I have 2 weeks and I need that F Sharp

idk

I am accompanying a band as their singer in 2 weeks for their school exams and we're covering Biffy Clyro's Black Chandelier and Sounds Like Balloons and I'm so scared. 

If you give them 2 songs a listen, I find them vocally challenging as Simon Neil repeatedly hits the F sharp and although I can hit it briefly (only after warming up) my voice shuts down when I have to sing it in the certain pattern of that song and if I mess up on the day of the performance, it is a huge mess for them as this is the audition for a music college they want into, I'm just accompanying them. 

I didn't turn it down because I really want to do this but I'm scared that two weeks isn't enough time.

I just did the volume 1 exercises and I tried belting out Biffy but my voice is sore now so I'm leaving singing for tonight...

Maybe I need a good checklist of EXACTLY how to benefit to the max with vocal workouts every day and how to apply them into real songs..

If I can work out my vocal cords 100% efficiently every day for the next 2 weeks, I'm sure I'll be able to hit the note for longer...

I need a checklist though!

idk

@cgreen

Can you wait until tomorrow and I will post a demo of each of the songs after y vocal workout?

It is quite late to do it now so I'll have it up tomorrow evening!

I think I strained tonight unrealistically thinking I could hit it, just in advance, I'll tell you that I can hit the F sharp, but I get increasingly fatigued throughout the song and it's hard to not splat sometimes..

I'll have that demo(s) up tomorrow

ragnar

Nr. 1: Listen to cgreen, the man knows what he's talking about. A demo tomorrow will be fine.
Nr. 2: Ask the band to tune down a half step, so you "only" need to hit an F instead (just make sure there aren't any even trickier low notes).

Nr. 3: Get a Skype lesson with Ken if you can afford it asap, and by that I mean today rather than tomorrow (or as soon as Ken can squeeze you in). Ken is expensive so heck in your situation I would probably ask some of the veterans on the forum here to give me a cheaper lesson.

idk

@cgreen Here is the link to Black Chandelier, I had warmed up for an hour beforehand so this is what my voice is like at it's full potential in this song, when doing the workout, I can hit a G in chest voice but when singing songs there's a lot more consonants to account for! Especially the "pattern of notes" that Biffy use in this particular song!

http://picosong.com/ejEK/

idk

@cgreen

Now, Sounds Like Balloons link:

(I did this right before black chandelier so my voice was a bit stonger. Singing Biffy really wore my voice out fast)

http://picosong.com/ej8e

idk

@cgreen

Alright, I'll tell them I can't do it..

I'm glad I am honest in saying I know the demos sound horrible and I don't truly believe that it's actually good, I know it's not.

I just hope eventually I can belt out those high notes because my limited vocal range is restricting my musical life in every sense.

MY band can't cover half the songs we want to, I can't write ideal vocal lines for our songs because they'd be too out of my range and I constantly worry about how I'll sound..

I practice Volume One everyday for an hour in the hope that throughout 2014, my voice will grow tremendously. 

Without sugarcoating anything, if I'm practicing every day at ROUGHLY the same time and eventually moving through the volumes;

 Is there a rough estimate on how long it could take to be singing A notes (5th fret on high E string) with ease?

Irritating question I know but every other aspect of my musical life is 100%, just my vocals aren't up to scratch and I'm so tired of it...

highmtn

I can point out a few things that are simple and practical things about these songs and your voice.

This is not sugar-coat, it's about nuts and bolts.  The most difficult thing about this is the short time-frame you have to work in.

You need to de-emphasise your consonants.  Each consonant has the effect of closing down your open throat.  Your throat needs to remain open as much of the time (as in constantly) as possible. Lighten up on your consonants.

You are using some vowels on high notes that don't work well on high notes.  For example, on Black Chandelier, you should substitute more friendly vowel sounds.  Bl-AA  ksh-AA n  d-AH L-eh-AH.

Substitute your I as in eye to AH.  Change your i as in lift to eh.

You need a lot more support, especially when you go up. 

Your C# and D# need more support.  When you get to F# it's not supported much at all, and falls apart. Sing that F# from your gut, not your throat.  Push down with your innards.

On the other song, you hit the F# with more support and it works.  On this important song, you are not approaching it the same.

You are capable of singing the C#, D#, and F# with support, but you haven't yet mastered that in your technique to carry that with you from song to song.  Using consonants to push out notes is not the way to bark through a song.  It's the vowels that carry the song, and you need to focus on the vowels and lessen the consonants. 

You are out of breath in several places, and that is likely a matter of cord closure and support. 

You WILL be able to learn to master these techniques in a reasonable amount of time.

Managing to pull that much improvement into a critical situation in just a few days would be expecting a lot and putting yourself and the others under a lot of pressure. 

Would it be possible to do a dodge of the F# and sing an alternate note instead?  Would that really be the end of the world in this particular situation, since the real purpose of this specific audition is about the MUSICIANS passing the audition? 

Why put all that much pressure on anyone over one note? 

In a few months you'll be able to belt F#'s in your sleep!

 

Bob