You're coaching a vocalist with range challenges. How can you help them expand their vocal abilities?

All of the items on this list are far too complicated. Increasing range takes about 2 minutes for most people. For people who are beginners or have severe difficulties, range can be extended in about 10-15 minutes. This is in scales or easy songs but once the connection between lower and upper voice is discovered, the tone can be built and nuances learned pretty quickly. I have worked with a few singers who needed many lessons to put the skills in their everyday singing. P.S. This took me more than 10 years of training and experience to be able to get these results. The teachers I train need about 3-4 months to be able to do it

Breathing Techniques | Teach diaphragmatic breathing to ensure proper support and control. Warm-Ups | Implement regular vocal warm-ups, gradually increasing the range. Scales and Arpeggios | Practice scales and arpeggios daily to strengthen the vocal cords.

A few former students I worked with had vocal range challenges, and I noticed that they needed to practice correctly or more often. I needed to understand how they could desire great results without effort. I gave them simple exercises that required at least 30 minutes of vocalizing, 15 minutes of working on the hardest part of the song, and 15 minutes of affirmations speaking out loud, "There's no such word as can't!" I experienced challenges during my undergraduate studies while learning Mozart's "The Queen of the Night" Aria. My challenge was that I thought I could not do it, so I believed it. But once I became determined to master the song and practiced section by section with German diction and vocal agility, I was fine.

Lack of belief in one’s capabilities is enormous! Good for you for finding it for Queen of the Night! And for most people, the belief comes when they have the right tools. When a singer is practicing scales, they often can’t see how that relates to doing the song/aria. It’s vital that the practice is directly related to the skill need to do they sing. This way, the singer develops self belief very quickly. Of course, lack of self belief can have underlying causes that make it more difficult for some than others.

Breath control is important but in my opinion there is too much importance placed on breath control before a singer has full awareness and understanding of their vocal mechanism. It is important to remember that the larynx is a valve and the vocal cords respond to the air pressure they receive. Too much air pressure = thicker vocal cords as they will need to resist this air pressure. We don't need much air to make sound. Instead of training 'breath control', we need to first train good adduction and vocal fold closure. Good breath control will be a positive outcome of this. Once this singer has a natural and free vocal technique one can begin to encourage expansion of the torso in order to extend a musical phrase.

Pour être optimal, le travail sur la respiration doit aussi inclure la dimension dorsale, aussi bien physiquement par des exercices ciblés que par des techniques de visualisation. Le tout combiné permet de gagner en souplesse, amplitude, et tonicité, éléments essentiels pour explorer, et déployer, le plein potentiel de sa voix.

Vocal Exercises | Use exercises like lip trills and sirens to gently push the range boundaries. Posture and Alignment | Ensure the singer maintains good posture to prevent tension and strain. Hydration | Encourage consistent hydration to keep vocal cords supple.

Breath control is the foundation of a strong and versatile singing voice. To expand your range, you must master the art of diaphragmatic breathing, which allows for more power and control.

Ich versuche denn Mund-Rachen-Raum und denn Nasen-Rachen-Raum beim Singen gemeinsam für die Resonanz zu integrieren damit die Obert?ne nicht fehlen und ich leicht ins Passagio oder in der Mischstimme kommen kann, denn das wiederum erm?glicht eine ideale und ausgewogenen Atemfluss. Ohne dass das Zwerchfell und der Kehlkopf blockiert werden. Ideal w?re 1.überdruck im Zwerchfell 2.Unterdruck im Kehlkopf und das verursacht 3.überdruck im Mund und Nase Rachen Raum.

Rest and Recovery | Emphasize the importance of rest to avoid overuse and potential damage. Gradual Progression | Expand the range slowly and steadily to avoid strain.

To add to this, specifically find the registers: chest voice and head voice. The throat can shape such that relaxing the jaw (down and back) and lifting the soft palette can give more resonation. I like to try the “top down approach” - especially for those who sometimes have a hard time accessing their head voice. Have the student sigh from the highest place they can and slide down. To improve the chest voice, I work the student downward from the middle and focus on mouth/throat placement for better resonation. First find and access these, then gradually work with the exercises already mentioned to create a seamless transition; i.e. develop the “passagio.” This is not as easy as it sounds and will take some time and development.

When my students struggle with getting up their voice range, I ask them to “think vertically”. The sensation I describe as: someone is pulling a rope up that is attached right at the top of your head. Additionally you should feel like you direct your voice rather upwards than front for more round and classical sound. At the same time, I pay attention that jaw drops and lips are round. Making a siren sound on “whoooo” is a great way to be able to immediately experience high pitch, and most of my students can make it almost immediately.

Oui, le placement est essentiel au travail de la voix, mais ces conseils sont un peu simplistes car ils ne parlent pas du corps tout entier comme étant l'instrument de la voix, ils ne ciblent que certaines parties ce qui réduit le "champ (chant ?) d'action". Il est également important, je crois, de prendre en compte la tessiture, le "tissu" de la voix, lorsqu'on travaille le placement car les aigus se bonifient grace aux médiums/graves, les graves bénéficient des médiums/aigus, etc. Le tout est supérieur à la somme des parties ;)

Ich versuche denn Mund-Rachen-Raum und denn Nasen-Rachen-Raum beim Singen gemeinsam für die Resonanz zu integrieren ?hnlich wie beim leichten g?hnen damit die Obert?ne nicht fehlen und ich leicht ins Passagio oder in der Mischstimme kommen kann, denn das wiederum erm?glicht eine ideale und ausgewogenen Atemfluss für den klang Ohne dass das Zwerchfell und der Kehlkopf für die hohen T?ne blockieren. Ich würde noch das ideale formen und arbeiten mit Vokale wie O und U hinzufügen die, die Randkanten Schwingung der Stimmb?nder erleichtern. Aber der der authentische Ausdruck darf niemals fehlen: was willst du mir als Zuh?rer erz?hlen?

Consistency matters should be on a T-shirt, and a uniform should be required for all vocal students during their first week of private vocal coaching. I explain to my students that being a vocal coach is like being a basketball or tennis coach. The coach's job is to give the game plan to the athlete to learn, practice, remember, and incorporate into their lives daily. It is the same thing with a vocal coach and a vocalist. Both have a part in helping the vocalist to be at their best. If vocalists do not create a consistent daily practice routine, they will not master their vocal agility and breathing techniques to become great singers. Practice makes the vocalist stronger and more confident; their range will improve greatly.

Healthy habits must be incorporated into every vocalist's life. Drink plenty of water, rest your voice, sleep enough, avoid laughing out loud too often, and choose the right diet for your body and voice. Everyone has their vocal routine, from peppermint tea to throat longezes. A healthy voice requires choosing daily to be mindful of what you put in your body because your instrument is internal. Every day, your voice will affected by your emotions, hormones, and physical and mental wellness. Being a vocalist is not easy because you do not put your instrument in a case like a horn or a guitar; it is in your body.

I would recommend/require such students to find performance opportunities. A lot of vocal problems get worked out in lots of performances. Singing has to become normal before it can become extraordinary.

Absolument. L'instrument de notre voix, c'est notre corps... il est donc essentiel d'en prendre soin, dans sa dimension physique bien s?r, mais aussi émotionnelle, psychique, environnementale, etc.

As a new mom I really needed coffee. But, I also had to sing. I had no idea how this would work! But, my voice teacher made me realize that coffee is mostly water, and as long as I drink water too, it was not worth losing the extra energy. She was right, and I didn't feel it affect my voice. Would I drink coffee all day? No, but a cup in the morning helped more than I thought with the energy I so desperately needed.

Well one advise is start to learn how to the harmony or seconds to the song. This exercise will remember that the seconds is 1higher pitch than the lead which means you already practicing and singing in a higher key and and if you make a habit of doing this method then you unconsciously making your voice pitch attempt higher and higher pitch.

A lot of focus seems to be put on reaching a higher pitch. I would advise to go deeper. When singing deeper, you have to relax. Going higher often leads to tension and strain. This has worked for me - I have a range of approx. 5 octaves. One thing I learnt was to focus on the breaks. Strength training for the voice - warm up well, identify the breaks between head/chest f.ex. (you hear it when singing glissando from top to bottom of your range) and sing where the voice cracks. Gently at first, increasing gradually.