Singing

[Al Swearegen]

Odd topic I know.

I used to be a very good singer as a child. I won a lot of local contests and such. Then something pretty expected happened at about 12 and a half. So...

Thing is I always loved hearing male singers singing in tenor or falsetto range. I would often try to sing their songs and in their range and the result was the same as a make trying to imitate a female voice. Get the man next to you to try that and see what I mean.

As an old(er) man I have resigned myself to singing in my natural range. Mid to lower range of Baritone. (someone once said I was Bass-Batritone but I do not think it is quite that deep) I am actually not so bad if others are to be believed. People actually encourage me to sing.

The thing is, as mentioned (and I guess purely as a curiosity) how WOULD one train their vocal range from where they are comfortable singing to a higher range that stretches them?
Freddie Mercury was obviously a God or at the very least a freak of nature that managed to sing like no one else but he was a natural baritone singing his life as a tenor. Similarly, Chris Issak traverses a Baritone to Tenor range in "Baby did a bad bad thing".

So I am curious. Anyone an opinion on this?

["couldbecousin"]

  I've heard of vocal coaches who teach clients to find their true singing range.  I don't know
   how far one can sing outside of that natural range without doing damage to vocal cords. 

['andersom']

Singing lessons, or a choir with a good director.

Or expand it yourself, from the natural and relaxed reach you have in your range, by practicing scales. Practice that from the relaxed mode of singing. Slowly your reach may expand.

When I started studying I joined a choir with a very good director. We sang lots of scales. I started as a tenor, after a year I could do mezzo-soprano parties too.

Then I moved, joined another choir, bad director, working from stress rather than relaxed singing. Took singing  lessons, teacher worked  from tension. My range dropped massively. The joy was gone from singing. A friend of mine had a voice good enough for professional singing. She had a teacher that worked from relaxation. Did sing a bit with her. But her health was very poorly, so it never became a regular thing.

Now find myself singing a bit more, and my range is expanding a bit.

So, singing scales and have fun at singing. Working your power from a relaxed core, similar to martial arts, if that makes sense, is what I would advise. Including exercises to relax shoulders and whole body, before singing.

["couldbecousin"]

  My brother's range is pretty impressive.  He was a boy soprano who grew up to have a
   powerful baritone, and he still can do a good falsetto for fun.  He's a talented guy. 

[Al Swearegen]

  My brother's range is pretty impressive.  He was a boy soprano who grew up to have a
   powerful baritone, and he still can do a good falsetto for fun.  He's a talented guy. 

I envy him. I have natural deep baritone but always envied singers that could sing high. I mean seriously there ARE Baritone ranged singers in pop music BUT they are few and far between. Presley, Cocker, Bowie, Iggy Pop, Mark Knofler, Eddy Vedder and ? Few and far between.

Now Tenor range or those that sing in falsetto and just throw every other male singer in that basket including those that sound like they skipped puberty entirely.

Maybe it is better just concentrating singing what you can sing in your range very well? Just wondering if it could otherwise be done?

["couldbecousin"]

  I've heard of opera singers who damaged their voices by trying to sing too far outsude their natural range. 

[Al Swearegen]

Damn! I just found Rob Thomas is touted as a baritone???

["couldbecousin"]

Damn! I just found Rob Thomas is touted as a baritone???

  I would not have thought so. 

[renaeden]

I have been listening to a lot of Fall Out Boy and the singer, Patrick Stump, has a tenor voice I think. I think that because I like to sing along but sometimes his voice is too high for me, I can't hit the notes.

[Walkie]

I wish i could sing, never mind what range, but i'm crap at it.

Anyways, thought you might like the lead singer with this band. You gotta wait for nearly 2 minutes.  before you see what I mean. Actually, I prefer the studio recording of the song , but it's more surpising  live:

[Gopher Gary]

I wish i could sing, never mind what range, but i'm crap at it.

I'm crap at it too, but I don't mind. I just crank up the volume so I can sing badly and no one can hear me. 

[odeon]

It's about training, training, training... and a fair bit of talent. I had quite a range as a child but puberty and a lack of proper training put a stop to that.

[Walkie]

I wish i could sing, never mind what range, but i'm crap at it.

. I just crank up the volume so I can sing badly and no one can hear me. 

I did a double-take on that! I try to keep the volume low so nobody can hear me
AH! you mean you singalong to recordings. Me I usually sing whatever's in my head. Sometimes a proper song, sometimes just a stream-of-consciousnness  dum -de-dum sort of thing. I enjoy doing that, but I shouldn't think anyone enjoys hearing me
I was told, once, long ago that I'm natural soprano , which is probably true cos when i hit the high notes it comes out alarmingly loud.    I mostly sing like June Tabor with laryngitis...but much less tunefully, ofc

['andersom']

High notes do need more volume to come out.

Had to do a test at a speech therapist once. She showed how the amount of decibel produced increases when getting higher in range, while trying to make a sound as soft as possible.

No one whispers successfully in a high pitched voice.

[Walkie]

No one whispers successfully in a high pitched voice.

what about Robert Wyatt?