We’ve all seen the social media ads :
“Extend your range!”
“Sing four octaves easily!”
“Sound like [insert famous singer name here]!”
Charismatic online personalities often make promises like these to encourage customer subscriptions. Many, I’m sure, have good intentions. But as with all things, incomplete information is almost as dangerous as incorrect information. So let’s clear up some of the confusion.
Vocal Range is widely understood as the full spectrum of pitches that a given singer is able to produce. It’s important to note that there’s a difference between the pitches we can create through any means necessary (aka: grunts and squeaks), and the range we would consider optimized for public singing. For the purposes of this post, I’m largely addressing the latter.
Every human voice has its own unique range capabilities, and some voices are able to develop a wider range than others. Here’s why:
Truth #1 : Our vocal range is largely dictated by genetics.
Imagine the strings on a guitar. Depending on the thickness and length of the string, a guitar player can only stretch those strings so taut before they break. Our vocal folds work in a similar way: they thin and stretch as we ascend in pitch, and they thicken and shorten as we descend in pitch. And just like those strings, we are limited in how far we can stretch them before causing strain and, potentially, injury.
How far we can stretch or thicken our vocal folds is dependent upon their innate elasticity. There are those blessed individuals who won the genetic lottery and were born with extremely flexible vocal folds. But that is simply not the case for most singers. While it is possible to utilize the maximum vocal fold elasticity *you were born with*, there are simply physical limits that we all must come to terms with.
No vocal teacher, no amount of vocal training, and no magic set of exercises will allow you to defy the natural limits of your instrument.
Truth #2: Singing high constantly is not an effective strategy.
The voice thrives on variety, and singing in one tessitura (general range of notes) is very challenging, even for accomplished singers.
Range extension is a gradual process. The coordinations we need to successfully navigate the high range are built upon sustainable, functional responses established in the middle range.
As pitch ascends, our vocal folds get longer and thinner. The diminished mass offers greater resistance to airflow than in the lower pitch areas. If we don’t first learn how to manage this in the middle/upper middle voice and second passaggio (or break), we run the risk of developing coping strategies that will limit what we can do in the upper range. Those work-arounds can often lead to inefficiencies or injuries if not corrected.
NO ONE can sustain high singing for long periods of time without experiencing fatigue. NO ONE should wail away at their upper range in the hope of securing it.
Truth #3: You cannot make your voice work or sound like someone else’s.
Your voice is its own unique instrument, and you cannot force it to be something different. The sound of your voice is determined by a variety of factors including:
- The size, thickness and elasticity of your vocal folds
- The size and shape of your throat, larynx, head and facial structures
- Your age, physical maturity and training
Handel and Mozart famously wrote opera roles for singers they knew, and the music would play to those singers’ innate talents. Pop stars do the same thing. They write and perform music that plays to their strengths.
So rather than trying to match your favorite singer note-for-note, focus on what your voice does well and build on that.
Truth #4: The best singing happens when we honor our limits.
It’s normal to want to see what your voice is capable of. And it’s healthy to want to develop your range to its fullest potential. But when we try to defy our voice’s natural limits, we can get into trouble.
Vocal range does not determine vocal worth. It does not make one voice inherently better than another. In other words, there should not be any ego involved in vocal range.
You don’t have to sing a song in the same key as your idol to be considered a “good singer.” Your vocal range is only one part of what makes your voice indubitably yours. Building on what we have is always a more successful strategy than trying to force our voices to do things we hear other singers do.
In conclusion:
If you’re interested in finding the full limits of your vocal range, go for it! But enlist the help of an experienced voice teacher to help you on your journey. And remember range is just one element of singing, and it doesn’t define you!
