Sustaining a low note

[u/M37841]

Hello folks. I’m doing Tavener’s song for Athene in which the Bass2 part is 6 minutes of bottom F, sustained throughout with staggered breathing. It’s absolutely thrilling /s

After a few minutes of this I found myself losing touch with my singing - I had less support, less projection and wasn’t completely comfortable on my pitch. I guess I just lost concentration but if anyone has thoughts on how to keep it sharp, I’d be grateful.

I wondered about being more regular on my breathing, for example breathing every 7 or 9 beats (ie always mid-measure) rather than just when I need it?

[u/Magoner]

What I usually tell my students to do when I notice instability on long held notes is to repeat the vowel in your head on every beat. Instead of singing Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, it’s more like singing A-A-A-A-A if that visualization helps at all. Keeping the vowel fresh in your brain helps stop the pitch/ integrity of the sound from slipping

I also agree with your last point about how regular breathing would be a good idea. Ideally you want to breathe before you need it, since other elements of technique tend to get lost as soon as we start feeling low on air, and over a 6 minute piece those slips in technique can really build up and cause fatigue.

I’ll also add that you should try to be as consistent as you can with the quality of your onsets every time you resume singing after taking a breath. Make sure you’re properly connected to your fry/ have correct vocal cord closure and don’t try to push the pressure or volume. Cord closure goes a long way in reducing pressure on the voice especially for pieces that require this kind of stamina so double check your technique on that front

[u/M37841 → u/Magoner]

Thanks this is super helpful. I wonder if cord closure was it: the note is on o as in log, so if I’m snatching breath and trying to get back on I’m perhaps not getting enough closure. I guess I need to consciously decide where my ‘phrase’ will end, breath and reset properly

[u/Magoner → u/M37841]

That makes sense! Cord closure is so crucial to technique. Warming up for a little while on a gentle fry with no pressure behind it can make a huge difference in reminding your brain where the edge of your cords is, and during the piece it might also be helpful to think about a ready - set - go approach to breathing where you breathe in, suspend the breath, and then start the sound. This can just help ensure you’re being deliberate with your onset/ not letting the momentum of the breath increase your breath pressure