Karaoke Forums

There's been discussion here before about singing...but I wanted to take a different approach and bring out the "Urban Legends" of singing....things that are not true but you might think are....for example, drink water to coat your vocal chords before singing and between songs to keep them moist....Uh Uh....any water hits your chords and you've got water goin' down the wrong pipe...result is massive coughing...not coating...

I know a few others but I'd like to see what the experts have to say...that is...everyone in Singers Showcase...

Russ

Really, Russ? I'm certainly no expert, but I drink tons of water, not only to keep the vocal chords moist but also cuz it's healthy and I just love H2o. I also use a vocal spray called "Clear Voice" and it makes my singing nice and clear. People at karaoke are always coming up to me and asking what the spray is and where to get it. I should get commission for the thing since I'm always touting its benefits.

Have you ever tried drinking hot water just before singing? No Urban Legends for sure, it's how I got to record Careless Whispers
Cold water is not recommended but hot makes a hugh difference!

I have to agree there...

Hot drinks make it so much easier for me to sing compared to cold ones... I think colder ones make my voice seem stiff

hot water would be yucky to me..... but tea with lemon and honey... MMMM!! and it makes ma voice all mellow and smooth....(i find)

make it more relaxed I guess

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...I agree with everyone so far that water makes singing easier...and it is coming in contact with other parts of the throat that are ultimately involved in singing...whether sprayed or drank....

...but taking water in orally the water does not wash over the vocal chords on the way to the stomach...the vocal chords are in the breathing track, and water going that way doesn't work...ask anyone who is drowning...something called the Epiglottis covers the entrance to the breathing track (thus the vocal chords)...when you swallow....blocking anything from going down your "windpipe" except wind....

....you need to drink lots of water 'cause the rest of your body will claim it first...and the vocal chords are the last to get the benefit...

....hmmm...now I know you can breath in steam...so that's in effect taking in water down your windpipe...so a steam vaporizer would help out your chords a lot I would think....

...I have a humidifer sitting next to me when playing/singing and that really does make a difference....


Russ

Russ

tons of coffee and 20 ciggies help me ol seriously.

and if the wonderful lady who gave me vocal lessons a few years ago saw this she would be banging her head on the piano hehehe

honey is good for the vocals.....just before you wish to perform especially live...take a spoonful of honey swill it around your mouth and swallow just before you sing ... and yes it works

but for home recording and karaoke...coffee and ciggies...and of course lots of wine and beer if your out singing karaoke...guarenteed to give you a great time

Thats me to missy.....i know i should quit smoking.....but it helps me....except for breath...........oy, and tequla .....i'm serious!! if i drink water....it makes my voice crack when i sing....how weird is that?

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I dunno, I gotta agree with Missy on this.....

After a few rounds of tequila/JD/vodka n' cranberry- whatever I'm having ...... I start sounding REALLY good, and can sing dang near ANYthing.

Course it helps if you make sure everyone else in the bar is drinking plenty too... so that they agree with this assessment.

No ciggies for me though- can't smoke at all. I cough & gag.

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

Can a persons voice shatter glass ?

Well, does it when YOU sing steven?

I bet your house is full of broken windows. No wonder you don't collect decorative crystal.

ya know. I think I sound better after a cigarette.... is that odd? I swear, I prefer to sing after smoking. (ok, i don't smoke, but, occasionally have one)

Oh, well..... yeah, on the rare occasion that I DO get "tipsy"..... which really is very~very seldom (honestly)...... for some reason I always think I need a cigarette. Dunno why, but something in my drunken mind makes me think I need one. (???)

I can't stand smoke....literally.... If I'm around it much I get throat problems. But there are those rare times I have smoked too. Maybe cause when I drink I think I have to be the "life of the party" .... and everyone around is smoking so I have to. (???)


STEVEN:::

Where in the heck did THAT question come from ?? I mean, seriously- What made you say that ??

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

So you do smoke

, I quit smoking at 18. then, never touched one until last year. And now, I have about.. one a month. so, 12 a year. And, I had one last night, which is why I came to the conclusion that I sound better after having one.... or, I used to sing and smoke, and strum, all at once, with ashes flicking everywhere. oh, rambling.

So, yeah, i'm "smokin"..

So.. HUSH, you are makign me feel guilty! Lol.

Well, I wasn't sure if it was my face, or singing.


Bluestained, Remember the commercial "Is it real, or is it memorex?"

Is it Ella Fitzgerald who shatters a wineglass with her highnote ? Many believe the urban legend (or is it?) that resonance, or a frequency at certain volumes can break glass.

Ah~ gotcha........ you were naming another "urban legend".

Don't know why my brain could not put 2 & 2 together on that one.

I've heard that said before. (that high notes can break glass......??)

If MY voice ever broke glass....... it would be the result of my hubby throwing something across the room to get me to shut up.

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

My husband sat down and explained this to me.

But,

If you generate a sound that is the same frequency the glass resonates at, after you turn off the sound, the glass will hum a little, much like a pitchfork. To break the glass, you need to broadcast not only a sound that is *just* the right frequency, but also has a high enough amplitude (loudness) to exceed the strength of the glass to resist those vibrations. When the sound gets too loud for the glass to vibrate, it shatters the glass.

Mr. Justy (teacher)??? ......*raising hand*.......

I have a question.....

So you're saying that I could......possibly..... when I walk over to change my karoake cd & forget and carry the mic with me and get that godawful feedback *sceech* from my speakers....... I could maybe break a WINDOW????

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

Feedback wise the mic picks up the noise from the speaker, amplifies it, feeds it back through the speaker, louder, the mic picks it up again, and feeds it back thorugh again, etce tc.. it keeps going and going, until it reaches a point where either the mic can't pick up anything of a higher amplitude, the amplifier has peaked, (maxed its peak to peak output signal), or the speaker has reached it's maximum output level. Which ever occurs first, will limit the ammount of sound.....

BUT, i imagine, with one amazing system, thereoretically you could break class.... around 120 db is the threshold of feeling, 130 is the threshold of pain.. a concert is what, around 96 db?.. so anything above THOSE would start to cause damage. Sound can KILL a person at 180 decibals.. but then, it also matter the frequency that the GLASS can shatter at... but, with enough aplitude you will break the glass, regardless of whether or not the sound is at the resonate frequency of the glass.


if the sound IS at the resonate freq. of the glass, you could probably break the glass, with a much lower level of sound, than you would normally need, because your voice is at the same frequency as the resonate frequency of the glass. Like pushing a kid on a swing, a little push, but the kid keeps getting higher and higher, until he falls off.

does this make sense?
I started rambling.

To break the glass, you need to broadcast not only a sound that is *just* the right frequency, but also has a high enough amplitude (loudness) to exceed the strength of the glass to resist those vibrations. When the sound gets too loud for the glass to vibrate, it shatters the glass.

Here's something more on the subject
http://ask.yahoo.com/ask/20011212.html