How to practice voice:

The purpose of voice practice

1. To make the muscles of each organ in the singing vocal system stronger and more coordinated.

2. Establish a correct sound concept.

3. Expand the sound range and beautify the sound quality.

Notes

1. Do it step by step.

2. Practice every day and persevere.

3. When practicing voice, you should be focused, energetic and full of passion.

4. Be consistent with subjectivity and objectivity, and frequently record and analyze the difference between the real voice and the self-perceived voice when speaking.

5. Consolidate the correct feeling of speaking.

6. Apply the experience of practicing vocal techniques to singing songs.

7. Beginners should not pursue high volume and treble, but should pursue smooth and smooth sound and beautiful sound quality.

Specific methods

Start practicing in the natural range. The natural range refers to the range that can be sung without exerting much effort. It is the most comfortable and colorful sound in the human voice. , generally no more than an octave, generally male and female altos drop 7 from low volume to alto, and male and female altos go from 2 to treble 1.

After the sounds in the natural range are gradually consolidated, the mellow, bright, and soft colors and ease of sounding when singing these sounds should be moved to the adjacent high and low notes. When the number of such sounds gradually increases, our vocal range will gradually expand and the entire vocal range will be unified and even. You can use it freely when singing high notes and low notes.

If you don’t practice according to the method of starting from the natural range, and you haven’t sung the notes in the natural range well, and you start singing high notes and low notes without a breathing foundation, then there will be some problems with your voice. , when some people sing, their voice is divided into two verses, or the high notes are tight or sharp; the bass is depressed and hoarse, which is the result of practicing singing high and low notes without a foundation in the natural range.

For comrades who are already engaged in singing, it is of great benefit to take time out every day to do some natural range exercises to unify the vocal range and make the voice sound freely.

Correction of sick voices in vocal music teaching:

When students learn vocal music, due to various reasons, they develop bad singing habits and develop sick voices over time. Correcting sick voices is an issue that every vocal teacher cannot avoid.

Sick voices can be roughly divided into two categories. The first category is that previous training methods were inappropriate and damaged the voice function. Common situations are: 1) The larynx is opened too wide and the vocal cords are not closed well; 2) The larynx is over-squeezed, resulting in squeezed sounds and stuck sounds. The second type is those who suddenly become unable to sing accurately after reaching the second or third grade. This phenomenon often becomes more frequent as the difficulty of the track increases.

Whether the larynx is opened too wide or the larynx is squeezed, in the final analysis it is caused by poor breath. Due to poor breath, I couldn't find the correct fulcrum, so I had to use my voice to focus. If you don't pay attention to the breath during training, whether it is open or closed, you will eventually have to give up the basics and strive for the bottom. The more you practice, the more mistakes you make, and you will be unable to extricate yourself. Breathing is used as a driving force. The breath impacts the vocal cords to produce sound, which is expanded and beautified through the vocal cavity. Developing a beautiful singing voice - Anyone with vocal training understands these basic vocal theories.

But how to guide students to correctly grasp these theories is not an easy task. The first thing is to strengthen breath training and guide students to learn the correct breathing method.

Keep singing while inhaling: breathe around the belt. Practice keeping your breath and controlling the speed of inhalation. In short: relax your whole body, inhale slowly through your mouth and nose at the same time, and Hold for a while, exhale evenly, and then relax. These are simple to say, but students need to practice them frequently, experience and practice them repeatedly, and eventually they will become their subconscious actions. Secondly, start practicing with the vowel u. The advantage of using the u vowel is that it can easily concentrate the air beam and coordinate the relationship between the breath and the vocal cavity. Based on the good practice of the u vowel, other vowels can be developed, so that students can easily master the correct pronunciation method. During vocal training, start with vocal training songs in thirds or fifths, from easy to deep, gradually enabling students to learn vocal skills while overcoming psychological barriers and building confidence in singing.

You can also start to use the half-tone method to practice your voice, so that every sound is produced under the control of breath. Since these students' singing functions have been damaged to varying degrees, if they sing loudly, it will be difficult to get rid of the previous wrong vocal methods. In fact, the difference between half voice and full voice is just a matter of breath volume, and the method of producing the voice is the same. The semi-voice method is not only helpful for learning the correct vocal method, but also has great benefits for voice control and learning to sing difficult technical pieces. In May 1997, Professor B. Carmen, dean of the Art Department of the University of Maryland, introduced her voice training method when giving a lecture at the China Conservatory of Music. His voice training method is the semi-tone voice training method. By following the method mentioned above step by step, students can gradually get rid of the wrong vocalization methods of opening and squeezing the throat, and learn to sing correctly. There was a student whose voice only had three semitones left, and was once sentenced to death by some famous vocalists. After two years of training, he will be able to sing more difficult pieces and graduate successfully.

As for the second type of voice problem: it is mainly due to poor breath control (people who are born with inaccurate pitch cannot enter the conservatory). If the breath is too strong, the voice will be high; if the breath is not maintained, the voice will tend to be low. Usually these students use uneven breathing and vacillation. Therefore, there is no pattern to follow when their voice is high or low. For these students, in addition to strengthening breath training, they must also work hard on the selection of repertoire. The repertoire sung by students majoring in vocal music at the Conservatory of Music can be roughly divided into arias and art songs. Arias tend to have rich sounds and great variations in intensity. In order to express the artistic conception of poetry, art songs emphasize more on the control of sound, and their intensity changes more slowly. In teaching, some teachers pursue singing effects one-sidedly, focusing on arias in arranging students' singing repertoire, and neglecting the training of artistic songs. It is precisely because of this that some students pursue the intensity of their voices too much and fail to pay attention to their breathing, resulting in inaccurate pitch. This starts with some art songs that are not particularly lyrically dense. Such as Schubert's "Sylvia", "King Thule", Brahms's "Ode to Sappho", ancient Chinese songs "Yangguan Sandie", "Homesickness", etc. In addition, let them accurately understand the content of the lyrics, and then inspire them to try their best to imagine the feeling of singing, consciously and softly, until they meet the requirements and then sing loudly. This is a method of singing in a low voice, just like reciting poetry in a low voice. By the third grade, the difficulty of the art song repertoire will be increased. Such repertoire includes: Brahms's "May Night", Fauret's "On the Waterside", "Moonlight", etc. At this time, you can also play a suite of songs, such as Schumann's "Women in Love and Life." Another advantage of singing art songs is that since art songs are inseparable from piano accompaniment, there are many changes in tones and frequent key changes, so students must memorize the melody and harmonic structure of piano accompaniment. , This not only enables students to master the lines of music and learn to evenly distribute the amount of breath, but also virtually improves their audition singing and ear training skills, killing two birds with one stone. Through the training of a large number of selective art songs, most students can solve the problem of inaccurate singing. By the time they graduate, their singing ability has been greatly improved, whether it is difficult arias or art songs of various styles. All done with high quality.

Incorrect sounds and their correction:

When singing and producing sounds, various bad sounds are often produced due to improper adjustment and use of singing organs. The use of these bad vocal methods not only hinders the development of singing, but also seriously affects singing performance. Therefore, it is very necessary to find out the causes of various bad sounds and correct them.

Common bad sounds include the following:

1. Guttural sounds. It is more common in singers who learn bel canto singing. It is caused by pressing the larynx in pursuit of a loud, solid voice, and a deep and deep timbre. The sound is stuck in the throat, and it feels like the larynx or hypopharyngeal cavity is squeezing the singing, and the sound is difficult to hear. It sounds sluggish without overtones, dull and empty, especially heavy.

There is a difference between guttural sounds and chest thrumming. The latter is a smooth, generous, not stiff, and clean sound.

To correct the larynx, the main thing is to pay attention to the aesthetics of the sound and establish a correct concept of sound, so that the larynx can be completely eliminated. When correcting, attention should be paid to the high position of the sound.

2. Nasal sound. It is more common in singers who learn ethnic singing methods. It is caused by the collapse of the soft palate, raising the middle of the tongue, and the high sound waves flowing into the nasal cavity and losing the sound of the oral and pharyngeal cavities. The sound is ambiguous and unpleasant.

For correction, you can open your mouth wide and practice the vowel a, and feel the sound hitting the hard palate.

3. Shouting.

It is more common in popular singers. It is caused by the pursuit of volume and range without a sound foundation, and excessive singing of high notes, which causes the larynx to rise. It is also called white voice. The voice is dry and pale, and lacks the color of the vocals.

To correct it, we need to establish the correct concept of vocalization. Sing softly and pleasantly, and the volume should not be too high. Practice in the natural range to the middle range, step by step, and do not sing high notes.

4. Air leakage. The sound is dim, empty, weak, not bright, and has a weak volume. It is caused by excessive pursuit of relaxing the voice or excessive practicing of the u vowel in order to open the throat.

To correct it, you can practice pauses or skips, lalala.

Finally, the problem with many singers' voices is not in their throats, but in their thoughts. Therefore, it is very important to establish a correct concept of vocalization and voice image, otherwise there will be no progress in the long term.

The scientific principle of vocalization:

There are cricothyroid muscle and arytenoid muscle group in the vocal cord. The function of cricothyroid muscle is to lengthen and tighten the vocal cord, and the function of arytenoid muscle group is to shorten, Tighten the vocal cords. If the cricothyroid muscle alone is used to lengthen and tighten the vocal cords to produce sounds, the vocal cords will be impacted by exhalation and vibrate up and down to produce sounds, similar to the strings of string instruments such as erhu, guitar, and violin being pulled by a bow to produce sounds. If the arytenoid muscles are used to shorten and tighten the vocal cords for pronunciation, the vocal cords will also vibrate up and down to produce sounds, but the two vocal cords, in addition to being the pronunciation body themselves, are also a strong airlock when they are close to each other. The two vocal cords are close to each other and exhalation Passing through their edges causes the edge parts to swing left and right. After the air passes through, a periodic pressure fluctuation is formed. Therefore, even if there is no pronunciation effect of the up and down vibration of the vocal cords, just by moving closer to block the air, it will It can arouse the air to produce sound. At this time, the vocal cords play the same role as the trumpet player's lips and the gongs of the clarinet when playing the trumpet.

The pronunciation of the former is called the real voice and chest voice, which is responsible for the bass. The latter's pronunciation is called falsetto, head voice, and is responsible for high notes. If the cricothyroid muscle is used alone, the volume will be high, but the sound quality will be rough, and the ability to sing high notes will be poor. If you use the arytenoid muscles alone, you can sing high notes, but the sound will be sharp and harsh, and cannot express majestic and passionate emotions. The higher you sing, the harsher the sound will be, and the lower midrange will be light and weak, or even no sound can be made. Only the cricothyroid muscle and the arytenoid muscle group are used appropriately and interactively can the correct method of vocalization be achieved.

Basic knowledge of vocalization:

The vocal organs are composed of respiratory organs, larynx and vocal cords, vocal organs, and articulation organs. The respiratory organs are composed of the mouth, nose, pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchi, lungs, and chest diaphragm.

1. Posture when singing

Be energetic, stretch your shoulders slightly back, stand firm with your feet slightly apart, keep your head upright, relax your neck muscles, and do not protrude your chin forward. , the mouth shape should also open and close naturally according to the pronunciation requirements of the word.

2. Breathing when singing

Slow breathing and slow exhalation method: straighten the chest naturally, use the mouth and nose to slowly inhale the breath into the lower part of the lung lobes, the diaphragm descends, and the ribs expand outward. , the lower abdomen is slightly retracted, and when exhaling, be sure to maintain the inhalation state, that is, maintain the expansion of the diaphragm and chest, and do not let the breath escape quickly.

Rapid inhalation and rapid exhalation method: You can experience the state of rapid inhalation after climbing or running. Whether it is slow inhalation or rapid inhalation, the inhalation should be slightly deeper. The amount of inhalation should be determined according to the Depends on the needs of the phrase being sung.

When we sing, we should have the feeling of always inhaling. Even when breathing, our ribs should not be completely relaxed. We should still retain a small part of the breath after each sentence. Qi, while the ribs are not completely contracted, add some more breath.

3. Vocal cords when singing

When singing in the low range: the vocal cords are not tightly closed and elongated, thicker, and the tension is minimal. When the airflow passes through the glottis, it causes full vibration of the vocal cords.

When singing in the middle vocal area: the vocal cords get closer and become thinner, shortened, and the tension increases. The airflow passes through the glottis, causing local vibration of the vocal cords.

When singing in the high vocal range: the vocal cords close tightly and become thinner, shorter, and more tense. When the airflow passes through the glottis, it only causes the edge vibration of the vocal cords.

Larynx when singing: When singing and vocalizing, you should also pay great attention to opening the throat, the position is moderate, and it cannot be too high to form a strong pipe. The mouth cover should be upwards, the base of the tongue should be relaxed, the chin should be relaxed and lowered, and the mouth should be relaxed and lowered. Yawning can help you experience the feeling of your throat opening.

Usage of crotch tone:

① Oral crotch tone: When making a sound, the mouth naturally opens up and down, the smile muscles are slightly raised, the lower jaw is naturally lowered, and the upper palate is raised. The feeling of lifting is bright, forward, easy to get in touch with the head cavity, and can reduce the burden on the throat, protect the vocal cords, and keep the muscles of the oral cavity and pharyngeal cavity walls in an active state.

② Cephalic ringing: Move the concentrated reflection point of the sound wave on the hard palate slightly backward, lower the lower palate, and at the same time retract the palate and lift the small tongue. (The feeling before snorting) Make the passage and space between the oral, nasopharyngeal and pharyngeal cavities wider, and the snoring effect will be crisp and full.

③ Thoracic ringing: The throat makes a half-yawn, and the lower jaw naturally droops when making sounds, moving the reflection point of the sound wave from the hard palate to the back of the lower teeth. This kind of ringing is broad and generous. solid.