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Can a Male Baritone Go Past G4? Please Help! :)

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Speculate

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Hello everyone!

I just stumbled upon this site, and its so awesome to know there is a place to talk about singing with other people who are also so passionate about it!

Question:

Im a male with a baritone range.

I cant go past G4 (The one below Tenor C) in chest voice.

Im wondering if there are ANY techniques or if it is even possible for a male baritone to be able to hit High tenor C? There are so many pop songs these days, like "Just the way you are" by bruno mars that i would love to be able to sing in its original pitch.

What about curbing? or overdrive? adding 'twang'?

Ive also researched a technique called the 'mixed voice'. I believe it combines the chest and head voice so one can hit higher notes with the range of head voice but also the power of chest voice. It apparently also allows me to go through my upper break (passagio) with fluidity and no audible crack.

My question is: With certain techniques, will i be able to go higher than a G4?? perhaps to a 'tenor high C'? Will it also sound stronger/fuller than pure head voice? I really would like to be able to sing these current day pop songs

Thanks so much! I cant wait to be a part of this community! :)

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Thank you!

That is amazing news and really encouraging to hear!

I'm following Brett Manning's mastering Mix program right now to try and find my 'mixed voice'.

Could someone provide any examples of a male baritone singing in his mixed voice and hitting a note like 'Tenor High C'? Maybe on youtube or something? I would like to hear what it sounds like from a baritone!

Also another question, why do famous baritone singers like Michael Buble and Josh Groban never go for a note like Tenor High C? If it's possible for us baritones, why do they not do it? Can they do it, but just choose not to do it? I only ask because that was what led me to believe that baritones could not go higher than a G4.

Thanks again : )

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Could someone provide any examples of a male baritone singing in his mixed voice and hitting a note like 'Tenor High C'? Maybe on youtube or something? I would like to hear what it sounds like from a baritone!

Here's David Coverdale doing a tenor high C, right in the beginning where he says "C'mon baby":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPYZ8Hsscxo

Pretty awesome, eh? And I can maybe later find an example that doesn't have rasp in it.

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axl rose is a baritone, same with ken tamplin, chris cornell, etc... and they all can sing (and have done many times) in and ABOVE the tenor high C range

if you are going classical music, Pavarotti is as baritone as well, and he is frequently hitting that tenor high C...

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Here's someone who was classed as a baritone in college. And he is getting above G4 and singing a C5. It sounds chesty but it is headvoice up there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opXcKwFgawI

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I believe that Steven Fraser is a Bass who can sing above Tenor C? If I'm correct, or it may be another member of the forums. Regardless, fach is just about the sound and weight of the voice.

To put it bluntly, mate: Screw. Your. Fach. You can sing as high as you train yourself to. With good technique. Find a good teacher, locally, or on Skype (ala Mr.Lunte) and get to it. If you've got the drive, you can do it.

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Steven is a bass and he said he can sing D6 which is more than an octave above tenor high C (C5). I am a tenor and sing up to C6 every day.

You could absolutely learn to sing the entire soprano range and even above that into the whistle register if you want to.

It is not easy and it takes a LOT of hard work. Guys like Buble and Grogan probably never learned how. I spent most of my life not able to sing in head and could never hit a C5 before I came to this forum.

Be careful though. It's best to get someone's DVD program or take some lessons if you seriously want to learn how to do this.

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Thank you everyone for their input!!

I am going to get rid of this idea that fach=range!

I might have had a small breakthrough today after reading everyone's comments from yesterday.

I can do something that ive never done before. however, im not sure what it is exactly. it feels as if i can go through my break easier now. I believe im using my pharyngeal to connect the bridges

please note it is morning and i just had an urge to try this.

my larynx goes up higher for every higher note. (not sure if that is proper)

http://www.box.com/s/6v5ylgm593x8rpszcj7z

Also Geno, i heard your aftermath cover and it was quite crazily awesome! Out of curiosity, what vocal type would you classify yourself to be?

Thanks everyone so much! Im learning so much already!

:)

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Thank you everyone for their input!!

I am going to get rid of this idea that fach=range!

I might have had a small breakthrough today after reading everyone's comments from yesterday.

I can do something that ive never done before. however, im not sure what it is exactly. it feels as if i can go through my break easier now. I believe im using my pharyngeal to connect the bridges

please note it is morning and i just had an urge to try this.

my larynx goes up higher for every higher note. (not sure if that is proper)

http://www.box.com/s/6v5ylgm593x8rpszcj7z

Also Geno, i heard your aftermath cover and it was quite crazily awesome! Out of curiosity, what vocal type would you classify yourself to be?

Thanks everyone so much! Im learning so much already!

:)

The larynx will be mobile, as a rule, but should not be too low or too high.

It sounded like you used twang as you ascended, which is good. It could be considered a pharyngeal adjustment, as the purpose is to adjust what the note bounces of off to increase resonance and, therefore, volume. If you are looking for twang, you are in the right place. Robert Lunte, owner of this forum and the Modern Vocalist, is also author and teacher of 4 Pillars (of Singing) is the master of twang. Though he has helped people of all ranges and styles of music,) he has walked the walk of a baritone able to sing tenor in rock music. That twanging that you did is part of bridging early and get into head voice sooner. It's similar in some ways to classical technique. Which does not mean you will sound like an opera singer. It does mean that you will be awesome and you are off to a fairly good start.

And he is reachable by many means. Email, forum, main site, skype, phone. He teaches in person if you are in the Seattle, WA area. By Skype if you are not. That's him in the video of "Green Menalishi" that I linked into this thread.

And he can work with anyone on getting the 4 Pillars, which I think would suit you really well.

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Thank you!

So it is not mixed voice/Curbing that i was using? Rather, i was using 'Twang'?

What is the best technique to sing high notes like those in the pop songs of today? Alot of them require notes above G4.

For example, i guess i am mainly looking for high notes that sound like those from usher, backstreet boys, bruno mars. Im looking for the more pop, less rock type. Less screaming, more subtle. I want those high notes to sound easy and as natural as possible. Could this be achieved with 'Twang' through practise?

Thanks Again!

Im learning more on this forum in 1 day than i have in a year of being lost!

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I don't know anything about CVT but there are others here quite conversant in that system.

Anyway, it sounded like twang to me. And yes, this system can help you achieve that R & B crooner thing. If you check Robert Lunte's youtube channel, you can see his students and the different genres in which they sing.

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I class myself as a Baritone and I did a Skype session with him and have 4 Pillars and Rob helped me just about sing up to A4, no strain.

His system is really awesome, opened my eyes a lot. So I advise sorting a Skype session or if possible, get in front of him and get a hold of his program.

I have Brett Manning's Singing Success, Mastering Mix and Robert's 4 Pillars and Rob's is much better. I feel the sound and the tone etc more in Rob's.

I mainly just use a few things from Brett Manning's stuff to warm up with, like Lip bubbles, scales etc.

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I believe that Steven Fraser is a Bass who can sing above Tenor C? If I'm correct, or it may be another member of the forums. Regardless, fach is just about the sound and weight of the voice.

To put it bluntly, mate: Screw. Your. Fach. You can sing as high as you train yourself to. With good technique. Find a good teacher, locally, or on Skype (ala Mr.Lunte) and get to it. If you've got the drive, you can do it.

Your recollection is correct. I vocalize above tenor top c most days, as a way to stretch and limber the folds.

Baritone above g4 is -required for much of opera, especially G Verdi. If you want to hear some recordings... Just go to you tube. Baris to Bb4, tenors up to G5, ...all written or commonly sung interpolations.

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Also Geno, i heard your aftermath cover and it was quite crazily awesome! Out of curiosity, what vocal type would you classify yourself to be?

Speculate - thanks a lot. As far as voice type, I don't know. One person told me I was a "2nd Tenor" maybe because of my heavier voice. Back in high school choir I always sang the bass / Baritone parts. I couldn't sing much above an E4 back then. My low end doesn't have much reasonance to it. I can go down to E2 but anything below C3 doesn't have a lot of low end.

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One person once thought I sounded like the Bee Gee's, but he didn't say which one. :D

My old friend Lee would hear me sing a song. He would ask, "Who sings that song?"

I would say the Beatles, the Who, whoever it was that originally sang the song. He would say, "Well, let them sing it."

Can you feel the love in the room?

:D

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Of course! These voice classifications are mostly relevant to choral music and opera roles. If your a contemporary student that is training contemporary vocal techniques, like the kind often discussed on this forum, absolutely. Do NOT, I repeat, do NOT let anyone tell you, "your a baritone, so you won't be able to sing high notes". There is a lot of those wind in the sail suckers out there that will tell people that, they like to impose their own limitations and regrets on others and try to clip your wings... ignore it!

This very issue is part of my "Myth Busting" essay in my book, "The Four Pillars of Singing 2.0".

Look, putting it simply, once you learn to bridge your registers and then sing in strong, heady positions... its irrelevant. As I think Ron pointed out, who follows my work... I was classified as a Baritone at The University of Miami Vocal Department when I was studying classical art songs and never bridged. Even if I wanted to, the teachers there could not of taught me how to bridge and connect if their pay checks depended on it! Nothing against one of my mentors, Dr. David Alt, but that was just not his 'schtick'.

Once I was freed from the confines of the limited perspectives of how to train a voice plagued at the University, I began to realize that its all about technique. Now there are higher voices in terms of anatomy, but that doesn't mean they can sing a higher pitch... it just means the passaggio sits at a different position and they have a different overtone to their voices.

If you want an inspirational example of someone that is a Baritone , but sings tenor parts and screams G#5s all day long, I'm it... don't listen to this stuff.

Hope this helps...

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I class myself as a Baritone and I did a Skype session with him and have 4 Pillars and Rob helped me just about sing up to A4, no strain.

His system is really awesome, opened my eyes a lot. So I advise sorting a Skype session or if possible, get in front of him and get a hold of his program.

I have Brett Manning's Singing Success, Mastering Mix and Robert's 4 Pillars and Rob's is much better. I feel the sound and the tone etc more in Rob's.

I mainly just use a few things from Brett Manning's stuff to warm up with, like Lip bubbles, scales etc.

Hey, thanks for the sharing your experience Bud! I look forward to our next session...

Coach

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Yes, there's no reason baritones can't get to high C and above with proper technique, in "full voice". Everyone else has given good suggestions for how to learn this, but I think the main thing is to be really patient. I had little success with SS/SLS type teaching after years of lessons, a story that's quite common here unfortunately.

Since you were curious about the words curbing, overdrive, and twang, I thought I'd describe the first two since I work with CVT now. Overdrive refers to a shouty, loud kind of singing on open vowels (EH and OH are the only allowed ones above the passagio), and curbing refers to a moan-y, medium volume kind of singing, and has its own allowed vowels above the passagio. Curbing is used a lot by Bruno Mars. High curbing is basically synonymous with mix voice.

I first learned to "bridge" the passagio by staying on overdrive the whole way through. Sing an "EH" as in "get" in a shouty, fairly loud (though not uncomfortably so). It helps to open your mouth horizontally and make a "bite" when doing this. Then go up in pitch, keeping the loud sound and the large amount of effort. Try not to blow too much air or get tight in the throat. Don't go higher than high C. For me, the sensation is like pulling up chest voice, not like "bridging" at all, although many people who use that terminology will call the high overdrive part of head voice.

FYI, I couldn't get above E4 for many years except in falsetto/neutral. Now I can sing up to high C in overdrive (which is as high as you're supposed to go with that technique), and up to about A4 in curbing. As a stylistic choice, many people like to use overdrive on lower pitches and switch to curbing around the passagio pitches, but this is not required.

I hope this helps, and good luck! :D

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Yes, there's no reason baritones can't get to high C and above with proper technique, in "full voice". Everyone else has given good suggestions for how to learn this, but I think the main thing is to be really patient. I had little success with SS/SLS type teaching after years of lessons, a story that's quite common here unfortunately.

Since you were curious about the words curbing, overdrive, and twang, I thought I'd describe the first two since I work with CVT now. Overdrive refers to a shouty, loud kind of singing on open vowels (EH and OH are the only allowed ones above the passagio), and curbing refers to a moan-y, medium volume kind of singing, and has its own allowed vowels above the passagio. Curbing is used a lot by Bruno Mars. High curbing is basically synonymous with mix voice.

I first learned to "bridge" the passagio by staying on overdrive the whole way through. Sing an "EH" as in "get" in a shouty, fairly loud (though not uncomfortably so). It helps to open your mouth horizontally and make a "bite" when doing this. Then go up in pitch, keeping the loud sound and the large amount of effort. Try not to blow too much air or get tight in the throat. Don't go higher than high C. For me, the sensation is like pulling up chest voice, not like "bridging" at all, although many people who use that terminology will call the high overdrive part of head voice.

FYI, I couldn't get above E4 for many years except in falsetto/neutral. Now I can sing up to high C in overdrive (which is as high as you're supposed to go with that technique), and up to about A4 in curbing. As a stylistic choice, many people like to use overdrive on lower pitches and switch to curbing around the passagio pitches, but this is not required.

I hope this helps, and good luck! :D

Calibrating vowels, mass and placements, with cool, "catchy" terms... in regards to the question... , Baritones can sing high notes, don't worry about that. Just get training with a teacher and/or system that really knows what they are doing... that is the biggest trick of them all.

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Brenden, I checked out your web site. You are one bright dude! I'm a big fan of pop cosmology myself. Big fan of Carl Sagan and all those guys that try to make the cosmos easier to understand for dummies. Read all the books. Very impressive.

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Question:

Im a male with a baritone range.

I cant go past G4 (The one below Tenor C) in chest voice.

Im wondering if there are ANY techniques or if it is even possible for a male baritone to be able to hit High tenor C? There are so many pop songs these days, like "Just the way you are" by bruno mars that i would love to be able to sing in its original pitch.

I suggest purchasing Roberts Pillars program - I am a baritone, and I can sing from D2 to D5, and his system doesn't just teach you how to get up to singing high notes, you'll get a ton of endurance out of it also. Ya just have to commit to it. If ya have any questions about it, email me at keith_goehner@yahoo.com

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support, support, support, is the key for me to the powerful, full voiced high notes. and the sensation of tilting the back of the soft palate down and pinning the larynx to it. i learned this from frisell. it's purely a sensation i try to achieve above g4.

has anyone ever sensed this feeling?

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