Hello Everyone
Toml76
Pro Posts: 53
Hey Everyone,
My name is Tom and I am new to KTVA. I used to sing in bands back in the Mid to Late 90's but more for just hanging out with my friends. Now I'm 36 years old and recently put a band together to start playing out because I always knew deep down that I wanted to be a singer and had the talent to do it. We had our first show last week and the show went very well. We are getting offers to play at this place on a regular basis. I'm pretty happy how I performed that night but I really want to work to get better vocally and hopefully KTVA can help me in doing that. I have a lot of focus and desire to improve. I will practice everyday if I have to. Well that's all I have for now. Talk to you guys on the forum. Thanks
Comments
Welcome, Tom.
KTVA will be a MAJOR help to you in your situation. You will be rebuilding the very foundations of your singing voice!
Hold fast to your commitment to diligently practice daily, and listen very carefully to the instructions in Ken's videos. There are many specific instructions that may seem minor or trivial that are absolutely VITAL to demolishing your old bad habits and replacing them with NEW, Foundational underpinnings.
Welcome to the forums.
Bob
Keep trying on the lip rolls, Tom. They are a good exercise to help with bridging and they will build your breath support. See if you can meter the breath out a little longer to help with the feeling of running out of air.
This will really build your breath stamina.
Bob
Tom,
As you practice the audio workouts every day, you will begin to notice that your tone grows, the strength of your voice grows, and the range will grow. Stability will grow. If you are doing the exercises correctly, your voice can't help but to grow and grow!
Do go back and review the video from time to time, in order to ensure you are doing the exercises the way Ken shows you in the videos.
Bob
Tom,
Well, first of all, the disclaimer: We want you to give your full attention to the safe operation of your motor vehicle at all times.
I listen to Ken's CD's all the time. I feel like something is not right if I don't hear his voice, when I'm in a vehicle. Simultaneously, I am giving full attention to driving.
You should realistically try to devote at least an hour a day to the workouts. I'm talking about while you're NOT driving! Actually giving FULL attention to the workout and your voice. The drive time is just bonus vocal exercise. The real rehearsals of your KTVA workouts should be focused only on your workouts and what exactly YOU need to work on with YOUR voice.
Six days a week is recommended. Twice a day is fine, if you're up to it. At least once a day will get you moving along nicely. You can do more than twice a day if your voice is up to the task. Stop if you get hoarse. You can practice a little more lightly without any ill effects.
The more consistently you practice, the better your progress will move along.
You will receive from this program in direct proportion to the time and effort you put into following Ken's instructions EXACTLY like he shows you. I repeat: EXACTLY like he shows you.
Your enthusiasm and dedication to doing this right and putting in the work that it will take to accomplish your goals will pay off. Keep it up. Go for it!
Bob
@cgrreen
Cinema,
Ken demonstrates a slow-motion ha-ha (or huh-huh) in the Volume One How to Sing Better Than Anyone Else video 3 "Diaphragmatic Breathing."
This is a good version of the exercise at about 1:50. It's slow and deep pulses of the diaphragmatic engine. He talks you through it here, and what Ken is saying is important, especially the parts about relaxation between pulses, about relaxation of the chest, neck, and throat through the use of support, and about how this is your ENGINE. This is the GOAL! To let this be the engine to do all of the work, not the larynx.
Ken again demonstrates this exercise at about 4:10 on the same video clip, but with a little more intensity.
At the very end of the Stage Three audio workout is an audio track, at a higher intensity and speed, that really works you out on the Ha-ha. I try to only take my breath when Ken does on this one. At first, you probably won't be able to do it all the way through with just one quick replenishing breath of air in the middle of the exercise like Ken does. This exercise, when repeated several times, periodically and regularly, will build your diaphragmatic support mechanism muscles, and help you learn to meter out your breath to last longer.
The goals are to strengthen all of your diaphragmatic support mechanism muscles, build stamina, learn to connect with the feeling of singing while relying totally on your diaphragmatic power plant, learn to relax completely between each pulse, and to give it all up to the diaphragm! When you learn to lean on your diaphragm to power your voice, you quit placing so much force and wear and tear on your laryngeal system.
Your larynx and your vocal cords are very small muscular systems and fragile ligaments and cartilages. Your diaphragm, and its associated support muscular systems are monstrously more powerful and much more capable of powering your voice!
Bob
Hey, Toml76,
I listened to your posting. Unfortunately the audio is so distorted on the telephone recording, it's very hard to hear your voice. Also, it is covered a lot by the instruments.
That said, I can hear a little of you in there, and you have a strong voice. Your voice will get much stronger after you really dig into the KTVA program. You need to learn and practice building more strength in your support. You will be amazed at how much improvement you will gain from building up your diaphragmatic support mechanism.
You also have an ear for intonation and melody. You will find that after you have diligently worked out (for months) that your vocal range will improve and you will be hitting both lower and higher notes with strength and power.
As you mentioned, you already know that having your arms crossed like that is a no-no. You DO need to always maintain proper posture (as much as possible even while doing stage gymnastics), and follow Ken's vocal teachings (as in the basic "AH" Open Throat foundation).
The band sounds good, you sound good, your voice is going to really improve in a few months if you are faithful and diligent in your KTVA workouts.
I do expect to hear more recordings in the future, so we can follow along on your journey and offer help along the way.
We need a little better recording, though, to offer much advice on your voice. We need to be able to hear your voice, well above the instruments. We need the audio distortion to be as nonexistent as possible. For vocal evaluations, it would be better to just sing in front of a webcam, and for you to listen to the playback. You can then adjust the level of the music tracks to the proper level so that we can hear your voice predominantly, and crystal-clear. Once you've got your demo refined to that level, we can give you feedback to better make adjustments to your vocal mechanisms.
I think you're really going to like the way KTVA changes your voice and builds it into something it otherwise would never have become. If you have a KTVA bundle, then you have all the tools available to you to build your voice into a MONSTER!
I notice that your status on the forum is listed as "member". If you have purchased a KTVA Stage and are doing a KTVA training course, then your status should be changed to "Enrolled". When you are listed as Enrolled, you have access to many more sections of the KTVA Forums, including the recordings of the KTVA Webinars. These Webinars are da bomb, and you need to be accessing them! They greatly augment the training you are getting in the stages.
If you have purchased any KTVA Stages, but your forum status does not reflect enrolled, then please send an email to ktvahelp@gmail.com and put in the title of the email "Upgrade Forum Status to Enrolled". Copy and paste into your email a copy of your emailed receipt for your KTVA purchase, and let them know that you are still listed as a member, but need to be changed to Enrolled.
Looking forward to your progress with your vocal development, Tom. You're just getting started on a process that will last you the rest of your singing life, and will reward you again and again as you continue to develop your singing abilities.
You have come to the right place.
KTVA ROCKS!
Bob
Hey Bob, thanks for getting back to me on my video clip. I appreciate your words of encouargement and your advice. I love the program so far. I am 2 weeks into it. Yes I really want to work hard on my diaphragmatic breathing. The other night at band practice I was having a hard time with long phrases where I had to hold the note for a long time. Even the guys in the band were like what is wrong but I explained to them that I'm learning to sing the right way now. I guess with this program you almost have to get worse at first before you get better. Building up my support system, I was also singing the whole time with my hand on my stomach to make sure I was pushing out when I inhaled. I have been practicing about 45min to an hour everyday for 2 weeks. My voice feels fine. It is at times hard to tell if you are improving or not but I guess it's a little early for me. I emailed the KTVA help to update my staus. I will post a better quality video next time. Just me by myself. Thanks again.
Tom,
Yes, you will experience some ups and downs as you go through the process of losing your old singing habits and building new musculature that you've never accessed before. Initially, on new things, you will feel weak because you are weak. You are just beginning to use muscles that eventually will power an engine you have never really learned to lean on. You're just like a baby learning to walk. In time, you will be running marathons!
When you find yourself in times of instability, just realize that you're moving into new, proper vocal methods that will stabilize your voice into a ROCK. If you need encouragement that these methods really work, just listen to a few of Ken's demonstrations of your favorite vocalists. That's what you're practicing on. The same methods Ken uses. He's showing you what you need to learn in order to do it the way he does it.
We're all learning to do the basics as students, but the basics give you the power to grow into a monster vocalist. It's exciting, and it works!
Take your time and do it right!
Bob
Tom,
If you're running out of breath, do remember that we want to keep our voices from being too breathy, because too much air is the enemy of our voice.
We can make sure we have good cord closure so that too much air won't leak out as we sing. Also, we don't want to push that breath out all in one quick squish. We want to bring the abdomen in slowly and keep some reserve air in the tank beyond what we need to get to the end of our phrase or scale. Try metering out the air more conservatively. You won't end up feeling so out of breath. Hold back some of the air.
Practice the Ha-ha exercises, too. This will help you to gain strength in your support muscles.
Bob
Hey Bob,
How often should I do the Ha Ha excercises? Should I just do it along to one of the audio scales?
Tom,
You're right. It is a fairly short exercise, but a good one.
You can do the exercises on your own longer than they are on the recording. You can linger on one step or one scale repeatedly. You can put your CD player on "Repeat Track" and do any exercise on the CD as many times as you want.
That's what I do on anything that I feel I need to spend more time on.
Bob
Awesome! Keep up the momentum!
Bob
Ooh VOWEL exercises are included on later KTVA Stages. Stage One gets you started on AH, AA, and EE.
OOH and EE are more difficult and are exceptions to some of the rules that apply to AH.
Bob
@Tom,
You can move on to Stage Two now if you are bridging fine, and doing all of the exercises without issues.
OR you can start at the beginning one more time and watch the videos carefully and see if anything new jumps out at you, and keep doing the audio workouts for a couple weeks more...
Here's what Ken has to say about that question:
How Do I Know When It Is Time To Move On To Level 2?
When:
You have good posture
You understand and are using correct support
Your tongue is dropped to the base of your jaw
You keep you jaw wide open
You are consistently monitoring stress away from the chest neck and throat
You have a strong understanding of the Ah vowel
You are keeping the ah vowel nice and bright at all times
You are starting to understand vowel modifications
You would then apply the video content to the audio workout (ideally) 5-6 days per week.
If you think you're ready then go.
Bob
It's not a huge difference, just a slight ramping up in intensity. The scales are a little faster. There are sliders. There is a little more detail. There is repetition to drive home the basics. A few more vowels and mods are introduced.
Stage Two is a good base camp to prepare yourself for your ascent to Stage Three and beyond. Do spend another good piece of time building and stretching with the Stage Two lessons and exercises. You're going to need the strength.
Bob
Ok thanks Bob. I will spend a good solid month on Stage 2 to build up my strength.
Tom
Tom,
You are right about taking time to develop. Just keep putting one note in front of the other and things will continue to fall into place. Open Throat is one of those things you just have to keep doing until it begins to feel normal.
At that time, you will feel that a closed throat is foreign.
Bob
Congratulations, Tom, on your band mates noticing improvements in your voice! See? It's working. It just takes time, patience, and a lot of work!
Regarding the EE's up high, remember to modify the EE to eh and then tag EE again up high. EE is a tough vowel up high. The mod helps to ease the tension.
Bob
Tom,
If your voice is feeling fine, then you ARE fine. No need to back off unless you start feeling strain or hoarseness. Most likely, you are growing your vocal apparatus at just the right rate, and you are building your musculature as you go.
You are laying out the foundations of your voice, and the concrete is beginning to cure properly. Give it time to cure and keep up the good work. You'll be glad you did.
Bob
Tom
Tom,
Good to hear that you are still at it and still growing.
You will be happy to know that the growth never stops. As long as you keep working out on Ken's exercises and following the course diligently, there is no end to the refinement and continued progress you will experience.
You are very welcome for the advice. It's my pleasure to be of assistance.
Bob
Tom
Yes volume 3 is where the real growth starts to begin. I remember it bring very difficult at first but have now worked up to going through 1.5 times for my workout. Take your time and take breaks if you need to. It's the powerlifting volume of KTVA. Enjoy
One of the good things about Volume Three is that you really have to take your workouts up a notch and build your strength even more! Eventually you will not find it so arduous, because you will have worked your body and your voice up to a higher level of support and stamina.
Just keep at it, and DON'T hesitate to go back and revisit details in Volumes One and Two for reference or review. You can repeat these modules and every time you will continue to refine your skills and knowledge. Then you can jump back into Volume Three again with a new perspective.
Volume Three is really where things start to get interesting, but you have to be physically and mentally prepared to step up.
Congratulations for making it to this point so far!
Bob
Tom,
Most likely what you are describing as "breathing in the note" is proper support. When you properly support, you reduce the amount of exhalation you are doing while singing. It's a balancing act of finding just the right amount of air, the minimum amount that you can sing upon.
There were some really good posts a few months ago where a poster spoke about having the feeling of inhalation while singing, and that was a breakthrough for him. It enabled him to understand what great support is all about.
In classical singing, there is a description called "inhalare la voce" which means to inhale the voice. Some others call it "drinking the voice". These are just word-pictures, but often word-pictures work well for certain learners.
This is the effect Ken is talking about when he tells us to press down on the diaphragm as we ascend to the higher notes. This pressing down counteracts the rise of the diaphragm. This makes the exhalation take place on much less air over a longer period of time, and is much healthier for the vocal cords.
I believe you have found what so many are looking for, a good grasp on the mysterious "support" we all need so much.
As to your application of your KTVA singing methods to your singing while in your band, you need to watch Ken's WayPoint video "Applying KTVA Methods to Songs"
http://kentamplinvocalacademy.vanillaforums.com/discussion/1695/applying-what-you-are-learning-ktva-waypoint-video#latest
In order to use the very same methods you are learning in your KTVA exercises and apply them to songs, you need to pick some songs and start applying your KTVA methods to them.
Sing some songs on the Lah. Then just remove all of the consonants and sing on the actual vowels. Modify any vowels that need to be modified, due to the pitch in the song. Lightly put back the minimum of consonants possible so that the lyrics can be understood.
Once you start doing this, first with one song and then another and another, you will begin to realize how easy it is to incorporate your strengths that you have learned and built from your KTVA exercises, and how valuable they are. This will literally transform your voice on the songs you are singing in your band.
I'm serious! It seems silly when you hear about it, but this is exactly what you need to do. Once you experience it for yourself you will see what I mean.
Bob
I've been doing the excerises very routinely but my bandmates say I can be flat from time to time. I know it means being just under the note but I honestly don't hear it or feel it. What can I do to work on this? Thanks
Hi, Tom,
Nice to hear from you again. Please click on the link below, and work through Ken's Basic Pitch Part One program. You may learn some things about pitch and discernment of pitch that will help you to zero in on whatever is causing your bandmates to mention this to you.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/26888229/BASIC%20PITCH.zip
I've learned some things from working through this, so I think maybe you will, too.
Give it a try and work through the exercises that are included. Listen to everything Ken is telling you in the video. It's excellent.
Bob