Singing – Q & A

By Author: Maria Gini
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It is not just the beginning student that has questions regarding their singing voice even those who sing karaoke or perform weekends in a band have questions about how they can Learn To Sing Better.
Here at the Ken Tamplin Voice Academy , I always try to provide them with simple, easy-to-understand answers that not only address their concerns, but actually give them ‘usable' tools to help them improve their singing voice.
Here is a sampling of the questions I receive at KTVA…
I am older. Can I regain my voice?
The simple answer is yes, but you need to remember the voice is a muscle. And just like your biceps, abs, or any other muscle in the body, if trained properly, can be rejuvenated or built up. Of course since as we get older, it does take a bit more time, but still doable. If you are dedicated, willing to put in the time and effort you'll will undoubtedly see substantial gains and ultimately ‘rediscover' your voice.
I have had several people in their late 50's and mid 60's who have regained most all ...
... of what they have ‘lost” over the years. Just remember, you're not in your 20's or 30's anymore, so you'll have to rely on technique rather than the strength you had in your younger years.
I don't profess to be the “super hero” of vocal instructors, but I do know from my 30 years of singing and recording experience that realistic, practical approaches are the ONLY thing that will work in “restoring” or “recapturing” the ability to sing and sing well.
The proof is in the singing, and I worked with someone in the UK who was in his 70's. Not only did he regain his singing voice, he had never belted a full voice B below C. After our work together, he was singing a chest voice E ABOVE middle C. He was so pleased with his results he posted a testimonial on my website.
Depending on how you prefer to learn, I have a DVD course on the kentamplinvocalacademy.com site or if you wish I also offer private web cam lessons.
How do I connect my chest voice with head voice?
The key is to start out easy. In other words you should warm up first by not leaning to hard into the sound. Then little by little you can begin to add more volume as in the bright ping of a bright “ah” vowel.
That will allow the voice to stretch a bit and then you can come back and do it lighter, gently releasing into head register. I refer to it as releasing into the head register without hearing a break. The next step is to once again, add more volume that will allow the “break” to increase, but only to the point where you cannot hear connection and only if the voice is not “breaking up.”
The point is to drop the larynx and hold it in the “ah” position so as to NOT have the digastic muscle to become tense. It is support that is the key to keeping tension from the digastic muscle. This support should not come down on you when you ascend a scale no matter how loud you sing. Mine does not and I can teach you how to accomplish this, as well.
My recommendation to connect the chest voice with head voice is to work chest for a full 30 minutes. This will allow you to do an entire audio workout in chest and then start practicing connection. If you can't set aside that much time, do as much as you feel comfortable with (enough to get the voice nice and warmed up), then start working on the bridge.
You should also do the burble (lip roll) and tongue exercise. Once again start out easy by rolling gently into head voice and back down again. As long as you can do it without tension, about the 2 nd half of the tongue exercise, try using mostly chest voice.
Can I really learn how to sing without any stress?
Here's the honest truth, there is no such thing as SINGING WITHOUT STRESS. What is true is you can Learn To Sing by managing stress, but not eliminating it. Managing stress is accomplished by building strong muscle structures and move beyond that and let technique prevail.
Stress is brought by nerves. Using a sports analogy, let's say it's the bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, two outs, the game is on the line, you're at bat and down to your last strike – even the pros will feel a sense of nervousness. It's how they control this nervous feeling that enables them to “come through in the clutch.” The same is true in singing or performing.
Of course then there's rock and roll, which often entails “distorting” the voice. Technically speaking this is “stressing out the chords” to get the “distortion” necessary to belt out some rock and roll songs. Don't misunderstand what I'm saying, if not handled properly this distortion can cost you your voice over time.
No matter what type of singing you do you should always take good physical care of your body – eat right and work out so you have the strength and stamina necessary to build the mechanisms required to sustain whatever kind of singing you like, without incurring permanent damage to your voice.
My voice sound froggy. What do I do? How do I get better tone?
These questions can be answered in a few simple words. A voice with a “froggy” sound is caused because the singer allows their larynx to rise.
The easiest and best way to combat this is to drop the jaw and the tongue in the back of the throat. Then without allowing the tongue to raise or the jaw to move, work simple scales using the “ah” vowel sound. The singer should also keep the sound as bright as possible.
Performing this exercise will not only help to eliminate the “froggy” sound, but will also allow them to develop good tone.
Ken Tamplin Vocal Academy - Learn how to sing better with the Most powerful and effective vocal singing and get voice training.