How to sing: exercises for your head voice! (You MAY sound like Brunnhilde after this!) 😜

[@coreylogsdon4656]

I love how his eyes bulged when he says "falsetto-ish"! He wanted to say, "No, dear. Head voice and falsetto are NOT the same. AT. ALL. "

[@AntW11]

You two are very sweet and generous for sharing 💖💖

[@sebrny114]

No voice coach...yet. So this was great. Thank you!

[@stefygombos3858]

The two of you are so good. Thank you for sharing.

[@elihelland4323]

Charming, fun and instructive. Thank you. I needed some inspiration today.

[@nancyyang1648]

I truly love the practical application side of your session. The demo.is so focused and clear to any point! So very valuable!! Thank you both!

[@catherinecangiano9231]

You guys are awesome, thanks for the information!

[@sarahwhitlatch921]

I *think* it's from this video, I wanted to say that your weird-noise trick for the Ab-B section worked so well, and just in time! Thank you!

[@CCrespoRio]

You guys are incredible, thanks so much for the gold explanation, loved that. Blessings!!

[@leaweilbrenner9595]

Amazing you guys! Keep doing those videos! 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽

[@claireelizabethcraig-soprano]

Found this very helpful! Hope you are well

[@LivingOpera]

I don’t know how we’re just seeing this comment but YAY! Glad it helped! Was there a particular exercise that was most beneficial?

[@stevewebber3410]

Thank you guys I am just a beginner but you have helped me point out where I need sing from

[@mamifuke7715]

I love you guys ! Thank you for your explanations in details.

[@barborakafkovamusic]

Guys, Ive been so exhausted today and I didnt feel like doing any exercises whatsoever. Then I was like lets see some Soula and Norm videos...you made me laugh so many times that my soft palate went up by itself and I feel much more refreshed now:) Thank youuu! Im a vocal nerd and you are one of my favourite channel (it might be even my favourite one:))). You really help me although Im not an opera singer. Thank you for being authentic. PS: Now Im thinking about a question-when Im tired my voice is definitely "sort of back", I feel de-pressed (the word itself, right) and dont feel like even talking. Does the low soft palate cause that? Whats the best way to get outta back of the throat?

[@dianahigbee7685]

You guys are awesome

[@danielantoniocaamano5846]

Ambulance: C#5!!!!! My first c#5, thanks!!!

[@huss2600]

Great job!

[@danielantoniocaamano5846]

¡Muchas gracias por compartir!

[@advocate1563]

Chiusa is great for finding the pharyngeal space. Just a 5 scale of 13531.

[@DeductedFromMe]

Thank you for posting this video. I have been working on sirens for a while now and struggle to get over F# (I'm some sort of tenor). I have heard people and read books that describe (as you do) the sensation of the sound/airflow moving back and up as the pitch ascends. I can't experience this sensation. Do you think the key to finding this sensation is (1) picking a good vowel like "EE" or "OO", (2) being gentle and steady with the airflow, and (3) keeping the soft palate up (in the panting position you demonstrated)? I've been working with ideas like these for a while but still have trouble getting above F# without some form of pushing and my larynx rising and tightening. I've heard other tenors who can siren a major 6th above me, up to Eb (above high C; technically, a dim7th, I suppose...). It sounds effortless for them (and I suspect it is; effort seems to be the enemy I know so well). Going up so high feels impossible for me...If I were to get anatomically technical (and perhaps utterly wrong, too), I feels as if I'm stuck in TA-dominant vocalizing and can't seem to find the tilt that the CT muscles are said to bring. My vocal folds generally feel too thick, as if I can't find a way to thin them out and lengthen them, as if my voice/airflow hit a roof relatively low and towards the front in my mouth (which you mention in this video, too). Any other thoughts you might have will be appreciated, though I understand if you divulged all your ideas in the video. Thanks again for posting all your videos; it is rare to find people so skilled and also so ready to share their knowledge.

[@LivingOpera]

DeductedFromMe thanks for your comment and thanks for subscribing! We need to think about this a bit more. We have 3 questions: is your voice more lyric or dramatic? (which can be more difficult to manage above F#!) Are there any arias that just “feel right” when you work on them? Would you mind telling us how old you are? If you don’t want to put all that info here feel free to send us a message on our Facebook page 👍🏻

[@DeductedFromMe]

@@LivingOpera Hi, thanks for the quick response. I'm 39. I'm probably somewhat of a dramatic tenor, though my prior technique was based on pushing, and now that I'm developing a technique not based on pushing, I've not regained my prior range or volume, so I can't' say positively what sort of tenor I might be. Honestly, there aren't any arias that feel just right; as the pitch ascends, I struggle not to tighten in my throat or have my larynx rise, no matter the context. I recognize that avoiding tension in one's throat is a universal issue; I'm focusing just on sirens and falsetto in the hopes that I can at least achieve high phonation, even if I can't sing full voice that high yet. So to be clear, when I siren, I am not trying to keep my full voice engaged; I am trying to engage my falsetto, but I feel I'm failing to do so. I feel that I should be able to falsetto noticeably higher than I can sing full voice, but I can't even falsetto over F#. Once I reach F#, I just can't seem to get around that cap on my voice without pushing or raising my larynx. I understand that we've never met and teaching voice by comments over KZbin is impossible; I was just hoping you might have some more ideas/exercises about how to achieve the "light" mechanism I've read and heard so much about. As I said, when I siren upwards, I feel as if there's a cap on my voice and that I need somehow to engage a different mechanism in order to get past that cap, but I can't seem to figure out good exercises for experiencing what that different mechanism might feel like. I felt that focusing on falsetto would be a good way to at least experience high pitches without the weight, and I can add weight later, but I can't seem to find my falsetto voice. It makes total sense that the airflow/sound sensations would move up and back as I ascend, but I can't seem to concoct an exercise that helps me experience that sensation. Arg! Thanks for any thoughts, and thanks again for taking the time to make (and so engagingly edit) your videos and respond to comments!

[@LivingOpera]

DeductedFromMe I do have an idea! (This is Soula!) I’m going to shoot up upload a video with you in mind. It’ll just be 2 simple exercises and I’m pretty sure you’ll get past F# in them - I hope so at least. As a fellow dramatic voice I can totally empathize with what you’re going through 😩

[@DeductedFromMe]

@@LivingOpera Thank you!

[@LivingOpera]

DeductedFromMe you’re welcome!!! 👍🏻

[@DCBfanboy]

Can we do the siren exercise on a pitch that sits condortably for us?

[@autumnpassion9066]

Could you do a video going in depth on correct embouchure? My teacher says I tend to cover my teeth, I don't know how to fix it without spreading.

[@LivingOpera]

Definitely! Is there a particular language where that seems to happen more or is it more of a general issue? Thanks for subscribing!👏🏻💕

[@autumnpassion9066]

Living Opera with Soula and Norman it's more of a general issue, I think it's because I'm trying to make my voice sound more mature which just results in me covering my teeth and sounding muffled.

[@LivingOpera]

Gotcha! You’re not alone! Okay, we’ll do our best to help! One more question just so we can prepare better: how is your breath support? 😊😊

[@LivingOpera]

@@autumnpassion9066 ah okay, we understand! We'll put our thinking caps on and see if we can help!!!

[@autumnpassion9066]

Living Opera with Soula and Norman my breath support could be better,I know how to take in air but don't know if I'm correctly exhaling

[@tajdaffa1526]

Can we expand our register range, ex: my head voice range, I really want to hit E6 in my head voice 🙃, and I learn how to whistle register, but I kinda confuse because its still unconsistent, do you have any tips please?

[@DL-xn6ul]

I'm a beginner. Please add picturez or drawings to better understand the shape of mouth, palate etc for different technics. Thanks from Spain. David

[@alvarorojas7495]

Perdonar ALGUIEN ME PODRIA EXPLICAR A QUE SE REFIEREN CON ESE ESPACIO QUE MARCAN EN LA CIEN SOBRE LOS OIDOS... NO LO ENTIENDO. GRACIAS Y PERDON.

[@aarontenor]

Awesome stuff you too! For high notes, I would love to know if you sustain the top at all when doing exercises or subsequent ones, or do you avoid sustaining unless singing rep?

[@LivingOpera]

Thanks so much Aaron! We always appreciate your questions! We definitely sustain the top when we do exercises - would you like us to include some of those in our next video? (I'll make sure Norman demonstrates if yes...LOL)

[@LivingOpera]

@@aarontenor Sounds good! I'll tell Norman! BTW hope to meet you one day!!!!!

[@aarontenor]

Living Opera with Soula and Norman Living Opera with Soula and Norman My pleasure. Love ya’lls videos. That would be wonderful! Also, maybe some tips or advice about how much to do everyday (e.g. on a normal day while on vacation but wanting to keep things in shape and ready, the few days you might have between performances, on a day you didn’t sleep well, etc). Oh yeah, and does sex screw your voice up? Haha. Mario Del Monaco said it did but I don’t know. Haha.

[@aarontenor]

Living Opera with Soula and Norman You too, Soula!!!

[@LivingOpera]

@@aarontenor LOLLLLL!!! Okay looks like we have SEVERAL videos to film to answer your question hahahahahaaaaa!!!!! We'll get to work on it!!!

[@honeysabai]

Dear beautiful couple! I love your videos and your technique and your enthusiasm. May I make a humble comment. As a non-English native speaker, I found it difficult to understand when you try to speak at the same time. The CC works only 40-50% I'd say :(

[@Voorheesjason42]

Amazing video! I have a couple of questions and I'd love if you guys could answer because this was actually pretty helpful. So, I'm a tenor and I'm trying to learn how to sing opera by myself but I'm struggling with my head voice, it sounds too light. I don't know if it is because of my register (I can also sing countertenor) but I don't know. So, I see those famous tenors like Pavarotti or Flores and they hit very powerful high notes and I don't know if it's actually head voice or a high chest voice. So I'm kind of confused there, I think it might be because I'm new to singing and I have to practice a lot, but I have that doubt now. Do male opera singers hit high notes with a high chest voice or head voice?

[@LivingOpera]

Hi David, thanks for your comment! Coordinating the mix of chest and head voice is very challenging for tenors, so don't be too discouraged. It's really hard to achieve on your own. There is usually a feeling of "covering" around F or F# depending on what kind of tenor you are - which simply means there is a shift in the register where you start to use a bit more head voice. Without hearing you it's hard for me to give a complete answer, but I hope this helps! Have a great day!

[@Voorheesjason42]

@@LivingOpera Thanks a lot for your reply, very helpful advice. My shift is around G I believe, I'll continue working in order to coordinate both as a single register. Have a great day too, you guys.

[@LivingOpera]

@@Voorheesjason42 oh wow!!! G is high!!!! That's pretty amazing David! Do you sing a lot of Rossini and Bellini??

[@Voorheesjason42]

@@LivingOpera Thanks! Yeah, I love Rossini, Il Barbier di Siviglia in particular, but I'm not familiar with Bellini actually, I'm still pretty new to opera. I've discovered that I struggle less with arias that don't require really powerful high notes.

[@errol-ih4jy]

WHAT BIG EYES YOU GOT.

[@andity1]

Am I the only one who thinks she is definitely not a mezzo?

[@gunterjauch9051]

Only talking just theory nothing more

[@Laura-cq1np]

Sorry, couple, ah...no matter you would be the best in the world..ah...you are not...ah....ah... I ah...ah.. it is " impossible" being concentrated.. ah...with " maestros" do not allow me " concentrate .ah...ah...in the lessons..ah...ah Unbearable..ah...aah..the " interruptions" all the time.. ah...ah sorry, as a humble " opera student"..ah...ahh..I consider..it is a lack of respect ... ah...ah...ah...thanks. I saw an extraordinary video of the really " big ones"; Pavarotti, Tibaldi...etc.etc. talking about " Bell canto technique.." the awesome respect among them to go talking...surprised me. It is not only being " Opera singer" it is also " culture" ah...ah...