Vocal Technique

zip

New member
Ok guys, I am not a teacher for a reason.
The first installment.

Vocal training for mid to low male vocals.


Well where to start? All of the things I will try to spell out for you have to be kept in mind at the same time. That is why practice is key. If you play an instrument at the same time practice becomes even more key. The fact is though that if you are on stage even just singing it becomes easy to loose your grip on vocals. Vocals are very emotional and that makes them harder to master for all environments.

A quick preface: The purpose of classical style vocal training (I don't mean that as in for classical music) is to achieve an even timbre (tone of voice, not pitch) Through out your vocal range. This has other good side effect like, longevity of voice, less strain on your muscles ect.

OK here goes. Remember these are in no order of importance.

Breathing in: We'll start here. When you breathe in throw your stomach out. You can get 20-40% more air in your lungs. You do not want to be running out of air at the end of a long vocal line. One could get away with out doing this a lot of the time but it also effects the quality of your singing and is best made a habit.
Breathe in every time you get the chance. Keep your long full. Don't breath in between every other word but look for and take opportunities when you can. If you are running out of breath at some point in a song, You are missing an opportunity. The longer you wait to take a breath the longer it takes to take that breath. You may be able to breath in in a tight spot when your lungs are half full where as if your lungs were empty you would not have enough time to get enough air to perform well. You have to learn every song. In some if not most or all vocal sheet music it will tell you when to breathe.

Singing out: always support your singing from the diaphragm. Put your hand on your stomach to feel what is going on down there. Hey now I said stomach...If that helped we'd all be awsome singers...... Just joking You should have a little bit of a tight feeling as you sing out and slightly before. I earlier mentioned throwing your stomach out on inhale. This is where it will do you some good. When your lungs are loaded and pressure is applied to the diaphragm you will get nice even air pressure when singing.
Think of your lungs as a bagpipe bag being squeezed by your diaphragm. Always filling before empty.
Not having enough air tends to make you clench your throat. Clenching your throat thrashes your throat and sends you in to a tailspin. You can not compensate for lung pressure by clenching your throat. It is however a natural reflex reaction.

Head position: When singing, keep your chin up. It should be about 1 inch above looking straight out, or if you look up at a 30-45 deg. Angle. This help open your throat and aids breathing.
You do not have to look like lemmy from Motor Head, but see where you are comfortable.


Adams apple: This is probably the hardest part to master and the most important. As you go up in notation the natural reflex is for your adams apple / larynx to move upward in your throat. This leads to the clenching of your air passage and a definite change in timbre. Put your hand on your throat and sing progressively hirer notes. Move up to the top of your range. Chances are your adams apple moved up and up and up.

OK now put your hand on your throat and yawn. Feel your larynx drop. There at the bottom is where it should be when you are singing. Once again this is tough to master. One thing that helps is to inhale like you are about to yawn when you are singing. I know this goes back to breathing, but had I said it then it would have been out of context. The best way to practice this technique is in front of a mirror. We will go more into practice later.

Vocal focus: When singing you need to focus the vibrations of sound waves leaving your throat. This is what I mean. Hum a low note, feel the vibrations in your mouth? Now try to focus the vibrations on the roof of your mouth. OK now see if you can move the vibrations (focus) from the back of the roof of your mouth and back. (This is going somewhere). In general most of the time the focus should be at the back of the roof of your mouth. Put your hand on the top of your head and with a very comfortable low note to hum, move the focus of the vibrations back to front on the roof of your mouth. Toward the back there should be an area that vibrates the top of your head more than other areas. That is a good indication of where your primary focus point should be.

As you move up in scale you can move the focus out toward your teeth more. Moving up in scale also requires more air pressure provided by your diaphragm (not your throat).

Air pressure: You have to support your notes. The higher the note the more work your diaphragm should be doing. Higher notes need more support. I do not mean you have to adjust your diaphragm for air pressure & flow with every note, but when you go high added effort is needed with your diaphragm (not your throat)

Vowels: This one is hard to explain. There are no bright vowels in singing. To illustrate, say the word "me". Hear the eyyyy sound. The brightness of vowels is out of context with the rest of the letters in the alphabet.
Try this, say A E I O U normally, now say it touching the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth about mid way between your teeth and the back.. This darkens your vowels making them closer to the concenents. I will try to give a chart for the difference but I think I will have to make a sound bite.

A = ehh E = same but darker (almost a dark A sound) I = ahhh O = same but darker U = ooooo (as in gross oooo)

I will find a place to post sound bites for follow up if anyone wants.

Word stretching: This is easy. Always stretch words on a vowel. Don't try to stretch M's and H's or T's or B's. keep all of your stretching with in the vowels in a wooooooooooooooooord. Get itļ

Practice: You are best to practice in front of a mirror. You should practice a half an hour a day at least .


Ok from hear I need to put a mp3 together and find a place to post it to better illustrate how to practice and the vowel sounds. As well as some other things.


*** with out review by a professional it is hard to excel at vocal training. On of the great things about classes in front of a trainer is you really do not want to come back next week still sucking. These techniques take time to master and you will doubt weather you are doing them right. For these reasons I would say live instruction is better by quite a bit.

If you master holding down your larynx you will be way ahead though.

I would post more but it is a Monday.

Later
F.S.


Last edited by Freudian Slip on 02-05-2002 at 00:36
 
I'll add a little bit...

...but not too much as this is FS's thread here...

For those who need a "name" for a technique what he is describing is called "Open Throat" vocal technique. It is the true way to sing but for obvious reasons must be modified to sing certain styles...


Hitting high notes and the Mask

FS has given you an outstanding start with the use of proper breathing, air supply and maintaining "open-ness" while singing.

I'll add just a little bit to it then let him take over since this is his baybee....;)

Before I jump into the topic I wanted to add another key thought and a difficult one which accompanies keeping the adam's apple down. To picture this go to a mirror.....

Now yawn and look down your throat. What do you see? You should be seeing your pharangyl arch (soft palate) in an upward position. Key in on the glottis (sp?). (It's the little hanging down piece which swells like hell when you have a throat infection)

See how when raised your throat is completely open? THIS is what your target is when you practice...

Think... APPLE DOWN - ARCH UP

As FS mentioned RELAXATION IS THE KEY. You should have NO or little tightness in the throat. This technique will vastly improve tone and really allow you to belt one out!

OK - back to the subject...high notes and the mask.

When singing you have to be aware of the shape your face takes as you do so...it will also change tone. Vocalist call it "the Mask".

Again...go to the mirror. "yawn" and start to sing the "A" vowel. Now - change the "look" of your face. Open wider...less wide...put your jaw out...etc...

Notice the TONE change? A good vocalist will know what tone he desires and change the mask while singing to achieve the desired tone. Tricky stuff but if you always practice in front of a mirror you will improve!

Now to the high notes...

In addition to APPLE DOWN - ARCH UP with relaxation and good air supply you need to do a few other things...

As you hit the high notes keep the tounge tip on the back of the lower teeth and keep the toungue DOWN. You also need to SMILE on all the vowels other than "O" and "U" for obvious reasons. Try smiling and singing an "O"...doesn't work - does it??

So why smile?? PHYSICS. WTF you talking about PHYSICS for zip?? I'm gunna tell you.

As you follow all the other rules and SMILE you are shortening the passageway the air has to flow through. By doing so the vibration of airways from your vocal chords (Sound) will escape the mask more quickly and make it easier to hit the high ones.

Why is this? Think of saxaphones... The longer the sax body is - the lower the note...correct? The mouthpieces (vocal chords) are similar but the vibrating air has to move through a much longer passage. A saprano sax will give higher notes than an alto. This BTW is not a technically correct description because there are MANY factors involved. I just used it as an example so you could picture it.

So...where are we at?

APPLE DOWN - ARCH UP - TOUNGE DOWN - SMILE to shorten passageway....

Hope this helps. I'll let FS take back over now.

zip >>
 
My head hurts.

Hmmm....if microphones pointed at each other are inherantly out of phase to sounds that emulate between them, then our eardrums are out of phase to everything that comes out our mouths.
 
Am I missing something, Zip, or is there really no hint of FS anywhere on this thread?

Did you hit the "New Thread" button again? :D

Good stuff, by the way, and you do well as a teacher in this context.

Chris
 
Well I'm here.

I posted the original post in another group. You can see it in visitor feedback. Vocal forum. I told zip if he wanted to start a new thread somewhere that it might do better or more good to go ahead.

Look at the signiture.

I am going to be emailing some sound files to Q..... to post on his webspace. And I think he will provide a link.


Later

F.S.
 
With all due respect Zip, while most of the info you posted is
helpful there are some errors!

1) Keeping the head "level" rather than 1" up is easier on the
vocal mechanism.

2) Typically unless you're planning to sing Wagnerian or Verdi
type arias there's no need for "throwing your stomach out",
taking big gulps of air, etc. Breathing as you may know is a
natural process, so the trick is UNLEARNING the bad habits
most all of us have rather than learning tons of new info!

3) The true "Bel Canto" school starts beginners off by warm-ups
and excercises designed to help the mind and voice
coordinate producing accurate pitches with a good tone quality.

Here are a couple of books if anyone has further curiosity;

"Set Your Voice Free" by Roger Love-book/cd
"Secrets of Singing" by Jeffrey Allen-book/cd

For advanced singers the book "The Science and Sensations of
Vocal Tone" by E. Herbert Caesari is a classic!
This was the book that Beniamino Gigli put his blessings on.
(the great Italian Tenor-second only to Caruso!)

These authors will expand on these points much better than me.
The first two books are great for a novice singer to learn from.

P.S. It helps to find other singers to sing with too.
You can also make good progress typically by taking lessons
on a as needed "coaching" basis rather than weekly!
(comment aimed at "pop" singers)
 
chessparov

chessparov: The first post was by me and moved hear by zip as it says in the thread. So some of that is directed to me. I did not say that what I was descibing is for pop singers. Some of it will translate well though. Dare I say most of it.

I would also say what you call an error would better be stated as a difference of opinion.

Here's mine

I should explain throwing out your stomach. Pull down your diaphramn. Don't throw your spine forward (and look like a dork). Use a little extra effort to expanding your lungs. Like the brain in normal beathing we do not use a large portion of our lungs.

As far as beathing goes (or singing in general) if you practice how to do it for demanding situations then you will know what to do when the time comes. Actually you won't even have to think about it. If you don't practice for demanding situations you will never know what you are capable of. As for styles what about fast heavy metal, thrash? It needs lots of air. Running out of air kills your throat, causing you to clench or tighten your passage to give the illusion of more air. Do that to much and you could be over for the night. You are far better off to have to much air than to little. Know one could argue about that. You only want to use as much air as you have to when singing. Less on lower notes more on higher. But when you hop in the car to head for las Vegas have a full tank of gas. And don't wait till your on empty to refill, you might be in the middle of the desert. If you make it a habit to throw your stomach out (and lower your larynx) when inhaling you won't forget to do it in that one part of the song you really needed to. If you play and sing in a band at the same time it is even more important to have it ingrained so you don't have to worry about it.


Anyway opinions will vary? But these are pretty widely accepted rules.

If you are a awsome singer without this, that's great!!!! Plenty of pop singers sing with thier larynx up. Even metal singers Say....Axle Rose for instance;).


Later

F.S.
 
Maybe I should have added that too little air tends to cause you
to go flat and too much tends to make you sound sharp as far as
pitch is concerned. The "Bellow Canto" method of using too much
air can eventually cause nodes! (like Elton John/Stevie Nicks, etc)
 
chessparov

chessparov: I guess I should have said more diaphram support not more air. But it is easier to achive better support with more air... in your lungs. You are right you do not want to rush air threw your throat for the sake of doing it. Only as much as is needed to produce the note. Well it only been 14 years or so since I took vocal training:). I could use to go back for a tune up.

For everyone else:

Just practice keeping the larynx down thats the key. concern your self with other things later. That is what a vocal instuctor would start you with. If you practice that enough you will find your sweet spot. and it's all fine tuning from there. Also remember your singing voice and your speaking voice are liable to be two very different things.


Later
F.S.
 
Hey FS...

Sorry for the confusion I may have started! I should have said...

"Continuing what FS started" or something like that... :)

Funny thing is I started reading the replys and thought "I didn't say that" (although I don't disagree) ;)

As far as chessparovs' comments about air...

Under all circumstances I don't completely agree. Maybe you will trash things if you are trying both to wail in the stratisphere with TONS of air - but adding air to a normal vocal range can be highly desireable. Take James LaBrie for instance. In his softer, melodic sections I guarantee he's pumping a shitload of air to give it the "breathy" style. It sounds fantastic and I also guarantee it's doing NOTHING to hurt his throat/chords.

ANYWAY...

Keep adding to this Freudian!! This is some really good information which will help others...especially in tone development.

The stage is yours....

zip >>
 
Quote from Chessparov

1) Keeping the head "level" rather than 1" up is easier on the vocal mechanism.

Not to start a disagreement with you but,
I was also taught the "bel Canto" method &
I was taught to raise my head Slightly to project
my voice clear with an unobstructed opening.

Never the less Guys !

Chessparov has my FULL ENDORSEMENT as
having the knowledge of proper singing technique.

Under all circumstances I don't completely agree. Maybe you will trash things if you are trying both to wail in the stratisphere with TONS of air - but adding air to a normal vocal range can be highly desireable. Take James LaBrie for instance. In his softer, melodic sections I guarantee he's pumping a shitload of air to give it the "breathy" style. It sounds fantastic and I also guarantee it's doing NOTHING to hurt his throat/chords.

ANYWAY...

Keep adding to this Freudian!! This is some really good information which will help others...especially in tone development.

Not necessarily, bad information in the singing world has
destroyed many, many voices.

Zip,
You are obviously a beginner, from where I sit, you should
concentrate on being a student & wait a while before you decide to
teach, for I also have a lot of problems with your original post of
singing methods.
 
Last edited:
I'm just fullfilling a request I got.

I have no doubt that there are many people here who have been through good vocal training, all with different teachers. I am also sure we can also all find some point to disagree on as well. It seems that we agree on most everything though.

Oh well it's all good:)

One thing I wanted to mention that I left out of the original post is this.When you first start to sing,.... say at the begining of a chorus (just for instance). Make sure that you are not snapping your vocal cords and throat into position. Your throat, vocal cords, and the whole ball of wax should be positioned right for the note you are going to produce . Then start with your diaphram by pushing air out.

Your throat should not start the note, there for your throat can be already set up. Just like with a wind instrument geting ready to play its part. The player would have the correct buttons depressed for the note he is about to play.

This helps in cutting down errors. It also gives you more time to prepare your throat. Starting the line right is alot easier and sounds alot better than trying to get into your "voice set" half way through the line.


Maybe someone else here can descibe it better than me???

Later
F.S.
 
O.K guys, guess which one of the "Three Tenors" I am and you win the
CD!

Although smellyfuzz's comment is very flattering, the knowledge of vocal
technique I have is WAY beyond my present technical ability.
My singing teacher (really a maestro!) was/is one of the best dramatic
baritones in the world, so it was a priviledge to learn from him.
Due to my relatively advanced age at that time (30's) and my wife's
medical situation the choice was made for me not to complete the
necessary training estimated as an additional 4 or 5 years to pursue
an operatic career. My technical ability is rated as intermediate right now
as an acapella singer in the "lead" (2nd tenor) or bass vocal ranges.
Since my goal is to eventually to be part of a quartet that qualifies for
the world championship, there's a whole lot of vocal work left for me!

P.S. zip, my comments were of a "plain vanilla" type for general vocals.
I'm all for interpretive pop singing! (as long as no one gets hurt)
 
Very good thread guys. I am listening with big ears even though I am a female and some of these techniques don't apply. But I am thinking there may be something to pushing the stomach out. You see, we girls - and this is a secret - are taught at an early age to suck your stomach in. I guess it's left over from the corset days. Anyway, I have notcied that when I sing I have to completely relax my stomach or else I am screeching for air. And speaking of air. That is another problem. I find that often when I take in a too deep breath it wants to expell with a cough. As if it is drying my throat out or something.

I know I owe a great deal of my troubles to lack of practice. And ignorance doesn't help any, since I have had absolutley no training whatsoever. I am just here to learn and evaluate whatever tidbits you all care to throw out. :)

t
 
Okay, I'm a student too. But I know one thing:

Hydration. Get plenty (and I mean trips-to-the-bathroom plenty...) of water at least 20 minutes before you sing and keep hydrated while singing. It does wonders.

If I only did that one thing, my singing would be better.

(Also, caffeine and alcohol tend to be counterproductive. Go figure!)
 
"One thing I wanted to mention that I left out of the original post is this.When you first start to sing,.... say at the begining of a chorus (just for instance). Make sure that you are not snapping your vocal cords and throat into position. Your throat, vocal cords, and the whole ball of wax should be positioned right for the note you are going to produce . Then start with your diaphram by pushing air out.

Your throat should not start the note, there for your throat can be already set up. Just like with a wind instrument geting ready to play its part. The player would have the correct buttons depressed for the note he is about to play.

This helps in cutting down errors. It also gives you more time to prepare your throat. Starting the line right is alot easier and sounds alot better than trying to get into your "voice set" half way through the line. "

This is a very good piece of info from FS right here. I think the technical term for this is "singing on the breath". Singing for me has been about 20% physical and 80% mental. This is one of many mental obstacles I have had to overcome - Like Chess said, good singing is as much about unlearning bad things as well as learning new things. If I had to sum up in one word the most important thing I have learned about singing it would be....Relax!
The most beautiful sounds come from my body when my throat is not doing anything but creating the necessary space for resonance and vibration to get the big sound and brighter frequencies I want. I take lessons from a woman that studied with the great Mario del Monaco, so It is kind of like being taught directly from him. Often she will tell me Sing but don't "sing" or don't think of it as a higher note....It is just another note - don't grab for it - Think of everything horizontally not Vertically. And she would actually have me sing a couple measures while following a horizontal line on the wall or something. Half of our lessons are, Her tricking my brain into not using my throat to sing, it is very wierd but effective. You will be amazed at what you can do if you stop thinking up and down while you sing, Because if you are thinking...Oh my Gosh here comes that high A, I better be ready - You are naturally going to grab in your throat or push tooo hard in your support and it is not going to sound as good as if it is just another note. Well I have to go, I will try and add more later.


:rolleyes:


Matt
 
GREAT QUOTE FROM MGILES7

Singing for me has been about 20% physical and 80% mental.

Yep !!!

If I had to sum up in one word the most important thing I have learned about singing it would be....Relax!

Yes, yes, yes !

The most beautiful sounds come from my body when my throat is not doing anything but creating the necessary space for resonance and vibration to get the big sound and brighter frequencies I want.

We're starting to get it now !


Her tricking my brain into not using my throat to sing, it is very wierd but effective. You will be amazed at what you can do if you stop thinking up and down while you sing, Because if you are thinking...Oh my Gosh here comes that high A, I better be ready - You are naturally going to grab in your throat or push tooo hard in your support and it is not going to sound as good as if it is just another note.

Ab-so-fuckin-lute-ly!!!!!!!!!!!!

THIS IS THE WAY I WAS TAUGHT FOR 10 YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!

I see too much talk here about breathing, placement, throwing your gut out, pulling your stomach in, and more & more crap that just confuses the beginning.

Singing is "ALL" about producing a beautiful sound & preserving your voice for the long hall, all this other "science" I'm not to pleased with, some of it I completely disagree with.

BRAVO, mgiles7, for the GREAT, GREAT post!

Post her name & contact info,
She seems to be the right kind of singing coach!


Sean
 
Thanks Sean. I appreciate your encouragement.

My voice teachers name is Pearl Yeadon, and how she ended up in Springfield MO I have no idea, But I am very blessed she is here. She teaches at Southern Missouri State University, and although I don't attend that University she accepts outside students.

If anyone lives in this area and would like to know more, you can e-mail me and I will get back to you.

One other no no I would like to mention is a lot of people are influenced by recordings and hearing other singers, When they hear something they like they instinctually try and imitate that dark color or tone they like. This WILL put extra strain on your throat because you are manipulating your natural tone to imitate something else it was not meant to do. If you are planning on singing for a long time, you really need a teacher or friend or someone that knows your voice and can keep you honest about your natural sound and stick as close to that as you can. You actually can not hear yourself the way another person can. Someone with a good ear, actually has a much more accurate idea of what you sound like than you do, BUT only you know what feels right and natural so if you have a teacher that is telling you to do things that are straining your voice you MUST tell them and if they insist find a new teacher! It is truly a team effort.

Matt
 
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