The rock singer’s voice

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Susan McAllister-Bee

Singing rock music is extreme. If you are going to do it, you had better do it well. This means you need to be fully aware of what is going on inside your throat and body.

If your goal is to sound a certain way, or to sound like somebody else, then you may very well be in trouble. Most rock singers you admire have been singing for years and years and years. That’s why we love their voices. They have that vintage-sounding tone even in their speaking voice. Check your speaking voice; do you have a brassy component left over from years of blowing hard through your vocal cords. Probably not. And most teachers would say, that’s a good thing!

Singing extreme music like rock will require you to challenge yourself to be extreme. Are you sure you are ready? Are all your ducks lined up? The key here is being extreme in all the right places.

1. Do you have one continuous, seamless voice from the bottom of your range to the top of your range? (mixing)
2. Are you are total control of your increases and decreases in volume? Can you go from loud to soft back to loud in one long breath? (cord closure)
3. Can you do all the sounds I’ve listed in some of my posts? (ie hung-gee, the sirens, nay, nay, nay) (resonance)

If the previous exercises bog you down, then you are not ready for more. These need to be as easy as speaking.

Next step: Go out and do it! That’s right. Go get a gig and do it for free. Sing, sing, sing, and then go sing some more. Follow all the guidelines about warm-ups and cool-downs, but sing everyday, as long as you can. Pay attention, be careful. Get in tune with your voice and body.

When you can sing for 4 hours continuously without going hoarse, you are ready to step up your game.

Any comments or questions. Please leave them here.

Rock singing and Twang

Posted on March 16, 2013 by Susan McAllister-Bee

This is a match made in heaven.

If you have twang in your speaking voice, hooray for you! Check for this: Can you imitate cartoon or comedy characters in your high/mixed voice? (This cannot be breathy). It should be loud and whiney with a brassy, bright sound. Can you make a nasty, witchy sound, or nyae-ae-ae like a horse (make it usually whiney). Now, check yourself. Did this happen effortlessly in your mixed voice, or are you trying really hard and getting stuck in your chest voice? Trying too hard will only get you in trouble. You must practise this the correct way and build from there. This is the nay-nay-nay exercises in SLS.

Twang is a great quality to have for any genre of singing. It means you have a tilted cartilage and are able to narrow your Aryepiglottic Sphincter. I know, it’s a big word….but it’s important! The physiology is very complex within the larynx. Just know that the ability to narrow the AES is key to “the illusion of power” in rock singing.

Twang is easier to produce in higher frequencies than it is in lower frequencies. The sensation of making twang originates high up in the back of the throat. Rock singers who can twang usually have no issues with bridging or “mixing”. Just think Steven Tyler, Ken Tamplin, Jamie Vendera or Robert Lunte; these singers all have great twang.

How did they get such great twang?

1. Great breath control.
2. Great bridging.
3. Great cord closure.
3. Optimum effort in all the correct places.
4. No fear.

Questions? Comments? I look forward to you leaving them here.

Pharyngeal “throat” sounds

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Susan McAllister-Bee

What I like about both SLS and Estille voice technique is that it takes the emphasis off of breathing as the front line for good singing technique, and it lets the singer focus on other co-ordinations first, that are just as important as breath control. There are other coaches that also do this: Ken Tamplin, Robert Lunte (The IV Pillars), Roger Love, Singing Success (Brett Manning), Eric Arseneaux and Kevin Richards (Rock the Stage).

Focusing on cord closure, pharyngeal resonance, keeping the larynx stable, and yes, breath control, can instinctively get the singer to coordinate and sing better.

Let’s talk about the back of the throat. This spot above the vocal cords is a mysterious area of the vocal tract. We know that the ability to make certain sounds gets the larynx to tilt, (which in turn stretches and thins the cords), which then can help with efficient breath control, and allow for pharyngeal resonance (twang). Twang is an important coordination for genres like rock, pop, country, and any extreme kind of singing you may want to do.

Twang is a word originating from Estill Voice Technique. I think it is a term all singers should be familiar with. Robert Lunte uses this term it in his program The Four Pillars.

The ability to twang (make pharyngeal sounds) is important because the fundamental frequency creates harmonics (overtones) that are perceived as volume and brightness to the listener. Now, I am not going to even pretend to explain the science behind this coordination. It is your job as a singer to “feel” for these harmonics. Yes, you CAN feel these harmonics as they resonate, echo and buzz through your head.

One of the best sounds for twanging is a duck quack. But remember, as you get higher you must quack with thinner cords (your head voice). This can be challenging but that is the point! Can you quack like a duck in your head voice?

p.s. without getting louder than you quack in your chest voice?