The gap between chest voice and falsetto/head voice

D-toks

New member
Something I've been wondering about for a while is whether the lost notes between the chest and head voice are notes that are relatively fixed (i.e. notes you likely won't be able to hit for a long time if ever) or if these notes are notes one can come across filling in with time?

I ask primarily because I find the gap b/w my chest and head voice to be quite large and it is a bit annoying to me. For example, my falsetto may go higher than someone else's yet my chest voice cannot go as high and I would much rather have more notes in my upper register of chest voice as opposed to head voice because obviously head voice isn't nearly as powerful sounding.

So...if anyone has anything to add on this subject let me know. Thanks!
 
I'm not an expert, but I'm pretty sure that each portion of your range can be trained outwards. Are you taking lessons? Your instructor could probably help with that.
 
Sorry for late reply. As I said in the other thread, was moving to a new apartment. Just got my new internet set up. I was taking lessons in the old city but I am looking for a new vocal coach now. Do you know roughly how many semitones outwards you can train parts of your voice or is it variable?
 
I'm no expert but, I think people get confused by the terms, chest and head. The notes are being produced in the same place the difference is where the air is being pushed from.
If you listen to trained vocalists ( opera singers for example ) or even Freddy Mercury they have access to their entire range and can control the power they use, but it's all coming through the vocal chords.
Get a good teacher or even join a choir and get free lessons.
And just keep practicing :)
Good luck
 
Are you saying that there are some notes between your falsetto and chest range that you can't sing at all? If so, this seems very odd to me.

My chest range extends about from a low G (octave and a 4th below middle C) to about the G above middle C (with a decent amount of volume). But my falsetto extends down to at least the G below middle C. I rarely use it that low, but I can easily hit the note. Once I get down to about the E below middle C, the falsetto will start to get pretty wobbly and is not very usable. I'm not really sure about the top of my falsetto range, but it's not terribly high. After about an octave above middle C, I have to start using a good amount of volume to the hit the notes.

I figured I was pretty typical in this regard. What are your ranges?
 
I'm no expert but, I think people get confused by the terms, chest and head. The notes are being produced in the same place the difference is where the air is being pushed from.
If you listen to trained vocalists ( opera singers for example ) or even Freddy Mercury they have access to their entire range and can control the power they use, but it's all coming through the vocal chords.
Get a good teacher or even join a choir and get free lessons.
And just keep practicing :)
Good luck
I had a vocal coach and currently am looking for a new one in the new city I'm living in. That said, I also have been thinking about joining some form of choir or small group of novice singers as well. My understanding of chest voice are the notes in your typical range whereas the falsetto is your "false range" where you have to use a different mechanism than your normal voice to hit those notes. However I see what you're saying in a way because if you are producing sound to reach a note, regardless of whether chest or head voice, it's still your voice. I'll have to brush up on my terminology a little bit.
Are you saying that there are some notes between your falsetto and chest range that you can't sing at all? If so, this seems very odd to me.

My chest range extends about from a low G (octave and a 4th below middle C) to about the G above middle C (with a decent amount of volume). But my falsetto extends down to at least the G below middle C. I rarely use it that low, but I can easily hit the note. Once I get down to about the E below middle C, the falsetto will start to get pretty wobbly and is not very usable. I'm not really sure about the top of my falsetto range, but it's not terribly high. After about an octave above middle C, I have to start using a good amount of volume to the hit the notes.

I figured I was pretty typical in this regard. What are your ranges?

Never did a proper range test before. Is it just as simple as whats the lowest note you can match on a piano and what is the highest you can match in your chest voice? Or does it include falsetto and involve testing a much more stringent way? I can look to do one for you soon. And what I'm saying is that there is a gap between the highest note I can hit in my chest voice, whatever that is, and the lowest note I can hit in my falsetto. They're not overlapping seamlessly. Does that make sense? I'm starting to feel like I've been using the wrong terminology now since this question seems like it may not be saying what I'm thinking xP. Thanks.
 
From my understanding, it's possible to be able to move between them 100% fluidly. Notable for this is Jon Anderson from Yes. I remember seeing this vocal coach on YouTube who talked a lot about this. Some guy from Nashville training all those folks. Claims to have a crazy 8 octave range or something... it's Brett Manning by the way. Just googled it. I think you could find some good info browsing through his videos. Good luck!
 
Thank you Ledger :). I've been following this vocal instructor named Kerri Ho on Youtube and she really seems to break things down well for this topic about mixing chest and head voice and strengthening one's head voice and such. Just wanted to relay this information in case anyone were to stumble upon this thread in the future. I will look to check out Brett Manning though. Seeing someone with an 8 octave range I can imagine is beyond humbling.
 
what I'm saying is that there is a gap between the highest note I can hit in my chest voice, whatever that is, and the lowest note I can hit in my falsetto. They're not overlapping seamlessly. Does that make sense?

Huh. I didn't know that was possible. Is it possible you're just mis-hearing your own voice? Perhaps the overtones of your falsetto are making it sound an octave higher than it is?

Maybe post a sample?
 
I just hear a few of the sweeping multi-octave glissandos that Frank DiMino (Angel) used to push and I used to try to do without breaks (cracking). It took a lot of practice to get that smooth. I'm sure you'll get it with practice, patience, and perseverance.
 
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