I get a lot of emails and messages from people asking me “what do you think of this person”, usually with an attached video/link. One of the things I see a lot of is younger guys/girls doing YouTube covers of modern pop songs, or maybe original songs, but performed in a way that is highly reminiscent of a current pop singer. And here is what I’ve noticed, especially in relation to technique and vocal style… Continue reading “Style vs Hyper-style”
Do I have to sing in chest voice?
“I was wondering whether I HAVE to sing in chest voice? I feel like when it’s only chest voice it’s a bit monotone and lacking variation”
Many students ask or wonder this when they first start with the technique and approach that we utilise in lessons. Just for a bit of context, often these kinds of singers are capable in their originals or own artistry, but it’s important to note that such singers are relatively fledgling in their vocal development. Continue reading “Do I have to sing in chest voice?”
Why can’t I sing as high as I used to? a.k.a. How a voice can go downhill
“Why can’t I sing as high as I used to?”
THIS is a question I get asked a lot. I’ve extensively covered the effects of aging on the voice in this article I previously wrote, but in this article I want to use some actual examples of voices that are golden voices in their own genres, but that have perhaps gone on to find their voices have gone downhill compared to their golden years.
It’s also helpful to hear these to realise that EVERYONE has their issues. I’m not picking on the following singers because I think they are bad (far from it!) but merely to remind us that they are human, and we all have peaks and troughs over time and day to day.
In each of these cases however, I’d put this down to issues in their technique that maybe weren’t backbreaking at age 20, but at age 30, 40, 50 or older become back-breaking technical issues for each of them.
The Allure of Youth
Note: It’s always easier to sing high and sound fresh when you’re young. This isn’t the primary sign of vocal ability, it’s a hallmark of youth. The challenge lies in building one’s voice so it gets stronger and fuller as you get older rather than getting run into the ground through bad habits and poor technique.
This is especially problematic when singers acquire commercial acclaim based on an unsustainable sound. Let’s go through a few examples I think show this issue well: Continue reading “Why can’t I sing as high as I used to? a.k.a. How a voice can go downhill”
Vocal Tessitura – What is it? How is this helpful?
What is vocal tessitura? This comes up a lot, with clients who are just starting to figure out their voice, all the way up to experienced professionals.
Wikipedia defines vocal tessitura as:
“… the most aesthetically acceptable and comfortable vocal range for a given singer”
While this is a factually correct summation, it overlooks critical context for the concept of tessitura. Let me explain.
Vocal tessitura vs. range?
When we talk about vocal range we typically only consider it’s extremes. E.g. “I can sing from this low note X, to this high note Y, so my range is X to Y“.
However, range alone fails to describe the quality across that range, how connected that range is, etc. Moreover, how comfortable is it for the singer to sing in any one spot? How long can the singer linger in the range in question?
It’s not just about top notes and bottom notes – it’s about your ability in-between
YouTube is littered with videos of “Freddie Mercury’s Vocal Range” or “Whitney Houston’s Vocal Range“. These videos typically piece together clips of every note on the keyboard that they ever sang, even if it’s only a high squeak or a low squawk (I’ve seen range clips that include such sounds as “vocal range examples”). To say this is their true vocal range is very generous and simply not representative of their true tessitura.
This does not show where they would choose to sing to give their best quality and singing experience. It is only an amalgamated record of notes they have hammered out on one song or another over their whole career, rather than identifying the range over which they sounded and felt at their best.
Range taken by itself simply cannot answer this question, but tessitura takes account of all of these factors.
Understanding your own vocal tessitura?
Tessitura asks “how comfortable are you” in certain regions of your voice. The core of it is asking a more holistic question regarding where should we place songs in one’s voice, such that:
a) the melody of a song is in the best spot in your voice, taking advantage of the different colours across the different registers in your voice; and
b) the opportunity to style and riff/ornament above that melody is still open to you, while still remaining comfortable.
To understand your own tessitura, you must not only know your range, but the comfortable zones within that range. Where are the sweet spots that you can sing in for extended periods, day in, day out? This means singing well without a hint of forcing, without a hint of damaging or straining your voice, no following tailwind to help you out, etc.
You also need to know what those different areas in your voice are useable for (e.g. where does the melody belong in your voice, where does the style portion sit, etc).
Yelled notes don’t count
Many men can sing/yell/blast out an A4, but that doesn’t mean they can comfortably sing most of Bono’s songs. These live between D4-A4. Most just don’t have the technique to spend all their time up there. Even Bono typically resorts to taking older material down at least a semitone these days.
Similarly, many female singers can sing all the notes in most of Michael Buble’s songs in their original keys, but that doesn’t mean they want to stick their voice in a place where it feels like it’s scraping along the ground. It’s generally just too low for most female singers. They can hit the notes, but it isn’t optimising the song for their voice. Songs for women (assuming they have the capacity to access their upper range without issue) generally need to be taken up several keys to place the song in a better spot for their voice.
Can we change our tessitura?
In short, yes. Through the right training you can absolutely change your tessitura.
I started out singing in a baritone range, and worked my way up bit by bit (taking years) to be comfortable as a high tenor. It’s not the range or power that takes time exactly, it’s to do it so it feels totally free and natural, and to create quality rather than just “merely” hitting the note. It’s not just about unlocking and accessing more notes, it’s about integrating them into your voice so seamlessly, that you forget it’s a new note at all. Many of my clients experience a similar thing, especially if their starting tessitura is very different to the material they want to sing. It just takes training.
However, if a note feels even slightly forced, or that you have to reach up (or down!) for the note, then it’s not integrated successfully. As such, even if we’ve unlocked extra range using particular vocal exercises, those notes will forever feel separate and distinct from one’s voice until they are integrated into the existing voice.
Songs can also be considered to have a requisite tessitura
Consider if we were to go through the melody and count how many times each note occurs, then display this as a graph. We’d end up with very different shape curves depending on the song. Some would have most of the range clustered low then one or two higher notes, others may have most of the range clustered high and the odd low notes, some might have clusters down low and clusters up high, etc. Consider this a “signature” of the required tessitura the song will demand of the singer.
Different voices (even with full training) will have different fully developed tessituras, and what their voices do well/less well. The more range and control you have, the more songs will be available to you, but that still doesn’t mean that you will be able to sing all songs equally well. The tessitura signature of different songs will match better to your voice than others. That’s why it is important to understand your own tessitura, and match it appropriately to both the right songs, and putting those songs in a key that maximises the match between your voice and the song.
Know your voice
I hope that helps you understand the idea of vocal tessitura a bit better. There really is no other way than to really get to grips with your voice as an instrument and understand where melodies and ornamentations belong, and install your voice into appropriate songs as such.
How different is your singing from your speaking voice?
One of the key principles that our technique is built on is using the natural calibration of your speaking voice (i.e. chest voice) as a roadmap to build our singing voice. The greater the deviation from our speaking voice co-ordination/calibration (evidenced by a different sound), the greater the level of issues singers tend to encounter.
Such issues can be physical, acoustic, and/or psychological. Let’s get into the first one now… Continue reading “How different is your singing from your speaking voice?”
Voice pedagogy – has teaching become more about science than singing?
A question was asked relatively recently in a voice forum by someone who had picked up on recent trends for voice teachers to dive heavily into voice research as opposed to practical vocal development.
“Has voice pedagogy become study ABOUT the voice rather than how to TEACH singing?”
This is a fascinating question, and one I think about a lot. I posted the following response in the forum, and a number of people suggested I follow it up as an article on my site. Here are my thoughts in response to the above question:
In my opinion, I think there has been an excessive shift towards pure intellectual knowledge over practical application. More importantly, there has been a drift away from a more objective and concrete understanding/appreciation of what makes good singing. Having objective science seems to matter very little if there isn’t something objective to apply it to, i.e. what does good singing ACTUALLY sound like? Continue reading “Voice pedagogy – has teaching become more about science than singing?”
How to sing when recording?
I received an email this week asking about how to sing when recording. I’ve re-parsed the sentences in the email so that the questions flow for the purposes of this article.
“Hi Mark,
Do you have any articles [or advice] on how to sing when recording? I feel like my recorded voice sounds both harsh and dull.
I wonder whether I sing too forcefully to try and get emotional intensity. Do I need to improve my loud singing? Or is it about singing differently when recording?
When I listen to my favourite artists’ recordings they sound alive, intense and still have nice higher resonances going on. Would getting a mic that can deal with louder singing help with not losing the higher resonances?”
What can we do?
Sorry to hear you’re having trouble with your vocal recordings. I happen to spend a lot of time recording and working on this stuff, so let’s dive into it… Continue reading “How to sing when recording?”
A problem with trying to teach good singing using only vocal science
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I had a coaching session last week, and the topic of vocal science came up. Now I am ALL for further understanding of science: it is an incredibly helpful tool.
However, whenever I see a new idea presented in vocal science, or some aspect that is preached heavily by various teaching methodologies, there is invariably a problem. Science can only – at best – explain why something has happened, it does not inherently create a roadmap or set of helpful instructions for others to follow. The key question we must always ask with anything to do with voice, is how do we apply something helpfully in a singers voice.
What’s the point?
I have met some incredibly knowledgeable vocal coaches over the years. Some of them are excellent coaches and apply what they know effectively in tools, but others seem to be acquiring knowledge for knowledge’s sake.
The voice is incredibly complex, and it is worth pursuing understanding. But, so what if you understand formants, can name every aspect of vocal musculature, measure or manipulate laryngeal tilt, etc… If a coach or singer can’t leverage that knowledge into making a voice better effectively, what good is it? Continue reading “A problem with trying to teach good singing using only vocal science”