Singing For Dummies
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Ascending to head voice while singing means that you have to let go of the thick weight of chest voice or middle voice and lighten up the sound. You may have to go overboard at first to lighten the sound without squeezing your throat. The key is to feel the sound vibrating higher in your head.

Ascending from middle voice to head voice

Taking the middle voice too high keeps the head voice from getting its fair share of the workout. It also strengthens your middle voice while weakening your head voice. The transitions in your voice also become more difficult if you try to push a middle voice sound too high.

The transition notes won’t be dependable because you’ll try to sing them heavy, and maintaining that heavy sound can be tricky. You can make a choice of when to change to head voice in a particular song, but in the exercises, you want to keep the head voice strong by switching as early as possible.

Work the exercise in the following illustration to help you feel the transition from middle voice to head voice. Notice that the pattern has rests in it for you to detach the notes. Make sure that you transition into head voice instead of carrying up middle voice. Notice, too, that the vowels are laid out so that your sound is thicker at the bottom and gradually lightens as you ascend.

  • Guys: This pattern starts in your chest voice, but you definitely move through your middle voice on your way up to head voice. As you ascend in pitch, you may be tempted to sing a full, heavy sound. Instead, feel the vibrations changing as you ascend and allow the sound to lighten, with less pressure in your throat on the higher notes.

  • Dolls: Sing this pattern moving back and forth between middle voice and head voice. With each repetition, you can change to head voice sooner. As you descend in the pattern, notice how the middle voice feels heavier than head voice.

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Descending from head voice to middle voice

When moving from head voice to middle voice, the sound and sensations gradually thicken as you move down the scale. Taking head voice too low creates a light sound, and if the sound in the middle part of the voice is too light, it’s harder to make yourself heard. Try the exercises in this section to smooth that transition from head voice to middle voice.

In the following pattern, you start on the high note of the pattern and work your way to the bottom. Find the spinning feeling of head voice on the first note, and gradually let the sound grow thicker as you descend.

You may even feel the sound moving from your head to your mouth or your neck as you descend. That’s just fine. The pattern starts slowly and gradually gets faster. Take your time. You may need to repeat the first few slower patterns to get accustomed to making the transition before you tackle the faster patterns.

  • Guys: As you descend in this pattern, you land in chest voice. It’s a great pattern for you to sing moving from your head voice down through your middle voice. If the top notes are too high for you right now, start in falsetto. Later, when you’re more confident, you can start in head voice.

  • Dolls: This pattern moves from head voice to middle voice. Some of the later repetitions move to your chest voice. If the first few repetitions are too high, join in whenever you can as the pattern descends.

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About This Article

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About the book author:

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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