DeffStarr said

I cannot for the life of me keep it down.

Once I hit the E4 - A4 area I can't keep the sound consistent.
I'm holding back the area, modifying and supporting. Is it something I've just got to get over time?

I'm also having trouble with singing E4 upwards. This is a big step down for me, E4 just feels like it's no longer there. I've warmed up, done the necessary things but it feels like I'm struggling with it.

man there could be a million reasons for this:

see if you have made any changes lately in the realm of:
-not exercising enough
-not eating healthy enough
-not drinking enough water
-not practicing enough
-not practicing carefully and/or thoroughly enough
-not resting enough
-practicing in a totally different acoustical location
-working on different songs/exercises that may not be helping
that's just a tiny list of what it could be BESIDES technique

just because you are modifying, supporting, and holding back, doesn't mean you are doing all three things correctly in balance.

If you were just sick as Phil mentioned, that throws a lot of things off in a very frustrating way so don't even worry about it. It's like being rewound a year backwards in your vocal training, and any effort to compensate to try to find a new way get the notes out you usually can, will just make matters worse. So focus more on healing. Besides the obvious (sleep, healthy food, water, vocal rest), some overlooked things that have helped me are continuing to exercise physically while sick (for me, running), drinking a lot of pineapple juice (loads of vitamin C and a natural anti-inflammatory) and gentle vocalizing such as lip bubbles.

DeffStarr said

I tried getting back into the gym but the only time I get is straight after work around 7-8, then it's tea time and then straight to bed to do it all over again.

What annoys me is I basically stand around for 9 hours when I could easily be doing something a lot more productive, but hey that's life.

I have breakfast at 8, dinner 2/3, tea around 7-8, bed at 11. Rinse. Repeat. It monotonous and it's driving me insane. I actually feel slightly depressed.

Definitely take Phil up on his offer to help you out.

I don't think "that's life" is a good filter to see it through, think of the billions of other people with excellent jobs, why would you deserve less? And even the common reasons if it's something like "well I didn't get a degree" well neither did Bill Gates LOL you know?

For the time being see if you can find a creative way to be more active while you work though because standing around for 9 hours is unhealthy. It's a shame certain jobs require that, it's so unnatural...

IF not, if you have ANY free time (sounds like you do between 8 and 11?), one thing you could try is instead of sitting around and relaxing even more when you get home, you could use those few hours of free time to work on your passion, also including even as little as 10 minutes of exercise. Heck, even cut it down to as little as 3 minutes at first, if it helps you build consistency. It's better than nothing.

I know it's very difficult to not just chill out after a hard day, but if you can trick yourself into moving on to work on something more important to you after your work day (maybe Phil can help you with this approach since he has done it) rather than just lounging, then I think you might be happier.

Also 2 meals 6-7 hours apart is pretty light unless they are big meals. I would personally feel very weakened if I was limited to only that little amount of food unless I ate till I'm full both times. 3 meals is a lot more comfortable since you don't have to stuff yourself to get enough food in. Maybe traditions are different where you live, but here in America I if I had your schedule i would have breakfast at 8, but lunch at 2 and dinner at 7.

that being said everyone is different. Sounds like you are getting enough sleep which is good. just a matter of adding a bit more food and exercise and most importantly more time to attend to your passion.

That being said, I should be following my own example hah, it's 9 PM here which is quite late to exercise but think I'll go for a run just because I can feel I need to exercise a lot more. I'm actually going to try to transition toward sprinting since I have less time to jog for a full hour everyday, what I used to do, so since my habit is so strong, instead of dropping it due to inconvenience, I just adapt it....

It's all about habits, creating good ones that get so strong they take you over - it's like when you really don't want to take a shower or brush your teeth and figure you can get away a day without it - but you do it anyways simply because you feel weird if you don't - I try to get all my good habits so strong that they affect me in that way, and it completely contains you from falling into tangents of skipping a routine over and over.

Consistency is incredible. I wish I was way better at it than I currently am.

DeffStarr,

With that Schedule, eating habits, and work routine, i think my singing level would plummet in no time.
Standing still without physical exercice is very unhealthy and unnatural. I rarely go shopping, but when i do, i often go back home physically and mentally exhausted because of having to stand still for a long time.

I hear you about monotony and the impact it has on mental and physical health. I currently have to sit six hours a day and write, and study another two to three hours when i am back home. If the teacher or the class is boring, i will go back home entierely depleted, as if someone has sucked all the energy from my body and mind. Boredom has really adverse effect on me.

Changing your eating habits could also be a good start. Man, 2 weetabix in the morning is like starvation ^^. I used to eat 5 weetabix at 8am, and have a normal meal at 12am. Granted, i am a voracious eater. You might need healthier and more energetic food. Bananas are now an important part of my diet. Why? It is cheap, you can carry them easily, it never tastes bad, it fills your stomach, and you don't feel freaking weak at any moment of the day. I eat a minimum of three bananas, but somedays, i will eat 10 of them. Same for avocado, i usually eat a full avocado at 12 am. Cheap, tasty, and healthy. I also snack a lot on almonds and dry fruits, but they are a little more expansive. I remember when i started, i used to binge on almonds up to eating 100g (615 Calories). I still got slim as a model in no time, to the point of loosing my pants and be compelled to buy a belt. If you want energy, you ave to give your body some fuel, and some exercice.

But i will let Phil answer you on that, i think he is more qualified than me