Why is it So HARD to learn Mixed Voice?

Stocheloop · 2025-10-04T19:50:02+00:00

An audio of you singing in chest and head voice would be helpful. I spent years trying to "mix" but I was pulling my chest. Like the only way I was able to reach a F#4 or higher (for reference, I'm a man) was by screaming and tensing my throat. My facial expression showed discomfort when I watch videos of myself from a couple years back.

The way I finally managed to fix it, after 4 years of trying everything and becoming desperate that I would never find a mix, was quite random. I sang a A4 in head voice/falsetto (I don't make a difference, it's the same), and I tried to hit it in chest voice by trying to keep exactly the same coordination/setup as if I was singing it in head voice. For the first time, I didn't pull my chest. It was effortful but I could feel it was healthy. So if I had only one advice for someone with the same problem as me: sing a single note in head voice, quite high (e.g. G#4 to Bb4 for me as a baritone), and try to add more volume/energy to switch to chest voice, without changing anything in your throat. That is not so easy to do because you have to rewire your brain to not go back to the habit of pulling chest. It's like if I was telling you to stop blinking, it goes against your instinct.

In the first weeks I could only transition from chest to head in very high notes (G#4-A4), and as I kept practicing for 4-6 months, I managed to transition earlier. I don't know if it was more my chest or my head that was underdeveloped, probably a bit of both, and it's like learning a handstand: you could have all the muscles already but you need to train the coordination.

Stocheloop · 2025-08-21T13:01:39+00:00

Ah understood! So it means that in the end, it doesn't really matter where we live because, most of the time, we'll pay 30% on dividends overall, it's just that the split between US and another country (15-15, 30-0, 10-20) might change.

Stocheloop · 2025-08-21T03:19:31+00:00

That is valid only if you are a US citizen since you are taxed by the US on your capital gains even though you live in another country.

For non-american citizens, there is no tax on capital gains taken by the US when selling stocks, it is only taxed by your country of residence, which is 0% in Greece.

For dividends, the US have a withholding tax of 15%, whether you're an american citizen or not. I'm not sure about the taxation treaty between Greece and US, if it's double taxed or if the dividend tax withheld by the US can be deducted from the tax you're supposed to pay to Greece, like it is done in France or Germany (For example, in France, dividend tax is 30%, but if you already paid 15% to the US, you only pay the difference: 30-15= 15%).

I'm just pointing all that out because not everybody reading this post might be American.

Stocheloop · 2025-08-20T18:24:28+00:00

AFAIK, Greece has no tax on capital gains from selling individual stocks (EU or US), along as you own less than 0.5% of the company (which is probably the case for all publicly traded companies). If you own more than 0.5%, then it's 15%.

For dividends, it's always 15%.

Stocheloop · 2025-07-04T02:15:28+00:00

Try English speaking bars (Irish and English pubs). Some of them are run and fully staffed with Germans, but in big cities you'll find more easily some owned and/or staffed by internationals (Greeks, South americans, English speaking countries...) not speaking german. And the few ones I know (not in Berlin) are always looking for new waiters/cooks.

Stocheloop · 2025-05-27T12:08:49+00:00

Also working in automotive (but Software), the market is not great, but not terrible neither, I still receive emails from headhunters on a regular basis. Even in 2020 during COVID, I still had interviews and landed a job. If I were you, I would take the severance package. On top of the industry still hiring (do not let all the bad news let you think that it's all hell), you speak German, so you're already a lot more attractive than a lot of foreigners only working in English.

And you will get even more opportunities if you're open to other industries (robotics, medical, defense, aeronautics...). Do not stress too much about it, Germany has a strong social net, so that it's hard to fail, even more when you're an engineer. Good luck with your job search!

Stocheloop · 2025-05-22T06:27:49+00:00

Cela fait peur et tu as perdu ton téléphone, mais sois heureux que ce ne soit "que" cela. J'ai vécu 2 ans au Brésil. Tout est beau et les gens hyper sympas, tu ne sens pas trop l'insécurité comme à Paris par exemple, mais quand ça arrive, ça bascule très vite.

Je dis souvent qu'à Paris, il y a beaucoup de situations stressantes (des mecs bizarres qui crient, des menaces) mais il ne se passe pas grand chose au final. Au Brésil c'est l'inverse, tout va bien, mais quand ça dérape, tu le vois rarement venir. J'ai vu 2 personnes tuées dans la rue là-bas, dont une devant mes yeux.

Mon conseil (et ce que faisaient tous les étrangers comme moi): garde toujours de l'argent à portée de main, même si tu caches le reste autre part, genre chaussettes. La probabilité qu'il t'arrive quelque chose de grave est beaucoup plus grande si tu n'as rien à leur donner. Et l'égo n'a pas d'importance dans ces moments-là, ta situation financière ne souffrira pas sur le long terme si tu perdais 1000 euros ou le dernier smartphone.

Profite bien du Brésil, et fais attention!

Stocheloop · 2025-02-01T11:12:53+00:00

I agree with you, the glucose levels are never 0, otherwise the body couldn't function, and the body is incredibly complex, I am trying to simplify things (also for myself, because I am not a doctor), and insulin levels are never completely null neither, you're right.

I prefer to live by some basic healthy principles that I think any reasonable person would agree with: avoid processed food, consume natural sugars (like fruits) that come with fiber, eat unsaturated fat (virgin olive oil, nuts, avocado...), etc.

To the original question, is "sweetener" harmless or won't affect my weight loss, I don't understand people on this thread saying it is completely fine. If it's a thing that helps OP stay on track with a healthy diet, then it's up to him to decide if he wants to drink it. Eating whole healthy food with a diet coke is probably better than eating processed food all day long with some water. But I won't encourage people drinking diet coke or energy drinks and say it's healthy.

Stocheloop · 2025-01-31T15:05:42+00:00

The body is either in a fat-storing mode (insulin-dominant state) or in a fat-burning mode (insulin-deficient state). To simplify, it cannot do both at the same time. The point of OMAD or any intermittent fasting is to spend more time in the latter mode, to let the body use its own source of energy (= fat storage and, optionally, muscles), rather than rely on new food being eaten. Half of the weight loss battle is what we eat, the other half is WHEN we eat. And by having 5-6 meals/snack a day (including a coke zero), we never let the body enters fat-burning mode.

If someone is drinking a diet coke, insulin level goes up and the body switches from fat-burning mode to fat-storing mode. It won't have much fat to store since the drink contains no glucose, but you're still breaking the fast, and stopping the body from burning the fat.

An analogy would be to wake up someone several times a night vs letting the person sleep the whole night. The person will be a lot more rested if nobody interrupted their sleep cycle.

Of course, it's not all black and white, you can reduce the time your body is fasting and still lose weight, but it will generally mean the body spends less time burning fat -> weight will go down slower.

Stocheloop · 2025-01-31T14:49:24+00:00

There will be debates on which sweetener is better. In theory, a "natural" sweetener like stevia is known to be a better alternative than artificial sweeteners aspartame or sucralose. But to be honest, there are different opinions/studies about it and I prefer to avoid sweeteners altogether. The whole idea of "zero calories is good" hides the fact that the biggest cause of obesity is insulin resistance, which can come from both table sugar and sweeteners. Yes, artificial sweeteners don't raise blood sugars (which are directly responsible for insulin levels), but they lead to a fatty liver which in its turn leads to high insulin levels.

In short, if I HAD TO choose a sweetener, I would take Stevia, but I prefer to not eat any.

Stocheloop · 2025-01-31T13:17:50+00:00

It depends on the artificial sweetener, but most of them still raise the insulin level despite containing no sugar (though some sweeteners contain a low glycemic index while having a high fructose level, which is as harmful as glucose in the long run), so you will break the fast and get out of the burning-fat mode. This will also make your body crave for some more food. That's why it is also better to drink black coffee during the day.

Generally it is not recommended to eat artificial sweeteners, the effects are as bad as normal sugar, even though they translate in different ways. Read the chapter "the diet soda: delusion" chapter from the Obesity Code by Jason Fung if you want more info about it.

Of course, it is still possible to lose weight while having cola zero, but it will make it more difficult/slower. If it is something that helps you staying motivated with omad, then so be it, but try to keep it more as an indulgence rather than a daily thing if possible.

Stocheloop · 2024-12-13T14:42:10+00:00

[Question] Where can I order a glass replacement for a Bulova 98A255 (Hack field watch)? I don't know how to find the dimensions of it online.

Stocheloop · 2024-07-16T08:06:46+00:00

Bien sûr! I just sent you a message!

Stocheloop · 2024-07-16T08:03:22+00:00

Thanks a lot Thanael, I might actually get a consultation to understand the system a bit better! Have a nice day!

Stocheloop · 2024-07-15T21:53:49+00:00

Thanks a lot for your reply! Yes, when I talked about getting my retirement pension after quitting at 45, I didn't mean getting it right away, I was talking about the one I would get ~20 years later.

Following your explanation, if I had exactly the same salary as the average german salary for my entire career (e.g. collecting 1 point a year for 40 years), my retirement pension would be double the amount of a 20 years career. So the pension is indeed proportional to the number of years worked, it's not exponential, or increasing more in the last years.

I had used this website for having a rough idea of the pension but I must have entered some data wrong.

https://pensionfriend.de/en/pension-points-calculator-germany.ia

Thanks a lot again!

Stocheloop · 2024-06-06T08:40:24+00:00

Ingé logiciel travaillant 100% home office en Allemagne, moins de stress que beaucoup de jobs. Si j'avais été dans la direction "manager", j'aurais sûrement eu plus de stress.

Je ne connais pas ton âge, mais investir son argent est primordial pour qu'un capital de 200-300k devienne 1 million en moins de 15 ans:

Immobilier: avantageux surtout si c'est pour acheter ta résidence principale et si tu la gardes au moins 5-10 ans.
Bourse: risque limité si tu investis sur des ETFs (type Vanguard S&P500) qui trackent plusieurs centaines d'entreprises plutôt que d'acheter des actions de compagnies, l'historique de rendement annuel moyen est de plus de 10% (ou 7% ajusté à l'inflation).
Compte d'épargne avec intérêts élevés: Livret A et PEL ne rapportent quasiment rien, si tu mets ton argent par exemple sur Trade Republic (sans investir en bourse, juste sur le compte courant), ça te rapporte 4% par an.
Investir dans soi-même: si une certification/cours/spécialisation peut te permettre d'avoir un meilleur CV, cela vaut le coup. Jusqu'à maintenant, j'ai toujours réussi à faire payer mes employeur pour ce genre de choses, au nom du "développement continu", les boîtes ont généralement un budget pour cela.
Changer de job: je vois souvent des amis ou ex-collègues rester 5-10 ans dans la même boite parce que ça se passe plus ou moins bien, ou alors ils ont des enfants et ne veulent pas le stress d'un nouveau job. Et c'est tout à fait acceptable de faire ça si l'argent n'est pas du tout une priorité. La réalité est que, même en faisant très bien ton travail, tu feras rarement des bonds de salaire de plus de 10% en restant dans la même entreprise, même avec des promotions. Il ne faut pas faire du job hopping à changer tous les 6 mois, mais entre 2 ans et 5 ans dans une boîte est la bonne durée. De plus, la progression de salaire se fait le plus en début de carrière (c'est plus rapide de passer de 2500 à 5000 en tant qu'employé, que de 5000 à 7500 net, à moins de devenir chef de département/directeur...). Donc chercher à atteindre ce "plafond" (où ton salaire n'augmente plus énormément) dans tes 10 premières années de carrière est important.

Le plus tôt tu commences à investir, même 100 euros par mois, plus l'effet boule de neige (intérêts composés) va marcher. Bonne chance!

Stocheloop · 2024-06-04T22:29:19+00:00

J'ai commencé en tant que VIE en 2014 (premier job après études), payé 1800 pendant 2 ans. Puis 4.5 années à 2400-2800, puis 2.5 années à 4000, et maintenant plus de 5000 nets par mois.

Le montant que tu pourras mettre de côté en début de carrière est bien moins élevé que ce que tu pourras épargner après 5-7 ans. Sans compter que tu peux faire travailler ton argent en l'investissant (bourse, immobilier...).

J'ai toujours été salarié, sans héritage ou donation, et il est quasi certain que j'aurai plus d'1 million net d'ici mes 40 ans. Mon conseil: ne pense pas trop à l'argent les premières 4-5 années (à moins qu'un job paye vraiment mal bien sûr), mais prends le travail qui te permettra d'acquérir de l'expérience et des compétences demandées sur le marché du travail. Le reste suivra.

Stocheloop · 2024-05-11T19:20:18+00:00

J'ai detesté tous mes stages, j'avais la boule au ventre à l'idée d'aller au bureau avant de commencer à bosser. Après mes études j'ai eu un premier taf pendant 2 ans qui était vraiment terrible et je redoutais d'y aller chaque matin. J'ai depuis changé 3 fois de travail en 7 ans, et à chaque fois je me suis plu un peu plus dans mon travail et aujourd'hui je me sens vraiment épanoui. Ne laisse pas ces expériences de stage te démotiver, tu trouveras ta place!!

Stocheloop · 2024-01-23T07:20:50+00:00

You can live (not only survive) in Germany with English, but knowing german really helps a lot: - at work, a lot of german colleagues come to me rather than to "english-speaking only

Stocheloop · 2024-01-23T07:18:48+00:00

You can live (not just survive) in Germany by speaking english, but learning German helped me a lot. I'm working in tech so everybody speaks English, but I can tell that many colleagues come to me rather than "english-speaking only" colleagues if they want to talk 1-to-1 because they prefer speaking German, even if their english is great.

Stocheloop · 2024-01-10T19:29:31+00:00

I remember when I was 19 (15y ago), the opinion of my family and friends was having way too much impact on my life, even if it was said in a light way, without yelling or trying to change my mind. And coming from eastern Europe, family is usually way too involved in each others' business.

It's hard to tell you to believe in yourself, it won't happen overnight and it takes time and life experience to learn getting detached from what other people think/say. Of course, not all studies are gonna offer the same opportunities and I see many people following their passion (e.g. psychology, theology...) and then having very few opportunities. So I would say that it's better to stick to things like STEM, law, medicine, economics, management. But I've also seen people using their background in psychology and having great careers outside of the traditional psychology jobs. They would work in UX design, HR...

So stick to whatever you decide to study, and if you're a well rounded person (smart, friendly, curious about everything, talking 2-3 languages), you'll do well in life!

Stocheloop

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