On Thu, 14 Nov 2002, Meggie wrote:
> I'm in a madrigal singers group in my high school, and I sing alto.
> Problem is, all the songs seem to be right at that point where
> my "chest voice" (If that's what you call it) becomes my "head
> voice." This no doubt makes for some messed up tone quality and
> absolutely no confidence in singing any of the songs. Does anyone
> have any advice on ways to excercise my voice so the two voices blend
> together better or just to increasse the range of one or the other?
It would appear that the tessitura of the alto part in the music you're
singing is not right for you. Would you feel more comfortable if it was
slightly higher? Is the ensemble a 4-part, 6-part, or 8-part group (i.e.,
SATB, SSATBB, SSAATTBB)? If there is a second-soprano section, is there
any chance you could switch to that section?
If not, a few technical things that MIGHT make singing "on top of" our
lower break easier:
Keep your lips as closed as possible when singing "on your break", and
think about feeling the vibration more forward (against your front teeth
and in your sinuses). Don't try to "place" the sound except in your mind -
don't do anything physical to try and "shift" it - physical
control of "placement" is a myth. It is always the combination of the
vowel sound you produce and the note you sing that naturally determines
where the sound will be "placed". However, you can mentally focus where
you want to feel the vibration of the sound - in this case, more forward.
Tell yourself this is what you want to happen, and your mouth (lips and
tongue) will naturally compensate by narrowing the rearward (under the
soft palate) resonating space, forcing the vibration more forward.
Don't be afraid to "shift" into chest voice when your body needs to, but
make it a smooth "shift", not a heavy "plummet". You can accomplish this
by thinking UP and FORWARD, even as you're moving into chest.
Some exercises that may help involve taking slow, "smeared" portamenti up
and down through your "break". Try these two:
5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1...5...1 (the dots indicate a really smooth, smeared
portamento) - do this exercise on "u" (Italian)
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1...5...1
i i i i a a a a i a i
With the first exercise, start on a note that will ensure that all of the
notes are above your lower "break" the first time. Then move down a half
step each time, until finally all the notes are BELOW your lower "break".
With the second exercise, start on a note that will ensure that all the
notes are BELOW your lower break the first time. Then move a half step up
each time, until all the notes are ABOVE your lower break.
As you sing the portamenti, concentrate on keeping the resonance totally
consistent, and the sound VERY connected, despite moving up and down
across your "break".
As I said before, if the music you're singing really IS all "hovering"
over your lower break, I still think you're probably singing the wrong
voice category. If you could tell us what notes your lower and upper
breaks are at, we might get a better idea of what your true voice type is.
You never know - you might really be a soprano, and it may just be a
matter of working to free up your top notes for you to be able to claim
your true voice.
Karen Mercedes
http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html
________________________________
That man is the happiest who
is most thoroughly deluded.
- Erasmus
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