This is brilliant and bang on. I just discovered your channel yesterday and your on the list of people i follow for singing. This is similar to what Melissa Cross says about vowels. And yes the Motorhead shirt was the key to coming to the channel. Im a huge Motorhead fan and learnt a lot from their music and lyrics. Great videos and keep sharing your stories of singing and showing it how it works. that helps a lot.
Yo mate I followed you for years but today I suddenly got it you have to keep those suckers narrow to fit where mixed voice naturally resonate I used to open them too much n therefore pushing n therefore panicking n pushing more till my range was locked Its easy to overlook that n feeling like is impossible to sing high
When you mention Vowels and shading and the different frequencies and such perhaps it would be helpful to mention that changing the vowel changes the shape of your throat and shaping your throat is how you tune the resonance or find it. I am sure you understand what I am saying better than I can describe it.
Yep, that's how it happens - I avoid using "throat" as a descriptor for many reasons. The second formant is actually in front of the tongue, so it's important not just to turn everything into a back vowel by singing "in the throat" so to speak, but yes, this change happens in the back on all vowels as you ascend. I find it's more practical to go for the resonance and tone rather than physically trying to wrangle your throat into shape. Obviously, my courses and training are in full detail, but it's trickier to really get the point across in a 5 minute RUclips without going too deep and confusing. Best - K
@@FoundationVocalStudio I mentioned it because having known or heard about vowel placement for years It never worked for me. You did touch on the reason in this video. You have to shade the vowel also which will change another area in the throat or rather "Vocal tract". Even knowing this I still have trouble while singing or learning a new song. I have an interesting story though...I once had a moment of vocal clarity so to speak. I was playing around with another concept, which I cannot recall, it may have been the idea of the soft palate and the larynx opposing each other, Lifting one lowers the other, or may have been the idea of listening or feeling for the separate frequencies, The buzz in the head and the vibration of the chest and trying to keep both while raising the pitch. Anyway... I ended up with a coordination I had never felt before, kind of like when copying an accent or creating a cartoon voice. As long as I kept the coordination the voice went through the passage without consciously modifying or doing anything. Everything felt and sounded natural. I was singing Aretha Franklin, High harmonies of Beach Boys, Elton John etc. without effort. This lasted for a good few hours until I was interrupted and lost the sensation. That was years ago and I have not found it since.
The likely reason that you struggle while singing a new song, is you're relying on the coordination or feeling, rather than simply making the right choice within the vowel and how this sound alters higher in the voice. It's likely you're focusing too much on the 'physical' change - and the reflex nature of the voice actually overrides this change the second you sing because tonally you're 'asking' for a different sound than the one you think you're setting up for; or, it's vice versa - you're tonally trying to make a change but not allowing it because you're focused on raising the palate, or lowering the larynx etc. There's a number of changes that happen in tandem - a tone shift, a vowel shift, a physical shift, a muscular shift towards the CT muscle, and then even your support will change. People often struggle to sing even after training and practice because they're putting importance over the technique itself rather than the principle the technique is trying to teach you/show you/train you to do. Thanks for the story - K
@@FoundationVocalStudio I am sure you are correct. Once I found the sensation or coordination the tone was completely different than anything I had produced before in that range. It sounded and felt "Deeper" like the lower frequencies were strengthened and the higher frequencies were supportive instead of the opposite as you get in "Falsetto". Thanks for responding. Your videos have always been more helpful than others I have found.
@@mdew24 I had similar cases of "instability" sometimes something happens and the voice becomes very easy to control. Singing higher, lower, different timbres, distortion, etc. In this state, any exercises and techniques are done easily and I generally stop wondering why they are needed if everything works just as desired. But when the "magic" ends, everything stops working at all, like a completely different body and voice. I do not understand
Would we sing the chorus of 'By my side' by Inxs as ' bah mah sah-eed' or ' buh muh suh-eed' when looking at vowels? It's such a simple line, but sometimes it just doesn't work no matter how I try to sing it
Generally I would sing an AA (like 'lateral' or 'last' as an American, or 'cat' 'hat' with an EU/AU accent) for "i" sounds like "by" or "time" etc. So, something like b-AA-m-AA-s-AA. So, what actually happens when you sing it? There's definitely more than one element to getting it right, with your vowel being the linchpin holding it all together - what tone are you going for? How are you supporting? etc.
@@FoundationVocalStudio Thank you so much for your answer,K. I love it and I have worked today on that line, surprisingly I worked out almost the same framework you have given me above. At first my problem was shouting on the starting note until I practiced just those vowels on all the pitches of the chorus. Even when that helped, I still wonder if I can do those lines in a different way, such as yours, as I really love how effortless you sing. My tone is not really a masculine one, lol. It's rather boyish, I feel.
How can i change my wovel shape.. its realy hard to me like im try to use something thats i never use. Should i change shape of mu mouth, tongue or its something different ?
@@FoundationVocalStudio Hmmm I think I'm starting to understand, or it just seems that way. i can create a vowel in the back at the soft pallet or somthing like that and at the same time create another vowel with my lips and tongue. Like "oo" (spoon) in the front and "eɪ" (came) at the back etc.
Hi, are there any books that explain vocal anatomy well? You have have said that you researched, i was wondering if you are referring to specific books as well?! Thanks
Do you have any tips for articulating when singing? My producer says my articulation sounds lazier (i’ve been practicing vowels) how do I articulate the words correctly while also using vowels?
There's two formants in the vowel - front and back/F2 and F1. The front of your mouth is really where you 'pronounce' the sound (it's sometimes called 'clarity') - this changes between vowels. AY is bright in the mouth, AH is dark in the mouth as an example...
I am confused a bit about whether you're using M1 (Chest Voice) or M2 (Head Voice) In Chest Voice NO vowel allows me to sing with ease above G4, I REALLY have to push and support to keep my cords together. In Head Voice, it sounds as easy as your singing, but not all vowels are "chesty" and it still sounds a bit thin, whenever I try to sing with a "belty" head voice "mix" or whatever.
I dislike the definition of M1/M2 - because, what you're really talking about is 'body' in the sound, which occurs in both head and chest voice; hence why you're confused about which one I'm in. Chest and head are actually ONE voice - but, if you want to use that definition, I'm in M1.5 ha. You're right, chest voice doesn't go above a G4, you should have transitioned your vowels by this point, and there's a shift in the mechanism around the E4 or so - ergo, stop trying to drag chest, and let the vowel and closure do the work for you. K
@@FoundationVocalStudio I definitely practiced some edge exercises on scales It turns out that my vocal cords are very weak by themselves, and I constantly use other muscles to compensate. I'm not at the vowel part yet because I think I should be able to have good cord closure all throughout my range first These edge sounds get me up to tops G4 in a pretty unstable way but I can definitely see the results in it! But yeah my voice isn't ready yet, it wants to break above F4 - G4 with the edge/squeaky door exercises, but I'm doing them every day! Thank you for the response Kegan! I'd like to hear your thoughts on this!
@@novakastmusic just remember, it's not about what you practice, it's how you practice. What are these 'edge' exercises meant to be doing for you/how can they be applied in your singing? As I said, not a fan of CVT and the curbing and the edge and the blah blah blah. Your voice is breaking because you're not using the CT muscle early enough, and it's likely your vowel is off. Edge exercises don't help with either of those things, it's just twang which is brightening your sound and creating back pressure. Use a slight cry in the sound, aim towards the back of the head, think 'down' with the muscles instead of aiming up and you should get that connection in a few minutes at most. Best - K
![Practicing exercises but singing songs badly? [The #1 fundamental of your singing voice]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/lZsXKZ2e1rY/mqdefault.jpg)
![[SFM] Risky Recital](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/RzNkY1_Nk3o/mqdefault.jpg)
This is brilliant and bang on. I just discovered your channel yesterday and your on the list of people i follow for singing. This is similar to what Melissa Cross says about vowels. And yes the Motorhead shirt was the key to coming to the channel. Im a huge Motorhead fan and learnt a lot from their music and lyrics. Great videos and keep sharing your stories of singing and showing it how it works. that helps a lot.
Awesome choice for a demonstration… love this song
Yo mate I followed you for years but today I suddenly got it you have to keep those suckers narrow to fit where mixed voice naturally resonate I used to open them too much n therefore pushing n therefore panicking n pushing more till my range was locked
Its easy to overlook that n feeling like is impossible to sing high
Suddenly the Richie Kotzen line ❤
Great video
When you mention Vowels and shading and the different frequencies and such perhaps it would be helpful to mention that changing the vowel changes the shape of your throat and shaping your throat is how you tune the resonance or find it. I am sure you understand what I am saying better than I can describe it.
Yep, that's how it happens - I avoid using "throat" as a descriptor for many reasons. The second formant is actually in front of the tongue, so it's important not just to turn everything into a back vowel by singing "in the throat" so to speak, but yes, this change happens in the back on all vowels as you ascend. I find it's more practical to go for the resonance and tone rather than physically trying to wrangle your throat into shape. Obviously, my courses and training are in full detail, but it's trickier to really get the point across in a 5 minute RUclips without going too deep and confusing. Best - K
@@FoundationVocalStudio I mentioned it because having known or heard about vowel placement for years It never worked for me. You did touch on the reason in this video. You have to shade the vowel also which will change another area in the throat or rather "Vocal tract". Even knowing this I still have trouble while singing or learning a new song. I have an interesting story though...I once had a moment of vocal clarity so to speak. I was playing around with another concept, which I cannot recall, it may have been the idea of the soft palate and the larynx opposing each other, Lifting one lowers the other, or may have been the idea of listening or feeling for the separate frequencies, The buzz in the head and the vibration of the chest and trying to keep both while raising the pitch. Anyway... I ended up with a coordination I had never felt before, kind of like when copying an accent or creating a cartoon voice. As long as I kept the coordination the voice went through the passage without consciously modifying or doing anything. Everything felt and sounded natural. I was singing Aretha Franklin, High harmonies of Beach Boys, Elton John etc. without effort. This lasted for a good few hours until I was interrupted and lost the sensation. That was years ago and I have not found it since.
The likely reason that you struggle while singing a new song, is you're relying on the coordination or feeling, rather than simply making the right choice within the vowel and how this sound alters higher in the voice. It's likely you're focusing too much on the 'physical' change - and the reflex nature of the voice actually overrides this change the second you sing because tonally you're 'asking' for a different sound than the one you think you're setting up for; or, it's vice versa - you're tonally trying to make a change but not allowing it because you're focused on raising the palate, or lowering the larynx etc. There's a number of changes that happen in tandem - a tone shift, a vowel shift, a physical shift, a muscular shift towards the CT muscle, and then even your support will change. People often struggle to sing even after training and practice because they're putting importance over the technique itself rather than the principle the technique is trying to teach you/show you/train you to do. Thanks for the story - K
@@FoundationVocalStudio I am sure you are correct. Once I found the sensation or coordination the tone was completely different than anything I had produced before in that range. It sounded and felt "Deeper" like the lower frequencies were strengthened and the higher frequencies were supportive instead of the opposite as you get in "Falsetto". Thanks for responding. Your videos have always been more helpful than others I have found.
@@mdew24 I had similar cases of "instability" sometimes something happens and the voice becomes very easy to control. Singing higher, lower, different timbres, distortion, etc. In this state, any exercises and techniques are done easily and I generally stop wondering why they are needed if everything works just as desired. But when the "magic" ends, everything stops working at all, like a completely different body and voice.
I do not understand
They should give this man a PHd. in voice .
I personally think I need a lobotomy sometimes, but sure - if there was such a thing, you can call me Dr. Rock if you like...
New video for Chest head and mix resonance please with the pen E and A vowel placement?
Where can I find your vowel modification chart? Thanks
Hey Craig - www.foundationvocalcourse.com/pages/how-to-sing-better K
Would we sing the chorus of 'By my side' by Inxs as ' bah mah sah-eed' or ' buh muh suh-eed' when looking at vowels? It's such a simple line, but sometimes it just doesn't work no matter how I try to sing it
Generally I would sing an AA (like 'lateral' or 'last' as an American, or 'cat' 'hat' with an EU/AU accent) for "i" sounds like "by" or "time" etc. So, something like b-AA-m-AA-s-AA. So, what actually happens when you sing it? There's definitely more than one element to getting it right, with your vowel being the linchpin holding it all together - what tone are you going for? How are you supporting? etc.
@@FoundationVocalStudio Thank you so much for your answer,K. I love it and I have worked today on that line, surprisingly I worked out almost the same framework you have given me above. At first my problem was shouting on the starting note until I practiced just those vowels on all the pitches of the chorus. Even when that helped, I still wonder if I can do those lines in a different way, such as yours, as I really love how effortless you sing. My tone is not really a masculine one, lol. It's rather boyish, I feel.
What the heck!! this guy is a freaking wizard, arrest him!
Thou shall pass! ha
How can i change my wovel shape.. its realy hard to me like im try to use something thats i never use. Should i change shape of mu mouth, tongue or its something different ?
Changing the word slightly helps - instead of "hey" sing "hair" or "hear" and see what this does to the space in the back.
@@FoundationVocalStudio Hmmm I think I'm starting to understand, or it just seems that way.
i can create a vowel in the back at the soft pallet or somthing like that and at the same time create another vowel with my lips and tongue.
Like "oo" (spoon) in the front and "eɪ" (came) at the back etc.
Hey BVS, what do you think about the book "The Four Pillars of singing"?
Run screaming, eat some nails, chew glass
I used to study with him back in Seattle.
He's actually a very good teacher, and a nice guy.
Hi, are there any books that explain vocal anatomy well? You have have said that you researched, i was wondering if you are referring to specific books as well?! Thanks
Look up anything by Ingo Titse.
@FoundationVocalStudio Thank you. I'd appreciate if you named a specific book by him.
Do you have any tips for articulating when singing? My producer says my articulation sounds lazier (i’ve been practicing vowels) how do I articulate the words correctly while also using vowels?
There's two formants in the vowel - front and back/F2 and F1. The front of your mouth is really where you 'pronounce' the sound (it's sometimes called 'clarity') - this changes between vowels. AY is bright in the mouth, AH is dark in the mouth as an example...
I am confused a bit about whether you're using M1 (Chest Voice) or M2 (Head Voice)
In Chest Voice NO vowel allows me to sing with ease above G4, I REALLY have to push and support to keep my cords together.
In Head Voice, it sounds as easy as your singing, but not all vowels are "chesty" and it still sounds a bit thin, whenever I try to sing with a "belty" head voice "mix" or whatever.
I dislike the definition of M1/M2 - because, what you're really talking about is 'body' in the sound, which occurs in both head and chest voice; hence why you're confused about which one I'm in. Chest and head are actually ONE voice - but, if you want to use that definition, I'm in M1.5 ha. You're right, chest voice doesn't go above a G4, you should have transitioned your vowels by this point, and there's a shift in the mechanism around the E4 or so - ergo, stop trying to drag chest, and let the vowel and closure do the work for you. K
@@FoundationVocalStudio I definitely practiced some edge exercises on scales
It turns out that my vocal cords are very weak by themselves, and I constantly use other muscles to compensate.
I'm not at the vowel part yet because I think I should be able to have good cord closure all throughout my range first
These edge sounds get me up to tops G4 in a pretty unstable way but I can definitely see the results in it!
But yeah my voice isn't ready yet, it wants to break above F4 - G4 with the edge/squeaky door exercises, but I'm doing them every day!
Thank you for the response Kegan!
I'd like to hear your thoughts on this!
@@novakastmusic just remember, it's not about what you practice, it's how you practice. What are these 'edge' exercises meant to be doing for you/how can they be applied in your singing? As I said, not a fan of CVT and the curbing and the edge and the blah blah blah. Your voice is breaking because you're not using the CT muscle early enough, and it's likely your vowel is off. Edge exercises don't help with either of those things, it's just twang which is brightening your sound and creating back pressure. Use a slight cry in the sound, aim towards the back of the head, think 'down' with the muscles instead of aiming up and you should get that connection in a few minutes at most. Best - K
Am I right in saying that singing a vowel provides a particular tone and placement and singing with those is modifying your vowel?
Sure, you can look at it that way!
🤘