Day 11: Chest-dominant Mix

From: 14-Day Range Extension Course With Camille
by Camille van Niekerk
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Description:

Today we’re working with one of the most sought after techniques in contemporary singing for range extension. This is our chest-dominant mix, the mode we typically use for belting. While this is a lot of fun and can make for an incredibly powerful sound and expression, it requires a careful process of vocal discovery to stay balanced and not tip over into uncontrolled shouting. Attempting to belt without proper vocal training and daily conditioning is where a lot of injury can occur. We hear a loud sound and think it’ll feel heavy or even painful to reproduce it ourselves. But belting should not feel painful for you. We might feel the effort from our abdomen, but not from our throat. 

The key strategy for today is to find and use resonance from helpful vowel shapes before adding extra pressure from our low abdominal muscles. 

Exercise 2: Nuh Nay, end on AH Exercise 575757543 Groove Dom7

For this exercise I’m bringing back our fun groove. We’re starting with NUH to begin in a balanced, up and down shape, then feeling a little resonant “boost” from the brightness of AY. 

Exercise 1: I Win/Won Belt 5-8-9-8765 stepwise down
Start with win, go back to win if won is feeling imbalanced

Now that we have a strong chest-dominant mix, let’s start leaning into our belt with this exercise. The W here helps prevent us from full-on shouting. Keep the “Ih” vowel nice and tall. You can even pinch your cheeks ever so slightly to keep the vowel from spreading. 

Now try opening up to Won, going for the same sensation you got using Win. For some emotional grounding, imagine you just won a competitive game and you’re bursting with joy. You can also imagine you are an annoying or sore winner who is taunting the other player after a difficult game. That bratty sound is helpful to find some belty brightness without getting too heavy. Now let’s sing the full exercise! You choose whether to use WIN or WON, whichever felt more stable for you, and feel free to alternate as well. 


Exercise 3: Whiny WAH slide up to 1-5-3-5-3-5-3 (Millennial Whoop)

Our final strategy is to use a whine effect to narrow and boost the resonance of our vowels with a bit more spreading. This style can be grasped by imitating the sound of a baby whining. If you’ve been around a crying baby, you know they can go high and be very loud. We’ll still  use that W to help us stay balanced but this time add a slightly nasal sound. 

Try imitating this whine sound with me on a WA for a bit. One helpful tip is to place your fingers between your nose and cheeks and feel some buzzing or vibration here. Now move it around like a siren. 

Okay now let's try an exercise using the whine tactic. I’m using the iconic millennial whoop for this one, one popular example of which shows up in the chorus of “California Gurls” by Katy Perry. Feel free to drop out if you end up squeezing too much to create the whine.


Audio:

Range Extension Course Day 11A
Range Extension Course Day 11B
Range Extension Course Day 11C

Lessons:

Instructor: Camille van Niekerk

Camille van Niekerk is a singer, writer and vocal instructor in Southern California. Camille began studying voice and performing in musicals at age seven. In 2010, Camille began working towards her BA in Music Education at Azusa Pacific University. She then earned her teaching credential from San Diego State University and taught classroom choral and instrumental music. Shortly after moving to LA county, Camille began her private vocal studio, providing vocal coaching, ear training, and recording for students of all ages. She is constantly refining her skills and methods for greater versatility and effectiveness. When she is not teaching, Camille enjoys singing with the L.A. Choral Lab and Ensoma Creative. She lives in San Diego with her husband and loves going to the beach, practicing yoga, reading, and cooking.