Learn to Sing Basics

Are you disappointed because you have a short vocal range?
Don’t give up. Develop your range by using these proven
practices, and shortly you’ll be learn how to sing high and low notes with poise!

Identify Your Natural Range

If you want to expand your vocal range, you first have
to know where you’re starting from. The most prevalent vocal
scales, from highest to lowest, are: soprano, alto, tenor,
baritone, and bass. Most women fall within the top three
ranges, and almost men fall in the bottom three.

To find your normal vocal range, start by singing
a middle C in a natural tone of voice. Use a keyboard or
online tuner to help you, if needed.

Now move down the vocal scale in half-steps right until you
can no more sing the low notes naturally. Go back to
middle C and do again the exercise going up until you get to
the highest note you can comfortably sing.

If you are a real soprano, you can easily learn how to sing
notes from middle C (C4) to high A (A5). An alto can
easily sing notes between G3 and F5. A tenor scales
from C3 to A4. A baritone singer has a naturally vocal
range between notes G2 and F4. A bass range includes notes
F2 through E4.

By identifying your real vocal range, you can set
realistic goals for increasing your scale.

Practice Constantly

They say practice makes perfect, and they’re right!
Like any instrument, you will only learn your voice if
you practice usually. Sing as far as you can every day
without exhausting your throat.

Every day, tend to sing notes that are just a little bit
outside your comfort zone. Go a bit higher and a bit
lower every day. Extending your vocal range will take time,
but it will go more easily if you practice as much as possible.

Develop a Mixed Voice

Every vocalist has a natural “break”, or a point on the
range where they toggle from their chest voice to their
head voice. You can make this transition much smoother by
developing a “mixed” voice.

Sing up your vocal scale until you hit the last note
you can easily sing in your chest voice. The notes
around that point on the scale are the one you will
practice singing in a mixed voice.

Once you’ve learned your mixed voice, or middle voice,
you will be able to change more or less seamlessly up
and down the range. If it takes longer than you’d like,
don’t worry; plenty of successful recording artists are
still trying to find their perfect mixed voice.

Do These Vocal Exercises

Start at the low end of your vocal break. Sing the note
in your chest voice at a regular volume. Sing the word
“whom” and think how the note vibrates in your throat.

Now sing the next highest note, also using the word
“whom”. You will see the resonation move from your throat
to your mouth. Move up to the following note and feel where it
vibrates.

Try to maintain your volume consistent throughout the
exercise. Stay within and just around your break scale,
and practice transitioning from your head voice back down
to your chest voice.

After you’ve practiced for several days, you will
see that your transitions are more seamless. Keep at
it, and you will develop your vocal range into a whole new
octave while retaining good tone and control.

Remember to warm up beforehand! Your vocal chords,
like any muscle group, require to be warmed up before you
exercise them. Warming up will keep vocal strain and
will help you create the best quality notes.