Singing Range

Singing Range is usually top on the list with most singers as well as vocal students, as most of us would love to have a wider vocal range in order to be able to hit ALL the notes in the songs that we sing, especially the really high ones! As a vocal instructor, I usually tell my students that the range of notes at which you CAN sing is usually not as important as HOW YOU USE what you are given. Many great singers do not have a really wide vocal range, but they are such wonderful singers because they know how to make their voice sound beautiful, touching, dynamic or powerful! I will be providing you with some useful vocal exercises here in this section on Singing Range, but before we do them, it is vital that we do our vocal warmups before we embark on our vocal exercises, to make our voice more supple and ready to sing. We should also take note to always support our voices well with our breath, and to practise our breathing exercises diligently in order stable breath support when singing! Now, we can use a simple 'Gi' syllable in our vocal exercises to extend our singing range. Using this 'Gi' vowel helps because the 'G' sound teaches us to be able to close our vocal cords better when we sing, and this will help in vocal cord adduction or cord closure, giving us a solid and strong singing voice! With good vocal cord adduction, our voice will be able to produce notes that we may never have been able to sing before, and this will definitely help us to extend our singing range and increase the song repertoire that we can sing! Do try to practise this 'Gi' syllable vocal exercise with a lower larynx sound, something like how you would sound when you yawn, or even like how opera singers usually sound! Here is a demonstration of the 'Gi' vocal exercise done correctly: Notice how we hit the top note of each key at least 3 times before going back to the lower notes in the scale. This is so that your vocal cord muscles learn how to close effectively at the top notes, thus increasing your singing range! Do also try to produce a solid and less airy sound especially on the high notes. Producing airy or weak sounds in the head voice range will not aid you in developing a wider range in your singing voice. I have provided some practice music for this vocal exercise in various keys for both female and male singers. Use the appropriate music so that you will be able to practise your vocal range effectively! For the practice music for female singers, I have begun on the A flat key, which should be suitable for most female singers to start with. The highest key in this exercise music is in the G key, with the top note maybe being slightly high for female singers, but it will allow you to practise your high head voice notes so as to be able to vocalize them well! For the practice music for male singers, I have begun on the B key, which is definitely within the average male vocal range. The highest key in this exercise music is in the B flat key, with the top note possibly slightly high for some male singers, but this will allow you to practise your head voice notes and produce them using a solid sound! Do check out some basic pointers to note regarding these vocal exercises, so that you will be able to practise effectively and avoid some of the pitfalls of training incorrectly! Also, do bear in mind the various training pointers that i mentioned earlier on this webpage and make sure that the 'Gi' sound that you produce is a solid and strong sound (not too airy or weak) with the larynx in a low and stable position. You may also wish to learn more about some common singing problems, as well as how to identify them, so that you may avoid these problems when practising these vocal exercises. Remember to STOP and REST whenever you feel pain or fatigue in your throat or vocals. This will help you to avoid vocal damage or abuse which may occur when you practise without proper supervision by an experienced vocal coach. Practise this vocal exercise diligently and safely, and you will certainly be able to extend your singing range and achieve a better singing voice!