Voices in the Sky - how they change over time

[haoli25]

I think what Ric is describing is 'projection'. Many new singers or public speakers tend to use a very "soft voice" using mostly throat muscles. That will improve with confidence and practice, but confidence can still be hard to come by. A hundred people can tell you that you have a good singing voice or speaking voice, but until YOU believe it, you will just have to "fake it until you make it".
After working with announcers for 39+ years, I can tell you a couple of tips that work; sit up straight (or stand up straight), anything else will only restrict your diaphragm. (This is particularly true of guitar players. They want to lean the upper part of their body forward to look at the fretboard.) Keep your head up too, looking down restricts your throat and air passage. (also hard to do for guitar players) We all have "lazy words" too. Those are words that we do not enunciate clearly when speaking and those same words will seem slightly slurred when trying to sing them. Work on those....a lot.
Most announcers that I have worked with have a lot of trouble with the word "regularly". It is even harder to pronounce correctly at the speaking tempo of most commercials. I have always told them when they see that word in a piece of commercial copy, just substitute the word "normally". lol


Bill

[izzyhara]

These Eva Cassidy songs are achingly beautiful. They do almost make you want to cry.
I hope our voice guy can give us some tips/exercises/whatever to help us make our voices stronger. I have sung all my life - am much better singing harmonies than solo-ing. But I do love to sing, and want to do more of it. But as of today, my voice is now 58 years old, and I just don't have much power. Hopefully that is something we can train or develop, sorta like calluses on our fingers. I'll sing for you guys one of these days, and you can tell me if it's worth pursuing, or if every cat in your neighborhood ran to hide.

[goldleaf]

Chris, just learning to bounce a bow tie up and down on your neck, heck you could have entertained your friends and been a hit at any party, & you passed up the opportunity!!! Ric, thanks for explaining, I figured it would be difficult to put into words but you did it very well, I practiced what you described several times and I could see it makes a difference. I also can see I would have to do it for awhile to get where I really felt the motions it takes to get more volume and control. I won't have anybody to bother for the next few hours so I think now would be a good time to practice, I can also tell I am using some voice muscles because after awhile I can feel I need to rest for 5 -10 minutes. Won't my wife be surprised when she hears singing coming from the bathroom tomorrow morning. Thanks for your help, it is appreciated. Gary

[neverfoundthetime]

Having a room with a nice echo is a big help Gary. Using a microphone with an amp and speakers is another level... it's quite different and I find you can do more.

Singing and teaching sport has taught me to project my voice without me realising it. Last squash tournament, the helper on the mike couldn't even call out through the PA system as well as I could without using the mike... I could reach the other end of the room no problem! He asked me how I did it... I could hardly explain... I just said aim for the back of the room but don't shout... it's partly done with the mind, the intention, the thought.

[goldleaf]

I noticed when I use my Shure 58 mic and my PA system that I can sing songs that I wouldn't otherwise, I think the mic & speakers do give a little more range a definitely more volume with less effort on my part. I have abdominal muscle weakness so I would imagine singing fairly often and properly would help build up what muscle I do have. Also in a small room with a good echo would help. Gary

[goldleaf]

Bill we must have been writing at the same time I just saw your post. Great information, I will use the info the best I can, I do have some limitations from post polio which caused respiratory insufficiency, but I have been told many hundreds of times over the phone & in person that I would make a good announcer, it must be the tone of my voice because it sure couldn't be my diaphram as I have a vital capacity of around 50%, it used to be 60 when I was younger. Gary

[TGJimB]

Ok guys I am finally up and running and all too happy to address the first topic of “Voices getting older and how it really works”


The good news is that the human voice does not even completely mature until the age of 35! Surprise ha? So if you take care or your voice it will truly last a lifetime.
What does happen, as you get older is you get tired sooner, meaning it becomes harder to sing night after night. Because of this an older performer need’s to space out there performance schedules between performances. But any one night should be fine. Even into the 70ies and even 80ies. Ella Fitzgerald was able to still sing up a storm even after she had her legs amputated do to diabetes.


So based upon your comments I know that every one is know thinking ya but what about the singers we have been referring to as far as losing the quality of their voices? The answer is they have not properly taken care of their voices.

Picking different artist like Daltry's or even using old guys like Frank Sinatra, Mel Torme even Elvis is that if you listen to their early recordings and than what they sounded like later in years you are going to say no caparison really. True!

However the key statement I made is the voice will last a lifetime if you take care of it. These guys partied dissipated sang two many concerts night after night with out proper care and use of their voices. I picked some of these names because at different times these are some of the most famous voices in American pop music history. Well just because they where famous does not mean that their use of their voices was correct.

One of the biggest problems all singer face is flat out pushing to hard through their vocal chords. Almost every rock singer is quilty of it. Noitce I said almost because there are some who know how to do right and not hurt themselves. Yes there are ways of proper use of the voice so you can walk away from the gig or even a night of karaoke not felling trashed.
Well this is my first brief jump in and get involved with everyone. I have a student walking into my room right so let me see some of your thoughts and I will check back in later.

TGJimB

[TGJimB]

Hey guys If I might jump in and respond to the SM58 as a mike in use today and yesterday. The SM58 is the old workhouse of live stage performance for the last 20 to 30 years. I have used it for years I now use a shure beta 58A it is close to the old SM58 but a little truer in sound. The old SM58 when you sing up close boost bass frequencies and gives your voice a little more bass sound on low notes when sung up close to the mike. The New Beta 58s is a little truer in sound regardless where you put your mouth. I used to use the SM58 to sing ballades on stage because I could get the bass on my voice on low notes to sound kind of sexy with out really doing much more then putting the mike close to my mouth. However as I became a more experienced singer I like the truer sound better I just change my voice via my own control. You will still get the power you referring to but the sound will stay the same from low to high notes.

[TGJimB]

I know a lot about what happen to Whitney! Yes of course all of the hard living she has done has truly had a cause and effect on her abilities; But guess what? All the way back to there first album she was pushing to hard and making her voice sound big at the cost of hurting her voice. Even though she had such an incredible first album she was doing what we call pulling chest and pushing hard into her middle to head voice. Again a big problem that so many singers fall into. She actually did take voice lessons after that album to learn how to improve on her approach. She did improve and learned how to not push through middle however then she made some bad life’s choices which of course has done exactly what you are referring to.

TGJimB

[neverfoundthetime]

Hey Jim great to have you joining us... as you have seen there is excitement about learning something about how to sing with you. Like almost everyone else, I don't know much and have not had training. Looking forward to anything you can help us on.
Chris