Singing - does it get worse before it gets better? - 2007/07/12 09:27I started voice lessons a month ago. While I admit that my vocal quality has GREATLY improved since I started, I also feel like I've lost some control over it. It seems to be breaking at the most random times in places it's never broken before (like on notes in the middle of the staff), plus I think I've lost my highest notes. Today I was trying to warm myself all the way up to my whistle register, but I found I couldn't go much higher than a C6, and the highest note I've sustained in the past was an E6 or so.
Is this just because I'm adjusting to this new way of singing correctly? I know it's all about breath control, but I would have thought that would've improved with lessons (and it has, in a way - my head register isn't nearly as shrill, and I don't really sound nasal anymore).
Thanks to anyone who can help!
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karijayne
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Re:Singing - does it get worse before it gets better? - 2007/07/12 12:03I can't really comment on your specific issues because every voice is different, but if you've only been studying for a month (is that four lessons?), I think you need to give your voice a little bit more time.
Particularly if you came in with a lot of bad habits (ie. improper breath support or placement), you kind of have to start from scratch. You are training your muscles and vocal chords to work in ways they're not used to working, and as with any exercise regimen, you need to give yourself at least 2 months to see significant results.
After a four-year hiatus of barely singing at all, I started taking lessons again this year and noticed it took a few months for me to feel like my voice was actually changing and improving. And after six months - wow! - it was pretty obvious.
So keep practicing!-- Kari
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I probably did come in with a ton of bad habits - singing in the car and trying to belt to Kelly Clarkson (still can't believe I did that) probably didn't help anything.
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karijayne
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Re:Singing - does it get worse before it gets bett - 2007/07/12 17:46I just remember that when I came back to studying voice and singing soprano songs again after not studying for a long time and singing mostly belty pop songs, I felt like I couldn't sing anymore -- even though I had been a pretty strong soprano in high school. It was really frustrating and I kind of panicked. But it eventually got more reliable with consistent practice, and now my voice is stronger than ever. So stick with it!-- Kari
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21stCenturyEvita
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Re:Singing - does it get worse before it gets bett - 2007/07/12 17:53When I first started voice almost 2 years ago, I HATED it. I remember throwing one of my vocal books across the room because I could not find my head voice in lower notes. Then one day, it just clicked and this sound came out that I'd never heard before.
I'm sure you'll get it, just keep workin at it.Psalm 42:8
All the world's a stage....
Currently: Callbacks for Hello, Dolly! Just finished: Cyndra in High School Musical
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Shannon
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Re:Singing - does it get worse before it gets better? - 2007/07/12 19:19I'm definitely sticking with it I've been told I have a pretty timbre, which I hope is true, so I want to be able to make some use of my voice.
Oh, and I love singing with vibrato, but should I also learn how to sing higher notes in a straight tone? I'd love to be able to sing along to "A Whole New World" (cheesy, I guess, but I love that song!) without making it sound too classical.
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triplethreat
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Re:Singing - does it get worse before it gets bett - 2007/07/12 19:22Being able to control your vibrato is an essential skill - so yes, you should be able to sing with and without it, especially for musical theatre._____________ Kris MTA Admin
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kendrahatescake
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Re:Singing - does it get worse before it gets bett - 2007/07/15 03:47voice's change frequently, i've heard that a voice really isn't mature until people hit about 20, but i suppose that varies. i wouldn't worry too much, my voice has changed drastically in the past year, but it's all for the better. also, my voice teacher is all about singing classical music, because it really does train you quite well. if you can sing classical music the way it's supposed to be sung, you'll be able to sing anything."So many years my heart has waited, Who’d have thought that love could be so caffeinated..."
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Shannon
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Re:Singing - does it get worse before it gets bett - 2007/07/15 19:05I'm 18, but I don't think my voice is anywhere near mature yet. I heard voices actually don't mature until your late 20s...so I have a while to go.
I think my problem was that I wasn't practicing enough, because this week I've been practicing a bit more and am smoothing over the problems I mentioned. (They're not nonexistent, but they're getting better.) Though I'm still not singing as high as I could before...
Post edited by: Shannon, at: 2007/07/15 19:06
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kendrahatescake
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Re:Singing - does it get worse before it gets bett - 2007/07/16 01:56i started out as an alto, jumped up to a first soprano, went back to a mezzo and am now back to being a frist soprano. don't stress, i'm sure everything will work out! don't push yourself too hard though, you could pop a vocal chord, which is awful. (i've done it twice)"So many years my heart has waited, Who’d have thought that love could be so caffeinated..."
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Right now I have a very soprano-ish voice and have come to loathe low notes (it's easier to go higher than to go lower for me, even though physically my voice can go down to just over an octave below middle C). I think that no matter how I sing, my timbre is pretty light, but I'm not sure, since I haven't recorded myself singing since I've started lessons. Does anyone know how to record my voice onto my Macbook? I don't think there's a program for it, but I'd really like to hear what I sound like.
In other news, I sustained a high E today! Not in lessons, but at home (I matched it to several other high E's in songs to make sure I got it right)...still, I'm glad I got up there again. It's not a very pretty sound, but I can get up there. I haven't tried yet, but I might be able to sing the F above the high E stacatto.
Last thing: Anyone have tips for reaching the low notes? It's driving me CRAZY. I can do it fine in songs like "I Dreamed a Dream" that don't really require me to sing in the same sort of voice that I do in lessons, but in lessons I can barely get down to a middle C when we're doing scales! My teacher's trying to help me with it, but I'm having trouble. Is it some sort of soprano curse that we can sing higher notes but we struggle with the lower ones? I mean, right now I'm singing a song that starts out with a D4 (note above middle C), and I always end up accidentally transposing it up a few notes, even after my teacher's played it on the piano two or three times (I do get it right, but not always!).
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He or she can learn alot about how to help you if you let heim/her know what you are feeling or experiencing!
I am a voice teacher, and one of the frustrations of working with students is that the voice is not an instrument like a trumpet or an oboe. With a non-vocal musical instrument, I can just open it up and look at the keys and other mechanisms and tell you why it isn't working. I can't open up your throat and vocal tract and tell you what's going on! I can only tell from what I hear and by the student telling me what things feel like.
To work on low notes, start high, and sing downward, trying to keep the same focus (or resonance) that you have up high down low. It is not unusual at your age, to have a lighter singing voice in the low range. You have several choices in the low range: keep those notes in your head voice, for a light, somewhat airy timbre; use a mix of chest and head voice, for a heartier sound; or use chest voice. Going stright to chest voice can be somewhat jarring, however.
The female vocal mechanism does not mature until the thirties! The male vocal mechanism matures later, closer to fourty!
Good luck in your vocal study. I hope these suggestions help!
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If you have iMovie (this may work with iDVD, but I have an old operating system, so I'm not quite sure), open it, start a new project, click on audio, and there should be a bar underneath the box that has all of your iTunes songs in it that turns colors depending on the amount of sound around you. It's a good idea to find the built-in microphone by snapping your fingers until the colored bars go all the way to red every time, it should look like a "reset" hole like those you find on electronic games and the like. Just press the record button to the left of this bar, sing towards (not into, or it will be really loud) the microphone, click on the record button when you are done, and you'll have your clip! You have to press the big play button to listen to it because it is part of the "movie" you are supposed to be making.
Hope that helps! Peace! Sarah
- Currently taking a richly-deserved Summer break while working Concessions and Front-of-House at Music Circus.
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Shannon, it may help you to take notes while you're practicing at home so that you can share these kinds of frustrations/observations with your teacher. Otherwise, you may forget exactly what a problem felt like before it's time for your next lesson.-- Kari
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I've been told I have a pretty timbre, which I hope is true, so I want to be able to make some use of my voice.
I mean, right now I'm singing a song that starts out with a D4 (note above middle C), and I always end up accidentally transposing it up a few notes, even after my teacher's played it on the piano two or three times (I do get it right, but not always!).
