I know when I started to notice this place many teachers refer to as "neutral" and the ease that was there, the part of me that believed I needed to work hard and earn (love, acceptance, etc.) got very uncomfortable, even angry. I see a look of surprise on singers' faces all the time when they feel the ease of how the voice can vibrate through. Immediately followed by some frustration at how hard they'd been working for years. The old way still wants to assert itself because there's so much past to reference and orient by. But when we collaborate with breath and vibration and the body's physiology, there's so much grace. When I was 5, my first church solo was Freely, Freely -- freely you have received (inhale), freely give (vibrated exhale). (I sang is as "Free-uh-ly," of course.)
22:28 Just a memo to myself to try these again in future! I feel the need to review this video every now and again as I progress. Every now and again I get a-ha moments but there seems to be a long time between each one going in; this time it was the soft palate stuff. Thanks!
This is an absolutely excellent video. Some of us really need a scientific explanation to be able to execute the concepts related to singing. Thank you!!!
Thank you so much for all these tips, I'll listen to them again and again. And so well said that we should only compare with ourselves. Wish I had recorded my very first tries in clarinet playing and singing to get aware of the development. 😅
Yep, the compare game can be super tricky. I've used it to be inspired by my vocal models, and it's also been a road to anxiety. It's good just to take pauses and notice what you can do now that you couldn't do before. Little times for assessment and celebration are important; I forget this for myself a lot.
Love your explanations ❤ Would you please make a video about vibrato? You are kind of gifted in terms of explaining stuff. I hope to benefit from a vibrato video from you.😊
Thanks for the comment, and I'm so glad these are helpful. I did make a series of videos about vibrato last summer -- if these leave you with additional questions, just ask me. I can make a video with more answers as far as I understand it. Here's the playlist: ruclips.net/p/PL7249yStyGODT600auaUtchWAXC4rTfTL
@@birgithade5022 So glad -- hope they were helpful -- if they bring up more questions for you, feel free to ask -- It helps me to know what will help you
Thanks so much for your amazing informative videos Dan, hello from Scotland! Was wondering if you have exercises that can help strengthen the voice in terms of consistency when singing (in regard to tone/placement/pitch accuracy). Building it up from a technique point of view to then find the freedom of singing things with the guarantee of consistently being able to hit it. Thanks in advance 🙏🏾
Hey there -- thanks so much for your comment and question -- I don't have anything put together right now on that particular topic, but I've saved your question in my calendar, and I can make a vid about this -- thanks for joining me here -- and tell Scotland I said hello.
Something incredibly useful I stumbled upon. Vowel modifications. Here are a couple of examples. If you are singing "Free Falling" by Tom Petty and having trouble with the chorus, try this. Instead of singing, "Free", sing "Fr-ih" like "sit". You will find it is much easier to "grab" on to and more stable. And the listener won't be able to really tell. Similarly, for "Take on me" try singing "I'll b-ih gone" over the that tricky part in the chorus. You will find you waiver less and can hit it with more power. The other thing you can do is siren on "ih" and I found that is easier to stay connected all the way up to the top of your range.
I would love to watch some tips to learn how to develop head voice and reinforced falsetto (Bee Gees kinda stuff) chord aduction (closure). That'd really help us, the cursed baritones😂. Thanks in advance
Speaking from my experience over the last year as a fellow baritone taking voice lessons for the first time, the only thing I can say is that (a) your cricothyroid (head-voice) muscles are pretty likely to be extremely underused and weak (because form follows function!), and (b) like any other muscle, developing and strengthening them only happens with increased use, particularly use outside your normal "comfort zone" (akin to trying to lift more weight than you normally do). Try sirening up and down, at least once a day. Try to vocalize the highest pitch you possibly can, at least once a week. Try talking to yourself for a few minutes in a Mickey Mouse voice every week. Try picking a song (maybe a countertenor piece) and try to sing as much of it as you can in head voice/M2, without worrying very much about how it sounds in terms of quality. The point is, you need to develop and work out your CTs. They're not gonna get stronger and better conditioned otherwise!
thanks for this request -- There are lots of things that can happen that impede Mode 2, so I'll get to work on video on this in the near future. appreciate the feedback
@@joshdaniels2363 the exercise suggestions can all be helpful here -- I'll do a video about this to talk about other things that can inhibit mode 2 even when CT is strong and functioning well for you
I am a rock singer. This is how I conceptualize mixed voice stuff. So I have two mechanisms for singing the high stuff. One is my chest voice. I call that "the big voice" That one seems like it tops out around C#5 even though I am not consistent with that. I really only use it to G4. My other one is what I call "the little voice" This one is can link to falsetto easily and I can use it is as high as my falsetto will go. However it can also sound very chesty up to G4 or #G4 where I thins out a lot. I can always link this voice to falsetto. I would love to make this voice beefier in the higher registers. The commonality between both voices is that if I open my nose port and tilt my larynx as I ascend I get better chord closure and ease of singing. I can link these voices pretty well from like E4 to G4, but after that, they are distinct and not linkable. Is this basically the difference between "overdrive" (big voice) and "edge" (little voice) in CVT language?
Thanks for the comment and question -- it's funny because I was listening to a lecture today about registration, and one of the early classifiers called things the batural or big voice and the other one little or false voice (where we get falsetto from.) I'd have to hear the sounds you're making to tell you what exactly is going on. It sounds like you're wanting to reinforce or find more amplification/twang in your mode 2/head voice though, and there are ways to shape the tract and move your air that can do that. I've got this topic on the list to make a vid about. You might be experiencing some helpful efficiency by singing through your nose that goes away when you switch to mouth resonance, and the continuum of the two coordinations/registers is very important -- seeing them as a constantly shifting and malleable event rather than different planets. I've saved your comment in my calendar with some similar questions, so I'll make a video that addresses some of these things
@@dancallawaystudio thanks for the answer! Yeah, I definitely try to keep the nose resonance going when I go higher in my range. Sometimes, that transition between nose and mouth resonance is tricky, and sometimes it works perfectly. Such is life I suppose. I would definitely appreciate a video on mastering that transition! Tired of being the king of G4, when I know I have the potential to go beyond that consistently, lmao!
And I should also mention that I do most of my singing in that M2 coordination. It is much easier and sustainable and works perfectly for me up until #G4.
@@donrogg The king of G4 -- could be a band name :) Yep -- the good thing is that you're sensing what happens when you adjust things in the tract, so that's always helpful info. But yeah, you want access to all kinds of options -- sometimes a little vibration through the nose is what we want, and often it's not the kind of communication we'd choose if we could. Having choices and access is what we all want with our singing, I know. I'm in that club with you
Great video. Something I struggle with is that when I enter my “break” around f#4 and g4 I have a habit of clenching the jaw and mouth in general to get chord closure.
Super common thing to do. I still have to watch out for this, so we are in a large club. When there's a transitional zone in the voice, the brain and body want to find ways to stabilize it. The body logic it usually offers is muscle engagement in the area it wants to protect from instability. In the exercise video I'll make, I'll try to include some ways to soften these engagements so you can find out what the vocal results are for you.
Hi, thanks so much for your content. My largest challenge right now is the tonality I get when I use a M2 coordination on the mid high to higher range and trying to make that sound more chest. Some of the artists have this higher range that feels like they can pull their chess really high but effortlessly. How do you usually help students find that coordination?
Thanks for the question -- it sounds like you're wanting to get more boost and body into mode 2? It's almost always a vocal tract shape or coordination change that'll get you closer to the sound you want. If it's breathier than you want, and you can't vary it, you'll need to let your pharynx/swallowing muscles soften, check that you're giving your larynx freedom to float, and give your chewing muscles and root tongue some TLC to soften up. If it's having a hooty-er or rounder shape than you want, you'll want to play with more divergent tract shapes on vowels like /ae/ like cat or /e/ like Canadian "eh?" And also imitating some mode 2 divergent voices can be fun -- Elmo, a 1920s gangster's girlfriend, all manner of cartoon characters. For the divergent shape, and for higher M2 pitches, your larynx will float high, your tongue will coordinate create a cozy acoustic space in your pharynx, and your soft palate will relax down a little. This creates a smaller-to-bigger shape that often brings metal, body, brightness, and what some would call more mix in mode 2. Hope this helps -- ask me more if I didn't answer your Q.
35:50. Really enjoy that, “offensively easy singing”. The beautiful inertance and center, from which spot it seems you can go anywhere.
I know when I started to notice this place many teachers refer to as "neutral" and the ease that was there, the part of me that believed I needed to work hard and earn (love, acceptance, etc.) got very uncomfortable, even angry. I see a look of surprise on singers' faces all the time when they feel the ease of how the voice can vibrate through. Immediately followed by some frustration at how hard they'd been working for years. The old way still wants to assert itself because there's so much past to reference and orient by. But when we collaborate with breath and vibration and the body's physiology, there's so much grace. When I was 5, my first church solo was Freely, Freely -- freely you have received (inhale), freely give (vibrated exhale). (I sang is as "Free-uh-ly," of course.)
Another video that is so compassionately and lovingly helpful! Your students are so fortunate to have your guidance. Thank you!
You're very welcome, and thanks for you kind comment. Glad you're here.
22:28 Just a memo to myself to try these again in future! I feel the need to review this video every now and again as I progress. Every now and again I get a-ha moments but there seems to be a long time between each one going in; this time it was the soft palate stuff. Thanks!
Yep -- soft palate is so subtle. I've logged many years of over-muscling the coordination. Great to give yourself time for it to percolate.
What a generous sharing of your fine knowledge. P.
@@merlisist thanks for this kind comment -- hope this was helpful for you
This is an absolutely excellent video. Some of us really need a scientific explanation to be able to execute the concepts related to singing. Thank you!!!
@@KarenKelly1111 I'm so grateful this was helpful to you -- thanks for taking the time to comment
❤ love your explaining style & sense this makes : 100% awesome Teacher !! U R
I'm so glad to know this helped you -- thanks for letting me know
You are an amazing teacher. This resonates with me so heavily!
Thanks so much -- I'm so glad this was helpful to you. Thanks for the kind comment
Thanks a lot Dan. Really amazing stuff. Greetings from Spain.
thanks for the kind comment -- espero que este video te ayudó
this is great. i really appreciate how you break everything down
@@savannahbrown4992 I'm so glad this was helpful to you
Appreciated Dan
You're very welcome, hope it was helpful
@@dancallawaystudio Working on Juke Box Hero. I love a good challenge, gutton for punishment....lol!
Thank you so much for all these tips, I'll listen to them again and again. And so well said that we should only compare with ourselves. Wish I had recorded my very first tries in clarinet playing and singing to get aware of the development. 😅
Yep, the compare game can be super tricky. I've used it to be inspired by my vocal models, and it's also been a road to anxiety. It's good just to take pauses and notice what you can do now that you couldn't do before. Little times for assessment and celebration are important; I forget this for myself a lot.
Love your explanations ❤ Would you please make a video about vibrato? You are kind of gifted in terms of explaining stuff. I hope to benefit from a vibrato video from you.😊
Thanks for the comment, and I'm so glad these are helpful. I did make a series of videos about vibrato last summer -- if these leave you with additional questions, just ask me. I can make a video with more answers as far as I understand it. Here's the playlist: ruclips.net/p/PL7249yStyGODT600auaUtchWAXC4rTfTL
@@dancallawaystudio Thanks a lot. I watched every single video. Working on it. It's really cool that you are intersted in our questions 🥰
@@birgithade5022 So glad -- hope they were helpful -- if they bring up more questions for you, feel free to ask -- It helps me to know what will help you
Thanks so much for your amazing informative videos Dan, hello from Scotland! Was wondering if you have exercises that can help strengthen the voice in terms of consistency when singing (in regard to tone/placement/pitch accuracy). Building it up from a technique point of view to then find the freedom of singing things with the guarantee of consistently being able to hit it. Thanks in advance 🙏🏾
Hey there -- thanks so much for your comment and question -- I don't have anything put together right now on that particular topic, but I've saved your question in my calendar, and I can make a vid about this -- thanks for joining me here -- and tell Scotland I said hello.
Something incredibly useful I stumbled upon. Vowel modifications.
Here are a couple of examples. If you are singing "Free Falling" by Tom Petty and having trouble with the chorus, try this. Instead of singing, "Free", sing "Fr-ih" like "sit". You will find it is much easier to "grab" on to and more stable. And the listener won't be able to really tell.
Similarly, for "Take on me" try singing "I'll b-ih gone" over the that tricky part in the chorus. You will find you waiver less and can hit it with more power.
The other thing you can do is siren on "ih" and I found that is easier to stay connected all the way up to the top of your range.
yep ih is pretty magic for that
Thank you so much !
You're very welcome -- I hope this was helpful
I would love to watch some tips to learn how to develop head voice and reinforced falsetto (Bee Gees kinda stuff) chord aduction (closure). That'd really help us, the cursed baritones😂. Thanks in advance
Speaking from my experience over the last year as a fellow baritone taking voice lessons for the first time, the only thing I can say is that (a) your cricothyroid (head-voice) muscles are pretty likely to be extremely underused and weak (because form follows function!), and (b) like any other muscle, developing and strengthening them only happens with increased use, particularly use outside your normal "comfort zone" (akin to trying to lift more weight than you normally do).
Try sirening up and down, at least once a day.
Try to vocalize the highest pitch you possibly can, at least once a week.
Try talking to yourself for a few minutes in a Mickey Mouse voice every week.
Try picking a song (maybe a countertenor piece) and try to sing as much of it as you can in head voice/M2, without worrying very much about how it sounds in terms of quality.
The point is, you need to develop and work out your CTs. They're not gonna get stronger and better conditioned otherwise!
thanks for this request -- There are lots of things that can happen that impede Mode 2, so I'll get to work on video on this in the near future. appreciate the feedback
@@joshdaniels2363 the exercise suggestions can all be helpful here -- I'll do a video about this to talk about other things that can inhibit mode 2 even when CT is strong and functioning well for you
Thanks a lot. Looking forward to watching it!!!!
@@joshdaniels2363great tips. Much appreciated
I am a rock singer. This is how I conceptualize mixed voice stuff.
So I have two mechanisms for singing the high stuff. One is my chest voice. I call that "the big voice" That one seems like it tops out around C#5 even though I am not consistent with that. I really only use it to G4.
My other one is what I call "the little voice" This one is can link to falsetto easily and I can use it is as high as my falsetto will go. However it can also sound very chesty up to G4 or #G4 where I thins out a lot. I can always link this voice to falsetto. I would love to make this voice beefier in the higher registers.
The commonality between both voices is that if I open my nose port and tilt my larynx as I ascend I get better chord closure and ease of singing. I can link these voices pretty well from like E4 to G4, but after that, they are distinct and not linkable.
Is this basically the difference between "overdrive" (big voice) and "edge" (little voice) in CVT language?
Thanks for the comment and question -- it's funny because I was listening to a lecture today about registration, and one of the early classifiers called things the batural or big voice and the other one little or false voice (where we get falsetto from.) I'd have to hear the sounds you're making to tell you what exactly is going on. It sounds like you're wanting to reinforce or find more amplification/twang in your mode 2/head voice though, and there are ways to shape the tract and move your air that can do that. I've got this topic on the list to make a vid about. You might be experiencing some helpful efficiency by singing through your nose that goes away when you switch to mouth resonance, and the continuum of the two coordinations/registers is very important -- seeing them as a constantly shifting and malleable event rather than different planets. I've saved your comment in my calendar with some similar questions, so I'll make a video that addresses some of these things
and this video may have some answers for you in case you haven't seen it yet ruclips.net/video/FJzehL0qeeA/видео.html
@@dancallawaystudio thanks for the answer!
Yeah, I definitely try to keep the nose resonance going when I go higher in my range. Sometimes, that transition between nose and mouth resonance is tricky, and sometimes it works perfectly. Such is life I suppose.
I would definitely appreciate a video on mastering that transition!
Tired of being the king of G4, when I know I have the potential to go beyond that consistently, lmao!
And I should also mention that I do most of my singing in that M2 coordination. It is much easier and sustainable and works perfectly for me up until #G4.
@@donrogg The king of G4 -- could be a band name :) Yep -- the good thing is that you're sensing what happens when you adjust things in the tract, so that's always helpful info. But yeah, you want access to all kinds of options -- sometimes a little vibration through the nose is what we want, and often it's not the kind of communication we'd choose if we could. Having choices and access is what we all want with our singing, I know. I'm in that club with you
That belted high C was everything 😆
why thanks :) i have a 5 year old at home who's helped me nail that resonance pattern
@@dancallawaystudio I'm gagging 😆 but I really appreciated this video for real 🙏🏻
@@wsudance85 so glad it was helpful -- thanks for letting me know
Thank you
You've very welcome
Great video. Something I struggle with is that when I enter my “break” around f#4 and g4 I have a habit of clenching the jaw and mouth in general to get chord closure.
Super common thing to do. I still have to watch out for this, so we are in a large club. When there's a transitional zone in the voice, the brain and body want to find ways to stabilize it. The body logic it usually offers is muscle engagement in the area it wants to protect from instability. In the exercise video I'll make, I'll try to include some ways to soften these engagements so you can find out what the vocal results are for you.
Hi, thanks so much for your content. My largest challenge right now is the tonality I get when I use a M2 coordination on the mid high to higher range and trying to make that sound more chest. Some of the artists have this higher range that feels like they can pull their chess really high but effortlessly. How do you usually help students find that coordination?
Thanks for the question -- it sounds like you're wanting to get more boost and body into mode 2? It's almost always a vocal tract shape or coordination change that'll get you closer to the sound you want. If it's breathier than you want, and you can't vary it, you'll need to let your pharynx/swallowing muscles soften, check that you're giving your larynx freedom to float, and give your chewing muscles and root tongue some TLC to soften up.
If it's having a hooty-er or rounder shape than you want, you'll want to play with more divergent tract shapes on vowels like /ae/ like cat or /e/ like Canadian "eh?" And also imitating some mode 2 divergent voices can be fun -- Elmo, a 1920s gangster's girlfriend, all manner of cartoon characters. For the divergent shape, and for higher M2 pitches, your larynx will float high, your tongue will coordinate create a cozy acoustic space in your pharynx, and your soft palate will relax down a little. This creates a smaller-to-bigger shape that often brings metal, body, brightness, and what some would call more mix in mode 2.
Hope this helps -- ask me more if I didn't answer your Q.