What does it feel like to sing in mix and head voice?
This week I received this question during my weekly Tuesday Power to Sing Live broadcast:
“Is there a certain feeling in the vibrations in mix and head voice that I will feel, to
know if I am singing in those styles?”
Inside this video I’ll give you 3 ways to identify the feeling of singing with a mix
and head voice to help you recognize when you are doing it right!
Also I’ll give you 3 ways to recognize when it can not be mix or head voice.
Hi I’m Chuck Gilmore with Power To Sing.
This was a question I had for several years, even though I was sing in mix and head voice.
But I couldn’t really tell if I was doing it or not.
Here are 3 ways to know when you are not in head voice and mix.
First, location.
While mix can be throughout your entire range, (that’s an advanced subject to discuss another
day) you can easily identify the specific range that must be mix and head voice for
men and women.
For men, Mix is on the E (just above middle C),F,F#4.
Head voice is on the G4 and above.
For women, Mix is on the A (just above middle C), Bb,B,C5, C#5.
This Mix continues until F#5.
Head voice is on the G5 and above.
If you’re below the E4 for men or A4 for women, you’re probably in chest voice.
Second, if while singing in these mix or head voice pitch ranges, your voice breaks into
falsetto, you’re not in a mix, you’re in falsetto.
Third, if you are singing with very slightly adducted vocal cords so there’s a lot of
air escaping, or if you are pulling the chest voice high into the mix pitch ranges discussed
above, you’re not in mix.
You are in a light chest voice or a pulled up chest voice.
Also, if you are on these pitches and the vowel widens and splats, you fall out of mix
and into chest voice.
What does it feel like to sing in mix and head voice?
First, let’s identify the feeling of mix.
Do this exercise: [Demo Oct up sustain with word change New-No]
You must keep the more open vowel in “No” feeling like the more narrow vowel in “New”.
[Demo]
As you do this, get louder as you hold the “No”.
[Demo]
But don’t open the “No” wider than the “new” and/or let it drop into your mouth
and become chest voice.
[Demo]
Men sing it on the F4.
[Demo] That’s Mix.
Now sing it on the G4.
[Demo] That’s your head voice.
Women sing it on the B4.
That’s Mix.
Now sing it on
the E5.
While not 100% head voice, it’s close enough to feel like head voice.
What does it feel like to you to keep the “No” in the “New” place?
That’s the feeling of mix and head voice.
My descriptions have changed through the years.
Now it feels like I’m singing on overlapping resonances of chest and head.
And when I press or lean into it, it feels like I’m pressing into tone rather than
grabbing vocal cord.
It’s a very individual feeling that mainly YOU identify with.
Everyone feels and describes it differently.
Second, do exactly the same thing you just did, only on the words, “Goo-Go”.
[Demo]
What does that feel like to you?
Can you describe it?
Third, On the same pitches above sing this: [Demo Oct up with oo-oh-ah vowel change and
sustain] Keep the “Oh” and “ah” in the narrow place the “oo” established
first.
[Don’t open them beyond the more narrow “oo”.
[Demo]
What does it feel like to you?
Can you describe it?
I have a student who calls maintaining this feeling in a phrase during a song, “staying
in the pocket”.
I can identify with that.
To me it’s like [B-Roll ... take my arms that I might reach you, but my words, like
silent raindrops fell...]
If I fall out of the “Mix Pocket” if would sound like this: [.. take my arms that I might
reach you].
This is a process that evolves over time.
When you begin to identify the awareness and feeling of mix, then you can better monitor
yourself and progress faster.
If you liked this video, please give it a thumbs up, subscribe, and share it with a
friend.
How do you describe the feeling of mix in your voice?
Or are you still developing your mix and head voice.
Let me know in the comments section below.
A great way to learn to sing with a mix voice is to discover your vocal type and then do
exercises designed to get you into a mix voice.
Do you know your vocal type?
Your vocal type is what you tend to do when you sing through the first bridge and into
your head voice.
Visit PowertoSing.com and take the vocal test, which I call the Power Test.
Take the quiz and discover your vocal type.
Then visit the Knowledge Center and watch the videos about your vocal type.
Download the free exercises for your vocal type and start working on them immediately.
You’ll progress rapidly toward developing a mix 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