Ive been singing for 6 years and actually have been trained for 3 of them, Ive even sung professionally as a living for a short time. Im a baritone with a very strong voice, but I still can not seem to overcome my passaggio. All the way up to F natural I can sing fine with no strain at any volume, F# takes a little more push and then suddenly I hit a brick wall on G and half the time it wont come out at all, the rest of the time it sounds like its there but not resonating anywhere, and A flat is an even greater fight. I can hit both and even higher when I dont need to hold them. I cant seem to figure out why. Its as if I cant resonate anywhere else, like the cavaties above the bridge of my nose (sinus cavity and forward cavity) cant be accessed. If anyone has suggestions they would be terrific need a music coach It's always easier to just touch upon the higher notes than actually sustain them. I have roughly the same vocal range as you, so I know your pain. I've been fighting with the F# in full voice for months on end with my most recent vocal teacher. So far, every single one that I've had has done scales to improve my range. You need to work from your head voice into your falsetto.
The reason why you're just hitting a brick wall is probably because you're trying to really force those notes. It's alright to go into head voice; it's not the prettiest thing at first, but it can gain quite a bit of strength if you work at it enough.
Again, work on scales right in the range of your passagio as much as you can. The only way you're going to beat it is by strengthening the notes around it.
Hopefully that helped! Actually, Tim's answer is pretty standard. Some guys need to gently ease in their upper notes by first learning to sing them falsetto, and finding that it's not as scary as they think, before they open up into full voice. However, it's a debatable point under serious voice teachers. Some say yes, do it, some say, don't because one can't make the crossover link whil already in falsetto. I use it with some of my students for the psychological advantage, not the vocal.
Have you tried recording yourself while practicing in this range? It might surprise you. Don't forget, what you youself hear is not at all what the world hears, and you may need to retrain your own sense of "hearing". This is just where a recording device comes in handy. (Even an old-fashioned cassette recorder is good. Just use external mikes) Learn to feel you rvoice as slender and light rather than full weight. None of us can take that much mass up into the highest register. I don't mean falsetto, but the perception that the "sound beam" is much more slender and concentrated, a laser beam rather than a flashlight beam. Don't add strength to this sound, but stay intense and active in your breath support ( actually, more so than mid register)
Most people start to feel the resonation at the top of their skulls when they get up that high, so leave nose and sinus cavities in peace. You never need to force the sound there for focus, anyhow. The plain thought of focus will get it there.
What about going back for more lessons?
Good luck |
