vocal techniques

[mojobone]

Warbly or weak pitch can result from anxiety, it's how certain kinds of lie detectors work. Start with breath control (did you learn to swim?) then breath support. An acquaintance of mine (OK, a singer I worked with) had this problem. I asked her to get a recorder (grade-school flute or "Tonette") and practice playing the lowest note, holding the note and keeping the volume even for as long as possible, continuing for ten minutes a day. Her problem cleared up in about four months. I think this works becase it separates the singer from hearing her voice while building it, thereby circumventing any anxiety that may be attached to the experience.Speech-level singing is great for folks who use microphones, I recommended it to another singer with the opposite problem. She was a broadwy/blues belter, (still is) -imagine Janis Joplin multiplied by Ethel Merman-with a tendency to overblow. The flute can help with that, too, because you will know instantly when you're overdoing it.Other than that, I can't be of much help, I'm a natural singer, myself, though I don't suppose ten years of sax playing hurt much.

[milfus]

regulated air flow is what it sounds like, I had to do a bunch of breath control excersizes awhile ago, just from battling. I think, just dont emphasis the beginning of the note, like picture the "sweet spot" of the note as the entire note, instead of hitting the pitch and then drifting, I used to do that too. Just set the mark you are trying to hit at the end of the note, instead of the begining, and pretty soon it will level out.

[mojobone]

It's a calming thing; not unlike chanting oooooooooommmmmmmmm.

[vicky]

cool.thanks.I will try those suggestions....funny thing about Seth Riggs...."holding a note" is considered advance, so even with the zillion exercises, I never got to the actual holding of the note...interesting you're both saying "calming" and "less anxiety", I was thinking it's technical more than mental...thanks again, vtbpmilfus...why do you hate jazz so much.....surrounded by jazz nazis at school?

[mewman]

Hi milfusI played in a five piece old timey band. We all sang, sometimes five part harmonies. I can say that from that and other experiences, there is no substitute for just singing as much as you can. In the shower, along with commercials while watching TV, while walking, while drunk in the woods around the campfire....every chance you get. I used to drive long distances to get to gigs and would sing constantly in the car. Solfege exercises... songs we played... along with the radio. A friend once commented that every time she passed me on the road she could see me singing away. I sucked when we started and can honestly say that I didn't suck as much as time went on. I'm not really a singer, but, like any muscle, the voice just gets stronger the more you use it. I saw the same thing happen in a Portuguese band I was in. Nobody wanted to sing so one guy just stepped up to bat and said he would do it. It was shaky at first but you could hear him get stronger every week. By the end of the year he sounded pretty good! The group was gigging every week and rehearsed twice a week as well. Just do it! Whenever my old teacher used to hear anyone talk about problems that were in their way, he would always say "just shut up and play". The wisdom of that statement has really hit me on many occasions over the years. So, with tongue planted firmly in my cheek, I pass on that wisdom to you now. Just shut up and sing!!Mewman

[ernstinen]

I took some lessons from a Seth Riggs protege down in Hollywood, and it WAS expensive. But before and after that, I bought ol' Seth's vocal exercise CDs and practiced a lot with them. --- MAN, did my vocals improve --- so much more than any lessons I've ever taken from singing teachers. It was like night and day! I'd HIGHLY recommend his CDs if they're still available.What's funny is that most people doing his exercises sing better than Seth himself! A singing teacher who can't sing --- amazing! Ern

[Mark Kaufman]

I'll leave REAL vocal training to the pros like Hummingbird.But I'll give you this notion...how many ways can you make the same note sound? Do it in the shower...sing that note. Try all the vowel shapes. Now try it with a constricted throat...open throat...deep belly...try to meke it resonate off the roof of your mouth...whisper that note.My notion is to remember that exploring sensibility when you decide to record something...how to change up the many ways to color that same note...then apply the same thinking phrase by phrase, breath by breath. "Play" with your voice like it's a guitar that your picking in a different way for better tone. A guy like you might do better exploring these possibilities than many might do with lessons.But most of all, try to retain a constant awareness of what your body is doing...are you tense? Should you be? How much breath is best fot this phrase...always questioning...

[milfus]

yeah thats one of the things that prompted this thread actually, I have been tensing and relaxing different muscles and getting different qualities, but theres just so many freakin combinations, and I will find a group I should relax or tense that add something I want, and then I tense something else and the first group isnt right anymore, and yeah, its enough to drive me crazy sometimes, haha. I actually ordered the brett manning cd's, I couldn't find the seth cd's, hopefully they will get me more in the right spot, and then if I am still struggling I will have to enlist outside help, (I actually have a few professional vocalist friends, it is just they are busy as all hell, and I don't wanna play the friend card on something they do for a living ya know, but at the same time I know they won't take my money, so I will have to think up a swap or something)

[billg]

Jul 16, 2008, 3:21am, dommydom wrote:only way my voice got bigger and better was from busking 2 nights a week for 10 hours at a time whilst competing with city traffic to get my voice heard.. not sure i would reccommend this method as im not sure exactly how good it was for me... singing till my voice was hoarse... then singing till it hurt... then till i couldnt sing at all... then if there was still a crowd paying money and making requests, basically just shouting. then sleeping all saturday and not talking till i did it all again saturday night... Yep, no substitute for singing a lot , just like any other endurance training. I basically sang 6-7 nights a week for 30 years, much of it on the road without adequate rest while smoking & drinking etc. Now my voice sounds like shit but it's really tough! I advise this method over vocal lessons, it's a lot more fun & you get to meet a lot of interesting people.

[hazineju]

hi milfus, are there any songs you have posted or on your taxi site with you singing- we could give you tips specifically for your voice in that case. i have to say i love SLS and seth riggs' techniques, i use a lot of them when i teach though i am not a certified SLS teacher. i have his warm up CDs ("Singing for the stars") and use them for myself a lot----i will admit that his vocal exercises, like most warm ups are a bit boring to do but REALLY DO help you with your technique. do them every day (there's your hard work)!!! you mentioned you've only had 4 weeks of training, it does take time to cultivate good technique. there is the undeniable fact that natural talent helps but you can greatly improve with lessons, or at least start out with some warm up CDs/books. another one i work out of with students sometimes is called the "pop singer's warm up." both that and the seth riggs CDs come with a book that explains what the proper way to do each warm up is. a pedagogy book might also be useful to you to read about what exactly is going on with your vocal cords as well as the rest of your body in order to sing--- my favorite is "the functional unity of the singing voice," i think it is by barbara doscher. may i also recommend a few more things to do while practicing without a teacher -record and critique yourself. -practice in front of the mirror. any time your face looks strained somehow you are probably straining your voice- make sure your mouth is open and your jaw is RELAXED---this can be hard for newbies- check your posture and make sure you're standing straight but that there is no tension in your neck or shoulders-you may already do this but really listen to the artists whose voices you admire and try to emulate. a huge caveat is that of course there are lots of artists who have vocal nodes and horrible technique so be careful with that one. it's like you said, everyone's got their own methods for what works and what doesn't-the important thing is that you don't damage your voice. if your voice is sore after you sing you're damaging it. i feel like i am beginning to ramble here so i will stop for now, hope you found something useful in it ps i liked mojobone's flute/recorder idea, that is a great idea for working on breath control