How should it feel if I'm SUPPORTING my tone and CONTROLLING my breath corre!
Question: i have tried so many ways but have only felt discomfort so far! a bit of my current techniques:
1. "inflating my belly with plenty of air and letting my stomach push in right as much as i can just below the corner of my rib cage - where it shapes like a v." it feels like it works when i stand but it requires so much energy down there and my voice never hurt which is good but when i sit, it's almost impossible for me to sing this way. The energy applied allows me to blend my head voice with my chest but it sounds very thin. does proper singing really require that much energy?
2. "contracting my pelvic muscles - sorta like i was sitting on a bunch of nails ( i hope you get what i mean ) " It helps to control my breath more particularly but i can't do the same thing while i stand since i don't really feel my bum. lol. This is what i use most often but i feel like I'm hurting my voice sometimes.
AM I WRONG, RIGHT, PARTLY RIGHT?
Thanks for helping...
Answers: i have tried so many ways but have only felt discomfort so far! a bit of my current techniques:
1. "inflating my belly with plenty of air and letting my stomach push in right as much as i can just below the corner of my rib cage - where it shapes like a v." it feels like it works when i stand but it requires so much energy down there and my voice never hurt which is good but when i sit, it's almost impossible for me to sing this way. The energy applied allows me to blend my head voice with my chest but it sounds very thin. does proper singing really require that much energy?
2. "contracting my pelvic muscles - sorta like i was sitting on a bunch of nails ( i hope you get what i mean ) " It helps to control my breath more particularly but i can't do the same thing while i stand since i don't really feel my bum. lol. This is what i use most often but i feel like I'm hurting my voice sometimes.
AM I WRONG, RIGHT, PARTLY RIGHT?
Thanks for helping...
I don't know where you got these tips from, but I'm sorry to say they are both wrong.
According to the historical italian school of classical singing, we want to find a balance point where the muscles of inhalation and the muscles of exhalation start to work together, instead of against one another.
An easy exercise to feel this:
1.stand up straight ( but not military)
2.breathe in for four counts, and feel the muscles around your waist expand ( use seconds for counts, or beats)
3.wait, don't exhale, but just wait and start to feel what those muscles do. also, keep your throat from shutting up
( it may help you to imagine how a 5 yr old kid might feel, getting to stay up and watch the fireworks going up. Breathless with amazement, yet totally in the moment.)
4. exhale four counts
Repeat.
did you feel where the balance point came? you didn't need to pull in or contract anything, perhaps the opposite, a slight expansion that kept going, all around your waist where the ribcage ends.
the Italians called this appoggio, or support. Over the years, tihs has taken on a somewhat negative connotation. Whaddaya need support for? Are ya weak?
Just the opposite- we use this lean onto our muscles for more balance, because we are active in utilizing this energy, rather than considering ourselves weak, we feel stronger, more solid, more sure of ourselves.
I strongly advise to to take some time and find these two books and READ them all the way through:
Singing: The Mechanism and the Technique, by Dr. William Vennard
Training the Tenor Voice, by Richard Miller
( 3rd on the list: Solutions for Singers, by Richard Miller)
I would also strongly advise you to have a conversation with your singing teacher or whoever it is that gave you this mis-information, and find out whether they have solid scientific ( yes, indeed, it has been scientifically substantiated nowadays) reasons for telling you to do what you have described. If they cannot give you real reasons, just a sort of, "well that's how I learned it" excuse, run away.
find another teacher who actually knows what breathing is about.
I'm not amazed that you are encountering difficulty. there are so many quacks still out there!
In short, don't pull in, either your stomach, nor your ribs, nor your pelvic girdle.
Yes, to blend "chest" and "head" voice, you will need more bodily energy, but it shouldn't be by pulling in on anything.
To get the feeling of utilizing your lower back and thighs should be no more than using your awareness to bring these forces into play. there really shouldn't be any exertion ( for G's sake, don't clench!) or force involved.
I know I've just opened a can of worms for you, but I suffered as a teen from rotten teaching, and I'm determined to set a few facts straight.
Take the time and get as much information as you can.
The books I suggested are available at your on-line bookstore, but pricey. Check out the music library at your college or university.
Best wishes and keep on singing