Official Vocalist Thread

[thun_der_kat]

Wow, your dad's in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir?!?! That's so cool!

I've been singing since I came home from the hospital. Lol, no seriously, I have a very musically inclined family - my dad taught me to play the guitar at 12, he taught himself at about 14, all of his brothers play too, my brother has perfect pitch (you have no idea how jealous I am), and fun stuff like that...

With no formal training other than having sung in the choirs at school and at church, I have a fairly large range (3 octaves) with a very awkward sharp break in the middle >.< I can go from a (very) high D - if you're familiar with Phantom of the Opera, in the title song, the high D I can hit is one note shy of that one at the very end. My "head voice" goes from that D down two octaves to about middle C. Then, right between middle C and the B below it, my voice very abruptly changes into my "chest voice" or "speak-singing" voice, which is sorta bad for your throat sweatdrop . But in that voice, I can sing from the C/B down to the Eb below (Baritone range? Maybe?). My voice is really weird, because the "speak-singng" voice can go up to about a G in the staff, too, but it kinda hurts.

Do any of you insanely trained people know what I can do to ease the break so it doesn't sound like I'm switching gears? I mean, it's not like I can just put a clutch pedal in or anything (ba dum chi)... but are there tricks to smooth it out?  

[MistressDeNoche]

Ah... I heart this thread already! Well I am a HUGE vocal fanatic. I have a huge range too. 3nodding I can sing in the tenor range, but I'm most comfortable up in the Soprano 1. I have fallen madly in love with the world of opera performance! heart I just like the way it sounds and how much you actually use your voice. ^.^ I also love music theater which I'm becoming more and more aquainted with. Future plans for me are to continue taking vocal lessons and to just bare with my schools current dilema with the music program. sad  

[MistressDeNoche]

thun_der_kat

Wow, your dad's in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir?!?! That's so cool!

I've been singing since I came home from the hospital. Lol, no seriously, I have a very musically inclined family - my dad taught me to play the guitar at 12, he taught himself at about 14, all of his brothers play too, my brother has perfect pitch (you have no idea how jealous I am), and fun stuff like that...

With no formal training other than having sung in the choirs at school and at church, I have a fairly large range (3 octaves) with a very awkward sharp break in the middle >.< I can go from a (very) high D - if you're familiar with Phantom of the Opera, in the title song, the high D I can hit is one note shy of that one at the very end. My "head voice" goes from that D down two octaves to about middle C. Then, right between middle C and the B below it, my voice very abruptly changes into my "chest voice" or "speak-singing" voice, which is sorta bad for your throat sweatdrop . But in that voice, I can sing from the C/B down to the Eb below (Baritone range? Maybe?). My voice is really weird, because the "speak-singng" voice can go up to about a G in the staff, too, but it kinda hurts.

Do any of you insanely trained people know what I can do to ease the break so it doesn't sound like I'm switching gears? I mean, it's not like I can just put a clutch pedal in or anything (ba dum chi)... but are there tricks to smooth it out?

Heh, I know exactly what song you're talking about. I did that one for a talent show! heart I got the C down quite well, but that took a while to get strong... stare Anyway, for the voice dilema, don't sweat it. I asked my vocal coach about it, because that happens to me too, and she said mostly to just read the music and see if you can find a break in the music there where you can get a breath and change, otherwise, just work on the transition for that particular song.  

[Saeunn]

I don't know what my range is and I don't do anything with my voice. I don't know if I have any talent but people around me like family and some friends disagree with me when I say I don't have any talent. I love to sing though ,its a passion I hope to make big one day. It probably won't but I can Hope. heart  

[soulsearcher0903]

Ive had about 10 years of vocal training (but i took a year break between the first three years and the past seven so i had to do a lot of rebuliding >.<). I love singing. definatlyplan to go to college with a music major.. im jsut not positive if i want to do music performance or music education.. but either way it will be vocally focused (though i do have paino skills to back it up if i choose a music education major). i can sing anywhere from alto 2 to sop 1 though im far more confortable in sop. 2 ranges.. (thats what ive been singing in my choirs for the past 2 years due to a serious lack of them). i love love love jazz singing but it took a while for me to get used to bcuase id been classically trained and wasnt used to being able to play around as much as jazz allows you to.. Blues are my favorite. but i also used to love rocking out with my old band. i dont really have any skill for hiphop or anything along that line.. but hey.. *shrug*  

[Mandy8191]

I've been singing since around grade 3 or 4. I've been in alot of choirs. Currently in 3 just quit one. I've received vocal training from a number of people and places. Music is basically my life. Music is always apart of what I'm doing. I'm a dancer as well, so if I'm not singing I"m dancing but still singing. If that makes sense. I hope to keep singing for as long as I can. I was accepted into my church adult choir early and was put into the youth choir along with it. I'm more comfortable with soprano, but I can sing anywhere from alto to somewhere in descant(if you know what that is. Some people don't). So as I said, I'm probably going to be singing in the old folks home. haha. I'll be happy as long as I'm singing. smile  

[mozopart]

thun_der_kat

Wow, your dad's in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir?!?! That's so cool!

I've been singing since I came home from the hospital. Lol, no seriously, I have a very musically inclined family - my dad taught me to play the guitar at 12, he taught himself at about 14, all of his brothers play too, my brother has perfect pitch (you have no idea how jealous I am), and fun stuff like that...

With no formal training other than having sung in the choirs at school and at church, I have a fairly large range (3 octaves) with a very awkward sharp break in the middle >.< I can go from a (very) high D - if you're familiar with Phantom of the Opera, in the title song, the high D I can hit is one note shy of that one at the very end. My "head voice" goes from that D down two octaves to about middle C. Then, right between middle C and the B below it, my voice very abruptly changes into my "chest voice" or "speak-singing" voice, which is sorta bad for your throat sweatdrop . But in that voice, I can sing from the C/B down to the Eb below (Baritone range? Maybe?). My voice is really weird, because the "speak-singng" voice can go up to about a G in the staff, too, but it kinda hurts.

Do any of you insanely trained people know what I can do to ease the break so it doesn't sound like I'm switching gears? I mean, it's not like I can just put a clutch pedal in or anything (ba dum chi)... but are there tricks to smooth it out?

There sure are! There are 2 main registers in the human voice: head and chest, head is sometimes referred to as loft or falsetto. The places in between head and chest is called the Pesagio in the female voice. There are many exercises that can be done to make the voice as smooth as taffy. Gosh, I wish I could do some one on one training with you because it would be easier to teach by example.

Okay, first drill...you need to do what I call a siren. You are going to go from your lowest to your highest notes in imitation of a police siren. Do this slowly, hitting every note in between and the notes in between those notes. Then go back down.

If you can teach yourself about singing with lots of legato (singing smoothly) you can ease the tension in your voice. Try this and then let me know what happened. You can also PM me anytime.  

[mozopart]

Hi! Well, I am a trained opera singer and a vocal coach. I am a Coloratura Soprano. I have a 4 1/2 octave range and am blessed with a whistle register. For those of you who don't know what that is, think Mariah Carey. I do play several instruments as well, but I consider my voice to be the one God gave me when I was born. I am currently singing in a professional Chorale and we will be singing The Messiah with the Symphony this fall. I have unfortunately only done 3 full operatic roles. The Queen in Mozart's Die Zauberflote(The Magic Flute) Fortuna in Monteverdi's The Coronation of Poppea and Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus by Strauss. I have also done several musicals. Little Shop of Horrors, Babes in Arms, Once Upon a Mattress, The Secret Garden, The 1940's Radio Hour and The Man of La Mancha. I love to act as well and have done many plays, including two different two person one acts.  

[Kalstolyn]

thun_der_kat

Do any of you insanely trained people know what I can do to ease the break so it doesn't sound like I'm switching gears? I mean, it's not like I can just put a clutch pedal in or anything (ba dum chi)... but are there tricks to smooth it out?

When I started taking voice training in university, I discovered that there was a reason why I couldn't sing a high F. At that ppoint, I thought my range went from the low D in the tenor/baritone range to the E flat or E that's high for altos. My voice teacher told me to keep singing when my voice cracked at E and vanished at F, so I kept trying. As soon as I got to G sharp, my voice was suddenly clear and I could go all the way up to the C that sopranos complain about. I had discovered my head voice for the first time since I was like... a really little kid. I had to practice going up and down through that rough area until I could make the transition through my upper passaggio smoothly, and make all the notes sound. My voice teacher cornered the choir director and had him move me out of the tenor section pronto, she was concerned that I had overdeveloped my lower range. I was shocked and amazed to discovere that I have a range of close to 3 octaves when I'm well warmed up.

So... advice on smoothing out your upper passagio... try singing lots of scales or semitone scales that go through that area to ghet your vocal muscles used to making teh transition. If you can, try to transition where you're singing an interval you can break slightly, like a 5th or something, so you can just stop your voice for a millisecond to adjust and continue on in the other range. The siren-slide or yawn-slide excecise is very helpful, too.

I love to sing, and when I am singing solo or in a small ensemble, then my voice is my instrument and it serves me well. My ambition, though is to be a choral conductor, and let the entire choir be my instrument. A masterful and inspiring conductor can take a "nice" or "pretty" piece and turn it into something that lives and breathes, that speaks to the soul of humanity, that moves people beyond words.

See Choir-Geek blog entry here: Kals Korner
And another  

[Agent Tonks]

I'm the lead vocals for my band...though I need a looooot of practice. I officially sing soprano I guess, cause that's what they put me in in 8th grade choir. If you wanna hear my voice, myspace.com/poeticdimensions  

[PrincessDagger017]

I am a vocal performance major at my university. I've singing in choirs all of my life and have been trained for about 5 years now. I sing Sop 1 and love all types of music. My personal fav's are Opera and Musical Theatre. I am currently working on the one act opretta called "the Telephone" by Menotti and it is alot of fun! I'm sure no one has heard of it, but if some one has let me know! ^__^  

[aleina1]

I sing between a Soprano to a tenor. I can Hit some of the higher notes but after a while, my voice will just cut out, no warning at all. The stuff I like to sing is more gospelly, broadway/musicals, and country. They suit my range better  

[scarlett enchantress]

i like singing and i always sing the best i can. some people get so tired of me singing that they start trashing me. that absolutely sucks. I mean i have a pretty good soprano range but can barely sing anything alto but i sing well. i hate getting trashed because other people are jealous.  

[tantuna92]

yea i've been singing since i was 2 on stage but i only started training my voice for real last year...i'm a soprano, but i'm ok with alto when my director really needs a good one
my voicce is really weird cuz its more "classical mush" than anything else, so my chest voice is really limited, unlike my head voice...i hope someday i have a career in singing, but definitely NOT pop or any of that fun stuff...i like listening to it, but i can't sing it for my life cuz i keep switching back and forth between both voices and it sounds horrible...
i'm trying out for regionals in december, and i REALLY wanna make it in...wish me luck!!!!!!!!!!! xd
o and the weird pics all over the place... burning_eyes i'm sorry  

[tiger_fish_87]

am i the only old fart in this guild?

im trying to search for the thread where everyone says how old they are, etc. i know there has to be one somewhere!

anywho second soprano. smile