The Missing Link to MIXED VOICE That NOBODY Talks About; Flageolet Tension

Video Description

Hi everyone, This entire video is about my extrapolated sensations of singing. As I learned to sing, this feeling of "flageolet tension" that I describe here was always something that NO VOCAL COACH could explain to me in a satisfactory way. One teacher would say, "That's just your voice" and another would claim to not even hear it or the difference between the sounds I wanted to do and what I could do. I was frustrated and I tried for a long time to fit this experience into the standard words that float around voice pedagogy such as "mix voice", "head voice", "being connected versus disconnected", "singing on the voice", etc. Ultimately, there was not a consistent usage of any term that described what I was doing. This led to me CREATING the term myself. I don't wish to reinvent a wheel, but I do genuinely believe that there is no conception of this phenomena in modern voice pedagogy. This is a PROBLEM because I, and other singers like myself, do have this experience. Certain issues and benefits arise from using the flageolet tension. In other words, it is a technique- a tool that we can use as teachers and singers to explain various sounds. I believe flageolet tension fills a missing gap when it comes to singing technique. We shouldn't pretend that two different vocal coordinations are essentially the same when there are important distinctions to be made. "Importance" in this sense is assertained by the impact of the difference in technique. If a singer wants a certain sound and the flageolet tension is holding them back, then it's important to recognize that they are doing something different from their intended sound design. If a singer WANTS the flageolet tension sound, and they are not able to achieve it, then it's important information for them to understand that there is a technique they are missing. Claiming there is no valuable distinction between flageolet tension and "non"- flagolet tension sounds serves as a massive disservice to those who would benefit from making this distinction. This distinction is not absolutely "necessary" at the end of the day. However, so are MANY distinctions in voice pedagogy. The entire idea of "mixed voice" pedagogically is mainly to discern the sensations and strategies of singing higher in M1 (chest). That is something that many people find HELPFUL. It doesn't matter if there isn't technically an in-between between m1 and m2- that misses the entire point. The point is there are different sensations and experiences that we need to reconcile in productive ways. That is why we have different words used in singing. I hope flageolet tension contributes positively to the voice communities understanding of singing and the techniques that various singers use. I can certainly express that it has made a world of difference for my singing and for the singing of others who have benefited from this additional layering to vocal conceptions. THAT being said, If anyone has additional information regarding precise definitions and studies conducted that are related to this, I would love to hear about it. I am willing to grow and abandon words for better, more precise ones. Please email me or comment below if you want to engage in a constructive discussion or ask questions! Subscribe to the Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/GregoryWest/featured?sub_confirmation=1 For private lessons or inquires email me at [email protected] Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregarious_west/ Follow me on Tic Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gregarious_west?lang=en