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Any Tips on Teaching Head Voice/Falsetto for Male Vocals? (Singing Teachers)
Any tips on teaching head voice/falsetto for male vocals? I have quite a high female voice anyway so trying to explain to a guy how it ‘feels’ for me seems to be totally alien to all my male clients! Anyone else have this problem? Hope everyone is looking forward to the weekend xx
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11 Replies
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I teach a couple of teenaged boys who were really struggling to make any sound in head voice. I think it’s mostly a coordination thing for them though as they are slowly making progress – they have both gone from making virtually no sound at all to a half reasonable falsetto (still quite weak and breathy though), and I am hoping for even more once we do some proper work on closure We have had to battle a lot of constriction and tongue tension along the way though, so I guess those would be major pitfalls to watch out for? One of them seemed to be trying to actually make the sound with his false vocal folds, so I think it’s just a case of finding the right trigger – using sounds like a mouse squeaking, an owl hooting, or even quoting Monty Python sketches have all worked for me!
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I’m finding a lot of it is also a confidence thing of they don’t want to sound ‘unmanly’! So like you said, just trying to find the right trigger is key. I’ll try the Monty Python one! That sounds like it may work as I know he loves them. Thank you!🙁
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:)**** no sad face! All smiles ha
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Good point – maybe try and dig up some examples of awesome male singers who use head voice, for inspiration!🙂
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Good shout! It’s quite a sensual, sexy song we’re doing as well! Which I’ve told him makes it totally MANLY! Hahaha😛
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Hey guys, often the male falsetto failing to come out is simple lack of muscular practice. The cricothyroid muscle is just not strong/well-co-ordinated enough to take the strain of phonation, so what comes is a weak/breathy sound. Tell them that only brute amount of practice will solve it. I had a student who I saw for a year or so that started with zero falsetto, but by the end was singing Jeff Buckley songs!
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I did a bit of research into the cricothyroid but wasn’t sure if this was the issue! Fab to know I was moving in the right direction. Where there any particular practices you used? I’ve tried sirens, whispering ‘oohs’, using in song examples and trying to mimick. This is great! Thank you everyone for all your help!
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I find they always copy me and want to sing the higher octave :/
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I also think it’s psychological people are scared of higher notes and they go tense x
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I’m just going to persevere. Maybe I’m being too impatient
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Ye I have a guy who couldn’t sing a note in tune 2 years later head voice chest voice gigging whole shebang but he has hour lessons a week and works hard takes time go for it xxx