Sing above the pencil

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Susan McAllister-Bee

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!

Mix it

Posted on October 1, 2012 by Susan McAllister-Bee

I much prefer to hear a singing voice that is unique and interesting, to a voice that has been trained to sound the same as other “trained” voices.

If your plan is singing in a band, or karaoke, or even musical theatre, then beware what “kind” of voice training you get.

Radio-friendly voices today are “in the mix”. Audiences love to hear a chest voice that meets the head voice in wild and crazy ways. There are so many textures and co-ordinations possible, it’s mind boggling. Find your best “coordination” and “mix it!”

Who Says That “Mix” Is Dead?

Posted on August 28, 2012 by Susan McAllister-Bee

I’ve heard it said that “mix” is dead.

I beg to differ. In my world mix is alive and well.

The term “mix” stems from the speech level singing technique. It’s not some new-found idea for learning how to sing, it’s simply a way of describing balance of resonance when you sing.

Singing in the mix simply means you have the ability to allow the shift of resonance from your “chest voice” to your “head voice” while ascending (and descending) through your entire range.

You can think of mixing as simply allowing the voice to freely move throughout each register….and especially being free in the “middle voice”. This is where register changes (gear shifts) can sometimes cause havoc to a singer. Learning how to control these register shifts simply means you can “sing in your mix”.

Questions? Are you finding your mix?

Mystery of the mixed voice

Posted on August 14, 2012 by Susan McAllister-Bee

Mixed voice simply means middle voice. The overlap of the chest resonance and the head resonance.

A great exercise for finding your mix is the cat’s meow sound…….or change it to neow to make it a little easier.

Pay attention to the feel. The “e” should feel near your nose…or your front teeth. The “ow” will follow through with more sound coming out the mouth.

If you feel strain in the throat you can either lower the pitch, or decrease the volume.

Find the spot in your voice where you feel comfortable making this “neow” sound and take the sound higher. Notice I say it is a sound……you are not singing.

Try gliding from a comfortable “neow” into a higher pitch. You should be in a mix if you can do this.

Ladies, aim for G above middle C to the B flat or high C. Men aim for a D above middle C and glide up into the G.

How did it go? Can you do it?

Ladies, we have double trouble

Posted on August 6, 2012 by Susan McAllister-Bee

I see this time and time again, and I just have to write about it…. again. I had another female student today with a fabulous head voice, that she could carry down to her “belly button!”

This is such a familiar trait of female trained voices. The throat is wide open, the larynx is low, and the tongue is nicely placed between the two back teeth. Perfect, right?

Here is the problem. These ladies want to sound like Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Carrie Underwood and Lea Michele. I’m sorry, but the set-up mentioned above is not going to get them there.

If you read my previous post about “from the bottom up” then you will know exactly what these ladies need to work on…..their chest voice starting from a speech level coordination.

The nagging “flip”

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Susan McAllister-Bee

So this topic comes back and nags me every know and then. Actually, almost everytime I see a musical play.

Doesn’t it bother anyone to listen to a female singer with “two” voices? These singers who have a beautifully developed head voice all the way down to their belly button.

Of course, that’s the problem. The transition into mouth and hard palate resonance and the presence of “twang” just doesn’t happen very well, and these singers are left trying to figure out how to sing the middle notes around their first passagio. They are either yelling at the top of their chest register, or singing in their head voice only.

I’ve said it before….thank goodness I didn’t have singing lessons as a kid….or I could be one of them!

Resonance

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Susan McAllister-Bee

There are three main areas of resonance for the voice. The chest, the head and what I like to refer to as the middle. This is the mouth (soft and hard palate) and the back of the throat…..also known as the oropharynx.

This resonance happens easiest when you have a balance of chest register and head register (mix). If you are too much in a chest register coordination it is difficult to get this resonance, and same goes with too much of a head voice coordination. A good balance of the two will allow the larynx to adjust for effective middle voice resonance.

Check out this exercise to hear a good example of pharyngeal resonance. When you do the exercise you shouldn’t feel any strain in the throat. Just lift the cheeks slightly, and relax the jaw. http://soundcloud.com/beemusicstudios/the-shouty-singer

The Middle Voice

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Susan McAllister-Bee

Oh, the controversy! Is there such a thing as the middle voice? Some would argue there is only chest voice and head voice, and a passagio (sometimes called a bridge or a break), separating the two. The chest and head voice get their name from where the voice resonates in the body. If you put your hand on your chest and speak, you can feel the vibrations on your hand. This is your chest voice. If you leave your chest voice (which some people have a lot of trouble doing!) and go to a high free-sounding place (try the sound woo – woo), then you have found your head voice. Like I said, some people have trouble finding their head voice. Usually, this is men.

I, frankly, love the term middle voice. Since I like to sing music genres such as rock, pop, and country, the middle voice is where all the action is! For women this is around middle C to high C, and for men this is around G below middle C to G above middle C. You will notice that almost all commercial music falls into this area (and more).

The middle voice is where you “get in the mix”! Again, there is much controversy over this term.

Mixing simply is a term used when a singer has the ability to keep their vocal cords properly adducted as they ascend and descend through their bridges. If you can do this properly, then you will notice a shift in resonance as the sound moves upward from your throat and mouth area into your face and head. Once you have ascended in pitch, it will actually feel like you are singing in your head, but not in a light falcetto airy mode. If you have kept the cords together well, and have allowed the resonance to shift accordingly as you ascended, then you have achieved a good mix. You should feel no strain in the throat whatsoever.

I’m very passionate about singers figuring out their mix. Once a singer learns the “feeling” and “coordination” necessary to be in a good mix, then they can work on building strength, endurance and enhancing tone.

Visit me at www.soundcloud.com for vocal exercises to help you “get in the mix”!

Singers, you are so lucky!

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Susan McAllister-Bee

Singers! Do you realize how lucky you are living in the 21st century? Gone are the days when you have to rely and listen to only one opinion or view of a teacher/professor, and what they recommend for your voice! You have access to tons and tons of information online about the voice and the various ways to learn how to sing. Get informed. Learn what you want for your voice, and how to get it!

Here are some things to consider:

If your teacher cannot make the kinds of sound you want, I suggest you go elsewhere.
If your teacher does not know EXACTLY where you passagi/bridges are, then I suggest go elsewhere.
If your teacher is teaching you to sing classical or Broadway, and says you can use this coordination in any style, then see if you can. If you can’t, and they can’t help you get the sound you want, then go elsewhere.
If your teacher is telling you the sounds you are making are wrong because they will damage or hurt your voice, and only wants you to sing in a classical coordination then go elsewhere
Watch out for teachers who only teach chest voice….yes, there are coaches who simply teach you how to sing loud and shouty as you ascend in scale. Can they sing clear and connected on a high note without shouting?
Watch out for teachers who only teach head voice or chest voice separately as two different sections of the voice. If your teacher doesn’t understand about how to teach and connect the middle area, then I would definitely go elsewhere!

Preparing for Sunday morning worship

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Susan McAllister-Bee

If you are like me, you love to wake up Sunday morning to go to church and praise God with your singing voice! However, it’s not always easy to sing in the mornings, so here are a few things you can do to help get your voice ready for worship.

Starting off with a hot shower will help clear the sinuses. I usually hum in the shower, usually from my top voice down. I keep it very light and connected. Zzzzzz’s in your high voice done lightly are great, as well as sirens from your top voice down. I like exercises that get my head register resonating first. The chest voice will get it’s warm-up when I start telling the kids to hurry up!

Then in the car on the way to service, the kids and I will do some arpegio exercises in a light mix. Again, I prefer top down for my voice, because most of our music is sung in the lower part of the voice register (ie around A below middle C up to high C for a female. An octave lower for a male). Therefore, it’s really important to have the “gears” in place for an easy transition to head register when singing.

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