Jump to content

twang importance?

Rate this topic


ChumelsVanCogle

Recommended Posts

lately I've been seeing a strong sentiment towards twang or lighter vocal mechanisms from most of the members.

so I'm going to inquire about it.

at any rate I still have trouble keeping my highest notes full just with pure larynx control. so the "real" question I'm having here, is that: is this twang method easier or huge key factor that I should be learning, and if it is, what's a good way to get advanced twanging started?

I can sing in a fully proficient head voice of course, but I don't quite get the twang sound/mechanism.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The thing is, your always twanged more or less regardless what sounds you make. Most fullrange singers ive heard also sing with distinct twang, most guys who have english as main language talk with a small ammount of distinct twang.

All in all, it's crucial you get control over your twanger all good vocalists has that.

Then if you wanna sing with distinct(audiable) twang or not is upp to you

Cheers

Link to comment
Share on other sites

alright. I guess it is difficult to hear then. but how do I go about accessing it? every time I try to sing "light and edgy" in either a strong voice or more heady voice, all my muscles seem to act linearly. but what I hear in twang is some method that isn't exactly linear, but rather achieves this very edgy sound, with LESS tension than normal.

I can sing in head and belt, using every approach my voice is capable of. I can even pull in some distorted harmonics from lower parts of my tract without affecting the rest. but I still don't think I know how to do this twang thing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When twang is distinct means you can hear it, as a vocalcolor but for istance in operasingers you hear this alot less than in for instance rocksingers. However without twang operasingers would not be able to do the things they do.

Listen to this, it just touches the concept abit on how you deploy it in headvoice. Howver you can "twang" all sounds. The four pillars has alot of exercises for you to get both a stronger twanger and get control over it. :)

Www.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=pdd-uoPu4ag

Cheers

Cheers

Link to comment
Share on other sites

lately I've been seeing a strong sentiment towards twang or lighter vocal mechanisms from most of the members.

so I'm going to inquire about it.

in my own experience, I've probably only heard about 10% of full ranged vocalists who belted with distinct twang. all other full range singers, I've always heard them just really hanging onto their larynx.

now, at any rate I still have trouble keeping my highest notes full just with pure larynx control. so the "real" question I'm having here, is that: is this twang method easier or huge key factor that I should be learning, and if it is, what's a good way to get advanced twanging started?

I can sing in a fully proficient head voice of course, but I don't quite get the twang sound/mechanism.

Distinct twang is different than necessary twang, borrowing CVT terms here.

Yes you only hear DISTINCT twang (where the twang is the dominant sonic color) in about 10% of full ranged vocalists, but the other maybe 80%, you bet they are using NECESSARY twang (twang balanced with other components e.g. lowered larynx, to create a natural timbre), and then maybe the last 10% are indeed just relying on a lowered larynx kind of sob-like thing.

The reason that 80% uses a balance of both is because it works and sounds best!!

Twang is not a "method" itself, don't think of it like that. Twang is not an on-off switch, it's like a dimmer, you can chose or more or less. Distinct twang (most pronounced twang you can make) is only in how you train SOMETIMES (in any method worth its salt), and you can use it to sing if you want a sound like that.

A lot of people just can't understand twang from a forum only (that was LITERALLY me back in the day. There was no way in hell I could learn it without taking lessons with Rob Lunte), but search the "what is twang" thread on here and I think you'll learn a lot just by hearing examples of singers using it.

More than anything, it's distinctively identifiable by its sound. But it's worth knowing that it's produced by contracting the area right above the vocal folds, but the correct sensation is more like the twang is being created right behind your tongue - think of a dog pant and then eminating a sharp "AA" sound from that tongue position on a comfortable note, but not feeling it in the larynx, feel it like the sound is placed above the tongue. That is a start.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

soo. it sounds like I have to modify that highest twang part individually, which is different from engaging the lower muscles first.

I think my problem is, since engaging the full muscles has been the only way to work the previous portions of my range, it's now difficult for me to isolate just a pure head byitself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Post a clip, usually it extremly hard to analyse your own voice and chances are when you do analyse your own voice you do it wrong.

Thats atleast how it was for me, extra ears are invaluble and save ons of time. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i didnt understand jens answer but, this is what i know:

-SLS edge = medial compression (directly on the vocal folds, just like vocal fry), this is what is called 'cord closure'.

-twang = is what they call increasing 'pharyngeal resonance', which makes the pharynx smaller, actuating like a semioccluded phonation for the vocal folds that are below, and changing resonance, making the shape of the vocal tract more 'megaphone'-like :P

for that reason those arent the same thing and, if you increase twang, you will not necessarily increase medial compression/cord closure, so you can still make airy phonations with twang, but you cant with 'SLS edge'.

Thanks Geran. Cleared it up very well. :) I actually recalled something about some "pharynx compression" or whatnot being twang, and edge being just literally the term for adduction (or, as the term implies, making only the edges of the vocal cord touching/vibrating).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

nasal musculature? :o

hehe

well if you sing a chesty "yeh" and then a nasally "yi/(yee in English)", those are the two high and low components. then when you sing and belt "ba", it sort of combines both of those components into one. the "b" part embodying the chesty part and the "a" allowing enough room to lighten/twang the tone.

well it sounds like "bo" does the same thing too, and it sounds a bit stronger than "ba".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

chum...to a beginner just getting acquainted with exercising twang, and depending on the vowel, it can very easily be mistaken for strain and constriction. but it is a very important element in singing.

research it, look for videos that demonstrate it. here's a list of singers from various genre who used distinct twang.

al green

jon bon jovi

chaka khan

hank williams

ethel merman

sam cooke (in fact, a lot of early black singers used it)

this type of twang has "cut" and very sharp sounding resonance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What's the difference between SLS "edge" musculature and the twang mechanism?

totally different.

twang is actually more synonymous with SLS pharyngeal.

SLS edge is the idea of lowering the larynx and crying and thinning out the folds. I believe. Unless they changed their terminology from several years ago

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i didnt understand jens answer but, this is what i know:

-SLS edge = medial compression (directly on the vocal folds, just like vocal fry), this is what is called 'cord closure'.

-twang = is what they call increasing 'pharyngeal resonance', which makes the pharynx smaller, actuating like a semioccluded phonation for the vocal folds that are below, and changing resonance, making the shape of the vocal tract more 'megaphone'-like :P

for that reason those arent the same thing and, if you increase twang, you will not necessarily increase medial compression/cord closure, so you can still make airy phonations with twang, but you cant with 'SLS edge'.

good post, explained it better than me

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...