On this page are answers to various questions I've received on the site. I no longer answer questions, but feel free to contact Tessitura an ask your questions there.
Q. How do people hit those high notes? (Mariah Carey, etc.)
A. A person's range is affected by a few things:
- What range the person would have if all conditions were absolutely perfect. (I myself will never be able to hit the "Mariah note" again.);
- If the person is male or female, and the body type, which also affects the range;
- How long the person has been singing;
- Technique;
- If he has a good teacher, or can teach himself well;
- What kind of music the person is singing (some people can hit higher notes in opera than they can in pop);
- If the person is doing anything that will damage his voice;
- The tessitura (which is the area that the notes generally hang around in the song); and;
- How well the melody is written.
That's what I can think of off the top of my head.
Q. How long does it take for your vocal cords to be cured of smoking? Can they be cured? Is there anything that I can eat or drink to cure them?
A. The length of time it will take for your vocal cords, and the other systems affected by smoking, to be healed from their injuries depends on how long you have been smoking, how fast your body naturally heals itself, and what you do to help your body heal itself.
While there is no food or drink that will automatically cure that which you have done to your body, but quitting smoking will allow your body to begin to heal itself immedialtely, with the exception of whatever cilia you may have lost. I was told they are irreplaceable and will not grow back.
In order to help your voice along, I would recommend a few of the tips I have stated on the front page, including, but not limited to gargling once a day with warm water conatining baking soda and salt (1/2tsp each), using the Great Scale, taking one day off a week from everything, even cooking, and in the case of smokers (or former smokers), you can also help yourself by taking up some sort of aerobic exercise (running, dancing, basketball, etc.) as it will help you gain or regain your stamina.
As for the nicotine itself, it will take a few days for it to be removed from your system and will take time, depending on how long you smoked, for your body to be used to working without it.
Another question on smoking can be found here.
Can you help me find a vocal coach?
Sure, why not?
If they can't help, try Music Web Hunter.
Why do you say the following:
- No more yelling
A. Some people who wish to become singers yell much of the time in their everday speech. While yelling some of the time is probably inevitable, one cannot have spent the last week, or even the last day yelling and expect to put on a very effective performance.
You state that yelling is a very good way to know what your vocal chords can and cannot do. At what point will a fire engine noise be used on stage? How does a high pitched noise, such as a fire engine sound, help your lower register? How exactlt does this benefit your voice?
Hospitals are riddled with cases of people who cannot speak or sing due to excessive yelling. Go to a sports event, cheer, boo, talk for two hours and then have a performance that same night, or the next night for that matter.
A person knows how in shape his singing voice is by singing, and if he will be performing, singing that which he is to sing. If that same person must wear a costume, dance, or anything else out of the ordinary, he must practice the songs in that manner after learning the songs.
Don't sing in groups, choirs, etc.
A. What singing in groups develops is your ability to blend in with other people. While this in itself is a useful skill, it has nothing to do with developing your ear.
Developing your ear involves the ability to go from one interval to another, perfectly, as well as the ability to sing back a given pitch. In concert, "A" is tuned to 440 hz. When the chorus sings back "A,", some will sing it at 442, some at 438, some at 440½. After a minute of tuning, the sound will very likely cover a range of 439½-440½, unavoidable in most chori as most choral singers are not professionals.
Ask a guitarist what happens when one string is out of tune: Not only is the entire guitar out of tune, but the one string will drive others out of tune with it. This effect is often noticed in a'cappella singing, where the group usually and most likely will finish the song one half-step lower than where they started. Of course, the only times this is noticable to an average audience is if one person in the chorus has perfect pitch and has stayed in tune the entire time, while the chorus falls out of tune.
In addition, how do you get a soloist from this group? Will he not also fall out of tune for trying to blend in with others who cannot stay in tune?
Work on your own ear first, then work with others.
Try to make as little air as possible come out of your mouth when you are singing a musical phrase
A. You say that one should have "breath support." What I have said is the very definition of "breath support." One cannot have too much air in his lungs, for if his lungs are too full, he cramps the very muscles with are needed to support the air used to produce the sound in the first place. Taking in too little air is no good for his singing, either. I propose an experiment: Take in all the breath you can and try to sing thelongest musical phrase you can. Do the same with little air. Finally, take in a moderate amount of air and hold it in your lungs with the aid of your diaphragm and rib cage, letting as little air come out as possible during the musical phrase, to see which works best.
I will be writing an article on the subjeect of athleticism in singing. Look for it.
Q. Is it possible to keep singing if you're a smoker?
A. Yes. However, smoking has certain effects on your body which will affect your singing:
- Smoke burns the cilia that line the airways to your lungs. These cilia protect the suface they line from infection. In addition, without these cilia lining your airways, you will likely begin to experience a retention of fluid in your lungs because the mucus created in your nose and elsewhere will continually slide down your windpipe.
- You will find yourself short of breath not only because of fluid in your lungs, but because the smoke burns, turns black, and destorys your alveolar, the air sacs in your lungs. Less of them means less air, the exact thing you need to have to sing. (I found a great picture of this in 8th grade.)
- Nicotine and other things you may be inhaling will have, as per the definition of "drug," will affect your mental state, and you may not be able to convey the emotion or feeling you are trying to get across. Imagine trying to sing these words while on cocaine: "...And now it's time we say goodbye..."
I have also included for you a few sites on the subject of smoking:
The American Cancer Society
The American Lung Association
CDC's Youth Tips
Smoking from All Sides
Q. When I practice singing softly it comes out just fine. But, when I do it louder, I have trouble with certain notes. Any suggestions?
A. I have a few. Maybe one or two of these will help:
- It is possible that you are producing the sound differently when you sing loudly and softly. You can check to see if it is the case simply by getting away from as much noise as you can and trying to sing whatever phrase you are having difficulty with at different volume levels. Anything from using your muscles differently to holding your mouth in a different positition to standing differently to trying to force the air out another passage could be the culprit. Take note of any little thing you may be doing differently at different volume levels and try to do whatever it is you are doing at softer volume levels.
- The notes that you are having problems with may be among your weaker notes. Try to practice, only focusing on the note(s) you are having problems with.
- See if you are forming the vowel the same loudly and softly. You'd be amazed how many different ways you can pronounce the vowel "a" as in "face."
- It may be the way you prduce the sound in the first place. Try to make the sound resonate off of your hard palate. Also see The Great Scale.
- It could be the words themselves. In English, words such as "to" and "you" have a tendency to go out of tune because of the way the words are formed. Another problem with singing in English is our dipthongs, vowels which are actually pronounced by saying two vowels at the same time. Our "a" is actually pronounced "ayee," our "i," "iyee." The difference continues with changes in dialect. Check to see if the words are causing the problem.
It will truly help to be aware of what you are doing when you practice, so that it will be easier for you during your performances, even if your performances are in the shower.
Q. Do you feel that not inhaling smoke is idealistic?
A. Yes.
Q. Under what circumstances would there be no smoke?
- If you don't smoke.
- If you don't allow smoke in your home. Of course, if you burn your food, well... :)
- They don't allow smoke in Carnegie Hall, or most New York City buildings.
- If you are on stage performing, you don't have time for a smoke break.
- If you don't use special effects containint smoke. Of course, if you are in a cabaret or some place like that, you can't exactly do anything about it. But, for the most part, it can be avoided.
Q. What do I mean by "don't talk too much?"
A. I mean just that. On the day of a performance, if you speak too much, you will not be able to express yourself effectively.
You do not feel it wearing down your vocal chords, just as a person with hypertension has no idea his blood pressure has gone up. Reducing how much you speak helps you in the long term. Uncontrolled speech (perhaps I should have been clearer), which is the manner in which most people speak, is very harmful to your voice and does wear it down.
Q. How do you propose singers develop their ears?
A. It is the case that you did not notice it when I said, "If you must sing in a group, know what the other parts are doing."
As for ear training, one cannot develop his ear by singing his part and listening to the other's parts at the exact same time. In order to develop an ear, a person must be able to reproduce a tone after hearing it for only a short period of time. This is best done on a one-on-one basis. There are a few sites that have ear training online (I'll put them up when I find them again), and there are also books and other resources which can help you. I have been looking at a few, but I have not as yet found any to recommend.
If each singer involved in a group does not know his own part, then the other parts suffer. Imaging trying to blend in with one part being sung a half step flat, and another part being sung a microtone sharp!
In addition, I have found some sites
Q. Could it be that I am using the correct technique and I am capable of singing more than 3 performances a week?
A. Everyone is capable of doing more than 3 performances a week, performance being defined as a show of 1 hour or more. This is just for the preservation of your voice, so that you will be able to sing just as well as you do now 40 years from now.
Q. Tell Michael Jackson and others not to sing and dance at the same time.
A. I have not heard Mr. Jackson sing in a long time. He, along with many others, actually lip-synch much of the time. As for Broadway singers, I do not know if you are aware of it or not, Broadway singers use microphones. Ask the Broadway singer to dance, and fill the hall with his voice at the same time without a microphone, during a performance. As for dancers, a dancer's career is a short one, and as I said before, this is a rule to help preserve your voice in the long run.
Q. Explain how singing will help cure a sore throat.
A. Once again, I digress to the Lehmann book, which you can also find in your local library. The best way, even with throat problems is contained on p. 96 of this book. It is called The Great Scale. In short, it is a long-tone scale {this means that you spend a lot of time, maybe 2 minutes, on each individual note}("Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do") of two octaves up and down, which takes about 50 minutes to complete. It is also the case that singing is the only way to cure throat problems not associated with diseases.
Q. How many styles of singing are you proficient in?
A. I can do classical, jazz and popular with no problem. Now, as for the different division within each category, that is different. There are too many divisions, many of which I may not even be aware of to say which of those I am proficient in. However, being a young baritone, I will not do much performing in the way of jazz or classical until I get older and much, much better. My voice will not mature for the next few years, so I cannot say where it will "settle" at. I would like my voice to be its absolute best. If I continue to practice in the manner in which I do now, my voice should be very well off for at least the next 40-50 years, which is exactly what I want.
My point, however, was not about proficiency. One can learn a great deal about singing from studying different sytles. With the knowledge of another style in one's head, he can choose a particular way of singing a phrase or word; an option that is not available to those who only study one style of singing.
Q. What about when you are vocally fatigued, and you continue to sing?
A. I never said to sing when you are fatigued. That is inadvisable to anyone at any time in any language in any place...
Q. Why keep a mint handy?
A. Because your breath will smell after you sing.
Q. Is it a generalization to say your voice will not be hoarse in the evening if it is hoarse in the morning?
A. Not if you use The Great Scale or something similar to it.
Q. One should be very careful about gargling with salt. It is very abrasive.
A. That's what the bakinig soda is for.
Q. What fabric would you suggest?
A. It is the case that wearing one fabric from head to toe keeps you cooler than wearing blends or combinations. I would suggest natural fibers, since they allow your skin to breathe the best.
Q. How do you pronouce your words with the tip of your tongue under the back of your teeth?
A. Just about every consonant can be said in that manner, and placing your tongue there keeps it out of the way of the sound. Otherwise, learn how to pronouce your consonants quicky by practicing them slowly.
Q. You must perform in very sheltered, controlled environments.
A. I do not always perform in sheltered or conrolled environments. In fact, I live in a very dusty area. All the more reason to protect my voice any way I can in any environment I can control.
