Range

Dear Ms Camille

1. Will singing the exercises with a higher pitch enable me to sing higher in the long run even though doing so feels straining right now?

2. I want to confirm what I understand about my chest voice, head voice, and falsetto.

a) For the transition between chest voice and head voice, I should not feel the 'gear switch' unlike the transition from the head voice to falsetto, right?
(For the chest and head voice, I feel natural vibrato at the middle of my throat whereas for falsetto which I can sense at the very back of my throat, I do not feel any natural vibrato. I consider the transition of my voice from the middle-throat to the back-throat as the 'gear switch.)

b) How should I sing high notes? I have two methods, and I do not know which is the corrwct way.

When I am singing 'and I give you all all all all of me' in the song 'all of me' by John legend for example, I either

- strain my voice to the limits, and doing so makes me feel extreme contraction in my throat, and if I place my hand on the front of my neck, I can feel my bones

or

- use the 'back of my throat voice' which does not strain my neck as much

which way is correct?

c) This question is related to q2a and q2b. If I am to sing high notes using the 'back of my throat' voice, I will feel the 'gear switch' during the transition from my chest to head voice as I am changing the position of my voice in the throat. Is this perfectly normal?

Thank you in advance

Hi, Kang!

1. While we don't want to ever feel pain, it's normal to feel a bit of a stretch and use more effort for pitches outside your comfortable range. And I can't say for sure, but in most cases those notes do become more comfortable over time. If you can make noise on a pitch, you can eventually sing it!

2.

a) Each singer is different! I do feel a distinct gear shift going from chest to head voice - but if you don't, you may have just developed your mix. 

b) I don't want you straining and constricting to get those notes! Especially for this song, use that lighter, more comfortable coordination. 

c) Makes sense to me! As I mentioned above, each singer is different and feels their voice differently. 

Thank you for your answers

I have one more follow up question

Is it damaging to stay in high pitches for around 45 minutes/day?

Background information: 

-I am probably a bass, and when I sing the notes in C4-C5 pitch range of your singing exercises, I feel uncomfortable trying to do so. 

-Even though it is uncomfortable trying to produce a stable note for those high notes at the beginning of my practice, near the end, it becomes easier

- I practice around 40 minutes per day including warm ups, and take a sip of water once evey 10 minutes

- After the practice, I do not feel any tension/pain in my throat, and my vocal fry is steady

Back to the question:

Based on the information provided, is this considered as 

-Staying in the high pitch range for too long (because before warm ups, the highest note I can reach comfortably is D4)

or

- Just part of the practice which will increase my vocal range over time (Because I can sing up to C5 (but not steadily) near the end of my practice)

Singing that high (for a lower voice like a baritone) could certainly be more taxing - and my opinion is to stay closer to where you're comfortable (with a little bit of a stretch). Range extension will happen, but it does take time. With my private students, I'll vocalize them lower and higher than they're currently "comfortable" but I back off when their technique starts to suffer, when there's any pain, or when the tone starts to sound very pressed or gritty. 

A few more tips for you:

You can always drop out if an exercise gets too high or low to be sung comfortably. But before dropping out, try three things:

1. Modify the exercise to make it easier (ie: sing on a lip trill, hum or NN/NG instead of an open vowel or other syllable, if that's more doable). 

2. Sing most of the exercise, and just "think" (audiate, or sing in your head) the pitches you can't reach without straining or going sharp/flat. This gives your vocal folds an opportunity to still adjust and prepare to sing those out-of-reach pitches, even if just air comes out. 

3. Make sure you're shifting registers when necessary. For example, you may be unable to sing higher pitches because you're still in chest voice, in which case you'd need to "shift gears" and find your head voice placement. 

Thank you so much for your valuable tips!

I guess I will drop to an octave lower whenever I have to strain to produce high pitched notes.

Now, I understand that straining /= feeling uncomfortable 

Thank you again!

You're welcome, Kang!