Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Rod "Rodeo" Allen on September 11, 2009 at 3:15pm

Actually, I hate the sound of my voice & have trouble finding pitch. On certain songs I can hear the 3rd and hit it, but confidence just isnt there. I want to get better & be able to do more BG vocals in Live situations. Any suggestions?

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Permalink Reply by Judy Rodman on September 11, 2009 at 7:17pm

Rod;
Most often the reason someone "hates their voice" is because of the way it feels to use it. You are probably experiencing a tight throat with too much air pressure going through your vocal cords. You need to learn breath control; paradoxically it can give you a fuller, bigger sound to use less air! And your vocal tone will be richer and more pleasing, as well as "feeling" better when you use it.

As to pitch, sounds like you need some 'pitch practice". This involves a daily "aiming" practice hitting pitches. If you want to be able to hear a note third above the melody more consistently, you have to practice doing so. Play a melody note, sing where you think the 3rd would be, check it by playing it. If you're wrong, were you flat or sharp? Sing it correctly. Then try again. It's tedious, rote work but if you really want to grow your ear, there's no substitute for aiming practice.

Thanks for the question, and good luck with your music! If you ever want a lesson, let me know.

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Permalink Reply by Randy Kohrs on September 13, 2009 at 5:25am

I notice that landing on a downbeat with the band seems to be an all too occurring issue for many new singers. It doesn't sound all that hard until you do it in a recorded situation. If I mention it to a singer the first thing they do is overcompensate in the opposite direction. The other is singers need to soften their S sounds when recording. I absolutely hate using a de-esser, so I try to get proper mic proximity and teach them the turn away technique to soften S sounds. If they learn that they are making those issues happen, they can think about naturally softening them while singing too.

R

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Permalink Reply by Judy Rodman on September 13, 2009 at 12:46pm

Hi Randy.. so great to hear from you! I still love your cut of "Crack In My Armor", as well as that whole album. You're right about these issues. They both have to do with vocal control. Breath support and control helps singers get more exact with their rhythm, as well as an innate sense (or not) of rhythm in general. This can be practiced just like drummers and the rest of us musicians have to practice. It slays me that people take guitar and piano lessons, but many times are not taught to play with a metronome or drum track.

Sibilance, or the problem of noisy "s" sounds, can also be helped immensely by gaining more control of breath. I teach people to 'pull' s'es instead of 'push' them. When a singer gets the feeling down of almost inhaling an "s" instead of exhaling it, they use far less air pressure to sound it. This keeps them from popping consonants like 's' and 'p'. There's also a cool trick I use of putting two fingers right in front of the mouth just as the 's' is pronounced. This literally breaks up the air being directed at the mic. Your trick of turning away is great, too, as long as the turn isn't so far as to reduce the volume or presence detrimentally.

Thanks for your thoughts, and again, great to see your voice:)

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Permalink Reply by Dana B Martin on January 10, 2012 at 4:06am

Most frustrating for me is that once upon a time I had a decent voice, particularly for ballad-type songs. It was untrained and undisciplined but still not bad. Over the last few years, though, it has begun to transform into the dreaded "old man voice"...you know, that big, slow vibrato that makes you want to reach for the earplugs... I'm acutely conscious of it but unable to change the depth or frequency. It seems almost like tremolo, rather than vibrato. Not sure if any of that makes sense, but I figured if anyone understood it would be you. Might you be able to suggest a remedy for the old man voice?

I'm mainly an instrumentalist, so this doesn't impact me much career-wise, and I still seem to do ok with tenor-range backup singing. Anyhow, thanks for listening to my rant. I look forward to your reply.

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Permalink Reply by Judy Rodman on January 10, 2012 at 6:34pm

Hi Dana...

Sorry you are having this problem.

You could have something called "essential tremor". However, I have found that weird vocal control problems like this usually can be helped by better breath support/control balance. If you can do something to keep your diaphragm stretched wide, you may find that you can control this problem.The fact that you are an instrumentalist also leads me to suspect this is the case.

1. you may be 'cradling' a guitar or crunching over a piano. This gives the diaphragm too much 'play'. You  need to straighten out that upper curve of your back when you're playing... wear a guitar instead of cradling it.
2. You may experience the wobble worse when you aren't playing your instrument. This happens because you hang your hands down, crunching in your ribcage and again, giving your diaphragm the ability to move to much (uncontrolled)

Try standing at a wall with your head and heel against it. Hold your hands about waist level or higher. Press your fingers into each other in such a way that widens the bottom of your ribcage (where the edges of your diaphragm are connected). Make sure your jaw is flexible, use your pelvic floor or legs for power. Stand tall but flexibly, and try to sing this way. Does that help?

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Permalink Reply by Dana B Martin on January 10, 2012 at 9:25pm

Amazing detail...thank you so much! I'll try it. Also, I'll cut you in on my first million.

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Permalink Reply by Judy Rodman on January 10, 2012 at 11:13pm

HAHA... I'll take you up on that:)

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Permalink Reply by Don Holmes on January 11, 2012 at 7:51am

Hi Judy,  Don't know if anything can be done about vocal fatigue except to simply not use the voice for a while and be careful in everyday speech.  I am trained in classical technique, having sung in college choral, voice lessons in college and all that stuff that I've forgotten much of.  I sing country, rock, pop, folk, all the popular songs sometimes 2 or 3 nights in a row, 3 or 4 sets a night. I am careful not to make a mistake and sing in a way to damage my voice, but I get tired and sometimes I loose some of my control and then the next night I am having trouble singing certain songs.  What can I do to improve this situation?

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Permalink Reply by Judy Rodman on January 11, 2012 at 6:35pm

Don;

Vocal fatigue is absolutely directly related to flawed vocal technique. You are, in all probability, pushing your voice too much. I teach a concept I call 'pulling' the voice by the articulation of the word. Vocal coach Jamie Vendera calls it 'the inhalation sensation'. Rock coach Melissa Cross talks about 'singing above the pencil' in your mouth... which you can't do until you back off your pressure and pull your voice out from above and behind you.

Vocal volume should come from resonation, not excessive air pressure through your cords. You could picture it as not getting your breath on anything in front of you. You need a better breath support/control balance... and an open throat.

You could have posture and body language issues that sabotage your breath and throat configurations. Try singing with your back to the wall, head and heels at the wall. Also, don't hang your hands limply at your sides. "talk with them' to keep your ribs wide.

And this works for classical voice, too; I taught a former screamer, a young boy, to eliminate his vocal strain and he ended up being cast for several big productions, singing up to a high 'c' without a problem in some of them.

You might want to hit me up for at least a 1/2 hour lesson so I can make this personal to you. If you do, let me know.

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Permalink Reply by Don Holmes on January 11, 2012 at 7:51pm

Thank you so much Judy.  Some of this rings a memory bell for me.  I would like very much to take a lesson from you when I am in town.  I took a guitar lesson from Gary Talley not too long ago with excellent resuts and I am so sure you could help me improve my vocal technique.  I am in town this weekend but already pretty heavily booked. I do have some time though. Please send me a message with details/logistics and maybe I can make it happen.

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Permalink Reply by Judy Rodman on January 12, 2012 at 8:29am

Don, I am about 20 minutes southeast of Music Row. 308 Cody Hill Place, Nashville, Tn 37211.

My fee is $100 an hour ($50 for 1/2 hr). I f you can't fit in in while you're here, I also give lessons nationally and internationally via phone and Skype. To schedule something, just call me 615.347.5195 or email at rodmanjudy@comcast.net

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