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Metal!

bradical01bradical01 Member Posts: 4
in INTRODUCE YOURSELF
Hi everybody, my names Brad, I've been using KTVA for a couple of weeks now and wanted to come to the forum and see if anybody could point me in the right direction for where I want to go with it.

I've been singing for years and I'm happy to say that a lot of what I was doing is confirmed as the right way of doing things in the DVD's and a lot of the stuff is reaffirming my own ideas and mainly just going to help me get back to my best having not gigged for a couple of years.  So, the exercises on bridging head and chest voice, vibrato, pitch etc. is stuff I really figured out on my own, as well as some of the facets of diaphragmatic breathing and open throat, but these are areas I can improve on with practice.

Now, I was hoping someone might point me in the right direction to fast track me to the parts that are going to benefit me the most in this time sensitive situation I'm in.  I've got a gig on July 18th, I'm going to be singing Guns N Roses, Motley Crew, Myles Kennedy, AC/DC etc., and if I did a song, had a ten minute break, did a song, had a ten minute break and so on, I'd nail every song, every note, no problem.  However, the way I am right now, I'm going to start to struggle with the high register stuff after half an hour.  As I said, I can hit all the notes when fresh, my voice is solid, it's just maintaining that ability from start to finish and not having to drop the ending of Night Train by an octave.

So, should I concentrate on Diaphragmatic breathing, open throat and glottal compression or are there some exercises later in the course that I can do to help as well?

Cheers,

Brad
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Comments

  • highmtnhighmtn Administrator, Moderator, Enrolled, Pro, 3.0 Streaming Posts: 15,380
    You need to work your way through the course.  You will probably notice a number of subtle differences in the way you have been going about singing that are actually very important to do correctly.

    Moving too soon to more difficult and advanced techniques could involve skipping over some key elements.  One thing that you need to do for the challenging vocals you want to sing, is to develop more stamina, and that is not an 11-day proposition.  That has to take place through practice and growth. 

    There are techniques taught in volume three that will help you over time to reduce the wear and tear on your voice.  These techniques may seem very simple, but if you implement them properly, they will get you on the right track to vocal preservation. 

    That said, I don't recommend skipping ahead.  We're all tempted to do that, but in the end, when we skim and skip through, we don't get the full benefits of building the voice, brick by brick.  It's like erecting a house and then later realizing that we probably should have done a better job on the foundation.  We end up with a rickety house that should have been done right from the onset.  You can't very efficiently build the foundation after the roof is done. 

    Ken's program will build your voice into a rock-solid, lifetime, top-notch instrument if you follow the course.  There are reasons for the succession of how to proceed. 

    If the need is that great, you may want to seek private lessons with Ken.  There is no course available on the planet that will get you there any sooner or with anywhere near the results of KTVA. 

    You need to learn support, you need to understand and implement glottal compression, and you need to implement Open Throat.  Doing that all correctly in two weeks is rushing things and putting an unrealistic time frame on processes that involve growth and muscle memory.  

    KTVA is a very effective course.  But it IS a course, and that means that things take time to develop.  So there's no time like now to get started moving in the right direction.  From your description of needing a ten-minute break in-between songs, it sounds like you don't really know how to properly control and regulate your singing breath.  That may very well take some time to master. 

    I wish you the best success at your upcoming gig.  Please be very careful with your voice.  You're asking for a lot of change in a very short time period.  You can only accomplish what your voice is ready and able to do, given your starting point.  The singers whose songs you want to perform did not all learn their craft in 11 days. 

    If there is one piece of advice I can give you that will help you the most, it's Don't Over-Sing!

    All the Best, Brad!

    Bob   
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  • sspatricksspatrick Enrolled Posts: 1,278
    I know it's probably not what you want to hear but I agree with Bob. If you are having trouble with stamina that is a good sign that you are over singing. How do you fix it quickly? Stop over singing:). You have to change your approach or you will get the same results. I would try doing your exercises with less volume. Also maintain the volume throughout an exercise. If you feel like you have to push more volume stop, take a second and work at pulling your volume back. This may take awhile for your voice to get used to. For the type of material you are singing you will need to have developed your bridge area and have strengthened your head voice quite a bit. Again this takes time but will provide you greater freedom and power in the long run. All the best!
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  • bradical01bradical01 Member Posts: 4
    Cheers guys, over singing is something I think is hampering me, I think it's a general problem in metal with everyone turning up and the singer trying to be loud enough, it's just a pain when if you turn your mic up you can easily get feedback, but it's something we need to try and get right or at least improve. Open throat and glottal compression are things I could do pretty well two years ago when I could get through a 2 hour set no problem, though this new band has some harder songs hence buying the course, so yes they are the things I want to really want to get right as well as breath support like you said. After this gig coming up, I doubt I will be gigging again until November and the plan is to do it twice a day if my kids don't get in the way, so hopefully I will see a massive improvement by then and should be well into volume 3 I feel as like I said, I used to be able to do a lot of these techniques but with not gigging for two years I've forgotten it all. I'll let you know how I get on, on the 18th. Cheers guys
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  • highmtnhighmtn Administrator, Moderator, Enrolled, Pro, 3.0 Streaming Posts: 15,380

    Good Luck, Brad!

     

    Bob

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  • bradical01bradical01 Member Posts: 4
    Got through 2 hours of solid singing at practice last night, and I actually felt better at the end than I did at the start and was doing a loads of improv just because I felt I could do it easily.

    I made sure to hold back and not over sing and it definitely played a huge part in coming through the two hours.

    There's still plenty kinks to work out though, was getting the lack of oxygen head rush despite constantly thinking about my breath, and neck tension despite constantly thinking about remaining loose, and glottal compression I can do easily on the songs I know the most, so I guess it'll all just come with practice when it comes naturally and I don't have to think about it.

    So, I'll just have to get as much practice in before Saturday without overdoing it.

    Cheers!
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  • highmtnhighmtn Administrator, Moderator, Enrolled, Pro, 3.0 Streaming Posts: 15,380
    When you get better at cord closure and holding back the breath, your feelings of dizziness will go away. You will have more air than you need, and will have to use very little air.

    It all comes with time, practice, and experience. Good luck with your upcoming gigs.

    Bob
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  • bradical01bradical01 Member Posts: 4
    Cheers, Bob!

    Crushed the gig on Saturday, made sure not to over sing, warm up was perfect, had no trouble hitting any thing as long as I had my breath. Three areas where I let myself down, ran out of the breath on the last chorus of Foo Fighters - The Pretender and had to drop the 4th stanza an octave, Slash - Hard and fast I ran out of breath on the second chorus and had to drop that. The third chorus was fine because I had chance to recover during the guitar solo. The second chorus/outro of Guns N Roses - Night Train, same thing, running out of breath and having to drop an octave. It's belting it out in a high chest voice at pace where the problems seem to lie.

    For my first gig in 18 months I'm well impressed with myself, but definitely room for improvement and I think it largely centers on controlling my breath, and I'm sure generally just being fitter would help me in that regard as I'm 40lbs heavier than when I was last gigging. No plans for the next gig just yet though so plenty of time to work on it, hopefully I'll be 20lbs lighter and more versed in the Ken Tamplin way by then and I'll hit every last note there is.
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  • highmtnhighmtn Administrator, Moderator, Enrolled, Pro, 3.0 Streaming Posts: 15,380
    @bradical01,

    This was a good learning exercise for you, and if you keep up your workouts, you should be in much better shape by the time the next gig pops up on the horizon.

    You are correct that so much of the limitations you are facing right now are directly related to breath management. Learning which notes take how much breath, pressure, and relaxation is key to building the stamina and skill that will make these same tough choruses more like child's play to you eventually.

    Awesome that you did so well with your gig after such a long break!

    Bob
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