Barracuda - Another Heart Effort

Well, here's another UNCOMFORTABLE Heart song...sigh. WHERE THE F**KIN HELL IS MY CHEST VOICE!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!?!? *trying to get into rock mode by using profanity* lol

Instinctively, cause of my voice issues, I want to go for such Heart songs as Dreamboat Annie, How Deep It Goes, and those other lovely soft ones, but I REALLY want to sing the rock ones...I want to ROCK OUT, MAN! lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E02bxOyMYJg

In my very honest opinion, it sounds like it may be just a tad too high for you. You hit some parts (with nice vibrato too) but others sound like you're pushing it past your range. Any way you can drop the backing track maybe a half step and try again?

I Agree with urca, if you can take it a full tone down or so it will be a lot better. You have such a nice and clear voice BTW.

I disagree - this is within your range. It sounds like you're using (what I call) falsetto for the high parts. It's so smooth it doesn't sound like chest voice as there's zero percent strain in your voice. I relate chest voice to a sort of shouting I guess and this doesn't sound like shouting. As far as pitch, there's some wiggle there but it's pretty damn close to me. If this is chest voice then you have nothing to be worried about. Let me know....

And this is a good set of tunes you've picked....

is this what schnerps do?

Thanks ido!!

I don’t think it’s out of my range either, personally. I just don’t know how exactly TO sing it…trying to do chest, head, belt, falsetto…I don’t know!! Maybe that’s what the guys above were hearing and thus commented on in their posts.

Chest is your lowest range of notes. Head is your highest, or at least higher than chest range. Try singing one long "Ah" starting at the lowest possible note that you can sing it in and then gradually change the note of your "ah" all the way up your whole range to the highest that you can go. The lowest part of that range is your chest. The highest, or second highest, part of that range is you head. Do you get what I'm saying?

Yes...I did that already with la la las though. Check out my Soundclick page...(can't recall if you did that before, lol) There's low to high and high to low there. 3 octaves.

www.soundclick.com/germpatterson

Oh...Have you ever read Roger Love's book "Set Your Voice Free?" It might be able to explain to you well about chest voice and head voice and the differences between them.

Nah, never read it (did ya listen to the la la las? lol)

I do in THEORY understand the different voices, but I just don't know how to get the best use out of them in PRACTICE.

I'm listening to them right now. Honestly I don't know if I hear a lot of chest voice in your lower notes.. I think Roger Love's book might be able to help you find and use more of your chest voice in your singing. I'm trying to find a passage in it that might explain some right now...

Cool, thank you!!

I was just musing to myself about songs and parts of songs I have major issues with...

- Lady Gaga songs I have problems with...but only parts of them. I find it hard to do the verses in say, Poker Face and Bad Romance. The choruses I find easier. Do ya know those songs? The verses have more of a hard / slightly biting vocal sound and the choruses are more soft and flowing...hmm.

- Grace Slick songs. All of 'em wherever she sings how she usually does which is loud and strong. The softer Grace songs I'm ok with (the ones you've probably never heard of, heheh)

- Whitney Houston songs - I really like The Greatest Love of All, for instance. And the beginning but I can do, but then when she starts to get louder and powerful, I don't!

Uhh, oops...I'm reading it right now and it seems most of the advice he offers on finding chest is in the forums of vocal exercises and how to do them right...

Edit// Well, one piece of advice he gives is that you should think of the chest voice as dark watercolor paint and the head voice as light water color paint. Now according to the part in the song, you should (like your mixing watercolor paints) "mix" both chest and head voices like they're dark and light paints appropriately for the part of the song. I don't know if visualizing it that way can help you? It did for me...

Yeah, I know those Gaga songs. I think finding how to mix and adjust your chest voice into your singing will help you with those parts that are more "heavier" and more "powerful"-sounding.

Hmm...just an example of my issues...

Whitney Houston, Greatest Love of All - OH BOY. I know this sucks so I'm not after feedback as such, but can you hear how I'm not doing it right? It just sounds one dimensional and weak to me...and yet when I'm singing it, it FEELS like I'm belting...although admittedly it doesn't feel COMFORTABLE at all. It feels awkward. Really awkward.

In some parts I feel like I'm bleating almost. lol.

Oh, and at the beginning of the 2nd chorus bit, I dropped off a bit cause I was distracted by my cat throwing up. LOL. But ya see, I kept going!!! A true performer! LMAO!

And ok yes, Whitney is apparently one of the best belty-singers ever, but ya know. May as well aim high when learning, right? LOL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ju6MnQYWps8

I just listened to your Whitney cover. Yeah, it sounds kind of weaker than her version. I think you're using too much head voice and not enough chest voice.

lol at your cat!

lol, my cat has recovered now. But you see, I don't know how to get a FULL chest voice even when singing down low in my "comfort zone". My voice feels feel thin and weak and like if I push (which I shouldn't be doing anyway, but I don't know how to get any "power" any other way), it becomes somewhat louder but then just STOPS. Like I hit a brick wall and no amount of pushing will make the sound louder or more powerful. I feel like I have NO resonance at ALL.

I did this exercise thing on Youtube before, with some guy who seemed nice. He was saying how to get resonance is to sing NG. Just NG, as in the end sound of the word SING. And you put your tongue just a bit at the back of your bottom teeth...and then you alternate between NG and AH, and NG and OOH and NG and EE, etc. And I found that the NG sound DID indeed resonate, as did the AH and OOH and EE when I didn't move my mouth or tongue or sing any differently than when I sang NG. But when I tried to do A (like AY), it sounded weak and thin again.

I SUCK! lol

That was SO last week.........

The perfect female chest voice example is Amy Winehouse in Rehab.

Hmm, I'm wondering if you might have any problems with your voice. That Roger Love book talks about certain problems people have with their voices and how you can fix it. Like having a high larynx for instance. Maybe if you read that part it can help you?

Could your breathing be better? Could it be a confidence or self-conscious issue? Maybe you're not allowing yourself to sing with enough force?

When I start to use more chest voice while I'm singing, it almost feels like something opens up around my chest area.

According to Roger Love's book, when you sing in chest, you should feel vibration around the top part of your chest. Then when you sing in middle, the vibration partially leaves the chest area and gets closer to the area behind your eyes and nose. In head voice the vibration is mainly behind your eyes and nose.

What is this? The Dr Phil Show? "The root cause of your inability to sing in chest voice is because you haven't addressed issues of childhood trauma. You should see a psychotherapist" LOL

Duke wins this round.

Your singing is great grace, but yes you seem to have slight problems with thicker timbre -maybe this is simply how your vocal organ works, who knows.

Now, go see a vocal coach cuz I doubt anybody here can do more than confuse you.

Hi Grace, you've definitely made some improvements but

just try to take it easy...these things take time to manifest (practicing)

I hate to disagree with ido1957 but I did detect the fast vibrato

which indicates it may be a touch too high *or* maybe you

just don't have the part down as your best take?

Either way don't sweat the minor things.

Stick to your guns, while learning new techniques.

Your determination is great, just focus on the meat

of the matter. You're already pretty awesome as a vocalist.

You just want to expand your toolbox and this will take time.

Just because it doesn't happen right at the moment you try

doesn't mean you will not attain your goal.

Time....

What is this? The Dr Phil Show? "The root cause of your inability to sing in chest voice is because you haven't addressed issues of childhood trauma. You should see a psychotherapist" LOL

I was just brainstorming ideas. Nobody said anything about childhood trauma issues. Also you should quit posting images and gifs with your posts. You do a really bad job at trying to be funny.

Blah blah...

Anyway, yeah Beach, I have wondered if I have an actual issue with my voice, and I've concluded (based on just my own musings, lol)

1. I have NEVER "learnt" to yell properly, or sing in that way properly, and so have no "muscle memory" for it, and it's not a natural thing for me to do, so...I have issues with it now

2. I have some kind of mental block with being REALLY loud. I'm fine with being loud, but it seems only physical things let me REALLY let go and be 100% effortlessly loud. Like if I'm tickled basically. I can deafen people with how loud I am and it takes absolutely NO effort at all!

When I sing, I NEVER feel my chest open up or engage...in fact, it always feels totally disconnected from my throat / voice when I sing. I am obviously BREATHING fine when I'm singing (I think, but I don't know), but beyond the act of breathing, the singing / voice part feels NOTHING to do with the chest.

Heya Johnny

Yes, the fast vibrato. I found this song awkward in all ways actually...my usual vibrato didn't seem to FIT anywhere...it felt easier not doing ANY vibrato, and then on the end of longer notes I could put it on but it felt unnatural for some reason, and then I had to really try and watch myself so I didn't end certain notes (that felt hard / awkward to sing) with that faster vibrato I do. I hate that I do that!!

Thanks for your words of support too by the way!