Learn How to Sing- What Voice Type Are You?
This blog is to discuss some basic vocal habits or tendencies so you, the singer, can have some idea about what category you might fall into, or what voice type you are.
When students who want to learn how to sing, the first step is that they come into my Sing Like a Star vocal studios for their initial consultation and vocal evaluation. I have them sing a simple 5 note scale that enables me to tell a great deal about what is going on with that individual’s voice, particularly what voice type they are, and what vocal habits or tendencies they are employing when they sing. This helps me design a program for that student that is specifically going to address their voice type.
Most voice teachers give the same exercises and scales to every student who walks through the door. This is not effective, because singers all have different vocal habits to deal with, based on their past experience with bad voice teaching or trying to learn how to sing on their own, along with incorrect or damaging habits they have picked up along the way. I design lesson plans based on the individual habits and tendencies of each singer.
These singing habits, or tendencies, are based on using incorrect muscles to sing- muscles that will ultimately cause the voice to deteriorate over time, or at the very least, will not allow the voice to develop to its full capacity of power and range. The goal of good vocal training and singing lessons is to encourage and develop the correct muscles, while disengaging the incorrect muscles, which I call the “extrinsic” or “interfering” (because they get in the way) muscles.
The voice types will usually fall into a few basic categories, which all refer to a lack of balance between the lower and the upper registers:
Category 1: Not Enough Chest Voice. The first division has to do with how the student is using the chest voice, or lower register, when they sing. Most young girls who come in for singing lessons sing with a very airy and breathy little voice, especially on the bottom notes. They may have had a chorus teacher who told them to sing with a breathy sound so they will blend in to the choir. Often even mature women sound very breathy and weak on their bottom notes, (or throughout their entire range) if they have a choral background. When a sound is too airy or weak, it means the vocal cords are not functioning as they should. They are not “adducting” (coming together) properly or they are not staying together long enough in the cycle of closed-open-closed that the vocal cords engage in to create sound waves. This is called “closed quotient”. The greater the closed quotient (up to a point), the stronger the sound. So this first category we call “light chest” or sometimes “no chest”, referring to the ability of the vocal cords to function well in the lower register, which is the foundation of the voice. (Sometimes these singers could correctly be called “no chest, no head” because both registers are weak, airy, and breathy). Without a good chest voice, you cannot sing popular music of any kind, whether it’s pop, rock, country, musical theatre, jazz, or gospel. So my first goal with this type of student is always to strengthen the chest voice, and after that, to connect that chest voice to their upper register while maintaining the stronger sound.
Category 2: Too Much Chest Voice. The next category also refers to the chest voice and how it is used. However these singers tend to stay in their chest voices too long. They sound like they are yelling on their higher pitches, and the singer can feel that they are straining to hit the notes. This is the typical “belt” approach. Just stay in the chest voice and push it as high as you can, after which you have no choice but to let go entirely, into a falsetto sound. With this method, you get a couple more notes added to your lower range, but at a huge price. Pushing or pulling your chest voice higher than it is meant to go causes a tremendous amount of abuse to the vocal cords, as we have seen happen to Adele who at 23 has already had to cancel numerous appearances due to vocal problems. I believe the chest voice is the essential foundation to good singing; however, the singer MUST know when to get out of the chest voice. We need to anchor in the chest voice for good vocal functioning- but when the chest is pushed too high, vocal problems occur. Most male singers that I see are pulling chest because they have never learned how to develop a good mix in their upper register. In this category we also place the person who sings with a high larynx (your larynx is your voice box, or adam’s apple, which houses the vocal cords). This is due to excessive and incorrect engagement of the swallowing muscles, which causes the larynx to incorrectly lift upon vocalization, particularly on higher notes. So my goal with this type of singer is to decrease the excessive muscle they are using in the chest, and almost always to increase the lack of vocal cord engagement in the upper register, so there is a balance between the lower and upper registers.
Category 3: Not Enough Head Voice. The final incorrect category has to do with how the vocal cords function in the upper register, or at least right around the “first bridge” area. (I will discuss bridges in another blog, but suffice to say that the bridge is where you should start heading toward mix and out of chest voice). If the vocal cords don’t stay together (adduct) properly, there is an interruption of the vocal sound that is like a “crack” in the voice. This might be caused by trying to sing too high in chest voice, or it might be simply because the vocal cords are not strong enough to resist the air that is coming at them from the trachea. In either case, the result is a “flip”- a disconnection, or a break in the vocal tone caused by a lack of consistency in the behavior of the vocal cords. It happens to everyone- even the great tenor Pavarotti cracked once at La Scala, and was boo-d by his usually adoring audience. It can be very embarrassing! My goal with this type of singer is to encourage a consistency with the behavior of the vocal cords, by using very specific exercises that develop that ability, along with increasing the closed quotient, or strength in the upper register.
To recap, if you want to learn how to sing well, you need to know what basic voice type you fall into. Exercises should be specifically designed to address your particular voice type- if that is not happening, you are with the wrong teacher!
For professional singing lessons in the Atlanta, Marietta and Alpharetta GA area, or to register for voice training online by skype, facetime, or speakerphone, please visit the website at www.singlikeastar.com, and click on the GET STARTED tab to register for a professional vocal evaluation and consultation.
