Trying not to disturb my family is crippling my support/resonance
MichaelMagnus
Volume 1 Posts: 14
My house has very little in the way of soundproofing, and as such, there's nowhere I can go to practice where they won't hear me at least a little bit. So I practice really quietly in the basement.
It's very rare that I'm home alone, but on those few occasions, I have (what I think) is really great, powerful support. I think I have a really big voice. When I actually try to, I can project and fill the room effortlessly. I can't bring myself to sing like that when my family is home.
This isn't a stage fright thing. I'm fine with performing. When you perform, you're displaying the results of your hard work. But that hard work is pretty ugly sounding, and that constantly weighs over my practices and handicaps my progress. When I try to sing 'fully' or 'belt' in practice, I just end up singing through my nose because I'm subconsciously trying to muffle myself. That's not a good habit to get into.
So, does anyone have any suggestions for soundproofing, finding other places to practice, or convincing myself to stop caring?
It's very rare that I'm home alone, but on those few occasions, I have (what I think) is really great, powerful support. I think I have a really big voice. When I actually try to, I can project and fill the room effortlessly. I can't bring myself to sing like that when my family is home.
This isn't a stage fright thing. I'm fine with performing. When you perform, you're displaying the results of your hard work. But that hard work is pretty ugly sounding, and that constantly weighs over my practices and handicaps my progress. When I try to sing 'fully' or 'belt' in practice, I just end up singing through my nose because I'm subconsciously trying to muffle myself. That's not a good habit to get into.
So, does anyone have any suggestions for soundproofing, finding other places to practice, or convincing myself to stop caring?
Comments
Ken tells a story of being told to be quiet when trying to warm up in hotel rooms when he was on tour.
He learned that singing into a pillow was an alternative to getting kicked out of his room and he learned to hear his own voice within his head while doing that.
A possible alternative to singing directly into a pillow might be to build a partial enclosure that you could fold up and put away in your basement when you finish practicing. I would take a couple of sheets of plywood and connect them with hinges. Then take several large, fluffy pillows and hang them on the corner you have built. You might have another piece of plywood to set on top across the corner.
Velcro it into position. Another material you might use would be egg-crate mattress foam. You can get a full-size or queen-size chunk for a relatively small amount of money.
If you could make an entire enclosed booth, that would be even more sound-reducing, but standing, singing into an insulated corner might help to bring the sound down a few decibels for the sake of others in the house or apartment.
If the booth or corner is too much to do, then think about sound-absorbing materials or pillows that you could direct your voice into.
Cars with the windows rolled up make very good, private sound booths, if you are parked somewhere that nobody will distract you, like a parking lot at a huge mall or department store. The downside of that is that you are much better off standing up rather than seated in a car. Your support needs to be worked out in a standing position, if at all possible. Don't think you are getting in the practice you need by driving and singing. You NEED to do your workouts paying full attention to your voice and your singing. Multitasking by singing while commuting is better than not singing at all, but you need time where you give your FULL attention to your lessons.
The distraction of driving while singing takes away from the attention your voice needs and deserves, not to mention that your Driving NEEDS your FULL ATTENTION, for safety's sake!
A rehearsal space is something we all have to work out. It could be in a school room after hours, in an auditorium on days it isn't used, a church on weekdays or after the service...
We have to take the time to work through all of our vocal workouts and lessons. It takes focus, time, and attention.
Bob
I totally understand this problem.
In the apartment I live in now, I can't come close to full power.
This will most likely change when I move in the summer. I will have a room dedicated to music that I can soundproof a bit.
In the meantime, I am relegated to practicing in my car... which is of course comes with its own drawbacks.
As to the jaw, a large, fluffy pillow can accommodate just about any jaw opening.
Perhaps the singing filter company should include a KTVA model, with expanded sizing.
I have a respirator that is intended for use when spray-painting that I got up and just tried to use for this purpose. It does attenuate the sound by several decibels. It's a rubber mask with straps to hold it on the head. It has inlet valves and outlet valves to force inhalation through filters, and allows exhalation through an outlet valve. I was able to fully open my jaw with it on, although it isn't quite the same as not having it on at all, due to the fact that it seals around my face. With HEPA filters installed on the respirator, it gives only purified air into the mask (which the singing mask only allows air when you remove it) and the outgoing sound is reduced by several dB. You could probably easily fit further muffling material lining the inside of the mask and possibly on the outlet as well (like a gas-mask hose with a muffler). It's certainly not ideal, and there are safety cautions that should be observed when using any respirator (Read the Directions Fully, use at your own risk! ), but this thread has got me thinking outside of the box, literally. This whole concept of a mask instead of a box to put your head inside, is more portable and practical in many situations. Don't let anyone video you singing with a mask on and put it on YouTube, though, or you may never live it down!
Bob
@ragnar,
Is the "Belt Box" an isolation booth? That might end up being better than any strap-on mask arrangement.
Certainly wearing a mask changes the dynamics of singing. The sound is different, and you have this THING on your face... not too pleasant. Being the Man in the BOX isn't ideal, either, but it would probably be pretty good for making demo recordings, which a mask would not. I think a small booth with good air flow (maybe by an exhaust fan), and possibly some auralex foam panels on the inside would be good.
Bob
This one is from vocalbooth.com probably very expensive, but it may give you some ideas.
This is from voiceoveressentials.com but does not keep the sound enclosed
This is a do-it-yourself version, made in a plastic storage tub
Perhaps a carton that refrigerators ship in could be ventilated, lined with foam, lighted, and a flap-door cut into it. Put it in the garage and wail away. Fold and put away when not in use.
Some folks drive to an empty parking lot and just sing in a car or van with the windows closed. That's not ideal because you want to stand upright for the sake of your support.
Google "vocal isolation booth" on an image search, and you'll see plenty of them. They want over a thousand dollars for one that doesn't look like much more than a fancy refrigerator box.
I think somebody could build something very similar to this for a lot less money, using mostly free materials. You might have to buy a roll of duct tape and a couple of sheets of Plexiglas.
Bob