El Ben
06-11-2007, 02:36 PM
This post was originally a response to a question here. (http://www.theworshipcommunity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=209&highlight=vocal+dynamics)
I'll tell you right now: to me, 99.999 percent of pitch problems have nothing to do with a musician's ear at all, but rather his/her lungs. Pitch, as you know, is the specific frequency at which a note is sung or played. What you may not know is that when it comes to singing, pitch translates to (scientifically speaking) the rate at which air passes over your vocal cords, causing them to vibrate. Think of your vocal chords like guitar strings. The tighter you tighten them, the higher the note. The same is true for your vocal cords. High notes are caused by tightened vocal cords.
Now, as aforementioned, the tensile strength of your vocal cords isn't the only thing controlling your pitch, the second thing (and the most important) is air flow. Think of (also in terms of guitar) your air flow as your left hand, which fingers the strings. If you don't press down hard enough, then the notes end up sounding sloppy. The same is true of your air flow. If you don't have enough air, your notes will be weak and you'll go flat. If you have too much air and force it, your notes will be overpowered and you'll go sharp.
In short, breathing is paramount when it comes to singing. Most base-level vocal coaches will tell you to sing from your gut. There's a real scientific truth behind this. Your diaphram is a thin membrane separating your respiratory system and your digestive system. It indirectly controls your breathing by acting like an intake valve that creates a vacuum, which allows you to take in and hold air inside your lungs.
Now, your lungs are not directly under your control, but there are muscles between each of your ribs called "intercostals" that can contract and expand at your control. These muscles, in conjunction with your diaphram, are the support center. They allow the air to get to your throat, where it will vibrate your vocal cords, which makes pretty music (if done right). Now, the key is to maximize your breathing support so that you can regulate your tone.
I mentioned beforehand, most base-level vocal coaches will tell you to sing from your gut. This is more a reference to the direction of air-flow that happens inside you than where you position a note. The muscles that control your vocal cords are called areytenoids, and they're like the tuning knobs on a guitar. Whenever you used unfocused breathing patterns, your areytenoids have two jobs to do. Not only do they control your vocal cords, but they have to pull air from your lungs to supply vibration. This is why just plain old singing will wear you out after a couple of songs. Your areytenoids get tired because they are being overused.
Ideally, here's how your breathing should happen. You should breathe in deeply, and instead of storing your air in your upper chest, it should be stored closer to your abs (or in my case, your belly.) It might take a while to get this down. A trick I used when I first started this exercise was to rest my hands just above my waist. If you can feel your back expand, then you're doing it right. If your shoulders are rising, you're doing it wrong.
This creates a reservoir of air for you to push up, which lightens the workload on your areytenoids, which allows you not only to regulate your notes with ease, but to also sing higher and for longer periods of time. This is why many singers have incredibly powerful abdominal muscles (even if they are overweight). It is rumored that Luciano Pavarotti (sp?) can crack a walnut in his bellybutton because of his superior control and he's not a small man at all.
Basically, the most important thing is practice. Even people who are naturally good singers wouldn't get far without practice, and since most of singing has to do with musculo-vascular dynamics, practice is actually exercise for the muscles associated with singing. There are several good training videos out there that can help you out with practice techniques, but the important thing is getting your breathing right so that you can correctly sing notes. The rest is up to your musical ear.
Whew...sorry that was so long. My thoughts were kind of scattered, but I hope that EXHAUSTIVE explanation helped.
I'll tell you right now: to me, 99.999 percent of pitch problems have nothing to do with a musician's ear at all, but rather his/her lungs. Pitch, as you know, is the specific frequency at which a note is sung or played. What you may not know is that when it comes to singing, pitch translates to (scientifically speaking) the rate at which air passes over your vocal cords, causing them to vibrate. Think of your vocal chords like guitar strings. The tighter you tighten them, the higher the note. The same is true for your vocal cords. High notes are caused by tightened vocal cords.
Now, as aforementioned, the tensile strength of your vocal cords isn't the only thing controlling your pitch, the second thing (and the most important) is air flow. Think of (also in terms of guitar) your air flow as your left hand, which fingers the strings. If you don't press down hard enough, then the notes end up sounding sloppy. The same is true of your air flow. If you don't have enough air, your notes will be weak and you'll go flat. If you have too much air and force it, your notes will be overpowered and you'll go sharp.
In short, breathing is paramount when it comes to singing. Most base-level vocal coaches will tell you to sing from your gut. There's a real scientific truth behind this. Your diaphram is a thin membrane separating your respiratory system and your digestive system. It indirectly controls your breathing by acting like an intake valve that creates a vacuum, which allows you to take in and hold air inside your lungs.
Now, your lungs are not directly under your control, but there are muscles between each of your ribs called "intercostals" that can contract and expand at your control. These muscles, in conjunction with your diaphram, are the support center. They allow the air to get to your throat, where it will vibrate your vocal cords, which makes pretty music (if done right). Now, the key is to maximize your breathing support so that you can regulate your tone.
I mentioned beforehand, most base-level vocal coaches will tell you to sing from your gut. This is more a reference to the direction of air-flow that happens inside you than where you position a note. The muscles that control your vocal cords are called areytenoids, and they're like the tuning knobs on a guitar. Whenever you used unfocused breathing patterns, your areytenoids have two jobs to do. Not only do they control your vocal cords, but they have to pull air from your lungs to supply vibration. This is why just plain old singing will wear you out after a couple of songs. Your areytenoids get tired because they are being overused.
Ideally, here's how your breathing should happen. You should breathe in deeply, and instead of storing your air in your upper chest, it should be stored closer to your abs (or in my case, your belly.) It might take a while to get this down. A trick I used when I first started this exercise was to rest my hands just above my waist. If you can feel your back expand, then you're doing it right. If your shoulders are rising, you're doing it wrong.
This creates a reservoir of air for you to push up, which lightens the workload on your areytenoids, which allows you not only to regulate your notes with ease, but to also sing higher and for longer periods of time. This is why many singers have incredibly powerful abdominal muscles (even if they are overweight). It is rumored that Luciano Pavarotti (sp?) can crack a walnut in his bellybutton because of his superior control and he's not a small man at all.
Basically, the most important thing is practice. Even people who are naturally good singers wouldn't get far without practice, and since most of singing has to do with musculo-vascular dynamics, practice is actually exercise for the muscles associated with singing. There are several good training videos out there that can help you out with practice techniques, but the important thing is getting your breathing right so that you can correctly sing notes. The rest is up to your musical ear.
Whew...sorry that was so long. My thoughts were kind of scattered, but I hope that EXHAUSTIVE explanation helped.