Would greatly appreciate advice on my tone.

[Crispy boi]

Today's exercises didn't feel that good. My voice felt rough and it felt like I was undersinging and I couldn't maintain any mix in the mid range... my short term goal is to be able to maintain mix before i worry about fine tuning it for song application... I either lose it competely and start speaking voice or it's way too nasal...

Rough/dirty sound in the voice

https://voca.ro/brtPSwkFQnQ

Here's me narrowing the ahh vowel trying to maintain resonance in the mid-range

https://voca.ro/dfG3a0RDZBZ

Suddenly losing mix around E3

https://voca.ro/mola6fYQvil

I'm pretty sure my pesky larynx got in the way again today so I'm gonna just spend some time just focused on keeping it down and trying to relax any tension in my neck and face. Peace out. 

 

[Crispy boi]

I think i may have discovered how reasonance is tied to breath support... when I'm resonating nicely in the nose it feels like i Can lean of my abdominal structure more and i can build pressure from below. It also feels extremely easy and relaxed in my throat it feels like my throat is floating on air pressure and my voice is coming from *above* my throat. I couldn't reproduce it in a recording. I really hope I can do that on recording soon. I'm also "settling" into keys i really like because my lower notes have more head resonance than before where they absolutely none..

Once i got done with breathing work though the rest of the session was kind of a mess..

I couldn't maintain any mix in the mid range.

My vowels sounded closed off and distorted. 

I was going back to speaking voice or sounding way too nasal.

And on top of that i accidentally deleted my voice recordings so until next time peace out.

*Super Sorry for the redundancies in the previous two posts it wasn't showing what i had already posted. I did however have two practise sessions in one day. 

 

[davie]

A bit late to the party,  but I listened to most of the clips you posted.

I think you need to work towards singing loud with more energy, you seem to be "under-singing". It's quite difficult to have the voice open up properly unless go for a bit more volume. Don't be afraid to get louder with the voice and project it. In my experience, there sometimes are two extremes when it comes to beginner singers. Those who sing too loud and those who don't sing loud enough. In order to build that resonance you need to get a basic breath support working and also make sure your body posture isn't getting in the way. As you make a tone, pay close attention to the core muscles, there should be an engagement of the abdominals, when done properly it feels like a turning sensation between the upper and lower abs and at the same time there is an expansion of the lower back. It might be a difficult coordination to find, but as long as you can find some part of it then you are on the right track and the rest will follow as you build the voice. For the time-being, don't worry about putting a label on yourself regarding voice type, it will become clearer as you progress. Things like vocal registration and range will come gradually as you progress as well. I hope this helps.

[kickingtone]

2 hours ago, Crispy boi said:

I think i may have discovered how reasonance is tied to breath support... when I'm resonating nicely in the nose it feels like i Can lean of my abdominal structure more and i can build pressure from below.

This is absolutely the key.

3 hours ago, Crispy boi said:

Rough/dirty sound in the voice

https://voca.ro/brtPSwkFQnQ

 

Here's an exercise. Take a small to medium breath (slightly more than if you were about to speak) and gently do exactly as if you were singing the -ah- vowel (no consonant before it), but keep your glottis closed. Don't let any air or sound out. Allow the air pressure in your lungs to fall right down to your diaphragm, and build from there. Make sure your chest muscles are not constricted or blocking the diaphragm from engaging. You should feel your diaphragm descend, the area below your solar plexus pop out, and the muscles of your abs and lower back brace and anchor against the descent of the diaphragm. Your upper body should be very relaxed. Your lungs should feel comfortably full (not totally full or so full that air wants to burst out). Then let your glottis open and produce the -ah- vowel. To do it gently, the release of pressure has to be controlled at the diaphragm, abs and lower back.

That's appoggio breathing and "building pressure and feeding air from below" as you mentioned.

If you put a consonant before the -ah- vowel "-lah-", the exercise won't be as effective, because the consonant will handle a lot of the pressure and timing. You want to train the diaphragm and abs to do that. That leads to free, open throat singing.

The -ah- vowel, because it is open and aspirated (has a bit of air mixed in), is very sensitive to pressure control and how you feed the air. It can cause a harsh sound if the onset is too sudden, and once that happens, the whole note will tend to stay rough.

[Crispy boi]

Wow this post just got lit up with pure gold. Thank you so much Davie and kickingtone.. I was home alone just now so i was able to make a lot more noise and apply what you guys have advised... im such a fan of the idea of "turning the abs almost upside down" in a way and letting the epigastrum out with abdominal pressure. Let me try the glottal stoppages on an ah vowel going forward...

Anyway here's the result of my yelling like a madman home alone.

LOUD g major arpeggio

https://voca.ro/cleDuaF55We

For the first time singing middle C felt EASY.

https://voca.ro/2OrmGpaTXqF

And Eb which is a pretty high key for me

https://voca.ro/8P3gdRRw5ao

Finally I had a crack at singing a song. I hope this represents even a slight improvement from my first post on this forum.

Amazing grace

https://voca.ro/hM0Z6Qr55HS

https://voca.ro/jIYiPTMkBlX

I would love a critique of my effort and I appreciate You Davie and Kickingtone... 

Till next time Take it easy.

 

 

 

[Crispy boi]

Howdy Singers...

So lately I'm just trying to build some consistency in the mix.. especially as I go up.

Tuning 5ths on a Nga sound

https://voca.ro/6jetXWWOZWQ

Scales

https://voca.ro/gT3braNl8YM

Basic melody

https://voca.ro/6Xo7IloFzQD

https://voca.ro/5mMsllbJMmd

If i had to make A self-critique i would say some of the mid range notes sound muffled and closed off.. it could be my soft palate i think... And of course there was some larynx strain on those 5ths I think just gotta keep composure and relax it as i keep going up.

I think i will continue to record my my vocal breaks as well around the E4-G4 area as as i try to work on those higher notes. They sound weak to me (And strained).

And another thing! I need to experiment with making a darker tone then hopefully i can get something that I can mix into my voice later

 

[davie]

It does sound a bit better when you sing louder. When singers hold back their sound too much, it can result in extraneous tension which can be counterproductive. Try to go for a fuller sound as if you're calling out someone from across a room, like "hey!". In one of your clips you laughed at the end. The sound of your laugh was actually fuller sounding than the notes you vocalized. That might be a good vocal response to finding a fuller sound. Another thing I've noticed in the latest clips is excessive nasality, you may be taking the concept of "ng sound" a bit too far. The ng sound is a good concept to use, but it needs to done while keeping an open throat. Try to concentrate on lifting the soft palate at the back of the mouth. It can be done by using the sensation of starting a yawn.

And regarding building mix, at the moment you don't need to focus on that. Once you figure out how to phonate fully with proper resonance, the voice will begin to mix on its own.

[Crispy boi]

What are some good exercises for singing with an open throat?

As for the nasality I'm aware of my voice doing this particular dysfunction where it will go back and forth between either too nasal or completely devoid of resonance and it sounds like I'm just talking in tune.

The way I've attempted to address the above issue is to think about placing the sound a bit more backwards. I was thinking somewhere between the middle of my palate and towards my back teeth for slightly higher notes... and then a little more nasal for lower notes.

It still came out a little nasal for my liking at the top but i also lost all upper resonance tones as times during the scales especially around A3 I thiiiiink, i may be confused.

https://voca.ro/gd9QvpIWY1r

Please let me know what you think and Thanks a lot for the input Davie.

 

[davie]

There are quite a few exercises to help with every vocal concept or issue. However it actually takes a complete set of exercises to build a complete and balanced voice. I recommend working with a good voice teacher to properly guide your vocal development. In my own experience it was quite difficult to make any progress on my own until I found a voice teacher to help me. Even if a singer practices the right exercises on their own, there's really no way to tell if it is being performed correctly and the singer can even end up running in vocal issues. This is why the trained ear and real-time feedback of a teacher is always invaluable. I've been trained in the Swedish-Italian vocal technique, which is known for building voices to their fullest potential. If you're interested in learning about it then feel free to send me a message.

[Crispy boi]

Davie I'm confused by you saying i need to phonate with proper resonace but i shouldn't bother with mixing? Is that not the same thing? If i sing everything in chest voice won't that just take me back to sounding like I'm talking? Where will the sound resonate if not in a combination of my chest, pharynx and head? When I'm supporting properly i feel it everywhere including my nose however It's often too nasal as you've said.. I need a way to control it without falling back into my speaking voice, not so? 

I had a voice coach but i left coz i couldn't deal with the way he was running the lessons including charging his clients for lessons we never took and not answering his phone... Arrggg. I don't have the money or the time to commute to the next closest one which is rather far and more expensive... i will go back to voice lessons the moment I can.

Anyway I've noted the importance of open throat as far as i understand it which is keeping the soft palate in the proper place for clear sound. 

I've been working on singing while pinching my nose to check if the sound still comes out and just generally trying to create space. 

Anyway here's what that sounded like. My nose isn't pinched here but that was what i was doing before this recording.

https://voca.ro/iIdc2zgQJUO

 

 

[kickingtone]

CB, I think that you were already doing as Davie suggested. You are exploring resonance spaces to develop head tones (which will add to your chest tones, by default).

[some vocal methods teach you two separate registers (chest and head), and then get you to "bridge" them, then deliberately overlap or "mix" them. But I don't think that this is the method you meant when you said mix.]

There are a lot of spaces in the vocal tract to explore. Take a look at a picture of it and EVERYTHING in/attached to it: the lips, cheeks, tongue, teeth, mouth floor, hard palate, soft palate, nasal cavity, sinuses, etc. That is a huge amount to juggle and can take endless experimentation and practice. To reach a resonance space there has to be a clear airway to it from the source, which is the glottis. (NB. that does NOT imply airflow -- YOU ARE NOT TRYING TO BLOW AIR INTO THE SPACE -- IT'S JUST THAT THE SOUND WAVES NEED A CONTINUOUS AIR PASSAGE TO REACH THE SPACE AND THEN START RESONATING -- BUILDING THROUGH ECHO.). You have to make sure that your tongue, soft palate, cheeks etc. are not blocking the target air space, especially when the airspace is in the nasal cavity. NOTE HOW FAR BACK THE NASAL CAVITY EXTENDS -- pretty much as far back as your ears. To avoid nasality, explore that space further back. Tension tends to squeeze things and create obstructions. So you need to develop a relaxed coordination. (That is why support is so important. It delegates most of the air pressure management to the diaphragm and trunk, releasing the throat for a more relaxed or so-called "open throat" singing.) There is a lot of refining of technique to do just to begin to access some of these resonant spaces.

(Forgive me if you are a medical expert or student, and know a hundred times what I know about the anatomy. Each post is of course aimed at all viewers).

[kickingtone]

On 12/23/2019 at 8:53 AM, davie said:

Try to go for a fuller sound as if you're calling out someone from across a room, like "hey!".

I was thinking of mentioning this, too. I was going to say: imagine trying to attract the attention of a friend who is a hundred metres down the road. (But try to avoid doing that throaty scream thing that you sometimes hear teenage boys do because they want to sound "manly"....maybe an English thing only, lol... or that raucous singing that football fans use, again to sound "manly". Avoid it at all costs!)

[Crispy boi]

I appreciate the advice on using my entire instrument, every nook and cranny. I'm not a med expert and i was not offended by the anatomy level au contraire, Thanks KT.

Ok I will try this calling out idea ASAP.

I felt resonance on my top pre-molars today which was new. I want to explore that... Finding the space closer to my ears is gonna be an interesting challenge. 

I hypothesize that finding a space closer to the back of my mouth and head is going to enrich the sound without making me hyper-nasal which really is at the core of my current frustration, that and larynx control.

Finding throat freedom via trunk support is a feeling i have experienced and am looking forward to cementing.

Finally i will add that today i was also working on keeping my chin down while phonating coz raising my jaw and gaping the jaw open i find thins the sound to the point where it resonates on the hard palate and no where else.

Just got done with another practise session focused on breath support and pitch... what struck me hard is that I have a profound lack of head voice...  I mean i know it's an issue thanks to Kickingtone... but I've been so focused on pharyngeal resonance I've completely neglected that Head voicey "Ooh" sound... I need to take some time and add Head reasonance to my sound and really work on adding it to my overdeveloped Chest voice. 

I think I will do this by modding my vowels more towards ooh, making sure my chin stays down and I will make do some homework to find other ways but and pointers would sincerely appreciated...

Peace out Singers.

 

[davie]

8 hours ago, Crispy boi said:

Davie I'm confused by you saying i need to phonate with proper resonace but i shouldn't bother with mixing? Is that not the same thing? If i sing everything in chest voice won't that just take me back to sounding like I'm talking? Where will the sound resonate if not in a combination of my chest, pharynx and head? When I'm supporting properly i feel it everywhere including my nose however It's often too nasal as you've said.. I need a way to control it without falling back into my speaking voice, not so? 

I had a voice coach but i left coz i couldn't deal with the way he was running the lessons including charging his clients for lessons we never took and not answering his phone... Arrggg. I don't have the money or the time to commute to the next closest one which is rather far and more expensive... i will go back to voice lessons the moment I can.

Anyway I've noted the importance of open throat as far as i understand it which is keeping the soft palate in the proper place for clear sound. 

I've been working on singing while pinching my nose to check if the sound still comes out and just generally trying to create space. 

Anyway here's what that sounded like. My nose isn't pinched here but that was what i was doing before this recording.

https://voca.ro/iIdc2zgQJUO

 

 

There's a common issue with many beginning singers, they try to build a mix without first opening up the voice. Sometimes there is a preconceived idea about what a mix should sound or feel like, but when attempted without having a good foundation, a singer may end up forcing the voice, squeezing the throat or closing up the throat space. But once the singer can find the open throat, proper breath support through body engagement, and the thin edge function of the vocal cords, then the voice will automatically be in a mix. Regarding resonance, the sound should feel like its resonating mainly somewhere in the pharynx whether you are singing high or low.

In regards to your voice, the first obstacle is to open the throat and reduce the nasality. From listening through your various clips, I realize the possible root cause of the nasality is simply because you're holding back too much with your voice and not letting the voice come out. You may be afraid of having others around you hear you sing, so you're trying too much to "contain" the sound inside of your head. A part of singing is psychological as much as it is physical. I think you need to either overcome the fear of getting louder, or find an appropriate place and time to let the voice loose.

 

6 hours ago, kickingtone said:

[Some vocal methods teach you two separate registers (chest and head), and then get you to "bridge" them, then deliberately overlap or "mix" them. But I don't think that this is the method you meant when you said mix.]

Yes, that is one of the methods that I train with and teach. It is essentially the cuperto exercise in the Swedish-Italian technique. It feels very different from full voiced singing but gradually working on this over time can lead to a more balanced tone and easier access to high notes as well.

[Crispy boi]

Today I worked on trying to remove the nasality from my tone. I think its honky and distorted coz I'm trying to place the sound right at the nostrils so I'm going to stop doing that.

I worked on head voice today trying to get a bright, clear sound to resonate in my head or right at the bridge of my nose between the eyes.

I was working while pinching my nose and still looking for maximum freedom and ease. It helped a lot to really think of this kind of eee or ooo vowel and making space inside my mouth and throat irrespective of what my lips were doing.

https://voca.ro/9omyFOAOIsi

It felt Extremely easy and at a point i got up to a C5 without any of the strain that i was expecting and while pinching my nose. It felt like the sound was in my head or shooting out of my brow/forehead/very bridge of the nose.

Then i sang a song and I noticed on the recording that it was a bit less nasal than some of my earlier posts.. However it lacked some of the resonance i was hoping for especially coz I felt it a little bit in the bridge of my nose while I was singing.

https://voca.ro/aQmATNQVqDf

I would an honest opinion on it though. I hope everyone is having a delightful Holiday. Till next time Singers. 

 

[kickingtone]

4 hours ago, Crispy boi said:

However it lacked some of the resonance i was hoping for especially coz I felt it a little bit in the bridge of my nose while I was singing.

Some songs have a mellow vibe, and are psychologically difficult to sing any other way. Try a song with a bit more CALL to it.

(And you sound as if you are naturally softly spoken, even though there are indications that you have quite a big voice at your disposal.)

Here's one I saved from when I was starting out, after I was advised to "sing out". Pick a room with good resonance, and see what feedback you get from it.

(LOL, you can hear me focusing a little bit too much on the different vowel sounds.)

https://soundcloud.com/kickingtone/lotd001lv

(I used a dirt cheap old mic back then -- not the clearest!)

[Crispy boi]

I do have a naturally soft speaking voice. However I can make a big sound and I have done so on arpeggios posted on this forum. Doing that was really fun.. However I dont know how far belting all the time is gonna get me since I cant actually sing like that... your voice sounds so clear and resonant even tho your volume isnt insane... you have this balanced musical tone that sounds completely opposite to my voice which sounds laboured and Talk-y... As for more call type stuff I will post exercises done in that style coz i cant really think of a song that I can use like that rn 

[kickingtone]

I don't think that your singing is laboured, CB. More singing quality will develop as you discover more placements, and select the ones that work for you, and for whichever genre you wish to sing. It can take a lot of trial and error.

As davie said, more intensity can help.

Some placements are easier to find with greater intensity to start with. It is also important that the coordination does not feel complicated, otherwise it may indicate that it is wrong or has too many learning steps at once.

You also have to be prepared for some practice exercises to be ugly sounding (like quack or creak exercises). They are there to unlock coordinations, rather than sound good themselves. Or they may be much louder than how you actually intend to sing. When you practice, you can end up making a range of sounds you wouldn't use in a song.

Different people have to work at different things. You already have a lot of good things going for you. You have a good ear for pitch (some people struggle with that). And once you get your voice into full singing mode, I am curious to hear your chest resonance open out. I can hear good qualities there already. It is not a linear process. Once day, the next milestone will click into place. What and when can be rather unpredictable.

So, 'Amazing Grace' is the song you are currently working on. Yes, I think that deciding on how to place those head tones is a natural next step. And you may have to get a lot louder, not necessarily to sing the song, but just to help find where those head tones need to sit. After that, you can adjust them to whatever intensity you see fit.

[Crispy boi]

Thanks for the kind words KT Ive been feeling a little mentally worn out by this process in fact thoughts of quitting voice crossed my mind but I feel a little better and will soldier on. 

Im so with you on that point about exercises sounding ugly for the sake of lesrning the specific co-ordination. Lately ive been working on placing some resonance right on the bridge of my nose and doing meow meow meow nay nay nay and imitating an RnB singer.. im just gonna keep at this until i figure out the co ordination.

My pitch has improved a lot but it needs plenty of work as always. Im very weak at pitch matching to orchestral instrumentals unless the cello or low brass is loud(er) and my Piano and solo voice ears arent even that good quite inconsistent. This biggest thing for me with is that poor resonance makes it difficult to stay on key.. if i lose res i will for sure start singing flat. 

I suspect my chest voice will actually be fun for me to add back in once i can get this pesky upper overtone stuff locked in.

Let me Stick to this amazing grace mission of mine I hope youre not too tired of hearing me sing it.  Im looking forward to exploring all kinds of Rock Blues RnB pop and praise repertoire but I will cross that bridge when I get there... 

N.B Will this tone take me in the right direction? It's making the bridge of my nose buzz...

https://voca.ro/nhOPb0zJv2I

 

 

[kickingtone]

3 hours ago, Crispy boi said:

My pitch has improved a lot but it needs plenty of work as always. Im very weak at pitch matching to orchestral instrumentals unless the cello or low brass is loud(er) and my Piano and solo voice ears arent even that good quite inconsistent. This biggest thing for me with is that poor resonance makes it difficult to stay on key.. if i lose res i will for sure start singing flat.

I've heard you make immediate corrections if you sing the wrong pitch. Some people can't even hear when they are off pitch, so they can't correct it by themselves.

Matching the pitch that you hear is a different, but overlapping, skill. (Instruments that are closer to the sound of your voice may be easier to match in pitch.)

3 hours ago, Crispy boi said:

N.B Will this tone take me in the right direction? It's making the bridge of my nose buzz...

https://voca.ro/nhOPb0zJv2I

Try the same thing at the same volume, but experiment with holding back as much air as possible, almost as if you are holding your breath. But don't let the volume drop. See if you can get a crisper sound that way.

(Listening to the clip on my headphones, I can feel vibration on the bridge of the nose. So you have successfully targeted it. But you need to explore more vibrations.)

The pharyngeal resonance you mentioned, I think that would be handy. Really relax and let it resonate wherever it wants. If your soft palette is configured correctly, the sound will resonate in the nasal cavity as well as the buccal cavity.

Relaxation with new coordinations is not easy. Give yourself time. When you are properly relaxed, the sound will find its way into more resonant spaces.

I like to borrow from classical technique. Unless you want to sing classical, you have to know which bits to ignore (like the extreme necessity to be able to sing over an orchestra without a mic.) and which to borrow. Michael Trimble, Franco Tenelli and Jack Livigni are classical tenors each have their series of youtube videos, which I found very useful.

Michael Trimble Vocal Method "Identifying the True Mask"

 

Jack LiVigni on Finding the head voice: tilting the larynx, closing the cords, and keeping supple

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aajFNsyytsw

Art of appoggio step by step by Franco Tenelli step 1 :Natural placement discovery Appoggio Zone

 

[Crispy boi]

4 hours ago, kickingtone said:

I've heard you make immediate corrections if you sing the wrong pitch

I really appreciate you following this thread as closely as you have. 

Quote

Try the same thing at the same volume, but experiment with holding back as much air as possible, almost as if you are holding your breath. But don't let the volume drop. See if you can get a crisper sound that way.

So im assuming that I lost resonance because of a breakdown in either cord closure or breath support or both and this is gonna guide me in fixing it... I need a nice deep support below and a solid cord closure thats going to produce max resonance and reduce the amount of air thats leaking through my cords... A decent basically mezzo-forte/forte dynamic should help me learn the co ordination.

In the meantime let me impliment these suggestions and enjoy the wealty of classical singing techniques you have generously exposed me to.

Peace out KT.

[kickingtone]

19 hours ago, Crispy boi said:

So im assuming that I lost resonance because of a breakdown in either cord closure or breath support or both and this is gonna guide me in fixing it... I need a nice deep support below and a solid cord closure thats going to produce max resonance and reduce the amount of air thats leaking through my cords... A decent basically mezzo-forte/forte dynamic should help me learn the co ordination.

"Amazing Grace" can be sung in so many different styles and tones. The relevance of any suggestion by anyone is going to depend on which sound you have in mind for it.

(That's why I asked you about your "favourite" genre on the other page. Sometimes there can be a clue there.)

For example, you may have a Bossa Nova kind of style in mind, for which the CALL register is not so important or critical (although it may be of some help). Or you may have a blues vibe in mind etc. etc.

It could be that your cord closure and support are fine for what you want, and you need to find the placement, for example. Or it could indeed be breath support/cord closure. If you want a more EDGY pop sound, cord closure will be important. If you want a more OPERATIC sound, breath support and placement need enhancing.

A while back I was investigating "hearing the music in your head without any physical sound", known as AUDIATION. That is what some singers do. They create a sound in their imagination and then learn how to produce it. It is a creative process that belongs to the singer. It can be very idiosyncratic. It depends on what the song means to you and what you like to convey through it. I was more surprised to learn that a lot of musicians do not or cannot audiate. Any suggestions you get have to pass through that filter of the sound YOU want.

But the more ideas you have and the more you experiment, the more you have to select from to build YOUR sound. All you can practically do is to pick the suggestions that you find relevant, and reject the rest.

Like you, I have that "boom" effect at the low end of my range. It has the ability to pick up room resonance very easily, if developed. But a lot of the early advice I got meant killing off the boom. I took the decision not to. Instead, I stubbornly built on the boom. And, as you are doing now, I was looking for the right head tones to contrast and balance the chest voice, boom and all. I've always liked songs the float in and out of the boom and play around with the contrast -- light and dark. People who couldn't care less about that dynamic couldn't really help me to build it. Some would tell me that the boom was "woofy", or it's falsetto, or it won't be heard in a mix, etc., or simply give me exercises designed to eliminate it.

Bottom line, you the singer, are the artist. I am curious to see where you take it because I think our voice types are relatively similar.

[Crispy boi]

If im gonna commit to a genre It would defs be classical. I love the brightness/edginess of pharyngeal resonance though as well. Today when I tried to integrate it into a song all kinds of throat tension and honky nasality came back in tho... Im gonna just take a little time to focus on making a clear free supported undistorted sound For just a couple weeks before I worry so much about mask resonance. 

However I do want to keep this boom  you speak of and look for balance in the mix using head/face tones... I actually need to build a style thats going to naturally help me keep my larynx under control as well. 

Lets try something like this below, Yes? The guy singing verse 1. Im looking for a balanced fundamentally solid sound

Really the game plan is to work on a sound that is balanced and feels free and touches base on beginner fundamentals. I dont care if its boring i can always move on to sexier stuff later. 

N.B I just conducted a friendly raid on my brother's room and procured no less than 5 blankets for some DIY amateur soundproofing.I will have to wait until im home alone in order to do a scientific test of the difference it makes. I hate having to go outside all the time to phonate.. If i can go outside for all the loud stuff and stay indoors for all the quiet stuff with some soundproofing help i could potentially practise even in awful weather

 

[Crispy boi]

Today I was working on head resonance, larynx control. I was playing with using tongue position to brighten and darken vowels. I had a little success sending the ooh vowel forward to brighten in up. I also used lips covering/exposing teeth to colour the sound a little.

I'm learning new co ordinations and their relationship with vocal colour/resonance.

It's a slow process but patience is key.

I guess my question is How do I bring more overtones into my ehh vowel (forehhver)? That vowel is so stuck in my mouth its a problem. Im having trouble bringing it up/forward.

[kickingtone]

20 hours ago, Crispy boi said:

Lets try something like this below, Yes? The guy singing verse 1. Im looking for a balanced fundamentally solid sound.

Good plan.

20 hours ago, Crispy boi said:

N.B I just conducted a friendly raid on my brother's room and procured no less than 5 blankets for some DIY amateur soundproofing.

I recall singing directly into a pillow. A lot of sound still bled through. You basically need different systems/mediums to catch low and high frequencies. Also, a lot of sound escapes via the floor.

1 hour ago, Crispy boi said:

It's a slow process but patience is key.

Yes! Impatience is the single most frequent cause of people giving up.

You basically have to forget time, and think only in terms of milestones. The discoveries, small achievements and big milestones never stop. That's where the motivation comes from, for people who really like to sing. But for people who want to become "stars", time messes with everything, and they may turn to pitch correction software etc. instead of practice.

1 hour ago, Crispy boi said:

I guess my question is How do I bring more overtones into my ehh vowel (forehhver)? That vowel is so stuck in my mouth its a problem. Im having trouble bringing it up/forward.

Sounded ok, here, only too soft.

https://www.harmonycentral.com/forums/topic/1943938-would-greatly-appreciate-advice-on-my-tone/?tab=comments#comment-31076068

Your -oo- vowel wasn't closed and narrow enough. It was too close to your -oh-.

I have never used the -oo- vowel to help access "head voice", so I don't know how that works. But I'm fairly sure that the vowel intended for the exercise is more closed than the one you were using.

I'm glad I went looking for a vid. This seems excellent..