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Singing super light
Hey Chuck
I’ve been doing your program for about 2 and a half years now and am very pleased with my mix so thanks for that 🙂
However! Many of my songs require a very light mix at points, and I’m struggling to get it with ease. Here’s a video of a guy I’m using as a guide. I don’t have any problems with all the high stuff in this song, it’s the opening that I struggle with—it’s such a light mix!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?<wbr>v=ks15c9FKmlQ
Here’s another example of his beautiful tone:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?<wbr>v=BJfCGLEopoM
So beautiful!
I’ve been doing the exercises at lower and lower volumes, and using the bratty sound to try to keep the cords connected, but I don’t seem to be making quick progress. Do you have any other suggestions on how to get this super light mix?
Thanks as always Chuck
Jim
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4 Replies
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@James Eaton Here’s the answer…which may not be very satisfactory, but he is in light chest voice in both his songs. You can tell he is in chest when he gets louder and it starts to pull a little bit. He’s a very gifted singer with a very high range.
In the first video the notes he is singing at the beginning are all pitched in the chest range…and he sings them in light chest or soft chest voice.
The first video at 0:58 seconds he pulls chest. If he were singing in mix….he wouldn’t do that.
The second video he sings the F4 in a lighter chest voice…and because he has such a high voice, it sounds pretty good. At 2:55 (I think it’s on the word “ocean”) in the second video you can hear him pull chest. This is how I know, he’s not in mix….just light chest voice. As soon as he sings harder or louder…it’s easier to hear it’s chest.
I’m not saying he’s a bad singer. On the contrary in the words of Seth Riggs, he is so good he can abuse and sound good. Mainly because he has such a high tenor voice he can pull chest up higher and it’s harder to recognize until he sings louder.
I suggest in the lower notes you can do the same. If you are below the first bridge, sing it in light chest voice. It will give you more “presence” with no adverse consequences. On the notes in and above the bridge, you can mix.
Hope this helps.
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Thanks Chuck. That’s really helpful.
I notice some squeezing has crept back in when I’m singing in light chest around D4 E4. It’s such a hard habit to break!
I keep going back to a very light sound, which sounds close to falsetto to me but is still connected, and then a very subtle pressing in. That gets me back to a clear, connected tone throughout my voice with no straining.
I’m feel I’m really getting ‘there’, and I’m making more and more subtle adjustments all the time. That ‘master your high notes’ course seems to inspire an endless flow of revelations!
JIm
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Hi Jim: Thanks for your comment (and email). As you can see, I was able to make the name adjustment.
Leaning or pressing down into your voice will continue to get easier and the voice will get stronger. But there is a caveat. If the vowel in your word begins to spread open, it will begin to pull chest voice. This is where a slight narrowing of the vowel will save you. Narrowing the vowel will allow you to lean more firmly into the voice and stay in mix or head voice. When that happens you can sing as loud or soft as you want and you will stay in the right coordination of mix or head voice.
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Thanks Chuck, and for changing my profile details.👍
That’s a great reminder about narrowing the vowel as I have had a tendency to spread a bit in the past.
I keep working on leaning into my voice whist keeping the right coordination, but I still don’t have the control I want and sometimes feel a bit impatient.
I know it’s hard to say, but how long do you think it will take with daily practice to be able to sing as loud or soft as I want anywhere in my voice whilst maintaining the mix/head coordination?
ps The notifications are coming through to my email ok.
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