how can I learn to sing real songs?

jarleynator

Hi guys!
I am doing the KTVA-dvds for like 5 months now and my connection between chest- and headvoice is kinda well trained now. Its still very fun for me to do the exercises from the the dvd but when I try to sing a real song it really sounds like I never did any singing lessons in my life before.
Im at stage 2 now and I just want to ask you if there is something coming in stage 3 which shows me how to sing a song or if there is anything I can to right now to improve my actual singing skills.

greetz from germany guys!

Jarleynator

highmtn

Jarleynator,

I hear your pain.  Sometimes the training just rubs off into your singing, and sometimes you have to inject the training into your songs.

Here's a way to incorporate your training into a song...

Pick one song that you like and isn't too far out of your comfort zone, range-wise.  Warm up on your exercises, especially the burbles, the tongue exercise, and then the lah, using the vowel modifications.  Take note and practice where you will cross over from chest to head and back.  Will you brige higher or lower?  What notes will you modify?  What vowels are on the high notes of the song?  What will the modification be on any particular note? 

Sing the song just on the LAH vowel.  Make sure you are using the techniques on the LAH as you sing the melody of the song.  Go over and over any hard parts of the song, still on the lah.  Compare the way your LAH is sounding on the melody as to how it sounds when you are doing a good job on the exercises.  Keep it bright. 

You should be able to bring more tone, and range extension into the song.

A song I do this on, for example, is "Hurt So Good".  I belt this one out, and it includes a lot of high G's that are about at the top of my present belting chest voice. I sing it a little more robust, with a higher placement than the original recording.  I also use a bit of distortion. It helps me to practice this song on the LAH to get comfy with the notes.  I then go back and sing it normally and find that it's easier to access the high G's with less effort.

Another technique to practice on the same song is to remove the consonants while singing the words.  Bring back in just enough consonant to have the minimum consonants needed to understand what you are saying.  This helps to see that singing a song should be more of a constant tone (like a LAH) that should be interrupted as little as possible by consonants.

This is a way to get started on real songs and bridge in your KTVA Training.  Once you begin to "feel" the relationship between "real" songs and technical exercises, you start to naturally use the techniques in your normal songs, more and more.  The techniques will gradually replace your old habits. 

Some people immediately see the improvements directly in their normal singing, but if you feel that you're not quite getting the benefits of the exercises in your songs, you need to purposefully bring the techniques into your singing.  The methods above may help you to do so.

Oh, and one more thing.  Don't get too far ahead of yourself just yet.  It's at stage three that you are introduced to Glottal Compression, which you will need to master and employ before you spend  a lot of time belting out high notes.  Five months is a good start, but give yourself time and pay attention to the rules to keep from damaging your voice. 

Good luck and good singing to you.

Bob

Kokonuht

Bob said pretty much it! 

Well... don't forget to know your song and put your soul and emotion into it as well

Ken Tamplin

Thank you Bob, this is excellent advice and excactly as I would have instructed him,

"Sing the song just on the LAH vowel. Make sure you are using the techniques on the LAH as you sing the melody of the song. Go over and over any hard parts of the song, still on the lah. Compare the way your LAH is sounding on the melody as to how it sounds when you are doing a good job on the exercises. Keep it bright.

You should be able to bring more tone, and range extension into the song.

A song I do this on, for example, is "Hurt So Good". I belt this one out, and it includes a lot of high G's that are about at the top of my present belting chest voice. I sing it a little more robust, with a higher placement than the original recording. I also use a bit of distortion. It helps me to practice this song on the LAH to get comfy with the notes. I then go back and sing it normally and find that it's easier to access the high G's with less effort.

Another technique to practice on the same song is to remove the consonants while singing the words. Bring back in just enough consonant to have the minimum consonants needed to understand what you are saying. This helps to see that singing a song should be more of a constant tone (like a LAH) that should be interrupted as little as possible by consonants."

highmtn

You're Welcome.  Glad to be of assistance. 

Bob

jarleynator

Thank you very much bob!

This will definitely help me a lot :-)

And thanks Ken for giving your opinion to bobs comment!!