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Need help with vocal technique.


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I'm working on a music project right now and have a lot of instrumental tracks. I have everything down except the vocals. I like to think that I have a good sense of pitch and I can tell a wrong note from a right one. The issue I struggle with is the technique on how I sing.

 

Before my voice changed (I'm 18 now), I was a singer in a young band. I had no formal training, no technique really, and I was comfortable with how I sang. Nothing hurt. Now I feel like I have no control over my voice.

 

My vocal range, with my current "technique," is roughly B2 - E4. However, my voice starts hurting after about fifteen seconds of singing, even when I am in my most comfortable note range. I've looked up countless articles trying to find what is wrong with my technique and I still can't find anything. I am breathing from my diaphragm, my posture is fine, and I take deep breaths before a singing passage.

 

As I get to the higher part of my range, I notice that I end up singing the notes loudly. Any attempt to lower the volume results in vocal cracks or very constrained sounds. Also, it's near impossible for me to sing "e" or "o" sounds at the higher part. The "e" ends up sounding like "ay" and the "o" ends up sounding like "eh."

 

One thing that I will note is that I did sing for a long time like this and my vocal cords may be damaged. I am taking a break from singing for a couple weeks to see if that will help anything/.

 

Does anyone know what might be wrong with my technique? Appreciate any answers.

 

 

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Hi there,

Early vocal fatigue and loud singing are usually signs of pushing too much chest voice or over-development of the chest register. At the same time, I suspect there may be a lot of tongue tension as well, which is causing your vowels to distort. At the same time, you should make sure you aren't over-breathing, because if you take in too much air then holding back the breath pressure becomes difficult. This will cause you to push using too much breath pressure, forcing the use of too much vocal cord mass or in other words too much chest voice. Try taking in less air and also practice vocalizing scales with the tongue more forward.

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One of the main concepts to stop pushing too much chest, is finding the "thin edge function". There are various exercises to help achieve it. One exercise you could try is the staccato 'ee' followed by a 5-tone scale. I find that my training in the Swedish/Italian technique utilizes this principle a lot. If you're interested in knowing more then please feel free to contact me.

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