Hello from Istanbul/Turkey
Ayda
2.0 ENROLLED Posts: 6
Hello fellow singers,
I'm Ayda, hailing from Istanbul, Turkey
I was replying to a member earlier today and thought oh well why don't I expand this reply and just go on introduce myself to this lovely crowd
I have been singing for as long as I can remember. Growing up, there was always music in the background ranging from the classics like Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Beethoven to the popular music of the early 80s (Olivia Newton John, Michael Jackson, Madonna) thanks to my parents' exquisite record collection. I was told that as a kid, they constantly found me watching the record player as if I was hypnotized, listening to what was playing intently and trying to make sense of this "wonder" I was hearing. I gave my first concert to my dad around the age of 4 and he later told me that he was baffled by my ability to "imitate" the singer I sang along to perfectly
Singing is my passion for as long as I can remember - it's not a hobby, not a playful pastime but a necessity. I just can't live without it.
When it comes to my "idols", they are (the one and only) Barbra Streisand, Lea Salonga, Sharon den Adel (of Within Temptation), Lara Fabian, Lisa Fischer, Wendy Moten & the amazing Eva Cassidy. As for the somewhat younger generation, well, I love Glannis Grace, Morisette Amon, Sasha Allen, Tori Kelly, Kelly Clarkson and of course the fantastic @Alyona Yarushina.
When I was a teenager I had this blooming voice full of potential but because I've always lived in apartments and sung in various choirs / vocal ensembles ever since primary school, the freedom of singing has gradually become an issue for me. I couldn't sing at home freely because either neighbors started banging on the walls whenever I hit a big note or my parents rushed into my room to hush me. In the choir (and later in the vocal ensembles I sang with), I was continuously warned to control my volume so as to blend in with other voices and harmonize.
Well, guess what!? I completely lost my belting voice and ended up with a falsetto / head voice that utterly consumed my belting range (remember what Ken says about the head voice causing atrophy of chest voice if the latter is not used as much in Vol 1? Well, hi, that's me ). The fear of banging on the bedroom door / wall or the fear of not being in the same volume or intensity with other choir members first drowned my self-confidence about my upper chest voice and then my ability to sing.
5 years ago, I took a leap of faith and stepped into the spotlight as a solo singer. I felt ready, passionate and a little-too-eager to do this. Anyhow, the big night finally arrived. I was introduced to the stage by drummer, there was roaring applause. I took a deep breath and stepped on to the stage. There I was, facing a room of about 100 people some of whom had listened to me back in the day when I had a powerful, soaring voice. The band started playing and I opened my mouth to sing --- However, this time all that came out through my lips was an extremely unstable voice that yearned to flip to falsetto at every opportunity. I was not horrible or out of tune alright but it was not my night at all! That woman singing on the stage, that voice -- I didn't know her, I didn't know that voice, I didn't know what I was going to do. The gig came to an end, we smiled, took pictures, those in the audience (all friends, family and acquaintances) congratulated us. Then I went home and cried my eyes out until the morning
Have I given up on my dream? Absolutely not but throughout these last 5 years, I've developed a "cheat" around this weakness, this atrophy of belting register and tendency of flipping to falsetto / head voice too early. I've started adding too much vocal color to my singing. Breathy on one line, compressed on another, chesty on the next, then heady etc. You can find an example of what I'm talking about below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKGEdgfMOYA
I've become somewhat good at this and it might sound pleasant to the ears but to me, this is not singing. This is not me. This is not having a reliable, solid technique that I have control over because, well, I don't. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't especially when I need resonance as I'm singing over a full band. All in all, what I currently have is not vocal freedom at all. I'm not the master bu the slave of my voice.
So here I am at Volume 1, back at zero. Starting all over. Keeping all my fears, maybes and frustrations at the door. I watch Volume 1 videos over and over again and going through the forum posts to get a sense of proper posture, breathing and the "La-ah".
Thanks for reading up to this point and much love to you all.
See you around,
A.
I'm Ayda, hailing from Istanbul, Turkey
I was replying to a member earlier today and thought oh well why don't I expand this reply and just go on introduce myself to this lovely crowd
I have been singing for as long as I can remember. Growing up, there was always music in the background ranging from the classics like Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Beethoven to the popular music of the early 80s (Olivia Newton John, Michael Jackson, Madonna) thanks to my parents' exquisite record collection. I was told that as a kid, they constantly found me watching the record player as if I was hypnotized, listening to what was playing intently and trying to make sense of this "wonder" I was hearing. I gave my first concert to my dad around the age of 4 and he later told me that he was baffled by my ability to "imitate" the singer I sang along to perfectly
Singing is my passion for as long as I can remember - it's not a hobby, not a playful pastime but a necessity. I just can't live without it. When it comes to my "idols", they are (the one and only) Barbra Streisand, Lea Salonga, Sharon den Adel (of Within Temptation), Lara Fabian, Lisa Fischer, Wendy Moten & the amazing Eva Cassidy. As for the somewhat younger generation, well, I love Glannis Grace, Morisette Amon, Sasha Allen, Tori Kelly, Kelly Clarkson and of course the fantastic @Alyona Yarushina.
When I was a teenager I had this blooming voice full of potential but because I've always lived in apartments and sung in various choirs / vocal ensembles ever since primary school, the freedom of singing has gradually become an issue for me. I couldn't sing at home freely because either neighbors started banging on the walls whenever I hit a big note or my parents rushed into my room to hush me. In the choir (and later in the vocal ensembles I sang with), I was continuously warned to control my volume so as to blend in with other voices and harmonize.
Well, guess what!? I completely lost my belting voice and ended up with a falsetto / head voice that utterly consumed my belting range (remember what Ken says about the head voice causing atrophy of chest voice if the latter is not used as much in Vol 1? Well, hi, that's me
). The fear of banging on the bedroom door / wall or the fear of not being in the same volume or intensity with other choir members first drowned my self-confidence about my upper chest voice and then my ability to sing.5 years ago, I took a leap of faith and stepped into the spotlight as a solo singer. I felt ready, passionate and a little-too-eager to do this. Anyhow, the big night finally arrived. I was introduced to the stage by drummer, there was roaring applause. I took a deep breath and stepped on to the stage. There I was, facing a room of about 100 people some of whom had listened to me back in the day when I had a powerful, soaring voice. The band started playing and I opened my mouth to sing --- However, this time all that came out through my lips was an extremely unstable voice that yearned to flip to falsetto at every opportunity. I was not horrible or out of tune alright but it was not my night at all! That woman singing on the stage, that voice -- I didn't know her, I didn't know that voice, I didn't know what I was going to do. The gig came to an end, we smiled, took pictures, those in the audience (all friends, family and acquaintances) congratulated us. Then I went home and cried my eyes out until the morning
Have I given up on my dream? Absolutely not but throughout these last 5 years, I've developed a "cheat" around this weakness, this atrophy of belting register and tendency of flipping to falsetto / head voice too early. I've started adding too much vocal color to my singing. Breathy on one line, compressed on another, chesty on the next, then heady etc. You can find an example of what I'm talking about below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKGEdgfMOYAI've become somewhat good at this and it might sound pleasant to the ears but to me, this is not singing. This is not me. This is not having a reliable, solid technique that I have control over because, well, I don't. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't especially when I need resonance as I'm singing over a full band. All in all, what I currently have is not vocal freedom at all. I'm not the master bu the slave of my voice.
So here I am at Volume 1, back at zero. Starting all over. Keeping all my fears, maybes and frustrations at the door. I watch Volume 1 videos over and over again and going through the forum posts to get a sense of proper posture, breathing and the "La-ah".
Thanks for reading up to this point and much love to you all.
See you around,
A.
Comments
It takes allot of courage and conviction to do what you are doing. May the wind ever fill your sails!
Its funny you posted that song, as earlier this year I performed this in a Somewhere Over the Rainbow/Wonderful World medley... Mine was funny because it started off fairly conservative, then inexplicably bloomed into Bon Jovi (in his prime) lol
Anyway, take your time with the course and really extract all you can from it. I am sure you'll exceed what you could do previously.
Cheers,
Phillip
Thanks a lot for your response. The support and motivation you sent my way really means a lot
Haha I can’t even begin to imagine how that medley turned out in the end but by the sound of it, you had a blast. And I guess that’s all that matters in the end - to be able to feel that euphoria once you complete a song. Ahhh, I wouldn’t trade that feeling for anything
Yup - taking my time big time. Keep reminding myself to take baby steps hehe. Looks like I’ll be staying at Volume I for a while.
Thanks a lot again for the positive energy
See you around.
Love,
A.
It all really depends on the level you are at when you start.
3-6 is the typical learning curve.