any vocal coaches or has anyone been coached for vocals?

[Mister Natural]

Opera-trained here

you push your breath(mentally) from the diaphram into the top of your sinuses & then out down thru your lower jaw. The voice "bounces" off the top of your cranium, then down through your teeth. Causes the whole head to resonate

[Tone Deft]

The voice "bounces" off the top of your cranium, then down through your teeth. Causes the whole head to resonate

OK, that weirded me out. I'm gonna have to go down to the beach and try that in the outdoors where nobody can hear me. all I can think of are the

Pitch Black is right about the circular breathing.


regarding what I heard about Sinatra, finally found a decent source:
http://www.donaldclarkemusicbox.com/all ... il.php?c=4
"The technique called circular breathing that some horn players use has to do with closing the epiglottis (the passage to the lungs) and playing the horn using the air in your cheeks while you are drawing air into your lungs through your nose. (I have heard Chico Freeman play exquisitely long lines on a big wooden bass clarinet at Ronnie Scott's in London, appearing not to breathe for what seemed like minutes at a time.) Some writers have assumed that this is what Dorsey did, and that this is what Sinatra learned from him, which is absurd: the sound of singing is the sound of air passing the vocal cords, which are in the larynx, well below the epiglottis; it is impossible to sing and inhale at the same time. In any case, circular breathing was not Dorsey's secret. Sinatra sat on the bandstand and watched Dorsey, trying to figure out when he breathed, and apparently Dorsey could feel the kid's eyes on the back of his jacket: finally he turned around one night and said, 'Haven't you seen it yet?' Then he shared his secret, and Sinatra explained it years later: with the trombone mouthpiece to his lips Dorsey would inhale between phrases through a tiny airhole in one corner of his mouth (Sinatra called it a 'pinhole'). The breaths were so small and short that the listener did not perceive them. This kind of skill takes so much practice, such dedication to craft, that only musicians and athletes can understand it: the rest of us, by comparison, spend our lives bumping into things. And this was one of the most important stages in the development of Frank Sinatra."

[djsynchro]

My vocal coach told me that a lot of internet posting is bad for your voice, so you're fucked.

[Rave]

Ok this is the last sensible contribution pre 4K I can do:

Taken from the following site:
http://www.writersblock.com/cgi-bin/yab ... 1258107721



This question keeps coming up on the forum, so let's save everyone the spamming energy and answer this question.

Before we talk about how you can sing from your stomach, which in itself is an incorrect statement. Let’s talk about breathing. Breathing is the first step you need to master before you move on to singing. As simple and silly as it may sound, it is very true. So let’s begin:

1- First of all relax your neck, your jaw and your whole body. But don’t slump down. Keep an upright posture.

2- Inhale through your nose, where air remains moist. (If you inhale through your mouth, the air will hit the back of your throat and will cause dryness, that in return will deter your singing and causes them to swell up and hurt)

3- Place one hand very lightly on your belly button, don’t exert pressure just get a feel of your tummy.

4- Take a deep breath in, fill your tummy up like a balloon, make sure it’s all protruding (it doesn’t matter if you look fat!)

5- Now purse your lips together and very slowly let the air out through your mouth. As you exhale, your belly needs to be coming in very steadily. You will feel it with your hand. Push with your DIAPHRAGM, not your stomach. The stomach comes in on its own while you push the air out using your diaphragm.

6- One more time, try it over and over again. (This simple exercise should not turn your face blue)

7- Now that you’ve mastered breathing, try this: this time instead of pursing your lips as you exhale, count to 10, while letting the air out as you speak. ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR… etc. Push with your diaphragm as you release your numbers into the air, your belly must still come in.

8- A funny method I’ve found from my own experience was when I placed my palm against my mouth as I counted, I actually felt the warm air hitting it. This helps you ensure you’re expelling air properly as you speak or sing.

So your diaphragm is the key not your stomach. Try to use this breathing daily, even while speaking.
If this doesn't help you, I'll make a new sticky.






So long and thanks for all the fish

[djsynchro]

Have a wank before you start singing, it won't improve your voice but it's nice.

[djsynchro]

[distaudio]

When I was a kid I was in alot of choirs and singing groups and got singing lessons in my teenage years.

It was all about singing from the diaphragm.

I have been told that I have a "sweet"/"girly" voice with a decent range. Not really a quality you want with the style of music I write.

Now recently I have been recording vocals for my album and wanting to get more depth and grit in my voice.

I have looked up alot on youtube and singing websites and have come to the conclusion that it is not always about body control and diaphragm singing. Sure singing from the throat is not a top way to go.

But the best method I have found that causes you not to have to focus on body control is............

Yawning.

All that focus was no longer needed. A big yawn motion of the throat while singing will not only give you a bigger range but will also make you sound as if you have and amazons worth of hair on your balls.

First time I tried this technique when tracking vocals, I managed to scare my girlfriend in the next room. She thought something had gone wrong.

Keep in mind.... this worked for me...... REALLY WELL.

But, it may not work for everyone. I have been singing for awhile, not constantly but have been doing it since I was a kid. So those simple body controls may just come naturally to me now, I don't now.

But really give it a try sometime and see what happens.

[djsynchro]

I have been told that I have a "sweet"/"girly" voice

Are you on OSX (tm) by any chance?

[djsynchro]

[dm_hawk]

professional opera singer, voice teacher, and voice researcher here.

i'm pretty amazed at how all over the place these responses are. the misinformation and partial truths presented here really say something about how mysterious vocal function is to most people.

honestly, i don't know where to begin, so i'll just address a few points.

-the biggest point i want to make here is that different styles of music have drastically different vocal demands and require different kinds of vocal function, so it's not very useful to have a generalized "how to sing" discussion. it really depends on whether you're singing death metal, r&b, opera, etc.

-yes, breathe and sing from your diaphragm, but there are no (or few?) nerve endings in the diaphragm, so it isn't possible to feel the muscle itself. the sensation you feel will involve abdominal muscles and rib expansion/contraction.

-no, it isn't possible to circular breathe while singing. the lung/trachea/larynx combo is one-way. it's perfectly possible to sing while inhaling, though, or to squeeze the inside of your larynx so hard that your ventricular folds (commonly called "false" folds) will engage just above the level of the regular vocal folds and create two pitches at once. louis armstrong had a variation of this - a vocal pathology called "diplophonia."

[distaudio]

-the biggest point i want to make here is that different styles of music have drastically different vocal demands and require different kinds of vocal function, so it's not very useful to have a generalized "how to sing" discussion. it really depends on whether you're singing death metal, r&b, opera, etc.

The smartest advice that has been given so far.