This is a singing lesson about the problems with breaks in your voice and the solutions.
Have you ever said, "That song is right in the middle of my break"?
(Pavarotti) Do you feel limited because your voice flips, cracks or breaks into falsetto
in the best part of the song?
Inside this video lesson, I'll discuss these vocal problems, the easy solutions and why
this never needs to bother you again!
Hi, I'm Chuck Gilmore with Power To Sing.
In this singing lesson, I'll explain why flips, cracks, breaks and falsetto never need bother
you again.
You can literally eliminate these from your voice and sing any song you want to.
This problem usually happens for both men and women at the upper portion of the chest
voice.
For the men, that feels like it's near the top of their voices.
For women, it feels like it's right in the middle of their voices.
There's a reason for that.
Generally, for us guys, most of our voice is chest voice.
So the crack occurs near what we think is the top.
Generally, for women, most of your voice is head voice, so the crack occurs at the transition
between chest and head voice.
Sometimes it's called the 'middle'.
This transition from chest to head, for both voices is called the bridge, or passaggio
in the voice.
This is where the resonance or the vibration from chest voice wants to transition into
the head on higher pitches.
It's also where the vocal cords make an adjustment to make the transition easier.
Rather than saying, "It's right in the middle of my break", it's likely more accurate to
say, "It's right in the middle of my bridge".
These flips, cracks and breaks into falsetto prevent us from singing the songs we want
to sing!
They may prevent you from auditioning or getting a part.
You may always have to lower the notes in the song so you're always singing in chest
voice.
Or worse, you sing the song by pulling the chest voice too high.
You may try and sing the song, but embarrass yourself when you break or crack.
It's a problem you never seem to escape.
Perhaps you sing breathy and light so you don't feel the bridge or the break.
But, you can't be heard and this often encourages the external neck muscles to squeeze out extra
sound, which raises the larynx.
Staying in falsetto after you break limits the power in your voice.
It reduces the lower overtones in your voice.
Also, you can't blend back down into your chest voice without a 'clunk' to reconnect.
Sometimes you suddenly get lighter in the bridge so you don't feel it, but everyone
hears the distracting change in your voice.
You're not really limited by the break.
You're limited by not knowing how to sing through the bridge in your voice.
It's not a natural gift for most people, but it's something we all can learn to do!
Eliminating the break is accomplished by learning how to 'bridge', or how to sing through the
bridge successfully.
Learning how to 'bridge' is done first by allowing the resonance to shift from the chest,
split and move into the head and eventually transition completely into head resonance.
For example, let me show you how I can do a vocal exercise that will allow the resonance
to shift from chest, up into the head and back down.
(lip trill exercise) (goo, goo exercise).
Second is learning to maintain vocal cord connection - not breaking into falsetto as
the resonance moves from chest to head.
Watch.
(Ney, ney) You feel the resonance shift from chest up into head and back down again.
No disconnection.
Or..(Gee, gee) Third is to learn to comfortably sing and sustain notes that are in the bridge.
This takes a little time, but it can easily be learned and perfected.
For example: (Mum, mum) Other tips to help you succeed in the bridge: reduce the volume;
reduce the amount of air you're pushing; give adequate breath support; watch episodes 15,
16 and 23; raise rather than lower the pitch.
It's completely within your ability to learn how to sing in the first bridge of your voice
and transition into head voice and back to chest without flips, cracks and breaks and
suddenly going lighter or singing breathy.
Now 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.
If you tend to flip, crack, break into falsetto, your vocal type is likely flip-falsetto.
To discover your vocal type, visit PowerToSing.com and take the vocal test which I call the Power
Test.
Take the quiz and immediately learn your vocal type.
Visit the Knowledge Center and watch the videos about your vocal type.
There you'll find free exercises designed just for you.
For example, if you're flip-falsetto, you can get exercises that will help you succeed
in the bridge so you can sing without breaking.
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.