Recent breakthrough -- all of a sudden while I was driving in my car, I finally figured out what my teacher Dave Britton was trying to teach me all along when he said to get my tongue out of the way when I'm vocalizing.
If you try to be too self-conscious about it, it doesn't work (and that's true of most any technique in singing), but once I figured out how to place my tongue properly, all that is left is a rounded and open space in my mouth to create a free and open sound. And it's not just about creating space -- when your tongue is in the right place, it also helps you to "place" your projection forward.
The result? (1) A more forward and pointed sound; (2) A warmer sound because of the extra space inside your mouth; (3) easier access up and down your range, because now your breath can truly travel freely and you have less muscle getting involved and getting in the way. I can honestly say singing has just gotten 50% easier than ever before, but with 150% better production in terms of resonance and volume.
The last time I got such a breakthrough was when I figured out how to narrow my voice through the passaggio.
Showing posts with label singing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label singing. Show all posts
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Rejuvenation
Somehow, after every episode of the flu, throat infection, or other such ailments, and the accompanying month or two months of vocal debilitation, my voice comes back stronger and better. Or could it be just the fact that I am getting older?
Even as late as mid-August, when I was back in California with plenty of sleep and rest, my singing voice was thin, hoarse, and without resonance. Almost as soon as I returned to Virginia, I was able to sing like I used to before. Humidity was a theory I considered, but if that had an effect, I would have heard much better singing from myself during the time I was in DC.
The only explanation I have is that I am now back to a regular singing schedule, as opposed to the summer when I barely had 5 minutes to sing every day. I have also become much more conscious about not dropping my breath support as I sustain my notes. When I am cognizant of having to keep my breath streaming, the results are far more consistent and reliable than I have known before. It all goes back to fundamentals of voice training.
Even as late as mid-August, when I was back in California with plenty of sleep and rest, my singing voice was thin, hoarse, and without resonance. Almost as soon as I returned to Virginia, I was able to sing like I used to before. Humidity was a theory I considered, but if that had an effect, I would have heard much better singing from myself during the time I was in DC.
The only explanation I have is that I am now back to a regular singing schedule, as opposed to the summer when I barely had 5 minutes to sing every day. I have also become much more conscious about not dropping my breath support as I sustain my notes. When I am cognizant of having to keep my breath streaming, the results are far more consistent and reliable than I have known before. It all goes back to fundamentals of voice training.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Getting Back
Voice is almost back to full strength. Every such illness usually sidetracks me for 1 - 2 months, which is frustrating. Coupled with the lack of practice time, my voice is now coarse even in the places just slightly above my mid-range. Must get back to vocalizes soon.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Experimenting with Space
Recently, I started to experiment with creating a more "rounded" space in my mouth when I vocalize. The theory behind this trial is to create more space for resonance, and also to prompt myself to get my consonants out of the way more swiftly (you cannot emphasize consonants too deliberately when you are trying to keep that "O" shape in your cavity). Of course, I have also had to remind myself to keep my tongue placement correct.
Early results have been encouraging -- the resonance is fuller, and the sound is warmer to my ear. However, I have no way of telling what it sounds like from beyond three feet (which is the more important consideration). I am also trying to determine whether this technique introduces unnecessary tension elsewhere. Of course, this technique may not be very applicable to my passagio at all, and may cause me to neglect narrowing my notes and vowels in preparation for the necessary transitions to my head voice.
Quite a bit to think about, but connecting myself back to these vocal challenges is giving me tremendous satisfaction and a greater sense of purpose.
Early results have been encouraging -- the resonance is fuller, and the sound is warmer to my ear. However, I have no way of telling what it sounds like from beyond three feet (which is the more important consideration). I am also trying to determine whether this technique introduces unnecessary tension elsewhere. Of course, this technique may not be very applicable to my passagio at all, and may cause me to neglect narrowing my notes and vowels in preparation for the necessary transitions to my head voice.
Quite a bit to think about, but connecting myself back to these vocal challenges is giving me tremendous satisfaction and a greater sense of purpose.
Monday, May 12, 2008
La Divina
I have been listening to quite a bit of Callas lately. Over the years, volumes have been written about her artistic merit - saying the subject is controversial would be an understatement. My opinion is that most of her detractors are looking for a "soothing" and "pretty" voice, which completely misses the point. There are plenty of "pretty" voices around, but good storytellers are hard to find. She was one of the best. It is no wonder that people credit her for single-handedly putting drama (in the best sense) back into the art of singing.
Here is a clip of hers from the 70's - when she was nearing the end of her life, and was far from the peak of her powers. True, she had to push a lot to get to the high notes, and her breath slipped in a few places, but listen to how she sustained the core of her sound -- that's all breath support and she's still got most of it. More importantly, she still told one heck of a story like no one else could.
After you listen to the Callas clip, contrast that with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's version. Technically, the Dame was just incredible. She showed off her trademark warm timbre, and her resonance could knock anybody off their feet. It's not hard to discern why she's regarded as one of the best lyric sopranos to have graced the stage. But the story was conspicuously missing -- what happened to "Babbo, pieta! Pieta!"? Lauretta was aching! She was tortured! She wanted to throw herself into the Arno and die! Dame Te Kanawa made it sound like she was having tea with the ladies and just discovered how divine chocolates with raspberry centers can be.
Sometimes it's not just about singing "pretty."
Here is a clip of hers from the 70's - when she was nearing the end of her life, and was far from the peak of her powers. True, she had to push a lot to get to the high notes, and her breath slipped in a few places, but listen to how she sustained the core of her sound -- that's all breath support and she's still got most of it. More importantly, she still told one heck of a story like no one else could.
After you listen to the Callas clip, contrast that with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's version. Technically, the Dame was just incredible. She showed off her trademark warm timbre, and her resonance could knock anybody off their feet. It's not hard to discern why she's regarded as one of the best lyric sopranos to have graced the stage. But the story was conspicuously missing -- what happened to "Babbo, pieta! Pieta!"? Lauretta was aching! She was tortured! She wanted to throw herself into the Arno and die! Dame Te Kanawa made it sound like she was having tea with the ladies and just discovered how divine chocolates with raspberry centers can be.
Sometimes it's not just about singing "pretty."
Friday, April 25, 2008
Shaping Up
When the only opportunities for you to sing are in the car or at home for limited periods of time, it's very easy to get complacent with your technique, especially since you have the benefits of echoes in an enclosed space. But the simplest vocalizes will expose you. When I tried to sustain a mezzo-piano the other day, it became readily apparent that (a) I have no control; (b) I'm still getting too much of my larynx involved; and (c) I really need to get back to the basics again.
The thought of practicing mono-syllabic staccati depresses me somewhat, but you do what you gotta do.
It's funny to think that the first person who ever taught me anything about singing was Paul's ex-wife Michelle (who I had a chance to see recently). I remember she said, "If you can sustain a very light breath and keep it steady, that's when you know you're good." I never really understood it until I started to take lessons, and then I realized that she was, in essence, talking about the elusive sustained piano / pianissimo. We haven't even started talking about doing that above my passagio yet. Years away, my friend.
Time to shape up before it all slips away.
The thought of practicing mono-syllabic staccati depresses me somewhat, but you do what you gotta do.
It's funny to think that the first person who ever taught me anything about singing was Paul's ex-wife Michelle (who I had a chance to see recently). I remember she said, "If you can sustain a very light breath and keep it steady, that's when you know you're good." I never really understood it until I started to take lessons, and then I realized that she was, in essence, talking about the elusive sustained piano / pianissimo. We haven't even started talking about doing that above my passagio yet. Years away, my friend.
Time to shape up before it all slips away.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Spot On
Here's a mini "treatise" on some characteristics that make great singing (and why American Idol, which forces people into one narrow mould, rewards unnecessary vocal pyrotechnics and embellishments, and induces contestants to put WAY too much weight on their vocal cords, is completely off the mark).
By music critic Gene Lees, in his sleeve note to Perry Como's 1968 album "Look To Your Heart":
Despite his immense popularity, Como is rarely given credit for what, once you stop and think of it, he so clearly is: one of the great singers and one of the great artists of our time. Perhaps the reason people rarely talk about his formidable attributes as a singer is that he makes so little fuss about them. That celebrated ease of his has been too little understood. Ease in any art is the result of mastery over the details of the craft . . . . Como got them together so completely that the muscles don’t even show. It seems effortless, but a good deal of effort has gone into making it seem so . . . .
The hidden work makes him look like Mr. Casual, and too many people are taken in by it — but happily so. I have of necessity given a good deal of thought and study to the art of singing, and Como's work consistently astonishes me. He is a fantastic technician. Listen in this album to the perfection of his intonation, the beauty of the sound he produces, the constant comfortable breath control. And take notice of his high notes. Laymen are often impressed by the high note you can hear for five blocks. Professionals know that it is far more difficult to hit a high note quietly. Como lights on a C or D at the top of a tune as softly as a bird on a branch, not even shaking it. And then there's his phrasing. A number of our best singers phrase well. The usual technique is to rethink the lyrics of a song to see how they would come out if you were saying them, and then approximate in singing the normal speech inflections and rhythms. This often involves altering the melody, but it is a legitimate practice and when done well can be quite striking.
But Como is beyond that. He apparently does not find it necessary to change the melodic line in order to infuse a song with emotion. A great jazz trumpeter once told me, "After fifteen years of playing, I’ve come to the conclusion that the hardest thing to do is to play melody, play it straight and get feeling into it." Como has been doing this from the beginning. Stylistically, he comes out of the Bing Crosby-Russ Colombo school. That was all a long time ago. Como has been his own man for many years now. He sounds like nobody else. And nobody sounds like him, either.
***He is hard to imitate precisely because his work is so free of tricks and gimmicks. There are no mannerisms for another singer to pick up from him. All one can do is try to sing as well and as honestly as Como, and any singer who does that will end up sounding like himself, not Como.***
By music critic Gene Lees, in his sleeve note to Perry Como's 1968 album "Look To Your Heart":
Despite his immense popularity, Como is rarely given credit for what, once you stop and think of it, he so clearly is: one of the great singers and one of the great artists of our time. Perhaps the reason people rarely talk about his formidable attributes as a singer is that he makes so little fuss about them. That celebrated ease of his has been too little understood. Ease in any art is the result of mastery over the details of the craft . . . . Como got them together so completely that the muscles don’t even show. It seems effortless, but a good deal of effort has gone into making it seem so . . . .The hidden work makes him look like Mr. Casual, and too many people are taken in by it — but happily so. I have of necessity given a good deal of thought and study to the art of singing, and Como's work consistently astonishes me. He is a fantastic technician. Listen in this album to the perfection of his intonation, the beauty of the sound he produces, the constant comfortable breath control. And take notice of his high notes. Laymen are often impressed by the high note you can hear for five blocks. Professionals know that it is far more difficult to hit a high note quietly. Como lights on a C or D at the top of a tune as softly as a bird on a branch, not even shaking it. And then there's his phrasing. A number of our best singers phrase well. The usual technique is to rethink the lyrics of a song to see how they would come out if you were saying them, and then approximate in singing the normal speech inflections and rhythms. This often involves altering the melody, but it is a legitimate practice and when done well can be quite striking.
But Como is beyond that. He apparently does not find it necessary to change the melodic line in order to infuse a song with emotion. A great jazz trumpeter once told me, "After fifteen years of playing, I’ve come to the conclusion that the hardest thing to do is to play melody, play it straight and get feeling into it." Como has been doing this from the beginning. Stylistically, he comes out of the Bing Crosby-Russ Colombo school. That was all a long time ago. Como has been his own man for many years now. He sounds like nobody else. And nobody sounds like him, either.
***He is hard to imitate precisely because his work is so free of tricks and gimmicks. There are no mannerisms for another singer to pick up from him. All one can do is try to sing as well and as honestly as Como, and any singer who does that will end up sounding like himself, not Como.***
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Singing, allegedly
OK, so I was going to write some long diatribe about this, and I will probably still do that, but take a look at this article first and you will get a quick survey of everything that is wrong with singing today - or at least when people pretend / attempt / struggle to sing today.
http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/listoftheday/17793/the-ten-most-annoying-singers
When I read the entry on Michael Bolton, it was like, "Amen!" I am not alone.
Choice quote (again, about Bolton): "Who else can take a love song and turn it into a hernia? When a man loves a woman he doesn't do so by screaming in her ear--so why should it be acceptable for a man to sing a sensitive love song as if he's directing traffic for the hearing impaired?"
http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/listoftheday/17793/the-ten-most-annoying-singers
When I read the entry on Michael Bolton, it was like, "Amen!" I am not alone.
Choice quote (again, about Bolton): "Who else can take a love song and turn it into a hernia? When a man loves a woman he doesn't do so by screaming in her ear--so why should it be acceptable for a man to sing a sensitive love song as if he's directing traffic for the hearing impaired?"
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