THE VOICE CONNECTION
SOUND OFF

Welcome to The Voice Connection Sound Off; a forum for users of books like Raise Your Voice, Melody to Madness, The Ultimate Breathing Workout, and Unleash Your Creative Mindset, as well as a place for Vendera Vocal Academy members to interact.

This message board was created so that singers could come together and "sound off" to help support each other during vocal development and the creative process of unleashing the creative spark that occurs when writing and producing music. Currently, myself and vocal coaches Ben Valen, Ray West, and Ryan Wall are here to respond periodicially to your questions, with new vocal coaches coming soon. But, feel free to help each other too:)

This board is here for you to ask questions about my and my fellow coach's books, videos, and MP3 programs, as well as offer others help with our vocal techniques. You may also post videos of yourself and your band to share your music and ask for critiques.

Please refrain from negative comments, profanities, spamming, and inappropriate criticisms of vocal methodologies, vocal coaches, and singers. All negative posts will be deleted and subject to banning without question. I will not respond to negative posts, because, as Mark Twain once said, “Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.” With that said, positive criticism is welcome because that is how you'll grow as a singer during the training process.


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b
Ben
Sep 7, 2011 - 12:52PM
Re: READ INSIDE (=

moshmetalvocalist
hey Joshmv!!!
I know your problem and the solution is quite simple (hope it will work for you).
If you warm up, your mind gets ready for action and tells you that you have to hit some high notes because you have warmed up and have to show some great singing! If you are not warmed up your mind will accept your singing and won´t set you under pressure because your mind will be like "asleep".
But you have to warm up because if you don´t, you CERTAINLY are going to get some crappy vocal problems.
So what´s the key???!!!
I don´t want to tell you which warm up to use but the most important thing is to do them relaxed and without pressure, just think "that´s gonna be fun".
When singing the best thing is to just concentrate on the following techniques:
Micro Breath, downward pressure, soft pallate, inhlation sensation. THATS ENOUGH!!!! Inhale your notes relaxed and let them flow in your palate freely.....that should give you a pleasing feeling!!!
Another thing that helped me is to not walk around like a madman, keep your position and bend your knees bruce dickinson feeling) but keep your upper body straight, don´t slouche!!! the thing about bending your knees and doing the bruce dickinson position is that you feel your belly push BUT I recommend wear a belt around your ribs just below your armpits and one below you navel!!!
Make the belt around your body quite tight so you don´t have to concentrate on expanding the ribs, if the belt is tight you automatically expand your ribs in your most natural way!!! So ok let´s move on.
Now you stand here with your knees slightly bend, relaxed bruce dickinson stance and with the two belts.
Now take a micro breath, don´t forget to breath silently!!!! Ok time to check your feeling, your ribs are expanded and your belly down, your vocal path feels free. Just move your body left right whatever you want and sing but don´t think about the pitch so much , stay in pitch but don´t try to hit the high notes like the original singer!!!! Just let the notes flow out of you and don´t think about the power push so much, let it happen naturally! Sing your heart out and let the EMOTION be your guide. If you follow those tipps you should feel your REAL natural voice the first time......great feeling, isn´t it :)) remaber let the emotion be your guide and don´t overthink it and record yourself!!!!
I hope I was able to help you!!!!

René


I don't think that Josh was asking how to warm up. I think he was asking why his voice feels better and why he can sing better on days that he doesn't warm up. It should be the other way around is what he is saying.

m
moshmetalvocalist
Sep 7, 2011 - 6:17PM
Re: READ INSIDE (=

Ben


I don't think that Josh was asking how to warm up. I think he was asking why his voice feels better and why he can sing better on days that he doesn't warm up. It should be the other way around is what he is saying.


Yeah I understood what he meant but I had the same problems and just wrote down EVERYTHING that helped me to sing naturally, I am able to read don´t worry Ben ;)) maybe my text is a bit long on the tooth but all those things helped me so I believe they will help him too.
Hey Ben one more thing you seem to be an experienced forum user and singer. When I stopped using correct body posture and let my body move to the music it really helped to eliminate a lot of strain and nearly all of my support problems. Why do you think it works???? Jaime says that correct body posture is really important but for me the opposite is true!!!!

b
Ben
Sep 8, 2011 - 11:44AM
Re: READ INSIDE (=

moshmetalvocalist
Ben


I don't think that Josh was asking how to warm up. I think he was asking why his voice feels better and why he can sing better on days that he doesn't warm up. It should be the other way around is what he is saying.


Yeah I understood what he meant but I had the same problems and just wrote down EVERYTHING that helped me to sing naturally, I am able to read don´t worry Ben ;)) maybe my text is a bit long on the tooth but all those things helped me so I believe they will help him too.
Hey Ben one more thing you seem to be an experienced forum user and singer. When I stopped using correct body posture and let my body move to the music it really helped to eliminate a lot of strain and nearly all of my support problems. Why do you think it works???? Jaime says that correct body posture is really important but for me the opposite is true!!!!


I'm so glad we cleared that up. I was going to send you the "Hooked on Phonics" program. hahahahh! Just joking. I know how zealous people can be when they discover all this awesome new knowledge. Oh dude, I'm far from a great singer. I just know what worked for me and what didn't. I think you were probably concentrating too much and over thinking the posture thing thus causing unnecessary tension. You should not be standing like a soldier rigid at attention. You probably loosened up like you should and quit thinking about it. I mostly practice and sing sitting down in my car on the way to and from work. That is when I make time to practice as I work full time, have a family, and am a part time college student. It's not the best posture, but I try to sit up and keep everything aligned as much as possible. Singing standing up is definitely easier and I can get at least 3 notes higher when standing. I can take deeper breaths too.

m
MelanieJoy
Sep 7, 2011 - 1:37PM
Re: READ INSIDE (=

It's a mental thing most likely. You're probably thinking everything needs to be perfect after warm ups and you aren't being free and creative with your voice. You may be thinking too much about the technique. Just work on singing for enjoyment. And during the warm up don't worry about being perfect just let your voice go and enjoy the sound of it. :)

j
Jason
Sep 8, 2011 - 8:23PM
Re: READ INSIDE (=

I've definitely noticed the same thing...sometimes my "warmups" tire me out before singing even if I keep them nice and relaxed.

For me it works better to do my warmup, rest my voice for around 15-20 minutes after the warmup before singing songs and finish warming up my voice by singing 3-5 progressively more difficult songs (starting with a very easy song). My voice usually feels good at that point and I can sing just about anything within my current range.

b
Ben
Sep 9, 2011 - 12:42PM
Re: READ INSIDE (=

I usually do my warmup routine (about 30 to 45 minutes) in the morning on my way to work. I kind of "warm up for the day" in the morning. I do a short warmup then, I do my vocal workout on the drive home. That seems to work well for me.

j
Joshmv
Sep 15, 2011 - 1:10PM
Re: READ INSIDE (=

Thanks so much guys!
It's good to know that I'm not the only one :D
I'll just read through and make sure I'm doing everything right:)

I tend to skim sometimes..
Another thing!
I have to push when I sing high..
And it is pretty loud..
Well loud enough that when I'm doing exercises I do it with a pillow in front of my face to give the neighbors some peace

Any ideas?
or is there away around making it so loud?

b
Ben
Sep 15, 2011 - 1:27PM
Re: READ INSIDE (=

Joshmv
Thanks so much guys!
It's good to know that I'm not the only one :D
I'll just read through and make sure I'm doing everything right:)

I tend to skim sometimes..
Another thing!
I have to push when I sing high..
And it is pretty loud..
Well loud enough that when I'm doing exercises I do it with a pillow in front of my face to give the neighbors some peace

Any ideas?
or is there away around making it so loud?


From what I've learned and what I've read and studied, you shouldn't have to push hard to sing high. You may need a little more vocal energy and a little more support, but you should be able to sing any notes in your current range loud or softly. You are probably damaging your voice if you have to get a lot louder or push harder to sing higher to hit those notes. You should go back and work on the lower notes that lead up to the high ones and get each one solid before moving on to the next one up. If you have to holler, shout, or push hard to reach a note then it is currently out of your range. Slow and steady wins the race. It can take years to build and awesome voice. Don't give up. Also, make sure you are spending about as much time singing songs as you are doing exercises. Jamie mentions that you have to do both to have a great voice. I can attest that this is true.

j
Joshmv
Sep 16, 2011 - 4:32AM
Re: READ INSIDE (=

That's what I keep hearing so I try find out how to go around it but the moment I don't give it that push I break into a swollen falsetto...
I think I'll re-read everything about support and breath intake until I figure out a way around it.
I'll use your idea as well and isolate my lower notes and go higher:)
yea.. Hopefully it wont take so long but I'm only 16 so I have time I guess..
My problem is as a result of classes and so on I don't have a time that i can so my practices as my walls are so think my neighbor two doors down can hear me(no joke)

Oh by the way, I started off singing pop and R&B and contemporary music before I discovered/re-discovered bands/Artists like Led Zeppelin, Alter Bridge, etc.
That really challenged me vocally and still do,
My dilemma is that now when I sing I have more of a soft tone which my tone with support sounds completely different from..
I'm aiming for a rich tone but am getting something like Jason Mraz in his soft songs..

Help:)

Thanks for bearing with my questions:)

b
Ben
Sep 16, 2011 - 12:22PM
Re: READ INSIDE (=

If you are can hit the notes in falsetto, then you can hit it in full voice with some practice. The exercise that will get you there is transcending tone. It's really all in the book. Be careful not to sing too aggressively for too long without being able to do it properly. You could really hurt yourself. Singing in falsetto or not should be a sylistic choice instead of the only thing you can do in my opinion. There are pleanty of great singers that sing in falsetto though. I just think having options is a good thing. You can still sing pop and RnB. If you love it sing whatever you want. You shouldn't have to push hard or sing much louder to sing higher. If you are pushing hard then you are probably hurting yourself. Don't confuse adding vocal energy and focus with pushing. If the veins in your neck are popping out and/or you see/feel your larynx rising like when you swallow........that is a sign that you are not singing properly.

j
Joshmv
Sep 19, 2011 - 10:17AM
Re: READ INSIDE (=

Thanks soo much :)
I'll keep working at it:)
Thanks :D

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