What’s your larynx doing?

Posted on October 28, 2013 by Susan McAllister-Bee

There is a lot of information out there about the ideal position of the larynx for singing.

This post is to help shed some light on the “variables” associated with your larynx.

SLS (speech level singing) teaches you that the larynx should remain “stable” or “neutral”.

I’m not a big fan of this description, although I understand why it is described that way. Let me explain.

It is typical for an amateur singer to “reach” for high notes. The sensation of reaching for high notes is a choking or tight feeling in the throat. Basically what is happening here, is the larynx is going too high, and the muscles in the larynx are “gripping”. In these cases, the larynx is not tilting, and the false cords are engaging causing a tight or squeezed sound.

Singers who mix well in their high register are doing so because the laryngeal muscles are able to stretch and thin the vocal cords while the larynx is tilted. A good example of laryngeal tilt is the resonating sound of the puppy dog whimper, or nay, nay, nay in a high mixed voice. You will notice a buzzy, resonating sensation on your upper palate and high up in the back of your mouth. Some people describe it as a nasty or brassy sound.

When a singer is mixing well, the larynx is agile and flexible. The larynx will naturally tilt forward and rise slightly when ascending in pitch, and the larynx will naturally fall back into a more neutral position when descending in pitch.

Questions? Please let me know!

Extreme Singing

Posted on October 15, 2013 by Susan McAllister-Bee

So you want to sing with more “belt” in your song?

Well first, let’s check…..do you know if you are mixing? Do you know if you are accessing your head voice resonance and tilting your larynx?

Belting cannot be done safely (or sound good) without these two conditions first.

I suggest that you continually work on bridging (mixing) exercises every day as a warm-up and as a build-up to more extreme singing. Once you can easily go up and down your entire range without strain then you are ready to “intensify”.

Not sure if you are bridging correctly? Sing your entire song with a hum…..the kind of humming sound you make when you say “uhm, uhm, that tastes good!” Notice the slightly “nasty” and “whiny” sound you are making.

Make sure your nasal port is closed. In other words no sound is coming out your mouth.

You may notice that you have trouble reaching your high notes…..yes, this is a true indicator!!

Take your volume back to a point where you can manage your high notes with this buzzy hum.

Add a slight “sob” feeling to your voice….as if you whining about something…you will notice that your cheeks and your nose and even your eyebrows will engage with this sensation. Relax into this. Don’t fight it. Recognize that all the action is in this area……what classical singers call “the mask”.

Now back to your song…..are you sure you are ready to belt?

If you cannot hum your song with ease in your head voice (without flipping into falcetto), then you are not ready for belting out a song……..

So…..back to your bridging (mixing) and building exercises!!

Questions? Why not drop me a line!

“Learn the rules like a pro, and then break them”

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Susan McAllister-Bee

There is a saying in dance “learn the rules like a pro, and then break them”.

It’s perfectly appropriate for singing as well.

Freedom to express yourself is directly related to the amount of control you have over your voice. With good singing technique, you have equal control of your high, middle and low registers. You are essentially creating a baseline that you should always return when warming up and vocalizing.

Does this mean you have to stay there? Absolutely not. Once balanced, the voice can explore the qualities that ring true with the style of music you want to sing.

Although good singing technique is necessary to sing all styles of music well, certain styles can require the voice to do certain unique co-ordinations, especially with vowel formation, amount of breath being released, glottal attack and twang. However, most important is knowing that you are mixing well from the top of your range to the bottom.

Get your voice balanced and then start to build the qualities you are looking for.

Online Singing Products

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Susan McAllister-Bee

What bothers me most about online “how to sing” products is the fact that every singer has a different problem standing in the way of the voice improving. Ideally, a singer needs to know what that problem is so they can focus on the right coordinations. Usually, a singer has more than one issue to work on, but again the correct exercises and doing them correctly is the key to quick improvement.

Let’s face it….why would you go to the gym and do squats if your thighs were already big and strong. Balance is the key, and the path to getting balance in the voice isn’t always straight-forward.

I’ve started to post some exercises for different voice types and issues at www.soundcloud.com. If you have any questions about the exercises or your voice, why not drop me a line.