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Free Lessons
By Jeannie Deva
Historically, the transition between what is called chest and head voice has preoccupied many singers and voice coaches alike while consuming countless hours of lessons. Often singers despair about having a "connected" head and chest voice and are resigned to using only a lower or higher register when singing. Certainly it can seem frustrating, complicated and often perplexing when there is apparently no remedy in sight.
How about a fresh approach?
What if there really was no such thing as "head" or "chest voice"? What if, for the moment, you abandon any memory of having a break or several weak transitional notes between your lower and higher registers and just consider your range to be one long expanse of notes? OK, so a few of these notes may not be as full as you'd like. Let's call them tonally challenged with the capacity to be rehabilitated. Get the idea of your voice as one long continuous expanse of notes with no sections.
One thing you might find useful is to know that the higher you sing the less air your vocal folds need for their vibration. If you PUSH out air thinking you need to “hit” the note, you will over-blow the vibration and precipitate your own register break.
Now, what if there were exercises you could do that would get all of these notes in perfect balance?
Here is what you need to do to eliminate register break:
1. Learn how to achieve natural breath support so that you don’t have to think about breathing; yet, the air stream would automatically be the perfect amount to vibrate your vocal folds for each pitch - not more - not less.
2. This would then relieve tension in your throat, eliminating the primary cause of register break and the subsequent illusion that there are such things as head and chest voice.
3. Next you would practice certain exercises designed to make all the subtle vibrational transitions of you voice smoothly and harmoniously with each other.
The Result: No more register break and much of your attention previously stuck on your body, now free for you to direct as you wish upon your audience and a more passionate performance!
Much of my self-study course, The Contemporary Vocalist Volume One, is devoted to exploring and resolving this problem in much greater detail. Once you practice the exercises that address this, you will understand why what I have said here works. Ultimately, it takes practicing the correct exercises coached in a very specific manner so that once and for all you can move past register break and gain a full, connected range of notes with which to freely express yourself.
Wishing you success,
Jeannie Deva
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As the innovator of The Deva Method®, A Complete Vocal Technique for Stage and Studio, Jeannie Deva is the author of the internationally acclaimed “Contemporary Vocalist” Volumes I and II, “The Deva Method Vocal Warm-Ups and Cool-Downs” CD and she trains and certifies teachers in her method. She is the Celebrity Vocal Coach on the E! Entertainment TV Reality show “House of Carters” with Nick Carter of The Backstreet Boys and his family. Ms. Deva is a member of TC-Helicon® Vocal Technologies Elite Voice Instructor Council. There is a growing network of Jeannie Deva® Voice Studios. Clients include Grammy Award Winners, American Idol contestants, Independent and Major Label recording artists. Ms Deva’s private studio is located in Los Angeles, California.
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