Should I be worried if I was categorized with a wrong type of voice?

[Etchy]

So I have been singing for a while now but with no coaching or anything. My voice is deep and broad (really "chesty") and after a lot of training I could reach high notes (which are not really THAT high). I know a lot of guys that could get higher notes than me with ease and with no training. I know for a fact that my head voice is not that great. All of this lead me to believe that I'm a baritone and not a tenor. But recently I decided to look for a vocal coach near me, and she is truly great and has an amazing voice, sings classical songs and sings in the opera too. The thing is, when she heard me sing up on scales she insisted that I was a tenor. She said that my high notes were in tenor range and not in baritone range. I believe that she only concluded that based on range and not on tone of voice or any other thing. So here's my question. Is categorizing as baritone/tenor based purely on range? I read somewhere that baritones have more chest voice and tenors have more head voice. Also should I be worried if she is going to train me based on the wrong type of voice? or is that irrelevant?

[D.Starr]

I used to think I was Baritone.

I sing R&B, Soul, Pop, something that isn't categorized vocally, so it's very different to classical but I no longer think like that. I just sing and practice. If I can't sing that note, I work on it.

I couldn't sing Fs,Gs,As. I'm sailing through them now.

If she wants to train you at "Tenor" level, try it, you may surprise yourself.

[ronws]

A number of people have been misdiagnosed, usually by themselves, but also by others, including whatever teachers they have been to. That's why I have never liked the generic advice of getting a teacher. You could get the wrong teacher.

However, assuming that one has at least a 50 percent chance of having a teacher that is good (same odds as flipping a quarter for heads or tails,) you then need to trust your teacher.

Why are you resisting her describing you as a tenor? Is it just because you thought you were a baritone because you had some range problems? And I know of what I speak. I thought I was going to grow up and be a baritone. Not that I ever had a low voice. I just thought men were baritones.

Most self-described "baritones" are usually untrained tenors. And a few guys have come into this forum stating they were baritones and once we cajoled them into providing a recording, it was readily apparent they had no baritone weight and may have struggled to get anything usable below maybe B3, for example.

David Jones received a student who was typed as a baritone by other teachers but the judgement of others was that he was not working hard enough because he did not have that baritone ring on the low end. Just not enough weight. so, Jones got him to try some lighter and higher stuff and he rang like a bell. A tenor, after all.

Baritone and tenor voice types (which have overlaps in range) are not just about range. There are baritones who sing stuff in the tenor range. We have quite a few, here. And there are tenors who can grumble a few low notes and may not go above A5 very often. Because it also has to do with timbre and ring. Where is the strong point of the voice.

More importantly, tenor and baritone are descriptions of voice in relation to an opera role to be sung. That is, you are not a legit tenor or baritone or anything, unless you are cast in an opera for that range. And many is the time a singer "changed" fachs depending on which opera they sing.

My voice type is goosenfrabe (a nonsense word from the movie "Anger Management.") As in, who cares?

My usable acoustic volume over instrumentals is from C3 to C6. Using mic proximity and track editing by using volume boost, I can make some notes in the second octave sound okay. And if it is pop or rock music, I can get away with it.

So, listen to your teacher. There is a good chance she knows what she is talking about.

Also, I must ask, what makes you think that she based her description of you as tenor based soley on range? do you think she cannot also judge tone or fullness of tone?

Let me burst another bubble, which leads to the reason it is good to go to a teacher. You cannot hear yourself as others hear you. Repeat after me, you cannot hear yourself as others hear you.

Therefore, she might be hearing something that you have yet to appreciate.

And, it's okay to be a tenor. Or a goosenfrabe.

[Etchy]

Thanks guys I'm gonna trust her and see where it goes. It was my first lesson yesterday and I felt that in all cases my voice will get better so I might as well take a leap of faith, since she's clearly a lot more experienced than I am. I also discussed it with her and she said that we'll train a little at first till we get the sound right and then we'll see where I sing more comfortably, which is good. Anyway thanks a lot guys :)

[JohnnyL]

Good insights and ideas here:

[gno]

She said that my high notes were in tenor range and not in baritone range. I believe that she only concluded that based on range and not on tone of voice or any other thing. So here's my question. Is categorizing as baritone/tenor based purely on range? I read somewhere that baritones have more chest voice and tenors have more head voice. Also should I be worried if she is going to train me based on the wrong type of voice? or is that irrelevant?

It's only relevant if you are going to sing opera or classical. If so she may target repertoire based on classification.

When classical teachers evaluate a singer's fach they are listening to where your "sweet spot" is with respect to resonance - not your current range. If she thinks you sound good in the Tenor range you can train for Tenor. It really doesn't matter if you can't hit a C5 right now - you WILL be able to after training.

If you are singing pop or rock then forget about classifications altogether. You can eventually sing as high as a female soprano if you train for it - whether you've been classified as a baritone or tenor.

[Felipe Carvalho]

We are not in a good position to evaluate and classify our own voice, and there is an idea that Tenors are guys that sound like kids or something. It's not true, in fact to have a useful tenor voice you have to sound like a grown up, like a man.

There are lower voices of course but the difference is more significant in terms of timbre. You mention not having a head voice that is "that great", and difficult with higher range. This can, and should be addressed no matter if you are bass, baritone or tenor.

Question however is: what do you want? If you want to value more your lows then the teacher should try to respect so in the extent of what is possible and reasonable.