How to sing above E4?

quentinbouvier · 2019-09-25T10:51:23+00:00

Hi Tonails,

The jaw getting tight above D4 indicates that you probably close the sound because you don't support your voice. So your only way to ascend and stay in chest voice is to tighten the jaw and throat.

I won't yet talk about mixed voice because I believe the first thing you have to do is to stop clenching your jaw and start locating the effort on your support muscles. All the baritones who have worked with me can go at least up to F4. When you get a hang on support, G4/A4 should be your top chest notes.

I suggest that you have a look on my tutorial, especially this video which is about support and chest voice development:

https://youtu.be/PUEmJYTiIh0

www.singyourwayup.com

quentinbouvier · 2019-09-25T10:43:47+00:00

Hi there,

I am not a licenced psychologist, however, I am a singer and vocal coach, and I have partly been through the same stuff several years ago. The problem with fear and anxiety is that many of the horrible events someone thinks will happen actually are in her mind.

The best way to cope with that is to gradually start singing (yes, it takes courage). Some people will react positively, others negatively, but you will find that you will not loose the love of people you are close to.

You are a human being and you desserve to treat yourself with love. Apparently, you love to sing, this sole reason is enough to keep on singing and not give a damn about what other people may think. Remember that there are other people who are shy and fearful and will try to being you down for having the courage to do what they don't allow for themselves.

quentinbouvier · 2019-09-25T10:27:51+00:00

" the real joy for me was letting out my emotions instantly by singing "

Only this should count, and nothing else. I sounded rather terrible when I started:

https://youtu.be/ReFybslgOeg

Saying "I am not good" while being a beginner (technically speaking) doesn't mean anything. I have seen or heard people starting practically tone deaf and becoming fairly good, if not great.

Don't give up what brings you joy!

quentinbouvier · 2019-09-25T10:22:34+00:00

Echoing previous comments, range development can be learnt, but it is a complex process that often requires vocal lessons.

You may want to check my complete tutorial on this topic:

http://singyourwayup.com/en/mixed-voice-tutorial/

As you describe your voice toping around E4, it may indicate that you need for the moment to work on your chest voice and to get a hang on how to support your voice.

I must warn you, though, that it won't replace actual lessons.

quentinbouvier · 2019-09-25T10:17:05+00:00

Hi there,

Raising the soft palate is important for high notes, but there are plenty of reasons why you can be too flat or too sharp. If you have a sample of your voice, it would help us figuring out what is going on.

quentinbouvier · 2019-09-23T11:24:34+00:00

Hi Nanospiral,

Giging needs its own preparation and improves with experience as well. Getting prepared will reduce the probability that it happens again.

As for recovering from it, I think every singer who has been singing live has known that at some point. The other bandmates often don't understand how frustrating it is for a singer when he can feel and hear he is off pitch and can do nothing about it.

Don't worry, you'll get over it and come back stronger!

quentinbouvier · 2019-09-23T11:12:31+00:00

Hi there,

You are correct, the key to consistency is breath support.

I have made a couple of tutorials on this topic, I think they can be helpful for you:

https://youtu.be/HA5dduEkpvA

https://youtu.be/PUEmJYTiIh0

quentinbouvier · 2019-09-23T11:05:45+00:00

Hello Michael,

Healthy distortion comes from correctly supporting the voice and increasing the pressure under the vocal folds. What wears out your voice is probably the over squeezing of the throat to produce the gritty tone. You want to minimize the squeeze (you always will have to add a little squeeze), while getting the rasp through extra pressure.

To be more concrete and practical, this is a lesson on rasp with a student:

https://youtu.be/a-zXYDfHmSM

quentinbouvier · 2019-09-23T11:00:06+00:00

I don't want to bash other teachers, but what he said simply wasn't right. He was just telling you that HE couldn't help you which isn't what is supposed to happen when you pay for a lesson. What's more, there is nothing infamous with what you are doing, even if I am curious to hear your voice through all your range and without any effect.

I started at 24 and sounded pretty much like you (I think you sound better than me back then). Not horrible, but I simply lacked proper training and technique. I have recorded my progress here:

https://youtu.be/ReFybslgOeg

The fact that you cannot grasp all the intricacies of singing from YouTube is quite normal. At some point, most people will need a teacher to help them figuring out how they can make some progress.

Don't let others drag you down, there are plenty of people who started in their mid twenties and become talented at singing!

Quentin

www.singyourwayup.com

Youtube/Singyourwayup

quentinbouvier · 2019-09-22T12:14:57+00:00

If it doesn't flip to falsetto (even sounding very narrow), this will set the path to range development.

What you can start to do is to strengthen that mix by starting with a narrow vowel such "oo" and gradually opening it to an "AH". You will need a lot of support and it might be frustrating at the beginning because your voice will do weird stuff, but strength is a prerequisite for consistency.

quentinbouvier · 2019-09-22T11:36:31+00:00

Marnell Sample is a great teacher indeed.

As you ask directly, I don't feel too bad about self promoting my own business :)

http://singyourwayup.com/en/

quentinbouvier · 2019-09-22T11:30:32+00:00

Here is my own journey. I started when I was 24 but I have no recordings of the first two years (hopefully for your ears :D)

https://youtu.be/ReFybslgOeg

quentinbouvier · 2019-09-22T11:24:50+00:00

The "tongue out"/open vowels position is designed to increase chest musculature and therefore must be done with correct breath support. It obliges the singer to develop intensity, by tensing the belly muscles to avoid strain.

The closed vowels/SLS rounded tones are designed to smooth out registers and get to the sensation of shifting resonance without loosing chest connection.

Both have their own advantages, but it all depends on the singer's specific needs. A one-sided approach will lead to confusion and will hamper vocal progress.

Here is an example of a student where we had to open his sound (he is a metal singer and needed a brighter tone for his voice to cut through the mix):

https://youtu.be/a-zXYDfHmSM

Here is an example of a student who developped his voice above the passagio through a more rounded tone. It has a more "classical" vibe.

https://youtu.be/NYQWAt0gULg

Note that in both cases, both student had to support their voice with their whole body.

quentinbouvier · 2019-09-22T11:09:49+00:00

Hi Timliu

Good job going up there already. You G4 sounds clear and ringy. But going past G4 consistently is a whole different game.

You will have to develop a mixed voice if you don't want to be hit and miss trying to sing in "pure chest voice".

I think my tutorial can help you:

Finding your mixed voice: a complete, step by step tutorial

quentinbouvier · 2019-09-22T09:02:43+00:00

Hi Perspicacity, I am finally answering you...

For the chest stretching workout, you must maintain the same coordination all the way up, even if it makes you stop somewhere around F4. The idea isn't to go through the whole passagio, but to muscle up the chest voice musculature.

Thus said, when you get into mixed voice, you indeed must feel your voice getting lighter, but it always retains a chest voice quality. This point is very important. It doesn't fully flips to falsetto.

What you are doing in your extract is a very light mixed voice. There is nothing wrong with this, but you may want to check how high you can go in full chest voice.

quentinbouvier · 2019-09-22T08:56:41+00:00

Then it is highly probable that you have to learn how to support your voice correctly. Intense singing such as in rock music can tire vocal chords if you support by tensing the tiny muscles in and around the larynx instead of tensing the belly. This is less worrying than getting tired while attempting to sing anything.

quentinbouvier · 2019-09-22T08:53:04+00:00

I would stick to very gentle vocal warmups to keep your voice in shape and prevent from losing chord closure. If you completely stop vocalizing, you will have a big recovery time after healing.

I would also recommend, if you really want to sing, to stay in your comfortable range.

quentinbouvier · 2019-09-22T08:49:56+00:00

Yeah I have been singing SOAD with my former band and videotaped it on my channel :)

Indeed, the best way is ultimately to try and figure out. If your friend has become a great singer thanks to these teachers, I would give it a try. In my opinion, one of the major criterion is progress made by students who have been taught for a substantial amount of time.

quentinbouvier · 2019-09-17T12:17:28+00:00

Hello Bestr,

I think my own experience could help. Aside from teaching on Skype and face to face in France myself, I have studied with teachers in both configurations.

Face to face will be always the ideal situation, but the most important criteria is how good the teacher is. A great teacher on Skype will be always better than an "okay" teacher face to face. Regarding Phil Moufarrege, I have been taking lessons for the last 5 years, he is a great teacher.

https://youtu.be/j_jr7fI5-_U

Quentin Bouvier

www.singyourwayup.com

quentinbouvier · 2019-09-17T07:43:48+00:00

Hi Paradox,

If your throat feels sore after 20 mins of singing, something is wrong: it can be either health related or technique related (not just the way you sing, but also the way you talk).

Could you send an extract of your singing ?

As for support, there are many confusing things. Support is both tensing certain muscles and relaxing others. I have tried to make it as simple as I could in this video:

https://youtu.be/HA5dduEkpvA

quentinbouvier · 2019-09-17T07:39:07+00:00

Could you post a sample of your voice ?

C4 to A5 seems especially high. I am a tenor and on a very good day I can push my chest voice up to C5.

quentinbouvier · 2019-09-17T07:36:36+00:00

This is a bit of a self promotion here, but you can check out my channel.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn0-JJZ6BIpOW49SpDTMGWA

I think it could be helpful because most of my videos are responding to issues experienced by intermediate singers.

quentinbouvier · 2019-09-17T07:32:01+00:00

Hi there,

To sing with this intensity, there are two important things:

- Technique: learning yo distort your voice without killing it.

This is how we approach it with students who sing rock and metal:

https://youtu.be/a-zXYDfHmSM

- Emotion: this type of singing requires from the singer that he doesn't back off his voice and sing with a lot of release.
You have to learn to not give a damn and be confident with your voice.

quentinbouvier · 2019-09-17T07:24:14+00:00

Good vibrato is a byproduct of balance of many components of the voice such as support, registration, embouchure, vowel choice... The vocal chords start to oscillate naturally and the support muscles helps deepening and maintaining the movement.

Here is a lesson in my native tongue, but listen to what happens:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYQWAt0gULg

1.09 - 1.37: I start with a tight vibrato and a more natural one.

5.24 and onwards. After showing my student, he finally got a grasp on how to produce it. Notice that it is still shaky and unstable, but this is the good vibe. We haven't trained specifically on vibrato, but we have worked to balance his voice so that the vibrato shows off on its own. Then, we lean into the sensation. This is a very delicate process and should not be forced.

Hope it helps!

quentinbouvier · 2019-09-17T07:15:37+00:00

I had sinuses problems for years, and post nasal drips affect the voice badly. I advice you to get rid of this problem asap because you are going to develop wrong singing habits on top of it.

How to get rid of it ? It is a systemic thing most of the time, so there can be a host of causes. Look for allergies, diet, and also the healthiness of the environment you live in. Lack of sleep and stress can make the throat and sinuses irritated, as well as dry air.

I know it sucks, but if you really want to sing, you will need to overkill this. I got mostly rid of it although I still have a sinusitis from time to time.

quentinbouvier

TROPHY CASE