>Hi. I'm wondering if anyone knows of any exercises or techniques that I
>could use to sing with a properly focused tone. Also, I've read that the
>larynx should not move when you sing, but I know that when I sing higher
>notes, my larynx jumps right up. What can I do to prevent this? Thanks a
>ton in advance. (I'm a 19 year old tenor, in case anyone needed to know.)
>
>~Billy
Billy,
Ah, the 19 year old tenor. Sounds like me. I'm now a 27 year old tenor,
and am just *really* finding my instrument, so my first piece of advice is
this- Be patient. Patience is a necessity if you want to sing. There will
be countless ups and downs (more downs at first) in your journey.
The focused tone is a result of several things. (Do not miss step 1).
1. Get a GREAT teacher in the field in which you want to sing - if you want
to sing opera, don't waste your time with any vocal teacher- get an operatic
vocal teacher- the proof is often either in the pudding (their voice is
awesome), in their experience (they KNOW, they've been there), or in their
students (they can really TEACH). It'll save you heaps in the end- trust
me! And after you find this teacher- you'll realise that you become the
teacher, and they are the guide (but that's for you to find out and agree
with)
after that crucial step-
2. Proper support (which will happen when you start breathing and singing
properly- it is not *contrived*)- your brilliant teacher will make this
totally clear (warning- if they are not great, they will confuse you for
years),
3. Singing with an open throat.
4. Correct use of vowels. Big, deep pronounced vowels will create
resonance.
5. Never forcing the voice.
6. Repeat step 5. Never! ever forcing. If you are forcing, you are doing
it WRONG. Pavarotti's head might be red when he hits the high B in Nessun
Dorma, but that's not extreme forcing- that's extreme focusing and extreme
opening- Big difference. Focusing is the contradiction of certain muscle
groups working together, and extreme relaxation and opening occuring at the
same time. True control.
To keep the larynx low (not very low, just a touch lower than speech),
imagine holding something like a small potato in your mouth while you sing
(not a great big
one, a small one). This will keep your larynx in a good position, and after
lots of practise, it will stop going up. Just don't force it down! It will
try to ascend when you sing high, but with patience, and that potato, you'll
be fine. However as Jussi Bjoerling himself stressed, it is important to
not over-exaggerate things like this (as he himself confessed that he tended
to overdo vocal imagery).
*****This next step helped me the most of all-
Sing into the back of the throat- like you are sucking air into it. It
should feel like you are not using any air while you sing. This concept
took me about 5 years to understand. Don't expect to be doing it tonight.
You'll probably think you are doing it right after a few days, but keep
exploring- you need to experience that extremely vulnerable feeling of
having the throat open, and breathing the sound in. It's like your mouth is
on the wrong way, and you're singing into your head. The old yawn metaphor
never really worked for me- it feels more like breathing in the sound
continually. Your face should feel open (but it should never look
open...eurgh..)
You know you are on the right path when singing is EASY- and it sounds good.
It's a very long and hard to make singing easy. One of the countless
paradoxes of singing.
Remember to get a good teacher. I've been to many teachers, and the average
ones don't really teach you anything- they teach you how to sing at an
average level. Save your money and get a really good one. Phone the
conservatorium, the opera company etc. and ask for a voice teacher.
And keep reading this list. I've learnt so much from it.
(btw, I think charging money for the list is a bad idea folks)
Mirko
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