Hey Jaime
Up until i got some comments about my gethsemane recording, i always thought that when i was zipping into my head register i was using full head voice....but people were saying its reinforced falsetto....and if thats the case, whats the difference? :P
If i am just doing reinforced falsetto, then how do i use full head voice?

heres my recording of gethsemane by the way:
http://www.winterheart.dark-omens.com/gethsemaneleemuriamp3.mp3

also, over the last 2 or 3 months i have been doing the excercises, but not focusing so much on practicing to songs because i have been doing alot of writing and recording. And ive left recording for a bit to get practicing again, and my voice is aching more than ever. i do VSR and excercises before i sing, but im still having problem with aching after about 3 songs... i know im doing some of the most challenging songs i can pick, but even with the power push and recently feeling more resonation in the nasal cavities, im still finding it difficult to sing without that ache afterwards. its mainly the A#4,B4 and C5 that are the main problems....they are my top notes before my break point.
basically, what i wanna know it, am i really hurting myself? or is it just from lack of vocal strength?
my speaking voice is a bit croaky after i have just finished a song too, but it usually goes back to normal with 2 mins.
Hope you can help me out
Thanks
Lee Muria

Lee,

Reinfroced falsetto is stronger falsetto, like in the E scream exercise, or similar to when I break glasses. Reinforced is closer to falsetto than true voice but still a mixture, or what Lugo calls his pharyngeal voice. Head voice is what you get during the Transcending tone exercise.

As for the song. I am not allowed to comment. Several people have emailed me from the board and asked why I haven't commented their song. Iam under new management and I receive at least a hundred requests via email per week to listen and critique singers. I am still a cool guy and feel bad but it is becoming so overwhelming tat my new management has set up several differerent choices on our Store link for singers who want song or practice critiques. So it's not that I do not want to offer you tips, but if I did it would be breech of contract and 500 other singers would expect the same courtesy. All I can say is it sounded cool;)

JV

Amazing.

oh the irony. I remember when I first found your myspace page and asked you to check out my page, you said you'd be happy to, but when you tried the connection didn't work or something...I guess if it had worked I might have been one of the last of the free-bees eh ;) Ah well, your new policy is understandable. I think it's pretty much standard practice for professional musicians to refuse listen to samples from fans (to protect themselves from some schmuck suing them and saying they used their idea etc...) so it makes sense that a vocal instructor/musician would do the same. It's your livelihood afterall.

Believe it or not, I listen to LOTS of stuff from singers, and I do make comments like "nice job". Lee has a great voice. But with the way things have grown 100 fold in the last year, I just do not have the time to actually critique everyone.

I feel bad, but if I spent all of my time critiquing the hundreds of emails I receive, just to be a nice guy, then all of the projects that I am working on to help singers better themselves, would never get done. That is the reason I got a manager and that is the reason he had me add options to our store to allow me to crituqe and offer advice to the singer who truly wants it and will value what I have to offer.

Now I find that since I do not offer tons of free advice ton each individual, most singers are not as intertested. Everyone wants something for free, but people must realize that it isn't for free. It was costing me hours and ours that could be spread out among thousands of singers by adding free material to the Memgers section and finishing other projects, as opposed to just one individual. I have had singers call my house over and over and over again wanting more information, and I am so giving that some were taking a lot of advantage.

Well, I want my fans to know that I offer this site for free because of my passion and I truly want to help singers. I will continue to offer free services on this site such as interviews reviews, free tips on the lessons link and through this message board to some extent. But considering there are only so many hours in the day, I had to make a choice. Keep giving free advice and stay where I am at in life, or offer a variety of services that will allow me to still help but not tie up my time continuously.

I hope everyone understands,

Jaime Vendera

Yeh definitely. Its your living after all.
Im still grateful for any help i can get even if its only something small. It all adds up.
Thanks Jaime
Lee

Lee, I can't help, but oh my gosh, after the interlude (the outro), your voice is spectacular. I love the timbre shifts, from dark to low. Wow.

My opinion may not mean as much as some other people on this website, but I think this recording is excellent. It is the best technique I have heard from an "amateur" singer on this website. I use the word amateur because I am not sure of the status of your band. I don't know if you guys gig or just make records/demo's. If you truly are an amateur, keep up the good work and you can have a career. If you are a pro, I think you have a bright future. You are awesome.

Andy

Andy,

Your opinion and advice is what this message board is all about. All input is welcome;)Lee, you do truly have a wonderful voice. Thanx for understanding.

JV

Jaime,

Thanks for making me feel welcome. Maybe it came off the wrong way, but I was just saying that I am an untrained vocalist. However, I know what sounds good and I think Lee is great. Keep up the great work and hope your business endeavours are successful.

Andy

Thanks guys
Lee