hi i'm 15 years old and i want to be a professional singer when i grow up. but i have a few questions...there's a chest voice and head voice... is there a middle voice? my vocal coach tells me to use my middle voice even for the high notes but after i sing for about 1 hour my throat hurts the following day.
is it normal? for how long should i practice per day? when i use the so called middle voice it's as if my voice has no melody you know? it doesn't sound very good but i'm not sure if it's because i only started using my middle voice about 6 months ago and still hasn't gotten used to it. Help??!!
2007-04-30 00:17:01 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Entertainment & Music ➔ Music
I'm not a singer but I play one on TV LOL
Yes
Yes
Practice as often as possible
Yes
Find what feels natural in your voice . Then expand in both directions. Have a feel for what you're singing . Become one with the song!
2007-04-30 00:28:17 · answer #1 · answered by Savage Grace 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋
OK - a qualifier: I've been a professional musician for a VERY long time, and some of what I see written above is TERRIBLE advice - if your throat hurts STOP SINGING/TALKING because you are only going to make it WORSE! I've NEVER heard of a "middle voice" ALL of your vocal sounds are produced by the larynx, which is in your throat. The diaphragm creates the vocal volume level - the harder it pushes, the louder you are.
If you are singing correctly you can actually feel certain bones in your face vibrate.
I don't know who your vocal coach is or what their qualifications are, but if I were you I would try a different one for a while. If you are not doing your vocal warm-up exercises you need to start doing them all the time, every day of the week. Try another PROFESSIONALLY QUALIFIED vocal teacher and above all else RELAX - tension in the body creates a tighter "throat" which will make singing harder. I also strongly recommend that you try another vocal coach - not all teachers work the best with all students - I know that from personal experience from both sides of that relationship because I used to be a music teacher, and a student.
2007-04-30 02:33:55 · answer #2 · answered by Paul Hxyz 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sonny, middle voice is just something to simplify the whole concept of chest voice and head voice. Some vocal coach prefer that term to teach things easier. When you use you Head Voice, it doesn't mean you abandon your Chest Voice completely and vice versa. That's why they introduce the term of Middle Voice.
What makes me more concerned is your statement that you've been practising middle voice to sing those high notes for 6 months, and still your throat hurts the following day. If you said for few days or weeks, that's all normal. But for 6 MONTHS? Either you keep doing it wrong for the whole six months, or you've chosen such incompetent Vocal Coach to train you. Personally, I'll advice you to grab your coat, not leave any money on the piano, and run for the door.
It's not how LONG you should practice per day.... it's how MUCH you've learned everyday! Quality is more important than quantity! I don't care if you practice for 1 minute, 1 hour, or even 1 full day. If you couldn't learn anything there, you're just wasting your time!
No melody? And your Vocal Coach don't give you any hint why or practical advice to improve your vocal? Are you sure you're using middle voce? You're not mistaken with falsetto, screaming, or even yelling, aren't you? No offense, but do you really have talent in singing? If you're such tone deaf.... case closed. I could only say: Good Luck! Your road to go pro will be VERY rocky indeed.... But, if you DO have talent in singing, you must've done something really wrong there....
Listen, sonny. I don't want to offend you here. But, 6 months without improvement for Middle Voice only is very-very wrong. Have you consulted any other competent Vocal coach or Pro singer for advice? Or you're just relying your own "Vocal coach" here? I'm quite sad that I couldn't hear your vocal directly. If not, I could give you a hint or two....
Anyway, what kind of pro singer you wannabe? Professional pop singer, opera singer, cabaret singer or else? It's nothing, I just want to remind you that each and everyone of them have such different style of singing. You need to specify more about your dream. Once again, good luck, sonny! You're just 15. You still have lots of opportunity in front of you. Just believe in yourself, learn from your mistake in the past, and walk forward towards your own future!
PS: That Basshead guy above has given you such terrible advice. No Pain, No Gain? It's true if you feel that in the VERY beginning of your Vocal training, but it's all DEAD WRONG if you still feel pain after 6 months!! Singing is NOT struggling! Wrong exercises won't shape your voice. It'd butcher yours!! Sonny, I realize that you as a girl have such hard time in Singapore. Don't give up your dream!
2007-04-30 06:02:39 · answer #3 · answered by Professor Franklin 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Alright, relax. I'll try to help you out. I've been making music/singing for a 20 years, just in case you're wondering. The first thing you must realize is that the voice is a unique instrument. Everyone's voice is different, so what works for one person, may or may not work for someone else. I'm sure your vocal coach has the best intentions for you. For now, I would listen to everything she or he is trying to teach you, and try to use it as much as possible.
Began with some breathing excersises before you begin to sing....ask your vocal coach to make you a tape or CD of some scales and excersises to practice at home....this will certainly help you improve.
Having said that...I will also tell you that I never had any vocal training till a very brief stint in College...I did it all on my own. I would just sing whenever I had the chance at home or anywhere for that matter. I wasn't a fan of scales and all that stuff, although I wish I had done more of that stuff when I was younger.
I began developing my voice by singing along with popular tunes I would hear on the radio. The only problem with that is, if you do it long enough, you might get so good at it, that you may become very good at memicking other peoples voices, and it will take you an even longer time to find your OWN true voice...so be careful...don't fall into this trap either.
There are actually more than 2 different types of voices you mentioned. The three most common at the middle voice, the falsetto "head voice", and the 'throat voice".
Your middle voice, is perhaps what you will use most often...
Your Head voice is for high notes, that you need to pull out once in a while...yes, they're tough to execute correctly practice practice....
"My throat hurts" - - - you are not gonna like this, but honnestly, the best advice I'm gonna give is "no pain, no game!"
The only way you can build up your singing muscles is by streching them to the max...and that does hurt...but you should trick your mind into thinking this is 'good pain', with a hefty reward later down the road. I used to sing for hours till I had no more voice, and THEN...I would sing some more...so go ahead...sing your guts out...run your voice to the ground....and then sing some more...you will see that in a few years, you won't need to do this anymore, since your vocal chords will already be streched....this is the time to 'grow' and push it to the max!
I want you to imagine your voice as gear shift, in an manual car. Sounds funny doesn't it...but you'll get the point in a sec...
The most important thing about singing well is control.
Being able to come in soft rather than attack full on...or being able to come in hard, and then ease back for a particular section of a song.
This is what I mean by gears...think of it as 1-being your softest gear, 2- being a sort of normal level, 3- singing with a bit more intensity, 4- loud and powerful, 5- you're singing for your life, like you have a gun pointed at your head!
'throat voice".
If you ask your vocal coach, I'm sure the reply you'll get is 'its terrible to use it', or something like that. This is true to some degree, but trust me...if you listen to any rockers from the 70's or even many today...the throat voice is another important gear you should try to develop. With it, you will get that raspy sound like...say..Joe Cocker.
It all depends on what kind of style you want to sing...If you're trying to become the next Michael Crowford (Phantom of The Opera)...then this requires a different sort of training than singing Oasis or Green Day songs.
For now, I would suggest you ask your folks to get you a cheap 'reverb' effect unit, and a mic, and some headphones...you will be amazed at how much more fun it is to sing with reverb, and a mic...it will become more fun, trust me...good luck, and I hope to here you on the charts some day. - V
2007-04-30 01:03:44 · answer #4 · answered by Basshead35 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋