Should I sign up for baritone or tenor for my freshman year in college

[musicavenger27]

Baritone, T1, T2, T3 ?????

Graduating senior, will be attending U.N.T. in the fall. Orientation is in July.

What people don't seem to understand is that there's a huge difference between morning (first 3 hours after waking) voice and afrternoon/evening, or adrenaline voice.

Also, significant exercise makes a HUGE difference. No, I don't mean walking back and forth inside an air-conditioned school or office, but rather running, jogging more than a mile, playing sports, actually breaking a sweat.

When I've been asleep for more than 8 hours (or I have a cold) I can bottom out at a D2 but really struggle to hit anything more than a D4. (I usually sing the "Far Over The Misty Mountains" song by the dwarves in the Hobbit).

However, this is not normal, as later in the day I usually find myself struggling with anything lower than G2 or really anything lower than G#2 or when I'm really awake and focused, I can't go lower than A2. It's all having been awake long enough for the mucus to have been cleared out of my throat for the most part.

If I've been exercising, dancing, running, playing football/basketball etc., after I get a few drinks and cool off I can always hit low passage notes very well, E4, F4 ("One More Night" by Adam Levine or "New Divide" by Linkin Park"), F#4 ("Numb" by Linkin Park) G4 (a variety of songs), and higher passage notes fairly consistently, G#4/Ab4 ("New Divide", "Don't Let It End" by Styx, "Dream On" by Aerosmith), A4 ("Numb", "As Beautiful As You Are" by 10 years, a lot of other songs including Tenacious D) and even the occasional Bb4 in songs like New Divide. This usually lasts until I retire to bed, then I'm back to square one the next day.

I can't push my chest voice up to B4 much at all and have yet to hit a strong C5 in chest. Of course, by now the confidence is high enough that I hit notes from C5 all the way up through Bb5 consistently well in mixed voice, but the transition is a pain in the arschloch sometimes.

Should I schedule a gym/intramural sports class immediately before singing class and be a tenor? Or should I take baritone first thing in the morning? I really need advice guys.

Thanks in advance!

[ronws]

Pick one, go for it.

[Owen Korzec]

Baritone, T1, T2, T3 ?????

Graduating senior, will be attending U.N.T. in the fall. Orientation is in July.

What people don't seem to understand is that there's a huge difference between morning (first 3 hours after waking) voice and afrternoon/evening, or adrenaline voice.

Also, significant exercise makes a HUGE difference. No, I don't mean walking back and forth inside an air-conditioned school or office, but rather running, jogging more than a mile, playing sports, actually breaking a sweat.

When I've been asleep for more than 8 hours (or I have a cold) I can bottom out at a D2 but really struggle to hit anything more than a D4. (I usually sing the "Far Over The Misty Mountains" song by the dwarves in the Hobbit).

However, this is not normal, as later in the day I usually find myself struggling with anything lower than G2 or really anything lower than G#2 or when I'm really awake and focused, I can't go lower than A2. It's all having been awake long enough for the mucus to have been cleared out of my throat for the most part.

If I've been exercising, dancing, running, playing football/basketball etc., after I get a few drinks and cool off I can always hit low passage notes very well, E4, F4 ("One More Night" by Adam Levine or "New Divide" by Linkin Park"), F#4 ("Numb" by Linkin Park) G4 (a variety of songs), and higher passage notes fairly consistently, G#4/Ab4 ("New Divide", "Don't Let It End" by Styx, "Dream On" by Aerosmith), A4 ("Numb", "As Beautiful As You Are" by 10 years, a lot of other songs including Tenacious D) and even the occasional Bb4 in songs like New Divide. This usually lasts until I retire to bed, then I'm back to square one the next day.

I can't push my chest voice up to B4 much at all and have yet to hit a strong C5 in chest. Of course, by now the confidence is high enough that I hit notes from C5 all the way up through Bb5 consistently well in mixed voice, but the transition is a pain in the arschloch sometimes.

Should I schedule a gym/intramural sports class immediately before singing class and be a tenor? Or should I take baritone first thing in the morning? I really need advice guys.

Thanks in advance!

Maybe train as a tenor and start with lower repertoire in performances.

[Nalyd]

If I may most humbly point out, you have other options.

Your observations are not unusual and can be explained.

There are a couple of things to consider:

1 In the morning your voice is a bit more beefy due to a condition in the larynx which can be changed easily.

2 In the morning you are typically more relaxed in the core.

3 A lot of people think that low notes need not be practiced as much as high ones, because we speak a lot in that register. Typically not true because as many fine people have pointed out: Singing and speaking are not the same.

The adrenalin voice that you talk about is mainly a support issue (increased core tension) however partly due to the fact that the condition in the larynx has normalized and finally perhaps, to a lesser degree, influenced by inappropriate practicing in the morning.

Singing is all about coordinations of support plus adjustments at vocal fold area and above.

Practicing with the morning voice gives you easier access to the lower notes for a time due to point 1 (and 2) So by practicing these lower notes you are teaching your voice an inappropriate coordination due to the unusual condition in the larynx area. Obviously this is influencing on your abilities under normal conditions.

And finally about the support:

You need to be more aware of it so as to not be depending on the factors you mention.

Low notes require a different kind of support than high ones, one that feels more relaxed or with less resistance if you will.

Finally, to remove the morning condition with the least amount of unwanted consequences:

Practice in the middle part of your voice for a while at all volumes. (typically the notes inside the limits of a D or E triad in the octave below middle c)

(This is my suggestion because the middle part of the voice is the most flexible.)

Good health

[Seth]

Sing more. Those songs you've been practicing and are challenging for you to hit full voice, sing those parts in head. Throw them on loop and sing it over and over, bringing in more and more resonance each time, then rest a bit before choir. This is what I have been doing for the last few weeks... definitely helping. Teaches phrasing, placement, support, everything. Just don't force anything. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

[Steven Fraser]

Baritone, T1, T2, T3 ?????

Graduating senior, will be attending U.N.T. in the fall. Orientation is in July....

UNT Denton? Just Curious. I know some of the teachers there.

[musicavenger27]

UNT Denton? Just Curious. I know some of the teachers there.

Yezzir!

[musicavenger27]

Sing more. Those songs you've been practicing and are challenging for you to hit full voice, sing those parts in head. Throw them on loop and sing it over and over, bringing in more and more resonance each time, then rest a bit before choir. This is what I have been doing for the last few weeks... definitely helping. Teaches phrasing, placement, support, everything. Just don't force anything. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

Often at times singing passagio notes in head/ mixed/ 'setto throws off my upper chest voice for a time. :(

[Steven Fraser]

Yezzir!

Cool. Awesome school.

If you finish the day with Bb4 in your voice, I'd say T1 or T2, but its not all about range. Its about tessitura and tone quality... what you sound best sustaining and doing.

Let the voice faculty help you when you get there. Spend the summer learning all the songs in the Schirmer 24 Italian Songs and Arias in the medium high key, and get started on your French, Italian and German diction. It will also be a help to wrap your head around the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).

All the best!

[musicavenger27]

Cool. Awesome school.

If you finish the day with Bb4 in your voice, I'd say T1 or T2, but its not all about range. Its about tessitura and tone quality... what you sound best sustaining and doing.

Let the voice faculty help you when you get there. Spend the summer learning all the songs in the Schirmer 24 Italian Songs and Arias in the medium high key, and get started on your French, Italian and German diction. It will also be a help to wrap your head around the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).

All the best!

Thanks, no posso parler italiano ne français, solo puedo hablar español y inglés, BUT UNT has a special music school with a lot of jazz/rock stuff so I'll be sure to try that out instead!

I can hit Bb4 maybe 30% of the time when in adrenaline mode. So probably T2?

[estyrke]

Thanks, no posso parler italiano ne français, solo puedo hablar español y inglés, BUT UNT has a special music school with a lot of jazz/rock stuff so I'll be sure to try that out instead!

You don't have to know the language, just sing the lyrics. Learning the vowel sounds (for example by listening to a recording of a native singer) goes a long way.

In my choir, I've sung:

* English

* Swedish

* French

* Spanish

* Italian

* Latin

* German

* Macedonian

* Croatian

* Russian

* Old Hungarian

* Gaelic

* Finnish

* Sami

* Norwegian

* Danish

And probably more, without knowing anything else than Swedish and English. But the more you practice the pronunciation of each language, the more convincing it is, of course. :)