Ep.37: What is Chest Voice - Common Problems - Part 2 of 2
In Episode 36, I talked about how chest voice creates a richer, deeper and fuller sound
that anchors and colors the entire voice.
But do you know what kind of trouble we can get into with chest voice? Watch and see.
Hi! I’m Chuck Gilmore with Power to Sing
I love a rich, full chest voice. But for many singers, chest voice presents lots of problems.
Here are some major problems you might be facing every time you sing.
You pull the chest voice too high. This means your vocal cords stay thick and are not adjusting
correctly for the higher pitches. The resonance fails to move above the roof of your mouth
and into your head. You increase the volume and push harder which causes more tension.
Your chest voice is being pulled upward into what should be the head register. [Demo] You
hear that transition correctly.
Your vocal cords are not coming together deeply nor firmly which produces a chest voice too
light and breathy. This may also cause the middle and head voice to be too light and
breathy. Your voice lacks a firm anchor or foundation. Some women sing falsetto in the
chest register. As a result, there’s little to no chest resonance or overtones in the
voice. Let me demonstrate. [Demo] That’s too light, isn’t it? Or here’s the falsetto
in chest voice. [Demo]
You have difficulty singing into your head voice because you don’t know it’s possible
or you don’t know how to do it. It is possible to do it without strain, breaks, cracks or
falsetto. Your cords must make a proper adjustment and the resonance must shift into your head.
This transition from chest to head occurs in the bridge of your voice. That’s a subject
for another day.
If you have no chest voice, then you will be unable to sing in a mix of your chest and
head voice. If it is a weak or breathy chest voice, your mix of chest and head voice will
likely be weak and breathy.
Chest voice is the anchor and foundation of your singing voice. It vitalizes your voice.
It provides resonance and overtones that brings strength and life into your entire voice.
The 4 vocal types have an important component of chest voice.
In Pulled Chest/High Larynx, the Chest Voice is present, but being pulled too high into
the voice. [Demo]
In Light Chest-No Chest, it’s too light or non-existent. [Demo]
In Flip-Falsetto, chest voice might be pulled up too high, which is the reason for the flip
or break into falsetto. Or falsetto may be pulled down into the chest register, which
means there is no chest voice. [Demo]
In Mix, there is a good balance of the ideal chest and head voice.
Do you know your vocal type? I’m not referring to whether you’re soprano, alto, tenor or
bass. Your vocal type is what you tend to do when you sing.
Do you tend to pull your chest voice too high? Or do you tend to sing with a light chest
voice?
Visit PowerToSing.com and take the vocal test, which I call the PowerTest. Take the quiz
and discover your vocal type. Then go to the Knowledge Center and learn all about your
vocal type. Download the exercises designed specifically for your voice.
I’m Chuck Gilmore with Power To Sing. You can sing higher, with beauty, confidence and
power.
I’ll see you inside the next video.
Subtitles by the Amara.org community