Two friends who obviously love to sing even tho we are nowhere near Sandy Patti & Larnelle Harris :)
Krystal
Member Posts: 34
FAR from it!! OK, my pal Joe and I teamed up on this, it was great fun even though neither of us is exactly awesome. It was my idea to create this medley; what would have made it better would have been for our pianist (who BTW just turned 96!) to know how to transpose, so that both songs could have been in the same key.
As you can tell (I confess with many blushes) my high notes can get screechy. My throat gets tight and dry, I can feel it. This is the “killer” for me. I want to be able to extend my range and also gain stamina so that a simple workout like this one doesn’t leave me tired and hoarse.
So here we go...a taste of Southern gospel, my fav genre...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AP6pc94hz2I&feature=share
As you can tell (I confess with many blushes) my high notes can get screechy. My throat gets tight and dry, I can feel it. This is the “killer” for me. I want to be able to extend my range and also gain stamina so that a simple workout like this one doesn’t leave me tired and hoarse.
So here we go...a taste of Southern gospel, my fav genre...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AP6pc94hz2I&feature=share
Comments
I have been watching Ken’s videos faithfully. You are right, I do need to open my mouth more, and I have been trying to do that whilst opening my throat more. I just came home from our final rehearsal for the cantata this Sunday eve. I carried some room-temp water which made a difference! I’ve been casting around for other ways to ease the killer dryness and throat tension which can prevent me from sailing thru some of those high notes. Ken’s video about throat care was so helpful. I bought some raw ginger at the supermarket. I’m considering oil of oregano but I read that it burns! Also read about a licorice tea called Throat Coat that sounds good, I ordered it but it won’t arrive till Monday, darn it.
oh, that was very, very nice. With some technical exercises you could do magic to your voices.
Doc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv3T-xA28fE
with good support you won't need any ginger (although it is healthy so you can still have lots of it). and I would be careful with the Throat Coat, I would probably only drink it after the singing, not before. it looks like it might be sweet. it might literally coat your vocal folds, and you won't notice the wear-and-tear, but that doesn't mean it's not there, you might even be tricked into more over-singing. i heard that about sugary drinks so maybe it is a bit less severe for this tea, but I would be careful with it
Water does help, altho during a concert you don’t always have time to grab it! I will let you know about the throat tea. I think it is supposed to coat the vocal cords. I hope it isn’t sweet. A long time ago I learned that anything sweet would kill good singing, and dairy products will too. They do create that “gack” and stickiness. I remember when I heard about Lionel Richie having so much trouble with his voice that he feared his career was ending. But I guess he got a tip somewhere. He said all he had to do was give up dairy products and he was fine! I wish it were that simple for the rest of us... I am lactose intolerant so I don’t drink regular milk anymore. But I still have some voice issues.