It is very common for singers from every musical genre to want to be able to sing higher, however they invariably find themselves straining when they attempt to hit higher notes, this sounds horrible and often results in the singer’s voice “cracking”. Mastering the ability to consistently sing higher and produce tones that simultaneously sound both powerful and beautiful (thus having a “duel sound”) is a function of first developing the vocal registers in isolation (so that the muscles are strong enough to hold) then developing and dominating a series of variables so those muscles can work together. Some of those variables are listed below:

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• The singer’s vocal power, intensity and attack

• Mastering the singer’s “lever” position

• Developing a fine-tuned control of the singer’s “shape” which involves the singer dominating their larynx via their tongue and jaw

• The singer’s dominance of their “support” which includes both their breath/lung capacity as well as the strength and control of their diaphragm

• The singer’s ability to seamlessly maneuver through their passaggio via the appropriate “vowel modification”

• The singer’s production of their “line”, the underlying factor of intent, support and consistency that needs to be present at any time that a singer is producing a tone.

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When singers master these key variables, they are accepting the reality of the mechanics of the human voice, when they do this, they are amazed at what becomes possible. Producing one’s voice stops being an “unknown” quantity that the singer “hopes will work” and it becomes something that the singer can rely upon. Typically, audiences do not understand or identify the fact that great singers have a “duel quality” in their voices, however, they do recognize the undeniable power in a great singer’s voice. What the untrained ear of the typical listener misses is that a great singer’s voice is completely balanced. A fully developed singer will maintain the correct proportions of both the upper and lower registers relative to the pitch that they are producing. As a result, the singer is able to seamlessly sing through the “passaggio” (the passage between a person’s lower and upper registers) of one’s voice with both power and ease. This is made possible as the tone is balanced and thus composed of both registers, it is not one or the other, it is both. This is why great singers do not sound thin or weak as they sing higher.

 

When a singer properly balances each of the primary variables referenced above, then singing higher and thus passing seamlessly through the passaggio becomes possible without any physical or audible strain. This singer has accepted the natural mechanics of the human voice and therefore the production of a “duel sound” is made possible. As far as the audience is concerned, they would not identify any of this, they would simply hear the singer’s voice and refer to the sound that the singer produced as “awesome.”

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Whether you are an experienced singer or just getting started, the vast majority of singers are NOT confident with every part of their voice. Many will say that they feel adequate in some areas and completely unconfident in other areas. This is very common in the beginning but with some work, this will soon become a distant memory.

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We focus not only on maximizing vocal development but also on ensuring that my students learn to dominate their voices. When a student masters these concept they will never again need to be concerned with their ability to consistently produce their voice. In fact, when a student develops their “coordinated voice”, their “ideal sound”. That is the difference between one person singing notes and another person that has an undeniable signature sound. What we teach is what develops that signature “ideal” sound.

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