My sister, Kathy, has tagged me, so I guess if I'm a good sister, I'll comply...
The rules of the tag are:
List 5 weird things about yourself or your pets.
Tag 5 friends and list them.
Then, those people need to write on their blogs about 5 weird things, and state the rules, and tag 5 more people.
1. I love kids, but only have one. I guess that's kinda weird, but if you know me & the set of circumstances of my last marriage, you'll most likely understand.
2. I'm a tomboy, but I love to shop & dress up.
3. I don't like cheese, seafood or fish, red meat and many, many other foods!
4. I love to sing (I know, weird, huh?) The only problem is that I actually prefer large, anonymous crowds to smaller, personal ones including friends & family. I've been trying really hard to overcome this, though, because the opportunity to perform with friend & fam presents itself more often.
5. I try to be a very open-minded, non-judgemental person (because I know that I don't like to be judged!), so I think people tend to think of me as a liberated, free-spirited type, but I'm actually pretty old-fashioned, especially when it comes to romance.
2 comments:
Hey there Bonk Squonk...
I don't think you're weird for being old fashioned. If it were up to me, I'd be living in the 1950's or earlier (like the pioneer/frontier days). I love just about everything about how life was lived back then. I'm sure they had their own set of stresses then, but I feel like we are so impacted by the culture and relying so heavily upon it more than those olden days. I like the greater innocence (or just the niavety) of those times. Now, there's so much extra pressure and unrealistic standards. Perhaps, it's the introduction of the television, I don't know. I think romance should be old fashioned too, waiting until marriage and leaving more to the imagination by dressing with more modesty. Don't get me wrong, I'm not into being a prude and having NO FUN... but it would be nice if there was more old fashioned chivalry and gentlemanlike conduct goin' around.
Dear Amanda,
The following is a free newsletter I get frequently. Thought it might interest you. You can subscribe too and they'll send you tips on singing. Of course, they also have a singing course you can purchase and it's not bad if you compared the price of it to private lessons...but this is free and I thought I'd pass it along. Let me know if you want me to send more... Kathy suggested I post them to the "Family: The Ties That Bind & Gag" site. Which I may do as well.
Love you! Please read on:
Welcome to the "Vocal Tip of the Week" Newsletter!
After working with thousands of singers, hearing their troubles, challenges,
etc., I have concluded that my "genius" is not so much "genius" as it is
instinct
that comes mostly from shear repetition and experience.
I've seen (heard) the same troubles from so many singers that I've learned to
finish their sentences for them!
So let this week's tip be one that addresses one of the biggies:
"Why does my voice "break," once I reach a certain point in my range when I try
to sing higher?" (And the infinitely more interesting question: "Can I get
past
that point?")
Here's the story...I'll bet I know you even though I don't know you. If you go
to a keyboard right now, I bet I can predict where your break is (give or take 2
notes). This is not because of magic. It is because, though voices sound very
differently from one another, they are *designed* very much the same.
If you are a male (and not a bass or baritone), you will be able to sing
comfortably up to about E, F, or F# above middle C. Then it gets hairy. You
start to feel it when you reach the E, then if you keep going, you probably
REALLY feel it by F# or G! GO TRY IT RIGHT NOW--
I'll wait>>>
Well, was I right?
OK, ladies, you will find the same thing happens to you about one octave above
the males. Try it and see.
This is what we call the first "bridge". Your voice is indicating that it's
time
to "shift gears". Your vocal cords will just close off some of their vibrating
length (like fretting a guitar) if they are allowed to.
Most singers who are experiencing a break at this point, are hearing their voice
give up the tension all at once, slipping into what we know as "falsetto", which
is a defense mechanism for the vocal cords. To bridge this gap, we use a weird
sound.
TRY this simple exercise:
Put your fingertips on your lower jaw line and lift your cheeks up a little,
pushing them slightly forward toward your lips. (If you're doing this right,
the
cheeks should kind of "gather" forward, causing your lips to pooch out loosely).
Now, without making a tone, blow air through your lips, making the "I'm tired"
sound (they should flap against one another rapidly like a horses lips).
I KNOW THIS IS STUPID, but you're about to experience a break-through!
Now make a VERY DOPEY tone while blowing the air through your lips again (It
will
sound like B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B, except VERY DOPEY). The tone should sound like
Stallone when he says "Yo, Adrien!"
Now, while making that sound, start just below middle C and sing up the scale to
your normal break note, then back down. Then, start a note higher than you
started, and go a note higher than before, and return. Once again, start yet
another note higher, going another note higher and return.
You should have gone a full 2 notes higher than you've been able to go without
breaking!
The normal mistake many people make at this point: NOT SOUNDING DOPEY enough!
The DOPEY sound is coming from lowering the voice-box (where your vocal cords
are). This forces you NOT to strain for the higher notes!
I recognize that this doesn't "fix" everything, because you don't want to sing
like Stallone!
However, if you did this exercise right, you finally felt what your vocal cords
are supposed to do when going through the bridge.
There are several other exercises that, when used together, will get your tone
normalized while keeping the strain off your cords. But we'll have to get to
those in future "Tips" Newsletter issues.
If you are having trouble with this exercise and need to see it done, just go
watch the free online lesson (it was a broken link recently, but we got it
fixed.) You'll need the password to see it. Password: sing
It's now at this link: http://www.singingsuccess.com/free_voice_lesson.htm
Keep singing,
Brett Manning
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