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Hi Wendell, I'm a sorta beginning singer too, that is I've been singing as a hobby for quite a while and have tried a lot of techniques but am only just starting to figure out how to actually release my potential.
Now I won't get too philosophical on our first date, but let me draw your attention to that term "actually release my potential". I know all about the books-on-the-chest thing and I've been to several different teachers and done a good six month stint with each and I know a few other teachers as well as good and bad performing vocalists in a few different genres. BUT.... most of what is working for me now has come from watching these folks perform, not from listening to their advice. The most important things are not found in technique, they exist in the attitude realm. Technique is all good but it's a brute force method of trying to connect your mind to your throat, and when it comes to voices, brute force is absolutely off-limits.
Pushing is very bad, and that has been my main problem, but I've seen it's a common one with blokes, as well as the fact that it's almost a law that you have to sing badly to be considered authentic, cos a good male voice is considered kitchy because so few people in the world can pull it off, this certaily doesn't help things much; but that's more of a cultural thing....anyway, have I answered your question....no.
oh yeah - "releasing your potential". Well potential is stored energy that is released when you let something go/when you take away the barriers - release it. So you pick up a rock, it now has potential energy, when you drop it the energy is released. Voices are exactly like this. I tried the books for a few months and heaps of other gimmicks and they help insomuch as weightlifting may help you beat someone up. But the problem is that you're being taught to artificially simulate a relaxed lung capacity, so the obvious point to make is - isn't it easier to just relax?
Yes, so focus on releasing your potential, not on straining to mimick that, cos you're just adding more barriers to your voice.
Good exercises help you tune into your body and work together as a team and centre around calming the nerves and allowing the free flow of air.
Before I go on: think of releasing your potential as the same as extroverting - this is a very important point.
1. Stand comfortably - get loose and do what ever you need to do to just chill out and be as carefree as you know how - treat this exercise as an observational one and you'll skip months of hurdles. Just breathe and allow your ribcage to expand naturally. Now place your hands on your sides (I prefered to cross mine when I started) lightly and feel the ribcage expand and contract as you breathe and let your jaw hang open and your throat open up - "let", never force. Take it on a gradient and start with what you can handle easily.
2.meditating in the sense of getting your brain to focus on the present moment - cos when you're relaxed you have all your energy available now.
3.I'm quite proud of this one cos I invented it: hold your nose so your voice sounds nasaly and (you must extrovert for this to work well) and focus on sending the sound through your nose. You can sing, or vocalise (make sounds - like an "e" or "ng" or "ooh") up and down the scale. Start in a comfortable range - say half an octave - real easy. and just allow the air to pass through your nose. If you're relaxed and doing it right you'll hear an immediate difference in just your speaking voice alone. It will go from dull and uninterested to bright and enthusiastic - so obviously if you match your emotions to that sound (over time, of course) you'll be able to maintain it. Granted - this is a lot like cheating the emotional scale, but it also makes you aware of the role emotions play in the quality of your voice. Good things to try are "nyah" and "e" with the nose-thing. Gradually expand your range and always keep the voice extroverted - you'll know straight away (or if you don't - get a polite friend to help with feedback - it's very obvious) when you hit a pitch you're not comfortable with cos you voice will crack or go dull: it's "pulling back" - that's tension and it's also introverting. So just back off the intensity and try again, focussing on looking "out" - at an object - like try singing to a furry toy or a chair. Remember you're just allowing the air to pass through while you change it's shape.
Sorry for the long-winded reply, It's hard for me to be concise when I know there are so many bad ideas going round.
To conclude - using these techniques and ideas I have increased my range to a good five octaves and stil expanding - that's bass up to saprano/countertenor (which is really handy being a songwriter who can't read music cos I am able to dictate basslines and theremin solos on the fly) and I still have my bad days, but I'm starting to add more clarity to my voice all the time and learning to detact my emotions form my practise. The scale I use to judge myself is good female singers - beacause they usually perform at a higher standard cos they're not "trying" so hard, and a few male singers with good tone who don't strain.
As for falsetto - that's easy, just do the nasalising exercise up high and make it more breathy or clean depending on the sound you want. If falsetto is taking someone a lot of air they're putting in more effort than they can handle - so either they're doing it badly, or they just need more practise before they can sing at that level.
Let me know how you go.
All the best,