Vocal Music Advice

Hello. I’m a nineteen year-old tenor about to begin his sophomore year of college who recently became interested in singing. I’m a music major who started out as an instrumentalist and is now double-majoring in both trumpet and voice. I became interested in this while I was taking my music theory ear training course in which we had to “sightsing” melodies. My instructor suggested that I audition for the small vocal group on campus and was successful upon trying it. I’m discovering that the more I sing, the more I love it and have decided to pursue such a career. However, the problem is that, while my instructor has told me that I have a natural ability and inclination to be a singer, I’m very behind as far as experience in different types of vocal ensembles and am very uneducated when it comes to how vocal ensembles work. There is a large vocabulary that I feel that I’m unaware of (I had no clue what falsetto meant until recently). Furthermore, my endurance poses a problem, and I my voice tends to get very tired at the end of a rehearsal. Sometimes I feel that I’ll never catch up. What advice can you give me, a new singer wanting to seriously pursue a vocal career? Is it unrealistic for me to expect to pursue such a career even if starting so late?

ANSWER: Caleb, (or is it Casey?) it’s not too late!! … and I’m delighted for you!

You’re actually at a prime time in your life to 1) discover your gift, 2) to love singing, and 3) to decide to pursue it.  The fact that you recognize some of your deficiencies is good and will provide motivation to be a good learner.  Also, the fact that you’re an instrumentalist means that you probably read music proficiently which is also a major PLUS.

Please feel free to EXPLORE my blog.  Concepts and jargon (voice language) are presented in easy-to-understand language.  You will likely find much that is helpful to you (though I say it of my own writing) and you should make use of it.

I am not surprised that your voice feels tired after a 50-90 minute ensemble rehearsal.  Your voice will need to build stamina, and the sooner you are under the careful view of a reliable voice teacher, the better.

Concerning pursuing a career as a singer: Caleb, be aware that the arts are the first to suffer when the economy is down, and the last to benefit when it is thriving.  Many talented singers do not, and cannot, make a living just by performing gigs, operas, weddings, banquets, recordings, etc.  Most of us have another “J.O.B.” that we can rely on to keep a steady stream of income.  You need to be realistic … even if you’re another Jussi Bjoerling or Stephen Costello.  That said, I think you should still pursue what you love, develop your talents to their absolute limit, and take advantage of every opportunity given to you to perform.  Performers especially have to learn to save at least 50% of their gig income … to cover the dry spells when performing is not possible.  If I were in your shoes, I would also ask God to give me performing opportunities and help me learn to steward my time and money responsibly.

Trumpet and Voice: You will find very quickly, that the process of respiration, specifically breath support, is/feels very different for playing the trumpet and using the voice.  You may, in time, find yourself needing to make a decision to choose to pursue one, instead of both.

I hope you are encouraged … and keep pursuing singing!  Feel free to ask me any pertinent questions along the way.

Best wishes.

Hi!
I was just wondering if you could give me a clear definition of what ‘Head Voice’ is, how it works and how to achieve it?  David

ANSWER: Hello David,

Guess what?!!  I cannot give you a “clear definition” of “head voice.”  The reason is that the term denotes a non-scientific concept related to experiencing resonance on high pitches of the range.  We have just ONE voice … not a “chest voice” and a “head voice” or a third alternative … no we just have ONE voice.  “Head voice” is one of those esoteric terms in singing jargon that is used nefariously in association with resonation and vocal registers and can be very confusing to young students of singing.  However, I will not be in the least surprised if within a short while half-a-dozen voice teachers or voice students will proclaim—in my comment section—a dogmatic “definition of head voice,” each different from one another.

Having said that, the term “head voice” is widely used, so some explanation is in order to help clarify the situation.  The vocal cords are capable of vibrating in four distinctly different patterns.  (By the way not every individual is capable of producing notes in all these ways.)

The “vocal fry” can sometimes be heard by bass singers when reaching their lowest tones in a choral setting … and it happens when the vocal cords are loosely adducted (closed) and air bubbles through them.  A number of baritones and basses can produce the “sound” of the vocal fry and it affords them a few notes lower than their normal speaking-singing voice (modal register).  It often has a deep sepulchral sound.  The “vocal fry” register is the lowest in the human voice.

Modal register is the normal register for speaking and singing.  When the vocal cords adduct (close) and air is pushed through them, the whole musculature (of the vocal cords) is set into motion producing sound that can be clear and ringing.  In general, except for singers who specialize as falsettists, the modal register is universally used by all trained singers throughout their range.

Falsetto register is produced when the body of the vocalis muscles are relaxed and just the ligamentus edges are brought together … and only that thin portion vibrates.  The resulting sound is usually “fluty,” monochrome, breathy and without many overtones.  It lacks the richness and variation in color that is possible in the modal register.  This register also tends to overlap some of the highest notes in the modal range and continue higher for a few notes.

The “whistle” register is the highest vocal register and lies above the female falsetto range.  In this scenario, the vocal cords are seen to have closed over two-thirds of the length of the cord leaving one small portion open, not completely unlike puckered lips when whistling.  The sound is light, and until it became trendy through such popular singers as Maria Carey and Minnie Riperton, was used little.

The reason for giving you all this background is that depending on who the voice teacher is, s/he may use the term “head voice” to refer to falsetto, while others refer “head voice” to the upper-most notes of the range in modal register.  Rightly understood, the reference to “head” should be in conjunction with the high notes of a person’s range in modal (normal) register.
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Andrew, 24, says: I’ve studied privately in the past before, but I currently can’t afford a tutor. Lately, I’ve been noticing that it’s much harder to maintain an even, easy vibrato when I descend down a scale. I often briefly go into a straight tone, though I can usually maintain my vibrato if I concentrate. Can you tell me why this might be? Thanks!

ANSWER: Andrew, your question is a good one, however, it is one that can only be answered with any assurance of being appropriate for you personally by a voice teacher who sees and hears you in person.  So, what I offer you below may sound a bit “academic” and you will need to sift through to see what, if any, applies to you.

A consistent pleasing (fairly rapid) vibrato is normally a result of good coordination between the muscles related to phonation (making sound), and the mechanism of respiration.  If you find that on the descent to lower notes there are some tending to straight tone, then the likelihood is that there is an imbalance taking place.  Be aware, that as pitch descends, so also should respiratory support and vocal resistance – incrementally – little by little in a continued “balancing act” of vocal coordination that at the same time does not diminish clarity and resonance.  A tendency of many young untrained singers, or singers beginning training is that once the high note has been achieved, they seem to “freeze in place” maintaining the same energy and space with nothing changing on the descent to the lower notes again.  But in fact, we singers have to learn to stay flexible and ease up on support slightly as pitch descends as well as allow our oral space to diminish.  In other words, when we’ve revved up our physical engines to 3,000 rpm for the high note … we need to lower the rpm incrementally for the notes an octave lower, thereby keeping the balance and energy consistent.  Besides applying the principle of incremental energy per pitch (the higher the more, the lower the less), I’d suggest that you “memorize the feelings” you experience when you have that pleasing vibrato … and then work to reproduce those feelings throughout your range.

While I would not be overly concerned about what you have described, it does cause me to ask whether or not you are and have been staying physically fit.  (You don’t need to tell me.)  If you were once “in shape” but now live a sedentary life style, this will affect your energies … and your vibrato.  Even 40-minutes of exercise (that gets the heart pumping to 120+/minute and the sweat glands open) every day will help the process of keeping everything else in better working order.

You possess a sensitive perception of your own sound Andrew, having made note that you occasionally lose vibrato.  However, I’d like to encourage you not to become too “introspective” or “paranoid” about the little anomalies.  If you are singing a quickly moving descending scale passage … the sense of “slipping into straight tone” may be just fine.  Perhaps a good thing to do would be to have a well trained singer listen to you to confirm or deny the validity of your concern.

One last tidbit: the answer may be as simple as you performing some flexibility (fast moving) vocal exercises on a daily basis for a period of time, until you find yourself negotiating similar passages in the literature with the same energy.

I’d be interested to know if any of the scenarios “rang a bell” with you.

Best wishes.
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PS. Since your personal response to me … I can now say … you’d do better to be singing when you are refreshed and full of energy … not late at night when you’re already tired and spent!