Question on Jay's singing technique

[Recca]

I don't know if this has been posted before, but here goes. In a lot of Jay's songs at one point or another he will have this somewhat high pitch part. (Like in 龍捲風, 妳聽得到, etc.) How exactly does he do it? I've been trying to imitate it but no success so far. :blush:

[Jo]

it's simply falsetto. everyone can do it...the outcome is dependent on the vocal chord...something you cannot imitate. falsetto is a stretch beyond your normal pitch. so, instead of singing in the same way as you would talk, stretch your voice beyond that, go as high as you can...call it practice. some men can sing higher pitches than women using falsetto...for women have no such thing.

[wackycashew]

hmmm... this is an interesting question. i dug up some info on the web and added in my two cents. when guys sing in a higher pitch, it's usually called falsetto. they don't reach those high notes with their "real" voices, but instead, with a "false voice" because the notes are higher in pitch than their natural voices. women can have falsettos, too. but i think it's a bit more common with men. anyway, you're basically stretching and lengthening your vocal cords, which causes your glottis (the space between your vocal cords) to be really small. i personally don't sing in falsetto, so i can't exactly share tips on how to do it. maybe try opening up your throat more when you sing and use your diaphragm for support when you breathe. then think of the high note you want to hit. don't see it as if you're trying to sing that note by reaching for it from below, but conversely, picture that you're hitting it from above. stretch your vocal cords to aim for the high notes. if you happen to be a tenor, then this will be easier for you. not sure if this helps. good luck! :happy:

[Recca]

Wow, thanks you two. :laughing:

*wants to practice right away but it's 12:04 am*

[scarletwillow]

Mmm, I sing in falsetto for certain songs, and the best practice tips are to exhale all gases out of your system... don't breathe, hehe. Raising your chin also helps, and do make sure you're standing up and not sitting down.

[vunsin]

Okay, since we're talking about "falsettos" and "false voice," I believe that's how they "sing" in Chinese and Western operas. Right? :?

Michael Jackson is well-known for singing in falsettos. And so is Justin Timberlake now. But some people are just stupid. Like this guy I know from work said that he didn't like JT because he sang like a girl. :shifty: Duh... I mean, I'm not a big fan of JT, but that seems to me an invalid reason to dislike a male singer. :shifty:

Anyhow, back to Jay. It's hard to "imitate" a professional singer. It takes a lot of practise. I normally only sing when I'm driving and I try to do whatever the singer is doing, high pitch or low pitch or whatever "special effects." :laughing: But I suspect I do an awful job. :rolleyes:

[dazzlette]

since you all are talking about Jay's singing technique, i would like to ask something myself. has Jay gone for any professional singing training?

i read somewhere that there's always a difference between someone who's just imitating an artiste and someone who's had training. but based on all the reports etc i've read about Jay it doesn't seem like he's had a lot of proper training. i mean he impressed Yang Jun Rong with Ke Ai Nu Ren singing it on borrowed time. i don't think Alfa had any intention of letting him become a singer before that, let alone invest in him having training in singing. the fact that he could sing a song like Hei Se You Mo on his first album with all the falsettos is really impressive by itself. if he did it with little or no profession training, i would be even more impressed.

anyway i have friends who think that Jay's singing isn't good. his songs are nice cos they are unique and different. but i disagree. i think he sings really well. not the best around but certainly better than most people.

[moonsilk]

since you all are talking about Jay's singing technique, i would like to ask something myself. has Jay gone for any professional singing training?

ianyway i have friends who think that Jay's singing isn't good. his songs are nice cos they are unique and different. but i disagree. i think he sings really well. not the best around but certainly better than most people.

I dun think Jay has gone any thru any proper vocal training...i agree that his songs are indeed special and different from others...but his voice is special too...when i hear others imitating Jay,the taste of the songs changed completely...therefore Jay is a very good singer aft all...
I agree that he may not be the best singer...but he is one of the best...thats y he is the little heavenly king...heeheez....

[sauerkraut]

i think it kind of depends on what you consider a "professional singing training". i'm quite sure that he hasn't had a classical training if that what you mean, but on the other hand, he surely does have some professional support (meaning breathing techniques etc.), cos otherwise it'd be pretty hard to get through a string of live concerts, without being hoarse all the time.

furthermore, i believe it's quite hard to make a fair judgement about his singing skills, merely by listening to his records. i'd like to hear him live without technical alterations or anything like that.

[knock]

I guess every singer has to go through vocals training to their vocals right in order to withstand long hours of singing. Yea. It's just that Jay got the basics of a melodious voice and he knows how a note should go exceptionally well.

My cousin once pointed out to me that Jay singing in live concerts dont sound as good on the cd. I cant see much of a difference though. Hmm. Anyway, recorded voice are either lower or higher than one's original voice.

[vunsin]

During recording the singer will have many chances of re-recording any part of the song that he/she doesn't like. He/she can also record different parts of the same song at different times. So... they can make the song perfect by editing (kinda like cut and paste). So obviously, for singers who lack real talent, they'd sound really awful live...

Sometimes during live performances, songs will be played in different keys. Inexperienced or untalented singers will be caught off-guard...

[kewlpiggy88]

i just hope he warms up his voice before every concert so that he can sing for more and more years!

[Pugwash]

Also, who ever is knowledgeable in the field of vocal can elaborate what foods affect your vocal chords?

From my understanding, Jay eats a lot of junk food right? He can consume like 5 chocolate bars, likes to eat his occasional KFC chicken, seems like he's always downing something that is unhealthy and I thought people aren't supposed to eat chocolate and what not.

I doubt Jay went into "professional" training as his main focus as a kid was to present the piano itself and singing was a bonus, mainly to impress girls hah! I think he just developped basic skills and later on developed them and began to do what he wanted to set a trend unlike David Tao who went through some pretty serious training I believe.

[sauerkraut]

Also, who ever is knowledgeable in the field of vocal can elaborate what foods affect your vocal chords?

From my understanding, Jay eats a lot of junk food right? He can consume like 5 chocolate bars, likes to eat his occasional KFC chicken, seems like he's always downing something that is unhealthy and I thought people aren't supposed to eat chocolate and what not.

well, i think it makes a difference, if you indulge in that kind of unhealthy junk food occasionally, or if you drown yourself in that stuff all the time. i'm sure his label / management or whoever has to keep track of his eating habits won't allow him to have junk food more than once in a while.

i can't say that i'm very knowledgeable in this field, but i was watching "hai tun wan lian ren" (great taiwanese drama series, by the way - don't miss it! :) ) the other day :grins: , and that handsome producer guy :brows: told his singer that she wasn't supposed to eat spicy, sour, and icy stuff (i probably forgot something) in order to prevent damage to her vocal chords. :shifty:

[lattae]

well, when I was in the choir back in my secondary school days... our conductor (who had professional training) didn't really put a limit on what we can/cannot eat... even on the day of our performances... her only advice is not to take food that we know will obviously irritate our voice... she says its different for each individual... while one food may do no damage to one, it can hurt the voice of another... eg some people can have tonnes of chilli and still sing fine... others can't even take a tiny bit...

I guess there is always a 'safe' side that people stay on, avoiding certain foodstuff... but like my conductor... I believe that there is no hard and fast rule...

[wackycashew]

yeah, there can be some individual factors involved regarding your question, Pugwash. but some of the ones i've heard are dairy products (i.e. milk), juice, carbonated drinks. basically drinks that would leave an aftertaste or "coat" your throat. i personally think it's fine if you don't consume them just before you sing. as for food, i think just the commonsensical stuff like fried foods, spicy, those "extreme tastes" type of foods. :happy: but if you have those once in a while, i don't think it's a big deal. and in general, i don't think it's a good thing to sing on a full stomach. so, it's probably best not to eat a big meal or drink lots of liquid before you sing. otherwise, it can make it difficult to use diaphragm support when you sing because you just feel so bloated. =P

[bee]

wackeycashew, you definately dont have dairy products...im pretty sure because when i was in choir, the director always gave a lecture on it after a rehearsal before the concert. ahh...the really good singers dont need to worry...but i never followed that rule anyways. always had a biiiig glass of milk.

---but i never ate too much, cuz i get nervous easily, and i was afraid of chukking it all back up again.


I doubt Jay went into "professional" training as his main focus as a kid was to present the piano itself and singing was a bonus, mainly to impress girls hah! I think he just developped basic skills and later on developed them and began to do what he wanted to set a trend unlike David Tao who went through some pretty serious training I believe.
i wouldnt be surprised if he went through a lot of training. i heard both this parents were SUPER famous back in the day (although for opposite genres) i think he dad did the popular stuff with the younger crowd, and his mom did something like opera (chinese style).

[_+*cecilia*+_]

he's not trained, and my dad doesnt like him lol we alwaiiz have fights about it. my dad says other singers would be ashamed that someone like him could be famous, but I think its his voice that is unique. The way he singz it gives the song the soul. I mean if other singerz tried to sing jay's songz it wouldn't have the same effect would it? Plus I think he'z mega talented writing hiz own songz!! i mean how many singerz do it n0wadaiiz? they all get other pplz to write dem! imma inspired by Jay to write my own songz cos I hope to be a singer some day as well! n_n!

[ker_ai_teresa]

about the porfessional training, i don't think many singers do have pro training b4 they start recording albums. i guess it really depends on the individual person. some ppl need it, some don't. for others, having training deosn't make much of a difference.

and i agree with vun. you can always tell that somebody can sing well if they can cope well during live performances. recordings on albums are misleading and are obviously polished over to get the right sounds.

now about food to avoid. i've been in choirs myself and the hard and fast rule that i've been taught is to not eat food that will leave your vocal cords clogged up or result in you having a sore throat. so like what most of you have already mentioned, dairy products and fried food is a no-no, esp when you're about to sing.
Jay does eat a lot of junk i guess, but i can bet that he doesn't do that when he's about to hold a concert. :happy:

[phoebe]

from the radio interview with that dj (who was one of the gma judges) that i read in this site's , he was asked if he went for proper singing lessons and jay said that he doesn't want to 'cos he ends up sounding alikewith the other singers. but of cos he must have had breathing technics or else how can he last the concerts . his voice is very special and nobody can sound as good singing his songs . BUT , from the tpe the one concert vcd - when he sang unplugged a folk song --- his voice cannot hit the high notes naturally --- maybe that's why depends on falsettoes .

[dazzlette]

Recently I read an article about people going for singing classes to improve their technique. The experts say that if your original singing is given 30 marks, after a year of training you can improve it to 60 marks. Without training, it would be difficult to sing non-stop during concerts. I guess you can tell who are good singers and who aren't based on whether they are able to sing live.

ker_ai_teresa Why do you really believe that most singers don't have training? I think otherwise. I think there are very few singers nowadays who haven't had some training of some sort. That's why I admire Jay so much. It seems to me he has rather little singing training. But I find his voice so special. When you hear him sing ballads live, it's really awesome! I guess you can't teach everything during singing classes. Like how to use your voice to convey emotions, which Jay does so well.

[ker_ai_teresa]

ker_ai_teresa Why do you really believe that most singers don't have training?

okay, let me take that back. many singers these days (i'm speaking of the asian market) have little voice training. i say this becoz there are so many new artists around now who can't sing live. whether they're doing ballads or fast songs, they almost always lip-synch. this shows that they are not confident in their singing abilities which would seem weird if they've had lots of training. also, look at how busy artists are. they don't just sing and record albums, they do movies, commercials, fly around attending special events. where's the time to train their voices? plus you have to admit. many new artists these days don't sell albums by promoting their singing abilities but their dancing or their looks.
but this is just what i see and my opinion. perhaps i'm wrong.

anywayz, off topic, so let's get back to Jay and his singing technique....

[dazzlette]

ker_ai_teresa i agree with you that many Asian artistes sell their look more than their voices. and that's precisely why they went for voice training before they started out. the fact that they can't sing live doesn't mean they didn't have training. it probably just show they didn't have enough of it!

ok ok back to the topic on Jay's singing technique. I have another question. do you need a lot of training to sing falsettos well? or is it just practice? also, do you need to train how to project your voice and the different kinds of ways you can play with your voice? i think Jay plays with his voice really well.

[ker_ai_teresa]

do you need a lot of training to sing falsettos well? or is it just practice? also, do you need to train how to project your voice and the different kinds of ways you can play with your voice? i think Jay plays with his voice really well.

i've noticed that not everybody can or likes to do falsetto. some ppl naturally can do it comfortably while others are naturally able to hit the high notes without falsetto. this is really up to the individual. but apparently, fasletto is harder to do becoz it requires more control of the voice, so i would imagine that one would need proper training and practise to get it right rather than sounding like a mouse. egs of good falsetto singers include, Gigi Leung, Hacken Lee, Leo Koo and of course, our Jay.

projecting your voice is also another aspect that is focused on when one goes through formal vocal training. from what i've experienced, you're taught to project your voice by using your abdomen and proper breathing techniques. but yeah, that's also practise.

about playing with your voice...not quite sure what you mean... :?

[Jay luver]

I thried imitating 2! Not getting n e where tho. Yeah, i think it's just a talent jay has. He's so~ good!! Or mayb he took lessons? Or mayb yeah wat u guyz sed, falsetto? But mayb just *~practice makes PERFECT!!~* Who nos. W/e. He's so good. I luv Jay!

[missTBA]

falsetto - i think a lot of it is also genetic! naturally, people have different ranges, like tenor, bass, alto, soprano, etc., so some notes are simply easier. and some people simply have wider ranges also, like mariah carey (5 ocatves) and celine dion (3). jay's is probably natural too. however, lessons and practice help a lot i'm sure, in stretching range and improving pitch. just be sure not to do it the wrong way and damage your voice!

[SimpleBlackHumor89]

well i sing in a falsetto voice sometimes.. justin timberlake deftinetly uses his falsetto voice especially in "cry me a river" usher too. only some guys are able to althoug not alot of em do cos they think they sound too girlish . o yea you cud be sitting down when u sing in falsetto.. and it requries alot of breath too...like the stomach area..try puttin pressure there

[Calcifer10000]

I can sing pretty easily along with all of Jay's songs; surprisingly his songs are all relatively high for a guy's (meaning I don't need to sing an octave higher than him to follow along. Maybe that also means I have a low voice for a girl? ;)). Singing falsetto's actually really easy, I always thought. My problem's actually singing with my 'real' voice. You just...reach up, kind of breathe with sound; sounds lame but that's how I think of it ;) Everyone can do falsetto; it's just that whatever range you need to use your false voice will be different than someone else's.

[lvso]

Does anyone know how Jay Chou did learn to sing? Does he sing with a head voice or a chest voice? He could sing falsetto, but if you practice and train properly, you can just reach the high notes with your head voice, or your regular voice as well. I know a lot of Western singers sing with chest voice, like Christina and Alicia Keys. It sounds like Jay Chou uses a head voice, though, perhaps a bit of falsetto.

[mikey]

i can easily sing with falsetto just something that comes natural to me, instead of having to gradually change from real voice into falsetto, my voice can usually jump right there like the on part in xing qing.

i have a friend who we sing together sometime, he's been to some singing lessons, so if u listen you can hear a more powerful sound coming out and also he is singing with vibrato(i think thats what its called) when he has to hold a note for awhile, but he just cant control he's voice when singing with falsetto. so i think its another sign that it may be influenced by genetic properties.