Need an advice

Whitesnake

Hello guys. Tried to sing one russian song, and people all around me saying that high note in this song not really sound great from me. I hear that something is wrong too, but not sure exactly what. Can you help me?

DannyOc3an

Hi, I hear on the soft passages sometimes you hit the pitch and others not. Try to listen closely to the guitar and hit the notes and those scales..
On the loud parts, your sound is very throatty, meaning that you're singing from your throat that's why it sounds like you're screaming to someone. The sound should come from a diaphragmatic breathing, as if it were coming from the guts or the belly. The throat should not intervene when singing, it's just a passageway and should stay relaxed and open. Check out those Ken's videos on breathing for singing and try some scales along with those videos where he does them. That should give you an idea. You have good potential, it just needs to be directed in the right direction

Whitesnake

@DannyOc3an thank you! Well, it's strange, since I really try to use my diaphragm, but when I think about it now, I really put a little bit pressure on my throat around an E4, because it feels like I don't have enough power in the diaphragm to sustain the note...

Whitesnake

@DannyOc3an so, it is correct to say that I should put pressure ONLY on a diaphragm? It doesn't matter wherever I am in the scale, or how hard I'm want to sing, there's only a diaphragm that I put pressure on, and any other parts of my body is completely relaxed?

DannyOc3an

Yes, there's some pressure, some tension in the belly/abdominal area, a natural tension that comes from pushing in the abdomen to create the power in the sound

But everything from the chest and above (chest, shoulders, neck, throat) should be 100% relaxed, no matter how high the scale, no matter how loud, how soft, how high, how low you want to sing, the only body part that is moving and making an effort is the abdominal part, there's where the sound should come from. It takes time and practice, it's not easy, that's why in the course they give you tons of scales to do daily just to embed this habbit alone. But, now that you're aware of it you can start to train yourself to use only the diaphgram to produce the sound and correct yourself everytime you feel that throat is intervening in some way. You should view the throat as a tunnel, a passive inactive passageway, relaxed all the time. Then for hitting higher notes you use the vowel modifications so the sound gets "smaller" can move higher in range without dragging the weight form the low notes. Check out the info on vowel mods to be able to hit those higher notes without having to depend on your throat and to do them with good support...

Check this support video over and over again to help you with this


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fSSoZzD7og

Whitesnake

@DannyOc3an thank you! That is so clarifying! Now, when I think about it, I thought that I am using a vowel modification, when, in fact, I was just tense up my throat. Just a little bit, so I didn't feel the pain or discomfort, but enough to make tense in the sound. It's just strange feeling, when I go higher, past my passage break, I'm trying to use VM, trying to shape an "ah" vowel to "oh", but in fact, I just tense up the throat. And if I pull harder on my diaphragm, sound gets too powerful and big, if that makes sense...

So, I just mistake VM with throat tension...

Or, I just have a weak diaphragm to sustain the note past my passage break, so I have to rely on a throat muscles...

DannyOc3an

Yeah, the vowel mod should occur in the back of an open throat, like you're yawning; that's an open throat, the soft palate rises. Inside that space, back there, there's where the vowel mod happens, it's very subtle. The vowel mod helps to shed the weight of the vowel so it doesn't get too big it splats when going higher. But remember that you will be able to experience this only after you've got used to a good support and relaxation responde in the neck..

Whitesnake

@DannyOc3an oh, so Vowel Modifications is not a change of a throat shaping, but it's just rising up of a soft palate? It's clears many things up! I used to think that changing "ah" to "oh" is happens in the throat, that's why I used to tense it to achieve a different shape of a vowel.

DannyOc3an

Yes and no... To rise the soft palate is to open the throat. That open throat should be mantained all the time, always. In that risen soft palate scenario, I mean when the throat is wide open, there's when the vowel mod should take place. The vocal tract does shift, but it shifts slightly only enough tho produce the vowel mod. The tract doesn't have to shift abruptly, those mods should take place slightly so the feeling of the open sensation is the same despite of having applied a vowel mod... You should feel the same throat openness while modifying the vowels..
The tension should be avoided in the first place using the diaphgramatic support system, way before it hits the chest or neck... you don't use tension in the throat, to achieve anything.. All tension should be stopped from going up from the diaphgram area and above..

Whitesnake

@DannyOc3an oh, thank you so much! You cleared a big part of my trouble for me! Avoiding the tension rise from the diaphragm seems like the hardest part. It feels like it comes naturally, when I try to push on my diaphragm. Or it's just a bad habit that I developed.

DannyOc3an

That's when you rewatch those videos on support and breathing, open chest full of 3/4 of air, etc.. That's KEY to keep the tension from building up, when you "get" that support thing right, you will feel how AUTOMATICALLY all tension dissapears from the neck and throat like magic...All the work happens in the abdominal area... That comes first, and then, you can worry about the throat openness and vowel mods..
Cool mate, keep on practicing!

Whitesnake

@DannyOc3an that's very useful! Thank you! I sure will imbed that to my training!