singing exersises

[Singing Otter]

Sorry guys. I was posting to help. I'm a vocalist. By the way it's dude-ette. I'm very much a woman.

Really sorry about that vivid image...



[This message has been edited by Singing Otter (edited November 08, 2000).]

[questor517]

Hahahaha. The image of the straw thingy in the nose didn't get to me, but the image of somebody reading about on their way to dinner did. hahahaha.

[terence, AISC Director]

Wel, I feel a little stupid replying as I feel I have not much business in this topic but here goes:
I have had classical voice and dance training and doing both at the same time is one of training and especially endurance.
Your diaphram is a muscle. It is your friend.
Barf! I got so tired of hearing this, but it is true.
Your diaphram looks kind of like a mushroom. If you do not breathe correctly or if it is not strong it will invert. The top muscle will literally turn over and no oxygen will get in, thus that feeling you get when trying to catch your breathe (your chest feels hard and you can't breathe all the way down to the "gut" as mentioned) and get light headed when singing. The diaphram pushes oxygen into your lungs--if it cramps you are full of dioxides (that stuff that makes balloons float!) I guess that could make your voice higher, but I don't recommend it!
Just as training any other muscle--the secret is strength and endurance.
Its pretty simple, as most of you guys are familiar with athletic training. Broadway singers and dancers do what is called "half court training". Find a basket ball court or simulate one. Run half court and then sing with your arms above your head as if you are ready to "shoot".
If you are not out of breathe, run full court and sing. The secret is to run back and forth until you are out of breathe and try to sing.
Holding your arms straight up pulls the blood and oxygen away from your heart and diaphram. Unless you are feeling breathless, this will not work!!!
When running and singing gets easier for you carry hand weights or water bottles and then raise them above your head while singing.
This will give you a diaphram from hell. Believe me, it will also increase your range!
Also, when warming up, raise your hands above your head and sing.
If ya don't believe me, just try and sing for two minutes with your arms straight up.
Don't forget to breathe from your belly button! Practice starting breathing from the very unused depths of your lungs. That is the center of your body and where the good stuff is!

[nik harvey]

yeah, i can totaly see a whole drum warming up at a pow-wow, singing with their hands in the air, hehe,that sound funny! but i know it to be true, i have heard of that to. thank you for the help.

nik

and about the straw, wouldent that burn like a mother???

[Renegade]

I was talking to some of the guys on our drum about practicing 4 hours verses 2 hours since our members have quite a drive to get to practice. Some of us were wondering if the 4 hours would strain or stress the voice too much. I thought that perhaps this could be a good thing.

I lift weights at a local gym and the serious lifters all say that they intentionally want to over stress a muscle, break it down, to make it grow, get stronger and improve its performance. They lift to the point of muscle failure on each rep, especially the last. Then allow a day or more for the muscle to repair and rebuild. The diaphragm and vocal cords are muscles. Can anyone tell me if the same principles apply. Is a strenuous 4 hour practice session with rest days better than a two our session?

[OnTheRoad]

Good question renegade. It has been my experience that the more you sing, the better your voice gets. It's just like if you sang at a dance every weekend in a month and sang some in between, your voice would be tough. You're exercising your voice this way. If you sing once or twice a month for a little while, you'll be hoarse quickly. I think 4 hours at once wouldnt hurt. But if you really want to work it out, sing a couple of hours every other day or so, you want to work on it consistantly. Kinda like power lifting vs. conditioning. Can anyone offer an answer?

OTR

[BPlenty]

I agree with OTR that you should definitely sing during the week. I try to sing some every day. The more you sing, the better. If you don't sing during the week at all and then you sing for four hours at practice, you're more apt to messing up your throat. If you sing a lot during the week or everyday, then four hours shouldn't be that bad. Our group has been practicing every week for about 2-3 hours, and we've been fine but all of our guys practice at home as well. I think that's the key. It also helps with learning songs Hope that helps

[tigger]

BPlenty,
must be nice to be able to be able to practice every weekend with a group. me, i just practice when i'm driving down the road. that's all i ever listen to anymore.


keith

[BPlenty]

Aw, come on Keith, its only 8 hours to practice and back, you could make it. LOL

Singing in the car is great...but you get some wierd stares

[OnTheRoad]

Stares, what stares? Hehe. Actually, I usually sing to regular music in my car. In regular music, you have a broader spectrum of voice range, depending on the type of music of course. Our group sings together once or twice a week, depending on work schedules. The advantage we have is that we all live within 30 minutes of each other. Makes it even easier when half the drum lives in the same house!

OTR

[nik harvey]

if you really want stares, bust out the drum stick on the dash at the same time!!