Tips on releasing into mixed voice from a high chest belt

MarkHMusic

Looking for some tips/advice on that “release” feeling to get to those higher notes after belting in chest…. I have an original tune that is around a G4 before going to an A4 quickly and back to the G4. I can sing the A4 in chest voice now but the issue I’m having is that there is a lot of words and not much room to catch a breathe so hitting the A4 in chest here is difficult. I need to use some of that pharyngeal mixed voice sound to get to it.

The issue is I’m having a hard time switching those resonances in the middle of a line. It’s often cracking and breaking. I can go right to that pharyngeal resonance no problem and sing the A4 on its own with ease but not so easy during a song that is very heavy on notes around E4-G4 for 4 minutes that I am singing in chest voice.

Things I have noticed that help are obviously remembering strong support, utilizing “mask” on the G4 notes and also keeping my tongue towards the back of my bottom teeth however it is not always consistent. Lastly I noticed a slight back off on the pressure and shrinking the sound of the A4 helps but I’m not sure if I’m on the right path or not.

This has been a consistent issue when I’m singing in that E-G4 range and then having to go higher than the G4. I imagine after a while my voice just gets tired but it’s also important to note I’ve been singing a while and often sing 3-4 sets a night on weekends. Anybody else have this issue?? Any input is appreciated

Klaus_T

have you tried practicing the part in LAH-only and vowel-only?

Terence

Possibilities that come to mind:
- Put the challenging runs in various parts of your workout routine to see what they're like to sing at different stages of fatigue.
- LAH only, per @Klaus_T 's tip.
- Take the song a whole step up or down in your workout to see what it reveals.
- Based on what you find, arrange your set to have the song near the first, middle, or last where your voice can handle it.

MarkHMusic

@Wigs @Terence Thank you for the input. I have not specifically tried Lah only but I have put focus on keeping the jaw static as possible and the throat open as well as vowel mods and watching consonants. I noticed yesterday the tongue placement change seemed to help (this is all so much to remember haha!)... I guess the simplified version of this question is how to go from a really belted rock vocal chest sound and then make that quick change to thin or pare down the sound to hit a higher note and then switch back to that chesty sound. If that makes sense...

For example Ken says it's easier to sing higher when you start out by "placing" the voice there. So I guess I'm looking for some instruction or a point in the right direction to exercises that work on this in a song application setting.

MarkHMusic

@Wigs @Terence here is a video example…. The word “cracks” is where I’m having the most trouble it’s an A4 but I’m falling flat and struggling with the right approach to this. Any feedback is appreciated

MarkHMusic

@Wigs @Terence On this next version I didn't really think about much other than "shrinking the sound" to me its almost as if I'm going into head voice but does not really sound like head voice in the video. Its a little more of a slide to the pitch but I feel its more on the pitch just not as smooth... Curious to your thoughts on the two different approaches. Would this be more of what "paring down the sound" is? I heard No More Tears recently by Ozzy and on the verses he goes to I think a B5 and it sounds like he really kinda just shrinks the sound and live sounds more "head voicy" than the recording but regardless that was the approach I tried.

Terence

@MarkHMusic Just before leaving on vacation, I saw both of your videos (now removed) but didn't have time to comment. From what I recall:

1 - Yes, it's a tough line to sing, and the second example was better since you hit the A4 briefly.
2 - For only that line in the song, it was easier to sing the problematic notes from A4 to B4 (rather than G4 to A4.)
3 - Try losing the guitar and focusing only on singing until you get this. Then add the guitar (standing not sitting.)
4 - LAH's only for practice.
5 - Back off the intensity to bring a smaller sound up to the A4. You got there with too much intensity on the second example. Make it smaller and I think you'll get there more consistently and it makes for better training, anyway.

Hope this (late) comment helps...

MarkHMusic

@Terence thank you and that does make sense. I wasn't sure if anyone ever saw the tags so I took them down from my YouTube. I feel like sometimes when I use less intensity, depending on the situation, my voice starts to get week and wobbly, especially for singing that type of style. I have been practicing and becoming more consistent with a smaller sound so it definitely does help, but to me it almost seems like I am just going into head voice (the feeling not so much the sound) is that normal? I guess I avoided that approach because I wanted to always feel like I was able to do it in chest voice.

Terence

MarkHMusic said:

...when I use less intensity, depending on the situation, my voice starts to get week and wobbly

When using less air and subtracting the wrong support, it forces the vocal muscles that should be doing the work to have to work harder. Those very muscles are weaker, for now, because they've been avoided rather than deployed.

MarkHMusic said:

...to me it almost seems like I am just going into head voice (the feeling not so much the sound) is that normal? I guess I avoided that approach because I wanted to always feel like I was able to do it in chest voice.

Then it feels like what it is: going into a mix that is less chest-dominant. That's what the voice must do to ascend. The percentages change depending on your intention and level of development and we may be able to bring chest up higher but it's still a mix and not 100% past a certain point. For me (baritone), that's currently G#4 but I only aim for 100% chest when doing the Ooh-oh-Ah stretching exercise for the day. Most of the time I'm singing at F4 or above I'm in a mix to make getting beyond G#4 seamless (perhaps even arriving in a fairly chest-dominanted mix.)

Ken talks about this on the final 7 vol 3 blending exercises, "at this point, I'm bundling up my entire chest into head and just singing with my whole voice."

MarkHMusic

@Terence i think I get it…. Less intensity, more support and compression…. Is that basically the goal?

Terence

MarkHMusic said:

@Terence i think I get it…. Less intensity, more support and compression…. Is that basically the goal?

Yes, those are the inputs you'll be controlling to sing through that area smoothly. Inputs that work better and better as you sufficiently develop and stretch chest and strengthen and fuse your head voice to it.