so, probably a couple of you have the same problem.
but what happens to me is that when i reach the current maximum range of my chest voice or the range below the falsetto,
then my voice tends to crack and go into falsetto but not smoothly, not with one motion. but rather, it will go to either one, the falsetto or the chest voice and either do a low falsetto or a higher chest voice, when i try to reach the other i have difficulty changing.
is there any excersize i can do changing between the falsetto and chest voice smoothly?
or how should i go about this?
also i find that when i try to become more agressive in my voice, i can do it easily but when it reaches falsetto it's more not softer, but less agressive and softer and i cant do that
should i continue on working towards a higher chest voice?
for example, take robert plant, he has a pretty good range in his voice.
when i go to falsetto, i can reach most of the notes that he sings whatever it may be, but i can't find the agressiveness or the feeling he has in his voice once there. it's like there's no emotion but rather just a smoother softer mellower, ability or range to hit those notes.
hopefully you guys can understand this, but how can i go about trying to resolve this as well?
i can do it with my chest voice what i'm after but as soon as i reach the higher range i fall
Yes, this is the single most-discussed and fretted-over topic in modern vocal instruction. Just about any of the popular online/DVD voice-lesson programs will spends LOTS of effort showing students how to make the transition between chest and head voice.
For me, the jury's still out about whether this particular topic merits all the attention it's getting. Increased range is a crowd-pleaser in some contexts--the American Idolish among us ohh and ahh at strong high notes. :roll: I go for Bob, Bruce, Tom Waits, etc., so such things aren't so important to me. 8)
That said, Plant is amazing in just this area--he can sing high without going soft/falsetto and for this style of music I suppose blending voices is indeed crucial for the various metal styles that emerge from led zep.
Anyway, sorry for the rant--there's LOTS of stuff out there on this topic.
try these
Go soft and slow up a scale until you break into falsetto. Pay attention to each note and get it right. When you have to make the switch....make it. Play along with a keyboard or piano and make note of the note where you switched.
Now do the same starting fairly high in your falsetto and slowly down the scale until you break out of falsetto. Take note of where that was on the keyboard.
You should find your breaks overlap by several notes.
Add a few notes on either side and practice those scales, switching to the down scale break note on the way up, and the up scale break note on the way down. If that makes any sense at all to you.
It will smooth out. Although it's pretty easy to tell when I 'm singing high in falsetto, you can't really detect my break anymore.
Ah, but don't forget there is a middle voice. It is called mix voice and sometimes head voice. One of you earlier in this thread used the term head voice incorrectly for a man, it is not another name for falsetto. Mix voice is a strange thing and I think it is easier to achieve it before exploring the falsetto.
Head voice is super importent for singers wanting to use a wide range as it bridges the gap between chest voice and falsetto, but is able to be developed to sound as thick and powerful as your chest voice. Alot of singers you hear that sound like they are straining in their chest voices are really using a comfortable head voice with no straining. I good instructor will tell you that straining equals potential injury.
Head voice saved my singing career. I was at first very comfortable hitting high notes in my chest voice, though i was really pushing to get them out and over time I noticed my abilities becoming more and more limited. Finding my head voice happened for me at first just one note at a time, which over time and alot of training I am gaining more control over it and in the 4-5 months since I found my first note I am now able to switch to it and it just sounds like my chest voice but higher... and it is without straining. I first started with all the hard high notes I have to hit for my band, we are gigging alot and I have to do this a little more gradually than if I could just concentrate on it soley. I was able to slip into head for the top parts of some scale runs I do in our performances. This alone took alot of the straining out of my live shows and gave my chest voice some much needed relief. From those few notes I started working mostly on getting my lower range of head voice together as control over the transition between chest and head voice is crucial to it's application... and practical for me as I already had a well developed falsetto that could take over from my severly limited head voice ability and range. plus I wanted to be able to use head voice for all of my strained chest notes. It takes alot of concentration to find the head voice and alot of work to develope it for proper use but it is so worth it for how freeing it is.
Head voice is a very personal thing and finding it is a matter of trial, error, and feeling. I found my head voice about 3 months after I started looking for it, the advice you get in how to find it will vary but alot of the sentiment is the same:
It feels like a thicker falsetto at first.
I can easily tell the difference between my head and my falsetto now, but at first it was a little confusing, especially because the head voice has to be developed before it sounds like much. A google search will get you some online tutorials with video and audio that will help get you on the path. One key bit of info that helped me to develope it alot in the last month was to not worry or try to fix it if you go for the head vioce and it comes out scratchy sounding, just keep singing as the idea is to be able to recognise and then access it freely. Eventually the cracking will stop. Then the next thing is to start developing your head voice's tone and effects options.
good luck.
http://www.daughtersandsons.net -Cincinnati CEA Award winners for best original RnB/Funk band! (Bragging is in the user manual and encouraged)(Hi Mom)
This is a problem I've been having as well. I'm no singer by any means, but I'm working on it and this is the biggest challenge I seem to face... transitioning from chest to head. My voice is low naturally, so that will account for something, I'm sure.
This information has really helped me though, thanks to the above posts. :D Lot's of pros here who know what they're talking about!
This post is dealing with the male vocal ranges only, though there are things that might help anyone in the search for their different registers.
Don't know if this thread is still needed but I wanted to update my slow progress with my head voice (or mix voice). It is really getting better and better, I have eliminated straining at my rehearsals and I just had my first gig where I was able to improvise entire lines in head voice, though it took half the gig for me to be able to remember how to do it. Mainly remember that it will get better, louder, and more controlable the more you use it. I sing everyday, and I spend most of that time working on transitioning to and from head. If I don't have much time, head voice transitioning and training is all I will do, you have to become used to the feeling of all of a sudden not straining to get a higher note. Totally alien feeling for someone who used to use chest for everything until falsetto... this is the technique that requires alot of work for me as I am breaking old habits. But I am getting there and now I am nothing but optimistic about where I will be with this in the next couple of months.
I still put a lot of emphasis on the overlapping point where chest meets head. The A note on the 5th fret of the 1st (littlest) string on the guitar is really the last note my chest can hit without over straining, but i have to be well warmed up to put power behind it. This same note in my head voice is a breeze to hit, but it's like trying to put power and volume to the lowest note in your chest range. So learning when to do it with chest and when to do it with head is something I work on daily.
One of my biggest breakthough moments was when I was adding higher vocal harmonies to a demo for the band and was foced to work to sing the scale work all in head voice. Just practicing that passage and then listening to it back and having it sound good helped me see into the future when my technique will be better (meaning it will be subconsious) and I will be totally free to access my whole range they way I do on the guitar.
Listening to others who use their head voice and practicing with the CD is also a big help. I am pulling out songs that I used to think were beyond me and was in amazement of, now I know that Stevie Wonder was using his head voice and not straining I can't wait to sing along with him and hit all the notes. Sting is another great head voice workout, as is Journey. Or just get into old Funk and RnB... uh, really anything with singing that would be in your mid register.
Finally, keep this in mind as it also helped me in the understanding of head or mix voice: Your vocal registers are like the gears in a car, 1st gear is chest, 2nd is mix, 3rd and 4th are your fasletto. Ok, like the gears in an old car.
http://www.daughtersandsons.net -Cincinnati CEA Award winners for best original RnB/Funk band! (Bragging is in the user manual and encouraged)(Hi Mom)