Sorry to have been so long getting this page written.
Concerts, lyrics and daily what-evers have taken
up a lot of my time.

We left off at the point where I was going to give you
some tips about singing in the high register of your voice
without belting, screaming, yelling or hollering.

What happens, sound-wise, when singing high, is that
the tone often gets "breathy", which many don't like.
The breathy sound is nice as an embellishment, but not
as the standard sound when singing high notes.
The breathy sound is also hard on the vocal cords and
also tires them out.
Breathiness is just what it sounds like, too much air and too
little tone.
To remedy this situation, you must learn to regulate the amount
of air you use to create sound.



There are many names for the type of technique you need to use
to get up there , minus the extra breath and the thin-ness of sound.
I call it pancaking the sound. That means you must keep your mouth small
have a inner lift by the soft palate (the roof of your mouth) and smile, lifting at the mask of your face.
This next part is where many singing coaches disagree.
I NEVER let my students drop their jaw when singing, because...
A dropped jaw, say on an Ah sound, unfocusses the vowel.
It ends up sounding as if the singer is yawning - and I don't
know of any "A" sound that sounds like that.
I belive that this is the reason you often can't understand
the libretto (lyrics) opera singers are singing.



A few tips for doing away with the breathiness - coming up.

Just a reminder that to differentiate is the clue to helping others.
What works for one person, doesn't necessarily work for another.
That's why it's important to have many "remedies" at hand.



1. Remembering to "shift gears when moving up the scale-
Widen the neck from back to side,smile and project the sound
along the roof of your mouth and frontwards aiming for the back of your
front teeth.
2. Think backwards when singing up - that way you don't envision a high
note, but more of a sound that's passing you by.
3. Sing on Nay with a whining sound. The more whining - the better.
-and pancake the sound so it sounds Ethel Merman.
4. Try doing the tongue or lip trill on a hard passage in your song.
(see Vocalease p.2)
5. Next sing the passage on Do or De.
6. Sing the lyrics,while lightly biting on the fingernail of your pointer finger.
This helps you to keep your mouth small, your focus lifted and your soft palate active.


This is all for the moment - Be back soon!
Lisa 2003

Vocalease p. 1 Vocalease p.2 Vocalease p.3