Well, whatever works for each person I guess, as I actually realised that not by doing exercises but by listening to singers doing it (Warrel Dane, to be precise). Then, I could finally apply the exercises properly, I just couldn't understand the placement without hearing it in action.

hi alkis, how long have you trained voice, and was it exclusively with RYV method?

Hey Phil,

tough question. I have been singing and making noises with my voice since I was a young kid, including a fairly short stint in a choir, where I learnt some of the principles of chest placement etc. Other than that, I only really started training 6 years ago, when I discovered RYV.

More than that, I am lazy, I cannot say that I have truly been following RYV, I have been doing some of the exercises, on and off, basically when I feel that I'm hitting a plateau. I'm sure I would have had far faster and more consistent progress had I actually been following the program properly.

The thing is, what I enjoy doing is actual singing. If I can't apply what I'm doing to that, I get bored quickly and that's possibly my biggest failing. On the other hand, all the exercises make more sense after I finally understand the principles involved and every single time I've needed to hear a singer employing them clearly for that to happen.

In 2004, when I first bought RYV, my vocal style was far different than my style now. I basically had two voices, a baritone low to mid voice and a resonant distorted falsetto with added grit for everything else. I could not even comprehend how the two could possibly be related, let alone bridged. Hearing Jaime doing sirens and transcending voice exercises made me realise that it must be possible but I still had great problems doing any of it without breaking.

My first break came when I heard John K (currently in Biomechanical) shift controllably and smoothly from falsetto to head voice in No Place Like Home by Balance of Power. That illustrated the principle in terms I could understand, singing.

However, I still didn't understand head voice itself, I could not access it or get how it would work. That's when I discovered Nevermore's Warrel Dane, who has a *very* low voice yet sings resonant high notes (and I'm not talking about his falsetto screams). Singing his songs I realised how to access head voice. The problem before was that most singers I'd listen to that sing high were tenors. Their shift happened higher than mine and I just didn't get it. That's also when sirens finally started making sense to me. I've done millions of them by now, either on their own or by singing lines that include similar vocal constructs.


Basically, I went from this:
http://www.myspace.com/knightsofsteelandthunder (listen to Dragon's Rage)
To this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yayZKEpPZSc

Regrets? Well, mainly the fact that it would have been far quicker had I done the method properly from start to finish. And the fact that I've completely forgotten how I used to do my falsetto screams, they had a nice grit that I could maintain for hours without hurting my voice.

I still have a long long way to go, but at least I'm having fun. :-P

Wow! That was quite an improvement! Your voice was pretty good before, but it sounds great now. I could imagine buying your cds. :)

yeah, you've come a long way, here's to the future