Vocal Music Advice

I have a question?  My voice is very low.  I can’t talk loud.  It is the big problem for me.  I don’t know what to do.  It is getting 5 years that I am like this.  Please answer for me what to do.

Answer: Dear Haseeb,

I’m going to ask that you respond to my posting in the comment box below to clarify any points that need clarification.  The reason that I ask this of you is that I’m not sure that I have enough information from you to be of appropriate help.

I will interpret what I think you mean by your first statement: “my voice is very low.”  Rather than assuming that you have a low voice in pitch (like a bass singer), I think you mean that it is difficult for you to make yourself heard easily.  Your voice is too soft.  I assume this because of what you say next, “I can’t talk loud.”  Not only that, you have had this “condition” since you were about 16 years of age.

From my perspective two things are needful:

1.    You need to see an expert voice teacher, and SPEAK with him/her, so the s/he can discern the cause of your “softness of speech” and thereby see if there seems to be a medical problem with your voice, or, whether it is simply a matter of training your voice to operate efficiently.  I would guess that unless you have had some kind of “accident” or sustained an injury to your neck and throat, that you simply need to learn how to use your voice, strengthening it in the process.

2.    Once you are assured that there is no medical problem with your voice, you would do well to begin a regimen of vocal exercises, perhaps guided by a reputable voice teacher, by which you can learn to strengthen your voice, and begin to produce a clear resonant sound.

Haseeb, I know that I have not answered your question as you probably had hoped.  However, to do what you want I would have to be able to hear you myself.  Then I could tell you precisely what exercises might be appropriate for you, to learn how to produce a consistently clear sound when you speak.  You are right to think that by age 21 you should be able to do that.  If you live in Northwest Georgia, look me up and give me a call.  I’d be glad to help you.  I understand your frustration.

Best wishes.

I have been studying voice for about 3 years with private teachers. I’ve been told that I have incredible potential but started too late, so that casting managers wouldn’t want to see a 30 year old auditioning. The problem is I still believe I could make singing my profession am I wasting my time?

ANSWER: Dominika, you ask a tough question!

Understand that my reply can only be based on what you’ve told me.  Some things I’m going to assume.  Since you’re in your later twenties, your vocal apparatus is nearing its full (early) maturity.  In other words, other than development of technique and more facility by it, your voice is going to continue to sound and feel much as it does now.  One thing I’ll assume is that after 3 years of study, your habits (all that goes into the act of singing) and technique are becoming secure and reliable.  You must be encouraged by the fact that you’ve been told you have “incredible potential.”

That said, the path of “breaking into the profession” as a singer – especially making a living at it – is not an easy road.  I’d recommend that you learn as many roles that are appropriate for your voice type and classification in the genre in which you sing, as possible.  Audition, audition, audition.  Take every opportunity and invitation to sing that comes your way.  Be willing to start small … local companies, civic groups, churches, synagogues, and every time prove to yourself (and your coaches) and your audiences that you have something special.  Audition for competitions as a “young artist.”  One other thing: managers who look for singers for opera, operetta and music theater are concerned about the health and physical appearance of the singers they hire.  If you’re fit and trim on top of being a wonderful singer and actress your chances are better for procuring roles for which you audition.

It shouldn’t take long for you to find out whether you “have it” to pursue the stage.  However, be aware, that few singers make singing their sole means of income.   Most of us who sing professionally, also teach or do something else also.

I hope this is encouraging to you.  All the best as you pursue what you love.

Hi there!
My name is David and I am 17 years old. I can sing relatively comfortably from F2 to A4, in other words from F one and a half octaves below middle C to A half an octave above. My voice is quite relaxed throughout this range. My timbre is pretty light but not really ‘tenor light’ so I would guess this makes me a lyric baritone? Am I correct in this assumption? Would this range be of any use in say musical theatre? If so then what roles would be best for me to sing?

ANSWER: Well David,
You already have a wide range.  Congratulations.

At 17 it is no surprise that your timbre is “pretty light”.  If you use your voice regularly and with good habits, it will develop in strength over the next few years.  You are probably wise to think of yourself as some form of baritone until and unless the highest fifth of your range is (or becomes) some of the most comfortable part of your range in which to sing.  When a young man your age seems to have a choice of “tenor or baritone” opt for the part of the range in which singing is most comfortable.  The majority of the time this is lower, not higher.

Still, be aware that within the next five years you may well find your range extending in one direction or another.  So, thinking of yourself as a “medium” voice (baritone) for the time being is prudent.

Yes, I think there are roles that a young lyric baritone such as yourself could do successfully.  Let me suggest just one … and you take if from here.  In “Into the Woods” both princes are baritones.  The one requires a fair amount of stamina–there’s a lot of singing.  However, there are also a couple of wonderful duets between the princes … and either one of those might be appropriate for you.  If you think along similar lines, you’ll probably be able to find other roles that you’d be comfortable doing.  At 17 you need to be careful not to choose roles that require a tessitura (a predominance of notes) that is too high … and strenuous.

You sound like you’re thinking sensibly.  Best wishes.

PS. Some of the older shows have roles that might fit: E.g., the leading role in “Oklahoma”

Today in chorus people sang their all-state songs in front of the class.  Their voices would be airy and crack when transitioning into their head voice. The chorus teacher said that it’s their vocal break. I haven’t really heard my voice do that. To me it sounds clear throughout my range even if my middle register can be a little breathy when I don’t support. My voice teacher says I have pretty high vocal breaks and my tone changes somewhere right before the high A but if that’s true it’s so subtle.  Is this a bad thing or a good thing? Does it mean most of my voice is my chest voice? Or, is my head voice strong? Do I have more support than most people my age (I’m 16)?  All the other sopranos and even the altos have a break kind of high that makes them breathy or flat and my second break I guess is higher than theirs and makes my voice brighter.  Is this normal?

ANSWER: Great observation about the “breaks” in other young voices.

While some singers have a manifestly obvious ‘break’ (sometimes also known as “lift” or “passaggio” or “transition point”) that makes sound almost resemble a yodel (depending where in the range it occurs), if those same young singers pursue singing as a career studying voice with a teacher, their aim is going to be learn to “smooth” those areas over so that the range sounds seamless (without breaks of any kind).  As you have noted about yourself, not everyone feels these breaks … and that is a great blessing, because it means that you don’t have to worry about the color of your tone suddenly changing, or have to spend months and years learning how to even out the tone between areas of your vocal range.  So, REJOICE … you’re miles ahead of folk who experience breaks and you won’t have that hurdle to worry about.

Singing “seamlessly” doesn’t mean that you are singing predominantly in “chest” or “head”, but rather that as you sing from high to low your voice is negotiating all the range in a way that “mixes” those feelings at the appropriate times so that no break exists, or is perceptible.
(more…)