I'm a 16yr old girl who has only just begun singing. My voice as I hear it is terrible and weak. My singing teacher thinks I'm not that bad for a beginner, but I hate hearing my own voice because it sounds gross to me and I'm getting frustrated with it.

                        Kirsty   

Well, the bad news is that there is no way to get around practicing.  Singing requires you to develop certain coordinations that simply need to be repeated in order to improve.  You can however speed up your progress by doing the right exercises.   If your voice feels okay up to a certain pitch and then begins to get weak, this is where you start crossing over into your head voice.  The whole key is to be able to blend from your chest voice into your head voice without it breaking off into a weak feeling.  Seth Riggs' book "Singing for the Stars" can help with this if you do not have a Speech Level Singing teacher in your area. 

You will also need to be a little patient with your voice as it is still maturing (I know this is hard).  Don't compare yourself to other singers, as everyone's voice grows at a different rate.

Good luck,

                                              Thank you.

Vibrato is caused by the cords rapidly opening and closing during the singing process.  As the cords alternate between opened and closed positions, they experience a rippling effect brought about by the alternating pressures.  This condition only occurs when the cords are not experiencing undue tension (no matter how slight). 

Say the word "goo" softly and try singing a 5-tone scale (c-d-e-f-g...g-f-e-d-c) at the lower portion of your range and hold the top note before going back down.  See if you can "allow" the vibrato to come in during the sustained tone.  You might find it comes in at the split second just before you go back down.  This is because you have relaxed the cord slightly to begin your descent. 

Also, let yourself get that feeling in your voice when you are just about to cry and your voice trembles.  Try singing your scale pretending you are about to cry, and feel the voice shake (don't force it).  This can often lead one into the vibrato coordination.

Vibrato will happen at the lower portion of your range first, and remember not to get impatient.

I hope this helps,

John

What is the most important in the speech level singing?  Is it the technique or the feeling? What do you feel? Is it the same when you're singing as when you're talking? Are you conscious of the sensations?

These are very good questions!  The technique is most important, the feelings or sensations will follow.  You want to keep your larynx stable as you sing up or down.  As you ascend into your head voice or upper range, you will feel the sensation of resonance cross behind the soft-pallet.  You will also keep the voice "connected" or on your "speech-level" as you sing.  This means not letting the quality or sound of your speaking voice suddenly change when you sing (breathy or strained, etc.). 

You allow the voice to go to the proper place, rather than forcing it there.  If you keep your larynx down and you voice connected, the inner muscles of the cords will begin to do the work, rather than your "outer" muscles (those used for chewing and swallowing).  It becomes a feeling of "allowing" the voice, while always monitoring your sensations..  There is a brilliant book called "The Voice of the Mind" by E. Herbert-Caesari, which goes into these issues in great depth.  It is out-of-print, but you can probably find it at bibliofind.com.

Best of luck,

John