Vocalist.org archive


From:  Karen Mercedes <dalila@R...>
Date:  Wed Nov 13, 2002  2:24 pm
Subject:  Re: [vocalist] let me try again....."warming" a too bright voice

Try thinking about deepening the resonance of your tone in the middle
register as well. Think a bit more vertically than "round". As you sing
the notes, do you feel vibration not just in the mouth and nasal cavities,
but also near the larynx? If not, that vibration near the larynx is
something you should try to achieve. It's mainly a mental process, but it
can also help to think of the mouth not as circular but as ellipsoid, with
a very pronounced feel of "lift" of the upper molars and soft palate
(again, achieved mainly by thinking about feeling that sense of "lift" -
that "unhinged" feeling of the upper teeth "lifting" off the lower jaw).

You might also try using what I call "Malfitano lips" (or "kissing gourami
lips") - after Catherine Malfitano. If you've ever watched her sing,
you'll notice that she really extends her lips forward (Sam Ramey also
does this), to create a kind of mini-megaphone effect that adds depth to
the resonance of her sound (and also helps avoid lip tension).
Particularly when singing "o" and "u", try extending the lips forward,
instead of doing a closed "choral" type of "u" or "o" that tightens and
slightly retracts the lips. I find that the "Malfitano lips" help deepen
my resonance on ALL vowel sounds, even "i" - which is produced entirely by
the position of the tongue anyway.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Karen Mercedes
http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html
________________________________
That man is the happiest who
is most thoroughly deluded.
- Erasmus




emusic.com