--- In vocalist-temporary@y..., buzzcen@a... wrote: > Let me take a guess at what your problem is (and forgive me if I'm wrong). > As you sing higher it becomes more and more difficult. The muscular tension > mounts, the voice begins to sound yelly or you flip into falsetto. All of > your teachers blame it on support, or tell you to lift your soft palate, etc. > No matter how hard you try, none of these work. > > Is this close?
That's one part of it, of course, a very big part of it. But isn't that something just about everyone has to learn when they're studying singing? I know that managing tension is a lifelong struggle, but, aside from one or two HIGHLY isolated cases, I can't sing anything anywhere in the upper part of my range (I'm a low tenor) without it feeling and sounding terrible. And this is AFTER seven and a half years, during which time I've actually lost comfortable notes at the top of my range. It's just the whole thing that I find frustrating or maddening. I want concrete solutions where, I suppose, none exist. But because everyone tells me something different about breathing or how to stand or what to do with my ribcage or what to think about, I have no idea what to do about anything anymore. I just want to stand there, breathe, and sing, but it is never that easy with anyone. And it's very frustrating. One of my teachers focused a lot on breathing. I worked with him for about nine months and never really breathed the way he wanted me to. (So, of course, I sounded terrible, but I sound terrible anyway.) Then, my FIRST LESSON with my new teacher, he basically told me to forget everything the previous one had told me. I don't know how I can ever progress. How can I ever learn anything? How does ANYONE ever learn to sing? I sincerely don't understand it. I would think that after almost eight years of this, I would have some clue on how to produce, if not a good, than at least an acceptable tone with my voice that other people wouldn't mind listening to, preferably without killing myself in the process. BUT I CANNOT DO IT. And I'm tired of it. I very much want to learn how to sing, but it's way too freaking expensive if I never, ever get any better!
--Matthew
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