Description:
Before building head voice and eventually mix, we need to find our upper register!
We’re gonna start by sliding an octave on an AH vowel. The key here is to let your voice crack! Let go.
[AH slide 1-8-1, letting voice crack]
Tip: Don’t try to keep chest connection and strength; you will strain and it won’t feel good!
If you found that higher, lighter portion of your voice, great! If not, sometimes it helps to forget about singing entirely and go straight for animal noises. Let’s do our best imitation of an owl hooting. It may feel unsettled; that’s normal! But let’s do our best to stay in that light place as we sing the next exercise.
This can be imprecise, and you can fall off of the last pitch.
[WHEE-OO-EE-OO-EE 1-7-1-7-1]
Tip: Prioritize relaxation over tone. Before we can open up and refine our tone, we need to access these pitches in a relaxed, comfortable way.
Now we’ll start building some mix coordination. Mix voice retains some chest voice strength and connection, but allows the voice to be more light and flexible. Listen to the difference in strength and tone quality.
To keep our cords connected, we’ll use some gentle vocal fry into an OO vowel. Walking up very gradually.
[FRY-OO slide]
Tip: Aim for that hooty owl placement on your OO vowel!
Finally, we’ll use a favorite syllable for training mix voice: the bratty “nyah” sound. Focus the sound in your upper lip and nose area!
[Nasal NYAH-AH 8-5-8, sliding in mix or into chest]
Tip: When you slide into the AH vowel on your lower pitch, see if you can access more chest voice. The lower pitch and vowel should help!
Lessons:
Instructor: Camille van Niekerk
Camille van Niekerk is a singer, writer and vocal instructor in Southern California. Camille began studying voice and performing in musicals at age seven. In 2010, Camille began working towards her BA in Music Education at Azusa Pacific University. She then earned her teaching credential from San Diego State University and taught classroom choral and instrumental music. Shortly after moving to LA county, Camille began her private vocal studio, providing vocal coaching, ear training, and recording for students of all ages. She is constantly refining her skills and methods for greater versatility and effectiveness. When she is not teaching, Camille enjoys singing with the L.A. Choral Lab and Ensoma Creative. She lives in San Diego with her husband and loves going to the beach, practicing yoga, reading, and cooking.