Vocal Demo + need feedback! -Beginner-

dk_

Hi guys,
I finally am posting a demo to receive much needed feedback from the community.
I also want to say Thank you to everyone here especially Bob for putting up with my never ending questions throughout the years.. haha
I hope this provides clarity on my voice and problems to correct my errors...

I am still on CD 1 for the past 5 months mainly due to not having rest of the CDs.
Do you guys think it is now time to move on to CD 2?
Also my annoying problem I hear is the tone of my voice never sounds "full" in the higher notes (kind of like my tone is too high or like a little kid).. I will provide an example and a professional live example to compare. Would I learn all this throughout CD 2 and CD 3?
I hope to keep growing and one day to become a very versatile in my range and reach a professional level of tone and singing.
Does any of the CDs cover extending range going lower in chest voice as well?
Any kind feedback would be amazing thank you!!
I know I need a lot of work still...


1:20 - end of chorus (Could only find a reaction video..)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB9G4KUu49E

Here's mine (just at a karaoke... I can't really sing this loud at my home which sucks)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUNvkqZnSFQ

Thanks again everyone!

highmtn

@dk_

This sounds really good, after what you said in your post. There is really too much echo on it to hear your voice clearly, but you are hitting the notes. You need to work on your support, because you are blasting the high notes, and that's not very healthy for your voice.

You should move on to Volume 2 and 3 because they will continue to develop your voice. There is more to KTVA than CD's however. The lessons in the DVD's or video downloads give you instructions on how to safely use your voice. I don't think you can get individual volumes anymore. It's all being sold as a bundle now, if I'm not mistaken.

You need the information in the videos as well as the CD workouts. The "little kid" voice is not a problem. You DO need to shed the weight from the voice as you go up to high notes like the E5 and F5's in the demo.

You just need to learn how to more properly sing those notes. Most of that is covered in Volume 3... but you need the info from Volume 2 first.

Going lower isn't really covered in Volumes 2 or 3, but I found that as I continued to work my voice, it got better down low as well as up high. Most of that was a matter of getting more control on my support, even for the lowest notes. Without good support, low notes will "wobble" a lot and pitch is harder to hold on to.

Bob

dk_

Thanks for the feedback!

I think support is one my biggest issues. Is it normal to feel really "full" when using support and breathing correctly? It sometimes gets really hard to control when I feel so full with air throughout my whole stomach area. It's uncomfortable sometimes.
When you say I am blasting it. Basically I am over singing it in terms of volume and forced?
I can see that too and I am assuming this goes back to the idea of support?
However when I sing very softly, is it normal for me to flip to a lower headvoice to achieve a soft tone?
Or should I still try to reach higher in chest at a soft volume

It just sometimes confuses me when I try to use support through diaphragmatic breathing as I still feel the strain on high notes and it still sounds very weightless as you can tell the difference in the videos.
The masked singer sounds very "natural" and "rests on the note instead of reaching" in the chorus while I sound like I'm kinda shouting it.
I'll definitely invest in the other two dvds as well.

I also have a few questions about his voice and performing live microphones..
This is the same masked singer below.
What do you think about his technique?
Is the type of distortion he's doing safe? If so, what is he doing? I'm guessing its covered in DVD 3?
How does his mic sound so perfect? You can hear his lower volume singing as perfectly as his loud belting.
His loud singing doesn't even sound loud. It's like perfect volume and no reverb.
What's with his tone? It sounds very different from normal singing. It's almost as if his vowels and tone is like opera style.
I'm more surprised how he can do that while sitting down and relaxing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vr1g7wuKIoQ

highmtn

Hi, dk_,

Don't overtank on air. It's OK to practice really expanding around the waist, all the way around, just to get the sensation of that all-around expansion... but don't overdo it as a regular thing. Do all things in moderation, and avoid overdoing good practices.

Support isn't about applying more air to the throat. It's about holding back the air and releasing it in a very controlled, measured, regulated way. If anything, support reduces the amount of air used. But you DO compress the air somewhat. But again, not TOO much. Everything in moderation, using just enough of this and just enough of that.

When you add salt to your dinner, you don't pour the whole container of salt on your meal. When you sing, you don't overfill your lungs or take an overly huge belly breath. You take just enough to get it right. You learn from experience. If your experience is that you are feeling uncomfortable taking huge belly breaths, try reducing that amount until it feels just right instead of taking so much that it's uncomfortable.

You will find that "just right" volume for those notes you are now blasting to be somewhere in-between. Not blasting, but also not so weak that you can't sustain the note in chest voice. It will take a little bit of compression, but not too much. It will take some suppression, in the form of holding back the air. That's how we sing clear high notes without blowing out our vocal cords. By regulating and mitigating the air flow. By supporting the outflow of the singing breath.

Remember, you're going to need to push down on the diaphragm, too, in order to hold back the tendency of the air to rush out. You won't be able to do that if your abdominal area is overinflated.

The singer's technique is pretty good, although some of the distortions he is using are not so safe. The False Vocal Folds rattle he is using can be very bad for the voice. You can get away with it to some degree, but I don't like to do it. It feels uncomfortable to me, and makes my voice feel scratchy.

When you get your support and your compression working well for you, there will be a tendency for the sound to be a lot more even and controlled. You won't really yell anything. You'll sing, and when you go for higher notes, you'll just push down more on the diaphragm, and the notes will tend to be more on one level of volume, as if you had a "shock absorber" built-in to your voice.

He may be sitting down and relaxing, but he's controlling his support and that makes a world of difference on how consistent his singing is going to sound.

Bob

dk_

This idea of holding back air is leaving me half confused.
Will this be touched on as I go through the DVDs and workouts?

Half confused meaning I understand it but it still isn't "clicking" to me.
So holding back is a different concept as compared to just compressing the note and your chords?

When hitting high notes or belting, the best way is to hold back the air and compress your note so it doesn't flip to head am I right?
But the concept of air pressure isn't it what makes the vocal and note powerful?

highmtn

@dk_

You are asking a lot of questions that are covered in the course and are also covered in the students sections of the KTVA forums.

You are listed as "Member" which means you are only seeing the general public areas of the KTVA forums.

You need to get your forums status upgraded to a student level so that you can see the vast amount of information in the forums that will help you with your questions.

To do that, copy and paste a copy of your KTVA purchase receipt into an email to ktvaforums@gmail.com

Give your forums username and ask for a forums upgrade.

The student areas are more appropriate for going into detailed questions about specific KTVA techniques. If you don't have the KTVA program, you are going to need it, because it explains all of this. We can help you in the students areas if you don't understand parts of it.

There is a lot of information in the student areas of the KTVA forums. As a KTVA student, you need to take advantage of that resource.

All the Best!

Bob