Lol I'm a woman with a deep voice and his low range is my high range. But he holds a tune well! I love his Australian accent and turns of phrase too. His personality comes across too. Just enjoyable and educational all around.
@@skcrw252 That's because Dr. Dan has a light tenor voice. (Do you remember Michael Jackson's speaking voice?). You are probably a bass or baritone. Our register often comes across as we speak.
Extremely helpful Dr. Dan, you're awesome! I have always felt my soft pallet lower when I try to sing high notes, but wasn't sure exactly what it was or what to do about it. I didn't know if I should try to lift it or if it's just physically the way I'm made. Now at least I know what that feeling is and what to work on. Immediately noticed a difference as demonstrated. So glad I came across this video!
I'm thrilled to hear that the information was helpful to you! Understanding the mechanics of our voice and how our body works while singing can indeed make a significant difference. The soft palate plays a crucial role in vocal quality and pitch, and it's great that you're becoming more aware of its function. Remember, everyone's anatomy is different, so don't worry about whether or not it's "just the way you're made." With consistent practice and perhaps some professional guidance, you can absolutely learn to control your soft palate more effectively. I'm glad you could immediately notice a difference, as demonstrated. Keep exploring and practising. You're on the right path! And remember, singing is a journey, not a destination. Enjoy every step of the way! Best of luck on your singing journey,
Thank you for this excellent explanation. I had experience greater ease when singing with a "semi-opened" mouth that included a subtle raising of the soft palate and forward placement of the tongue, but could not figure out why. Mainly because I have received some singing lessons in which keeping the throat opened is/was equated with an excessive opening of the lips as in a massive "a" shape. Contrary to what I had expected, that position caused a feeling of my throat being locked up. After seeing your video, and what occurs with the eppiglottis when producing the /i/ and /a/ sounds, it all makes sense to me now. A major singing myth has been finally debunked for me. AWESOME lesson!!!! Love your channel. Have been following you for some years now.
I've been singing for over 30 years and still hate my voice. My soft palate just simply does not raise. Usually teachers tell you to focus on feel a cooling sensation in the back of the throat. But doing the noiseless inhale and feeling the cooling sensation in the teeth and front of the mouth seems to be working wonders. I'm going to keep practicing this over the next couple weeks and probably download your vocal CD this week to really keep improving and finally getting rid of the ridiculous nasality I've always struggled with. Thanks for this video Dr. Dan.
This exercise was very helpful to me because I suffer from chronic myofascial pain syndrome which means my muscles tend to spasm/tighten whenever I use them. I therefore have to be very careful not to get a sore throat when I sing - to counter this I have been keeping my tongue stuck to the teeth during warm ups/vocal exercises, However, this in turn creates tension at the root of the tongue!! With this simple technique I can already feel the difference: the back of my throat feels more open and relaxed, the tone projects more (another issue I have is that my voice is somewhat quiet), and it feels more comfortable to sing. With time I might even get that top half an octave back - who knows?
The "Open Throat" concept as it should be taught, (how it was taught in the 19th century), is about the space between the larynx and the bottom of the tongue, NOT about the space in the mouth, or in the back of the throat. Honestly, an open throat should be a downward openness, not a wide openness. Spreading the throat is breaking a major rule in the old Caruso/Tetrazzini school of singing. Perhaps because this is coming from a classical singer to a pop singer, but the high larynx, spread throat sound common in pop singing is not as useful as the downwards opening of the throat. Just look at how open Franco Corelli's throat is, and how magnificent that sound is.
Im happy someone point's this out. I have similar experience. Specially people with lower voice this becomes very important. As if the air alone lifts the tissue in the back (and up) of the throat and higher the note goes lower the thought. The high note is thus experienced inside and down of the throat not in soft palate. It might be that the experience is different with a soprano voice, but if you hear for example Julia Lezneva singing, with my ears she is using this idea. The video explains everything right but as he says, the words that are used can lead you to think wrong. Aaron Dimoff, you have wonderfully free singing technique and the voice is full of colours like a painting of Rembrandt. Its worth to listen your advice and opinion.
Dr Dan extremely helpful video! I have been struggling with the concept of what does good singing technique (and open throat singing) "feel" like. The tip on a silent inhale cooling the teeth and front of the mouth was very helpful, and fills in another piece of the puzzle. Subbed and appreciate your excellent channel brother!
Love your recommendation to use the finger spacer. Too many wide mouth frogs in the Voice. Dame Joan Sutherland's mouth was NEVER wide; always a perfect sideways lying oval. Also I suppose that's why the Italian school maintain the open 'a' as in stai or the English cat. Caruso said to feel a rectangle at the back of the throat. All useful metaphors like you said to get the FOCUS back there.
Exactly again! I took Reba McEntire's masterclass and she does that exercise. She uses her pinky..I always wondered why she did that. She didn't really explain why. She does all of her vowels while she's doing it. A, e, i, o, oooo....and repeats
I don't know about this open throat stuff, but when you sang the "correct" way, the tone vibrated; when you "closed it off", the vibrato stopped. I've been studying for a long time, and that's how I tell whether I'm singing correctly.
That's interesting! I have always felt strangled by the A vowel, so turns out my kinaesthetic perception was right, contrary to what mentally sounds right.
I have band practice in half hour lol seriously though , thanks for the free advice. I have opened up a can of worms and at 37 it's not easy to undo all the bad habits but am gonna try. My tendency is to overload the pressure with my rock voice, which up till now has served me ok. But I wanted to take it to another level and my body is struggling. All these tension, relaxation and anatomy tutorials are very helpful , thank you.
Yes exactly, my tongue wants to droop back in a few like it's going to cut off the note LOL so I have to keep maintaining the note but my projection isn't that great. I have a softer voice. So perhaps I just need to work on my projection. I have a fine chest and head voice but I'm the best from singing from my stomach.
Hi Dr Dan I am always amazed by how ventriloquist generate AA, O and other vowel with their mouth closed. It would be great if you can create a video on this topic or invite someone who is an expert in this area.
Dr Dan, could you elaborate a bit more about "The more open the jaw, the narrower the pharynx"? I am training with a classical singing teacher and her advice has been to drop my jaw so much that I get a double-chin. In fact a few other teachers over the years have commented that my mouth is not opening wide enough. When I record myself, I sound much louder when my jaw is dropped but it's tiring (think going to the dentist and not being able to relax your jaw). Should I focus less on jaw dropping and more on the back of throat sensations? And is jaw dropping a must for singing opera vs. pop songs? Thank you!
Dr. Dan, I really love love love your advices and I really like your way of explaining. A lots love from India!!❤🥰🙏🙋♀️😊💙 And I am big fan of your singing!😍😍😍😊🙋♀️🙏💙
Thank you for the very informative video!! What confuses me: In the end you say that the more open the jaw the narrower the pharynx is likely to become. In other videos of professional singing teachers commenting on youtube performnces I regularly hear about the importance to create space for the tone by dropping the jaw. And especially professional classic singers do that. I can barely imagine that these professionals are all wrong but here you say the pharynx narrows when the jaw drops. Can you bring clarity? Thank you so much!
The difference here is between classical and contemporary technique. I dropped jaw position when forming contemporary vowels will cause the pharynx to narrow.
should i always raise my soft palate??? because when i do so it becomes easy to hit high notes...but when it comes to sing the word starting with M it naturally lowers creating a nasaly tone and becomes much hard to hit the right note.... am i singing correctly dan???
I don't know if it is a myth, but my voice teacher teaches how to sing vowels a, e, i, o, and u. He said that when singing "a" vowels, the opening of the mouth must be like pointing your ring, middle, and index finger to your mouth; middle and index finger when singing "e" vowel, index finger only for "i", pressing your cheeks with your palm whrn singinh "o", and grabbing your lips when singing "u". What are your thoughts about it? Btw thanks to these videos. I'm watching your videos for quite some time, and I learned a lot from these.
Hola soy español y te sigo, pero una sugerencia, podrías poner almenos subtítulos, en español!! así podría aprender más de ti. Maestro!! saludos desde España 🇪🇸 Barcelona
More importantly, can you sing with a closed throat ? Can you even breathe with a closed throat ? Lifting the soft palate is demonstratably true. Stand in front of a mirror, open mouth wide, watch yourself achieve it.
From the few videos I've watched, I'm starting to form the conclusion that broadway singers sound great but have very unhealthy form I hope there's a video about healthy ways to add growl or scream tonality
Thank you very much for this vidéo, it is very helpful. But how do we keep that same openess higher(through out thé passagio and above) i am a mâle tenor and i face some trouble to keep that openess and placement higher in my mixed register. Thank you for ur answer
I think this is a problem with the pedagogy, not the technique itself. Despite the advice of well-meaning teachers, open-throat singing isn't an all-purpose tool for creating a freer vocal passage. It's a specific formant strategy used above the secondo passaggio. Chest voice is characterised by a tuning of the first formant to the second harmonic. Beyond the secondo passaggio, raising F1 (i.e. constricting the throat) becomes unsustainable. This is why untrained singers strain at the top of their range. Instead, you need to switch to a different tuning (usually F2-H3). This also involves letting the frequency of F1 drop below H2, i.e. opening up the throat. But trying to use this strategy below the secondo passaggio is as inappropriate as trying to yell a high C.
Hey Dr Dan, so recently I was singing and then I realized that I could hit a G5, and I could this by sort of firming my abdominal muscles and singing notes Like A4, B4 and C5 in my chest voice, so my question is first, is it right to sort of tighten or firm my abdominal muscles?, secondly how do I extend this new found range? And thirdly, how do I strengthen my chest voice to be able to sing these notes better? I'm a 20 year old guy. Thanks, I await your reply.
It sounds like you are starting to activate 'support' for your voice. But be careful here because, too much abdominal tension and lead to laryngeal constriction if the intra-thoracic pressure becomes too much.
this guy's speaking voice is higher than my highest note
Lol I'm a woman with a deep voice and his low range is my high range. But he holds a tune well! I love his Australian accent and turns of phrase too. His personality comes across too. Just enjoyable and educational all around.
Same
@@skcrw252 That's because Dr. Dan has a light tenor voice. (Do you remember Michael Jackson's speaking voice?). You are probably a bass or baritone. Our register often comes across as we speak.
@@joseabad-olaya544 yeah I learned more since I wrote that. I'm just a contralto but I guess I speak in the baritone range, yeah :)
I remember a few years ago I would watch Dr. Dan while driving a tractor on the farm all day! Good times
Thank you. I tend to sing quietly and thin this should help me sound clearer and louder.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video IdolEyes84. Thanks for watching.
@@DrDanRobinson :)
Extremely helpful Dr. Dan, you're awesome! I have always felt my soft pallet lower when I try to sing high notes, but wasn't sure exactly what it was or what to do about it. I didn't know if I should try to lift it or if it's just physically the way I'm made. Now at least I know what that feeling is and what to work on. Immediately noticed a difference as demonstrated. So glad I came across this video!
I'm thrilled to hear that the information was helpful to you! Understanding the mechanics of our voice and how our body works while singing can indeed make a significant difference.
The soft palate plays a crucial role in vocal quality and pitch, and it's great that you're becoming more aware of its function. Remember, everyone's anatomy is different, so don't worry about whether or not it's "just the way you're made." With consistent practice and perhaps some professional guidance, you can absolutely learn to control your soft palate more effectively.
I'm glad you could immediately notice a difference, as demonstrated. Keep exploring and practising. You're on the right path! And remember, singing is a journey, not a destination. Enjoy every step of the way!
Best of luck on your singing journey,
Thank you for this excellent explanation. I had experience greater ease when singing with a "semi-opened" mouth that included a subtle raising of the soft palate and forward placement of the tongue, but could not figure out why. Mainly because I have received some singing lessons in which keeping the throat opened is/was equated with an excessive opening of the lips as in a massive "a" shape. Contrary to what I had expected, that position caused a feeling of my throat being locked up. After seeing your video, and what occurs with the eppiglottis when producing the /i/ and /a/ sounds, it all makes sense to me now. A major singing myth has been finally debunked for me. AWESOME lesson!!!! Love your channel. Have been following you for some years now.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video jose abad-olaya. Thanks for watching.
I've been singing for over 30 years and still hate my voice. My soft palate just simply does not raise. Usually teachers tell you to focus on feel a cooling sensation in the back of the throat. But doing the noiseless inhale and feeling the cooling sensation in the teeth and front of the mouth seems to be working wonders. I'm going to keep practicing this over the next couple weeks and probably download your vocal CD this week to really keep improving and finally getting rid of the ridiculous nasality I've always struggled with. Thanks for this video Dr. Dan.
Best explanation with the ee vowel /i/ I always knew that vowel had the most open throat and the picture was great to prove that. Thanks!
I'm glad you enjoyed the video Melissa Garza. Thanks for watching.
This exercise was very helpful to me because I suffer from chronic myofascial pain syndrome which means my muscles tend to spasm/tighten whenever I use them. I therefore have to be very careful not to get a sore throat when I sing - to counter this I have been keeping my tongue stuck to the teeth during warm ups/vocal exercises, However, this in turn creates tension at the root of the tongue!!
With this simple technique I can already feel the difference: the back of my throat feels more open and relaxed, the tone projects more (another issue I have is that my voice is somewhat quiet), and it feels more comfortable to sing. With time I might even get that top half an octave back - who knows?
I needed this NOW.
The "Open Throat" concept as it should be taught, (how it was taught in the 19th century), is about the space between the larynx and the bottom of the tongue, NOT about the space in the mouth, or in the back of the throat. Honestly, an open throat should be a downward openness, not a wide openness. Spreading the throat is breaking a major rule in the old Caruso/Tetrazzini school of singing. Perhaps because this is coming from a classical singer to a pop singer, but the high larynx, spread throat sound common in pop singing is not as useful as the downwards opening of the throat. Just look at how open Franco Corelli's throat is, and how magnificent that sound is.
Im happy someone point's this out. I have similar experience. Specially people with lower voice this becomes very important. As if the air alone lifts the tissue in the back (and up) of the throat and higher the note goes lower the thought. The high note is thus experienced inside and down of the throat not in soft palate. It might be that the experience is different with a soprano voice, but if you hear for example Julia Lezneva singing, with my ears she is using this idea. The video explains everything right but as he says, the words that are used can lead you to think wrong. Aaron Dimoff, you have wonderfully free singing technique and the voice is full of colours like a painting of Rembrandt. Its worth to listen your advice and opinion.
Thank you. I'm also coming from an "Operatic" classical singing background and I concur.
I didn’t know I needed this but this is exactly what I needed. Thank you
You're welcome Intuitive Muffin. Thanks for watching.
Dr Dan extremely helpful video! I have been struggling with the concept of what does good singing technique (and open throat singing) "feel" like. The tip on a silent inhale cooling the teeth and front of the mouth was very helpful, and fills in another piece of the puzzle. Subbed and appreciate your excellent channel brother!
Hey Luke McHale. Welcome to Voice Essentials. Thanks so much for subscribing. I really look forward to getting to know you here on UA-cam.
Love your recommendation to use the finger spacer. Too many wide mouth frogs in the Voice. Dame Joan Sutherland's mouth was NEVER wide; always a perfect sideways lying oval.
Also I suppose that's why the Italian school maintain the open 'a' as in stai or the English cat. Caruso said to feel a rectangle at the back of the throat. All useful metaphors like you said to get the FOCUS back there.
Exactly again! I took Reba McEntire's masterclass and she does that exercise. She uses her pinky..I always wondered why she did that. She didn't really explain why. She does all of her vowels while she's doing it. A, e, i, o, oooo....and repeats
I don't know about this open throat stuff, but when you sang the "correct" way, the tone vibrated; when you "closed it off", the vibrato stopped. I've been studying for a long time, and that's how I tell whether I'm singing correctly.
yes support and raising palette surely helps to have the sustained note 'ya'
That's interesting! I have always felt strangled by the A vowel, so turns out my kinaesthetic perception was right, contrary to what mentally sounds right.
Really helpful. You are awesome Dr. Dan. You are different from other teachers. Hope I can meet you a day sir. Tnx for the vid.
I have band practice in half hour lol seriously though , thanks for the free advice. I have opened up a can of worms and at 37 it's not easy to undo all the bad habits but am gonna try. My tendency is to overload the pressure with my rock voice, which up till now has served me ok. But I wanted to take it to another level and my body is struggling. All these tension, relaxation and anatomy tutorials are very helpful , thank you.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video TheIndieLabel. Thanks for watching.
Yes exactly, my tongue wants to droop back in a few like it's going to cut off the note LOL so I have to keep maintaining the note but my projection isn't that great. I have a softer voice. So perhaps I just need to work on my projection. I have a fine chest and head voice but I'm the best from singing from my stomach.
This is another thing I have just been addressing with a new (classical) teacher - this video is very timely as well as helpful, thank you!
I'm glad you enjoyed the video tortoiseperson. Thanks for watching.
Open troat technique convine with modify vowels will give you a great range
I just viewed this again and remembered that I forgot what you taught here!!!! LOL!
I just sound restrained when I try to do this exercise
I heard that yawning or making a yawning shape can help lift the palate, is that a realistic thing to make a muscle memory of when trying to sing.
SleepyKitty, the following video may prove helpful - ua-cam.com/video/afNKSwYfxfk/v-deo.html
I've been able to lift my soft palate voluntarily thanks to your videos😊🎶
This is so helpful your the best
You're*
Hi Dr Dan I am always amazed by how ventriloquist generate AA, O and other vowel with their mouth closed. It would be great if you can create a video on this topic or invite someone who is an expert in this area.
Interesting topic. I'll give it some thought.
You are a natural teacher got a lot out of it--thank you
The diagram was super helpful!
I'm glad you enjoyed the video Violet Starr. Thanks for watching.
You are an amazing teacher 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
You're welcome eddie brasil. Thanks for watching.
Do you have any videos about the false folds and how to avoid constricting them while singing?
Olesiya Driga, the following video about constriction may prove helpful - ua-cam.com/video/Ua8K_VcOkgQ/v-deo.html
thank you!
My family all have good singing voices. What happened to me?
Dr Dan, could you elaborate a bit more about "The more open the jaw, the narrower the pharynx"? I am training with a classical singing teacher and her advice has been to drop my jaw so much that I get a double-chin. In fact a few other teachers over the years have commented that my mouth is not opening wide enough. When I record myself, I sound much louder when my jaw is dropped but it's tiring (think going to the dentist and not being able to relax your jaw). Should I focus less on jaw dropping and more on the back of throat sensations? And is jaw dropping a must for singing opera vs. pop songs? Thank you!
Lily Lo, the following video may prove helpful - ua-cam.com/video/FGRyfyWwCes/v-deo.html
@@DrDanRobinson yes it helps! I'm also looking into the literature and am hoping to understand more about good vowel definition.
Dr. Dan, I really love love love your advices and I really like your way of explaining.
A lots love from India!!❤🥰🙏🙋♀️😊💙
And I am big fan of your singing!😍😍😍😊🙋♀️🙏💙
Super HD video. Impressive
I'm glad you enjoyed the video George Emperial. Thanks for watching.
Steve lukather sings with close mouth almost & sounds great
Wow! Thank you Dr Dan!!!!
You're welcome Karine Barron-Bonarjee. Thanks for watching.
This was really helpful! I started my throat opening exercises today.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video Kamaro Lambert. Thanks for watching.
Thank you for the very informative video!!
What confuses me: In the end you say that the more open the jaw the narrower the pharynx is likely to become. In other videos of professional singing teachers commenting on youtube performnces I regularly hear about the importance to create space for the tone by dropping the jaw. And especially professional classic singers do that. I can barely imagine that these professionals are all wrong but here you say the pharynx narrows when the jaw drops. Can you bring clarity?
Thank you so much!
The difference here is between classical and contemporary technique. I dropped jaw position when forming contemporary vowels will cause the pharynx to narrow.
@@DrDanRobinson Thank you very much for the explanation!!
Dr.Dan how can I do a falsetto without a break of voice or getting out of breath?
Aladdin Stormage, the following video about falsetto may prove helpful - ua-cam.com/video/x5-QoU4RlhM/v-deo.html
thank you dr.dan
Curious Ken Tamplins thoughts on this
So confusing…..I see amazing singers with dropped jaws also going into whistle register?
Very helpful! Thank you. I've subscribed to your channel.
Welcome to Voice Essentials, Slowlearner777.
Thank you Dr Dan
should i always raise my soft palate???
because when i do so it becomes easy to hit high notes...but when it comes to sing the word starting with M it naturally lowers creating a nasaly tone and becomes much hard to hit the right note.... am i singing correctly dan???
You don't have to ALWAYS lift the soft palate. But it is important for you to know how to, so that when you need it you can do it.
I don't know if it is a myth, but my voice teacher teaches how to sing vowels a, e, i, o, and u. He said that when singing "a" vowels, the opening of the mouth must be like pointing your ring, middle, and index finger to your mouth; middle and index finger when singing "e" vowel, index finger only for "i", pressing your cheeks with your palm whrn singinh "o", and grabbing your lips when singing "u". What are your thoughts about it? Btw thanks to these videos. I'm watching your videos for quite some time, and I learned a lot from these.
Always remember that classical voice instruction will differ to that of contemporary vocal instruction. I am a contemporary singing teacher.
Dr.i have reduce Polly p but I feel something in my throat even endoscopy done what to do
I would visit a speech pathologist for assistance.
Pon subtítulos en español por favor
"The *blank* is in the details."
-- Please don't curse. ⚠️
Hola soy español y te sigo, pero una sugerencia, podrías poner almenos subtítulos, en español!! así podría aprender más de ti. Maestro!! saludos desde España 🇪🇸 Barcelona
How to stop using false vocal cords when singing
Salka Green, the following video may prove helpful - ua-cam.com/video/dyDDqdeAA2s/v-deo.html
awesome! thank you!
You're welcome stéphane Bihan. Thanks for watching.
More importantly, can you sing with a closed throat ? Can you even breathe with a closed throat ?
Lifting the soft palate is demonstratably true. Stand in front of a mirror, open mouth wide, watch yourself achieve it.
Thank you; very helpful!!!
Glad it was helpful!
real helpful your videos are great
Glad you think so!
From the few videos I've watched, I'm starting to form the conclusion that broadway singers sound great but have very unhealthy form
I hope there's a video about healthy ways to add growl or scream tonality
Thank you very much for this vidéo, it is very helpful. But how do we keep that same openess higher(through out thé passagio and above) i am a mâle tenor and i face some trouble to keep that openess and placement higher in my mixed register.
Thank you for ur answer
Your jaw may drop a little as your voice transitions into your higher registers.
I think this is a problem with the pedagogy, not the technique itself. Despite the advice of well-meaning teachers, open-throat singing isn't an all-purpose tool for creating a freer vocal passage. It's a specific formant strategy used above the secondo passaggio.
Chest voice is characterised by a tuning of the first formant to the second harmonic. Beyond the secondo passaggio, raising F1 (i.e. constricting the throat) becomes unsustainable. This is why untrained singers strain at the top of their range. Instead, you need to switch to a different tuning (usually F2-H3). This also involves letting the frequency of F1 drop below H2, i.e. opening up the throat. But trying to use this strategy below the secondo passaggio is as inappropriate as trying to yell a high C.
Amazing 😻
Thanks 😆
Same accent as Dame Edna Everidge!
Australian ☺
thx
Do you breathe from mouth or nose?
This video will answer your question - ua-cam.com/video/QQDceOYx4Bo/v-deo.html
Thnk u
You're welcome POX. Thanks for watching.
Sir please explain in telugu
Hey Dr Dan, so recently I was singing and then I realized that I could hit a G5, and I could this by sort of firming my abdominal muscles and singing notes Like A4, B4 and C5 in my chest voice, so my question is first, is it right to sort of tighten or firm my abdominal muscles?, secondly how do I extend this new found range? And thirdly, how do I strengthen my chest voice to be able to sing these notes better? I'm a 20 year old guy. Thanks, I await your reply.
Also I wanted to know if being able to sing more notes in your chest voice means that your voice would have more range?
It sounds like you are starting to activate 'support' for your voice. But be careful here because, too much abdominal tension and lead to laryngeal constriction if the intra-thoracic pressure becomes too much.
I don't think he's a real Doctor.
*Read* the description under the video.
@@DrDanRobinson ahahaha my apologies!
Hi I'm follow u from Iraq..😎
Hi, Abbas Babylon. Welcome to Voice Essentials!
First
wouldve been an ok video, if he wouldnt have constantly begged for a like. disliked, never gonna watch again.
Prove it. Sing a real song. Let me hear your students.
You Can Watch Dr Dan Sing 'LIVE' here - drdan.co/DrDanSings
@@DrDanRobinson that was angelic. Never-the-less "Bel-Canto" and Ken Tamplin ain't a myth. Please call him a myth to his face.