How to Sing - Warm Ups Part 2 - Rock the Stage NYC

[AtariMaxiToriyama]

Singing low like this, I don't have a break or clunk. But when I sing a bit louder, like a bit louder than speaking voice, I get a scratchy feeling right at my break, around G4.

[RocktheStageNYC]

@AtariMaxiToriyama - you have an undeveloped ability to keep cord closure as you ascend into head voice. Typical of 99% of singers.

[GambiTheSlave]

Hi mate, still doing my best, but now I wanted to check out again the first lessons and then I hit this one and I have this problem you mentioned at 1:50 and I feel where it is, I'm slowin' down totally but still can't win with that weird jump/break. Any ideas? :(

[p0kgai]

1 question, you say its a falsetto slide but what im hearing is your sliding from your headvoice down to your chest. Shouldn't falsetto have the airy tone,

[RocktheStageNYC]

@p0kgai - falsetto most of the time has a breathy/airy tone but it can be somewhat full sounding - also know as "half voice". That's what I'm doing here.

[Hurplepaze]

When i slide from falsetto into chest voice i automaticly find my vocal break on the way down on the lowest notes of my falsetto and i still haven't got rid of the hickup sound on the way down, but i think i can learn to get rid of it. My biggest problem is when i slide from chest voice into falsetto, i cant find the right moment to switch or slide into falsetto. My voice automaticly continues up into head voice. So i'm not even close to sliding softly into falsetto from my chest voice...

[themcdaveee]

yo your vids rock dude.

how long would you say it will take before you have a fluent non-breaking 'clunk' at the end of your chest voice? i've been doing various exercises including these one's for about 2 months now and am starting to notice the difference but it's not perfect yet i still have trouble reaching for the higher notes e.g. E,G,A,B and so on... am i supposed to attempt to reach these in chest voice or do i simply use head voice even though it sounds less full than chest.

cheers

[RocktheStageNYC]

@themcdaveee - how long depends on you really. How hard do you train, how well do you throw away old habits in favor of correct new ones? Half the battle with singing is in your head and your attitude towards training.

Typically I see good improvement in 90 days and great progress in 6-9 months. A small time to take in getting a great sounding voice.

[themcdaveee]

@RocktheStageNYC I do a small practise session followed by a big practise session containing all of the exercises i have picked up along the way on alternating days e.g. monday - small practise, tuesday - Big practise and so on...

i have recently found a technique that is very helpful when trying to find the correct head voice which is to sing quietly and softly and not force or push at all, that way the transition between chest voice and head voice is much easier! is this a good technique?

[RocktheStageNYC]

@themcdaveee - that "sing quietly" can be one of two things - falsetto or light connection. But that's how you start accessing head voice without strain. Never sing a note in full voice you have not sung in falsetto first.

[themcdaveee]

@RocktheStageNYC at the moment i am having trouble getting a mix, i can achieve it sometimes but not others, while this is being worked on do i carry on trying to reach for the big notes up high in my chest voice or do i do them in my less powerful head voice? will the head voice continue to become more powerful and full if i keep at it?

[RocktheStageNYC]

@themcdaveee - do them in your less powerful head voice first and get them right. Its best to do them light first, get them well executed then work on power.

[Gigsixstrings]

A helpful exercise!

[TaeDKelley]

wow this helps alot. your good man.. lol

[747RocksJax]

Cool. I need to warm up more before we perform. Thanks for posting.

[vlatkoila4ev]

Now i am confused ... you said that if i dont clunk i am in full voice (head voice) ... here u say that it is falsetto ... and in the video How to sing high notes you do the same thing about this exercise with hiiiaaaaa.... There u say that it is head voice here falsetto...! I dont get this!

[RocktheStageNYC]

This is just a warm up - it should be done in falsetto. Its not a range exercise - its a head register exercise to warm up the cords. No pressure, stress or loud volume.

I use the same "heeyaa" in the advanced technique because the phonation of "heeyaa" is very light on the voice. But in the advanced video I use "heeyaa" in full voice.

I often use the same exercise for two very different techniques. I just tweak it a bit.

[dereknorton]

dude ... cool thnx I practiced that and it works just great:))) thnx a lot

[JaCkMiChEaLs0n]

i cant get through the break no matter how i try

when i try to slow through it i get to this weird 'dog whistle' type sound

what am i doing wrong

[RocktheStageNYC]

there's no way for me to possibly know without hearing it. These are very easy exercises, if you're breaking with these, there is WAY too much strain in your voice.

[JaCkMiChEaLs0n]

thats encouraging TT-TT

[legato29]

Don't worry! It will come with time. I don't exactly know what you mean by "Dog whistle sound" but my hunch is that when he says slow it down, you are not only slowing it down but also getting softer by decreasing your breath support. If you do this, their will not be enough air flow to make your vocal chords phonate properly, thus yielding a "dog whistle" type sound. For me I had to wait a couple of years after my voice changed before I could get my falsetto and modal voice to mix. Good luck!

[JaCkMiChEaLs0n]

its not that i wasnt letting air through its that i was using the wrong vocal chords. its like when you have a bad dream and you cant scream. ive been getting a little better but i still suuuuuuuck

if you have free tie you can look me up as

needalltheicanget at a website called singsnap its a karaoke site that ive been uing to get constructive critisism

i dont want to plug for popularity or views i just really need helpfull advice and constructive critism

[vlatkoila4ev]

Is this helping me to build up muscle memory ... i mean is this clunk between the falsetto and the chest the same clunk that is between head and chest?Because if i wanna sing high notes in head voice i must get rid of the clunk... but if i do it with falsetto and than to chest i may not be training the right muscles right?

[RocktheStageNYC]

the clunk or vocal break sits right where chest register ends and head register begins.

If you "clunk" you're in falsetto. If you sing into head voice correctly, there is no break or "Clunk".

[vlatkoila4ev]

I tried to do this and at the passagio i slow down with my note gently and than it hapend i went to chest without problem ...i do this about 20 times in a day .... practise is all i need!

[Rengarg]

Thanks. This will help a lot.

[Rengarg]

I find this technique very useful, and all your videos are too. I'm just wondering,for how long should I practise these techniques a day? Thanks.

[RocktheStageNYC]

it all depends on what level of singing your at. Trying to practice too long or too much can lead to damage if your voice isn't strong enough.

My order practicing for beginners to intermediates goes like this: breathing drills, warm ups, chest voice, head voice then warm ups to cool back down.

if you have a 3-4 exercises for each thing and do them each about 5 times, before you know it 30-40min has passed. Do this 4-5 times a week. When you're stronger, do it 6 days a week if you can.

[SweeneyStyles]

what's the difference between falsetto and rock falsetto?

[RocktheStageNYC]

reinforced falsetto used a lot on Rock singing puts more air pressure through the cords to blow them out and create a raspier tone and increase volume.

[SweeneyStyles]

In the musical les mis, at the end of the song who am I ; jean valjean does a very high note to One. is there any way i can do this note but making the falsetto sound thicker and sound more like full/mixed voice. i cant access full tilt yet but can use tilted speech but i cant get high enough. any ideas?

[RocktheStageNYC]

do any head voice exercise with the words "mum", "muh" or "goo". These are low laryngeal positions and bring a bit more fullness resonance to a mixed voice or falsetto.

[SweeneyStyles]

Ok :)

as i say my voice is in the middle of breaking so I do need to be delicate but as I'm still fairly young any damages can be revursed with work, but is there any technique i can use to improve my range? I'm a baritone at the moment due to my voice breaking but I'd love to have a tenor range as well. at the moment i can go down to a bass cleff B then up to a treble G.

[RocktheStageNYC]

increasing range is a slow and delicate process if you're voice isn't strong enough to start pushing top notes out of it.

You can use sirens to increase range and the technique in my "singing high notes" video. But don't do these for more than 10min a day. If you're voice is a weird transition period you can do damage if you over do it.

BTW: I am still a baritone at the age of 40 and I can sing to A5 everyday. Some days B5 and C5.

[SweeneyStyles]

Thanks :)

I'm looking to be able to perform songs like "heaven on their minds" from jesus christ superstar. that goes really high but not falsetto high.

[HitTheWallAndExplode]

please help me out I have a question. okay at the very start of this video when u started doing the falsetto slide was it? when u started doing that how u were singing high and you said pick any pitch that's comfortable to u, well I can't do it at all in any pitch. my throat just closes up and no sound will come out. can u help me out man I'm a complete beginner when it comes to singing. I was wonder if my tonsil's maybe had something to do with it? idk but yehh thanks man :)

[RocktheStageNYC]

do this exercise as if its just a very easy yawn. An exaggerated yawn. Pick a comfortable pitch at or just above your speaking voice and gently yawn downward. Then gradually try a higher note with that same gentle yawn.

I did a high pitch because I can - if you can't thats OK, choose one you can and try to go higher each time. You'll be surprised how high you can go once you get the idea of the yawn happening.

[HitTheWallAndExplode]

haha okay awesome! oh and I'm sorry my last comment was a bit confusing lol, it was like 4:30am haha! thanks so much though man!!!! :D

[blackstarbeneath]

I loved the video!

But I do have one question!

So when you do this exercise can you start from high to low and just go low to high over and over again?

And is there any certain/proper way?

Thanks!

[RocktheStageNYC]

its best to start from top to bottom to get a feel for how light and unrestricted it should feel. From there you can go either way. I mainly do these from high to low as a warm up but whatever ways works best for is what works.

[SweeneyStyles]

is this an easy way to disguise the pasagios?

[RocktheStageNYC]

not really this is just warm up that helps stretch the cords and warm the muscles lightly

[RocktheStageNYC]

its not an easy way to disguise the passagio - disguising the passagio is NOT an easy task. This is good for knowing how light the voice should feel when singing high notes and low notes.

[perlitablanca]

Thanks so much , this is good. I really like your aproach, it seems very simple and if it can be done without a scale its even better, now alwyas we have someone who can play scales for us. Can you tell what are the effects of singing on the car while we drive. I used to sing while driving, but my last teacher told me it was not a great idea. Thanks again for your generosity about posting all your videos.

[RocktheStageNYC]

There is absolutely no difference in singing in the car or singing in a chair at home -physically. BUT there is a difference in concentration. If you're vocalizing (practicing technique) driving while driving THAT is counter productive. Vocalizing is meant to be a focused period of voice technique practice. Now if you're just warming up or singing in the car - feel free. But vocal practice should be done where you can fully concentrate on doing the exercises precisely and correctly.

[littleyellowgrl48]

This is a siren, right?

[RocktheStageNYC]

not exactly - a siren has more vocal compression to it, more volume - a falsetto slide is more or less a "connection" exercise. Light head register connecting to a light chest voice.

I use it as a way to demonstrate to students that they don't have to strain to sing upper pitches and that all the notes from upper to lower should feel as unrestricted as the falsetto slide.

[lukatoll]

i really like your videos man.

thanks for putting these up

[cesmith2609]

how many minutes should i spend warming-up?

[RocktheStageNYC]

its different for each person's vice - until you feel your voice can do all you are requiring of it to sing and not have to strain or "open up" anymore. Typical warm up is 20-30min. Should be done about 1-2 hours before show time.