Lay Me Down by Sam Smith (Help me to define my type of voice)

[McsLk]

Hello everyone, great thanks for all of the kindness I recieved in my previous topic. I have one more request, can someone expirienced help my to define the type of my voice?

 

I recorded today Sam Smith's Lay Me Down with some falsetto and almost whole of my voice range. Let me know what you think about this attempt and help me to solve my question !

 

Have a great day, Marcin!

[kickingtone]

The usual response to this question is that voice classification only matters if you are applying for a role in something like an opera. ie you would have to first explain why the question is important to you.

 

Having said that, I do have an observation to make, because I have identified two fundamentally different approaches to singing. One uses DIAPHRAGMATIC support and the other uses GLOTTAL support. "Support" is the mechanism that controls and feeds the breath for singing. The two mechanisms give rise to very different sound qualities.

 

DIAPHRAGMATIC support facilitates and puts the emphasis on CADENCE in the tone. That means that you don't have to rely on range to give your singing expression and dynamics. The tone will have a freer, more "floaty" quality, which is already rich in expression and dynamics. This is my favourite kind of singing (you can probably tell from my bias).

 

On the other hand, using GLOTTAL support is more suited to genres where cadence is much less important. The mechanism is less pliant, but is suited to a simpler and plainer intonation. Dynamic is achieved by range, transitions in registration and belts.

 

I have found this distinction to be important because vocal coaches tend to commit their beginner students to one mechanism or the other, despite their promise that they are teaching them the fundamentals for "any kind of singing". But my opinion is that you would have to undo one mechanism in order to switch to the other. You really need to be aware which direction you want to go in advance. That is not easy for a beginner, unless you have some kind of instinct.

 

The OP's singing is diaphragmatic. My sense is that the breath is anchored somewhere around the diaphragm. Diaphragmatic support can be also be anchored much lower down (in the waist), which would substantially increase the options in the upper vocal range.

[McsLk]

Thanks for the explanation, I will try to deepen my knowledge in this area.

 

Could you let me know what do you think about my performance, technical aspects etc?

[McsLk]

Thanks for your opinion!

[kickingtone]

Marcin, what resources have you used so far for learning to sing? Which learning material and techniques have you come across, so far? Did you learn about the passaggio and the passaggio break, for example? (That is a classical singing term, which has found its way into contemporary singing.)

[McsLk]

To be honest I have not used any of resources. I'm totally autodidact based on musical hearing. I've learned myself how to play guitar and piano. It helps me to improve my singing abilities.

[kickingtone]

To be honest I have not used any of resources. I'm totally autodidact based on musical hearing. I've learned myself how to play guitar and piano. It helps me to improve my singing abilities.

 

I totally recommend this as a basis. (I have made a few posts on the matter, but it has only led to arguments, including that continual ranting and trolling by New2).

 

Being able to hear for yourself when something is right or wrong (rather than relying entirely on being told!) puts you in the strongest position when you do decide to look for online resources or advice. You will have developed a good ear and feeling for what makes sense, feels right, and is right for you and your voice. There are so many online resources and face-to-face tutors (contradicting one another), so you need to have a strong sense of what you are looking for if you don't want to get confused and lose your way. You get that by "finding your ear" by yourself, to begin with. That is what separates an artist's mentality from that of a technician.

 

Some people are afraid that they will pick up "bad habits" and damage their voice unless they immediately seek advice to "set them on the right track". Others are not.

 

Being motivated by the art, rather than by fame, is another good trait. People motivated by art immerse themselves in art. People motivated by fame tend to look for shortcuts. They adopt a "technician's mentality" and look for someone to "program" them to sing. Then they wonder why they struggle.

 

I eventually found some online resources that worked for me. As a beginner I was able to reject some advice from experienced folk. I didn't just "do what I was told" based on relative experience. That upset some people, but I wasn't a beginner when it came to hearing. I'd done my homework!

 

What I eventually discovered was that the basis of classical singing techniques immediately made sense to me. Contemporary singing techniques and exercises didn't. They were generally wrong for me, and I was quick to reject them. I was actually quite open minded, though, otherwise I would not have even looked at classical techniques, since I am not into classical music, itself.

 

All those quacking and bleating exercises, scales, meh-meh-meh, nyah-nyah-nyah etc. I found to be useless. I didn't bother with them. They are basically GLOTTAL support exercises. (Also, for me, pitch I learn by ear, not scales and muscle memory).

 

Classical vocal techniques use DIAPHRAGMATIC support. I felt that suited me better.

 

With GLOTTAL support, airflow is regulated using the vibratory mode of the vocal folds -- asymmetric modes where the folds are closed for longer during the vibration cycle (open/closed quotient, as it is called).. The sound you produce then becomes a side-effect of the method you are using to regulate airflow, which is vibratory mode.

 

With DIAPHRAGMATIC support, airflow is regulated precisely at the diaphragm. This leaves the larynx and muscles of the throat free to focus on the sound, and frees the vibratory mode, instead of doubling it as a support system. The result is a richer sound with more CADENCE.

 

I can recommend YT videos by Franco Tenelli and by Micheal Trimble (both famous classical tenors, as I later discovered).

 

They each have a series of videos on YT that go into diaphragmatic "support" or "LEANING", as they call it (italian: APPOGGIO), which also involves ANCHORAGE. Anchorage is what gives a high note a rock solid foundation that can be used to increase your upper range. The type of anchorage is what distinguishes APPOGGIO from other diaphragmatic methods -- specifically, a counter movement between diaphragm and abdominal muscles.

 

Fortunately for me, what they described is what my body tries to do naturally, anyway. So it made sense at that point to investigate and build on that.

 

My body wasn't naturally trying to do the GLOTTAL support, so I rejected it.