In RYV the siren is a full voice exercise
Chapter 22 pages 246
Jamie's has three exercises : falsetto slide, transcending tone, and
Full voice aka( siren exercise ) Jaime said to wait until you get it down
On chapter 22 before adding it to a warm up so you don't blow your
Voice out!!! Hope that helps.

-Nick

Thanks Nick - you are a saviour, and sorry for my slow reply!
Colin

No worries bro , glad I could help
God speed on the practice :)

Is there a definite register break during the siren or you have to go through a mixed register, maybe just by going from heavy chest register, up to the lighter dynamics of chest voice, then highly adducted head register, which also lighten up as you go upward, plus some resonance adjustment and pharingeal projection.

According to the book the falsetto slide should be pure and smith with no break , The transcending tone the same . The full voice siren should be full to full no mixed voice of falsetto. Just loud and powerful . Remember to be positive about the outcome and don't get impatient with your self. The volume and power ,although through support, should be natural and passionate. Never push!!
Or see negative outcome. You can do it!!:)

Cool, so you mean no break by managing the weight/resonance/support dynamics throughout the passaggio or no break by remaining in "falsetto" or head voice M2 - partial folds (i guess adducted and with compression) throughout the whole slide, while singing another, I guess lower placed on average, siren entirely of chest voice / M1 - full fold function?

First things first - lose the M0-3 and Mixed Voice from your vocabulary. I understand those are terms used to identify vocal positions by other coaches, but honestly, if you try to put EVERY little thing into a neat compartment or term you will only get confused - which is why you are on this forum instead of those other coaches, am I right? There are far too many terms to say the same thing.

Also DON'T FORGET TO WARM UP BEFORE YOU START THE EXERCISES!!! The Ultimate Warm-Up MP3's are free, and the Vocal Stress Release stretches are in RYV. You need the blood to be flowing, nice placement and a relaxed looseness before you start all this.


You have a break because there is an epic battle going on in your larynx between the muscles that thin and stretch for higher pitches, and the muscles that shorten and thicken the fold for thicker, lower tones. There is also a third set of muscles in there controlling the opening and closing of the fold - as well as compression. This video helped me visualize what is going on a GREAT DEAL - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b89RSYCaUBo


For a moment, lets forget the role resonance plays in tone and understand that we NEED a relaxed larynx in order for the muscles to properly "pass off" to each other as we ascend in pitch, because the larynx itself changes shape while these transfers are happening. If we are tense or forcing, then muscles are clenching, and then the body can't "do it's thing", and we are being counterproductive.

The falsetto slide encourages a LIGHT compression (that would be those Transverse and Oblique Arytenoids from the video)and a very floaty, controlled lengthening and contracting of the ThyroArytenoid until it's limit is reached, then the CricoThyroid takes over. It's here at the trade where you break. So SLOW DOWN and balance out your support - higher tones use LESS air, remember your support should adjust according to the requirements of the fold to produce tone - Not to force tone out of it, that's why it's called "support". For now, let the tone/fold guide the support, you can play with different sounds and levels of support and compression later. Don't worry about how "pretty" it sounds, as long as it is floaty, pure and VERY lightly connected - we're working on muscular remapping from your old habits, not a finished piece at this point. You will also notice that the larynx does not NEED to go up and down for pitch, as it changes shape for these movements to occur - NOT position. Sometimes it helps to place a finger or two over the larynx (adams apple for guys) just to bring an awareness to it. Now you can understand why I LOVE that video! You should also be figuring out that they are called Isolation Exercises because they isolate the fold in order to build proper coordination and compression.

Falsetto slides encourage sound production at the point of least resistance, or lightest "weight" on the fold. Transcending tones work on keeping those same flexible and proper coordinations, while adding a little "weight" to the fold closure/compression. Sirens help you to understand the resonant shifts of "full voice" with correct compression and coordination.

After a while it will feel like your tone skips over your folds completely and gets amplified along the pharynx (a little resonant "cave" between the top back of the throat and sinus cavity) and palate. You will also feel that certain tones have specific places where they hit the palate and move along the roof of your mouth from your teeth to your pharynx. It's also important to remember NOT to be afraid of using a little bit of a nasal feeling for those very forward tones. Nasality - when used properly, adds brightness and fullness to higher tones and helps you move forward into a nice deep head resonance.


My goodness, that's a novel LOL!

Diane hit this on the head. While I am cool with anyone studying different terms on their own time, in RYV, we are not going to refer to thins as M3 or "all chest" because there is no need for that with this method. We do not need to confuse people with terms. In RYV and VVA, there is no need to bog yourself down with modes, as it can all be viewed as one voice and becoming over-analytical with it, will not help you build the muscles. Listen to the audio examples that come with this book and in the videos from VVA.

Like Nick pointed out, there's a whole chapter on it:) Our goal is one solid voice from bottom to top. You might have to read through parts of RYV 2-3 times before it all clicks and mkakes sense, but eventually it will. For now, focus on the exercises as your voice builds muscle.