The Music That I Can't Stomach..., A witty name for a dull questions Options

[Ionas]

Among all the technicians and electronic music makers here there ought to be a number of competent singers... And I know that the reply might very well be 'it has taken me 20 years to develop and there is no right way about it...', and I am painfully aware that this might be just the case. However, I am still gunning for any hints or good advice I might find.

What I'm wondering is: How do you learn to use your stomach properly when singing? And I don't except a full guide posted on this off-topic forum, but any hints, or even urls to online guides to singing, would be wonderful...

[Presto]

Things I picked up in classical singing lessons, but good for rock or whatever:

- drink less beer;

- take a few classical voice-placing lessons and remember what they say so you can practice on your own (particularly the warming-up techniques);

- try not to be too digusted if your teacher's voice sounds really silly

- place your voice a bit like when you yawn if you want to preserve it;

- the sound sort of goes up the back of your head and over the top but makes your lips tingle;

- if you block your nose and the sound doesn't change, there's something wrong;

- if you shout, the sound you make isn't as powerful, you lose control, quality and loudness;

- try and keep your lungs filled;

- don't breathe with your shoulders;

- your belly goes in when your breath comes out;

- don't copy anybody, nobody has your voice besides you;

- never try to make vibrato, great if it comes naturally;

- attack first note from a bit higher than you think it should be;

- forget the advice sometimes and experiment;

- make strange sounds (not loud) and see where they lead you;

- use cracked voice sounds as bridges to get to a higher register you didn't know you had;

- tell your throat to think low when you sing high;

- tell your throat to think high when you sing low;

- record different ways of making sounds so you can play back and hear from outside your head (what you hear when you sing is partly internal and that's not what others hear);

- always warm up before practice or gigs, using classical techniques;

- don't drive long distances just before gigs, your ears go (and you can't sing right without them);

The muscles come from singing bearing all this in mind.

Good luck