Lower volume consistency issues
Spyk
Enrolled Posts: 54
So I've finally started taking singing seriously to the point I started with a vocal coach and started using Ken's videos I bought a few years ago. I feel there are some things I am very good at (especially projection) which leads me to believe there are some things that I'm just not placing right unless it really is diaphragmatic support. My issue is when I go to sing at low volume two things happen. One is my voice trys to deviate back to nasally sounding unless I dip my larynx so low I get that Muppet sound. Two is unless I really focus on cord closure I get super airy and inconsistent with pitch but again there vocal closure can lead to me dropping my larynx further to get the cords to meet each other. Am I going about this all wrong? I'm finding a lot of what's holding me back as I dig further in is more the technique being done incorrectly and it just becomes an ah ha moment which kills me because I'd rather know how to do it and practice good habits instead of guessing at them and instilling bad muscle memory. My coach is great but a half hour a week is barely enough to get through warm ups.
Comments
Maybe if you can post a demo so we can hear, some of the experts here are really good at finding the issue and will point you in the right direction.
Vocality
Ok, I don't normally get into "this is the greatest course EVA mode" but I have some suggestions for you.
First you need to commit to either a vocal coach locally or a course online. Do NOT do both. This will confuse you and you will get a lot of conflicting information, that isn't necessarily incorrect, but will cause you great confusion. Either option for you will help you out immensely in your singing journey provided that you choose wisely.
If you choose a vocal coach don't just assume that they know what they are doing. You can spend a lot of money and get a whole lot of nothing. I am not really thinking that your current vocal coach is helping you. If want to continue with a local coach I would HIGHLY suggest you find another one. Be discerning and ask to spend a short time with them to "interview" them about their philosophy of singing and how they approach things. If you can look for actual experience on their part to the effect that they are a choir director or something like that. Look at many coaches and compare them to find the best fit for you.
As to getting an online course most of the same ideas apply that you use to look for a vocal coach locally. Use these criteria to find a best fit for you. I am very partial to this course, I have bought the full version. That said there are other good programs out there, but just like with the vocal coaches there are a lot of frauds, Caveat Emptor.
Maybe that can help you
So after some digging around on the internet because I am so sure I am breathing correctly that support doesn't mean how hard you are flexing your abs or tightening your abs but is preventing the air from escaping its self. The word support confuses me because I would think I need to support my voice to be stronger and would immediately think I'm not supporting my voice with enough air. The word support really throws me for a loop and I need to think of it more as suppression.
Now here is where my issues deepen. I can do the "air leak" test as I call it ( when you let air out slowly using your diaphragm) for a good 50 seconds to a minute. Timed and everything by my instructor. When I go to sing soft, especially lower notes, I can't seem to, no matter what I do, to get that air to stay in. It's like my body thinks since the song is relaxed, everything in me relaxes. The louder I get with it though, the better at "supporting" my breath I get. I wonder if this has something to do with the fact that my voice being so loud it goes into whisper mode when I try to sing with low volume. Is there a volume sweet spot that if you go below it air just leaks out of you in order to support a tone?
Once again. I think you asking these questions is counter-productive to you. Not that you shouldn't ask these questions or that they are not pertinent questions. The problem is that you should be asking your vocal coach these questions and he/she should be the one that answers those questions for you, according to the plan that he/she has laid at as a part of his/her course. I have been purposefully vague in my answers, for two reasons, one the KTVA course answers these questions and two I don't want to contradict or interfere with what your vocal coach might be telling you. I think you are on a bad path, and frustration and confusion are all that you will find if you walk it. I must again advise you to make a decision on how you are going to approach your singing and commit to a path, while you still are motivated. If you don't then you will become frustrated and lose motivation eventually stopping your singing journey.
I bring this up for two reasons:
One is does this sound logical. It seems to work for me. No matter how hard I push down, no matter how I try to close my glottal, and no matter how many other pieces of advice I try to find, nothing seems to work but this. It would also explain why I have such a long and controlled release of air when I do my timed exercises, as it is purely diaphragm control. I mean I can make air come out so slow you can't even feel it if you put your finger in front of my mouth.
Two is if anyone else happens to have this same issue where they can control air but can't seem to figure out the throat mechanism because of always being told don't sing from your throat and things (hey that means make my throat totally relaxed) instead of don't push with your throat (unless I am totally off base here) I think it would be good for them to know. I mean it is unbelievably discouraging to both parties I think when someone is trying to help you fix an issue because they hear classic signs of one thing but because they can't be in your body, can't understand that you feel like you have exhausted all possibilities and I am sure exhausting for those trying to help because you feel that all the practical advice is being given to fix the issue but no way to know if that is the case.
Sorry for such a long post. I am very OCD on figuring things out so if this is misuse of the forum please let me know. I do not wish to be a "butt head" for lack of a better term
Look at the other discussion I answered you on your question.
Doc