Shedding weight from a "heavy" voice...

[kickingtone]

Hi!

 

I am trying to shed weight from my voice when singing in my mid and upper range (without going all falsetto). Anyone else with that problem?

 

Here is my normal (heavy) voice..

 

http://soundcloud.com/kickingtone/sol011lv

 

So, I then try to shed weight for this lively ditty (Old Irish, maybe)..

 

http://soundcloud.com/kickingtone/cttb009lv

 

How does it sound? Do I sound falsetto-y? Does my tone darken? Any tips?

 

Please drop a comment. Thanks.

[HardwireSpeers]

As I understand it - just learning new concepts myself - you can try to go from a lowered larynx to a neutral larynx which could help. Sing one middle of your range note and try to make it really dark and kind of like a stereotypical bully saying "duh" and try and shift that sound to a more forward in your face sound more like 'whooo whooo whooo.' Once I figured that out I was surprised I had more control of my larynx and could be worth giving a try. However there may be better ideas from other people.

 

This is a good video on the subject:

[kickingtone]

That was very useful. Thanks. I know how to raise my larynx, but I have never seriously considered singing like that, as I am not particularly into genres that require it. It does give a more "forward" sound, which is very useful to know.

 

I wonder how easy it is to vary weight independently of "forwardness".

[WRGKMC]

What you call weight I call bass resonation.

 

When you sang in a lower key you allowed your longs to resonate and produce a normal mature male voice.

In the second clip you sang at a higher pitch without the lung resonation and produces a younger boy tone.

 

They key sounded a bit too high for your voice and you were struggling to hit those higher pitches. If so it was likely uncomfortable.

 

What you need to realize is your best voicing can change over time as you mature, but after that your body is going to remain a fixed size as so will your best range. For a small man that may be an alto and a large man it may be bass. Unless you're a young boy its unlikely you'll sing soprano. The rest wind up in the Tenor range.

 

I can switch between Tenor and alto depending own what I'm singing. I's sung with allot of female vocalists over the years and even though I dislike having to hit high notes I can pull them off fairly well. I think my voice has finally hit its last change when I hit 50. I can do the deeper stuff very well and I'm comfortable with that.

 

When I sing the higher stuff I have the same issues you do. The frequencies are narrower and the slightest variance in pitch is immediately noticeable. Takes more focus and endurance to hit and maintain those pitches and getting the resonance right for the pitch is not easy.

Don't know what suggestions I can give you. From what I hear you're voice is more natural on the first clip. If your voice is still changing you may get the higher pitch to work but for how long.

[kickingtone]

They key sounded a bit too high for your voice and you were struggling to hit those higher pitches. If so it was likely uncomfortable.

 

Physically, it was very comfortable actually, but I hear what you are saying about the tone.

 

There are so many ways to hit notes. The first time you hit a high note may be a belt. Then you find how to falsetto it. Then you learn how to hit it in neutral. Then you realize that there are so many factors that you can never really say you know how to hit the note. It all depends what you are trying to do with it. I can belt a clean A4, and I can falsetto it. Quite recently, I surprised myself hitting the note in a more neutral tone, without realizing I'd gone that high. So I felt comfortable, but the tone was obviously undeveloped, which is what I think you are picking up on.

 

The other thing is that I picked a song that I can only imagine in a dark tone, which perhaps doesn't help with what I am trying to explore. Most of the songs I like tend to be like that, so I have to find other songs that help me to explore other possibilities. I don't think I yet have a proper light sound colour in my head, when I sing. All I am thinking is that song X can't be a heavy/bass resonant tone, what do I do for song X? It's difficult to balance your tone if you are not thinking something specific.

 

Once I've actually sorted out my mind's ear, I can use tools like forward placement, as Hardwire Speers suggested to actually sing what I have in mind.