Vocal range question

[Mrgreen]

Hi

First off I'd like to just explain my position, i'm 18 and just began singing about 2-3 months ago. I have a rather deep voice (at least it seems that way to me), going down to e2 fairly comfortably, sometimes d2 (breaking), but my voice can barely go over d4/e4 (at middle c it already starts to weaken) though apparently baritones and even basses have range to f4, but I can go up to d5-e5 in falsetto.

My question is (and I understand that I probably havent even begun to learn how to use my voice, and its pretty terrible ) if with time I will be able to reach higher and higher with chest, or will I have to use my head/falsetto and somehow strengthen it to sing those fairly low notes like f4, not to mention higher ones.

Thanks :)

[Sun]

You sound like a run of the mill beginner most males can go down to E2 doesn't mean anything.

Those D5s and E5s you can learn to sing properly it's a matter of coordination, vocal tract tuning and resonance. In other words a whole lot of practise, find a good teacher put in the hard work and you'll be fine.

Around C4, possibly a semitone or two before is when you're training should kick in (and your lack of betrays you).

It's hard to describe what it will feel like, but you'll have the same resonance in full voice as in those falsetto notes when you are trained, they will "feel in the same place", but it will be different it's a different coordination.

A GREAT exercise to learn this is the NG siren, be patient with the exercise though and don't push. If you push you'll never get better:

[Hanalei]

I'm 18 as well, and just started singing a few months ago. My range has definitely expanded and gotten stronger. My top notes have gotten stronger, and I can hit several notes lower than I could when I started. I would imagine yours will get stronger, too. I'm sure others on here can offer much better help than I can. All I can tell you about is my personal experience. :)

[Sun]

Btw this must be the most frequently asked question so if you search you'll find 50 threads just like this

[Mrgreen]

Thanks for the advice, and Sun I have read several of the similar posts, but it seemed to me that most of them had higher up starting voices, thanks for clearing that up, and I'll try the siren excercise :)

[VideoHere]

couple of tips...

don't go for crazy range span right off the bat. get the feel and the positioning down first.

you can also do these with your mouth slightly open. if you break, do not be discouraged. don't get louder as you ascend. tongue behind back of bottom teeth. explore the sound and feel the resonance in the front areas of your face. feel the buzzing feeling you'll get there.

[Jens]

Thanks for the advice, and Sun I have read several of the similar posts, but it seemed to me that most of them had higher up starting voices, thanks for clearing that up, and I'll try the siren excercise

Most males start out like that, me for instance i have a medium sized voice, my voice cracked at C4 and my falsetto started at around C5 so i had an octave big gap.

my singingrange back then was very small around 1 octave at most, not counting my dying chicken falsetto.

My friend who had a slightly larger voice as me also had the same problem, he has now noumerous times being hired as a tenor.

My range has expanded like crazy and i can now sing songs i could never dream of singing wich is very very fun and rewarding.

cheers

[Sun]

Thanks for the advice, and Sun I have read several of the similar posts, but it seemed to me that most of them had higher up starting voices, thanks for clearing that up, and I'll try the siren excercise

Your genetic voice will determine the extremes of your range, such as the absolute lowest and absolute highest note you're capable of, and a slightly higher voice will have a slightly higher comfort range ETC but it's at the EXTREMES of the range, meaning you're gonna have the D5s and E5s you already hit in falsetto, the genetic limitations are higher than this so don't worry about range.

Remember high notes are not high, they are all created in the larynx which is why you don't need to push. It's retarded when singers look up on high notes because they are not high, it's just a different setup in the larynx and breath control.

It can be hard to understand but you gotta realize, if you're struggling with D4s and rock singers are hitting D5's like it's nothing they are using their voice in an entirely different way than you are and it's going to feel completely different compared to what you're doing now.

[eggplantbren]

Yeah, range is way more about what you're doing than it is about how your body is built.

I reckon the best thing for a beginner is to sing comfortably and freely in the range you already have. Test your limits sometimes but not too much. Then start focusing on technique.

For singing high notes in a powerful way, there are two kinds of opinions that you see on here for how to practice that. It's individual which one helps. I personally found approach i) worked much better.

i) sing comfortably, freely and fairly loudly in your normal range in your "chest voice", and push the limits sometimes (but don't hurt yourself). Then learn something called support which is about controlling your breath, and learn about how different vowels affect the voice, and you'll be able to sing higher notes once you get all those ingredients working together.

ii) sing high notes in a light voice often called "falsetto", which most beginners can achieve. Then once the notes are there, you can practice doing certain things (such as adding twang, and increasing the volume a bit) that will change the sound of it into sounding more like your regular voice. Ultimately you will be able to increase the volume and it will sound just like your regular voice.

These are two kinds of ways to access the same thing. I think of it as trying to drive north east. You can drive north then east or east then north and you end up at the same destination. But some people find one way or the other to be easier. The founder of this forum, Robert Lunte, usually teaches using the second way. Another popular resource around here is the book Complete Vocal Technique, which focuses more on the first way.

[ronws]

Then, there's my way, which is "as the crow flies."

;)

[eggplantbren]

That's the way talented people get to go. :-)

[Mrgreen]

Wow, thanks a bunch for the siren excercise, I did it along with the NG sound one, and somehow after a while, I could glide up to almost F with it, encountering almost no problems near c4 :)

[Sun]

Great man, just be careful not to slip into falsetto or push. Drop the tounge at top and the Ng will turn into Ah, you can modulate between these two a couple of times at the top ng-ah-ng-ah-ng-ah-ng-ah and descend

[Mrgreen]

Got it, will do =] Thanks everyone for all the advice :)