Mixed Voice - Singing Demystified

[@FaitoBringer]

I think it is a common misconception when people consider mixed voice as something that's hard to find hence, it is considered as a "holy grail" in the singing world and becomes a widely discussed topic in the singing community. A lot don't realise that they are probably in that coordination already when they sing. Coz i think when we sing in our middle range, (for guys maybe around C4 - G4) we might be already centralising the vowels, increasing twang, in which it most likely introduces LCA activity in the process. Maybe the difficulty comes in sustaining and controlling it, when there's lack of support or when they're timid, they unconsciously use alot of valsalva. And that's when they consider it a pressed or squeezed chest voice.

[@chatsnoirblamo]

Thank you for using a consistent language 🙏🏻

[@WithMyOwnEars]

I just found you channel and it is answering so many of my questions! ❤❤

[@VoiceStudioEast]

Be sure to check out my discord server, then, I think you will like it :)

[@Dino-w9b]

This video is immensely helpful and the exercises work immediately! They help going higher in pitch and also avoiding the break. Is mixed voice really the same thing as curbing?

[@VoiceStudioEast]

I use the term "mixed voice" to refer to Curbing as well as any singing in reduced density with a restrained character that is not in falsetto. This includes most Neutral in reduced density, as well as some cases of Edge and Overdrive in reduced density.

[@Dino-w9b]

@@VoiceStudioEast Thank you, that is my understanding, too! However, mixed voice was closer curbing than I had previously thought. This video was really helpful to close the gap

[@pelirodri]

What would be the difference between “narrowing the pharynx” and “adding twang”? Or are they interchangeable?

[@SaiChooMusic]

I think Cornelius separates Twang into Upper, Middle, Lower and "narrowing the pharynx" is Upper Twang.

[@VoiceStudioEast]

Both upper and middle twang narrow the pharynx and are largely interchangeable when it comes to technique, but middle twang generally sounds better than upper twang, especially when mixing. Low twang on the other hand does not feature much narrowing of the oropharynx.

[@moonshine3781]

​​​can you tell me more about upper, middle and low twang?? Coz what I know about applying twang is that it is specifically the narrowing of the aryepiglotic sphincters in your vocal tract.

[@maddog5772]

@@moonshine3781 Cornelius has already talked about this. The pharyngeal narrowing as is the actual mechanism not epiglottic narrowing as previously understood. You can learn more about Kerrie Obert's work on Twang. kzbin.info/www/bejne/poWZXppqhrCAmMUsi=xiX_EEgWxMTUA8vf Personally, I think the that the different pharyngeal constrictor muscles correspond to three different type of twang. You can learn more about this too.

[@maddog5772]

@@moonshine3781 Cornelius has already talked about this. The pharyngeal narrowing as is the actual mechanism not epiglottic narrowing as previously understood. You can learn more about Kerrie Obert's work on Twang. Personally, I think the that the different pharyngeal constrictor muscles correspond to three different type of You can learn more about this too.

[@cirianar]

Finally a video that describes the sensations I feel in my mixed voice. I do however have an issue where I enter a fry scream (my voice crackles) when using this compression technique around my vocal break. How do I fix this?

[@VoiceStudioEast]

It's most likely caused by being too quiet / not chesty enough.

[@SirThomasJames]

This is exactly what happens to me sometimes, but other times I stay in mix. I have noticed that if I keep the vowels very much in the throat, that helps to not go into fry scream. And also (contrary to what cornelius answered you), I am sometimes just singing to loudly (slightly "pushing"), which triggers fry scream for me too. But this is still a journey for me. One day I can get to a high D in mixed, the other day I break and enter screams around the high C. (As a side-note: This might mean that I accidentally went into the Overdrive mode (as in CVT) - because Overdrive for men is available until the high C.) In this cases I have tried to add a lot of twang, but sometimes muscle memory just prevent me from getting that thinning, and I just keep screaming. Must be annoying to my neighbours haha. Anyway, try these two tips (singing less loudly and keep the vowels very much back) and let me know how it goes. It also helps me sometimes to listen to people doing it perfectly (like this guy here:kzbin.infoYuuxm3--z9U) and just trying to imitate him. If you found any other solutions, let me know - I'm all ears. It is really frustrating to not have consistent results from day to day when doing the same thing, gets really tiresome after a while because all the technique you had one day seems to be useless the next day. It's so confusing.

[@cirianar]

@@SirThomasJames thank you so much for the reply. I was trying to find people online with the same problem. I have recently found that if I do softer semioccluded (e.g liptrills) slides with a “mix voice posture” in my vocal tract, that afterwards I temporarily erase my fry scream tendencies. I also agree that listening to someone doing it perfectly helps a lot. For now I will try and gradually develop my mix with semi occluded exercises. If you have the same results lmk!

[@digitaltrip3311]

The timing could not be anymore PERFECT!!!!!

[@digitaltrip3311]

Ive found the easiest way for me to get into mix! Which i do by singing in chest register, but then I slur the vowels/words and this seems to allow me to automatically add the right amount of medial compression without it becoming too pressed. This way, I keep a nice, free/flowy quality & it allows me to avoid the Valsalva more. Basically I’m finding a better way to use/learn my mixed voice register by linking it and building it from my chest voice register. Have you experienced this with other students or in your own voice?

[@VoiceStudioEast]

That is basically what I teach people to do to make mixed voice practically useful :)

[@digitaltrip3311]

Awesome video Cornelius as always. How long will you be offering discounts for students & viewers? ❤

[@VoiceStudioEast]

I will stop offering them when my schedule starts to fill up. Not quite sure when that will be, but probably sometime during fall this year.

[@luizsoares4847]

Thank you very much for the video. Can you recommend me some books? I have been curious especially on what books CVT use for their courses.

[@VoiceStudioEast]

CVT just uses the Complete Vocal Technique book / app for its courses. The main book I'd recommend though is Principles of Voice Production by Ingo Titze.

[@luizsoares4847]

@@VoiceStudioEast Thank you very much 😊. I allready have the CVT app so I will definitely get the Principles of voice production book.

[@SebastianSativaLivemore]

Isn't this curbing with different sound colors in CVT terms? Great vid btw!

[@SaiChooMusic]

Curbing implies that metal needs to be present whereas in Cornelius's system, Mixed Voice doesn't need to have metal to be Mixed Voice (I think).

[@SebastianSativaLivemore]

@SaiChooMusic In the video, there was quite clearly a half-metallic sound in his mix, hence Curbing. Staying within CVT land, the non-metallic mix that you are referring to would simply be Neutral. What I am struggling with is understanding what Cornelius' terminology addresses that CVT doesn't and how essentially these two methodologies may co-exist.

[@VoiceStudioEast]

I show mixed voice at loud volumes (hence the metal) because I consider it best for singers to learn the loud variety before experimenting with softer volumes. At such softer volumes, the metal will fall away, and the coordination will be classified as Neutral in CVT but still mixed voice in my system. My conception of mixed voice thus includes not only curbing, but also neutral in reduced density, and even overdrive and edge in reduced density, provided these have a restrained character rather than a contained character (the latter would be cry register) My terminology is more useful when dealing with soft volumes (where CVT would classify everything as a single mode), for developing darker belting with mord versatile vowels, and giving more specific instructions about how to navigate between registers and avoid voice cracks. A lot of these differences are explained in my video about registers vs modes.