Singing questions!?!


Question: Singing questions!!?
Well as I have already posted a sound clip of my voice in another question, I was going to use this to ask a wide variety of questions!. To make it simpler for those answering (which I thank!), I will number them!.

1!. I've been told by many to sing "from the diaphragm" but how do you "do" such!? I know how to breather with the diaphragm (taking in air from the bottom, as your stomach slowly moves in and out; no chest or shoulder movement)!.

2!. Do you know any exercises for pitch control!? As a beginner I'd like to have a good control over my pitch!.

3!. How can I improve my tone!? Get a "fuller" sound!? Once again people say, by "singing from the diaphragm" (see question 1!) but I'd like to know alternate ways as well!.

4!. Do you know any exercises to help increase vocal range!? If so, post them here!

5!. Many people say, practice makes perfect, but as a beginner, how much is too much practice!? I don't want to damage my voice, especially in these early stages!.Www@Enter-QA@Com


Answers:
The most important thing to learn correctly and do every time you sing is to breathe correctly, and use proper diaphragmatic support!. This will also help a lot with pitch!. Along this line the one thing you can do every day, almost anywhere you are, without bothering those around you, is breathing exercises!. When you practice your breathing, you not only build the foundation for proper singing technique, you also build your stamina for singing long phrases without a break, and develop the proper muscle memory so your breathing is always the same, without having to give it a second thought!. This holds true regardless of the type of music you sing, or whether you sing solo or with other!.

I have posted several times in the last week the breathing exercise that works for me!. So here is what I recommend for a breathing exercise!.

Basically, what you want to do is be able to take the fullest breath you can, then control how the air is expelled while singing!. The end result should be a steady, consistent stream of air moving past your vocal chords!.

The first step is taking a good singers breath!. You want to fill your lungs from the bottom up!. With practice this can actually be done without the sucking sound so often heard with a deep breath!. What you want to do is release your back muscles and rib cage!. When you take your breath, you should be able to feel your mid-section inflate and the top of your stomach will move out!. Your shoulders and neck should not move at all with this breath!.

The picture to illustrate would be if you place an empty bottle below water, and squeeze all the air out!. When you release the bottle, it automatically fills with water as it resumes its' normal shape!. Your lungs work exactly the same way!. You do not need to force air in, if you open your chest as described above, air will fill the void!. With practice, this can be done in 1/2 count or less, just by releasing the muscles!. This is also what is meant when a director or coach asks for a "silent breath!."

The exercise that worked for me when learning was to place a belt loosely around my mid-section, and feel it tighten as I take my breath!. This can also be felt just by placing your hands on your front and on your back and feeling the release!. The belt exercise helped me get the most out of my breath, but now I just use my hands to check myself!.

Once you have the air in your lungs, the next step is letting the air out in a controlled, steady, consistent stream!. This is where your diaphragm comes into play!. Your diaphragm is a muscle just below your rib cage between your ribs and your stomach!. It works naturally when you use it, but unless you train yourself, it will do very little!. All you really need to do is tighten your stomach like your are getting ready to lift something heavy!. If you watch a weight lifter, before he starts a lift he takes a breath, then tightens his back , ribs and stomach to support his lift!. Same thing for a singer, just not as strenuous!. Tighten your stomach and let the air out in a controlled fashion, and you are successfully using your diaphragm for singing!. Tighten does not mean to collapse your stomach, you just want to tighten the support muscles around your stomach!. The belt may loosen just a little, but it is the support you are aiming for!.

Here is the exercise I use to work on my breathing!. If you do this exercise enough, you will develop muscle memory so you do not need to think about your breathing when singing!.

Take a breath, then blow everything out, then take another good singers breath and hold it a couple of seconds, then in a controlled hiss, let it out on a count of 8!. By the count of 8, you should have expelled all your air!. Breathe it out evenly so it is all gone at the end of 8!. Do this 4 times!. Next, repeat the exercise, only hiss out on a count of 12, four times!. Work on this for a week, and slowly increase the count by 4 until you can hiss out your note to a count of 16 without dying!. You know you are there when you can get to 20!.

If you spend 5 to 10 minutes a day on this exercise, it will become naturally as a habit in about two weeks!. Then you just need to check yourself by running the exercise as part of your warm up routine whenever you sing, but once singing, you will not need to think about it again!.

One additional tip I just received last week that really works!. When you are practicing, bend you knees!. The more you can bend them the more it will invoke your back muscles which in turn get your diaphragm working with you!. I was actually practicing while doing a deep knee bend, and was amazed at how you feel the diaphragm working

This is an exercise I use to develop my high range and use as a warm up before every practice!. I start on a head voice pitch where I can warm up my voice!. (keep in mind this is for my range, so you may need to adjust for your range!.) Using my head voice, I will hit a B, above middle C, and first work to make sure I start cleanly, with an OU sound!. If I do not get the attack correct, I work until I am satisfied with my starting note!. Then I will sing down the scale in 5ths!. You want to make sure you are doing this in Head Voice, not full voice!. I will then run this exercise five times, moving down 1/2 step each time!. After I run this, I will drop down to a B right below middle C and work to keep the same tone in my middle range!. Exact same exercise!. I have to work to keep the tonal quality the same here, as I have a tendency to belt out my comfortable range!. Again, I do this down the scale in 1/2 steps!. Then go back to your high range!. For this I will start back E above middle C and do the same work only going up the scale 1/2 step until I reach the note that my throat starts to clamp down on!. I identify the note that is the limit of my upper range and make a conscious effort not to go any higher than that note!. With that limit note, I then will try singing the scale exercise changing OU to other voicing such as aa ee ii oo uu!. If the strain is more than a discomfort, stop and work one note below!.

When you start singing in your high range, if you feel any strain what so ever in your throat, don't go any higher!. Drop down to the highest note that you can comfortably sing!. Work on that range until you are 100% comfortable and slowly work up till you can comfortably hit the notes you want!. Remember, though, there is a limit to your range!. Pushing to far to fast can damage your throat to a point you'll never get there, so proceed with caution!.

do not POWER your high notes!. If you have to scream to hit them, nobody is going to enjoy listening to you singing it!. Keep your voice under control at all times, and not only will you sound better, you'll be able to sing much longer, without tiring out!.

also, remember to switch to your head voice, the higher you go!. As the notes get higher, the sound wave the create gets shorter and closer together and do not need as much power to generate, so lighten up on the higher notes!. Think of it as an upside down cone!. Your power should be on the low notes and decrease as you sing higher!.

Last word of advice!. Listen to yourself sing!. The only way to listen to yourself is to record yourself and play it back!. When working on a phrase!. Record/Listen identify what is working and not working, and fix it!. Then record/listen again until it is right!. Then proceed up your range!.

As far a practice!. Always spend at least 10 to 15 minutes of warm ups before singing full voice!. Just like an athlete does not go out and run or swing a bat or hit a tennis ball with our warming up, a sing should never start singing with out warming up!. Both body and voice!. If you do this there is nothing wrong with practicing every day!. The main thing to remember with your practice, is to practice with a goal!. Don't just sing a song!. Work on something that needs work!. It might be learning a new song, or working out a phrase that gives you problems or just developing your voice with scale exercises!. But unless you have a reason to practice, you will not accomplish much!.

Good luck and keep the song singing!.Www@Enter-QA@Com



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