Vocal Music Advice

Michael, a teenager in Poland asks: Hi! My name is Michael and I’m 17 years old. My voice’s range lies between F2 and C5. I actually don’t have any breaks in my voice but I hear the change in the timbre after reaching G#4 and higher. I can go even higher with falsetto reaching F5 or G5.  My timbre is light but certainly not “tenor light”. Does it make me a lyric baritone or some kind of heldentenor that can sing lower?

Answer:

It’s wonderful that you don’t experience any breaks … even though you are aware of the change in timbre at around G-sharp.

Michael, I think that it’s fair to say that at 17 you ought not “decide” what you are vocally.  It’s enough that you know your range and where you sing most comfortably.  The fact is that in the next 5 to 6 years, your voice is going to develop considerably in range, strength and flexibility (at least if you are studying voice and practicing daily).  What you seem to be at age 17 may indeed change in the next few years.

I’ve had “tenors-at-17″ demonstrate that they really were baritone by the time they are 21 … and vice-versa.  You are in a time of vocal development and discovery.  What is important at this time in your life is that you learn to sing with good habits – as freely and without unnecessary tension as possible – and accept the way your voice develops – whatever direction it takes.  For this reason I for one will not tell a 17-year-old “you are a…” and give a definite voice classification.  I may have a good idea the direction the voice is taking after I’ve heard the young singer … but it’s still unwise to make a declaration–because then that “classification” becomes a goal, rather than an observation of fact.

At 17, almost all voices are “lyric”.  It remains to be seen what you will become.  Realize this too, Michael, all I have to go on is what you’ve told me.  It would be truly foolish of me to declare a specific voice classification having never heard you.

Remember what is important (see above) and you’ll develop just fine.

Best wishes.

ANSWER:

Assuming that a singer has a useful two-octave range (a mature singer will have this), baritones will find their upper useful limit to be G, A-flat or A above middle C – and down two octaves.

A Bass finds E-flat above middle C to be uncomfortable to sustain and is often his upper limit and he is much more comfortable staying in the lower half of his range.  In a choral situation, he’ll find low D’s and sometimes a low C within the realm of possibility.

Beyond these two designations are those singers who find themselves between these designations or lower than other parts.  A bass-baritone’s useful range is about F to F, and a basso-profundo’s useful range is low C to middle C with access to even lower notes frequently being available in choral situations (not solo).

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”

Hey I’m a 19 year old boy, and I only started playing guitar and piano last year but it turns out it came really naturally to me and I’m really good at them both now. So naturally, Ive also started seriously trying to sing for the past like 8 months. More recently I have been a lot more into it, and really trying to work on my vocal range. I think I sound pretty good, but obviously with my lack of experience I can’t be too good. I can sing from a range of about a low A to a high D fairly comfortably, and I often use a high E but only as the very top notes in some songs. I love doing covers of popular songs, but most songs don’t sound that good when I transpose them so much lower to within my range… I’m hoping that if I keep practicing I can some day be able to hit a high G. it’s a big goal but I can already hit an F if I really try. Does this range classify me as a tenor? and do you think that this is a reachable goal to be able to sing that high or maybe even higher? I will probably seek some vocal lessons but I don’t have much money to do so so any advice you have would be appreciated!

ANSWER: Hello Aaron,

The range “low A to a high D” and occasionally E, F and G – does not qualify you as a tenor – yet. At 19 your voice is very much in the process of development and your mature-voice classification remains to be discovered. A to A (two octaves) or G or G (two octaves) is “baritone”. Aaron, if and when you study voice – do so with a REAL voice teacher, and not someone who will promise the sky or tell you that s/he’ll “turn you into a tenor” (a quack). You are made what you are – and a bass cannot make himself into a tenor or vice-versa. It would be well to accept where your voice lies in range and comfort level – and sing there with freedom, expressively for the rest of your life, rather than shoot for a preconceived notion of what you’d like to become – even if you’re not made that way. Please understand, I’m saying this for your good – not to side-swipe you or deflate you. You will sing best in the range where you experience stamina most and the most comfort. One does not BECOME a tenor because of a decision, one discovers the parameters of one’s voice, develops it to its potential – and sings there.

My recommendation is: get involved in any of the choral ensembles that use male voices – and plug into something that will help the development of your voice and musical abilities. You can likely join a college ensemble that will challenge you musically while at the same time become a useful tool in the development of your voice. Ask around to find out if the director (conductor) of the ensemble is astute as a vocalist.

There’s my advice. I wish you success.

I am a high-mezzo (I’ve been told), with an aging voice (I am almost 60). It is still clear and good, but I have lost some of my upper range (my middle range is great!) I have a fair amount of choral experience, but have often had trouble figuring out which vocal part to sing. Usually, I could “switch around” from 1st alto to 2nd soprano somewhat, but am currently in a choir which doesn’t allow this; the current music is way too low, in the alto section (but the 2nd soprano part is too high, as I’ve lost my high notes). I can sing usually the alto easier than the soprano in an SATB choir, but this time around, it’s like a straight second alto (a bit too low), and I don’t want to sing too low for an entire performance, either. I am afraid of ruining what voice I have, either by singing too high or too low. I don’t want to stop singing, and cannot afford voice lessons.

I was thinking that perhaps a women’s choir would be the answer (in which I could sing straight 2nd Soprano). Suggestions?

ANSWER: Sometimes it’s good just to be able to “think out loud” isn’t it?!

Your thinking is sensible, and I think you’ve worked out the best solution yourself.  The best scenario – as you suggest – is to find an all-ladies ensemble and choose what is most comfortable for your voice – either soprano 2 or, alto 1.  Don’t remain in a situation in which you have to STAY too high or STAY too low for prolonged periods of time.  You are right to protect your voice.  Most choral literature does not require the situation you describe, but since you find yourself there, I would advise seeking the solution you propose.

If, on the other hand, you really like the choir in which you’re currently singing, you may request and choose to sit out this performance and rejoin when literature for the next performance, that does not place the same demands on your voice, is being learned.  (Now I’m thinking “out loud.”) Not all choirs allow this kind of membership-flexibility, but if yours does, this could be an alternate solution.

Best wishes.

I’m a 41 year-old soprano.  I have been a soprano all my life. Recently, I joined the alto section of the church choir because the Alto section is very weak. After a few weeks, I have started to feel throat pain when I sing.  I also get hoarse after singing low for a while.  Is there such as thing as singing too low?   Can you strain your voice singing below your range?

Answer: Very simply the answer is YES – there is such a thing as singing too low and Yes, you can strain your voice by singing in a range that is uncomfortable to sustain for long periods.  Don’t do it.  Strain from singing too high is the more common occurence.  But all the same the answer is yes – you can – and are straining your voice if you have throat pain after singing “alto” in choir.  Requiring your voice to continue to sing too low will ultimately damage the voice.

Every voice (singer) not only has the range within which notes can be reached – but there is also an area where stamina, beauty, comfort occurs with ease.  As a soprano you need to sing in the soprano tessitura to preserve your voice.  Regardless of the needs of the choir – you should be singing soprano – and only join the altos–if absolutely necessary–in passages that are “high” for them.  You’d still be helping the alto section – but in a manageable part of your range.

Thank you for asking this question – I’m sure many others will benefit from this information too.

A word to the wise.  Best wishes.

I’m 26.  I have been singing for a very long time and I am a vocal performance major in school.  I am classified as a soprano, however, I have not been able to sing above an E-flat6 without some kind of vocal strain.  Some days my D6′s sound better than others.  However, I remember practicing a D6 and C6 and the next day I was super sore.  In my voice lessons I usually vocalize up to a D6 or at least C6 and I am never sore and B-flat5 is a breeze.  I have a very low voice as well.  I can sing all the way down to a G3 sometimes lower. I feel like I need to be able to own an e6 to make it in the soprano world of operatic literature but I am so tired of trying to hit those higher notes.  I read Renee Fleming’s book and found out she did not have high notes either.  This gives me hope because she could not hit above the staff at all.  However, I don’t understand how to approach these high notes (especially the whistle register) I mean how can you tell when you have hit the top. They say true sopranos can’t hit low notes but Fleming has low and high notes as well as Mariah.  I think I might have just not learned enough technique yet but I don’t want to keep trying for these notes if I am never going to get them.

1. Answer: At 26 your voice is close to reaching its full physical maturity.  Inasmuch as you have had years of training but you are finding that the notes above “high C” are a strain, or cause soreness after practicing them – then your body is telling you that your best range is lower – as you say.  Vocalizing briefly up to D or E above high C is one thing.  Being able to use those notes in song literature is another.  But before I wipe the idea of the notes in “whistle register” out completely let me say just a word or two about that.

2. Not all women have the whistle register available to them.  So, you would not be unusual if you found “hanging around” up there to be a real source of strain.

3. Typically, sopranos who do move into the whistle register when vocalizing do so just to touch a note momentarily and descend again.  The sound is not big – it is small.  Don’t try to make a big sound in whistle register.  Sing these notes ‘by feel,’ listening only to tune the notes.  The vocal apparatus is at its most tense, and the vowel posture is what I call in “the apple bite” position; that is, the jaw and lips are at their most open.  Imagine fitting an entire apple into your mouth.  Well, of course you wouldn’t – and you also couldn’t.  But in the attempt you’d open your mouth – in every direction – as widely as possible.  This is typically necessary for notes in the whistle register.

4. Just because a singer doesn’t have notes such as E above high C doesn’t mean that she is not a soprano.  Only a very small percentage of literature requires notes higher than C6 – and most soprano literature doesn’t even require that.  The question I would ask is – in what part of your range are you most comfortable lingering?  If you are comfortable with the preponderance of soprano literature that fits your voice type in which the range ascends up to B-flat, B or C6 – then know that you are a soprano; just not one to be singing Mozart’s Queen of the Night.

5. On the other hand, if you find literature that uses a lower tessitura – songs where the preponderance of notes hang in the mid or lower part of your range – more comfortable to sing, then it might be wise for you to explore mezzo-soprano literature.  Mezzo-sopranos typically have a very wide range – but stamina for remaining high they’d agree is not theirs.  Mezzos can “zing” high Cs – but they don’t want to stay up there.  If this reflects where you are, you’d be wise to choose literature that is more comfortable on your voice.  You’ll save your voice in the process as well as give yourself a longer and happier singing career.

Based on what you’ve told me, I think you fit one of the scenarios described in my answer – paragraphs 4 or 5.

I hope this has been helpful.  Best wishes to you.

I am a 24-year-old man, and I still sound like a lady….no one knows why or what the deal is…it’s getting really bothersome…I sang for about 8 years including high school but I don’t sing anymore.  I was a soprano in 8th grade, then an alto and I graduated high school as an alto.   If I were to categorize myself now would it be alto or countertenor?  I just want to know if I should go to a voice specialist or something.  I don’t know but if you have an answer that would be swell.  Thanks.

Answer: I’d like to put your mind at ease immediately.  What you’ve described makes you a REAL countertenor – not a ‘baritone’ who is actually a “falsettist” – and there are a fair number of those, especially in Britain.  Our phone conversation corroborates this assessment – you are a countertenor.  You’re the kind of singer that all-male groups seek to acquire.  Being a real countertenor is relatively rare – and nothing of which to be ashamed.  It is often the case that a countertenor’s voice is stronger and has more carrying power and has a warmer quality than his female counterpart.

In a mixed choir you would appropriately be singing alto.  In my blog’s subject navigation bar under “Voice Classification” I briefly mention this in answer to the question: “A two octave singing range starting from the F three ledger lines below the staff would be called what?”

I empathize with the feelings you wrestle with – because such a rare high male voice may attract unwanted attention, or worse, embarrassment because of joking.  You’re just rare – not abnormal.  As long as all the other parts of your body are functioning normally – you have nothing to worry about; and, as long as in all other respects you are a normal male human being – those who meet you can get used to your high voice too, and just appreciate that that feature is something that makes you distinctive.   There’s no need to see a medical doctor.

Best wishes.

I can sing a high G and a low G, 2 octaves lower.   How do I write that in musical form, as in D4 or C2.  I don’t understand what those numbers mean.  I want to know how to write all the notes I can sing in that form so I can find out what roles I can play/sing.  For example, in order to play a certain character, you need to be able to sing g4-F3.  How do I know what notes they mean?

Answer: I’m afraid that a quick reference to (dare I say it, Wikipedia and) the Harvard Dictionary of Music will show that middle C is either named C4 in the American system or, as Harvard puts it, “there is no uniform practice.”

Therefore, I’d discourage you from using the letter/number system to find your range.  Sorry, I don’t mean to burst your bubble on this.  It would be best for you to become familiar with the western musical notation using the “treble and bass clef,” then also find where middle C is on a piano and orient yourself around that.

In general terms, Middle C (usually very close to the middle of a full piano 88-note keyboard) is usually close to the highest notes for a bass singer and close to the lowest notes of a soprano singer.

If you’re a guy with a changed voice, G to G would presumably place you in the baritone voice classification.  If you’re a lady, G to G would place you in the alto to mezzo-soprano range at the moment.

Not knowing your age and therefore not knowing the stage of your approximate vocal development, what I’ve identified as your voice classification is a guess based on normal range-classifications of changed voices.  If you are in your teens or around 20, your vocal development is still very much “in progress” and your range may continue to grow in either direction.

Anyway, if you’re looking at musical theater for example, look for “baritone” or “mezzo-soprano” roles (depending on whether you’re a guy or gal).

Best wishes to you.

In other words, starting from the note a fifth below middle C.  Tenor, baritone???

Answer:  Ok, this is pretty open-ended.  I will assume that you are referring to a two-octave range beginning on F below middle C to the F one-and-a-half octaves above middle C.  That is, the F you speak of is the lowest useful note in the range.

The range you describe fits a contralto or “alto” classification.   However, I’ll attempt to cover most of the possible bases resulting from your question.
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