Skill Development: There Are No Shortcuts
Published by Alternative_Thinker in the blog The #80 Blog. Views: 657
I sound like I've got a developmental disability, but that's just something I have to get over and keep working on.
Vocal training. When you're an okay singer but your range is extremely limited as a baritone, and you want to sing like, say, Rob Halford or Steve Perry, for instance, then you're in for a hell of a ride trying to extend your upper register. That's right, that was what I meant by "sounding like I've got a developmental disability", because when I practice those range-extending vocal workouts, I do certain things with my voice where, to an outsider, I would sound absolutely ridiculous. My voice would crack, it would go whiny, it would flip, it would shake uncontrollably, it would do all kinds of unflattering things. But all this stuff that I'm going though is necessary if I want to gain more vocal range and improve its longevity.
The human voice is an incredible thing. With proper training, you can strengthen your voice, add more range, and do all kind of cool things with it without really damaging your vocal system. But it's also very easy to ruin your voice as well, if you're not careful. This blog entry isn't a vocal lesson of any kind, nor am I a vocal instructor, so if anyone is interested in learning how to increase the vocal range, my advice would be to do a lot of research. I also like YouTube because there are so many singing tutorials on there. The general rule of thumb is that, if an instructor actively, and repeatedly bashes/challenges/taunts other instructors saying stuff like "what they're teaching is bullshit", then I wouldn't really pay attention to that instructor. With some research, it'll start to become obvious which instructors are legit.
Getting back to my vocal training, prior to starting it, the highest note I could hit was really not that high at all. I could hit it, but I couldn't do so repeatedly since I'd get exhausted from practically yelling it out. My throat would become sore, and I would need to rest my voice for a duration of time before I could hit that note again. I needed to rectify this issue, and thus began my vocal training last year. It's a long process, but I've definitely noticed some improvements. The oddest thing is that the super high notes, I can actually hit now. The trick is the notes right in that area where the voice starts to want to break into falsetto. For me, this region may contain up to like seven notes in semitones(half steps if you're a guitar player), and strengthening this particular area has been a real challenge so far. This is where I start sounding like I'm mentally challenged during training.
Luckily, I tend not to practice when I'm around people. I like my solitude here and there, and this is definitely one of those instances where I require it. But the fun thing is, the next time I'm with my friends and end up with a container of Advil or something in my hand, I get to do the Rob Halford scream and go "This. Is. The. Painkiller! Pain! Pain! Killer! Killeeeerrrrrrr!!!" LMAO
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