Dear List,
While it's very quiet out there in Vocalist-land, perhaps it is a good time to ask my question regarding the upper passagio. As I recall from several previous posts, it's certain there are some whose voices are completely "seamless" from bottom to top with only one register spanning the entire vocal range. Unfortunately, I am not one of those lucky people but have a definite "zona" between approx C#4 to the F#-G above it. Going up through it doesn't seem to be a problem; but descending down through the upper passagio point, especially repeatedly and rapidly, has been the cause of a great deal of work. ie.,--"yodel-city".
At one lesson when I was tired of struggling with a melisma that went up and down over and over through my upper passagio, and feeling more than a little whiney about it, my teacher said to me "You must keep working on this; because if you don't master this, I'll have to start training you as a baritone!" A week later, the morning of my next lesson I woke up suddenly able to siren down through the upper break without a single hitch. Not wanting to lose this I practiced it over and over...for 3 hours. [I guess I got a little obsessed with it]. That afternoon, at the beginning of the lesson, I showed my teacher. Said I: "See what I can do now?!" Said he: "Good!-but I think you've trashed your voice. Go home and don't sing for 4 days."
For me, it seemed I had to tilt my larynx forward and to modify the vowel to a brighter more forward sound. Paradoxically, it feels a little like the first half of a swallowing motion. Not sure if this makes sense. It seems the converse of what I had thought one was supposed to do. So I was wondering what experience(s) other singers have had; and what the Pedagogues think. What exercises can one do to ensure that the upper break transition remains smooth seamless under any conditions? Thanks for reading this and sorry if it's an old topic, but I can't seem to access the old Vocalist archives anymore.
GWendel
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