Singing For Dummies
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Your middle singing voice is the bridge between your chest voice and head voice. For women, middle voice feels like a lighter version of chest voice and a fuller, thicker version of head voice. For men, the middle voice feels lighter than chest voice or head voice and fuller than falsetto.

You can explore your middle voice or even build one if yours is missing in action. Continue reading to get an idea of what your middle voice feels like and when to use it.

The relationship of your middle voice to chest and head voice is the same, no matter who you are. But how your middle voice works, when it works, and the transitions to watch for all depend on whether you’re a woman or a man.

The illustration below shows you the average female middle voice range. In the beginning, your middle voice may be weak as you try to figure out how to reach these notes without transitioning to head or chest voice. Depending on the song, you can take your middle voice as low as you want.

If your voice gets too fuzzy or weak on the really low notes, you may need to transition into chest voice. When you sense the vibrations in your mouth and throat, you can easily maintain your middle voice sound while you sing.

Female middle voice range.
Female middle voice range.

The following illustration shows you the average male middle voice range. (Exceptions are tenors who may transition into middle voice higher than the range shown below.) The men’s middle voice range isn’t as large as the women’s range; you may not notice a huge change when you enter this range.

So understanding how your middle voice feels is important, especially when you transition from high notes or low notes. Your middle voice is less thick than chest voice and not light and spinning like head voice; it’s a sound and sensation that’s in between, vibrating around your mouth and throat.

If you try to push up a heavy sound from the bottom, it may take you longer to gain secure control over your high notes.

Male middle voice range.
Male middle voice range.

About This Article

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Pamelia S. Phillips is a professional singer with over 35 years of teaching experience. She has designed curriculum for high school students, college BFA programs, and professional training programs, helping thousands of singers refine their singing technique.

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