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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Can anyone learn the whistle?

so this is my question, can anyone learn the whistleregister? i went to this voiceteacher and she said that some people couldnt because they just completly lacked that function in the chords...

Is this true? Would love if jamie would be able to answear as well :P

Re: Can anyone learn the whistle?

Before we can make any statements, let's a establish a definition for the whistle register. For my definition, I'll say it's when the cords are in a damped state, vibrating only along part of their length as opposed to vibrating along the full length. Based on the current research, scientists say it seems not everyone has this ability, however, I would only take that with a grain of salt because there isn't anywhere near enough research done on this topic yet. They've just scratched the surface. The general consensus is that the damping has to take place around a high C/C# (for males and females respectively). I haven't met a single male or female yet that can't hit some kind of notes above a high C. So it's not really a matter of whether or not they can do it, I think it's more a matter of training it properly. It would kind of be the same as saying some males can't hit full sounding notes above E4 because their cords lack the function. That statement is 100% FALSE.....the function just has to be trained correctly. Everyone's vocal cords work exactly the same -- the only difference is the size of the vocal cords. The only way your teacher's statement would be true is if something were physically wrong with the musculature of the larynx. In that case, the person should consult an ENT and a speech pathologist.

I'm interested in hearing Jaime's thoughts on this.

Re: Can anyone learn the whistle?

i would realy be intrested in jamies answear as well, cause the voiceteacher i asked is realy good! the best one ive ever been able to meet in person.
Dunno what the word for the chordfunction she used.

But she stated that atleast, and i asked her about techniques such as inward breathing to produce the sound hence learning the chord tightness and be able to produce such sounds inwards.
well she replied anyways that inward breathing could be harmful due to that the chords does the process the other way around.

She herself had a very nice whistle and she was connected all they way up from the bottom to the top of her whistles.
But as you said not so much research has been done on this,thats why i ask on this forum. Everyone seams to be telling diffrent storys :P

Re: Can anyone learn the whistle?

What is this inward breathing you're talking about? I can't imagine doing any kind of inward breathing while in whistle -- that would be counteractive to doing things correctly.

IMO, I feel this stuff with the whistle register is the same as situations where teachers tell basses that they won't be able to sing high unless in falsetto. It's just a matter of understanding the vocal apparatus and training things properly. IMO, if you can do the whistle notes (correctly), it's a very good indicator that your voice is in tip top shape, because your cords have to be in really good condition to do them well. (Note, that there is a difference between just hitting a whistle note and actually doing it well.)

Re: Can anyone learn the whistle?

A lot of people clamp the throat shit and attempt to inhale which will cause the cords to unbcontrollably whistle. I used to be really good at that version but suck now. It's just a cheaters way to whistle OR a way for a singer to begin to learn and understand what is going on. I truly believe that ANYONE can learn to do a whistle tone. Not everyone will sound good at it, but with practice, anyone can develop some incredible high notes to add to their songs. It occurs when the cords are dampened so close towards the front that only a small amount of air vibrates the tiniest part of cord, like blowing on a blade of grass to make it whistle. So if you want to whistle, by all means don't give up because it can happen.

JV

Re: Can anyone learn the whistle?

"A lot of people clamp the throat shit"

Ewww, Jaime.

I've found that it's easier to whistle-sing if you kind of approach it like a screech, with very little air in your lungs. Too much air, and it becomes middle register.

Oh yeah, and don't attempt a whistle sound before warming up.

Re: Can anyone learn the whistle?

Must have been a Freudian slip. I dunno why in the world I put that word in there. I don't even know what word I was trying to put there. Mybe I was thinking about the Power Push, haha. So please excusre my language, that was a mis-print:(

JV