I've been watching all of your videos and they've helped me immensely! My voice has automatically changed just by adopting the minipuffs, the diagonal lean and the "crying" mouth shape. Obviously there's still a long way for me to go, but in 3 classes it's like water turned into wine. Thank you so much, Michael. Your lessons will never be forgotten and I reckon many opera singers will benefit from your videos in the future, for sure.
Thanks, maestro! I am breathing, thank goodness (never thought I would one day sing some of those long Mozart lines in just one breath and you've given me a good hand in that!)! You certainly have a great treasure in your hands and are really kind to share it with us. I hope my teacher won't pull my leg due to my baby crying mouth (she's still a bit sceptical about it haha). I wish you a wonderful 2017 and all the best as well!
I was struggling with a breathy voice a long time, and tried alot of things that didn't help. Even went to speech therapy that didn't work. Recently I was referred to this video of yours by a friend (Youcansinganything) and for reasons I can't fully explain, this video realy fixed alot of things for me and helped me find a solution to the problem once and for all. I always thought that I had "problems with cord closure" after watching many videos by the other "vocal coaches" online, but what you explained here about breath "focus" and projecting the voice was exactly what I needed, and I was able to find the correct "breath" amount for a clean tone right after I watched this video of yours for the first time. This led me to realize that I had no problem with cord closure at all, it was all in the breath. I have been practicing this for almost 2 weeks and my voice is finally getting consistent and stable, which is almost like a gift of god to me. and for this, I want to thank you from the deep of my heart. You surely know your stuff. This knowledge needs to reach everyone. Thank you Sir!
Hello Maestro, I was reading the comments here and yes, I too experienced a tremendous positive change in my singing since I've started watching your videos I think there aren't many people in this world that can make us understand singing as you do. All I can add is that I do feel for myself how the clear vowels, coupled with the lower back breathing, is working out the balance in the voice. It feels like a rolling wave of air coming somewhere from behind the mouth if I were to describe it somehow Thank you very much!
My chief problems: taking TOO BIG a breath, ( too big to hold)AND having to get rid of some or part of it and opening the mouth too much. This is good advice. In also found the Lessac method of training actor voices very beneficial to my singing.
Hello Maestro Michael!! I play the piano as you can tell from my profile picture or the videos i posted. Recently stumbled upon your channel and saw some old videos of you singing and they made me fall in love in opera singing. Im 20 years old and is interested in opera singing because of you. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful infomation. You are my favourite tenor singer I have ever known!!
Many thanks for sharing your simple genius dear Maestro. I think of some of my favourite singers from outside of the operatic world, such as Stevie Wonder, Karen Carpenter, Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, all highly successful singers both artistically and commercially, and I can hear clearly the smile on their voices. Not only does the smile, or cry, give the voice projection and tone as you explain and demonstrate so adroitly, but it gives pathos and feeling to the voice and interpretation. What can be simpler or more natural than laughing or crying?
Very good teaching. All great singers(Callas, Caruso, Warren, Tucker, gedda...) open the mouth orizontally, using oval position as you said. Nowdays overatted singers use exagerated vertical OPEN of the mouth in order to create more space to achive the high notes singing fake dark, woofy or troathy. Italian word “Stai” is the proper position. I learnt to OPEN the mouth corectly watching Callas and l. warren. Thanks for sharing all this forgotten knowledge.
Thanks. I've been reading a book by Curoso and Tetrazzini and it sounds like the trimblevocalinstitute teachings are consistent with their ideas about apoggio "breath prop", breathing exercises, and open throat.
You and 'MOS Mediterranean Opera' are awesome Bel Canto teachers in the art of vocal culture! Do you have, or can you make a video that shows the physiological diagram of the muscles used to show the anatomical structures for breath support and management, the intercostals etc, and for phonation, the cricothyroid, etc., and then the legs and feet position one uses as a foundational base when one is singing? Showing what happens through the head cavities down to the torso and lower rib cages when one is singing while standing would be great to demonstrate too!
Sir the voice is a miracle i agree. My question: you talk about the 'ban shell' at the upper pharynx. I heard that for a contralto voice extended pharangeal stretch is essential for the ring in the voice (unlike other female fachs). My question follows thus "is it conceivable that the reason i have my breath stop between my shoulder blades is because having that rear focus of the breath helps me focus on the pharynx, which is also back there, and such having the back of my neck open and connected to the breath between my shoulder blades feels very comfortable for me a contralto and I sound clearer/more ring than when my breath stop is at the front: (naval chest or sternum)?" Sorry for being long winded but I have been really testing this out myself as I have no teacher presently.
@@Tenoretrimble i had THE INVISIBLE THROAT TONGUE JAW written in caps in my notes of your talks. I will review those notes and apply what you say here. Thankyou very much.
Dear Michael, I am a very beginner singer ( 2 months)...and I am trying to understand the breathing technique of the Bel Canto but there are so many contradictions in the videos I watch..so, to make it clear...This is what I am practicing.. 1) When I inhale (through my nose), I pull in my lower chest/ Abdomen inwards ( like someone that tries to look thinner by hiding his belly) and at the same time, I am pushing out my lower back ( kidneys area), nothing seems to move from my shoulders or my upper chest ( above my nipples) when I inhale 2) When I start to vocalize, I am opening my mouth wide open , with the side corners of my mouth up, like a surprise , candid smile, without dropping my jaw ( like I used to ) , avoiding the "fish" mouth expression ("embouchure"?), I visualize myself as a baby crying or laughing, and I try to control at the same time the air leaking coming out of my mouth by inhaling air ( it's just imagery) when the sound comes out, it's like the sensation of swallowing air and I am trying to feel the resonance into my mask ( I feel nothing on top of my skull, I feel little buzz (or my imagination) into the cheeks area, behind my nose and above the hard palate ( like a tickling).. I am pinching my nose to make sure the resonance is there ( in my head cavities, and not in my nose) I apologize for my English, and redundant question but I feel like the breathing leaning is the foundation of my house .. Thank you again Sir for your Great Videos and teaching..
MichaelI last wrote to you about a year ago and am grateful for your input about certain passages in Il Tabaaro. I sent you the aria Nulla Silenzio, if you recall. I had sung Michele in Il Tabarro which was a success at 74 years of age. Recently, I watched a video of Nucci singing the baritone aria from Don Carlo. He was around 74 and it was quite remarkable. I notice that he slides a lot on attacks. Is this his secret to his vocal longevity. It is quite noticeable on AH, Eh and 0 vowels. Seems to give him good line. Heard his aria Dio di Guida from Nabucco and his slides are quite noticeable. There are voice teachers who frown on this approach. Seems to work for him. Should this be emulated? Your thoughts. Enrico
This is amazing, Maestro! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. I wish I could live in the United States to take lessons with you. Is it possible to learn in Skype in the meantime?
Just heard interview of Joan Sutherland talking about "happy surprise" which describes the the face you're making here for an open sound. Thank you for this information. Does anyone know good books/ resources for bel canto or singers, specifically soprano?
Thanks dear Maestro for this Video. I would like to know how the book is called you showed about Carusos mouth shape. Can you tell me the Autor and the Title please?
Have you ever heard Mario Filippeschi or Franco Bonisolli in a Theater? I am also an admirer of Aureliano Pertile. This three tenors I consider to be lyric/dramatic but leaning more to the dramatic side. I think a lot of people are fouled by the microphone that clearly captures the beauty of a lyric voice but seldom shows the vibrant power behind more dramatic singers.
In the video "The art of singing" Martinelli sings celeste Aida with his mouth formed just like your pictures of Caruso forming the vowels. I had a teacher telling me the opposite mouth position every vowel like the french (oo). I tried it and felt the voice dropping down the stairs! There are few left that saw and heard the singers of the golden era of opera. I had a singing friend saying that today singers need to be actors as well as singers and perhaps his wright but when the singing simply ain´t up to par with the singers from the past I wouldn´t care if they where joggling chainsaws while performing!
Do you recommend singing with that smile for a soprano who sings classical music? i wasn't sure if this only applied to men. I noticed when watching Sierra Boggess sing the high notes at the end of the title song from the phantom of the opera she used a tall oval shape, but the rest of the musical she sang with a smile. Is that tall oval shape only when you want a darker sound, or should it never be used?
Michael Trimble Thank you so much for your detailed answer! I never thought about it that way, how if we don't speak that way it doesn't make sense to force our face to do that. I also had no idea that famous singers used to sing that way. I will definitely start practicing this way, and I will check out your book. Have a great day :)
Michael Trimble Trimble, if you look at any great singer, they all vertically drop their jaw to sing high notes. This is only physiologically sensical...it helps prevent the raise of the larynx. Before you offer some charlatan answer of why I'm wrong, go look at any great opera singer and tell me they are all wrong. The smile and horizontal spread is wrong because it adds neck tension. Just sing any vowel without spreading, then spread horizontally. Tension. Why do you teach such stupidity?
Astralogics he was good in his youth. One of the greatest is absurd. Neither means he teaches correct physiology and technique. In fact many of the greats were terrible teachers because they didn't really understand what they were doing. Lehmann's book how to sing, for example, is one of the worst books on correct pedagogy and has led to vocal misunderstandings. Today lots of poor teaching flourishes as the "correct". Take David Jones on the forward tongue position. Completely idiotic, physiologically. You can even observe any incredible singer. They retract their tongues. There's physiological explanation. When the tongue retracts, the geniohyoglossis tenses, moving the root of the tongue out away from the pharyngeal wall. It's stuff like this lots of singers are either being misled or led only on a path to ok at best opera singing
You sound like a fellow who can't sing, lecturing successful singers on how to sing. Your root of the tongue statement is not only physiologically wrong, flat out, but all the singers I've studied with who've had major careers agree that a retracted tongue is death for the throat. You're confusing singers who "manage" to sing with an massive open mouth to thinking you "should" sing that way. Domingo sang well DESPITE his tongue position, not BECAUSE of it. For goodness sake an undergrad at any good music school knows the difference.
apparently i would nto be a dramatic tenor but a spinto very intense... she said ...I am so disapointed to ne to the new Corelli....in my living room thx for your answer
@@Tenoretrimble Thanks so much for responding. I know the dialect, but what I aspire to is that seemingly instinctual vocal style; rich with--I don't know if "trills" is the technical term I am looking for, but whatever it is called, it makes the lyrics sound like they come straight from the heart. As an example the music of Eddy Napoli, the contemporary singer (once lead singer in the Renzo Arbore Orchestra) who still sings in the style of the original napoletani folk singers. Caruso, to me, seemed to lean more to the classial side.
@Almost Free Maybe 'vertical mouth opening'. But I agree it hasn't helped a lot of today's young singers, like Stephen Costello, who combine big open-mouthed singing with forcing air.
0:48 "...in that shape" Well, what then can be said about singers like Carreras or Villazon? They obviously do it the other way and yet are world class singers.
True, but villazon fucked up his voice to the point he needed surgery, and now he's not really singing a lot, which is a shame since i really like villazon and im mexican as well, but the flaws were there.
Carreras was an A tenor, Bb or higher was a disaster. He pushed his sound out “spingere”, villazon had natural string chords that gave out from pushing larynx down with throat muscles vs via the inhalation. Michael is 80s and some vids he still blasts high b and high c with ease, like lauri volpi, 3 tenors and villazon only had world class agents not world class talent. Never forget in the time of 3 tenors bonisolli , martinucci and giacomini were the true great 3 tenors. But the original 3 tenors, monaco,corelli,rosvaenge
Watch mouth shape! Great baritone: ruclips.net/video/ZYameVeiRWQ/видео.html Great bass: ruclips.net/video/KFHyyVcsRQA/видео.html Great tenor: ruclips.net/video/t5M_kBpK6qc/видео.html
I've been watching all of your videos and they've helped me immensely! My voice has automatically changed just by adopting the minipuffs, the diagonal lean and the "crying" mouth shape. Obviously there's still a long way for me to go, but in 3 classes it's like water turned into wine. Thank you so much, Michael. Your lessons will never be forgotten and I reckon many opera singers will benefit from your videos in the future, for sure.
Thanks, maestro! I am breathing, thank goodness (never thought I would one day sing some of those long Mozart lines in just one breath and you've given me a good hand in that!)! You certainly have a great treasure in your hands and are really kind to share it with us. I hope my teacher won't pull my leg due to my baby crying mouth (she's still a bit sceptical about it haha). I wish you a wonderful 2017 and all the best as well!
Gracias Maestro!!! su generosidad y verdad en la enseñanza
I was struggling with a breathy voice a long time, and tried alot of things that didn't help. Even went to speech therapy that didn't work. Recently I was referred to this video of yours by a friend (Youcansinganything) and for reasons I can't fully explain, this video realy fixed alot of things for me and helped me find a solution to the problem once and for all. I always thought that I had "problems with cord closure" after watching many videos by the other "vocal coaches" online, but what you explained here about breath "focus" and projecting the voice was exactly what I needed, and I was able to find the correct "breath" amount for a clean tone right after I watched this video of yours for the first time. This led me to realize that I had no problem with cord closure at all, it was all in the breath. I have been practicing this for almost 2 weeks and my voice is finally getting consistent and stable, which is almost like a gift of god to me. and for this, I want to thank you from the deep of my heart. You surely know your stuff. This knowledge needs to reach everyone. Thank you Sir!
Mr. Trimble, do you have anything in your book that would help M2-falsetto voice development?
Very happy for you😊
couldn't agree more. had the same experience. the leaning of breath on the chest fixed breathiness immediately!
my voice has changed so much since i take lesson with Natasha !!
Thx Maestro !! I even do very quickmy a High D ...amazing
An awesome way of explaining projection. Thank you so much!!
Hello Maestro,
I was reading the comments here and yes, I too experienced a tremendous positive change in my singing since I've started watching your videos
I think there aren't many people in this world that can make us understand singing as you do.
All I can add is that I do feel for myself how the clear vowels, coupled with the lower back breathing, is working out the balance in the voice. It feels like a rolling wave of air coming somewhere from behind the mouth if I were to describe it somehow
Thank you very much!
Ty...this is the best lesson in singing, you are awesome...
Bravo Maestro!!!!! Maestro of voice! Million thanks! 🌹🌹🌹
Watching every one Mike. Apppreciated.
My chief problems: taking TOO BIG a breath, ( too big to hold)AND having to get rid of some or part of it and opening the mouth too much. This is good advice. In also found the Lessac method of training actor voices very beneficial to my singing.
Hello Maestro Michael!! I play the piano as you can tell from my profile picture or the videos i posted. Recently stumbled upon your channel and saw some old videos of you singing and they made me fall in love in opera singing. Im 20 years old and is interested in opera singing because of you. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful infomation. You are my favourite tenor singer I have ever known!!
I love your videos, Maestro!
Thanks again and again and again.
Many thanks for sharing your simple genius dear Maestro. I think of some of my favourite singers from outside of the operatic world, such as Stevie Wonder, Karen Carpenter, Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, all highly successful singers both artistically and commercially, and I can hear clearly the smile on their voices. Not only does the smile, or cry, give the voice projection and tone as you explain and demonstrate so adroitly, but it gives pathos and feeling to the voice and interpretation. What can be simpler or more natural than laughing or crying?
Michael you are a genius now days!!!
Peter Lundgren in Stockholm
Very good teaching. All great singers(Callas, Caruso, Warren, Tucker, gedda...) open the mouth orizontally, using oval position as you said. Nowdays overatted singers use exagerated vertical OPEN of the mouth in order to create more space to achive the high notes singing fake dark, woofy or troathy. Italian word “Stai” is the proper position. I learnt to OPEN the mouth corectly watching Callas and l. warren.
Thanks for sharing all this forgotten knowledge.
Thanx for all the videos sir much appreciated .
Very advisable,, thanks for this videos
Good stuff
Thanks. I've been reading a book by Curoso and Tetrazzini and it sounds like the trimblevocalinstitute teachings are consistent with their ideas about apoggio "breath prop", breathing exercises, and open throat.
Thank you so much for your teaching. Very usefull for me.
You and 'MOS Mediterranean Opera' are awesome Bel Canto teachers in the art of vocal culture! Do you have, or can you make a video that shows the physiological diagram of the muscles used to show the anatomical structures for breath support and management, the intercostals etc, and for phonation, the cricothyroid, etc., and then the legs and feet position one uses as a foundational base when one is singing? Showing what happens through the head cavities down to the torso and lower rib cages when one is singing while standing would be great to demonstrate too!
Great guidelines. Thank you +
love your lecture ... best
Sir the voice is a miracle i agree. My question: you talk about the 'ban shell' at the upper pharynx. I heard that for a contralto voice extended pharangeal stretch is essential for the ring in the voice (unlike other female fachs). My question follows thus
"is it conceivable that the reason i have my breath stop between my shoulder blades is because having that rear focus of the breath helps me focus on the pharynx, which is also back there, and such having the back of my neck open and connected to the breath between my shoulder blades feels very comfortable for me a contralto and I sound clearer/more ring than when my breath stop is at the front: (naval chest or sternum)?"
Sorry for being long winded but I have been really testing this out myself as I have no teacher presently.
@@Tenoretrimble i had THE INVISIBLE THROAT TONGUE JAW written in caps in my notes of your talks. I will review those notes and apply what you say here. Thankyou very much.
Dear Michael,
I am a very beginner singer ( 2 months)...and I am trying to understand the breathing technique of the Bel Canto but there are so many contradictions in the videos I watch..so, to make it clear...This is what I am practicing..
1) When I inhale (through my nose), I pull in my lower chest/ Abdomen inwards ( like someone that tries to look thinner by hiding his belly) and at the same time, I am pushing out my lower back ( kidneys area), nothing seems to move from my shoulders or my upper chest ( above my nipples) when I inhale
2) When I start to vocalize, I am opening my mouth wide open , with the side corners of my mouth up, like a surprise , candid smile, without dropping my jaw ( like I used to ) , avoiding the "fish" mouth expression ("embouchure"?), I visualize myself as a baby crying or laughing, and I try to control at the same time the air leaking coming out of my mouth by inhaling air ( it's just imagery) when the sound comes out, it's like the sensation of swallowing air and I am trying to feel the resonance into my mask ( I feel nothing on top of my skull, I feel little buzz (or my imagination) into the cheeks area, behind my nose and above the hard palate ( like a tickling).. I am pinching my nose to make sure the resonance is there ( in my head cavities, and not in my nose)
I apologize for my English, and redundant question but I feel like the breathing leaning is the foundation of my house ..
Thank you again Sir for your Great Videos and teaching..
el mejor - clear explanation not improvisation like the other
the best!
MichaelI last wrote to you about a year ago and am grateful for your input about certain passages in Il Tabaaro. I sent you the aria Nulla Silenzio, if you recall. I had sung Michele in Il Tabarro which was a success at 74 years of age. Recently, I watched a video of Nucci singing the baritone aria from Don Carlo. He was around 74 and it was quite remarkable. I notice that he slides a lot on attacks. Is this his secret to his vocal longevity. It is quite noticeable on AH, Eh and 0 vowels. Seems to give him good line. Heard his aria Dio di Guida from Nabucco and his slides are quite noticeable. There are voice teachers who frown on this approach. Seems to work for him. Should this be emulated? Your thoughts. Enrico
This is amazing, Maestro! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. I wish I could live in the United States to take lessons with you. Is it possible to learn in Skype in the meantime?
Thank you.
Just heard interview of Joan Sutherland talking about "happy surprise" which describes the the face you're making here for an open sound. Thank you for this information. Does anyone know good books/ resources for bel canto or singers, specifically soprano?
Great!!
Thanks dear Maestro for this Video.
I would like to know how the book is called you showed about Carusos mouth shape. Can you tell me the Autor and the Title please?
Thank you !
Have you ever heard Mario Filippeschi or Franco Bonisolli in a Theater? I am also an admirer of Aureliano Pertile. This three tenors I consider to be lyric/dramatic but leaning more to the dramatic side. I think a lot of people are fouled by the microphone that clearly captures the beauty of a lyric voice but seldom shows the vibrant power behind more dramatic singers.
In the video "The art of singing" Martinelli sings celeste Aida with his mouth formed just like your pictures of Caruso forming the vowels. I had a teacher telling me the opposite mouth position every vowel like the french (oo). I tried it and felt the voice dropping down the stairs! There are few left that saw and heard the singers of the golden era of opera. I had a singing friend saying that today singers need to be actors as well as singers and perhaps his wright but when the singing simply ain´t up to par with the singers from the past I wouldn´t care if they where joggling chainsaws while performing!
Do you recommend singing with that smile for a soprano who sings classical music? i wasn't sure if this only applied to men. I noticed when watching Sierra Boggess sing the high notes at the end of the title song from the phantom of the opera she used a tall oval shape, but the rest of the musical she sang with a smile. Is that tall oval shape only when you want a darker sound, or should it never be used?
Michael Trimble Thank you so much for your detailed answer! I never thought about it that way, how if we don't speak that way it doesn't make sense to force our face to do that. I also had no idea that famous singers used to sing that way. I will definitely start practicing this way, and I will check out your book. Have a great day :)
Michael Trimble Trimble, if you look at any great singer, they all vertically drop their jaw to sing high notes. This is only physiologically sensical...it helps prevent the raise of the larynx.
Before you offer some charlatan answer of why I'm wrong, go look at any great opera singer and tell me they are all wrong.
The smile and horizontal spread is wrong because it adds neck tension. Just sing any vowel without spreading, then spread horizontally. Tension.
Why do you teach such stupidity?
Stone You do realize that Trimble is one of the greatest Operatic Tenors right?
Astralogics he was good in his youth. One of the greatest is absurd. Neither means he teaches correct physiology and technique. In fact many of the greats were terrible teachers because they didn't really understand what they were doing. Lehmann's book how to sing, for example, is one of the worst books on correct pedagogy and has led to vocal misunderstandings. Today lots of poor teaching flourishes as the "correct". Take David Jones on the forward tongue position. Completely idiotic, physiologically. You can even observe any incredible singer. They retract their tongues. There's physiological explanation. When the tongue retracts, the geniohyoglossis tenses, moving the root of the tongue out away from the pharyngeal wall.
It's stuff like this lots of singers are either being misled or led only on a path to ok at best opera singing
You sound like a fellow who can't sing, lecturing successful singers on how to sing. Your root of the tongue statement is not only physiologically wrong, flat out, but all the singers I've studied with who've had major careers agree that a retracted tongue is death for the throat. You're confusing singers who "manage" to sing with an massive open mouth to thinking you "should" sing that way. Domingo sang well DESPITE his tongue position, not BECAUSE of it. For goodness sake an undergrad at any good music school knows the difference.
I noticed Pavarotti has the very mouth position that you describe!
Which book is that?
I found it! It’s from “Caruso’s Method of Voice Production” by P. Mario Marafioti, pages 243-247 in the soft cover edition.
apparently i would nto be a dramatic tenor but a spinto very
intense... she said ...I am so disapointed to ne to the new Corelli....in my living room thx for your answer
YAY! new videos! :)
How to learn neapolitan singing technique?
@@Tenoretrimble Thanks so much for responding. I know the dialect, but what I aspire to is that seemingly instinctual vocal style; rich with--I don't know if "trills" is the technical term I am looking for, but whatever it is called, it makes the lyrics sound like they come straight from the heart. As an example the music of Eddy Napoli, the contemporary singer (once lead singer in the Renzo Arbore Orchestra) who still sings in the style of the original napoletani folk singers. Caruso, to me, seemed to lean more to the classial side.
A number of great singers, like Corelli, used a large mouth opening.
@Almost Free Maybe 'vertical mouth opening'. But I agree it hasn't helped a lot of today's young singers, like Stephen Costello, who combine big open-mouthed singing with forcing air.
7:30
0:48 "...in that shape" Well, what then can be said about singers like Carreras or Villazon? They obviously do it the other way and yet are world class singers.
True, but villazon fucked up his voice to the point he needed surgery, and now he's not really singing a lot, which is a shame since i really like villazon and im mexican as well, but the flaws were there.
Carreras was an A tenor, Bb or higher was a disaster. He pushed his sound out “spingere”, villazon had natural string chords that gave out from pushing larynx down with throat muscles vs via the inhalation. Michael is 80s and some vids he still blasts high b and high c with ease, like lauri volpi, 3 tenors and villazon only had world class agents not world class talent. Never forget in the time of 3 tenors bonisolli , martinucci and giacomini were the true great 3 tenors. But the original 3 tenors, monaco,corelli,rosvaenge
Watch mouth shape!
Great baritone: ruclips.net/video/ZYameVeiRWQ/видео.html
Great bass: ruclips.net/video/KFHyyVcsRQA/видео.html
Great tenor: ruclips.net/video/t5M_kBpK6qc/видео.html
You’re a funny old man