Q&A

I used to sing when I was younger (18 and under) and always thought I would pursue music. However after getting married I left it all behind.

I had always been told that I have a very pleasant and soothing voice over the years. I missed music but lost interest in it because I couldn't make enough time for, not to mention trying to keep a bunch of other musicians together. (I am 50 now) Several months ago I realized Karaoke and I feel like a kid again... I am in love with singing and I find that I can sing many many songs very well. I am always told that I have a beautiful voice.. but I (like many) wish I could reach some higher notes. I am using my falsetto voice but I am not always happy with it sound's like. For instance I do The Lion Sleeps Tonight very well with my falsetto voice. I really want to be sure I am using my voice to it's fullest potential and maybe pursue more before I lose it as I age. Is it wise to attempt to find a teacher somewhere? Thanks for any advice...


In general finding a teacher is the first step in the process of improving your voice. Unfortunately not all teachers are created equal. Most can help to some degree, some more and some less. Others can be actually damaging to the voice and the singer ends up worse off than they started. The main thing I would say is trust your instincts. Listen to what a teacher says and try it out. It should make sense and they should be able to explain why. Singing is based on very natural functions and should feel like it makes sense when you do it. I also would say don't be afraid of the falsetto. It is actually the beginning of your true voice. That may not make sense to you right now based on your experience, but as you exercise it more it becomes the foundation for our complete voice. It is the youthful voice that we should base our singing on. But that takes quite a bit of exploration to understand.

Q&A

Ok... I am an 18 year old professional stage actor who usually works in musicals. I am a great singer, but for some reason, my voice pretty much can only do a high song once a show. I can push it out once and the my throat will no longer hit the notes,making a warm up almost fatal. As well, i got hurt awhile back (an injury to my larenx) and since then my throat is constantly filled with mucus... whats the best way to work around this, or whats the best thing to drink right before singing to take care of it? thanks!

From what you are telling me it sounds like you are not using your voice well. A warm-up should get you in tune with your body and voice so that it functions easier, not wear it out before the show. Another thing is the song may not be right for your voice causing you to force the voice in order to "hit the notes". When you say "I can push it out once and then my throat will no longer hit the notes" it tells me what is wrong. The sound doesn't need to be pushed out. If you do that you force the breath out overloading the larynx. The larynx needs to balance with the breath so it vibrates with regularity which maximizes resonance. Using the voice any other way is abusive to it to some degree. Unfortunately there is no way to work around it, and no drink is going to help with the real problem. What you need to do is get trained in the proper manner of using your voice before you develop a serious problem like vocal damage.

Q&A

Hi,
I am 19 and I have been taking singing lessons for two years from 16 to 18 and then, sadly, had to stop. I have a range of three octaves and a bit going from Db below middle C to around top E. I can sing with a powerful tone and vibrato through most of my soprano range. I sing for a few hours a day and my voice does not tire or feel uncomfortable, so I suppose I am doing at least a bit right. Every now and then, I try doing some vocal exercises at completely odd moments. Specifically half an hour after waking up, after a hot cup of coffee and without warming up. I just do scales upwards without straining, which does mean that my middle range from around A above middle C to A an octave higher is nearly non-existent, but from there things start to get interesting. I can go up for another octave, which means that I can go a fourth above what I usually reach. I paid attention to the relaxing of throat and jaw and to the breathing and even watched myself in the mirror - there is no strain or anything, it doesn't hurt, the notes are not breathy and sound really like pure
head voice. Like I said, I don't strain my voice, so I'll stop after maybe 10 minutes.
If, however, I do the same exercises maybe 30 minutes later (or any other time of that day, really) I won't be able to sing above E, or sometimes F. Can you tell me why and what I could do to keep those high notes? I don't sing arias like the Queen of the Night, but I know that in the mornings I have those notes, and later I don't and I'd really like to know what I can do about it since I KNOW I have them, I just don't know HOW and it's driving me crazy!

Thanks


The first thing to establish would be if you are producing those notes in a healthy way. Since I haven't heard you I can't say, but assuming they are then we would look to the fact that the voice, like the rest of the body, goes through minor changes during the day. Also as we talk more the voice gets tuned to that which lowers the basic pitch level. It is impossible for me to say with any certainty. I would say don't get too attached to the extreme high notes. If they are coming because of excess air pressure it could cause some problems in the long run. On the other hand, if you are able to sing the extreme high range because your vocal folds are very flexible at that point in the day then you should look at your speaking habits to assess whether that is causing your voice to get heavier during the day. Perhaps you could train yourself to retain the thin adjustment of the vocal folds that allows you to sing that high so that you still have it throughout the day.