♪ Hey ♪
- Will vocal compression destroy your voice?
Is all that heavy voice used in rock and metal for example,
going to tear your voice to threads,
or is there a safe way to use vocal compression,
get the sounds that you want,
remain stylistically relevant
and still have a healthy voice at the end of the gig?
Let's find out.
- [Female] Sound check.
Check one, check two.
(upbeat music)
- G'day there, my name is Dr. Dan,
welcome to Voice Essentials where everybody sings.
This is a channel that doesn't accept the false notion
that society is made up of singers and non-singers.
Here at Voice Essentials,
we believe it is the birthright
of every human being to sing.
And I think you should be able to sing
in whatever style and genre your heart desires.
Now, some genres require heavier vocals than others.
Take metal and all its sub-genres for example,
like screamo and death.
These styles employ distorted voice,
and the vocal cost can be rather high,
especially when compared to country or pop.
And this leads many people to think that
you can't sing these genres
without ripping your voice to shreds.
Well, I'm happy to report that this is not true.
You can learn to sing with high compression
without destroying your voice.
Allow me to explain.
The Dictionary for the Modern Singer
identifies the term "compression"
as being used by the Speech Level Singing method,
suggesting that "Compression is used to describe
"the pressure with which the vocal folds vibrate.
"High compression indicates strong vocal fold adduction,
"whereas a low compression indicates
"weak vocal fold adduction."
If you're a long-time subscriber,
then you already know I've never been a fan
of the term "compression"
because I think that it mentally evokes
high levels of tension.
Not withstanding my personal preferences,
I do acknowledge that it's become a part
of the contemporary singer's vernacular here on YouTube.
So I thought we should discuss its correct use
and then we'll sing through a couple
of vocal compression exercises together.
- [Female] Sound check.
- So firstly, let's understand why high compression
is such a high-cost item on the vocal effect list.
Physically speaking,
when the singer activates "high compression"
the vocal folds are brought together
for more extended periods of time than in low compression.
Now high compression typically occurs
during a thyroarytenoid dominant
or what many voice scientists are now referring to
as Mode 1 configuration.
When explaining Mode 1,
Professor Scott McCoy writes,
"In Mode 1, the vocal folds are thickened
"by contraction of the TA (thyroarytenoid) muscles,
"resulting in greater mass per unit of length
"and a square-shaped glottis
"when viewed in frontal cross-section."
Here we see a graphical representation
of the vertical phase during a vibratory cycle.
Mode 1 has historically been loosely referred to
as chest voice.
Regardless of the terminology,
the result is a vocal fold that is being brought together
for longer periods, with higher levels of surface contact.
If the singer is using a high energy Mode 1,
or what the speech level singing method
calls high compression,
then the voice is at risk of wear and tear
if the singer is not capable of managing
their sense of sub-glottal pressure,
the amount of air pressure directly beneath the vocal folds
as well as the level of vocal fold adduction,
that is the vocal fold closure.
So the exercises I'm about to teach you will help you
to manage your sense of air pressure
as well as find better muscular balance
as the vocal folds come together to create sound.
But before we dive into the practical,
be sure to hit the thumbs up button
if you're already learning something from today's video.
The first exercise that we are going to do together
is a breath management activity.
This exercise is designed to help you become aware
of your sub-glottal pressures
so that you can learn not only to monitor the pressure,
but also change it up when necessary.
We're going to exhale a long continuous breath
alternating between SSS
(hissing)
and an SH.
(hissing)
Have a listen.
(hissing)
When you try the activity,
I want you to take notice of what are
very subtle changes of pressure inside your neck.
Some of the difference is caused by
the placement of your tongue inside the mouth,
but I want to direct your attention
to the area of your larynx and vocal folds.
Again, it's subtle,
so if you can't feel any difference to start,
keep playing with it until you become
aware of the kinesthetic difference.
I've got a couple more breathing exercises
on my downloadable CD, Dr. Dan's Voice Essentials
if you'd like to do more work in this area,
which I strongly recommend.
Learning first to be aware of the sub-glottal pressure,
and then learning to manage
and alter that pressure is the first step
towards controlling vocal compression.
The second activity is taken from
the Joseph Stemple group of Vocal Function Exercises.
This activity employs a rather high sub-glottal pressure
on an E vowel.
Have a listen.
(piano note)
(singing)
Ladies, I'm using an E4 here.
Guys, you might like to try it a little lower on a C4.
One of the most significant challenges of this activity
is the onset, that point at which the sound
commences as the vocal folds first come into contact.
I want you to aim for a simultaneous onset,
and try to avoid a glottal attack.
(singing)
Which will potentially cause a constricted phrase,
and equally don't allow the onset to be breathy.
(singing)
Because because a breathy onset
doesn't engage the vocal folds
with an active enough adduction.
This second exercise is designed to help you
achieve balance in the phonation,
what some vocal pedagogues refer to as flow phonation,
all while activating high compression.
Our third exercise will seek to combine
the virtues of the first two activities.
Again, we'll be doing this on a single note.
This time I'm gonna jump down to the guys, whoops.
On C4, and we'll do this by starting on a SSS
(hissing)
Transitioning to a
(hissing)
an SH phonating onto a single note fricative
(singing)
and then transitioning onto an EE vowel.
(singing)
So the activity will sound something like this.
(hissing and singing)
Again.
(hissing and singing)
Boy you can hear my voice just leap at that
and press into that E vowel.
Which, again we're trying to smooth that right out.
And then you'll step it up in semitones.
(hissing and singing)
♪ Get the note right Daniel ♪
(hissing and singing)
When you first start this exercise,
don't aim for volume.
Instead, work to maintain a sense of balance
between the four different sounds.
This activity will typically cause
your larynx to rise a little,
and be careful that it doesn't go so high as to
constrict or lock up altogether.
Once you've mastered the sense of flow and balance,
then start to require your voice
to achieve higher levels of volume
all while you maintain even and balanced sound.
Remember, we are ultimately aiming
for high compression here,
so work towards intensity in the sound
without causing your voice to constrict.
Perhaps you've got a tried and true activity
that workshops high compression.
I'd love you to take a moment to share it
in the comments section below so that
the whole Voice Essentials community can benefit
from your experience.
And take a quick moment to share this video
across the socials if you know other singers
who will benefit from what we've covered today.
I hope to see you and your friends
in the next Voice Essentials video.
I'm Dr. Dan, sing well.