Hi Steve,

Try here:
http://www.vocalist.org.uk/breathing_exercises.html
http://www.vocalist.org.uk/powerful_vocals.html
http://www.vocalist.org.uk/voicetraining.html

Hope this helps
Tracey
Vocalist Webmistress

Singing is a matter of the valve (larynx) and the pump mechanism (breath) working together. If you concentrate your efforts on working your breath hard, you may be driving the folds by pushing too much air too hard over the folds themselves.

The loudness of your voice depends largely on what is happening above the level of the folds themselves, in the way you use your vocal tract. The vocal tract is an amplifier for the sound that comes from the vibrating folds, so if you learn how to twang (close a sphincter muscle over the larynx so that your voice gains a ringing tone) you can make more sound. You need a teacher to help you do this safely.

Good luck

Thanks for your replies - i will read through the articles. I'm also looking around for a vocal teacher now to get me started.

Thanks again,

Steve

Steve,

First off, your voice is strained and tired. That means that you have raised larynx that is slowly closing off the ability of the vocal folds to vibrate freely as well as closing the airway. A raised larynx is highly effective for swallowing, but very problematic in singing.

You may be throwing too much air under the folds themselves, causing the extrinsic muscles to become involved (swallowing), or you may be doing something else, splatting your words, raising your chin, pulling your chest voice too high etc., which then results in a raised larynx, which then results in your instinctively pushing more air to keep the vibration going. Also, since you don't feel as if you can get any power behind your notes, I would guess that you may be singing more towards a falsetto function, or head voice production throughout your voice. This will invite a raised larynx, and cause your to become hoarse. Falsetto is dangerously close to a whispered like tone, which can be fatal to your voice. Find your chest voice in the lower register and learn how to connect from it, through your mix, into your head voice. You should not begin to enter your mix/head voice until at least e/f/f# above middle C. Any sooner, and you'll run out of options either going up, or heading down.

Try bubbling, or tongue trills through your songs and see if you can keep an even volume and a clear connection throughout your entire song, or your entire range. Look for any tense reactions on the outside of your body. They will be an indicator of a tension on the inside.

As far as the twang, or sphincter action above the larynx......the twang someone else refers to comes from resonation, often heard as the singer's formant, or ring. The coupling of the proper shape with the proper creation of the pitch. You will not have to squeeze, lift, or push anywhere to get this resonation to occur once you learn how to properly registrate your voice.

The only time our larynx goes into a sphinxter action is when it is in the process of swallowing, it's a wonderful valve for protecting the lungs and forcing food into the esophagus, but annoying as heck when you're trying to sing.

Hope this helps!
Mary Beth F.
www.thevoiceproject.com

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Replying to:

Hi,

I have found that i have quite a large vocal range (for a man) but i think i'm singing from the wrong place. Quite often my throat is strained and i cannot get the power behind the notes that i want.

I've been looking through the articles on the site but theres so much to it and finding it difficult to know where to start! Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks in advance,

Steve