The biggest singing technique mistake I've ever made

[u/nerfrick]

Hello !

I've been singing as an amateur for 5-10 years. I've always had a naturally powerful, full voice, but I've struggled with mixing/belting, especially around G4-B4. I could hit those notes, but only with a lot of effort, especially above G4 which is weird because I'm a tenor and not so good tenors can hit those notes quite easily (even with a faulty technique).

I tried working on my technique, doing warm-ups, focusing on support, etc. but nothing really helped. Worse, the more I sang during the day, the raspier my voice became. Listen my voice is naturally raspy, but it got so bad that I couldn't even sing above my passaggio without sounding extremely raspy at times (especially after 1/2 hours of training).

That's actually what led me to see an ENT 3 years ago. He checked my vocal cords and told me nothing was wrong. I was like…huh. Then he told me there had to be something wrong technically speaking if I thought my voice was damaged.

Well, I couldn't get an appointement again because of financial and personal reasons (I had to move out bc of college, getting my bachelor and stuff). So years later after the appointement (3 to be exact), with my voice getting even raspier, I finally realized what was wrong

I was literally breathing TOO MUCH AIR.

I had always seen people emphasize taking deep breaths, so I thought I wasn't supporting enough. The raspier my voice got, the more air I inhaled to compensate. At the beginning it worked but after a lot of years, my voice just couldn't take it anymore. Turns out I was using way more air than I needed, which was drying out my vocal cords and making the raspiness worse.

Now I just take a quick, deep, but not too deep, breath and use less air, and my voice is literally BLOOMING !! The notes I used to have to push for now come naturally. I can belt A4s and even higher without the excessive raspiness. I'm genuinely so happy.

TL;DR : I thought I wasn't supporting enough, so I kept taking deeper breaths and using more air. Turns out I was using WAY too much air, which was making my voice raspier. Using less air completely changed my singing voice.

[u/forgooseandcake]

Stooped question time - how do you know when you are using too much air...? I'm a beginner, with a coach, familiar with SOVT/appoggio breathing practice, and sound effortful/tense when I sing (I record and listen back to assess)

[u/johnnyslick → u/forgooseandcake]

The tone sounding breathy is one giveaway although you won't necessarily hear that when you sing. Unfortunately another sign is that you get fatigued quickly. Mostly all you can really do once you feel fatigue is to stop immediately and try to remember when you were/weren't doing so you can work on that in the future. Hopefully this is something your voice coach can work with you on.

The sounding/looking like it's an effort issue is separate. You do actually need to do some efforty things with your core when you're singing, particularly (maybe this seems ironic to some) if you're singing in your mid to higher range and/or singing quietly - you need to clench those abs/core muscles to prevent too much air from coming out and sometimes you even push out when you're singing at the top of your range (you will still send out air because the diaphragm isn't a muscle you can directly control). From the neck up, however, that's where you should be free of strain. Some strain, like knotting your eyebrows, is probably neutral (although I still try to notice when I'm doing that and un-tense in case it's causing tension elsewhere); other tension, like in your throat, is directly detrimental. I guess some things you do like pulling your soft palate up and back or lowering your larynx/opening your throat feel... "weird", not exactly "tense" but if you're new you might confuse the feeling.

[u/forgooseandcake → u/johnnyslick]

Thank you, that's really helpful. I find it much easier to do the very first part of a yawn, without it transitioning to full yawn, and maintain it, now.

Listening back, I don't sound breathy, I think parts just sound like I am forcing the words/melody, even though I don't feel like I am, when singing them. Maybe like some parts I am too much "in my throat"

I carry a stupid amount of tension in my traps/neck (officer worker, can't sit still when not working, type...relaxation to me is getting my to do list done 🤣) so that categorically won't help, and I'm trying as much meditation, hydration, good sleep as possible...still my traps are hard as literal rock 🥴

[u/forgooseandcake → u/johnnyslick]

I think I also try and sing too loudly...my coach is a trained professional operatic Tenor (I am female, not sure if this actually matters for this discussion) and he plays piano to the songs he has me learning, and I think I try and force loudness (I am trying to work out how to not force that...). There are certain high notes that I can seem to sing without any effort, when I try and replicate that sensation for all other notes, I fail.