On Fri, 30 Mar 2001, Kevin Moulton wrote:
> This problem has scared me away from some songs people often ask me
> to sing, like "Music of the Night", with it's annoying Ab's at the
> beginning of each verse.
NO-ONE sings this song well. It is a killer song, as it actually contains
about three different tessituras. Parts of it are pure tenor. Parts are
pure baritone. Parts simply beg for falsetto. I wouldn't use this as any
kind of gauge for your ability to sing low, high, or anything in between.
>
> The funny part is that occasionally I'll have a very strong low
> range, but it's hit or miss. I've yet to be able to recreate this
> ability on demand.
I suspect the real problem isn't producing the low notes, but keeping your
resonance consistent as you move down into the chest register. The
physical acoustics of where those low notes will resonate are simply
different from where your high notes will resonate - so how to overcome
that so you don't feel like you've got a completely different voice when
you sing low and when you sing high.
Part of it involves becoming very aware of your vowel sounds all through
your range. YOu need to "tighten up" your vowel sounds the lower you go -
just as you will need to "open up" your vowel sounds as you get higher.
Start working with the Italian "i" (eee) sound. Sing a 5-note scale down
from middle C, and really pay attention to closing the "i" vowel more each
time you move down a note, and keeping it focused so the resonance doesn't
really change as you move down. It's not just a question of moving
smoothly through the passagio (though that is part of it) - it's a
question of keeping the resonance consistent despite the change in notes.
Do the same thing for all the other Italian vowels (and the French,
German, and English vowels, if you like).
The other thing to concentrate on is not letting the "support" and
breath management get lazy just because you're singing lower. Yes,
low notes will require less compression of breath than high notes. But
it's very easy to be tricked into thinking that less compression means
less "support" and less breath management. Think about creating an even
more solid base of breath support as you sing lower, to keep the low notes
"spinning" and energized. Don't let your vibrato "crap out" just because
you're singing low. Again, this means *consistent* breath management all
through your range. This is another thing to concentrate on as you do the
5-note descending scale exercise.
There are other exercises you can try, but I'd suggest starting with this
one and really concentrating on *consistency* of production - both in
terms of breath management and resonance/vowel "tightening" - until you
really feel you've got it "licked".
Karen Mercedes
=====
My NEIL SHICOFF Website:
http://www.radix.net/~dalila/shicoff/shicoff.html
My Website:
http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html
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We're sitting in the opera house;
We're waiting for the curtain to arise
With wonders for our eyes,
A feeling of expectancy,
A certain kind of ecstasy,
Expectancy and ecstasy....Sh's's's.
- Charles Ives
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