Does switching back and forth from chest voice to head voice give you anxiety?
Want to know how to transition from chest voice to head voice smoothly and reliably EVERY SINGLE TIME?
If your answer is “Yes!”read on . . . .
First off, you are totally not alone. The ability to transition from chest voice to head voice smoothly is the source of SO much insecurity for so many singers.
And second, I don’t blame you! The middle voice can be a tricky part of the voice to negotiate and downright scary without good tools.
Today I have some insights that will help.
Many singers and voice teachers call this part of the voice “the break” because that’s exactly how it sounds and feels to so many of you. . . . like a fissure in your mechanism preventing you from moving fluidly from one register to another. And boy can it feel scary. . . . . like trying to cross the Grand Canyon without a bridge!
Personally, I hate the term “the break”. I don’t use it to describe this part of the voice and I encourage you to toss it out too.
You see, the words we use to talk to ourselves around our voice are really important. As co-creaters of our experience, words play a big part in how our experience is shaped.
If we are using the term “break”, that’s exactly the experience we are setting up for ourselves – the experience of a literal chasm between the two different parts of our voice.
When we conceive of our voice with a “break” in it, we are building in an expectation of interruption and instability which we then subconsciously create and perpetuate.
So, first things first: let’s make sure the language we use to talk to ourselves around changing registers is productive.
The classical tradition calls the transition between registers the “passaggio” which literally translates to “passage” in Italian.
I prefer to draw on my classical roots and use the term “passaggio” because it connotes the sense of moving through rather then a sense of interruption.
Don’t let its classical origins throw you . . . . even if you’re a pop singer, a jazz singer or a musical theater singer, the term passaggio and the energy behind it can serve you too no matter what genre you sing.
Adjusting our language makes us better equipped to embody the energy we want.
If our goal is to transition from chest voice to head voice smoothly, then we want to use a word that helps us cultivate an energy of continuity, fluidity and consistency as we move from one register to the next.
Now that we’re in the right energy, we need to gain some awareness around the inefficiencies in our technique that are sabotaging the continuity we want so badly.
In today’s video I deconstruct what it takes to transition from chest voice to head voice smoothly.
You will learn:
- The MOST important first step to eliminating instability when changing from chest voice to head voice.
- How to nail the high parts of “Defying Gravity” and other songs with large interval leaps
- A progression of three vocal exercises to help create stability in changing from chest voice to head voice and back smoothly
You all deserve to sing through the expanse of your entire range smoothly, reliably and without fear. My hope is that this little video gives you some tools to make it happen.
P.S. Forward this post to singers you love, let them know you support them and invite them “through the passaggio” with you!