Quick Post here guys. This is my new video webseries called “Vocal Tips For K-Pop Fans”, where I’ll be posting vocal tips for you guys as often as possible. Please leave a comment, subscribe and share it with others. Let me know if you have any questions and please give suggestions for future videos!
K-pop Vocalists' Vocal Analyses 
Hey, I have a question. I have, in theory, learned to support. I hear a difference when I sing without support, so I assumed I had developed it. But I am a bit confused, because whenever I sing I feel my Adam’s apple moving up and down. I thought it was natural, since forcing it to stay in the same position sounded quite unnatural and hurt a bit, but after watching some clips of some good singers singing, I noticed that did not happen. Am I using my larynx to push out my voice?
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The larynx may move a bit when it engages into functioning position versus not speaking nor singing position. But it shouldn’t move drastically up nor down unless it’s really the extremities of your voice. I’d have to hear you to be sure.
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Ok, I think this answers it quite well. I thought that the larynx should stay exactly like if you weren’t singing, so I was worried that I couldn’t be able to even support a third. Thanks!
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ahmin can you please take a minute to listen to my voice? can you tell if im supporting or not? and can you give me some tips to improve my singing? thanks in advance. sorry for my bad english hahhaha. https://www.facebook.com/gonzalesjclique/videos/g.321432078317821/1560412150682555/?type=2&theater&ifg=1
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I am sorry but the link you sent is unavailable for me.
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Hi ahmin, do you know why when sutain an Ee or oo vowels in the higher notes. There is a sound like cracking at the end of the note. Its coming Right after trying to end the sustaining notes. Do you know whats the problem and how to fix that?
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You mean for you specifically or for everyone?
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For everyone, Ive heard several singer that has the same problem tho
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I mean that’s because of pushing, not the vowel.
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So sorry i accidentally sent….haha..anyway…i know i told you that ill get back to you after practicing for a few months.. especially the 2 note exercise…but something just cant get off of my head…you told me for both of my cover that i have problem with diction and that it cuts off my support…so i want to show you a cover of Malay song(my language…its very similar to Indonesian)…if i still have that problem than i know that its me ….and..please forgive me for the sharps and flats …i sang it like really randomly ..haha…if appreciate it if you would take a listen…
https://vocaroo.com/i/s0apf80FnvRL
Don’t worry..im very passionately doing the 2 note exercise…
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Where did you get all the echo? Where are you singing? You sound pretty when singing in Malay because you sound more comfortable. I still hear jaw and tongue tension, which could have to do with the language. The diction is definitely clearer and the echo helps you project, it’s pretty though. Your voice is nice and this has a lot of nice points.
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Great…thanks a lot…haha..its kind of a long story why i sang in the stairway…anyway…do i have any support at all…i want to know that to know what it feels like to support..that is if i do have it..
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Hello ahmin… I’m sorry it takes so long for me to reply your comments.. i just wanna say thank you so much for helping me to improve in singing, your advice really helps me so much..
I think for now my approach in singing really change so it sounds more comfortable to me than before… I did your exercise to brighten my voice and less pushing, and yeah that’s really helps me.. i do cover for Im jae bum – confession, here the links http://www.everysing.com/es/CrqvDgAAAdc . In the beginning i tried to immitate im jae bum but then suddenly i realize that was not right lol. I think i sounds comfortable in Eb3 – F4 or maybe higher, the G#4 still sounds a bit pushed and closed but i don’t know for sure. I think that the support is there but maybe not strong for now? would you mind to check it? Also what should i do next to improve in singing?
Thank you so much ahmin
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0:25 ~ 0:30 I know that you said that in the beginning you were singing more like Im Jaebum and then you realized that wasn’t right, but I’d just like to point out that you’re pushing a bit too much air through the vocal cords throughout the verse. Which is not only costing you your precision and projection, but also your pitch. (The three P’s of singing, if you will.) I think the biggest problems that I’m hearing 1:28 you have an accent still and it affects you when you sing in Korean cause then you’re unable to keep the vowels as opened as they should be. But I am very impressed with you. The verse to me is the biggest problem in the song, where you’re not singing with precision, you’re more or less pitchy and you’re not projecting.
But the chorus, you’ve shown A HUGE improvement in terms of managing tension. Your placement is much more opened, the throat isn’t as blocked by your tongue. There’s little to no tongue tension throughout. There is pushing and a bit too much breathiness, but you’ve fixed your diction a lot in your belting range. Your Eb4’s and F4’s have a very nice chest placement, but they’re not too pushed. I would work on more connection and precision with pitch. But you’re doing a really good job, keep exercising the vocal cords and don’t neglect the lower parts of songs just because they’re lower.
Also what G#4? I didn’t hear a G#4, at least I didn’t notice one.
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Aahh i see.. so i’m not having tongue tension again but i’m still pushing and use so much breathiness in my singing, then i will fix it, thank you so much.
I mean the chorus part have many G4, not G#4, so how about my G4? Also do you have any idea how to avoid pushing so much in singing? I think the problem is when i didn’t inhale completely i still go to finish the notes so i try to hit the notes without so much air in my belly? I could be wrong, so i need your explanation for this, or do you have any exercise to avoid pushing? Sorry i ask you a lot haha. Thank you so much ahmin
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Yes the exercise on support is supposed to stop you from pushing. You need to mark the song and lyrics and take breaths more regularly so you don’t run out of air.
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Hello! Thank you for the Kim Yeonwoo analysis, I enjoyed it ❤
If you have time, could you tell me what I could improve on in my singing clips? I struggle a lot with Bflat4s and I can't mix B4 at all because of cracking TT_TT
Are my F3's unsupported and still too dark?
(P.S. I wrote a chapter of a Vmin fic in case you're interested 😛 https://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1285726/standing-at-the-edge-apocalypse-jimin-bts-parkjimin-apocalyptic-apocalypseau-bangtanboys-bangtan-taehyung-btsjimin-vbts-bulletproofboys-bangtansonyeondan-vmin)
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How do you normally practice your singing? I hear a bit of tongue tension and lack of openness in the Bb4’s, you also kind of push your larynx down around F3. I think that’s the biggest issue for me, lack of strong support, your Bb4’s just sound like you’re trying too hard to mix when it’s not high for you at all. You should try slides while keeping a dropping jaw on an opened vowel.
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Yes I definitely feel the lack of openness D:
I usually try to do the “bah bah bah” thing but I’m still tense.
Maybe I lack mixing muscles because for a long time I used to speak pretty low for a soprano…?
I’ll try the slides, thank you!
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@Matheus
How are you Matheus .. i hope u still remember me, lol
i have recorded the song “Sebuah Rasa” yesterday, this is Indonesian song because u said to me to sing in language i fluent, right? This is one of the emotional song from phenomenal singer. This song showcase my range in E2 ~ F4 .
How do u think ? my support, breath, low/mid/high note, everything. Am i improving?
You dont need to reply me quicky, because i know how bussy u re, slow respon is ok 🙂
Thank you Matheus ! GBU !
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Hi dear. So sorry for making you wait so long for me to respond, I’ve been really busy these days and I can’t really take the time to listen to full audios or videos without time stamps as often.
Now I am very very glad that you chose to sing in Indonesian, I highly encourage singing in your native tongue. Now I don’t know if this is a particular thing to Indonesian, but I hear your jaw still be quite a bit tight throughout. I honestly think this song may be a bit too low for you, it is a girl song sung down the octave, right? 0:31 0:35 you’re too breathy throughout the first half of the song, I’m just giving a few time stamps where there’s more air than tone and your pitch kind of disappears. 0:54 1:10 ~ 1:18, I would say that for these parts, throughout the chorus and such, you could drop your jaw more and allow the sound to come out from your mouth instead of being so trapped in your nose. Throughout it sounds like you’re going quite heavy towards your nose and so the sound isn’t opened or very projected. 1:48 don’t do runs if you don’t know where they’re going in terms of pitch.
Have you been doing vocal exercises? Because I am not interested in hearing those than songs to check how you’re practicing? Because I can’t say I hear much of a difference in how you’re singing and if you are doing vocal exercises, I would have to hear them to know that you’re doing them correctly. This is indeed a beautiful song and I again am very glad you sang in your native tongue, but I wouldn’t recommend singing such a big song for a woman’s voice down the octave, because you’re trying to be heavy and belt in a range that’s not designed for your voice. I’d say this song is not really a great song to practice. I’d recommend choosing something simpler in a narrower range, and something in a baritone range. Not something for a soprano voice down the octave. MOST of all, I’d rather hear you doing vocal exercises, not this. Then you can move on to apply what you do in vocal exercises in songs.
Thank you for being patient and I really think that you did much better singing in your native tongue, you’re more comfortable and more into it and that I am really happy about.
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Oh please u dont need to say sorry Matheus it’s ok.
emmmhhh… i see, i see, jaw again..
You want to listen when i do exercise? oh please.. hahahaha dont.
Yes you right, i choose girls song because they generally sing in F#3/G3 ~ D5/Eb5 range so i can sing in 1 octave lower F#2/G2 ~ D4/Eb4 because this range is comfortable for me. But this song (Sebuah Rasa) has extensive range, this is my mistake sorry.
I have tried to choose man song but most of indonesian singers are tenor with do phrase in D4 ~ G4 range even higher. Maybe i just not found the right song. I’m sorry this incident happened again.
So wht should i do / my concern right now is : drop my jaw more & sing in comfort range. Well..
i have a question, actually it’s old question.. You said i should lighten my voice the higher i go, Can i sing without lighten my voice? because i think lighten voice is not my style. How about singing with balanced mixed but not lighten voice ? what do you think about my mixed voice ? is that balanced or chesty?
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I am 100% serious. I would MUCH rather hear you singing vocal exercises than hear you singing songs because if you’re doing exercises the wrong way, you’re not going to show any improvement in your singing. You don’t have to choose a man song, I’m okay with you choosing a female song but you have to change the key so that it matches your voice. You’re NOT a soprano down the octave. So change the key, I’ve made a video about this too yknow. Yes you can sing without lightening up your voice, just not yet. First you have to learn to support properly without using your throat and you don’t know how to do that yet, especially in your upper range. So when it comes to high notes, you shout and you’re too heavy. First you learn to sing lightly and relaxed up there without tension and with support, then you can learn to bring chestiness and weight up there in order to balance out the mix and have a fuller quality. But you have to take your time and be patient, if you don’t learn to do the light one first, you’ll just keep shouting in your upper range and that’s what you want, is it?
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Oh God, seriously Matheus ? If it’s the best way & best step for me ok fine ! Next time You’ll see my exercises.
Thank You Matheus, take care yourself .. your healthy, GBU !
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i dont know why my last comment didnt show up. it almost 24 hrs. (?)
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Actually it’s been 15 hours. It hasn’t shown up because I haven’t had time to respond.
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oh.. it’s ok Matheus.
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I’m trying to do the pa-pa-pa workout. Can you check if I’m doing it correctly or am I pushing too much air?
https://vocaroo.com/i/s1NmkLKEboYH
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I think there are a few issues. The biggest one being pitch. You can’t just guess the notes, you need to play along the piano or listen to a scale. Because you were never really singing the right intervals, and so the overall sense of a key center was never there. Also there’s quite a bit of tongue tension, the ba sound should be more out and forward but you’re keeping it a bit inward, using a bit too much air and being a bit too loud. Why don’t you try it without the Ba? Why don’t you try the two note exercise instead?
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How do you maintain the forward sound again? I think you mentioned it in the video (something like putting it in your mask or what) but my internet is kinda slow right now and I can’t load it :<
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@redraselomuniverse Heyo, not Ahmin (I’m one of his students lol) here, but I’d like to throw in my 2 cents and try and help out since he’s busy. One of the ways that I remember being able to feel a forward placement is to use the “ng” vowel (like in “ring”), and then transitioning into a vowel like “ah” or “oh” while keeping the placement of the “ng” vowel. It should be okay if you feel a slight buzz in the middle of your face. Plug your nose just to test if you’re being nasal, and if sound isn’t being produced while it’s plugged or pinched, then that means you’re putting it into your nose (which is not what you want LOL), which means you need more soft palate lifting to stop the sound from becoming nasal (I think). Don’t take my word for it 100% though xD Either way, this is a good learning experience for both of us LOL
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Hello there Ahmin!!…i know you are very busy..so you can answer this whenever you like( but not so late please).. ..i was wondering…you said that singers don’t need to push more air to sing higher , you just need to have adequate amount of air and a proper vocal cord stretch (and many more )…but why is it that kyuhyun can’t sing the climax of Wildflower like Park Hyo Shin did without pausing(even when he sang a bit lower )….is it because of vocal cord muscle fatigue ( because of the high demand), or he just ran out of air?…if he did ran out of air, does that mean that singing higher requires a bit more air …… because I know that kyuhyun can hold a note very long if it is like F#4( i mean not so high note)
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Kyuhyun doesn’t manage his air as well as Park hyoshin when he sings higher so he loses stamina more easily and his vocal cords lack development as he sings higher than Bb4 to sing it in the original key.
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Hi ahmin…
It’s been a long day since i came to here last time… I feel like i need to give it a try about my singing again. So you said that i need to focus more on the lower part of song, less breathiness and less pushed, and i try to do it, could you check it out again? Is there any improvement?
I.O.I – Downpour http://www.joox.com/common_redirect.html?page=ksong_production&id=KWORK_2_14625415_1513408478283&lang=id&backend_country=id
Girl’s Day – I Miss You http://www.joox.com/common_redirect.html?page=ksong_production&id=KWORK_2_14625415_1513416916035&lang=id&backend_country=id
I think that i’m almost eliminating my breathiness. But there’s a bit pushed around F4-G4.. the F4 in the girl’s day song seems not to be pushed. how about the lower part?
And also i think that my voice is a bit stuck in the throat, maybe bcs i’m having a little cough and it affect me when singing… I need to hear your advice again. What should i do next to improve?
Thank you so much ahmin
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Hi! It’s been a while indeed. How have you been practicing? Have you been doing vocal exercises? You know dear, I’d rather hear you singing exercises to check on how you’re practicing instead of hearing you singing songs because that is time consuming and if you’re not practicing in a way that really creates new vocal habits, nothing will change in your singing. Also singing in Korean when you don’t speak it, especially singing with romanized lyrics, it’s not helpful because it gets in the way of your diction a lot. Your breathing is very shallow in Downpour, too much breathiness being used, you’re not using your diaphragm almost at all, the breaths aren’t deep enough nor engaging the rib cage enough.
What you should do is do vocal exercises that create new vocal habits. Honestly what you should do is take vocal lessons because there’s only so much you can do as a beginner without instruction. You will be stuck for a long time if you don’t have someone guiding you and fixing you. You have issues with tongue tension and jaw tension, that comes from your accent but also from bad vocal habits. Your breathing is still fairly shallow, you don’t really allow your vocal cords to move enough and you don’t engage the diaphragm almost at all. The thing is you have a beautiful voice and I love it, but there are so many bad habits getting in the way and if you keep practicing with kind of abstract ideas of less pushing and less breathiness but still singing songs and hoping to get it right, this will be a very difficult long road for you. Try doing vocal exercises instead. Have you seen any of our vocal tips for K-pop fans series?
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good day ahmin. can you please take a look at my singing? am i supporting here or not? can you give me some tips to improve my singing? thanks in advance :D. https://www.facebook.com/gonzalesjclique/videos/1560412150682555/
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You already sent this comment and I already got it but I am not currently in the state of mind to respond to any kind of singing advice right now, so please just be patient and wait for me. I have more people asking me advice on their singing daily, and right now I really cannot.
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I’ve been reading those words from you lately and they kinda make me feel sad (?) Surely I don’t and wouldn’t know what kind of difficulties you’re currently facing right now but I sincerely am wishing the best for you, Ahmin! 😉 Keep up the good work and be well!
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Hi Ahmin😁. I’m sorry to bother you again, but may i ask you to listen to my singing again and give some advice? I tried to change my vocal habit, i hope it getting better now.
Im Jae Bum – Flight
http://www.everysing.com/es/C613HAAAAcA
Emerald castle – footstep
http://www.everysing.com/es/C602LQAAAfA
Ha dong kyun – maze of reality
http://www.everysing.com/es/C618SwAAAa4
Thank you so much Ahmin.
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Hello! I somewhat recently recorded a short cover of a song I liked that I felt stayed within my comfortable range for most of the song, and I was wondering if I show support at all here? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqvUKlqX7o4
Also if it’s not too much trouble, do you think you could also tell me any points of improvement I should focus on? I really appreciate all the hard work both of you do, running this site and responding to practically every comment!
Thank you!
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I’m sorry if this question is too vague or something, but can you explain to me about raspiness. I know some vocalist who has the habit of smoking, usually have this kind of rasp to their voice (also their voice sometimes can sound throaty). But I never really understood what makes voice sounds raspy in the first place. Also, there are some vocalist like Mariah Carey that confuses me. Every time I hear her singing I hear like this hint of raspiness(?) though I’m not really sure. At first I thought it’s kind of the sound of excessive air, but Mariah has developed a really good breath support so how can that be possible. Ty
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Also I felt like maybe the reason I got that rasp feeling fro Mariah is because the chesty quality in her mix. But shes not THAT chesty right?
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A raspy quality to the voice is usually associated with the vocal cords not fully connecting when singing. So differently from a breathy quality that is mostly air, less so tone, a raspy quality is fuller in tone but there’s still a “leakage” of air coming from the vocal cords not being fully in contact. Airiness and good breath support aren’t necessarily connected as the development of the diaphragm is independent from the development/habit of connecting the vocal cords. As for Mariah, you may be confusing raspiness and hoarseness. Mariah has become chestier over the years.
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Hi Ahmin, I hope I’m not bothering you with my questions (sorry if I do) 🙂 I’ve been trying to get the hang of the two note exercise lately but it’s still all in my throat right?
https://vocaroo.com/i/s09YktXVHiwi
I struggle a lot with cord closure, I practice lip trills and vocal fry every day and I think it got better over time but I either tend to go airy or overcompensate with my throat. So being not airy and singing lightly is a true struggle for me.
Would you recommend I keep working on my cord closure (ofc without throat tension) first and then attempt the exercise again? As it’s probably pointless to practice it when I’m only doing it wrong?
Oh and just out of curiosity: Can you tell from that clip if I’m a mezzo? My former teacher told me so but sometimes I’m not so sure bc I can’t even sing below A3 without lowering my larynx lol.
Thanks a lot and have a nice day! 🙂
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Hello! I’m so sorry it took me a whole month to be able to respond to you, I hope it’s not too late!!
Okay so no I don’t think it’s a bad thing to keep practicing the two note exercise despite the lack of cord closure. If anything, the cord closure is supposed to be worked on WITH this exercise. You need to tighten up the stretch a bit more. One thing I’m hearing is a lack of chest voice overall. It might be why you lower your larynx below A3, because this is all head voice right now. It lacks a forward and fuller approach. It needs more balanced, more projection. You can’t be so shy and reserved with this, though it has to be soft. It has to be projected soft, not whispered soft. Keep working on closure, but try to find your chest voice and mix as well with this exercise. Keep it up!
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Don’t be sorry it’s already so nice of you to answer my questions at all and I’m so grateful! No need to feel pressured to answer, you don’t owe us anything right? 🙂
My voice is confusing the hell out of me and this explains so much! So I first apply the exercise on my chest voice and then move upwards? Thanks a lot for the advice! Gonna start working on the lows from now on.
How conciously would you recommend involving the diaphragm? I tried to improve my breath management by following felicia ricci’s advice and she suggests always thinking about breath engagement during exercises in the beginning until it gets subconcious? Lol self training is so hard, I really don’t know what I’m doing 😀 I hope I can afford a teacher soon again.
Have a nice day and good start into the week and thanks a lot again that you took/take the time ! 🙂
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Thank you for being so understanding. Yes start by exploring what a chest voice feels like and try to develop it? I agree whole heartedly about always focusing on breath support until its subconscious. As a singer, breath will always be important for you for sure and I keep thinking about it even now myself! Thank you so much and you too!!
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Hi Ahmin! I followed your advice for the past month and tried to focus on my chest voice (i still find it super ugly but that’s probably just my non existent technique lol) I wanted to ask if you could take a listen again 🙂 It’d very appreciate it 🙂
https://vocaroo.com/i/s0P6Rmjjb2Qt
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Hey Ahmin, it’s me again 🙂 For once I recorded a song and I’m kinda embarrassed how bad it turned out, but I would love to know my voice type and it be really great if you could listen to it some time. Doesn’t have to be anytime soon, just if you feel like it and have time.
https://vocaroo.com/i/s1jLQyFiomUc
Thanks a lot for all your help and your patience 😀 I sincerely hope you’re living your best life in Korea and enjoy all the food and places!
Ganz liebe Grüße aus Wien! 😀
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Are open notes the same with resonant ones? Or is it just notes tha are sung with an open throat. thx in advance.
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It’s the latter.
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Hey Ahmin, do you remember Sohyang’s supported range with and without head voice? 🙂
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Hi ahmin! Its hard for me to figure out wether I can support or not and i dont know my voice type either, so i need your help to determine it. I can hit c5 i dont know if its mixed or pulled chest. but if i sustained it longer my voice will eventually crack, and the safest low note i can hit is G2, Its hard for me to hit F#2. Here is my audio singing you a song https://vocaroo.com/i/s1Jfg0otCEbS what do you think of my singing? Sorry i just tried the exercise so my voice is probably a little bit tired
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Sometimes I get stuffy nose when I try to control the airflow to mask placement. Why is that? Am I doing wrong and is it harmful?
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A stuffy nose for the moment being or for the whole day?
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For the moment being.
It only happens seriously (I can’t breathe by nose but by mouth) when I try so hard, pushing the air to my upper placement to increase my volume. So I try to sing softly, with an audible volume but then my voice connects to upper placement (I’m not sure mask or nasal placement). Then I can easily control my voice with full breath which I breathed in (I’m not sure is it breath support or not but I’m trying to breathe in my diaphram), I feel the freedom of my voice and the resonance (just my feeling) when my voice blended with the placement, I can increase my volume by air pressure, making vocal cords vibrate faster, making the back of my throat wide while the control, breath is still there. After that, I still get a stuffy nose, but just slightly (I can breathe by nose but struggle with it). When I stop singing, the stuffy nose gradually disappear.
A stuffy nose makes me not connect to placement, so my voice is less projected, throat-based or nasal and pitchy.
Am I doing right? I am trying to find solution to my problem so that’s all I got these days. Thank you for replying.
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Hi admin. I think my supported range is up to E4, cuz I don’t feel my larynx raising and it doesn’t sound strained. But I don’t know why I have difficulty singing with a natural vibrato around Eb4/E4. Is that a normal thing to happen? And how long does it take to increase my supported range by 1 semitone? Thanks.
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Hi admin, I know this isn’t Korean singer but…he seemed to be able to support Eb5 and F5 in his mixed voice.
I don’t hear any strain at all. If that’s the case, he might be one of the best singers in the world, right?
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See there’s a lot of danger here. To assume that because someone theoretically may support E5 and F5 in mixed and that automatically one of the best vocalists in the world is very dangerous. Cause you’re not looking at the whole picture, just one aspect of his voice. His mixed is VERY heady. He almost uses no chest voice in his mixed, it’s mostly head to keep his mix light, bright and to allow him to mix that high without much strain. So to sing that lightly in mix, the strain would be minimal and the range more extensive by default. He supports, in his voice that is. I quite liked his A4’s, but above that he becomes so light his voice loses depth and roundness. To sing as high as he does, he sacrifices roundness and depth for range and brightness. There’s a bit of strain on the F5’s and E5’s, especially as he sustains them but it’s not THAT bad. He’s got really healthy technique overall, but his voice lacks roundness to me. To sing what he does, it works well. But just cause he’s got minimal strain very high, you shouldn’t use that as a case to say he’s one of the vocalists in the world. It’s a dangerous statement and thought process.
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