Hyperacusis or tinnitus can be aggrevated when one is increasing head resonance.
My solution as of 9-25-10 is to uplift the chest more, such that the throat is uplifted (straight, lengthened) and the chest uplifted. This sends the sound path more properly through the parts of the back mouth, such that the sound doesn’t resonante to the ears.
This won’t won’t work if the throat muscles remain taut–because these tensions diminsh the vocal tracts’ flexibility.
from themodernvocalist.com
[quote=Steven Fraser]
Chen:
While all this makes sense as far as it goes, this definition does not include the interaction of the breath energy and the laryngeal muscles which combine to produce phonation. The singer’s body can be well-aligned, muscles toned, etc… but until the body is in motion in particular ways, there is no voice produced.
In its traditional usages, a ‘well supported’ voice is characterized by its power and consistency throughout the gamut of pitches, vowels and dynamic levels. Today, we know this results from a balanced interaction between the breath energy, the laryngeal muscle action, and resonance. While posture plays an important role in establishing this balance interaction, it is not sufficient, in and of itself, to cause a supported tone.[/quote]
There are two definitions occurring here: one as supported aural phenomenon (traditional) and the physiology of how to support the vocal apparatus (my view). Steve, I appreciate your explaining for me what traditional support means. “Support” as physiology should be accepted too, as Pavarotti uses support thus: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo6dDQiBGyI .
In regard to laryngeal and breath energy, what I’m saying is that the laryngeal muscles may not be in tone due in a great part to bad posture and that the amount and control of breath energy are also caused and powered by muscle tone. Good muscle tone and good posture are highly correlated.
Not saying one can’t hit a note in bad posture. Am saying that whatever note one is hitting, with good posture, the note will be richer. Additionally one’s range will be greater.
Why is it a richer sound? The note produced by the vocal cord may be same, but all the vocal tract muscles, connective tissue, bones, myofascia, etc., are now in tone, enabling them to vibrate better. If any of these are taut (tension), then we know from physics, that tensions cause less resonance.
Why does it sound more emotive? When muscles are in tone, the desired emotional expression of the note is not repressed by prior tensions. So, yes, one can be in awkward positions and postures to create good notes. If one wants his best notes, get the posture to tone up the resonance system’s muscles and tissues. This is a long-term process because bad posture has already caused near-permanent tension and bad tone.
Why is the range greater? Because sounds are best resonanted by in tone, relaxed vocal systems, not by taut, less vibrating, less reonanting vocal systems. Again, posture and muscular tonicity are directly correlated.
Your lows will be richer and louder, the highs richer and higher, more emotive, etc.–due to posture-and-muscle-tonicity.
The production of the note itself, its pitches, vowels, consonants, I’m suggesting are inherent in the vast majority of individuals and generally don’t need to be worked on. I’m suggesting it is the resonance distortions to these caused by bad muscle tone in the lengthy vocal tract that causes bad tones.
If we take this view, then learning singing becomes predominantly exercises in getting rid of bad postures (this is difficult by the way), instead of aural training.
Breath energy is an effect; the affects are muscles power and its obstructions and pathways. Muscle tonicity is affected primarily by posture and the pathways are genetically and posture created.
Larygneal muscles are also one set of affect muscles. And it also has support– the bones and muscles posture below. Hence, both breath powers and larygneal muscles are supported. It is this entire vocal apparatus support (starting at the diaphragm and extending up to the upper end of the throat) that I believe Cause great resonance effects and tone. And even these are further “supported” by the body parts underneath the diaphragm.
By the way, you read very well Steve–I don’t think many would have read my prior mumbled posting and got the meaning correctly.
A different philosophy:
In good singing, the sound is an expression of the entire body’s emotions. In learning how to sing, it may be useful to keep certain parts of the body still in order to learn how to gain control, as moving body parts are difficult to learn how to control. However, after learning some control (through posture alignments), the entire body should become emotionally expressive. This means that the chest should move according to the desired emotional expression.
Sad singing–drop the chest to express sorrow.
Angry sing–raise and tense the chest.
Happy singing– raise and elate the chest.
Without the proper body posture, the emotion is very difficult to express properly because the muscles are in conflict. If the emotions drive the body posture, the singing will be emotionally expressive.
Similar idea as in most sports. In these, there is usually a starting neutral position that enables one to be able to quickly go into other positions. But the other positions are where the execution take place most of the time. Chest, same way. Begin with a neutral position, but execute (change) according to the emotion desired.
From themodernvocalist.com
Hi,
I’d like to know how singers add a gravelly/growl effect to their voice. I love it. It sounds so emotive, so passionate. I’d like to be able to do it sometimes, to add as an effect when I sing blues songs etc, preferably in a way that’s not too bad for the voice.
…Here are some examples, first male:
Joe Cocker – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wG6Cgmg … re=related
then female:
Bonnie Tyler – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f_HsjpS … re=related
…
Dale.
>>>>I have a gravelly voice that I try to get rid of, so perhaps can answer this one.
It has a lot to do with how the upper part of the inner mouth (upper pallet?) is tense, and how the lower jaws protrude. Protrude the lower jaw yourself, and you’ll see it looks like anger. Cry a bit, and you’ll feel the upper pallet raise.
A gravelly voice is a result of these emotions suppressed as forms of muscular tension in the mouth and jaws. Thus Joe Cocker’s singing sounds just like these emotions, with a lot of boldness added.
To gain a gravelly voice, then, is done, in part, by protruding out the jaws a bit, and then tensing the upper pallet such that it drops down a bit. This is bad melodic singing technique. Also, if you force it, it’s more difficult. Try, somehow to see if you have such suppressed emotions and express these into the singing–then everything will be very natural.
Vocalposture says that the entire body is actually involved, such that the jaw and upper pallet changes are only partial.
On the mentioned Bonnie Tyler’s video, one can even see how she does the gravelly and raspy. When she wants this effect, her mouth frequently forms into a slight anger emotion shape.
The elder Joe Cocker no longer appears as angry as my recollection of the younger Joe. Nevertheless, even in this video, observe that his mouth is not a melodic, but anger shaped (wheras the chorus women are very melodic happy mouth shaped, and sound just as).
These videos also illustrate the Zen concept– when you see Buddha, kill him. Observe the women chorus in Cocker video– standard melodic pretty voices, and possibly well trained. Cocker– non-standard. What this means is that the Buddha is initially socially perceived as “correct, melodic singing”. To kill the Buddha means, to bypass society’s norm of “correct, melodic singing”, and to express one’s own emotions and voice (thereby attaining the true Buddha).
What I noticed in your posting was all kinds of “singing techniques” to achieve the effect. These two, I believe, are using emotions coupled with, suppressed emotions, and then singing techniques to achieve the effect.
from themodernvocalist.com discussion forum
I posted one of my original songs on that thread….
I was told by Guitartrek that I use falsetto to get higher notes, when I always believed it was my head voice, as I have a whole other voice that is lighter and more girly sounding.
So how do I access my head voice? Newb question!
I am completely baffled as to how to get powerful high notes with any aggression…at present my high notes are very gentle and soft.
Even “pulling chest” I top out early, around E4 I think….surely that’s not right?
Aggression is done primarily by the throat and mouth muscles. See a GRR on your face and you’ll see how the outer throat, lips, and mouth show the aggression.
Highs is done by the vocal cords.
Power in the highs can be attained either by lung power or by greater resonance. High-volume lung-powered-highs are difficult and tough on your vocal cords. Highly resonance highs are not nearly as tough on the vocal cords and sound almost as aggressive as high volume lung-powered highs and can be greater in sound volume.
So, if you want high-power highs with aggression, the least harsh on your vocal cords is a highly resonanting high with some degree of throat and mouth musclar aggression and added with a bit of high volume lung aggression. The difficulties involved are:
All these flow smoothly if your vocal tract is in good muscle tone and with just a little practice—as in good tone means having good singing posture.
However, odds are overwhelming that your posture isn’t set up right yet, so it may then be difficult to do.
From themodernvocalist.com:
[quote=classical guitar]Okay here’s the deal…
Vocal Range without jogging 3 miles in the morning= A2-A5
Vocal Range with jogging 3 miles in the morning= B3-C#5 (at least)
What’s going on? It’s so frustrating having to deal with a different instrument half the days of the week… It’s like bi-polar voice syndrome or something…
Also, I tend to wake up with a realllllly low voice for a tenor in the morning. Maybe the two are related. I’m currently on meds for acid reflux, and drinking about a gallon of water a day (have been for a year). Lot’s of sinus drainage also on days that I don’t get the cardio in…
Anybody else deal with this frustrating crap?[/quote]
Well, here’s my two cents worth.
The body stores muscle tension patterns. When one runs, one “shakes” up these patterns, and your resonanting mechanism as well as your musclar controls are affected. Musclar controls return quickly after some rest, but shaking up tension patterns are not restored quickly. Afterwards, one’s vocal apparatus sounds entirely different.
To solve this, one needs to get rid of the tension patterns–detense–which is a difficult process being described in my blog, www.vocalposture.com. (Most of the information isn’t on there yet). By permanently ridding of stored muscular tensions, you’ll sing far better than your current conditions, in any pitch ranges.
Acid reflux meds, especially proton inhibitors, in general, help sufferers sing better. The reason is that when acid touches the esophageal and mouth tissues, these weaken; furthermore, acidic fumes cause nasal congestion (as the nasal tissues protect themselves by shutting closing the nose to nasal fumes). With acid reflux med, the vocal tissues are stronger.
Of course, it is better not to use acid reflux med at all; there are lots of techniques for this–some of which is explained or will be explained in www.vocalposture.com.
A question is asked whether training the voice can be compared to having training in boxing or Tae Kwon Do….
Scientific boxing, traditional Eastern martial arts, and “scientific” martial arts can be vastly different in their training methods. A great short book on this is “Zen in the Art of Archery”, written by a German professor visiting Japan after WW2. He learned with Zen archery priests for nearly a year, couldn’t understand why they were teaching him things having little to do with shooting arrows accurately, implemented accuracy methods, and promptly got kicked out of the temple. Begged his way back in, studied another two years not focusing on accuracy, had to leave Japan, and asked the Zen master what his goal was. The Zen master took him to a pitch black room, took two shots, hit the bulleye and split the arrow. Zen is concerned with the power of the subconscious, and is not a “scientific” boxing method training.
Sumo wrestling– there’s method of course, but its essence has to do with releasing the kundalini energy power in a short burst to knock one’s opponent out of the ring.
Great singing, in my opinion, has a lot to do with releasing one’s own natural voice (kundalini energy, Zen spiritual force, etc.), and the problem with “training” is that there are entire civilizations’ ideologies that basically say that scientific Western bodywork training is not optimal for the talented. Furthermore, in the restorative-health arts (how is one to sing great without first restoring?), e.g. yoga, Tai Chi, accupressure, it is obvious that there are entirely different therapeutic modalities than scientific ones.
So, the questions in training should be, in my opinion:
1. Is the focus restoration of the voice?
2. Is it disciplined scientific exercising of the voice?
3. Is it subconscious power of the voice?
Training methods here are completely different, and my opinion is that different individuals need entirely different training methods.
Proper tan tien means proper hip and lower spine alignment. This affects the entire posture. 3D dynamic movement, so not just 2D. This part is critical, because it is a 3D dynamic and in several free motions.
After tan tien, the abdomen needs to be strengthened.
Subsequently, it is the concept that I call “free floating chest”. This is freer intracoastal (sp) muscles–expanding chest outward, and uplifting upper chest, and the entire chest being uplifted higher.
So, the entire chest is expanded. Hence, this is also the basis for the Eastern meditation methods’ focus on breathing methods.
The jaw is a muscle that actually wants to drop automatically. And if one is relaxed, it would do so. This relaxation of the jaw should be used in singing. Let the jaw drop and pull it up. Most of the time, the jaw should not be pulled down strongly using the side of the throat muscles.
In singing, there are no pull-down muscles of the jaw. When opening the jaw, it is a pull backward. Gravity pulls down.
So, to sing well, must use gravity together with pulling backward, so as to maximize relaxation. This is the same as Alan Greene’s concept of a backward jaw.
People’s original, and usually not-properly-aligned, postures are different, and there is no single corrective treatment method. The following is my posture changes needed, which may apply to many others.
Feet to be properly balancing spine–orthotics if necessary.
Knees somewhat straight. Excessive bent knees is a clue that the posture is leaning too much.
Hips pushed forward.
Abdomen tighten
Chest expanded and upper chest protruded.
Throat somewhat relaxed.
Upper chest protruded such that the throat and head balance.
Jaw ready to be dropped and not protruded forward.
Face and nostrils relaxed.
Singing and posture--see Categories, About, Launch 4-2014 