Hi Jerome. Would you mind telling me specifically where in my video I said something incorrect and/or copied from other teachers? Also, how many singers have you trained?

There is a bit of a difference between what you do when in the INHALATION part of the breathing cycle and the EXHALATION part of the breathing cycle. What your previous teachers were probably referring to is the EXHALATION part (although some teachers use the term "breathing" indiscriminately, so you'd have to ask to be sure). When you are actually making sound (which is the exhalation part of the cycle), there are multiple places in the torso where you may feel engagement of muscles -- in the lower abs below the belly button, in the upper abs above the belly button, in the sides and back around the obliques and kidneys, and slightly higher up in the sides underneath the armpits. Where exactly you feel the engagement will vary from singer to singer. It depends on the structure of your body as well as how you habitually breathe. Most people will tend to feel one place more prominently than the others, but keep in mind, ALL of the above should be working simultaneously. When singing high notes, there is a paradoxical movement that occurs. There is both an inwards pull (like the ab muscles pulling straight inwards towards your center), but there is also a counter outwards push AGAINST the inwards pull. Both movements are happening simultaneously, but again, most people will tend to tune into one side of the motion more than the other. It depends on what habitual tensions you hold in your body. Some people naturally pull in their abs all the time (I mean in everyday life) -- so for those people, they may have to think of pushing out to find balance. But then you have other people who are naturally very loose and relaxed around the abs -- so for that group of people, it often feels like they need to think of pulling in. What's more important beyond any of those things is how it all coordinates with the sound! That's the point I was trying to get across in the video. (In my opinion) breathing should always be viewed in relation to how it affects the sound. If you're not exactly sure where you sit on the spectrum I outlined above, you might want to take a few lessons so you can get more clarity on how things apply for YOUR particular body.

@@VocalLiberation thankyou so much! This is the most detailed answer I’ve ever had ☺️

You're welcome.

You might also wanted to check out my other video on breathing from the diaphragm on pushing down an out. in that video, I detail some of the different areas where you can feel muscular engagement. You just choose whichever way you feel most prominently.

@@VocalLiberation thankyou for letting me know :) May I have the link to that video please

You're welcome.

If you don't feel the movement, you don't have to fixate on it. It's just one piece in the equation. There are other ways to get to the same place.

Thank you!

Happy to hear it helped.

Thanks for watching.

Thank you. I appreciate it.

Perhaps you posted this comment on the wrong video. But if you're referring to holding the tongue out of the mouth, do it to the point where it is comfortable -- stretched out, but still comfortable. If you have a rather pronounced frenulum, then yes, it will create a natural limit for you; don't fight that too much.

​@VocalLiberation thank you!

The technique is the same regardless of voice type. The only difference is for a bass and/or contralto, there will be a more drastic change in COLOR of the voice as you go up. The change in color can be psychologically upsetting to some singers if you've mentally married yourself to only one color in the voice. It may feel like it's "not you" at first. This is a specific problem lower voiced singers have to deal with IF they want to sing higher. Any musical instrument goes through color changes as it goes throughout its range. However, the bigger the instrument, the more drastic the color change. Take a bass guitar, for instance. In the 2nd octave, it takes on the deeper, fuller character most people would typically associate with a bass guitar. However, once it starts playing in the 4th octave, it sounds quite different! It begins to sound more like a guitar! This is very similar to what happens in the bass voice. When a bass starts getting around the 4th octave, the voice takes on more tenor-like qualities. If you don't allow this to happen, you will end up fighting the voice. Look up Ildebrando D'Arcangelo singing "Dov'è la figlia". He is an operatic bass baritone, but as he goes deeper into the 4th octave, the voice sounds more tenor-like, especially from E4-A4. Same for another bass-baritone, Wintley Phipps, singing "Wade in the Water" or "How Great Thou Art". Higher instruments experience a change in color in their sound, but it is less drastic compared to a lower instrument. Compare a violin vs cello; a trumpet vs. tuba; a soprano sax vs. baritone sax; a lyre to a harp; a ukelele to a guitar; a flute to a bassoon; etc. Also, you will experience a change in color depending on the dynamic level you are singing at. This is true of all instruments. As you play/sing softer, a lighter and/or more delicate color tends to come out; as you play louder, you get more of the full color of the instrument, even if it's the exact same note. So, if you are truly a bass, as you sing softly, you will sound a bit more tenor-like, but as you sing louder (on the same note), you will get more of the full bass color. Again, you must allow this to happen. If you resist these things, then you will limit your voice and get stuck in only one segment of your range. And just for clarification, this change is color does not mean singing in falsetto. It will still be your full voice, but a different aspect of your full voice. (The full voice has many shades and colors within it.)

I really appreciate your comment. It means a lot to me!

Hi. I understand your point. I guess I should have clarified it in the video more. When the larynx is not in a neutral position, it becomes more rigid and inflexible -- that is, it gets locked into place and prevents you from having dynamics and agility. The larynx can get locked into both a high AND a low position. The 2nd example was to demonstrate that the voice was able to move (that is, not locked).

Thank you. I appreciate it.

You're welcome.

Thank you. I appreciate it.

You're welcome.

You're welcome!

Thanks for watching!

You're welcome.

Does it work?

Yes.

It works 😊 Thank you 🙏🏻

Just try it out for a couple of weeks. You don't have much to lose. :)

You're welcome!

I'm undecided if I will come back. But there is enough content on my channel to keep you going for a while.

Thanks for watching.

I guess the search engine is not working effectively to bring up my videos! KZbin keeps changing their algorithm so much. Glad you finally came across it, though.

Hi Jack. It's possible that this could have been done in 10 minutes. However, I've seen a singer come down with a debilitating injury that lasted for years by doing an exercise like this incorrectly. I debated a long time before even putting up half of the videos that I did. Therefore, it is my duty to present everything in the manner that I did, because I know a lot of singers are overzealous and can potentially end up hurting themselves. When it comes to safety, it's better to have too much than not enough.

Thank you.

What was shown in this video is just a "quick fix" so you can at least see the relationship between how what your head does affects your singing. The long term solution is you need to do physical strengthening exercises for your upper and mid back, your glutes, and your hamstrings. Thing like rows (particularly ones done to the neck and/or face); deadlifts, particularly stiff leg deadlifts and/or single leg variants; split squats; front squats and goblet squats; chin ups and pull ups; back extensions and arch holds (see gymnastics routines); etc. The back side of your body (basically all the parts you can't easily see in the mirror) need to be strong. If the front side of your body is too strong (relatively speaking), it will overpower the back side, and your head and neck will tend to go forward, especially when you have to exert yourself. (Singing is a form of physical exertion.) Unfortunately, most of modern living will heavily bias you towards the front side of the body, so you have to do regular maintenance to keep things in balance. Jerzy Gregorek has a simple routine with 3 of the above exercises for helping to condition all of this. It starts around 6 minutes into the video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/joa7gZuhg6eGgbc The KneesOverToesGuy here on KZbin also has a lot of good routines for strengthening your hamstrings. www.youtube.com/@TheKneesovertoesguy As the back side of your body gets stronger, it becomes more instinctive to do exactly what I showed in the video without having to use your finger.