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Hey singers, here we are on the roof of New York Vocal Coaching
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You know, they say it's lonely at the top.
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But I ain't lonely because today we're gonna explore your vocal range from bottom to top.
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I'm Justin Stoney the founder of New York Vocal Coaching
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joining you for episode 106 of Voice Lessons To The World.
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Today's question comes from Kadar L. in Jeddah Saudi Arabia.
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Kadar writes, "Dear Justin, How do I find my vocal range?"
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Perfect question, Kadar. It seems simple, but you're right it's actually not.
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Vocal range has many considerations. And today, we're gonna make sense of it all.
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To start, I think it'd be helpful to go to the lab and run some experiments on my own voice.
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Vocal range comes down primarily to what registers you count as your range.
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For example, in my own voice if I count everything then I can pretty much sing the whole piano.
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There's Sub Chest
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♫ Mee Mee Mee Mee Mee Mee Mee Mee ♫
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Chest
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♫ Mee Mee Mee Mee Mee Mee Mee Mee ♫
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Mix
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♫ Mee Mee Mee Mee Mee Mee Mee Mee ♫
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Falsetto
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♫ Mee Mee Mee Mee Mee Mee Mee Mee ♫
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Flageolet
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♫ Mee Mee Mee Mee Mee Mee Mee Mee ♫
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and Whistle Voice
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♫ Mee Mee Mee Mee Mee Mee Mee Mee ♫
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So, in my own voice that's somewhere around six octaves.
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Now, I've been fully steeped in vocal pedagogy for over 20 years.
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So it took me a while to develop all that stuff.
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But, like so many singers I was originally taught that there are voice types
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and that each of us is limited by our voice type and we must never try to break out of our voice type
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or else something very bad might happen to us.
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But come on, even without getting into the pedagogy, just using some common sense, what do you think?
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Are we forever doomed by our voice types?
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What do you say, doomed or not doomed?
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Let me see that again
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Just one more time
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Exactly. The fact of the matter is if you want a bigger range you can go and get it.
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We don't need to be limited by voice types. But, I should explain.
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Voice types are labels like "Bass" "Tenor" "Alto" "Soprano"
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Most singers really dislike being labeled and put into categories.
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If you feel this way- you are right, my friend.
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This antiquated thinking becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
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In other words, if someone tells you "You're a low voice"
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It's very easy to believe it.
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That high notes are too difficult. That you just weren't meant to sing in another tessitura.
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That going outside of our natural range is wrong or bad or unhealthy.
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Yet, this is just not the case. Especially when we're talking about contemporary singing.
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In contemporary singing, voice types are mythological for most intents and purposes.
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An Alto or a Bass is like a leprechaun or a minotaur or unicorn.
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In reality, if you want to be a Tenor you can learn to be a Tenor.
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Or if you'd like to be a Soprano you can learn to be a Soprano.
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It all comes down to training, exercising, stretching, and practice.
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If I had a nickel for every time I've seen a "low voice" eventually become a "high voice"
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I would break the piggy bank.
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However, in classical and choral singing it's a different story.
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In opera we have what's called
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vocal fachs.
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A vocal fach is a classification system
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that describes not just the range of a singer but also their resonance characteristics.
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You see, when you need to project your voice without a microphone
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the amplification of your instrument matters.
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That's why classical singing has vocal fachs.
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Like Coloratura Soprano, Heldentenor, Lyric Baritone, or Basso Profundo.
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Vocal fachs help determine which repertoire is appropriate for a singer
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based on their unique physiology
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Voice types can also matter in choral situations.
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When a choral director is trying to decide which voices blend best together
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they might assign different voice types for blending purposes.
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While voice types and vocal fachs are necessary in some situations, I beg of you good people
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Don't be limited.
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Do not
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let yourself be limited by voice types.
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The entire concept of voice types has been sentencing singers into vocal prison cells for generations.
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Look, I've taught over
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20,000 voice lessons at this current moment, and I solemnly swear to you
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I have never met a singer who could not dramatically improve their range and defy their voice type.
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Which leads us back to Kadar's question- "How do I find my range?"
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That's what we're gonna do in this week's voice lessons to the world challenge
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For today's challenge
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I'm gonna give you a step-by-step process for figuring out your true vocal range as well as your
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stylistic vocal range.
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The first step is to find your lowest connected note.
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As I showed you earlier some singers can develop a Sub Chest region.
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But we don't usually consider this to be your true vocal range.
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To find your lowest note in your true vocal range
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we need to figure out the exact point where Chest Voice meets your Vocal Fry.
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Wherever this happens is your voice's lowest note.
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So let's figure it out together.
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Guys are going to be right here
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♫ May May May ♫
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and ladies right right here.
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♫ May May May ♫
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We're going to go down by half-step.
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Try very, very hard to stay in Chest Voice and don't go to Vocal Fry.
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Eventually, it's going to have to happen.
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But, try to delay it.
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Pay close attention to where your chest voice stops.
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This is what we're going to say is your lowest note.
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And, here we go.
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♫ May May May ♫
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(moves down a half-step)
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♫ May May May ♫
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(moves down a half-step)
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♫ May May May ♫
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(continues moving down by half-steps)
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That's it.
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Right.
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♫ May May May ♫
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Good.
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♫ May May May ♫
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And that should be it. Wherever you switched, we're going to call that your lowest true note.
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Now, let's find your highest disconnected note.
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Next we're going to find your highest note in your cricothyroid dominant registers.
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Whoa.
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That's Falsetto, Head Voice, and Flageolet.
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Don't worry if you would never sing these notes in a song.
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Here we're just looking for your absolute top.
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For this one, we're gonna use the tiniest "W" sound
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(purses lips and blows out)
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Not "OO"
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"W" (purses lips and blows out)
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So keep your lips like this the whole time (purses lips)
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Guys and ladies will be in the same octave.
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♫ W ♫
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Stop when you can't go any further.
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And, here we go.
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♫ W ♫
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(moves up by half-step)
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♫ W ♫
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(moves up by half-step)
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♫ W ♫
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(moves up by half-steps)
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♫ W ♫
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(continues moving up by half-step)
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That's it.
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Great.
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♫ W ♫
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Keep it up if you can
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♫ W ♫
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Right.
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Wherever you maxed out that's what we're going to call your highest true note.
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On to step three.
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Congratulations!
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Now that those two steps are done, you know your full vocal range.
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When people ask you what your range is you can say something like
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G2 to B-flat5
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Or, E3 to D6.
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This is your true vocal range.
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But we're not quite done.
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We also need to figure out your vocal range as it applies to your style.
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Like if you're a belter we need to know which note you can belt or Mix up to.
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Many times with contemporary singing we're not interested in what you can do in Falsetto and Head Voice.
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Instead, we want to know which note you can do without switching to these other registers.
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Or, if you're a female legit singer we need to know how high you can go in Head Voice
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without switching to Flageolet.
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Which leads us to step four.
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For this step you'll have to do some experimenting on your own.
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Ask yourself, "What style do I sing?"
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And, "For my style how do I need to sing the notes?"
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Like if I'm a belter, I can't be switching to Falsetto
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♫ Don't you draw the queen of diamonds boy? ♫
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I'll have to build a mix that helps me get up to those notes.
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♫ Don't you draw the queen of diamonds boy? ♫
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Or, if I'm a Legit Soprano, I can't be switching to Flageolet.
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♫ Ave Maria ♫
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I'll have to make sure I can do it in Head Voice
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♫ Ave Maria ♫
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So your stylistic vocal range might be something like this
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G2 to B-flat5, belt to A4
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Or, E3 to D6 Head Voice to B-flat5
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Spend some time experimenting with the vocal registers in between your highest and lowest notes
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and you'll quickly get a sense of your stylistic vocal range.
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I also recommend revisiting our vocal register world tour on this channel for lots of info on this.
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Phew!
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Awesome!
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We have successfully
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determined your full vocal range and set you on a great path.
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Keep us posted on Facebook, Instagram, all the usual suspects and send your questions to
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[email protected]
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Here's some more things that will help you to take your vocal range to new heights.
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For voice lessons or Skype lessons with the NYVC Staff
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visit us at NewYorkVocalCoaching.com
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If you'd like a vocal course that you can do at home
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Check out the Voice Lessons To The World Vocal Course
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This twelve part program takes you on a singing journey from beginner to master level vocal exercises.
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you can find it at VoiceLessonsToTheWorld.com
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Or, if you'd like free vocal tips sent to you each day sign up at DailyVocalTips.com
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And now, here's Justin with this week's vocal benediction.
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In life it seems that everybody's always trying to get to the top.
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Yet, the people we idolize might sometimes disappoint us
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and the people we overlook might surprise us.
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So what's left?
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A whole lot of time somewhere in the middle.
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So, throughout life's ecstasies, tragedies, and mediocrities...sing.
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And a part of your soul will always be lifted high.
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