hey guys,

i'm currently attending a summer course on singing....however, the teacher tells me that i need to "focus" my voice...so that my voice won't be so thick and heavy and big....how can you actually "focus" your voice.... any suggestions??

One way is to increase air speed. This will also raise your pitch a little, but it's better to be a little sharp than a little flat!

It's quite hard to explain, but I've always been given to understand that 'focussing the voice' is about knowing where the sound is going - knowing what's going to come out and what you need to come out when you sing a note. Also focussing on what's coming up next.

David

When my teacher tells me to focus she means to physically focus the sound, usually forword towards the nose. It takes away breathiness and it makes the tone sound better. I'm not sure how to explain it really. We do an excersise called "meanies" to work on focusing. Basically you sing the word "meanie" on a 5 note descending scale, singing the word on every note. You sing it very very forward as if you were whining to someone calling them a meanie. The point is to sound as horribly nasal as you can. That helps get the focus. Then when you sing something normally, it falls into place easier.