- Over the years,
I've found myself singing in many different genres.
I've sung pop-style jazz standard.
♪ "Have you met Miss Jones?" ♪
♪ Someone said as we shook hands ♪
I've sung plenty of power ballads.
♪ I believe ♪
I've sung countless music theater pieces.
♪ Anywhere you go ♪
♪ Let me go too ♪
I've even sung pop soul-styled Christmas tunes.
♪ We're caroling through the night ♪
♪ And this Christmas will be ♪
♪ A very special Christmas for me, yeah ♪
♪ Oh, Merry Christmas ♪
Now, I could go on and on,
but I think you get the point.
Over the years,
I've performed in a range of professional settings,
each requiring different music genres.
But, no doubt you'll have noticed
that while the genres I have sung may have varied,
my tone and unique vocal characteristics
remained relatively similar throughout.
And that's because, broadly speaking,
my peers have described me
as a contemporary crossover artist.
My voice presents as a true tenor classification,
and I enjoy singing with a classical contemporary sound.
You can hear this in my vowel construction
and how I onset my phrases,
and then complete my lines with even vibrato.
Hopefully, you can hear and see
how much I love singing in this way.
In part, the way I sing today
is informed by my classical voice instruction
I received as a teenager and a young adult.
But it's also how I connect with the music
and how I find myself wanting to express the music
that I sing.
But what about you?
What kind of voice do you have?
(crowd cheering) - [Woman] Sound check.
(drums beating)
(microphone screeching)
- The first thing we need to understand
when it comes to identifying what kind of voice you have,
is recognizing it is part nature and part nurture,
but not in the way you might think.
Firstly, we don't get a say
in how our bodies knit together in the womb.
Everything from your eye color to your height
is predetermined by your unique DNA construct,
and your voice is no different.
So things like the size of your larynx
and the length of your vocal tract are precast,
and there's virtually nothing we can do
to alter these physical traits.
But your physical traits don't necessarily predetermine
what type of voice you have
or the music you should or should not sing.
For example,
I mentioned before that I received classical singing lessons
from a young age.
When I got to university,
I was identified as having a voice
that would do well singing baroque oratorios and cantatas.
Problem was, as a young man,
I didn't like singing the baroque style.
In fact, before uni,
I'd never even listened to classical music.
I had grown up listening to pop rock and American folk.
My upbringing had placed a prejudice
towards contemporary music within me
and that was the music that I wanted to sing.
It took me a little while,
two years of Classical Voice
at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music,
to realize that while my vocal anatomy suggested one thing,
my musical heart said another.
Another way to think about it
is to recognize that musical genres come and go.
Some people fall into the trap of thinking
that they have been born with a genre-specific voice.
I've heard singers suggest that they have a rock voice,
or a musical theater voice,
but I have to say, I don't buy into this idea.
Let's say, for example, you want to sing jazz.
But let's, for a moment,
imagine you had been born into the 1700s,
a few hundred years before jazz music
had even come into existence.
What would've you done?
What would all of the so-called jazz voices do?
I think you get my point.
Even though nature predetermines your voice classification,
bass, baritone, tenor, alto, mezzo, or soprano,
it does not imprint a specific genre upon your anatomy.
Now, and it's right to say that some voices are given
to sounding like they lend themselves to specific genres.
My voice had been identified as a baroque tenor.
But that's not to say I was restricted
to only ever singing oratorios and cantatas.
Because I can assure you that if it had been the case,
I would be one very miserable singer
because baroque music is not what my heart wants
or needs to sing.
And so I went on a self-discovery journey during my twenties
to find out where my voice,
and by my voice I mean my whole being,
would feel most at home.
My encouragement to you
is to suggest that you remove all or any labels
you have received from others.
Be what you want to be,
and sing what you want to sing.
I know some of this might come off
as sounding all a little bit trite,
but I genuinely believe
you cannot be all things to all people.
Now, of course,
if you want to sing professionally like I have,
it will be essential for you
to broaden your capacity and vocal skills
to cater to a broader range of genres.
Professional singers don't get to sing
only what they love to sing.
And this is an important point because
it recognizes that you can learn to sing
in almost any genre that you apply your voice to.
Your physical instrument, your voice,
is pliable and able to learn a variety of skills,
which, in turn, will equip you to sing a range of genres.
But if you are an avocational singer
who just wants to identify what type of voice you have,
start by asking yourself
what kind of music you love to listen to.
In turn, what kind of music brings you the most joy to sing?
I know the journey of self-discovery took me a little while,
but like me, I'm sure you'll be able to see, with time,
what kind of voice you have, just like I did.
I'm Dr Dan. Sing well.