August 4, 2025 • 45 mins
Many singers chase higher notes thinking they need to push harder—but real range growth doesn’t come from pressure. It comes from coordination, flexibility, and patience.
Expanding your range isn’t about singing louder or trying the same thing over and over. It’s about experimenting, adjusting, and giving your voice the chance to learn something new. Sometimes the breakthrough happens not when you try harder—but when you try differently.
If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking, “I just can’t hit that note,” consider this your permission to stop forcing—and start exploring.
👉 Want to make practicing easier? Grab our FREE warm up track here: https://lessons.voxtapestudios.com/free-warm-up-track
👉 Want to know exactly what your voice needs to improve? Get a vocal evaluation from our professional coaches here: https://lessons.voxtapestudios.com/vocal-evaluation
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
sometimes it just takes like three four
five tries and then you get it and then you keep going
exactly and I see this so much with singers
like they try it once and then uh
didn't work I can't do it like no
like give your voice the chance to figure it out yes
it takes some time and the opposite
which is I didn't do it
I'm gonna do it again and again and again
the exact same way every single one of those
(00:20):
different about different approach yes
different adjustment I hear this thing
I feel this thing I experience this
what happens if I if I engage this way right
like you have to experiment with your voice
this is all about playing around and range
now range equals expanded like yes
right 100% time time with time and practice
you can't go lift weights one time and then be like
(00:41):
look at my bulging biceps like yes
that's just not not how it goes with with muscles
hey Vox Star and welcome to from singer to artist
I'm Lara Chapman award winning singer and songwriter
turned viral vocal coach and the host of this show
(01:04):
at VoxTape Studios
we help singers from all over the world
level up their voices
by teaching them the three fundamental skills
all singers need technique
awareness and artistry whether you're looking to go pro
or just develop your voice for fun
my team and I are here to help
check the link in the description
to book your first session
or grab some of our other resources Alrighty
(01:24):
are you ready let's get started
we are back with Coach Emily from our team hi
hello we're gonna be talking about vocal range yes
how to expand your vocal range
and the first thing
I think that we need to talk about is
what does that even mean
because there's multiple ranges that we can expand yes
exactly this is this is like
(01:45):
I feel like this episode is the truth behind
every YouTube clickbait no
yes 3 simple tricks to expand your vocal range
mm hmm sure
haha yeah
sure it it can be simple but difficult right
like maybe the steps are are clear
but it can it can take you know
some messing around together
so what is expanding your range
(02:07):
yeah so we have multiple ranges right
we have different registers
that's the the sciency word for head voice chest voice
right yeah um
so we have our head voice we have our chest voice
we have our mix voice
and then there's belt and then there's chest mix
and then there's head mix
and then there's flagolet and then there's Fry
and then there's all these crazy
different things that just feel so ah
(02:29):
overwhelming right yes
like when it comes to why can't I hit this note
mm hmm right
that's I think that's what leads us to into I oh
I need to
expand my range because I can't hit this one thing
so I like to view range in a couple different ways
one is what's your comfortable range
and then what's your total range
okay total range without pushing right
(02:51):
like your comfortable range is like
wake up in the morning for me
it starts like ah
good morning it's up here
absolutely not hahaha
not for me and
but it goes to like this is
this is the lowest that I'm probably doing hmm
(03:13):
right
ah
exactly ah
hahaha
that one here is fine yeah right
so you want to just kind of identify like
what's your comfortable range for yourself
yeah um
just thinking overall big top
big bottom yeah
now I can uh
uh
(03:33):
yeah right
I can get there
but I'm working hard to keep that relaxed haha
yes yes
you know and then same up here like
but like that's hahaha I cannot
you know like as a kid
like girls are like like
ah like
uh huh I could never do that
my voice just wouldn't hahaha
maybe like the little kid that speaks like an old man
(03:54):
hahaha go team
you got this hahaha
yeah I was never
you know like when you go roller coaster like yeah
roller coaster like that ah
like I could never do that really
that was one of my first vocal life hacks
that I Learned for myself
as a singer I was at um
an amusement park and I was like
I can mix on this
I don't have to scream and like totally ruin
(04:16):
totally mess up my voice for my jury tomorrow
I can just go whoo
hahaha
love that life hack for when you're at the musical park
yeah just mix your way through it
yes everything
that's the answer to everything hahaha yeah
but um
so you kind of want to just take a look at that
it does not have to be as high or as low as we're going
(04:38):
right just identify for yourself
like what you're working with
um now
now we get into the nuances
yes of that low part
that chest voice sound kind of hits a wall
usually around
that's where is that
like this isn't around an E to G
E to G and I'm talking about your
(04:59):
your true chest voice so not just hey right
that's more of a mix more of a hey
hey hey
hey hey
or you're in chest voice I experience it as uh
like almost like I'm
but underwater like pushing up to the surface
that's how I experience chest voice
(05:21):
because
I have to be intentional about not being in mix
if I'm gonna be isolating it
um so yeah
so that will hit a wall somewhere around there
for estrogen dominant voices
for testosterone dominant voices
it's kind of similar down the octave
down the octave okay
down the yeah okay
um and then we start getting into mix and that varies
(05:41):
and then at some point around dream on G hahaha
yeah right
we're no longer here right
we're no longer in that sort of mix uh
well there
then eventually we're just in head
so we get out of uh chest
sounding mix sounding being the underline bold all caps
(06:05):
yes um
test sounding mix um
and make our way into head in some voices
I'll say in my voice yeah
that's the one thing that I know to be true
about all this right
yeah in my voice
that's what I experienced um
and that's often what we're hearing
so that is the baseline for where
(06:28):
where those ranges kind of yeah
stop and start uh
I'll say in the realm of like possibility okay
okay so
so how do I make that a better sentence hahaha no
no no
no that makes sense yeah
okay so we have to break it into
into pieces yes
so how do we even get there
yes so let's
cause I feel like when
when people are trying to like expand their range
(06:52):
they're either talking about belting higher
yep or mixing higher or whatever uh
or then like are Ariana Grande high notes kind of yes
high yes
so can we start with the high high
high one uh huh
because I personally need to feel the stretch first
before I can go into belting
otherwise I am just like my throat closes off
(07:15):
I'm constantly under the pitch
so I need to stretch first
so can we do that first yes
absolutely do you have something specific for flagella
that you like to do basically means it's like
it depends on who you're talking to
but it's like a really tiny squeaky kind of sound
yeah that if you can do that
it's that I have to work really hard to do that
(07:38):
so it's not like a beautiful like
like that's headless yeah right
so it's it's really just the tiny squeaky small sound
um and it's kind of like that in between
between head voice and whistle right
so your vocal folds are still vibrating
cause when you're whistling
they're not anymore right
they're just kind of like locked into place
and then you're just kind of like
whistling through your voice um
(07:58):
I wouldn't say that they're not at all
but they're I would say that they're pulled so taut
hmm that um
if they are vibrating they're not really like okay
whoo yeah
yeah yeah okay
wonderfully vibrating okay
fair enough
so that flash of light is kind of like that in between
yeah and so what I like to do is something like a
(08:25):
so very light very small sounding
even if if you are like a comfortable soprano
the those notes you might have the instinct to go like
hoo hoo hoo yeah
we're keeping them small so that as we keep going up
we're we're training those muscles
not to be working out the whole time
yes and then also like
(08:45):
don't start modifying the vowel right
like keep it on a hoo hoo super small hoo sound um
and then yeah I don't know where we want to start
do you want to start on the C sharp
or do you want to start
sure I whatever
it doesn't matter you pick
let's uh
we can start there that's where people are gonna be
alright
(09:08):
do you close the back with an ng
yeah that's beautiful
thank you where do you put your tongue
mine's touching the back of my teeth
(09:33):
see my tongue also always just goes like
like down
so the thing that I like to do to just kind of like
battle against that
it just pushing down and then you can like feel it
like it's not with the tongue that you're feeling
but everything just engages down here
like underneath your chin
um I like to push my tongue forward a little bit
(09:54):
so it's like touching the inside of my teeth
and not that much just more like a
and that's how you get that sort of extra
close off sound maybe yeah
probably cool cool
okay let's
I'm just trying to get it out of the way
you know oh
I oh
I know yeah
(10:14):
I that's my life um
cool that's start here
head up OK
we'll see how far we can go
9:00am baby let's go
9:00am we're gonna go
we're gonna go as far as I can go yeah
oh yes
we're gonna get Emily high notes
let's see let's see how this goes
I love it drop out when you need to
(10:35):
I will have to
we'll start here
also one thing I noticed for myself
if I do it too slowly
my muscles start engaging so I like to keep it pretty
(11:27):
oh I'm gonna cut out hahaha
oh here we are oh
this is where we get into the modification
(11:49):
ah ah no
that's fine then ah hahaha
ah that's it
that's my top the G the G6 hahaha
never in my life feeling so fly the G6 hahaha yeah
(12:10):
feeling so fly like a G6 hahaha G6
but I lose the ability to keep well
it's small because it's got to be small yeah
but I lose the ability to keep it on the
yeah yeah yeah yeah um
that was really cool
I felt like every time you just kind of like
started with a huh
(12:30):
yeah like that breath flow it came out yeah yes
it's that's how
what I have to do often
when I'm feeling like my coordination is out of place
and I'm doing some staccato
that's actually
something I really like about this exercise um
that
that you have is that it starts out with that staccato
mm hmm it's just bampara bampara bampara
that's we're working that coordination as well as like
(12:52):
let's just get them moving together yeah
and for me I like to um
the breath also really helps
like a hoo hoo rather than a oo oo yes right
yeah hoo hoo and so forth anyways
um so starting on the breath and then the sacato thing
I like to do that so that I'm not scooping too much ah
cause I just pull up too much weight with me otherwise
(13:14):
so I like to keep it short
and then also
it's much easier to just quickly hit a note
and then turn right back around
then sustaining the note uh huh
and I feel like a lot of times singers are just like
I need to expand my range
but I need to hold the note
so I'm just gonna hold the note
I'm like hold on
hold on hold on one step at a time one yes
exactly so I like to do something like this first
to just get the stretch in my vocal folds going
(13:36):
before I try and sustain them out yeah
absolutely and I'm the opposite okay
where I'm like
let me get everything in flow and then I can do this
the staccato then I can do the quick coordination okay
because that's how my body is otherwise
it's like
you hear that like yeah
that sound where it doesn't quite want to do it
but if I go
(13:58):
right like it's there
hahaha something's there hahaha oh my God
whatever note that was
it's that G that G is like the G6
like my G6 is like girl that's it hahaha yeah
but like not even close have I ever been hahaha
able to get up there so you know
it's fine it's okay
I'm bottoming out at like an e hahaha
(14:19):
I can't go much lower than that either
but anyways whatever hahaha so okay
so something like that is I think great for top yeah
absolutely yeah
do you have any anything that you like to do for top
top uh
for top top I
what I do is not dissimilar to what you do OK
so yeah so very very similar um
(14:42):
one thing that I will also say that is
in your exercise that I like
that I do generally in top range
start at the top and make your way down hmm
and when we um
in another episode when we talk about mix right
we'll talk a little bit about like
you need to work all areas yeah um
and you need to teach the chest voice how to come down
(15:03):
and the chest voice but I say
teach the head voice how to come down
and the chest voice how to go up
so that they know how to coordinate together
when it's kind of thick and kind of thin
and kind of in between um
that's really gonna help your range expansion
in general okay
cool another thing I like to do
bring your head voice all the way down
so can you get let's do that
(15:27):
so we just kind of jumped right into it uh
one thing I like to do get the tongue out of the way
we're gonna do it on LA LA LA
oh okay get that tongue moving yeah
beautiful example of letting your jaw relax
and not bringing it to the party
not inviting it to the party yes
it's it's not it's still yeah
(15:48):
we want the jaw to be still
not because you're holding it still
but because it is so detached not yeah
not in in the house this one again
if you can't tell if it's still
go right up to a mirror and look or just feel
we're not pulling but we're just feeling
(16:26):
now here notice how we're not going
we're not getting chesty we're just keeping it
we're gonna keep going as low as we can in head
(17:08):
LA LA LA LA LA LA
honestly
I this is so interesting
I very rarely do this and I'm like
(17:29):
am I truly just in head voice
or am I just kind of like in a mix down here
ah well how do you how can you tell
how can you tell
well a mix can be 99 point percent to one percent hmm
right so maybe it is LA LA LA LA LA LA
what I identify as head voice here
is that we don't have a firm
(17:49):
closed sound so make it breathy LA LA LA
and we also aren't in breathy chest
I would identify because we're not LA
there isn't that extra sound of closure
I experience head voice down here as like
I'm in a cloud floating above the voice
(18:13):
uh huh is that keep it a little lifted
we're messing with the soft palate
to get acoustics on our side
uh that was a more lifted soft palate
is that more what we're looking for there or
yes it that will help
that will help that will help okay
um if you did this exercise and you're like
that's how I sing down there all the time
(18:35):
I got news for you
it's time to work out your chest voice yes
yes yes
yes yes OK
so that's topic 7 topic 7
oh my god so we have going up in your head voice
we have going down in your head voice
so that's expanding your range in your head voice
in your head voice
and we're gonna copy and paste this down to chest
(18:56):
alright let's do it so um
we did this fry exercise in another in another one
but I would like to repeat it here
but we're gonna do it on the low low end OK
and really just go up and down a couple times
so we'll do it here
uh in and out of Fry fry voice fry voice fry
can we maybe do it like over a third
over a third so like na na na na na yeah
(19:18):
make it so it's just a little different you know
is that too hard
like that yeah
but on a uh
oh yeah no
I think that's great let's do that
we're gonna do it on an uh
too on an uh
on an uh uh
(19:39):
if you are like me and those high notes feel easy
and chest voice is like wow
I really gotta kick it into gear uh
is your friend uh
it weighs down your vowel yeah
so it's not like an ah yeah
it's not an ah ah cause for me when I go ah
I wanna go ah yeah
when I go uh
it's more like ugh
(20:00):
I'm so tired exactly ugh
it just gets you right in it like yeah
ah yeah yes OK
perfect absolutely
so we're starting low fried a voice ready and
(20:36):
drop out when you need to we'll keep going
you're making me smile and I can't do this
(20:56):
and I'm smiling
this is the this is the Laura Chanel
gonna push you down haha
uh uh
(21:18):
it's like barely any volume anymore down there
like if I'm trying to make it hurt yeah
if you're trying to it then it goes sharp
yeah right
and this is a really great thing to point out
we're experimenting here mm hmm
like even at the top where I was like ah
why can't yeah right
experiment with your voice
play with it it's this really cool fun thing
we have this mechanism designed for eating and drinking
(21:38):
and now we can make like ridiculous sounds with them
yes why not go as ridiculous as possible
yes right
push your extremes but keep it like you said
you're like in order it's hard to be heard there
you can hit the note yeah
but it's hard to be heard
which means
you're not gonna sing a song that goes down to the mic
yeah
you're not gonna sing a song that goes down
and sustains a B3
(21:58):
no a B2
yeah yeah yeah
so um
that's another thing to point out
like when you're experimenting with your voice
you don't wanna go oh yeah yeah yeah
squeeze it right
and really squeeze it out um
but you can still play with what the top is
try a couple different approaches
figure out what works best for you
that's it's okay to not have the answers
(22:19):
and play with it yourself
just know that you're aiming for comfort
mm hmm
it can be a challenge while also still not hurting yes
or not feel like squeezing or pushing
yes
if it all feels like squeezing and pushing
you have an obstacle in your way
yes you have a tensor tongue jaw
(22:42):
yeah laryngeal pressure neck
like even holding your core really tight
because you just did Pilates and good for you
cause that feels it's awesome
right
but like be aware of those things and then be like
oh okay
I can be loosey goosey yes
that's yeah
that's one thing I've heard from a lot of students
in general about like
(23:03):
oh taking voice lessons
like
I am just so much more in tune with my body in general
like that is I mean
like there's any
if there's anything you can get out of it
there's a ton but like yeah yeah
just for your everyday life
it's like knowing what's going on physically
so and before I get before I continue being tangential
yeah like just experiment with it
(23:24):
you know like know that you can go that low
when I was reaching those low notes
I was like wow
I'm not gonna be putting these in a song
but yeah
I have to like focus hard to get those
but at the same time
like that's a great stretch for my voice yeah
and then the more you do it
eventually it's gonna get easier and easier and easier
and then you can actually put it in a song yeah
and we were at the Beyonce concert yeah
(23:46):
and she was living down there yeah
just I was like down
down Alto moment is here yes
let's go yeah
I was so happy but um yeah
like just because it's not like right this very second
you're gonna put it in a song
if you keep doing it again and again and again
eventually you can exactly
and now I wanna
(24:06):
jump up to we're gonna keep stick with this exercise
but I wanna jump up to show you what I
to show you what I mean about by this next sentence
okay as you keep going up in this exercise
we are sticking to I'm calling it true chest voice
right like we are not trying to go
(24:31):
that's a mixy place yeah
we're super light we're super mixy
which is an awesome place to be
but not when we're not
when we're specifically going for one thing yes right
bringing it back to the fry
can help ensure that you're staying relaxed
(24:52):
as long as you're not squeezing your fry out okay
cool let's try it um
let's go a little bit
we'll start here just to get into that true chest okay
oh
and listen to our tones yeah
can we do a an ex
(25:13):
can we do an example of both of us doing it in mix
to show what we're not aiming for
so there's a different we adjusted our vowels
to kind of get us into a more mixed
dominant place
but also there's a pretty big difference in tone
(25:36):
it's much lighter it's much lighter yeah
it's much lighter
it's truly a mix of head and chest voice
like if I think in ratios percentages colors right
uh huh
that ratio is closer to 50 50 in my head right
yeah and then it is to like 75 25
(25:57):
which is probably what we're
going for as we get up and up and up yeah
in in chest so we'll do this again in chest and chest
let's head up alright
oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
oh oh oh oh oh
(26:22):
oh
oh
oh
oh
oh
oh
oh oh oh
our jaws are very relaxed
we probably aren't seeing very much movement
(26:49):
it's okay for this chest voice to start growing
we're taking it up
we're gonna try to get to the top of chest voice
not because there's so much pressure
we feel like we're gonna break
but because we're noticing
I can't do this without mixing uh yeah more heavily
oh oh
oh
oh
(27:12):
oh
oh
oh
oh
oh
oh
oh
(27:38):
that's me raising a finger
I have a question yeah
so up here my default is getting spread
and that gives me that shouty like a ah ah
you know that kind of like shouty yeah
kind of undertone is that a yay
is that a nay is that what do we want to do here
um
(27:58):
if you can't bring your volume down by a couple notches
no spread or not uh huh
we're hitting our we're hitting our our wall OK
because try and reduce volume a little yeah
cause you're bringing up a another type of voice right
like mine is my voice is like
my voice just starts mixing
and I'm like alright
we're no longer like chest chest chest right
uh huh but your
(28:18):
voice will chest until you can no longer
muscle through yeah
muscle through it so it's a great thing to notice like
oh I'm not doing this the same anymore I'm not in that
right it's going
(28:39):
it's okay to get acoustics on your side
that's kind of what that spread can do yeah
it's a little twangy right
yeah getting in a little
a little bit of that brightness
so let's try it no
we're not gonna be um
why don't we try it
I'm gonna drop out just so I can hear you okay
um see if you can do it without
if you bring in a little brightness
(29:00):
that's fine um
do it without as much of volume okay
uh uh
uh uh uh
it's like fighting me a little bit
it's fighting I hear your tongue a little bit
oh uh uh
your tongue not pulling back but uh
tensing through the middle uh uh
(29:28):
yeah what if you want one last thing
what if you replaced anything here with a small
crunch of your lower ABS OK
oh oh
oh oh
how was that that was better
Hee Hee Hee OK
see I was always fighting to engage my ABS like period
(29:53):
cause I was so overmuscling my ABS for so long
that I'm like don't engage your ABS at all ever
now it's like OK
no actually it can be helpful again
so and that's why I said lower ABS lower
because I know for me I hear ABS and I'm like
I'm doing a plank haha
yes and it's like
wait wait
wait wait wait wait no
that's not what we're going for yeah
(30:13):
so that's we kind of did two things with the ABS there
one was guide your air out a little more intentionally
mm hmm and the other was this technique
I Learned from my very first voice teacher Giovanna
she's awesome I hope she hears this hahaha
um uh
which is called anchoring
and the purpose there is taking your tension
and placing it elsewhere on your body
(30:34):
so we used to do it with
thinking about engaging your lats
like you're pressing down on a table
right so that's one thing
this is a an anecdotal evidence situation
this isn't there aren't studies being like
anchoring replaces your attention
but I find it to be very very helpful
so that the lower ABS can also be a way to do that
and it helps because we're using airflow
yeah yeah okay
(30:55):
very cool yeah
and that's an A I typically will stop at an a
because that's where we start
then we really start entering the
the break for estrogen estrogen dominant voices
yeah um
for testosterone dominant voices
you're probably gonna notice this between
honestly between like a
probably anywhere in this fifth
depending on where you land
(31:17):
somewhere between a B and an F sharp
depending on okay
where you sit from base baritone tenor
even base might be a little lower
yeah okay
yeah very cool
very cool um
so that's
if you're like working on expanding your chest voice
that's that
is it different
when you're working on expanding your belt
(31:38):
it go it goes into expanding your belt okay
but it is different so there's like a true chest belt
which is like yeah
right we're
we're just voice that was so open
are you guys kidding me like that was so beautiful
what why
thank you
shut up Emily
then I won't demo the next one
(31:59):
no please do
please do but now
there's a difference between going up here and doing
yeah right
that's a totally different
that now we're mixing a lot more yeah
um if I yeah
you can hear it a little more in the straight tone
um so well well
so let's
cause a lot of people want to like belt slash mix belt
uh huh higher
(32:19):
so if we wanted to do that
what kind of exercise can we practice
to get that powerful sound up into higher notes
yes this is what I always
this is what I do with like everyone OK
um I find it can be super helpful
so first let's just
we're gonna go from speech into singing uh
which is a whole thing we'll do later haha
yeah um
so uh
first just like you're brushing someone off
(32:41):
you're on the phone and you're like
yeah yeah yeah whatever yeah yeah
whatever yeah
yeah whatever yeah
whatever so instead of yeah
whatever it's not
it's like you're really like kind of annoyed like yeah
yeah okay whatever
yeah yeah yeah
no see yeah yeah
you're overthinking it you're overthinking
we're not singing so if I say um
oh hey
(33:01):
can I grab that thing from upstairs
oh hey
can I grab that thing from upstairs
yeah sure whatever
yeah sure whatever yeah okay
yeah okay
oh my God I love your shoes
oh my God your shoes are amazing
there you go that's different yeah
yeah yeah
but that one shoes and we're going shoes
shh no
(33:21):
absolutely not
haha
okay so that that's
there's an example of me being a soprano yes
and me not yeah yeah
so it's a good thing to note of like
if you're like wow
this person it's so easy for them
it's like well
that's my speaking voice is standing
is sitting here as I'm talking right now yeah
(33:44):
mine isn't yeah
and yours is yours is down here
and that's like normal that's normal
like both both are normal things
so we're gonna
but that doesn't mean that you can't learn to do it
absolutely absolutely
if I'm doing exercises and like
I'm working really hard on it
I can get it yeah
and then if I'm doing it more and more
and more and more I can put it into songs
like I have to learn all of this
so it's it's doable but it's not like my default
(34:05):
my natural thing exactly
exactly
which is why I had to fight to stay in chest voice
and you had to fight to figure out
is this chest
is this the chest voice that I'm trying to be in
right now yes
yes yeah
so what I do it's not on yeah
but it's on yeah
yeah it's on yeah
we're just doing three of them
a 5 3 one
we're just to go yeah
yeah yeah
OK
what yeah
(34:26):
yeah yeah
you did a he think think that it's just going yeah yeah
yeah yeah
yeah we're gonna do it here a couple times
so it feels super easy yeah
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
yeah yeah yeah
yeah yeah yeah
(34:47):
yeah yeah
yeah we'll do this one again yeah
yeah yeah
yeah yeah
yeah yeah yeah
yeah yeah
yeah yeah
mmm hmm use those lower ABS yeah
yeah yeah
do or do not do do yeah
yeah yeah
there's a little brace before the yeah
it's kind of going hit yeah
so it's like the breath is stopping
so can you just go huh
(35:09):
huh
now a little less breathy at the top
let it be like kind of exasperated like huh
huh
yeah yeah yeah
yeah yeah
yeah there it is yeah
yeah yeah
yeah yeah yeah
yeah yeah
yeah uh huh
yeah yeah
(35:29):
yeah yeah
yeah yeah
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
yeah yeah
yeah yeah yeah yeah
yeah hahaha
now we get into now we're Benson Boon hahaha yes
yeah yeah
so I'll also note like that's an F
that's high oh what yeah
that was an F that felt okay
I mean it wasn't perfect by any means
(35:50):
but like usually I would have to'cause I
we have to remind ourselves it's currently 9:00am yeah
hahaha and so it's like wow
usually it would take me like an extensive like
thing to get my voice up there without
and what you were saying like the huh
uh huh that is so typical for me
it's typical for a lot of people
I see that a ton
(36:11):
with people who are more chest dominant typically
typically yes yes yes
absolutely so there um
also if you were following along and you're like that
what oh what yes
like that's very high it is very high
that's very high
that's a we're one step away from dream on
so like we're um
that's fine if you heard that and you're like
(36:31):
that was so bright
I don't want all my mix belting to be bright
find your ticket in the door
find find your key right for me yeah
yeah yeah
gets me in now I can open it up to maybe a more of a
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
yeah yeah yeah yeah
(36:52):
we're still on an E flat
we're still we're still kind of high right yeah
yeah yeah
yeah yeah
uh huh there you go
how's that feeling it feels great yeah
feeling a little bit of phlegm wiggling loose yeah
just a little like good morning
here we are yes
yeah yeah absolutely
well um
there you go that's how you
that's how I always start
I think it's really important to train
(37:13):
like get to the belt
and then stay in that mixed belt as you come down
hmm um
in addition to
when people get really comfortable with that I add
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
can we keep it all mixed yeah
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
yeah yeah yeah
(37:34):
mmm hmm I'm hearing a tiny bit of huh huh
tongue engagement yeah
yeah yeah yeah
how do I get it out of the way
hahaha
do it on
and it stops and the tongue says
oh my God thank you
but that's like yeah too light can
(38:01):
so maybe that's your first step
right
like if that's the struggle that you're running into
your first step is like oh
I'm hearing that uh uh
sort of of course
I'm doing it to the extreme
yes but that tiny bit of engagement there um
can I do it with my tongue out
(38:22):
I'm like adjusting my facial shape
everything wants to grip so yeah
we just talked about the a
a band Aid a solution to when things wanna grip
let's engage the lats a little bit
push down on that table
that felt a lot better already
I still have a little bit of that squeezed sound
I definitely don't feel it as much anymore
(38:44):
but it still sounds a little
it's almost like
the top note is easier than the middle note
uh huh yeah yeah
so are you thinking I hit it okay
I'm done
maybe maybe that's I find that a lot
that was good and there's there we are
sometimes it just takes like three
(39:04):
four
five tries and then you get it and then you keep going
exactly and I see this so much with singers
like they try it once and then uh
didn't work I can't do it like no
like give your voice the chance to figure it out yes
it takes some time and the opposite
which is I didn't do it
I'm gonna do it again and again and again
the exact same way every single one of those
different about different approach yes
(39:25):
different adjustment I hear this thing
I feel this thing I experience this
what happens if I if I engage this way right
like you have to experiment with your voice
this is all about playing around and range now
range equals expanded like hahaha yes
right
one with percent time time with time and practice
you can't go lift weights one time and then be like
look at my bulging biceps like hahaha yes
(39:47):
that's just not not how it goes with with muscles
so I think there's there's a big theme here
one is you know
no muscling through yeah
no like tension right
yeah go for the crack
not the not the push exactly
exactly like yes
work for it it takes effort
it takes engagement but it takes intention
intention yeah
(40:07):
but not like ugh that right
and if you feel that don't just give up
try again but make adjustments
mm hmm um
and time is the other thing yes
the more you do it like the repetition of it yes
you can't just like do it once a week and then
you know be like
in a month from now why is my range not expanded
it's not just time it's also the repetition
yes of it
time repetition
(40:28):
intention awareness
all these things go into it
and if it
that feels really overwhelming to do by yourself
there are so many people there are two people here yes
who are like oh
guess what I do for a living
yes listen to you and
and check in with what you're doing because it's
it takes a lot of extra skills to identify
(40:50):
within yourself like yeah
the what
the back and forth that we did to get you there
like that was fast because we have years of training
like we have we yes
we have years of training right
yes and it's so easy
like when you see on social media
when you see these clips of like
these before and afters yes
a lot of times a
they're staged yeah
yeah sorry
sorry to say it but a lot of times they are staged um
(41:10):
or the singer already has a lot of experience
and there was just a little tweak and
you know they can usually do it
but this time they couldn't
so you know
they use that for the take
like there's so much that goes into it
to make it look really amazing
but at the end of the day
it takes the time
at the repetition to really get the results
and especially recurring results
yes and not like you could do it once
(41:31):
and that's it for the take
and then you can never do it again
I yes
I would always rather a student
and slowly inch by and get a little stronger each week
consistently then have one perfect
perfect lesson everything is super easy
and then the next week is the same as the week
like two weeks before yeah
you know you can't do it
(41:52):
the consistency is the goal
that's how we we reach sustainability
yes and then when
when you try to sing the way you did yesterday
right when you had your perfect singing day
you ever you woke up perfectly
because you just got off a Long Beach vacation
and you're the most relaxed you've ever been
yeah right
like that also goes into it um
when you try to sing like that
but now you're stressed cause you
got 100 emails from work like that's where we
(42:13):
that's where we lean into injury land
like that's where you can get hurt
when you try to push your way through something
so yeah all in all
go for the crack not the break
know what you're going or go for the crack
not the push yes
um know what you're going for are
what are you trying to expand here
do you want to expand your low notes
do you want to expand your high notes
(42:33):
is it the belt in the middle
is the belt in the middle
is it bring you know
you have to be able to one thing to note
we brought our chest voices up to an a
and then therefore could bring our mix up to an F yeah
if my chest voice is going up to an E and my head voice
and and like we brought our head voices way up
(42:53):
and my head voice is going up to uh
we'll say a C right
then belting a B is gonna be really hard yeah
yeah yeah
we we want we want breathing room on either side yes
I like breathing room I like that yes
a little bit of a cushion yes
so if you want to belt high
you need to have a high head voice yes
(43:14):
you need to stretch your head voice higher yeah
and same thing with low notes
like if you want to and
and you need to stretch your chest voice up
so it's yeah
stretching is the keyword there not pushing
stretching not pushing mmm yes yes
I love that yeah
I love that
so this is just kind of like a breakdown of like
what does it mean yeah
what does it mean to expand your range
one exercise for each of the above yeah
(43:36):
and now it's you know
now you have to figure out for yourself okay
which one do I wanna pay attention to first
and then you know start working on that
and not do everything all the time
all at once cause that's gonna get a bit crazy
do you identify more with my voice and the
the way that
my voice wants to naturally approach things
or with your voice the way that your voice does
because it takes different kinds of approaches
(43:56):
yes yeah yes
I love it thank you so much
I got a little voice lesson
there you go I love it
I love it OK f yeah
and my voice is feeling great right
it did not feel like I was pushing
and now my voice is like like tired yeah
not at all my voice feels great so awesome
Yay you know what you're doing
who would have thought I love being told that
(44:19):
I love that like Emily said this is our day job yeah
and are all of the job yeah
so if you want to get some help like I
I always say like
even if it's just one lesson to gain more clarity
yes of what it is that your voice needs
because it's so hard to always figure it out yourself
yes
(44:39):
you don't need to be a hero
you don't need to do everything by yourself
just like get another pair of ears on it
yeah yeah yeah
so you know
book a session yeah
I'm always the one doing the first session
so you'll be working with me
but I can do this stuff too okay
yeah yeah
oh yeah
she's killer she's awesome
and and then
you know we'll figure out how things are going
if that's not within your budget
(45:00):
you can always do a vocal evaluation
where you send us a video
and we'll give you feedback on your singing
um but anyways
check out the links whatever works for you
do it we're here to help okay
I love it Alrighty
thank you Emily
thank you for joining me today
for helping me expand my range
of course and I'll see you in a
in an episode very soon yes
(45:21):
and we'll see you guys in the next one or in a lesson
I love it Alrighty
take care bye
sometimes it just takes like three four
five tries and then you get it and then you keep going
exactly and I see this so much with singers
like they try it once and then uh
didn't work I can't do it like no
like give your voice the chance to figure it out yes
it takes some time and the opposite
which is I didn't do it
I'm gonna do it again and again and again
the exact same way every single one of those
(00:20):
different about different approach yes
different adjustment I hear this thing
I feel this thing I experience this
what happens if I if I engage this way right
like you have to experiment with your voice
this is all about playing around and range
now range equals expanded like yes
right 100% time time with time and practice
you can't go lift weights one time and then be like
(00:41):
look at my bulging biceps like yes
that's just not not how it goes with with muscles
hey Vox Star and welcome to from singer to artist
I'm Lara Chapman award winning singer and songwriter
turned viral vocal coach and the host of this show
(01:04):
at VoxTape Studios
we help singers from all over the world
level up their voices
by teaching them the three fundamental skills
all singers need technique
awareness and artistry whether you're looking to go pro
or just develop your voice for fun
my team and I are here to help
check the link in the description
to book your first session
or grab some of our other resources Alrighty
(01:24):
are you ready let's get started
we are back with Coach Emily from our team hi
hello we're gonna be talking about vocal range yes
how to expand your vocal range
and the first thing
I think that we need to talk about is
what does that even mean
because there's multiple ranges that we can expand yes
exactly this is this is like
(01:45):
I feel like this episode is the truth behind
every YouTube clickbait no
yes 3 simple tricks to expand your vocal range
mm hmm sure
haha yeah
sure it it can be simple but difficult right
like maybe the steps are are clear
but it can it can take you know
some messing around together
so what is expanding your range
(02:07):
yeah so we have multiple ranges right
we have different registers
that's the the sciency word for head voice chest voice
right yeah um
so we have our head voice we have our chest voice
we have our mix voice
and then there's belt and then there's chest mix
and then there's head mix
and then there's flagolet and then there's Fry
and then there's all these crazy
different things that just feel so ah
(02:29):
overwhelming right yes
like when it comes to why can't I hit this note
mm hmm right
that's I think that's what leads us to into I oh
I need to
expand my range because I can't hit this one thing
so I like to view range in a couple different ways
one is what's your comfortable range
and then what's your total range
okay total range without pushing right
(02:51):
like your comfortable range is like
wake up in the morning for me
it starts like ah
good morning it's up here
absolutely not hahaha
not for me and
but it goes to like this is
this is the lowest that I'm probably doing hmm
(03:13):
right
ah
exactly ah
hahaha
that one here is fine yeah right
so you want to just kind of identify like
what's your comfortable range for yourself
yeah um
just thinking overall big top
big bottom yeah
now I can uh
uh
(03:33):
yeah right
I can get there
but I'm working hard to keep that relaxed haha
yes yes
you know and then same up here like
but like that's hahaha I cannot
you know like as a kid
like girls are like like
ah like
uh huh I could never do that
my voice just wouldn't hahaha
maybe like the little kid that speaks like an old man
(03:54):
hahaha go team
you got this hahaha
yeah I was never
you know like when you go roller coaster like yeah
roller coaster like that ah
like I could never do that really
that was one of my first vocal life hacks
that I Learned for myself
as a singer I was at um
an amusement park and I was like
I can mix on this
I don't have to scream and like totally ruin
(04:16):
totally mess up my voice for my jury tomorrow
I can just go whoo
hahaha
love that life hack for when you're at the musical park
yeah just mix your way through it
yes everything
that's the answer to everything hahaha yeah
but um
so you kind of want to just take a look at that
it does not have to be as high or as low as we're going
(04:38):
right just identify for yourself
like what you're working with
um now
now we get into the nuances
yes of that low part
that chest voice sound kind of hits a wall
usually around
that's where is that
like this isn't around an E to G
E to G and I'm talking about your
(04:59):
your true chest voice so not just hey right
that's more of a mix more of a hey
hey hey
hey hey
or you're in chest voice I experience it as uh
like almost like I'm
but underwater like pushing up to the surface
that's how I experience chest voice
(05:21):
because
I have to be intentional about not being in mix
if I'm gonna be isolating it
um so yeah
so that will hit a wall somewhere around there
for estrogen dominant voices
for testosterone dominant voices
it's kind of similar down the octave
down the octave okay
down the yeah okay
um and then we start getting into mix and that varies
(05:41):
and then at some point around dream on G hahaha
yeah right
we're no longer here right
we're no longer in that sort of mix uh
well there
then eventually we're just in head
so we get out of uh chest
sounding mix sounding being the underline bold all caps
(06:05):
yes um
test sounding mix um
and make our way into head in some voices
I'll say in my voice yeah
that's the one thing that I know to be true
about all this right
yeah in my voice
that's what I experienced um
and that's often what we're hearing
so that is the baseline for where
(06:28):
where those ranges kind of yeah
stop and start uh
I'll say in the realm of like possibility okay
okay so
so how do I make that a better sentence hahaha no
no no
no that makes sense yeah
okay so we have to break it into
into pieces yes
so how do we even get there
yes so let's
cause I feel like when
when people are trying to like expand their range
(06:52):
they're either talking about belting higher
yep or mixing higher or whatever uh
or then like are Ariana Grande high notes kind of yes
high yes
so can we start with the high high
high one uh huh
because I personally need to feel the stretch first
before I can go into belting
otherwise I am just like my throat closes off
(07:15):
I'm constantly under the pitch
so I need to stretch first
so can we do that first yes
absolutely do you have something specific for flagella
that you like to do basically means it's like
it depends on who you're talking to
but it's like a really tiny squeaky kind of sound
yeah that if you can do that
it's that I have to work really hard to do that
(07:38):
so it's not like a beautiful like
like that's headless yeah right
so it's it's really just the tiny squeaky small sound
um and it's kind of like that in between
between head voice and whistle right
so your vocal folds are still vibrating
cause when you're whistling
they're not anymore right
they're just kind of like locked into place
and then you're just kind of like
whistling through your voice um
(07:58):
I wouldn't say that they're not at all
but they're I would say that they're pulled so taut
hmm that um
if they are vibrating they're not really like okay
whoo yeah
yeah yeah okay
wonderfully vibrating okay
fair enough
so that flash of light is kind of like that in between
yeah and so what I like to do is something like a
(08:25):
so very light very small sounding
even if if you are like a comfortable soprano
the those notes you might have the instinct to go like
hoo hoo hoo yeah
we're keeping them small so that as we keep going up
we're we're training those muscles
not to be working out the whole time
yes and then also like
(08:45):
don't start modifying the vowel right
like keep it on a hoo hoo super small hoo sound um
and then yeah I don't know where we want to start
do you want to start on the C sharp
or do you want to start
sure I whatever
it doesn't matter you pick
let's uh
we can start there that's where people are gonna be
alright
(09:08):
do you close the back with an ng
yeah that's beautiful
thank you where do you put your tongue
mine's touching the back of my teeth
(09:33):
see my tongue also always just goes like
like down
so the thing that I like to do to just kind of like
battle against that
it just pushing down and then you can like feel it
like it's not with the tongue that you're feeling
but everything just engages down here
like underneath your chin
um I like to push my tongue forward a little bit
(09:54):
so it's like touching the inside of my teeth
and not that much just more like a
and that's how you get that sort of extra
close off sound maybe yeah
probably cool cool
okay let's
I'm just trying to get it out of the way
you know oh
I oh
I know yeah
(10:14):
I that's my life um
cool that's start here
head up OK
we'll see how far we can go
9:00am baby let's go
9:00am we're gonna go
we're gonna go as far as I can go yeah
oh yes
we're gonna get Emily high notes
let's see let's see how this goes
I love it drop out when you need to
(10:35):
I will have to
we'll start here
also one thing I noticed for myself
if I do it too slowly
my muscles start engaging so I like to keep it pretty
(11:27):
oh I'm gonna cut out hahaha
oh here we are oh
this is where we get into the modification
(11:49):
ah ah no
that's fine then ah hahaha
ah that's it
that's my top the G the G6 hahaha
never in my life feeling so fly the G6 hahaha yeah
(12:10):
feeling so fly like a G6 hahaha G6
but I lose the ability to keep well
it's small because it's got to be small yeah
but I lose the ability to keep it on the
yeah yeah yeah yeah um
that was really cool
I felt like every time you just kind of like
started with a huh
(12:30):
yeah like that breath flow it came out yeah yes
it's that's how
what I have to do often
when I'm feeling like my coordination is out of place
and I'm doing some staccato
that's actually
something I really like about this exercise um
that
that you have is that it starts out with that staccato
mm hmm it's just bampara bampara bampara
that's we're working that coordination as well as like
(12:52):
let's just get them moving together yeah
and for me I like to um
the breath also really helps
like a hoo hoo rather than a oo oo yes right
yeah hoo hoo and so forth anyways
um so starting on the breath and then the sacato thing
I like to do that so that I'm not scooping too much ah
cause I just pull up too much weight with me otherwise
(13:14):
so I like to keep it short
and then also
it's much easier to just quickly hit a note
and then turn right back around
then sustaining the note uh huh
and I feel like a lot of times singers are just like
I need to expand my range
but I need to hold the note
so I'm just gonna hold the note
I'm like hold on
hold on hold on one step at a time one yes
exactly so I like to do something like this first
to just get the stretch in my vocal folds going
(13:36):
before I try and sustain them out yeah
absolutely and I'm the opposite okay
where I'm like
let me get everything in flow and then I can do this
the staccato then I can do the quick coordination okay
because that's how my body is otherwise
it's like
you hear that like yeah
that sound where it doesn't quite want to do it
but if I go
(13:58):
right like it's there
hahaha something's there hahaha oh my God
whatever note that was
it's that G that G is like the G6
like my G6 is like girl that's it hahaha yeah
but like not even close have I ever been hahaha
able to get up there so you know
it's fine it's okay
I'm bottoming out at like an e hahaha
(14:19):
I can't go much lower than that either
but anyways whatever hahaha so okay
so something like that is I think great for top yeah
absolutely yeah
do you have any anything that you like to do for top
top uh
for top top I
what I do is not dissimilar to what you do OK
so yeah so very very similar um
(14:42):
one thing that I will also say that is
in your exercise that I like
that I do generally in top range
start at the top and make your way down hmm
and when we um
in another episode when we talk about mix right
we'll talk a little bit about like
you need to work all areas yeah um
and you need to teach the chest voice how to come down
(15:03):
and the chest voice but I say
teach the head voice how to come down
and the chest voice how to go up
so that they know how to coordinate together
when it's kind of thick and kind of thin
and kind of in between um
that's really gonna help your range expansion
in general okay
cool another thing I like to do
bring your head voice all the way down
so can you get let's do that
(15:27):
so we just kind of jumped right into it uh
one thing I like to do get the tongue out of the way
we're gonna do it on LA LA LA
oh okay get that tongue moving yeah
beautiful example of letting your jaw relax
and not bringing it to the party
not inviting it to the party yes
it's it's not it's still yeah
(15:48):
we want the jaw to be still
not because you're holding it still
but because it is so detached not yeah
not in in the house this one again
if you can't tell if it's still
go right up to a mirror and look or just feel
we're not pulling but we're just feeling
(16:26):
now here notice how we're not going
we're not getting chesty we're just keeping it
we're gonna keep going as low as we can in head
(17:08):
LA LA LA LA LA LA
honestly
I this is so interesting
I very rarely do this and I'm like
(17:29):
am I truly just in head voice
or am I just kind of like in a mix down here
ah well how do you how can you tell
how can you tell
well a mix can be 99 point percent to one percent hmm
right so maybe it is LA LA LA LA LA LA
what I identify as head voice here
is that we don't have a firm
(17:49):
closed sound so make it breathy LA LA LA
and we also aren't in breathy chest
I would identify because we're not LA
there isn't that extra sound of closure
I experience head voice down here as like
I'm in a cloud floating above the voice
(18:13):
uh huh is that keep it a little lifted
we're messing with the soft palate
to get acoustics on our side
uh that was a more lifted soft palate
is that more what we're looking for there or
yes it that will help
that will help that will help okay
um if you did this exercise and you're like
that's how I sing down there all the time
(18:35):
I got news for you
it's time to work out your chest voice yes
yes yes
yes yes OK
so that's topic 7 topic 7
oh my god so we have going up in your head voice
we have going down in your head voice
so that's expanding your range in your head voice
in your head voice
and we're gonna copy and paste this down to chest
(18:56):
alright let's do it so um
we did this fry exercise in another in another one
but I would like to repeat it here
but we're gonna do it on the low low end OK
and really just go up and down a couple times
so we'll do it here
uh in and out of Fry fry voice fry voice fry
can we maybe do it like over a third
over a third so like na na na na na yeah
(19:18):
make it so it's just a little different you know
is that too hard
like that yeah
but on a uh
oh yeah no
I think that's great let's do that
we're gonna do it on an uh
too on an uh
on an uh uh
(19:39):
if you are like me and those high notes feel easy
and chest voice is like wow
I really gotta kick it into gear uh
is your friend uh
it weighs down your vowel yeah
so it's not like an ah yeah
it's not an ah ah cause for me when I go ah
I wanna go ah yeah
when I go uh
it's more like ugh
(20:00):
I'm so tired exactly ugh
it just gets you right in it like yeah
ah yeah yes OK
perfect absolutely
so we're starting low fried a voice ready and
(20:36):
drop out when you need to we'll keep going
you're making me smile and I can't do this
(20:56):
and I'm smiling
this is the this is the Laura Chanel
gonna push you down haha
uh uh
(21:18):
it's like barely any volume anymore down there
like if I'm trying to make it hurt yeah
if you're trying to it then it goes sharp
yeah right
and this is a really great thing to point out
we're experimenting here mm hmm
like even at the top where I was like ah
why can't yeah right
experiment with your voice
play with it it's this really cool fun thing
we have this mechanism designed for eating and drinking
(21:38):
and now we can make like ridiculous sounds with them
yes why not go as ridiculous as possible
yes right
push your extremes but keep it like you said
you're like in order it's hard to be heard there
you can hit the note yeah
but it's hard to be heard
which means
you're not gonna sing a song that goes down to the mic
yeah
you're not gonna sing a song that goes down
and sustains a B3
(21:58):
no a B2
yeah yeah yeah
so um
that's another thing to point out
like when you're experimenting with your voice
you don't wanna go oh yeah yeah yeah
squeeze it right
and really squeeze it out um
but you can still play with what the top is
try a couple different approaches
figure out what works best for you
that's it's okay to not have the answers
(22:19):
and play with it yourself
just know that you're aiming for comfort
mm hmm
it can be a challenge while also still not hurting yes
or not feel like squeezing or pushing
yes
if it all feels like squeezing and pushing
you have an obstacle in your way
yes you have a tensor tongue jaw
(22:42):
yeah laryngeal pressure neck
like even holding your core really tight
because you just did Pilates and good for you
cause that feels it's awesome
right
but like be aware of those things and then be like
oh okay
I can be loosey goosey yes
that's yeah
that's one thing I've heard from a lot of students
in general about like
(23:03):
oh taking voice lessons
like
I am just so much more in tune with my body in general
like that is I mean
like there's any
if there's anything you can get out of it
there's a ton but like yeah yeah
just for your everyday life
it's like knowing what's going on physically
so and before I get before I continue being tangential
yeah like just experiment with it
(23:24):
you know like know that you can go that low
when I was reaching those low notes
I was like wow
I'm not gonna be putting these in a song
but yeah
I have to like focus hard to get those
but at the same time
like that's a great stretch for my voice yeah
and then the more you do it
eventually it's gonna get easier and easier and easier
and then you can actually put it in a song yeah
and we were at the Beyonce concert yeah
(23:46):
and she was living down there yeah
just I was like down
down Alto moment is here yes
let's go yeah
I was so happy but um yeah
like just because it's not like right this very second
you're gonna put it in a song
if you keep doing it again and again and again
eventually you can exactly
and now I wanna
(24:06):
jump up to we're gonna keep stick with this exercise
but I wanna jump up to show you what I
to show you what I mean about by this next sentence
okay as you keep going up in this exercise
we are sticking to I'm calling it true chest voice
right like we are not trying to go
(24:31):
that's a mixy place yeah
we're super light we're super mixy
which is an awesome place to be
but not when we're not
when we're specifically going for one thing yes right
bringing it back to the fry
can help ensure that you're staying relaxed
(24:52):
as long as you're not squeezing your fry out okay
cool let's try it um
let's go a little bit
we'll start here just to get into that true chest okay
oh
and listen to our tones yeah
can we do a an ex
(25:13):
can we do an example of both of us doing it in mix
to show what we're not aiming for
so there's a different we adjusted our vowels
to kind of get us into a more mixed
dominant place
but also there's a pretty big difference in tone
(25:36):
it's much lighter it's much lighter yeah
it's much lighter
it's truly a mix of head and chest voice
like if I think in ratios percentages colors right
uh huh
that ratio is closer to 50 50 in my head right
yeah and then it is to like 75 25
(25:57):
which is probably what we're
going for as we get up and up and up yeah
in in chest so we'll do this again in chest and chest
let's head up alright
oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
oh oh oh oh oh
(26:22):
oh
oh
oh
oh
oh
oh
oh oh oh
our jaws are very relaxed
we probably aren't seeing very much movement
(26:49):
it's okay for this chest voice to start growing
we're taking it up
we're gonna try to get to the top of chest voice
not because there's so much pressure
we feel like we're gonna break
but because we're noticing
I can't do this without mixing uh yeah more heavily
oh oh
oh
oh
(27:12):
oh
oh
oh
oh
oh
oh
oh
(27:38):
that's me raising a finger
I have a question yeah
so up here my default is getting spread
and that gives me that shouty like a ah ah
you know that kind of like shouty yeah
kind of undertone is that a yay
is that a nay is that what do we want to do here
um
(27:58):
if you can't bring your volume down by a couple notches
no spread or not uh huh
we're hitting our we're hitting our our wall OK
because try and reduce volume a little yeah
cause you're bringing up a another type of voice right
like mine is my voice is like
my voice just starts mixing
and I'm like alright
we're no longer like chest chest chest right
uh huh but your
(28:18):
voice will chest until you can no longer
muscle through yeah
muscle through it so it's a great thing to notice like
oh I'm not doing this the same anymore I'm not in that
right it's going
(28:39):
it's okay to get acoustics on your side
that's kind of what that spread can do yeah
it's a little twangy right
yeah getting in a little
a little bit of that brightness
so let's try it no
we're not gonna be um
why don't we try it
I'm gonna drop out just so I can hear you okay
um see if you can do it without
if you bring in a little brightness
(29:00):
that's fine um
do it without as much of volume okay
uh uh
uh uh uh
it's like fighting me a little bit
it's fighting I hear your tongue a little bit
oh uh uh
your tongue not pulling back but uh
tensing through the middle uh uh
(29:28):
yeah what if you want one last thing
what if you replaced anything here with a small
crunch of your lower ABS OK
oh oh
oh oh
how was that that was better
Hee Hee Hee OK
see I was always fighting to engage my ABS like period
(29:53):
cause I was so overmuscling my ABS for so long
that I'm like don't engage your ABS at all ever
now it's like OK
no actually it can be helpful again
so and that's why I said lower ABS lower
because I know for me I hear ABS and I'm like
I'm doing a plank haha
yes and it's like
wait wait
wait wait wait wait no
that's not what we're going for yeah
(30:13):
so that's we kind of did two things with the ABS there
one was guide your air out a little more intentionally
mm hmm and the other was this technique
I Learned from my very first voice teacher Giovanna
she's awesome I hope she hears this hahaha
um uh
which is called anchoring
and the purpose there is taking your tension
and placing it elsewhere on your body
(30:34):
so we used to do it with
thinking about engaging your lats
like you're pressing down on a table
right so that's one thing
this is a an anecdotal evidence situation
this isn't there aren't studies being like
anchoring replaces your attention
but I find it to be very very helpful
so that the lower ABS can also be a way to do that
and it helps because we're using airflow
yeah yeah okay
(30:55):
very cool yeah
and that's an A I typically will stop at an a
because that's where we start
then we really start entering the
the break for estrogen estrogen dominant voices
yeah um
for testosterone dominant voices
you're probably gonna notice this between
honestly between like a
probably anywhere in this fifth
depending on where you land
(31:17):
somewhere between a B and an F sharp
depending on okay
where you sit from base baritone tenor
even base might be a little lower
yeah okay
yeah very cool
very cool um
so that's
if you're like working on expanding your chest voice
that's that
is it different
when you're working on expanding your belt
(31:38):
it go it goes into expanding your belt okay
but it is different so there's like a true chest belt
which is like yeah
right we're
we're just voice that was so open
are you guys kidding me like that was so beautiful
what why
thank you
shut up Emily
then I won't demo the next one
(31:59):
no please do
please do but now
there's a difference between going up here and doing
yeah right
that's a totally different
that now we're mixing a lot more yeah
um if I yeah
you can hear it a little more in the straight tone
um so well well
so let's
cause a lot of people want to like belt slash mix belt
uh huh higher
(32:19):
so if we wanted to do that
what kind of exercise can we practice
to get that powerful sound up into higher notes
yes this is what I always
this is what I do with like everyone OK
um I find it can be super helpful
so first let's just
we're gonna go from speech into singing uh
which is a whole thing we'll do later haha
yeah um
so uh
first just like you're brushing someone off
(32:41):
you're on the phone and you're like
yeah yeah yeah whatever yeah yeah
whatever yeah
yeah whatever yeah
whatever so instead of yeah
whatever it's not
it's like you're really like kind of annoyed like yeah
yeah okay whatever
yeah yeah yeah
no see yeah yeah
you're overthinking it you're overthinking
we're not singing so if I say um
oh hey
(33:01):
can I grab that thing from upstairs
oh hey
can I grab that thing from upstairs
yeah sure whatever
yeah sure whatever yeah okay
yeah okay
oh my God I love your shoes
oh my God your shoes are amazing
there you go that's different yeah
yeah yeah
but that one shoes and we're going shoes
shh no
(33:21):
absolutely not
haha
okay so that that's
there's an example of me being a soprano yes
and me not yeah yeah
so it's a good thing to note of like
if you're like wow
this person it's so easy for them
it's like well
that's my speaking voice is standing
is sitting here as I'm talking right now yeah
(33:44):
mine isn't yeah
and yours is yours is down here
and that's like normal that's normal
like both both are normal things
so we're gonna
but that doesn't mean that you can't learn to do it
absolutely absolutely
if I'm doing exercises and like
I'm working really hard on it
I can get it yeah
and then if I'm doing it more and more
and more and more I can put it into songs
like I have to learn all of this
so it's it's doable but it's not like my default
(34:05):
my natural thing exactly
exactly
which is why I had to fight to stay in chest voice
and you had to fight to figure out
is this chest
is this the chest voice that I'm trying to be in
right now yes
yes yeah
so what I do it's not on yeah
but it's on yeah
yeah it's on yeah
we're just doing three of them
a 5 3 one
we're just to go yeah
yeah yeah
OK
what yeah
(34:26):
yeah yeah
you did a he think think that it's just going yeah yeah
yeah yeah
yeah we're gonna do it here a couple times
so it feels super easy yeah
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
yeah yeah yeah
yeah yeah yeah
(34:47):
yeah yeah
yeah we'll do this one again yeah
yeah yeah
yeah yeah
yeah yeah yeah
yeah yeah
yeah yeah
mmm hmm use those lower ABS yeah
yeah yeah
do or do not do do yeah
yeah yeah
there's a little brace before the yeah
it's kind of going hit yeah
so it's like the breath is stopping
so can you just go huh
(35:09):
huh
now a little less breathy at the top
let it be like kind of exasperated like huh
huh
yeah yeah yeah
yeah yeah
yeah there it is yeah
yeah yeah
yeah yeah yeah
yeah yeah
yeah uh huh
yeah yeah
(35:29):
yeah yeah
yeah yeah
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
yeah yeah
yeah yeah yeah yeah
yeah hahaha
now we get into now we're Benson Boon hahaha yes
yeah yeah
so I'll also note like that's an F
that's high oh what yeah
that was an F that felt okay
I mean it wasn't perfect by any means
(35:50):
but like usually I would have to'cause I
we have to remind ourselves it's currently 9:00am yeah
hahaha and so it's like wow
usually it would take me like an extensive like
thing to get my voice up there without
and what you were saying like the huh
uh huh that is so typical for me
it's typical for a lot of people
I see that a ton
(36:11):
with people who are more chest dominant typically
typically yes yes yes
absolutely so there um
also if you were following along and you're like that
what oh what yes
like that's very high it is very high
that's very high
that's a we're one step away from dream on
so like we're um
that's fine if you heard that and you're like
(36:31):
that was so bright
I don't want all my mix belting to be bright
find your ticket in the door
find find your key right for me yeah
yeah yeah
gets me in now I can open it up to maybe a more of a
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
yeah yeah yeah yeah
(36:52):
we're still on an E flat
we're still we're still kind of high right yeah
yeah yeah
yeah yeah
uh huh there you go
how's that feeling it feels great yeah
feeling a little bit of phlegm wiggling loose yeah
just a little like good morning
here we are yes
yeah yeah absolutely
well um
there you go that's how you
that's how I always start
I think it's really important to train
(37:13):
like get to the belt
and then stay in that mixed belt as you come down
hmm um
in addition to
when people get really comfortable with that I add
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
can we keep it all mixed yeah
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
yeah yeah yeah
(37:34):
mmm hmm I'm hearing a tiny bit of huh huh
tongue engagement yeah
yeah yeah yeah
how do I get it out of the way
hahaha
do it on
and it stops and the tongue says
oh my God thank you
but that's like yeah too light can
(38:01):
so maybe that's your first step
right
like if that's the struggle that you're running into
your first step is like oh
I'm hearing that uh uh
sort of of course
I'm doing it to the extreme
yes but that tiny bit of engagement there um
can I do it with my tongue out
(38:22):
I'm like adjusting my facial shape
everything wants to grip so yeah
we just talked about the a
a band Aid a solution to when things wanna grip
let's engage the lats a little bit
push down on that table
that felt a lot better already
I still have a little bit of that squeezed sound
I definitely don't feel it as much anymore
(38:44):
but it still sounds a little
it's almost like
the top note is easier than the middle note
uh huh yeah yeah
so are you thinking I hit it okay
I'm done
maybe maybe that's I find that a lot
that was good and there's there we are
sometimes it just takes like three
(39:04):
four
five tries and then you get it and then you keep going
exactly and I see this so much with singers
like they try it once and then uh
didn't work I can't do it like no
like give your voice the chance to figure it out yes
it takes some time and the opposite
which is I didn't do it
I'm gonna do it again and again and again
the exact same way every single one of those
different about different approach yes
(39:25):
different adjustment I hear this thing
I feel this thing I experience this
what happens if I if I engage this way right
like you have to experiment with your voice
this is all about playing around and range now
range equals expanded like hahaha yes
right
one with percent time time with time and practice
you can't go lift weights one time and then be like
look at my bulging biceps like hahaha yes
(39:47):
that's just not not how it goes with with muscles
so I think there's there's a big theme here
one is you know
no muscling through yeah
no like tension right
yeah go for the crack
not the not the push exactly
exactly like yes
work for it it takes effort
it takes engagement but it takes intention
intention yeah
(40:07):
but not like ugh that right
and if you feel that don't just give up
try again but make adjustments
mm hmm um
and time is the other thing yes
the more you do it like the repetition of it yes
you can't just like do it once a week and then
you know be like
in a month from now why is my range not expanded
it's not just time it's also the repetition
yes of it
time repetition
(40:28):
intention awareness
all these things go into it
and if it
that feels really overwhelming to do by yourself
there are so many people there are two people here yes
who are like oh
guess what I do for a living
yes listen to you and
and check in with what you're doing because it's
it takes a lot of extra skills to identify
(40:50):
within yourself like yeah
the what
the back and forth that we did to get you there
like that was fast because we have years of training
like we have we yes
we have years of training right
yes and it's so easy
like when you see on social media
when you see these clips of like
these before and afters yes
a lot of times a
they're staged yeah
yeah sorry
sorry to say it but a lot of times they are staged um
(41:10):
or the singer already has a lot of experience
and there was just a little tweak and
you know they can usually do it
but this time they couldn't
so you know
they use that for the take
like there's so much that goes into it
to make it look really amazing
but at the end of the day
it takes the time
at the repetition to really get the results
and especially recurring results
yes and not like you could do it once
(41:31):
and that's it for the take
and then you can never do it again
I yes
I would always rather a student
and slowly inch by and get a little stronger each week
consistently then have one perfect
perfect lesson everything is super easy
and then the next week is the same as the week
like two weeks before yeah
you know you can't do it
(41:52):
the consistency is the goal
that's how we we reach sustainability
yes and then when
when you try to sing the way you did yesterday
right when you had your perfect singing day
you ever you woke up perfectly
because you just got off a Long Beach vacation
and you're the most relaxed you've ever been
yeah right
like that also goes into it um
when you try to sing like that
but now you're stressed cause you
got 100 emails from work like that's where we
(42:13):
that's where we lean into injury land
like that's where you can get hurt
when you try to push your way through something
so yeah all in all
go for the crack not the break
know what you're going or go for the crack
not the push yes
um know what you're going for are
what are you trying to expand here
do you want to expand your low notes
do you want to expand your high notes
(42:33):
is it the belt in the middle
is the belt in the middle
is it bring you know
you have to be able to one thing to note
we brought our chest voices up to an a
and then therefore could bring our mix up to an F yeah
if my chest voice is going up to an E and my head voice
and and like we brought our head voices way up
(42:53):
and my head voice is going up to uh
we'll say a C right
then belting a B is gonna be really hard yeah
yeah yeah
we we want we want breathing room on either side yes
I like breathing room I like that yes
a little bit of a cushion yes
so if you want to belt high
you need to have a high head voice yes
(43:14):
you need to stretch your head voice higher yeah
and same thing with low notes
like if you want to and
and you need to stretch your chest voice up
so it's yeah
stretching is the keyword there not pushing
stretching not pushing mmm yes yes
I love that yeah
I love that
so this is just kind of like a breakdown of like
what does it mean yeah
what does it mean to expand your range
one exercise for each of the above yeah
(43:36):
and now it's you know
now you have to figure out for yourself okay
which one do I wanna pay attention to first
and then you know start working on that
and not do everything all the time
all at once cause that's gonna get a bit crazy
do you identify more with my voice and the
the way that
my voice wants to naturally approach things
or with your voice the way that your voice does
because it takes different kinds of approaches
(43:56):
yes yeah yes
I love it thank you so much
I got a little voice lesson
there you go I love it
I love it OK f yeah
and my voice is feeling great right
it did not feel like I was pushing
and now my voice is like like tired yeah
not at all my voice feels great so awesome
Yay you know what you're doing
who would have thought I love being told that
(44:19):
I love that like Emily said this is our day job yeah
and are all of the job yeah
so if you want to get some help like I
I always say like
even if it's just one lesson to gain more clarity
yes of what it is that your voice needs
because it's so hard to always figure it out yourself
yes
(44:39):
you don't need to be a hero
you don't need to do everything by yourself
just like get another pair of ears on it
yeah yeah yeah
so you know
book a session yeah
I'm always the one doing the first session
so you'll be working with me
but I can do this stuff too okay
yeah yeah
oh yeah
she's killer she's awesome
and and then
you know we'll figure out how things are going
if that's not within your budget
(45:00):
you can always do a vocal evaluation
where you send us a video
and we'll give you feedback on your singing
um but anyways
check out the links whatever works for you
do it we're here to help okay
I love it Alrighty
thank you Emily
thank you for joining me today
for helping me expand my range
of course and I'll see you in a
in an episode very soon yes
(45:21):
and we'll see you guys in the next one or in a lesson
I love it Alrighty
take care bye
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