Karen:
I just wanted to thank you for some excellent suggestions you made here.
Especially applicable for me is the phych component. The "Just do it!"
factor if you will. Thanks! :)
Yours In Music,
Denis J. Lanza
Vocalist
http://www.denisjlanza.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Karen Mercedes [mailto:dalila@R...]
Sent: Monday, March 18, 2002 6:36 PM
To: dragon_darkclan
Cc: vocalist-temporary@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [vocalist] Strenthening Head Voice?
I have found that my top notes improve in quality, focus, and power when I
do a few things:
1) Concentrate on not allowing the depth of my resonance to change between
the notes just above my upper passagio (e.g., E5, F5) and my "topmost"
notes (e.g., A5-B5 and C6); if anything, the resonance should be even
deeper as the notes go higher while at the same time...
2) Concentrate on keeping the sound focused forward, with a decidedly
"pointed", narrow idea of th sound. The vibration of the note, if I feel
it at all, is felt in the nose, the forehead, and possible in the front
teeth and the hard palate - but not at all under the soft palate or in the
"back of the throat". If I feel the vibrations that far back, I know the
note is not focused properly.
3) Concentrate on not putting any unnecessary weight on the note - i.e.,
relying on depth of resonance and constant, even breath stream to make the
note "ping" and "spin". Avoid "muscling" the note or overcompressing the
breath. Use depth of resonance and an even more forward sense of focus to
increase volume if necessary.
4) Concentrate on keeping every muscle above the neck absolutely
unperturbed and "relaxed". Get rid of jaw tension, tongue tension, lip
tension, etc. Keep the tip of the tongue down behind the lower teeth
(where it should ALWAYS be when not being used to articulate a consonant).
Don't do a Placido Domingo and curl it up towards the roof of the mouth:
Placido is a gorgeous singer, but he has had a chronic high note problem
throughout his career - and he acknowledges that faulty technique is the
reason why. Also, don't thrust down the jaw, a la Jose Carreras (whose
high notes have become particularly fuzzy, unfocused, and painful to
listen to). And unless absolutely unavoidable, don't lift the upper lip as
if you were a snarling dog (yes - doing so can add "brightness" to your
sound that makes the high notes easier - and if there is a safe way for
you to experiment with this lip-lift as part of the PROCESS of getting
those notes to "come in", but which you discard once you've discovered how
to produce those notes - well, unlike other bad habits singers have, this
one is one that does not threaten your vocal health; it just makes you
look bad).
5) Modify vowel sounds but not necessarily as you might think. I've found
that for me a pure "a" sound is counterproductive when I sing my highest
notes - indeed, just as counterproductive as trying to achieve a true "i"
sound. What works best for me is a kind of "compromise" that sounds like
the German [I] (e.g., the "i" in the English word "with"). This is a sound
in which one is less likely to "spread" the lips than one is with the "i",
and in which the tongue isn't quite as raised as it is for the "i", but
which is much more "forward" than the "a". "A" by nature is a deeper,
darker vowel sound, and thus I find it harder to get that very bright,
forward "pingy" focus to the note when I sing "a" than when I sing "[I]".
6) Don't obsess. The best advice I ever got about my
once-but-no-longer-elusive high B (B5) is "You know you can sing it, so
just sing it." Singing really high notes, I've found, is a bit of a
self-psyching game. If you worry you can't sing them, you're less likely
to be able to sing them.
7) DO something that allows you to move through the note. I mean move your
body physically - especially in ways that keep the shoulders and hips from
"locking". There's a reason you see opera singers make sweeping arm
gestures when they "go for" their high notes - it's not entirely for
dramatic effect!
Karen Mercedes
http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html
***************************************
In all thy ways acknowledge him,
and he shall direct thy paths.
- Proverbs 3:6
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