Q: Are falsetto and head voice the same thing?
A: No. Falsetto is the lightest vocal production made by the human voice. It is limited in strength, dynamics and tonal variation. Usually, there is a considerable 'jump,' 'break' or 'disconnect' between your chest (speaking) voice and your falsetto. Noted vocal coach and voice therapist Randy Buescher of Chicago defines falsetto as:
"a coordination where the outer layer of the vocal cord (mucosa, i.e. internal skin or muscular covering) is vibrating, creating sound, but without engaging the actual musculature of the cord. Also, there exists no medial compression. In other words, during the vibratory cycle, the cords never fully approximate. In head voice, the cords approximate, but the vibration of the cord moves away from the full depth of the vocal cord (chest voice) to a pattern that involves less and less depth of vocal cord as you ascend toward the top of your range. The highest notes of your range involve only the vocal ligament. However, there is no consensus among experts on the official definition of vocal registers."
A: No. Falsetto is the lightest vocal production made by the human voice. It is limited in strength, dynamics and tonal variation. Usually, there is a considerable 'jump,' 'break' or 'disconnect' between your chest (speaking) voice and your falsetto. Noted vocal coach and voice therapist Randy Buescher of Chicago defines falsetto as:
"a coordination where the outer layer of the vocal cord (mucosa, i.e. internal skin or muscular covering) is vibrating, creating sound, but without engaging the actual musculature of the cord. Also, there exists no medial compression. In other words, during the vibratory cycle, the cords never fully approximate. In head voice, the cords approximate, but the vibration of the cord moves away from the full depth of the vocal cord (chest voice) to a pattern that involves less and less depth of vocal cord as you ascend toward the top of your range. The highest notes of your range involve only the vocal ligament. However, there is no consensus among experts on the official definition of vocal registers."
Q: Should I eat before I sing or perform?
A: If you are hungry, eat. Don't stuff yourself with a 7-course meal. Just eat until you are satisfied. Always eat at least an hour before your performance to avoid what singers call a "gunky" throat. You will have the strongest temptation to clear your throat (which can be harmful) immediately after eating, but waiting an hour is usually enough time for your meal to settle.
Q: What's the proper way to clear my throat?
A: Some say that you should never clear your throat, but excess mucous inhibits free vocal cord coordination. The trick is to find a way to clear your throat without irritating it. Do a gentle "whispered cough" (without tone) and then swallow. Repeat. If this doesn't work, you need to deal with the excess mucous production. Squeeze a 1/4 of a lemon in a tall glass of water and sip over about 20 minutes. This should cut through a lot of the excess mucous. Furthermore, watch your dairy intake... especially cheese. You should never eat it on the day of a performance!
Q: I'm working on my R&B/Gospel styling, but my trills are slow and sloppy. Is there any thing I can do to speed up my trills?
A: The first thing we need to do is understand what trills are (also called licks, runs and turns). A trill is a scale sung dynamically with crisp delineation, fast vibrato and a clean attack or onset. In other words, going from one note to another without slurring or sliding, because slurring notes together gives the impression of poor vocal control.
On the other hand, you don't want to add an 'H' sound, a staccato or glottal stroke (clucking noise) to your vocal line to achieve separation between notes. This will create an artificial and artistically unpleasant sound. So how is note delineation organically achieved? First, start on an F below middle C for the men or F above middle C for the women. Now sing up to a G and then back down. Learn to go back and forth as rapidly as possible without sliding or losing note distinction until you feel a 'bounce' between notes. Use a metronome and start at sixty beats per minute and speed up one or two bpm at a time while singing eighth notes.
Speed up only as fast as you can while remaining clean in your note delineation. If you can get to 200 bpm, then you're up to speed with Mariah Carey and Brian McKnight. Now you just have to learn to put together longer patterns of notes within the scales used for the style you are singing in. These scales are cataloged in the Singing Success Program.
It's important to understand that learning is incremental with this. If you only speed up one beat a day, which is so gradual that it can hardly be felt, then in less than four months, you can be at 200 bpm.
Q: Can anyone learn how to sing?A: It always amazes me when I am asked can I learn how to sing. Yes anyone can learn how to sing. Most people are under the false belief that singers are born with the ability to sing. You either have it or you don't. Nothing could be further from the truth. With the proper singing instructions anyone can learn how to sing.
There are a few people who through trial and error happen to stumble upon the proper singing techniques. These people are referred to as natural born singers, but in reality they learned how to sing using the same techniques that can be taught to anyone. Providing you receive the proper vocal training.
Learning how to sing does not involve learning, and practicing boring scales or breathing exercises. Learning how to sing properly is a natural systematic process to building a powerful singing voice without any injury or stain. With the proper singing instructions you can learn how to sing, and should see dramatic improvements to your singing voice literally overnight.
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