Open throat/cutting back air

Mark_Azzi

I've been practicing a lot using Ken's stuff. I noticed that I was going hoarse every now and then. I spoke to some of my friends. We all agreed that it was overuse of air that was causing this. I've been practicing cutting back the air. But, I've found that it's harder to keep the throat open, especially for higher notes. Any tips or exercises for this?

cwcw

Hi, @Mark_Azzi I can appreciate exactly what you're saying because I've experienced the same.

If you are supporting correctly, you shouldn't have any tension in the throat.

Search on youtube for ken tamplin breath support and that will give you a couple videos on both support and tension.

Reduce your singing volume. Men tend to sing loudly. Doing so uses a lot of air and unnecessarily strains the vocal cords. Notice how "not loud" Ken is singing on this song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl9QvDh2dog

Chris

doc_ramadani

Hi Mark,

to my opinion you should pay special attention to the Lip Roll exercise (Lip Burbles) since this is the best exercise to learn breath management. We want really to control our breath. While learning to maintain good breath control you will also learn how to maintain open throat. Be very conservative on the volume.

Doc

Unknown

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Mark_Azzi

Thanks @cwcw I'll go a lot quieter and see if that works.
I should note that I'm not feeling any tension in my throat, I'm really just having trouble keeping my tongue dropped properly as per Ken's open throat videos.

cwcw

Mark, keeping the tongue flat is just something you need to work at, especially at higher notes. Ken suggests singing into a mirror so that you can monitor your tongue. I agree. It is very helpful.