Falsetto Advice

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GreedylilPig
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Falsetto Advice

Post by GreedylilPig »

I know this really isn't guitar discussion, but I thought this was the most suitable forum for this topic to be in.

I was wondering if anyone had any tips/advice for being more consistent with hitting falsetto notes. For me, it's unpredictable. On songs such as Ants, Jimi Thing, and Say Goodbye, it's just hit or miss; I just kind of have to wing it and hope for the best. Sometimes it's right on and sounds great and other times my dog up and leaves the room. :wink:

From the recording/critique forum I've noticed that there are quite a few musically educated people around here and this is something that has plagued me for a while and has cut back on the range of songs I perform of Dave's at gigs.

Thanks in advance for any input.
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Post by DustyDave »

Where is Ticohans when we need him :cry: He has some very lovely falcetto's , amazing stuff he makes
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Post by Davy28 »

Phew, I'm not the only person who wings a falsetto and hopes not to crack.
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Post by Appfro »

really it's just practice. you have a voice that i can't imagine in falsetto. i mean look at jimmy buffet, he never sings falsetto really. but you gotta keep doing it and doing it and when you do it, get louder sometimes. it's kinda like stretching and getting more flexable.
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Post by ryopan »

is it just a pitch problem or actually doing falsetto?
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Post by GreedylilPig »

ryopan wrote:is it just a pitch problem or actually doing falsetto?
I apologize if I was too vague. Basically, it's difficult for me to suddenly go from a normal singing voice to a high note. Examples (capitalized parts): say goodBYE... / morning, DOES his teeth... / stay or LEAVE i want you not... and so on. The main problem is consistency. I'm capable of it but the success rate is about 50/50, and I have no clue why. For a while I simply thought that some days were better than others but I'm starting to realize there's more to singing than that type of justification.
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Post by ryopan »

maybe just play a certain part over and over till you feel comfortable w/ that note. sing the "say goodBYE" part over and over and then maybe you can just tell where its goin and get there w/o thinking about it.

oh yeah, that too. dont think about it too hard. when i try to focus on singing on key, i go off key. if you can just follow the pitch, do it w/ out focusing. just sing along. im no expert but there are some really bright guys here w/ some gems for you.
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Post by Ranting Thespian »

here's some tips for keeping your fasettos on.

The problem with hitting falsettos right on or making sure you hit them are due to 3 things, if you have a certain voice that is not able to do it *this doesn't apply to you, of course, lol*, the surrounding air, or the condition of your vocal chords.


To help getting your vocal chords nice and clean=>

Do not drink sodas (expecialy colas). Don't drink any thick alcoholic drinks. The thing is that they will stick to your vocal chords, and it will make it harder to move them. Think of it as 2 strings, you have a lotta crap on them, they will sound horrible, and moving up and down will be rough. Water is your best bet for a beverage. To help clean and clear, try drink some straight lemon juice, the acidic part will help clear it out. A good idea is to take a half a cup of lemon juice (lime does just the same) and mix it with a half of cup of water, and drink it slowly, it will help clean it out nice and slowly. I have a bottle of half water half lemon juice when I perform. Then, gargling salt water (not drinking, don't swallow), do it for a little while, spit it out, and get some more, and gargle. These will help.
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Post by w0odman »

Make sure you have a good deep breath in you and make sure your back is nice and straight. Straight back, chest out, lot's of breath and you should be better off. Being hunched over your guitar makes hitting high notes harder. So I was told by this chick that had sung forever. and you know what? She was right ;)
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Post by Jay »

practice is really all you can do. transitioning like that in say goodBYE is a hard thing to learn. what you can do is practice some vocal warmups...this is hard to explain in words....just go up and down a scale, then move up a key and do it again, until you get high enough where you have to switch in and out of falsetto. and don't be afraid to be loud. not screaming loud, but supported loud. falsetto needs a lot of air.

and listen to ranting, he's obviously a theatre nerd like me. ;) to keep your voice (and body for that matter) healthy, you're supposed to have 6-8 glasses of water a day.
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Post by dave-alicious »

water and lemon juice, definitely a good thing

but the main thing is practice. if you practice it and play it enough you will begin to get use to singing in falsetto, and then the more confident you will be. don't strain. a strained voice reminds me of a cat when i was young. i think i threw it off a 3 story building while it was in a cage.

just try to sing purely. use alot of air.

most importantly have fun, i mean can you really not have fun while playing a dave song?
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Post by Coldchillin »

Hit yourself in the balls and falsetto away
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Post by DustyDave »

Coldchillin23222 wrote:Hit yourself in the balls and falsetto away
:lol: Your saying there is actually true , i've heard people saying that they cross their legs a little bit to hurt the little ones down stairs , that way you'll sing like a bird :lol:
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Post by GreedylilPig »

Coldchillin23222 wrote:Hit yourself in the balls and falsetto away
Haha, I'm sure that would go over well live...

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Post by dbernard »

make sure that you aren't straining your throat. when it comes time to hit your falsetto try and make the sound lighter, if you force it, it will sound like shit. you just want to ease up a little. also make sure that your larynx is lower in your throat and not bouncining up and down.

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