What voice type could I have? Contralto, mezzo, Dugazon??

[blue.bery]

I have one trouble I think about from time to time. When I was browsing internet yesterday I started trying to figure it out again. But it seems just like the deepest secret in the world to me. And it's my voice type. I even took some singing lessons and my teacher wasn't sure about it too. Actually yesterday when I got fascinated by that again I discovered some hybrid types of voices and the Dugazon characteristics sounds quite right I guess. But there was that this voice type is very much rare so I don't know if it's possible for me to have it. Then maybe lyric mezzo-soprano.. well, I'm not sure. I'm 16 and I don't have much of a vocal range. It's like Eb3 to B4 I guess. I can sing somehow higher with falsetto/head voice if I can even call it like that.. I hit D5 normally few times in my life but that was weird. I don't remember how I acutally did it. -.-

I've got a demonstration for you. There are parts of 4 songs all in one. Little things by 1Direction, Summer wine, High enough by Damn Yankees (well, a bit lower.. still high enough for me) and Think of me from The Phantom of the opera (the most horrible sounding one with a "head voice")

http://vocaroo.com/i/s1L1GkbmsIBz So, here you go.

I hope I can ask this sort of a question here.

And since this is my first post I'd also like to say hello. :)

[Manolito Mystiq]

Since you're 16, your voice hasn't fully developed yet, so you can't be sure what kind of a specific voice type you have.

Also, voice types are usable in the classical world, not so much in the contemporary commercial music world.

Your voice sounds rather dark, but I've heard classical singers with such a dark sound who were categorized as soprano, so there you go.

[Imagine!]

Okay, I feel somewhat obligated to reply here. It's not true that you cannot find what someone's voice type is at the age of sixteen, it is true that the voice hasn't fully developed yet, though. Like the above, voice types tend to apply to classical/opera because of the WAY they are singing. For example in pop, you will hear sopranos singing in the range of an alto in a way that really isn't healthy for their voice.

Anyways. It would be more helpful if you sang more classical type songs, where you sang in your head voice which is how you would pick out someone's voice type. The range you listed and the way you sing I want to say you sound like a mezzo soprano. You can go slightly higher in your headvoice but your higher notes aren't strong enough in a prominent way to classify you as a soprano (which I am). Typically going from lower to higher my lows are airy and my highs are strong and loud. A sopranos range is also higher, trained or not. Technique also plays a large part of range, so people can have and usually have a wider range when singing properly. Also, if your voice teacher didn't know your voice type they were not a good voice teacher...don't go back to them. Another thing, singing improperly can give a false sense of voice type.

[Xamedhi]

As Jens here in the forum says, there are small, medium and large voices. Don't think a bout classifications, they will just limit your mindset and your approach to your goals.

Voices have so many traits! Some are brighter, darker, bigger, airy, metallic, smooth and creamy, shrieky. One's job as a singer is to identify how your voice is, and what is easy for you to do, what is more natural anatomic-wise.

Your range is your range and you can develop it to the point where you have range to spare. Your tone, timbre and quality of your voice is a completely different topic. That is yours to embrace. That is yours to take advantage of as a singer and interpreter.

Now, what you call falsetto, or headvoice, is produced by a different coordination than your "normal" voice. There are other muscles involved, which can be trained to the point where the voice up there, in falsetto/headvoice, can sound just like chest voice/modal voice. That's how classical singers obtain such power in their high register.

Do you want to be a classical singer? Is there a need for you to be categorized at all? If not, then just use your voice and be known for your particular traits.

A singer is a singer, and you are your voice as much as your voice reflects yourself. Does it matter if you are classified by the people who surrounds you as cool, mean, shy or whatever... not at all. You are how you are, and that's what's important Same with your voice :B

I forgot to mention. Maybe you already know but, voices change depending on the size of your throat, your pharyngeal space, your nasal space, the lenght of your vocal folds, the MASS of your vocal folds, the very borders of your vocal membranes, and a myriad of things. That's what defines your sound, and you can certainly play around with that to an extent.

Bigger voices have more space to resonate, and they tend to be lower too. Because of a physical fact that low frecuencies ( low notes ) need more space to resonate well. If you have a big space, coupled with big fat vocal folds, then you are likely able to make HUGE low notes. If your folds are not like that, then maybe your range will be higher, with HUGE high notes, but maybe your folds are just not able to produce massive low notes.

As you can imagine someone with smaller spaces will have a completely different kind of sound.

Classical sopranos sound that sweet and "birdy" in their high range because they have very small spaces ( which are required to resonate well higher notes ) and thin folds.

Of course that is not the absoolute truth and I am not the owner of it, haha, but what I have explained is pretty accurate, and I really hope it is of use to you

Btw, I liked your voice a lot. It's dark and creamy, like mine. Personally I have found that it is kind of hard to achieve what other voices do so easily, that's why I try to tel you not to try to look for a sound, or search for one if you ever think of it. Good technique will unlock your true sound and your full range, resonating and dynamics capacity.

I'd love to hear more of your singing and chat about this stuff if you'd like. Send me a private message if you're interested. :)

[Manolito Mystiq]

Okay, I feel somewhat obligated to reply here. It's not true that you cannot find what someone's voice type is at the age of sixteen, ...

That's not what I meant to say. I meant that you can't be 'specific' at that age. So soprano or alto, maybe even mezzo, but not specific: lyric soprano, dramatic mezzo, etc.

[Jens]

Okay, I feel somewhat obligated to reply here. It's not true that you cannot find what someone's voice type is at the age of sixteen, it is true that the voice hasn't fully developed yet, though.

Anyways. It would be more helpful if you sang more classical type songs, where you sang in your head voice which is how you would pick out someone's voice type. The range you listed and the way you sing I want to say you sound like a mezzo soprano. You can go slightly higher in your headvoice but your higher notes aren't strong enough in a prominent way to classify you as a soprano (which I am). Typically going from lower to higher my lows are airy and my highs are strong and loud. A sopranos range is also higher, trained or not. Technique also plays a large part of range, so people can have and usually have a wider range when singing properly. Also, if your voice teacher didn't know your voice type they were not a good voice teacher...don't go back to them. Another thing, singing improperly can give a false sense of voice type.

I completly disagree with this post.

Classifying young singers is stupid because.

1. the voice hasnt matured

2. the technique is usually not in place

3. if you look at professional operasingers it's very common to change vocal fach or getting put to early in a fach. (read discover your voice by oren.l brown)

"A sopranos range is also higher, trained or not"

Nope thats not true as range is very individual and has alot to do with training and how strong the singers voice is.

This is very evident in young singers voices, some have strong voices and they usually can sing higher than their friends.

for instance it's not uncommon for a bass/baritone to be able to sing higher than tenors at young age or a mezzo sing higher than a soprano.

[Felipe Carvalho]

Also, if your voice teacher didn't know your voice type they were not a good voice teacher...don't go back to them

That would rule out some of the best teachers I know, since none of them are willing to classify voices at random just to satisfy curiosity or "look" knowledgeable. And myself too btw.

And an untrainned soprano range most of the times is smaller than even mine, which means nothing. First because range is not usefull to classify anybody, second, because of the development and control which simply are not there yet.

[blue.bery]

Thank you all for the responses. I dropped the desire of finding out the voice type of mine. Thanks. :D