I want to learn to belt... no, not that sort of belting you bunch of perves ;-) I may be a bossy cow, but I have no real desire to top. No, this is vocal belting, a singing technique which allows you to sing higher notes in your range with more power behind them (simplistically). It's a commonly used technique in musical theatre and pop singing, but not really in classical or choral singing, and this is where I start to have issues. I spent the first 30 years of my life (well, from the age of 6 or so), doing choral singing, usually of classical pieces. There is a certain tone you need to achieve to blend with the choir, and so I never learnt techniques like belting, and now they are very alien to everything I was originally taught about singing. I'd love to have a natural belt, but sadly I don't, so I'm trying to learn.
However, this, like so many other things, is where my intellect gets in the way. Belting is not easy, and it can also damage your voice if you do it wrong. Also, it's not a sound that I was brought up to think was "nice". I was having a lesson the other week, and doing a new exercise. As we were moving up the scale, I suddenly realised what was happening, and promptly shut up. When questioned as to WHY I'd stopped singing, I told my singing teacher it was because I realised what she was trying to do, i.e. get me to belt. She replied that I *was* belting, I was doing it fine, and why on earth did I stop.
Of course the reason is that my head intervened. I found myself doing something that I have told myself I can't do, and so I had to stop because I can't do it. If that makes ANY sort of sense... My head can be a frustrating thing to deal with. It often tells me something very similar when I'm being spanked. Intellectually I "know" that I won't be able to take something, therefore I have a great deal of trouble taking it. It's all about visualisation, as my teacher often tells me. If I visualise myself failing that is inevitably what will happen.
So I'm hoping if I manage to get over my block about belting, I might "get better" at being spanked.
2 hours ago
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5 comments:
Hi Eliane,
Hmmmm. It's damaging to the voice. maybe that's my problem. I never learned how not to belt, lol.
Only kidding ... sort of. I wish I had taken voice lessons. My mother studied opera. I spent my life trying to mimic rock singers with no technique.
I don't know enough about it to know whether that's why my throat now is often so tight that I can only rarely hit high notes I used to hit with ease. I've also learned that my years of acid reflux could be the culprit.
It's a shame because I love to sing and my son is turning into an amazing guitarist (he's only 10) and he wants so badly for me to sing with him but my range is nonexistent any more except for occasionally periods when I can hit the higher notes for a few weeks at a time.
I sing for fun only so it's not really that big a deal but do you have any Web sites to recommend where I can learn ways to "loosen" the vocal chords? I can check back here to see if you answer me or feel free to add it to any post I make on my blog. But don't worry about it if it's too much trouble.
As to your reluctance to belt, perhaps you need a voice teacher who also knows how to wield a belt, lol.
I am enjoying your blog and will be sure to catch up on your previous posts as time permits.
Dante
Hmmm thats a toughy. I also had my training in a choir.
I love to sing and find myself singing at the strangest things sometimes. Or in the strangest places. Walking along the road, in the loo, kareoke.
It wasn't untill I went to theatre college that I learned about the Diaphram and other stuff.
I can still manage 'Pi Jesu' just, but like you I was taught that belting just wasn't done in choir. Even if your the solo sometimes.
None of that helped really did it?
Ooops.
Hugs, Jay
Lol, Jay, it might not have helped, but it's nice to know I'm not the only one in the same boat!
And Dante, I don't really know any websites, but you could trying buying Singing For Dummies:
http://www.amazon.com/Singing-Dummies-Pamelia-S-Phillips/dp/0764524755/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235212752&sr=8-1
I do have a copy, as does my singing teacher, though in all fairness I haven't used mine for a while. I think there were some good exercises in there though, and learning some warm ups and things might well help.
As for my learning to belt... well let's just say my singing lesson last night ended in tears of frustration... oh dear.
Different techniques for different occasions..choral singing, which I love needs a slihgtly different technique from chamber-group singing; opera needs a different technique from musicals and musicals from Pantomime - and so on. Few people probably have all these: some have none of course - I have never really wanted to "belt" - I am blessed with a wide range and am naturally bass - but can understand your frustrations. Good luck - but I am just wondering how singing technique might make you a better spankee?
Thank Elaine, I'll give it a look!
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