Hello from Spain! :D (Questions)
AlvaroCD
Pro Posts: 3
(Sorry, I can hardly express myself in English, but I'll try 
)
)After 1 year of teachers who could not sing what they explain I decided to forget what those teachers have taught me and give a try to the KTVA.
I want to do it well and be the best singer I can.
After reading the instructions, watching the videos and listen the CD a couple of times I have questions:
In the Audio Workout instructions are two parts. In the Part 1 said:
- Apply what you are learning in a chest voice resonance to strengthen the chest voice.
- Do not move on to bridging at this point.
- etc...
In Part 2 said:
- After you have completed the chest resonance “stretching”, you can move on to lightly building the bridge.
1. I can hardly reach F4 with my chest voice (I can't continue with higher notes because I feel my throat is closed like strangling) . So when I'm doing the Ah, AA, EE... exercises:
Should I stop when I reach F4?
When am I supposed to continue with higher notes?
Should I try every day I practice or wait to do the F4 with my chest voice effortless?
2. When do I know that I have stretched and strengthened my chest voice enough to move on to lightly building the bridge?
3. If I can hardly reach the F4... what would be my limit to my chest voice?
Reaching only the F4 tells that am I a baritone and I would never reach C5 and above with my chest voice?
Comments
@AlvaroCD,
Hello, and welcome to the Ken Tamplin Vocal Academy Forums. How is the weather today in Spain?
These are good questions. I'll see if I can answer them clearly for you.
You are going to be working in two different directions as you begin your KTVA studies. You will work on each one separately, one at a time, but you will work on both of these things within a workout.
When you are stretching your chest voice, you will want to avoid the temptation to bridge into head voice.
Try to relax and to see if you can get any higher without straining. Stretch, don't strain. Do this for a while. If F4 is as far as you can go, then that's OK. When the exercises go above your limit, just wait, or fast forward the CD until it comes back into your range. Work this part of your voice.
THEN... the same day, after doing some chest stretching, go ahead and work on bridging. Wait to bridge until you have to, but when you have to, then go ahead and bridge into head voice. When you are working on bridging, you will probably have to cut back on the volume and air pressure in order to avoid the speed bump. Do what you have to do in order to lightly go over the passagio without a yodel.
These are two separate tasks that you need to master while you are in Volume One. Think of it as two rails on a train track that both take you to the same place: Your new voice. Each rail is separate, but necessary to get you to where you are going.
You will actually have to work on stretching your chest voice for much longer than it will take you to learn to bridge well. Chest stretching takes a long time. Most people learn to bridge without much trouble. Gaining notes in chest voice can take months or years.
So go ahead and work on Both of these assignments, One at a time, but within the same day. Does that make sense?
What note you will eventually be able to go to in chest voice will depend on how much time and effort you put into it, as well as what natural capability you have. You can definitely extend your voice if you follow Ken's instructions and put in the practice that it requires.
You may very well reach C5 eventually. It won't come that easily, but certainly you can grow beyond F4, and probably much more.
Give yourself time. Don't force it. Allow the changes to come gradually. Stretch, don't strain. When the exercises go above your range, wait it out. You will gradually wait out less and less.
Give it time and the notes will come.
Bob