Merkaba
09-23-2005, 03:38 AM
Having a good sense of command on the head voice can really be one of the biggest keys to your singing advancement because it teaches you to release larynx tension in order to even get a good head voice and it allows you to work the muscles and tissues in ways that are beneficial for growing upper range.
I think alot of people are confusing the voice terms. Chest voice is your lowest singing range area. The cords are thicker and thus lower in tone and if you put your hand on your chest you can feel the resonance vibrating in your chest. Of course chest is true voice,meaning that the cords close up normally as they vibrate. This produces the nice waves of vibration that allow the chest air to vibrate as well.
Head is your next register. It is STILL true voice. You just have to be able to keep your larynx relaxed as you allow the cords to continue to be pulled. Alot of people are saying things like..." And I can do it all in my chest voice" or "my range is 11 octaves in chest voice" People just seem so scared to say falsetto that they are missing the bigger picture of learning how to sing and knowing your instrument so that you can work with it and manipulate it. Girls love how I can give good massages. Its not just because I'm lucky or blessed, and know how to move,hehe, but its because I took anatomy. I know, generally, where the muscles connect to the skeleton. But really. It's easier to drive a car if you know the names of the pedals and what they do.
Now this whole thread is basically in conjuction with my previous threads, But the "prerequisite" for this thread is the isolation thread. If you're new or just lazy, then you need to read it along with this one. Apart from my other exercises in the isolation thread, namely glisses up and down on all vowels I'll discuss a couple more that can help trick yourself into staying in true voice as you go up in pitch, or aka, singing in head voice.
It helps if you have a piano/keyboard, or a guitar. Be SURE you know what youre playing. You dont want to be playing an F when it should be an E. That goes without saying but we all surprise ourselves sometimes. None of this is an exact science and you can fool around with it to find out what you need to do yourself. Its the principals that are helpful, if you need to trick yourself into head voice.
Work with five tone scales on the vowel Ah, as in Father. Start with D below middle C. pretty low, and play major scales. If you know youre a tenor then just bump it up to start off on say the F below middle C. If youre a bass then just bump down two lower notes to start off. Whatever it takes to stay in chest. Remember to stay relaxed...but you may have to drop the chin a bit with this mid low start. The last two notes in the scale, here G and A, should feel a little lighter and starting to thin.I would say do this scale about ten to twenty times then move up one half step. This helps you feel the cords staying closed while thinning out which is key. Now do a five tone major scale on Eflat/Dsharp. The last two notes.... If they start to roughen up or scratch then you have too much tension and your trying to stretch the chest voice to far. If this is starting already then you need to work on the bridge here. And go ahead and skip down to "Tricking the bridges".
Basically do this scale up til youre starting off on middle C or the next D. Whenever your last two notes start to get that "yell" or straining shaky sound then you know youre at your bridge into head. If you can start off on C or D and keep true voice clean to that G or A without straining, without doing much more than maybe opening your mouth taller then youre probably fine , and or a tenor. If you can start off on say E or F above middle c and stay clean through the scale youre probably a tenor. If you are and feel like youre having trouble with your head voice...just find out what scale makes your last two notes want to break and make a note of it. Drop down about four notes so that you can do five note scales that you can easily close up into true voice. Its important to keep this feeling prominent so you'll recognize it when your need to bridge. Makes sense? Remember its really only a note or two away.
Tricking the Bridges.
If youre a baritone and the like...then you can try this.
Do a scale from Fsharp below middle c up to the next F , using the word no, or doe. The vowel of O helps to put the cords into a position that allows you to release tension of trying to hold another shape. Be sure not to try to let it turn into an Ah. Go F3,G3,A3 F4F4F4F4 back down to A3,G,3F3. Then move up to F# and play a sharped scale, then maybe start next on G if you need to. This basically throws your over into the middle of your bridge. If youre a tenor start the exercise on A3, or the first below middle C. This isnt a magic pill, but it is to help trick yourself into letting go by making the jump with a vowel that helps the transition.
If no doesnt work, then try Good, or Dew. Try them all.
You can also practice the first five tone scale exercises wit the ah. When you find your last two or last note wants to break. Switch those to Uh as in Mother. So it may be like Ah ah ah ah uh uh then back down. These arent magic pills, but the vowel changes release tension on the cords and makes it easier for you to do the same in the whole voicebox. Play around with them and the concepts in general and do scales. They're boring but really help you with knowing your instrument and at least identifiying your breaks and bridges.
YOu can also start off in a low falsetto on the AH sound, and slide down. Try to remain relaxed, and get true voice as soon as possible If you start to make progress slowly start to hold the head notes longer. Again, all of this goes hand in hand with opening up your throat, warming up and down, staying relaxed, breath support, isolation and all the usual basics I stress. Its not rocket science, but you will need to play around...try to sing differently , lighter, lower, different vowels. You just might trick yourself into a realization.
Best wishes.
Merkaba's Voicehelp Hotline (http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=219911)
I think alot of people are confusing the voice terms. Chest voice is your lowest singing range area. The cords are thicker and thus lower in tone and if you put your hand on your chest you can feel the resonance vibrating in your chest. Of course chest is true voice,meaning that the cords close up normally as they vibrate. This produces the nice waves of vibration that allow the chest air to vibrate as well.
Head is your next register. It is STILL true voice. You just have to be able to keep your larynx relaxed as you allow the cords to continue to be pulled. Alot of people are saying things like..." And I can do it all in my chest voice" or "my range is 11 octaves in chest voice" People just seem so scared to say falsetto that they are missing the bigger picture of learning how to sing and knowing your instrument so that you can work with it and manipulate it. Girls love how I can give good massages. Its not just because I'm lucky or blessed, and know how to move,hehe, but its because I took anatomy. I know, generally, where the muscles connect to the skeleton. But really. It's easier to drive a car if you know the names of the pedals and what they do.
Now this whole thread is basically in conjuction with my previous threads, But the "prerequisite" for this thread is the isolation thread. If you're new or just lazy, then you need to read it along with this one. Apart from my other exercises in the isolation thread, namely glisses up and down on all vowels I'll discuss a couple more that can help trick yourself into staying in true voice as you go up in pitch, or aka, singing in head voice.
It helps if you have a piano/keyboard, or a guitar. Be SURE you know what youre playing. You dont want to be playing an F when it should be an E. That goes without saying but we all surprise ourselves sometimes. None of this is an exact science and you can fool around with it to find out what you need to do yourself. Its the principals that are helpful, if you need to trick yourself into head voice.
Work with five tone scales on the vowel Ah, as in Father. Start with D below middle C. pretty low, and play major scales. If you know youre a tenor then just bump it up to start off on say the F below middle C. If youre a bass then just bump down two lower notes to start off. Whatever it takes to stay in chest. Remember to stay relaxed...but you may have to drop the chin a bit with this mid low start. The last two notes in the scale, here G and A, should feel a little lighter and starting to thin.I would say do this scale about ten to twenty times then move up one half step. This helps you feel the cords staying closed while thinning out which is key. Now do a five tone major scale on Eflat/Dsharp. The last two notes.... If they start to roughen up or scratch then you have too much tension and your trying to stretch the chest voice to far. If this is starting already then you need to work on the bridge here. And go ahead and skip down to "Tricking the bridges".
Basically do this scale up til youre starting off on middle C or the next D. Whenever your last two notes start to get that "yell" or straining shaky sound then you know youre at your bridge into head. If you can start off on C or D and keep true voice clean to that G or A without straining, without doing much more than maybe opening your mouth taller then youre probably fine , and or a tenor. If you can start off on say E or F above middle c and stay clean through the scale youre probably a tenor. If you are and feel like youre having trouble with your head voice...just find out what scale makes your last two notes want to break and make a note of it. Drop down about four notes so that you can do five note scales that you can easily close up into true voice. Its important to keep this feeling prominent so you'll recognize it when your need to bridge. Makes sense? Remember its really only a note or two away.
Tricking the Bridges.
If youre a baritone and the like...then you can try this.
Do a scale from Fsharp below middle c up to the next F , using the word no, or doe. The vowel of O helps to put the cords into a position that allows you to release tension of trying to hold another shape. Be sure not to try to let it turn into an Ah. Go F3,G3,A3 F4F4F4F4 back down to A3,G,3F3. Then move up to F# and play a sharped scale, then maybe start next on G if you need to. This basically throws your over into the middle of your bridge. If youre a tenor start the exercise on A3, or the first below middle C. This isnt a magic pill, but it is to help trick yourself into letting go by making the jump with a vowel that helps the transition.
If no doesnt work, then try Good, or Dew. Try them all.
You can also practice the first five tone scale exercises wit the ah. When you find your last two or last note wants to break. Switch those to Uh as in Mother. So it may be like Ah ah ah ah uh uh then back down. These arent magic pills, but the vowel changes release tension on the cords and makes it easier for you to do the same in the whole voicebox. Play around with them and the concepts in general and do scales. They're boring but really help you with knowing your instrument and at least identifiying your breaks and bridges.
YOu can also start off in a low falsetto on the AH sound, and slide down. Try to remain relaxed, and get true voice as soon as possible If you start to make progress slowly start to hold the head notes longer. Again, all of this goes hand in hand with opening up your throat, warming up and down, staying relaxed, breath support, isolation and all the usual basics I stress. Its not rocket science, but you will need to play around...try to sing differently , lighter, lower, different vowels. You just might trick yourself into a realization.
Best wishes.
Merkaba's Voicehelp Hotline (http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=219911)