La Standing

Roxy

Hi my friends, I tried the exercise standing however I find that I get tired very fast, it feels I am using more energy to get the sound out, is this normal?

This is pretty bad, however to me it sounds like I am getting the sound placed better, please give me your suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it!

Thank you,
Roxy

https://youtu.be/kMQe_n1efjw

[Deleted User]

I know I keep telling you this, but you need to have your mouth wide open. You want to get that nice bright Lah. Watch Ken doing the exercises. His mouth is open wide.

I notice that when I sit, and do my exercises that I lose some feeling of support when I do them in a standing position. Maybe that's why you have your hand on your stomach? To feel it better? I prefer to stand just for posture reasons. It helps to keep me from having the head/neck tilting in any direction. I also try to focus on something eye level to keep my head from tilting.

You'll get this stuff. It just takes little steps at a time that leads to bigger steps, and before you know it, you will be doing these exercises like they were second nature to you.

So.......mouth wide open, throat wide open, and breath support.

Peace, Tony

HuduVudu

Still breathing from your chest. I see some from your belly but your chest is moving a lot. Learn to take deep breaths from your belly. This is part of the reason you are struggling. You don't have support under you. It is a bit weird to breathe form your belly, and disconcerting because if feels like you are fat. This is not the case you are simply using your belly to breathe. You have your hand on your stomach, use it's feedback to tell if you are actually moving your stomach in and out. Another note you don't have to be singing to learn how to belly breathe. Do it whenever you have some downtime and just focus on pushing your stomach in and out as you breathe.

You are straining hard on the high notes. You don't need to do those yet.

Your mouth isn't open. Drop your jaw more. You are covering the sound a lot. I think this is a result of all of the tension that you are holding. It seems like you feel like you can't do it and you are forcing to try and get it done. You can do it, your fear is a lie. Let your body, and especially your neck and jaw relax don't worry if you can hit the notes or not. The only tension you should really have is from your vocal chords and around your abdomen. Focus on relaxing, not on perfection of pitch. You can get the pitch cleaned up later.

Keep at it ... it's not easy, but you can do it!

HuduVudu

@Roxy I sit doing my exercises also. There is no way I can stand up for the two hours that I practice.

Furious_Phil

Yes, I too like to sit down when eating a double-decker bacon cheeseburger

But seriously, some of us only have commute time to get most of the training in, so let's make the best of it?
I got this following postural concept from @Gaston_Jauregui
I find that sitting ramrod straight at 90 degrees doesn't let me properly engage my diaphragm
(have I ever mentioned how much I hate spelling that word out???)
So I recline my car seat so that I feel like I am sitting in a sportscar
Making my torso-to-leg angle at about a 120 degree angle.
I then expand my ribcage to 75% and this frees up my diaphragm (copied and pasted that for above-mentioned reasons) to power my vocal training.

Furious_Phil

HuduVudu said:

@Roxy there are very good chairs out there for sitting. I have been pretty much sedentary for most of my life with a heavy fascination for computers, so chairs are pretty high on my list of things that need to work for me. Before I dropped a ton of weight (I was 225) handling my weight without breaking or deforming a chair was a priority. I currently use a gaming chair from a company DSX Racer. It is really nice because it promotes good posture and allows me to sit on my lazy ass all day. The company that made this chair used to design chairs for the racing industry and you can tell by the way the chair is built. Think bucket seats in a really nice car.

This might be something that could help you too.

I've seen and sat in those before, they really are the primo seato

highmtn

Tony is right.

As soon as you start to sing, your AH becomes slightly uh because you aren't really making it AH enough.
Make it really as AH as you can... or at least more so.

Bright. Open.

Happy!

Roxy

Oh Goodness Tony, I had no idea it was going to be so hard to sing. I think I am better off sitting down when I am doing my exercises.

Yes I put my hand on my stomach to feel the tension, like Gabby does in one of the videos.

Maybe I should get a guy tool and crank my mouth wide open, when I do my exercises????????? No kidding I wonder if there is something I can put in my mouth to keep it open?


Not giving up,
Roxy

Roxy

Thank you @HuduVudu yes you hit it straight on the head of the nail, I do focus on trying to get the exercise done. I think I do better at my exercises when I am driving for some reason, also I am not use to taking a video, and that makes me nervous too. All my singing sucks right now but I keep trying, I will get it eventually thank you for your pointers, I do appreciate them all.

Roxy

[Deleted User]

You're too funny lol.

For opening your mouth, just pretend your starving, and you have a double decker bacon cheeseburger with the works in front of you. You will find a way to get your teeth into it. lol
But seriously, when you start the exercise, open it wide right at the first note, and lock it in that way until the next Lah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah.

Peace

Roxy

@HuduVudu Thank goodness you are more comfortable sitting too.... it was a workout standing up trying to do the "La" exercise. I practice for like 3 hours just on "La" I can't get past the "La" yet. I get confused because when I sing the La say on a "G" on my piano it sounds like my pitch is right on however when I try to bring the sound to the front of my face like Ken is demonstrating it gets all messed up and it is not good, I can

Roxy

Interesting @Furious_Phil

I can feel my diaphragm engaging properly when I sit in front on my piano, when I stand I find I get exhausted very quickly, my whole body get tired even my feet if that is possible the strain of trying to do the "La" is very hard for me standing up.

HuduVudu

@Roxy there are very good chairs out there for sitting. I have been pretty much sedentary for most of my life with a heavy fascination for computers, so chairs are pretty high on my list of things that need to work for me. Before I dropped a ton of weight (I was 225) handling my weight without breaking or deforming a chair was a priority. I currently use a gaming chair from a company DSX Racer. It is really nice because it promotes good posture and allows me to sit on my lazy ass all day. The company that made this chair used to design chairs for the racing industry and you can tell by the way the chair is built. Think bucket seats in a really nice car.

This might be something that could help you too.

Furious_Phil

Based on that, I start to think of non-auto-tuned performers like Lady Gaga or Fergie who totally kick it every show both vocally and jumping about... not to mention costume changes etc!!! Its insane I tell ya!!!
I can't begin to conceive the condition performers of that calibre are in to be able do a 90 minute show at full throttle like that.

Tuth moment:
If I could learn this by jacking into the matrix and downloading a new skill while I laid on the couch, I hate to admit it, but I probably would

Roxy

Like NASCAR okay I am on it! Thank you!

Roxy

Thank you Bob for your advise, I appreciate it! I will add that to my flash card

Stay tuned in for a better video next week.

Roxy