Adele’s new voice – Skyfall

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If you are working on your chest voice so you can sing more Adele songs, you may be able to access your mix more easily in her latest song Skyfall.

Most of this song is under the first bridge (as are the others). But most importantly, there is no chorus repeatedly using thick folds through the first bridge, like she did in Rolling In the Deep, and others.

Instead, Adele is playing it safe (and so she should so soon after surgery).

The word “tall” in the chorus of Skyfall is a very light mix….she’s definitely holding back here. This part of the chorus could have been bigger. Instead she is using thinner cords with no pushing whatsoever. A beautiful blend.

The first time we hear any belting whatsoever is at the word “heart” at 2:29.

Listen to the “cry” in her voice at 3:43 on the word “stand”. Note her head register in the mix at 4:13 on “let the sky fall”.

The build does start to happen at 4:24 to 4:30. She has saved her chest voice for 4:24 to 4:30. This is the only part in the song where she carries her chest voice up through the bridge with very thick folds and a lot of air pressure. At 4:436 she releases into her head voice for a beautiful exit to her phrase.

Singers, lots to learn here from Adele’s singing……….listen to it again…….and notice.

Comments? Questions? Please leave them here.

How does Jamie Vendera shatter a wine glass?

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Is your speaking voice breathy? Deep? Raspy? Whiny? Twangy? Heady? Throaty? Chesty? Thick? Garbled? Thin? Muddy? Edgy? Mucky? Tight? Loose? High? Low? Brassy? Mellow?

Your singing voice starts with your speaking voice.

Did you ever wonder how Jamie Vendera can bust a wine glass with his singing voice? Well, have a listen here to his speaking voice.
Note the edge and brightness to his sound. He is resonating like crazy while he speaks.

This guy has it all together. He knows the voice inside and out, and his speaking (and singing) voice proves it.

The likely reason his speaking voice is more “defined” and “buzzy” compared to that of Brett Manning, is because he is also a screamer. And, he is obviously able to resonate at a frequency that is able to shatter a wine glass.

There’s good belting….and there’s bad belting

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Bottom line…..good belting doesn’t hurt. It has a sweet edge to the sound. The larynx is tilted allowing the cords to close and stretch while remaining thick.

On the other hand, bad belting is usually pitchy and lacks “emotion”. A bad belt is simply yelling on pitch. There’s nothing musical about yelling on pitch without control that comes with proper belting. When you belt with thyroid tilt and just the right amount of breath pressure and emotion, you get a fabulous sound that you can control from the softest of soft to the loudest of loud.

My favourite theatre belters … Lea Michele http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNHVwwIIJXc

Check out Ted Neeley … watch at 6:00 minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rEVwwB3Iw0

Note: He`s over the top here with distortion and extreme sounds….but this man can handle it. I`m sure he has built himself up and saved for this moment of such raw emotion.

Favourite pop singer belters: Adam Lambert and Celine Dion.

Favourite country singer belter: Carrie Underwood. I can`t think of male country belters right now………Hmmmmm, who do you think. Let me know.

Favourite female rock belter: Ann Wilson from Heart

Stay tuned …. more on belting on future blogs:)

Check out Dave Brooks

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I highly recommend Dave Brooks from Nashville for singing tips. Check him out here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yE_yUawJdBU&feature=relmfu

Notice his emphasis on the “sob” and the “whine” to get cord closure. This can’t be stressed enough for commercial “contemporary” style music like country, rock, gospel, pop, and even opera…….yes opera. This coordination will get the cords closed on the attack and keep the larynx “neutral”.

I love his sound at 2:0e minutes. Because he has started with a mid to low larynx, he is achieving a beautiful mix with reasonably thick folds at his 2nd break (A above middle C). This is a coordination used by great country singers as well as opera singers! Note: If he started with a slightly higher larynx, he could still bridge into his 2nd break with a more pop-like or rock sound….. a little thinner with some bite…..again, another fabulous coordination used by singers.

Speech Level Singing versus Estill Voice Technique

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One of my goals is to share with you the similarities and differences with Speech Level Singing and Estill Voice Technique.

They are both great voice methods, and there is something to be learned from both. In its’ simplest form, SLS is one recipe among the many Estill Voice Technique possibilities.

I love SLS because it balances the voice, which I think is an important element of good singing. What I don’t like about SLS is that it doesn’t allow the commercial singer to learn how to belt or to have more “chest” in the mix. My SLS lessons strengthened the overall balance of both my registers…chest voice and head voice. But, my coach continually had me cutting back on my chest voice in my mix (near high C for instance). I could do this at his request, but it left me wondering where is the “me” in my voice. I needed to “belt” out my high C’s (and I’m in a mix!) when I wanted. I really felt the SLS method let the performer in me “down”.

With Estill voice training, you learn voice qualities….speech, sob, twang, opera, belt, and falcetto. SLS talks about a “neutral” larynx, while Estill recognizes that the larynx moves up and down and tilts according to the sound you want to make.

This is an important point. The larynx can tilt and move up and down safely, depending on the sound you wish to make. SLS leads to confusion about the larynx when they draw so much attention to it remaining “neutral”. The larynx cannot remain neutral in rock singing or musical theatre where the singers needs to give a belt sound (*note: I am not referring to the Estill version of belt here). These sounds can be done with freedom and good technique, but the larynx is slightly raised. Note: that if the larynx is too high, you will not be able to transition well into head voice, therefore, you cannot mix.

But, singers beware. Belting correctly is not easy to do, however, it is possible!  Lea Michele (musical theatre), Steven Tyler (rock), and Carrie Underwood (country). All these singers have something in common. They are balanced, and they are able to take their singing voice to the extreme …. called belting.

Belting well simply means a singer is using relatively thick folds, possibly has a sob quality in their voice, and their tongue may be slightly raised (this may alter the vowel sound). Belting requires optimal breath control. In other words, the ability to control the release of breath under great pressure while resonating in both the head voice and chest voice with thick folds. Belting is indeed a great “talent”.

Questions? Comments? Please leave them here.

Sing above the pencil

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For those of you still wondering if you are “mixing” with your head voice resonance, try this.

Visualize you are holding a pencil lengthwise between your teeth (or actually put a pencil between your teeth!). Now, direct every note you sing above the pencil line. In other words, “think” your sound into your face.

If you are pulling chest, you may notice that it helps you relax in the throat. Indeed, sometimes this is the only thing that needs to change in order to “allow” your head voice to join your chest voice…………Voila! You are mixing!

Tilting is good, rising is bad

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The ability to tilt the larynx happens at the thyroid cartilage and the cricoid cartilage (in the larynx) which are connected at the cricothyroid joint. There is a space in between that can be either open or closed. Tilting happens when the space is closed.

Working on the ‘ng’ sound through your break will work the small muscles that tilt the thyroid cartilage. If you are breathy as you ascend through your bridge, then you need to practise the thyroid tilt daily.

Another great sound that helps tilt is the puppy dog whimper. Again, key is ascending upward through your passagio without getting louder. (Use your breath control and body anchoring from your neck down to try and achieve this sound).

How did it go? Can you do it?

Laryngeal rise versus laryngeal tilt………

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There’s a big difference between the larynx rising and the larynx tilting.

Too much raising of the larynx will only cause you grief. You are basically choking yourself into a squeezed sound with nowhere to resonate.

Tilting the larynx, on the other hand, will allow you to sing in your high register because the cords are being stretched and thinned. Good tilting will actually give the listener the illusion of thicker cords (chest voice).

One of the best exercises for laryngeal tilt is the ‘ng’ sound. Say the word ‘sing’. See how the tongue touches the roof of your mouth. Leave it there. The ‘ng’ will block off sound leaving the mouth. With two fingers, plug your nose to see if you are doing it correctly…. the sound should stop completely.

Now practise this through the break in your voice. Ladies from middle C to high C……..men from A below middle C to A above middle C.

If you can make this sound smooth and consistently through your entire range then the larynx is tilting well!

***Note, the upper range will feel and sound like a whine or whimper. This is necessary to keep the cords closed while ascending.

No classical singing lessons here…

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I’ve said before that I’m not a big fan of classical voice training for commercial singing. I’m happy that I never had voice lessons when I was a teen.

The reason being is that I learned what my voice can and can’t do on my own…long before I ever took a voice lesson. Classical training would have suggested my coordinations for resonating with a high tongue and slightly high larynx were incorrect. Teachers would have opened up the back of my throat, thus creating a “classical” sound. Years of this type of training would have squashed all my instincts that have taught me how to belt and sing freely in my high range with a commercial sound.

However, teens now have options. Classical training is not the only road to good technique.

The chest voice ceiling…….

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If you are stuck against the chest voice ceiling there are a few things that might help.

1. Decrease your volume.

2. Narrow your vowels.

3. Anchor your head, neck and abdomen.

Remember, the best thing for your voice is to get balance. Once you can sing through your bridges, then you can work on the power.