I have onsets and offsets in the advanced singing category not because they are difficult to do correctly on their own, but because they should be addressed after the basics are down and are difficult to continually do in the context of a song. So what are onsets and offsets? The onset of a phrase is the very first sound made. So in the sentence "hello how are you" its the very first "he" of hello. Similarly then, offsets are the very last sound. In the previous sentence it would be the "oo" of you. There are three kinds of each, glottal, aspirate, and balanced. None are necessarily good or bad, but generally balanced is considered the standard to aim for if there is not a reason to be aspirate or glottal.
Balanced Onsets/Offsets
A balanced onset is when the air hits your vocal folds at the same time as the vocal folds shut. This is difficult to do, but to accomplish this you can practice beginning an "ah" without it becoming "hah" where the air leaves your mouth before the vocal folds shut or it becoming something similar to a miniature cough before the ah where your vocal folds shut before the air reaches them. So the exercise would consist of singing one "ah" repeatedly without any duration.
Similarly, for offsets you'd want to have the vocal folds and air cease at the same time. So in the above exercise you'd want "ah" and not "ahhhhhhhh" with an unpitched exhale at the end or an "ahp" with a sudden stop. You should be able to stop the sound without an exhale and without shutting your mouth.
Aspirate Onsets/Offsets
As aspirate onset is when the air leaves your mouth before the vocal folds shut. The offset is when the air continues after the vocal folds cease. This is often used in some indie styles as well as some pop and folk music. It does cause an overuse of air which leads to running out of breath quicker, but ultimately its up to the style you're going for.
Glottal Onsets/Offsets
Glottal onsets involve closing your vocal folds before making a sound. This is what you do when you cough. Its most noticeable when singing vowels at the beginning of words as there is a slight pop-like sound with the glottal. Glottals can be useful for hitting high notes with enough power, but the offsets tend so sound bad in almost everything. The offsets are when the air stops before you stop singing resulting in a sound similar to a sudden pause in a recording. While useful for subito pianos or sudden cutoffs, its otherwise just kinda bad sounding.
The goal isn't to stop doing any of these, but rather to have complete control over which you do. There are times and places for each, but to be choosing at random is a mark of an amateur when it comes to singing. Be intentional with how you sing. If you need help controlling your voice like this, sign up for singing lessons by clicking here!
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