Can anyone help with tips for voice placing? I really need some tips.

I seemed to have lost it today (though I had a cold, so that might have had something to do with it). I know when it's right, it's just getting it there... just can't seem to grow that beak my teacher keeps telling me to get!!!

Any other thoughts gratefully received.

Hi there!!

Can you be a bit more specific as to what you are finding difficult ..ie..particular vowels or notes you have difficulting 'placing'.. (I've had trouble with this myself so i'd love to help if I can!!)

K

Mmm. Not notes, they're fine. It's just bringing the whole sound further forward, if you know what I mean. It might be that I was having a bad day, but we were doing new music, andit always seems to be worse when I start something new. Mty teacher calls it my ' that sightreading voice again'. It's always much easier when I know the music better. I'm wondering if I need to learn it all by next week, but then I still have this silly cold....

hmmmm, you could be right, it might just that you need to be more secure in knowing the piece before you can put the voice into practice properly..let us know if it gets any better once the cold's gone!

What IS voice placing? Don't want to derail the thread - no huge technical explanation required... just curious as to what you're asking for help on

Sarah (amateur singer, as you can no doubt tell! )

Emma

I think it's something we all go through when we're not at the peak of our confidence. We go back to our old (bad) habits as they are the way we have sung automatically for years, because singing "properly" is something we haven't yet developed so far that it becomes an unconscious activity.

My teacher calls it my "crutch" or my "security blanket" - my own bad habit is to sing so far forwards I'm virtually humming! And it can be triggered by sight reading something difficult, or by having a third party (eg an accompanist with whom I'm not acquainted) in the room. Or arriving stressed for a lesson or.......

The trouble is, if you are conscious of doing it, you tend to do it worse than ever. It's a vicious circle! The only way he pulls me out of it is to stop altogether, go back to warm-up exercises and, once my voice has relaxed, try again.

Oh, and he always tells me not to try to "place" the voice at all - it simply makes the problem worse. Relax and trust the voice to go where it should, he says. And it does seem to work, when I let it.

Cheers

Katyjay

Glad I'm not the only one who gets these hiccups (not literally...). I even had a few deep breaths before starting to sing stuff yesterday - ultimate sin!

I think you're right though, the harder you try the worse it seems to get. Think I'll stop trying till I get rid of this cold, and go back to howling - maybe it'sll come right then.

Does anyone have favourite / useful voice placing tips though? i'd be glad to know

Hi

This may help

When I am learning a new song my teacher always makes me get the placement right first by just going throught the song on OOH, which places your voice forward, then when you are comfortable in the placement you start with the words

She was taught by an Opera teacher from the ENO years ago and swears by it and so do I

Oh yeah and dont try and be to hard on your self as when you are emotional not good (unwell etc) then your voice will suffer as your confidence is not the same, all singers suffer with it even the best

God Bless
Love sarah

My teacher makes me do "meanies". You do it in a 5 note descending scale singing "meanie" on each note and sing in a really awful sounding whiny voice. Very very forward, like as forward as it'll go, not at all what you'd actually want to sound like. But it definately helps.

Don't know if this will help, but when my voice goes "back in my throat" my teacher has invited me to imagine I'm pulling strands of chewing gum out of my mouth as I sing. Sounds a revolting thought, but strangely enough it works!



Amber
x