vocal techniques

[milfus]

5 years sober ern, well 5 and a half now =0)and apple juice just doesnt have the same soul, it has like, aaron carters soul.but good lookin out anyway

[squids]

I wasn't gonna comment on this but I gotta make one:1. Don't smoke. I do. It's not worth your life. You can get a whiskey voice through practice.2. Don't drink. It might help you relax but, done chronically, the resultant dehydration will weaken your voice and make your pitch unstable later. That's fine too if that's what you want and you understand that you won't be the exception to the rule. I'm about as much of an exception (regarding smoking) as you can get. Not a goal, trust me. Those singers committed to underground, gutteral type singing (e.g., Tom Waits) or a particular culture's singing (e.g., me) generally use a whiskey voice either because it's damaged from poor singing technique/drugs or it's a deliberate manipulation of the air through the vocal cords in order to induce a 'damaged' or road-worn voice, like I do. Of course, smoking does help in my case. But bear in mind, I used to be able to sing 4 octaves. Those days are long gone. Not that I care about that but, if someone's reading this who's a lifelong singer or wants to be, please remember you will lose your range engaging in behaviors not designed to prolong your singing life. It's one thing when you're in your 20s and you're trying to figure out who/what you are and you're thinking your voice, like you, will last forever. It's quite another to realize that no singer lasts, we're generally short-lived either by becoming irrelevant to the current music scene or by becoming disinterested or distracted or by sheer damage from age. We don't improve our voice's purity as we age. We do improve other things.......phrasing, dynamics, tone, etc., and in that way, compensate for our losses with a bit of experience. Or we become producers. Heh.Sorry to refute what you're sayin' ern, cuz you know you my man. Luv ya! This post is way too serious!! Sorry!

[vicky]

Tom Waits had a much smoother voice in his early days..I guess his songs tell the story of how it got to be the way it is now milfus..last time I checked there was 3 hour master class (free) on Seth Riggs site, and there are exercises on it....Hummingbird and Squids, you two really know your stuffOk....there's alot on this thread......in Seth Riggs you learn to always keep your lips in...and you change vowels....said.....sedyeah.....yihfloor...flooor w/'oo"dance....denceeven "oo' is with "oh' lipssay....seyany words about this? I seem to really notice that certain words are tough to hold the note.....like holding on "girl" ...also it's kind of distracting to always be wondering what my mouth is doing....getting late...cracking myself up....wondering that..... later,thanks,Vicky

[gongchime]

So, there shouldn't be blood on the floor in front of you then? Is that correct?

[ggalen]

Jul 16, 2008, 6:57pm, mojobone wrote:...avoid whispering.mojobone,What's wrong with whispering? I would think that rests your vocal cords.

[hazineju]

hi vicky the bassplayer, vowel modification is indeed a great trick SLS focuses on, and that is one of the things i was referring to in learning by listening to other artists i.e. a direct example from that master class, if i recall correctly he was helping natalie cole on the song called "the prayer"---- "lead us to a pleece" instead of "place"it all has to do with shaping your mouth to the most comfortable and natural way to sing a note that is otherwise tricky. this is especially used for high notes. we could also get into dipthongs here, but as for the word "girl" that is a funky one because it sends the sound and position to the back of your mouth/throat, a kind of swallowing sensation which is not what you want. i would probably think of singing the word "gull" holding the "guh" and at the very end gently close it up with a soft "rl" does that work better for you?

[hazineju]

Jul 16, 2008, 5:02pm, milfus wrote: just because I wanted to get a decent generic tone first and see what seemed to fit best.ps---milfus, i wouldn't think about trying to create a "generic" tone per say. your voice is already YOU, you know what i mean? you already have some kind of inherent style that is uniquely you and i wouldn't try to eliminate that. only try to change the bad habits and work on fostering the good habits you are learning through technique.what exercises are you doing at this point?

[hummingbird]

Jul 17, 2008, 5:52am, ggalen wrote:Jul 16, 2008, 6:57pm, mojobone wrote:...avoid whispering.mojobone,What's wrong with whispering? I would think that rests your vocal cords.Both whispering & shouting are bad for the voice (that includes talking over music or other noise). Whispering because you are not fully engaged & that tires the voice. Shouting because you are exerting pressure. Talking on the phone (or over the internet) should also be limited (10-15mins).

[ernstinen]

Jul 16, 2008, 11:20pm, squids wrote:Sorry to refute what you're sayin' ern, cuz you know you my man. Luv ya! Back at ya, Squids! Of course, my post was tongue-in-cheek LOL! I don't smoke, and I'm one of the sober ones, too. BUT, when I DID drink whiskey, I got this raspy vocal sound that was cool for rock, but my 4 octave range went down to about one and a half octaves. Seriously! I couldn't sing above an E or F, and for a tenor that's pretty pathetic. IF I tried to sing higher, I'd get coughing fits! Now, THAT'S some clean livin' --- But my range came back. Now I sound like Freddie Mercury! Ern

[hummingbird]

Jul 17, 2008, 12:48am, vicky wrote:Tom Waits had a much smoother voice in his early days..I guess his songs tell the story of how it got to be the way it is now milfus..last time I checked there was 3 hour master class (free) on Seth Riggs site, and there are exercises on it....Hummingbird and Squids, you two really know your stuffOk....there's alot on this thread......in Seth Riggs you learn to always keep your lips in...and you change vowels....said.....sedyeah.....yihfloor...flooor w/'oo"dance....denceeven "oo' is with "oh' lipssay....seyany words about this? I seem to really notice that certain words are tough to hold the note.....like holding on "girl" ...also it's kind of distracting to always be wondering what my mouth is doing....getting late...cracking myself up....wondering that..... later,thanks,VickyI am not familiar with Seth Riggs but I will say that, of course, proper shaping of vowels is extremely important and one of the first hurdles in awareness for my students. When a student finally gets the "right" shape happening, you can tell by the look in their eyes (and the sound in the voice) that they feel the difference. One of our difficulties in singing English is that English is a 'lazy language' in that we don't use our articulators half as much as those who speak more animated languages... (generally speaking) we bring our poor speech habits into our singing. The "right" shape for any vowel depends on the physiology of the student, of course - some people have wide jaws, some people have smaller mouths, some people have pycholological issues and unconsciously 'cover' or 'hold back' their voices. Therefore "the shape" cannot be learned from looking at pictures. When the voice is resonating correctly & high notes are easy, then the shape is right.Any good vocal regimen should involve - understanding how to work with the breath, understanding how to initiate the voice in a healthy manner, working to achieve consistent awareness of correct articulation, being the architect of the phrase by thinking through it effectively, removing all tension from what we do. If you understand what you are doing and if you practice it on a daily basis then over time it naturally becomes part of what you do. My students start to "get" this within the first few weeks of training. I myself have been studying for 17 years. Yes, I still coach... because, like any professional athlete, I need a trainer to assist me to maintain, and grow, my skill.