Many Questions I have about vocal techniques... Please help =]

[Nathan]

Alright guys, I've re-read through all of my singing material again. I've also researched some other methods and little bits of knowledge I could find. I've also found a cheap teacher in my area, he is the singer for the local band and he's pretty amazing... Hopefully he can help too. Anyway I'm trying to refine my technique, because something is lacking. Below are some questions that it'd be great if some of you could answer. I understand you may not be able to answer them all... But anything will be appreciated.

1) I've been told my vowels aren't necessarily right. This makes sense but I've not been given much instruction on correcting this issue, apart from 'Drop the jaw' that is. So I'm 'dropping the jaw' as far as is easy and comfortable... But do I do this on all vowels? What I mean is, Robert Lunte says that the jaw should only drop on Ahh (cAR), Ay (wAY) and Orr (I dunno how to write that one). He says we should sort of smile on Ee (trEE) and OO (bOO). But I'm not really getting it. Ideas?

2) This, I think, follows on from my last question nicely. This may sound like a totally dumbass question... But I'm a dumbass, so I'll ask it anyway: What accent am I supposed to sing with? I mean, my own is a bit rubbish tbh (my speaking voice makes me cringe...) so I wasn't sure. I'm from England, but no I do not have one of those 'Hugh Grant' voices. Mine is a dull, Southern English accent. Most of the songs I listen to are sung by American singers. The British singers I do listen to have Northern Accents, like Paul McCartney... But that's my point; McCartney doesn't sing with his accent. So I'm just a little confused. This feels like my biggest issue at the moment.

3) So a while ago I was on Singing Success Online video thing (just browsing, hadn't signed up, too expensive) and remember reading something about Hayley Williams from Paramore. I'm not particularly a fan, but there was something interesting about how she sleeps with no pillows and has her arm above her head... Or something like that... and this is supposedly relevant to singing. It was, I guess you can call it, description of features in a video that I wasn't prepared to buy, so I never found out why she did this. I wondered if you guys have heard of this or any idea why she would do these things? The arm thing seemed especially weird.

4) When I sing low; it's too bass-y. When I sing high; it sounds like it lacks bass entirely... Where is the middle-ground?

5) I just got over tonsillitis, which I've had 3 times this year... I'm considering asking for a tonsillectomy. Will this affect my voice? I've read people saying it ruined theres, a few saying it made them better (more resonating area in mouth) and some saying after recovery it made no difference at all.

6) Question about support. When I sing, should I keep the same tension in my body that I feel when I breathe out on the hissing "Sssss" sound? When I do this, my solar plexus pushes out and becmes really hard, but my lower abs feel totally relaxed. Is this the same feeling I should keep when singing, or is it purely only for support exercises?

I'm sure that's everything. If I think of anymore I'll post them on this. Thanks to everyone who made it to the bottom of this long post. I look forward to reading your responses.

Thanks,

ND.

[Steven Fraser]

1) I've been told my vowels aren't necessarily right. This makes sense but I've not been given much instruction on correcting this issue, apart from 'Drop the jaw' that is. So I'm 'dropping the jaw' as far as is easy and comfortable... But do I do this on all vowels? What I mean is, Robert Lunte says that the jaw should only drop on Ahh (cAR), Ay (wAY) and Orr (I dunno how to write that one). He says we should sort of smile on Ee (trEE) and OO (bOO). But I'm not really getting it. Ideas?

Hi, Nathan. Welcome. On jaw drop, the amount varies based on the vowel and the note. Generally, a little more drop the higher you go past middle C, until it is comfortably ( not rigidly ) down. Somewhat less for the ee vowel.

2) This, I think, follows on from my last question nicely. This may sound like a totally dumbass question... But I'm a dumbass, so I'll ask it anyway: What accent am I supposed to sing with? I mean, my own is a bit rubbish tbh (my speaking voice makes me cringe...) so I wasn't sure. I'm from England, but no I do not have one of those 'Hugh Grant' voices. Mine is a dull, Southern English accent. Most of the songs I listen to are sung by American singers. The British singers I do listen to have Northern Accents, like Paul McCartney... But that's my point; McCartney doesn't sing with his accent. So I'm just a little confused. This feels like my biggest issue at the moment.

A basic technique in singing is to sustain certain, well-formed vowels, and shorten consonants within the words. When this is done, many of the attributes of an accent (local vowel and dipthong patterns) simply go away.

3) So a while ago I was on Singing Success Online video thing (just browsing, hadn't signed up, too expensive) and remember reading something about Hayley Williams from Paramore. I'm not particularly a fan, but there was something interesting about how she sleeps with no pillows and has her arm above her head... Or something like that... and this is supposedly relevant to singing. It was, I guess you can call it, description of features in a video that I wasn't prepared to buy, so I never found out why she did this. I wondered if you guys have heard of this or any idea why she would do these things? The arm thing seemed especially weird.

Dunno this. Perhaps someone else knows?

4) When I sing low; it's too bass-y. When I sing high; it sounds like it lacks bass entirely... Where is the middle-ground?

Post some examples, so we can hear what you are talking about.

5) I just got over tonsillitis, which I've had 3 times this year... I'm considering asking for a tonsillectomy. Will this affect my voice? I've read people saying it ruined theres, a few saying it made them better (more resonating area in mouth) and some saying after recovery it made no difference at all.

The larger the tonsils, the more difference when they are removed. IMO, your bodily health is more important than the tone quality of your voice, but what you can expect is that (with the increased space in the throat) is that the lower resonance qualities of your voice will be enhanced some, and that you'll experience a greater sense of space. Don't be afraid of it.

6) Question about support. When I sing, should I keep the same tension in my body that I feel when I breathe out on the hissing "Sssss" sound? When I do this, my solar plexus pushes out and becomes really hard, but my lower abs feel totally relaxed. Is this the same feeling I should keep when singing, or is it purely only for support exercises?

The purpose of support exercises is to become familiar with the bodily actions of singing and the sensations that go with them. Try to carry the sensations over to actual singing.

[Nathan]

Thank you for your responses Steve. You're obviously somebody with high expertise on this subject from your forum reputation and amount of posts, so I have further questions if you do not mind.

Hi, Nathan. Welcome. On jaw drop, the amount varies based on the vowel and the note. Generally, a little more drop the higher you go past middle C, until it is comfortably ( not rigidly ) down. Somewhat less for the ee vowel

I recently heard an instructional CD a friend lent me by somebody called David Jones. In that he says to find the jaw placement one should look up at the ceiling (not stretching the neck, just comfortable) and then let gravity drop the jaw. He says when you return to your position the jaw will feel loose, down and back and that this is correction position. I've tried this and everything he describes is true. Does this sound accurate?

A basic technique in singing is to sustain certain, well-formed vowels, and shorten consonants within the words. When this is done, many of the attributes of an accent (local vowel and dipthong patterns) simply go away

In response to this, I tried to write out a song focusing on the vowels. I thought this may help me, if I read (and sang) the sounds, rather than the words. I did this only using the vowels of AH, AY, EE, OH and OO (which are the ones we practice), this made it a little more complicated as words like "Us" are an UH sound, which we do not practice (at least, I've never found it =[) so I altered these. The song I did this for was 'Knocks Me Off My Feet' by Stevie Wonder (which you can find here:

) . I only did the first verse for this, which I will post below. I was wondering if this was the sort of thing you meant or if I'm not understanding. Here is my work:

AH s-EE Ah-s EE-n th-AH p-AH-k

str-OH-l-EE-n th-AH s-AH-m-AH d-AY-s AH-f EE-m-AH-g-EE-n-EE-ngs EE-n m-AH h-AY-d

AH-nd w-AH-rd fr-OH-m m-AH h-AH-t, t-OH-ld OH-l-EE t-OO th-AH w-EE-nd f-AH-l EE-v-AH-n l-AH-ve m-EE s-AH-d

AH d-OH-nt w-AH-n-AH b-AH-r y-OO w-EE-th, m-AH tr-AH-b-OH

b-AH th-AY-res s-AH-mth-EE-ng b-OH-t y-OH-r l-AH-ve, th-AH m-AY-kes m-EE w-EE-k AH-nd kn-AH-cks m-EE AH-ff m-AH f-EE-t

b-AH th-AY-res s-AH-mth-EE-ng b-OH-t y-OH-r l-AH-ve, th-AH m-AY-kes m-EE w-EE-k AH-nd kn-AH-cks m-EE AH-ff m-AH f-EE-t

kn-AH-cks m-EE AH-ff m-AH f-EE-t

kn-AH-cks m-EE AH-ff m-AH f-EE-t

Looks messy, sorry about that. If this is right then I guess this is the sort of thing I will have to do for all songs from now on?

Post some examples, so we can hear what you are talking about

Will post some examples soon... I will warn you that I am not a very good singer, but I'm an even worse producer, so the quality will be rubbish.

The larger the tonsils, the more difference when they are removed. IMO, your bodily health is more important than the tone quality of your voice, but what you can expect is that (with the increased space in the throat) is that the lower resonance qualities of your voice will be enhanced some, and that you'll experience a greater sense of space. Don't be afraid of it

This all makes sense... But is it bad that my obsession runs so deep I consider tone quality more important than bodily health...

Thanks for the great responses. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on my updates.

[Steven Fraser]

I recently heard an instructional CD a friend lent me by somebody called David Jones. In that he says to find the jaw placement one should look up at the ceiling (not stretching the neck, just comfortable) and then let gravity drop the jaw. He says when you return to your position the jaw will feel loose, down and back and that this is correction position. I've tried this and everything he describes is true. Does this sound accurate?

Nathan: Its a reasonable approach, and quite easily done. The jaw position that results from the procedure is a very good one.

I tried to write out a song focusing on the vowels. I thought this may help me, if I read (and sang) the sounds, rather than the words. I did this only using the vowels of AH, AY, EE, OH and OO (which are the ones we practice), this made it a little more complicated as words like "Us" are an UH sound, which we do not practice (at least, I've never found it =[) so I altered these. The song I did this for was 'Knocks Me Off My Feet' by Stevie Wonder (which you can find here:

) . I only did the first verse for this, which I will post below. I was wondering if this was the sort of thing you meant or if I'm not understanding.

<snip the vowel list>

Looks messy, sorry about that. If this is right then I guess this is the sort of thing I will have to do for all songs from now on?

The procedure you applied, of identifying the vowel sounds, is excellent. Initially, writing them out is fine, but the idea is to get into the mode of looking at the word and identifying mentally which vowel will be the sustained one, what pronunciation you will use for it, and what other vowels are also there but will be done rapidly. For example, when you see the word 'Heart' in a song, to know that the sustained sound in the word is the Ah, and that the r and t sounds need to be quite short.

Responding to something you mention, I think limiting the practice of vowels to just the five you listed is not a good procedure. I think a better practice procedure should include all the vowel sounds that you will use in songs. So, I would add to the five you mention , Ih, Eh, A (as in cat, hat, bat) Uh, and Oe (as in put, foot, book). You can sing these vowels on all the pitch patterns that you do for other vowels. For the song you listed, go back and replace the appropriate vowels with these others.

Will post some examples soon... I will warn you that I am not a very good singer, but I'm an even worse producer, so the quality will be rubbish.

Don't worry about the quality. Everybody is at a different place in their development. Some submissions are recorded with very simple tools.

<snip a section about tonsils>

This all makes sense... But is it bad that my obsession runs so deep I consider tone quality more important than bodily health.

Its really up to you, a personal decision. Another way you could think about it is this: do you want to sound like yourself with swollen tonsils, or risk discovering what you sound like with non-swollen tonsils? Very frankly, what I think is at stake here is uncertainty of the unknown. We all share that to some extent, and coming to a comfort level (whichever decision) is very personal.

I will say, though, that others on this list have had similar procedures. Most recently, Snax had this procedure done and a month/ 6 weeks ago or so resumed singing. You might search his posts for what he has written on his results.

[Hick15]

Woo i will surely post this information on my site.

Regards

Hick15

[Sheepdog]

Woo i will surely post this information on my site.

Regards

Hick15

It appears we have some spam bots in here...

[ronws]

Will post some examples soon... I will warn you that I am not a very good singer, but I'm an even worse producer, so the quality will be rubbish.

Thanks for the great responses. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on my updates.

Don't worry about the sound quality. I have crappy production values and recording skills, as well. I generally sound better live, too.