can assist raising the larynx. Would this suffice in learning to manipulate a high larynx WITHOUT constriction :)

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@Martin H

What exercises would assist in manipulating both "light mass" and high larynx. There is a lot of emphasis in keeping a low larynx in SLS and Opera technique. Why would someone purposely raise the larynx (often a cause of constriction)...

From what I understand a dopey dump sounds such as "mum, mum, mum" is good to learn to control a larynx and a bright edgy "nay nay nay" can assist raising the larynx. Would this suffice in learning to manipulate a high larynx WITHOUT constriction :)

So i will be able to get a "light mass" and high larynx like those three by doing dopey mum's?

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I grew up singing dangelo maxwell and I had a prince tribute for a second. You just practice singing along mimicking. Listen to princes "do me baby" and the sing along to how does it feel dangelo and then maxwells cover of woman's work all fun to work on

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So i will be able to get a "light mass" and high larynx like those three by doing dopey mum's?

Dopey mum's do not train high larynx, they train low larynx. Bright, bratty, whiny nay nay nay's train high larynx.

It really matters more how you do the exercise though. You can train high or low larynx on any syllable it just depends how bright or dark you make the sound. If you go for a dark dopey sound that's low larynx if you go from a bright and bratty sound that's high larynx. Essentially.

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The larynx position that D'Angelo and Maxwell use is not that high.

I always advocate a higher larynx position when training the sounds of Maxwell, Prince etc. Simply because it's what they do. It's a natural movement for that kind of phonation, along with a narrowing of the pharynx. Here is a fine male example on an NG:

Notice the rise and lowering of the larynx and narrowing of the pharynx according to pitch.

@JayMC,

What you see here is the natural movement. Then you can try to keep it low and wide which will just prevent you from reaching the notes and the light quality of the singers mentioned. Also notice that this is on a semi-occluded phonation. If it were more powerful the rising and narrowing would be even more pronounced. The low larynx and wide open throat actually rarely happens. It's sort of a "myth" which in my opinion have caused more problems for singers than good, simply because it rarely happens in normal phonation.

4 myths of vocal technique revealed:

- Open throat.

- Low larynx.

- Low deep breath.

- Relax.

;)

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hey guys,

I have always admired voices like d angelo, prince and maxwell. I understand, we can only change our singing voices to an extent but i was just wondering if anyone has any got any tips as to how i can sing more like them? And also, i have ntoiced that their voices are very different from other r&b singers like usher, neyo etc. Does anyone know any singers that have that really gospel, soul ish kinda singing voice like maxwell, d angelo?

Thanks!

You're getting into some of my major influences there. I've been trying to imitate them for years, and I'm proud to say that I've got some of their stuff down. It's completely possible to sound like them. Maxwell uses the soft palate a lot and spreads his lips with every word he sings. When I say spread, that's when you see singers open their mouthes wide; similar to a smile. That gives things a more mellow sound. For Maxwell's falsetto, i't's very airy. Kind of like a whisper. Tips I'd give you for producing that sound may change depending on what song he's singing. If you have a question about a sound he makes on a particular song then I may be able to help. If you can do Maxwell's falsetto, you can do D angelo's.

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The low larynx and wide open throat actually rarely happens. It's sort of a "myth" which in my opinion have caused more problems for singers than good, simply because it rarely happens in normal phonation.

regarding the low larynx, what about this at about 4:45

where rob talks about larynx dampening. i think it sounds good and im guessing it would have to do with style of music if you use it. but is it really that rare among professionals?

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4 myths of vocal technique revealed:

- Open throat.

- Low larynx.

- Low deep breath.

- Relax.

;)

could you elaborate on why you believe the low deep breath is a myth?

I know your stance that belting should use a chest breath to keep the larynx higher but what it sounds like you are saying is that a low deep breath is a myth for all singing. Why is that?

Btw I have my own issues with this pedagogy of encouraging high larynx and closed throat. It may be the science but at least for me, thinking about those things has always led me to just exaggerate bad habits. I feel like most untrained singers, at least how I was, do the larynx raising, closed throat, etc. as pitch ascends all naturally but in too extreme of a manner to sing with reliably and that's why so many coaches have had great success training singers to shoot for the opposite sensation. It's not about reality it's about a mental trick to get you into a better balance. I have come to discover that sensations are far more important than science in my own training. I am more in control of the actual physical actions that way rather than pretending that knowing the science means I can now control everything in and around my larynx.

Untrained singers start with a very flawed perception of what is actually happening with their vocal musculature and we don't have to retrain that perception we can just work with it with images. For instance, one might think they are keeping a consistent throat shape and it is actually closing up like hell with the pitch so much that they choke on high notes. Now if you teach the person to visualize literally opening up space in their throat more on high notes the likely result is it will close up less and then they can sing the high notes better. I don't see what is wrong with this form of training.

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@Owen

I know that from a visualization/sensation point of view everything is valid as long as it helps. My point was strictly physiological and also to stir things up a bit. ;)

The reason why I call a low deep breath a "myth" is simply because you don't need it. Taking a low deep breath will just put you in a situation where you have to manage a large amount of air you really don't need, it's not efficient. Only inhale as much as you need, otherwise you are just wasting energy.

@Dante

As I mentioned above, visualizations/sensations and how you think about technique is valid as long as it helps. Think up, down, straight forward, to the side etc. It's all good.

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from what ive read (places like singwise.com and richard miller) the low deep breath may not be good because the lungs and diaphragm aren't that low making it unnecessary, and forcing your stomach to bulge out can cause excessive constriction. it's better to inhale by expanding your waist (or about half way between navel and sternum) which will actually cause your lower stomach to slightly go in. inhaling like this also makes it easier to find support.

here's a passage from singwise.com

Stretching or thrusting the lower stomach outward causes lower trunk and laryngeal tensions, as well as rising subglottic pressure by inducing excessive resistance to the exiting air, and may result in pressed phonation (forcing). Furthermore, pushing down on the abdomen causes the ribs to move inward and the sternum to fall. Lung volume will be diminished because contact of the abdominal musculature with the lower ribs is reduced.

http://www.singwise.com/cgi-bin/main.pl?section=articles&doc=EffectiveAndProperBreathingForSinging

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@Felipe

As I wrote above, if people have the sensation/visualization or a better word would probably be perception of the things like open throat, low larynx, relaxation when they sing it's all valid. But that doesn't mean it's actually happening.

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@Dante

Well my main point is, don't take this "low deep breath" too literally as so many singing teachers talk about (especially classical). Only inhale as much as you need, and people would be surprised at how much air they actually need. A very common problem is when singers take in a new breath when they haven't far from used the previous one and then it builds up.

Another example is Belting. When people naturally belt they take a quick clavicular breath. But teaching them to take a "low deep" breath just before Belting is counterproductive:

1. You don't need all that breath

2. It lowers the larynx

3. It widens the throat

4. With all that air you risk forcing (this one is the worst)

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@Geran

Depends on how much air you inhale. And if you inhale a big amount, what are you going to do with it? And second why spend so much energy on the resulting checking action to manage the abundance of air?

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@Geran

I'm saying it's not efficient because you have to manage a lot of air you don't need. And you risk forcing because of that. There are other ways of achieving high pressure with less amount of air.

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@Geran

If you need to hold the note for a very very long time or need to use a lot of airy sounds you might want to inhale more. But that leads back to what I said earlier.....only inhale as much as you need.

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@Geran

I'm saying it's not efficient because you have to manage a lot of air you don't need. And you risk forcing because of that. There are other ways of achieving high pressure with less amount of air.

Now this is where I see myself fail... finding it almost impossible to achieve a powerful high note with a "little breath" my body naturally wants to push. But when I do make successful high notes it does feel more like an inhale than an exhale :)

Can anyone presscribe a more applicable way of using a "little breath" during exercise to encourage more management of air?

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@Geran

I'm saying it's not efficient because you have to manage a lot of air you don't need. And you risk forcing because of that. There are other ways of achieving high pressure with less amount of air.

What are those ways, Martin?

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@Felipe

As I wrote above, if people have the sensation/visualization or a better word would probably be perception of the things like open throat, low larynx, relaxation when they sing it's all valid. But that doesn't mean it's actually happening.

Not really, its actually all based on a low breath and all the effects you mentioned.

The thing is, if you base your evaluation on incompetent use of the ideas, then of course trying to sing ANYthing while inflating yourself with air until you choke on it will be a pain, let alone something like Journey.

Its the same as saying that CVT is a mess based on samples of people that defend it but cant execute.

You can sing with a quite good of relaxation, lower larynx, space on the throat and using a deep breath without forcing OR using cervical tensions to assist.

There are easier ways to get through songs, but a high larynx with "light mass" for example starts to enter the chipmunk voice realm. You may like it, but saying its a technical choice...

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