Singing Tips for IF-SRGMP contestants - Page 4

Originally posted by: Vijey Umang

>>>What is a technique to

a. produce sound from bottom of the stomach i.e. to sing powerfully !

please tell the exercise / technique for above in most simple & short words !

No Vijey there is no such technical exercise here. let me tell u what i had heard from Pt Bhimsenji once. i had heard him singing thus so had asked him what that exactly is and how he does it. his simple reply was it is a sort of music sadhna. it is something u cannot be taught thru written material. this will need a guru and lots and lots of riyaaz. U will need a guru who knows the perfect methods (something resembling yoga) to get this done.

For rest of ur queries i will post an article after this post. read it and it will giv u more insight into ur questions.

Expanding Vocal Range

By Jeannie Deva

In teaching thousands of singers around the world, I have never met one who did not have more potential range than they knew and were using. Sometimes factors such as smoking cigarettes or pot, heavy drug or alcohol use, etc., can limit range expansion. However, in the absence of these inhibitors, an increase of range can be achieved with knowledge, understanding, and the right exercises. With that in mind, let's explore what you need to do to expand your vocal range.

HOW THE VOICE WORKS
Usually when you refer to "my voice" you're thinking of the way you sound rather than the physical parts of your instrument. It's important to know that the way you sound and the size of your range is the result of small natural muscle movements inside your body. Of particular interest are the muscles in your throat, back of mouth and larynx (voice box). The better conditioned and limber these muscles are and the less you interfere with their natural movements, the better you sound.

The sounds of your voice are varying degrees of vibrations which emanate from the vocal folds (yes, folds, vocal cords is not the right name). Your vocal folds are located in the front of the throat just behind the Adam's Apple. They lie horizontally across the inside of your breathing tube. In order for your vocal folds to produce different pitches for you, they must vibrate at different speeds.

BREATHING VERSUS VOCAL SOUND
For breathing, the folds are relaxed open and air passes freely between them. To demonstrate, put your feet flat on the floor. Put them together side by side. Now keep your toes together and open your heels. You'll see a wedge-like space between them. This is somewhat how your vocal folds are positioned during breathing. Your toes together represent your Adam's apple. Looking down at your feet is like looking down through your head and throat and seeing the tops of your vocal folds inside your larynx.

Now keep your toes together and close your heels. Your feet should be touching side by side. For singing or speaking, the back ends (your heels) automatically close and the rims of the folds lie next to each other. This is so the air can make them vibrate. The air stream must come under them, support their particular position, and stimulate their vibration. For different pitches, the folds stretch and thin. Different lengths of the folds vibrate appropriately. This is similar to how you would fret a string on a guitar, shortening it, in order to make different pitches.

The muscles of the vocal folds are able to do this automatically, as long as they are conditioned properly and nothing hinders them, such as too forceful an air stream or throat muscle tension. But who wants to have to think about breathing while singing!? The best breath support would be one which automatically provided just the right amount of air for each pitch you sing without causing tension. This type of breath support is an integral part of The Deva Method.

FIVE PRIMARY CAUSES OF THROAT MUSCLE TENSION
Here they are:
1) Lack of adequate vocal warm-up
2) Air over-blow
3) Over articulation (emphasizing mouth, lip movements when singing or talking)
4) Using force rather than resonance for volume
5) Trying to compensate for under-developed vocal muscles

1) Lack of Adequate Vocal Warm-Up - To understand why vocal warm-up is important, let's take a look at certain realities of muscles. The more active your muscles are, the more blood flow they need to supply oxygen and nutrients. As well, the muscle tissues need to have elasticity, which is, in part, furnished by having a certain fluid level. In other words, they need to be hydrated. If you were an athlete or dancer and attempted your workout or performance without preparing your muscles, you would overexert your body and suffer the consequences.

Gentle stretching of the muscles increases the fluid, blood and oxygen into the muscles. Once stretched, the muscles are awake and ready to "deliver the goods" without stress or tension. Just as an athlete would not expect to perform without a warm-up, neither should you. It is so much easier to sing after a correct warm-up. If you've never experienced this, you'll be surprised once you try it. As well, tonal qualities automatically get better, as does ease of range.

Eliminating Register Break

Historically, the transition between what is called chest and head voice has preoccupied many singers and voice coaches alike while consuming countless hours of lessons. Often singers despair about having a "connected" head and chest voice and are resigned to using only a lower or higher register when singing. Certainly it can seem frustrating, complicated and often perplexing when there is apparently no remedy in sight.

How about a fresh approach?

What if there really was no such thing as "head" or "chest voice"? What if, for the moment, you abandon any memory of having a break or several weak transitional notes between your lower and higher registers and just consider your range to be one long expanse of notes? OK, so a few of these notes may not be as full as you'd like. Let's call them tonally challenged with the capacity to be rehabilitated. Get the idea of your voice as one long continuous expanse of notes with no sections.

One thing you might find useful is to know that the higher you sing the less air your vocal folds need for their vibration. If you PUSH out air thinking you need to "hit" the note, you will over-blow the vibration and precipitate your own register break.

Now, what if there were exercises you could do that would get all of these notes in perfect balance?

Here is what you need to do to eliminate register break:

1. Learn how to achieve natural breath support so that you don't have to think about breathing; yet, the air stream would automatically be the perfect amount to vibrate your vocal folds for each pitch - not more - not less.

2. This would then relieve tension in your throat, eliminating the primary cause of register break and the subsequent illusion that there are such things as head and chest voice.

3. Next you would practice certain exercises designed to make all the subtle vibrational transitions of you voice smoothly and harmoniously with each other.

The Result: No more register break and much of your attention previously stuck on your body, now free for you to direct as you wish upon your audience and a more passionate performance!

Can you use it and not lose it?

As you may know from experience, powerful singing is a style that seems plagued by its own punishment - strain, hoarseness, laryngitis, throat discomfort, loss of upper range, or a frequent need to "clear your throat." Severe cases may result in nodes (calluses on the inner rims of vocal folds) or polyps (blisters on the tops or undersides of the vocal folds), which are painful and may restrict your singing. Metal and Rock singers often have the attitude that training will make them sound too "pretty." So not knowing what else to do, they bash and trash their voice resulting in canceled gigs, recording sessions or whole tours.

Does singing powerfully automatically mean that you'll wreck your voice? The good news is that it's not what sounds you make, but how you make them that will save your voice! Through over 40 years of my own vocal performance, and over 30 years of vocal research and coaching others, I've found there are techniques that allow you to sing any style you want and without the bad effects.

Vocal Blow-Out

Vocal blow-out stems from both external and internal conditions. The main external conditions are: late hours, insufficient rest, bad nutrition, alcohol, drugs, smoky clubs, PA and monitor problems, incorrect microphone design for your voice, and competing with band volume (sigh). The key factor, however, is internal: improper use of your vocal instrument when singing powerfully. To scope this out and get a handle on it, an understanding of your instrument is necessary.

Vocal Basics

Vocal sound, as you may already know, is the result of the vibration of your vocal folds (often called "vocal cords" but they're not cords; they're folds and that's their actual name). The inside of your throat has two vertical tubes; one positioned in front of the other. The tube in front is for air (trachea), while the one for swallowing food (esophagus) runs behind it, more in the center of your throat. Your two vocal folds are positioned just behind your Adam's apple and lie horizontally across the inside of your trachea. They are coated with mucous membrane and come equipped with their own tuning pegs, which are connected to the back ends of the folds.

The folds remain open during regular breathing. But for every sound you make, their "tuning pegs" automatically pivot and close the folds so they are lying rim to rim next to each other. With each sound you decide to make, the muscles of the folds prepare and adjust by stretching, thinning and shortening the length of the rim that will vibrate. Higher pitches require: less air, the folds to stretch, thin out, and a shorter length of them to vibrate. For low notes, the reverse is true. The principle involved is similar to fretting the strings on a guitar – a shorter length and thinner string gives faster vibrations = higher pitches, a fatter string and longer length gives slower vibrations = lower pitches.

Examining the Problem

To produce vocal sound, air is released from your lungs and vibrates your stretched and closed vocal folds. If you push too much air up against and through the folds, too much pressure is created. The muscles of your folds will tighten, your throat muscles tense, and your problems begin. Many singers unconsciously associate tension with big emotion and hard singing. For your sound to be big, just the opposite is needed. The louder and harder your sound, the more resonance is needed. If your throat and tongue tighten or your mouth closes, you shut down your acoustic chamber and there goes the resonance. The stress created by the push of excess air pressure and muscle tension can cause an irritation and swelling of your folds. The result is usually: hoarseness, power loss, range shrinkage, and other difficulties, including a strained and off pitch-voice. I work with several techniques that permit powerful singing while eliminating the risk of vocal blow-out. While all the techniques aren't possible to fully detail in this short article, you'll find it helpful to apply the following.

Self Test

Try saying the word "how." Put extra emphasis on the "H" as you do so. Now sing the word in the same way. Notice how emphasizing the "H" makes your throat feel and your voice sound. Sing the word again, and this time, as you sustain the tone, form the "W." Decide if you like this outcome. Now try singing it with minimal air on the "H" and instead, emphasizing the "O" (which will sound more like an "Ah" when you sing it). Notice the result. This should feel and sound better.

Vowel sounds result from the vibration of your vocal folds. Consonants are created with an exhaled air stream and are formed by your mouth. If you emphasize consonants when you sing, it will push out too much air and tense the muscles in your throat and mouth. This makes it difficult for your voice to work well and you may find yourself tightening throat and tongue muscles in an effort to hit the note. This stress and strain will choke off your sound killing resonance, cause you to go off pitch or miss the note entirely, run into register break and at the very least will result in vocal fatigue. The problem usually magnifies as you sing higher and louder. Vowels, worked with correctly, will relax the acoustic chamber of your throat and mouth and increase your volume through resonance. Consonants should not be emphasized when you sing. Let the vowels take the spotlight.

Putting this to Use

Go through a song you find challenging, as follows:
1) First sing the melody of the song through using the vowel "Ah." Pronounce it naturally, and focus on singing the same pronunciation for each pitch. With the "Ah," sing the melody very smoothly, note to note.
2) Now sing the song through using the lyrics and note any changes.
3) Next, talk through the lyrics and notice the sound of each vowel.
Maintaining this awareness, sing the song. Be aware that the pronunciation of many vowels, when sung, is often different than the spelling. (eg. "I" is often pronounced more like "Ah." "Say" uses more of an "Eh" than an "A" sound.)
4) If you run into any trouble spots, chances are you're pushing and closing your mouth on the consonants that begin or end the word, while simultaneously singing the vowel.
5) Sing that word or phrase again, focusing on the vowel and letting the consonant(s) take a secondary role.
6) On any melody note that you sustain, such as at the end of a phrase, notice; are you closing your mouth prematurely simultaneously ending the word, or are you letting the vowel sound sustain? Try it both ways and decide which you like better.

Practicing with this new awareness may at first take some extra thought. But it soon becomes second nature, while your sound is enhanced and singing the way you want becomes easier!

Effective Lead Vocals

What makes one singer's voice "really do it to you" while another's leaves you feeling ho-hum? Is it just that some have it and some don't - Some indescribable and mysterious achievement of luck and lineage? As a lead singer you need the correct focus and adequate technique to comfortably and predictably create the sounds most appropriate to the musical style and emotions of each song you sing. During my many years of teaching thousands of contemporary vocalists, I've found that basic vocal skills can be developed, achieving a higher level of expertise by anyone wanting to improve their vocal performance.

Getting Started

Without developing any further technical vocal competence, you can do one thing that will automatically help you sound good (or at least better). Select a key for the song that will allow you to sing comfortably all the pitches in the melody. If you have enough range to present you with several choices, select a key that is appropriate for your range as well as for the mood of the song. The Blues usually sound better sung low or mid-range while many rock tunes pack a punch and cut through the band's volume more easily when sung higher.

1,2,3,4...Now?

Have you ever been uncertain when and on what pitch to start singing? All the other work you do on your voice and song can be blown if preparation for entrance is overlooked. Listen to what's happening musically just before your entrance. Choose an instrument or particular melodic line in the instrumentation that will give you your starting pitch. Count the beats and figure out how many there are before the lyrics begin. Practice your entrances using this information until you no longer need to think about it. In this way you can sing with confidence rather than standing on stage absorbed in worrying, while the audience wonders what you're doing up there.

Making the Song Your Own

It's got to be your song when you sing it. Getting across the emotion of the song is what gives the song its punch. I once heard someone sing a simple, quiet song like it was a big tear-jerker. She used little "catches" in her voice to show just how much "feeling" she had. It was inappropriate for the song and created an undesirable effect on those listening. The most effective vocals are ones that are emotionally believable to the audience. Your voice is sensitive to your emotions and thoughts. The meaning you give a song will automatically influence the integrity of your sound and your impact on the audience. Take the lyrics of a song. Look over the words to each verse. What's the story of the song? By singing it, what do you want to say? It's not always some deep significant message, but if you don't understand what you're saying, your audience won't either. Speaking, then singing the words aloud, can help you find your own interpretation.

Dynamics or Din

Contouring your song with phrasing and volume while sounding natural is essential in holding the interest of your audience. Once you've developed your own interpretation of the song, use the following guidelines. To achieve an emotional build-up, you don't always have to increase your volume. Often, an ascending pitch or melodic phrase builds emotion. You can draw back your volume at these times and create even more intensity. Use pauses to breathe or to place greater emphasis on a key word. Ensure that your pauses stem from an understanding of what you're saying and are natural rather than mechanical or choppy. Incorrect phrasing can obscure the meaning of your lyrics.

Giving your words equal stress is monotonous. In every sentence there are key words that carry the meaning. The others are connective or supportive which, if stressed, obscure the overall meaning. For example, if you spoke this sentence stressing the word "the," it wouldn't make sense. Place your emphasis on the words that will create the greatest expression and meaning. You can emphasize a word by increasing its volume, holding it longer than the other words in the phrase, adding texture to the vowel such as a growl or rasp, or using vocal embellishments on one or more syllables of a word. For examples of these techniques, listen to Robert Plant, Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle or Creed. When applying these principles, keep in mind the saying: "Less is more." Vocal acrobatics are technically impressive but will only communicate when done tastefully, in context and spring from your emotions rather than merely an effort to impress.

Originally posted by: Vijey Umang

Hello to all ...

I posted a question on style of singing ! Punjiniji did answer me to some extent !

< TOPIC - Needed some tips on style of singing >

Points made were good ! Thanks for it but after so ,the post is totally ignored.

So I had to jump in here !

So far discussion in this post is very detailed and technical ! Replies by Adi are also gr8 !

But problem on my side is that I quickly fuse up when I see a looooong Article !

The level of discussion you guys are having is really admirable👏👏!

I would be pleased if you can find answers to my questions from A2Z Singing post or from any good source !

So what I ask is a favor from punjiniji & Adi & other knowledgeble people here !

>>>What is a technique to

a. produce sound from bottom of the stomach i.e. to sing powerfully !

please tell the exercise / technique for above in most simple & short words !

b. Fine tune/Expand range of voice

>>>What is a tone/quality of a singer's voice ?

We hear it from almost all judges in competetions about a tone or quality of voice , What actually it means !!

How can we beautify the same !

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Thanks all ! Have a nice day !

Originally posted by: Vijey Umang

Thanks a lot Barnali ji & punjini ji !

I conclude following points from your wonderful support :

There is no short cut to achieve 2 points I made. Remedies are Guruji & Riyaaz only !By GOD's grace my Music Teacher is also a GURU who teaches for Love of Music.I am serious so I would definitely stick to Riyaaz as told by Punjini ji.

Most wonderfull thing I learnt today was the amazing creation of Nature. I am just amazed that what I considered Singing is just like playing an instrument.Things like Vocal FOLDS,Airflow,Vibration speeds and all other just blowed me off !I am really really grateful to the Creator !No joke - A wonderful realisation !

As far as reading long articles I would try to read them.But as I am a new comer I feel like overdosed when I see al Info. Feel like I am thrown into an ocean. So much to know here. So I would try to read little but understand all what I read & will continue regularly in discussion of all you GUNI JAN !

Rest will lie in my Riyaz & My Guruji's grace !

Once again a thanks from my heart ! Catch you soon! 😊 😊

Vijay here is another article that you will find of interest on breathing techniques for budding singers.Hope it helps:

Breathing Basics for Singing
http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-2013,subca t-ARTS.html