The Green Room - When do you admit your range is ... your range?

Apr 18^th, 2008 at 10:50am

mr. spiker Offline
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So, with a musical coming up for me next I am getting back into singing and thinking about singing. I used to sing quite seriously, but put it away when I made the decision to head into "straight" theatre for school instead of opera/vocal performance.

Now I'm realizing that in this market, since I can sing I probably should. I'll never be a real musical comedy guy, but there are possibilities I shouldn't close myself off from.

Anyways ... I have many questions I'd love to ask some of the more experienced singers. Here's one: I started out a true bass, but gradually expanded the upper range to a comfortable baritone/2nd tenor. �When do you simply give up and say "that's just flat out of my range"? Obviously, there are limits, but how do you draw them? If you usually top out at F ... when do you say "nope ... can't do F# or a G".

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Reply #1 - Apr 18^th, 2008 at 11:33am

julesb2183 Offline
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If the note is strained and not full, than the note is probably out of your particular range.

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Reply #2 - Apr 18^th, 2008 at 12:15pm

Tshep Offline
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julesb2183 wrote on Apr 18^th, 2008 at 11:33am:

If the note is strained and not full, than the note is probably out of your particular range.

But there is always the option of transposition.... and this is where your ability to act the song becomes more important than technical perfection.

They say, best men are moulded out of faults; &&And, for the most, become much more the better &&For being a little bad.

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Reply #3 - Apr 18^th, 2008 at 12:17pm

Wc365 Offline
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Tshep wrote on Apr 18^th, 2008 at 12:15pm:

But there is always the option of transposition.... and this is where your ability to act the song becomes more important than technical perfection.

My sole saving grace.

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Reply #4 - Apr 18^th, 2008 at 1:44pm

mr. spiker Offline
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julesb2183 wrote on Apr 18^th, 2008 at 11:33am:

If the note is strained and not full, than the note is probably out of your particular range.

It may be out of your range, or you just may need to focus on technique more: relaxing, breathing, attacking, etc.

It's the line between those that's confusing me. Where's that thine where technique won't help and it's simply beyond what your body can produce? Is there an absolute physical limit, or is it only a matter of technique?

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Reply #5 - Apr 18^th, 2008 at 2:02pm

Ursley Offline
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There definitely is a physical limit. I mean, I will never be a mezzo (it was very hard for me to admit this) because try as I might, I don't have a good low range. A G is definitely my lowest dependable note, and it's never strong. Right now I'm singing down to a C, but it's only because I'm sick, and I shouldn't actually be phonating at all. But that's something else again.

It's definitely possible to extend your range with practice and good technique, and a good vocal coach can help you with this. I've expanded my upper range quite a bit by learning better placement and better breathing techniques. But still, there's a physical limit. I mean, your vocal cords can only do so much.

Someone who has studied vocal pedagogy can most likely give you better answers, but I just thought I'd chime in with my two cents.

And now, back to not phonating. Stupid juries next week....mumble mumble mumble...

Nobody likes a blonde in a hamster ball.

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Reply #6 - Apr 18^th, 2008 at 3:55pm

The Dark Knight Ex Member

When the note is in a song, and must sound tuneful, I pretty much consider it beyond me.

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Reply #7 - Apr 18^th, 2008 at 4:31pm

The Professor Offline
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Quote:

When the note is in a song, and must sound tuneful, I pretty much consider it beyond me.

I take this one step further. If a note is in a song, it's pretty much beyond me.

My skills are as varied as they are impractical.

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Reply #8 - Apr 18^th, 2008 at 5:17pm

shimmer Offline
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I have the knowledge to give a long, scientific lecture on healthy voice, vocal cord abilities vs. restrictions, etc.

But I'm going to do it this way:

If you don't think you can hit a certain note night after night without an insecurity creeping in, causing there to be a bit of reluctance in some of your performance, then it's out of your vocal range. And if being sick will take it completely out of the picture, fuggeddaboutit. Range isn't what you can hit sometimes... it's what people can count on from you.

I'm just not the type to over-flatter myself. When people ask me what my range is, I'm not going to say "low C to high E" just because I hit an E once in the shower when I was hyped up on candy and in my vocal prime. I say, "I'm an alto with a mezzo range and I can sing soprano on a really good day... but you'll have to be desperate."

Be honest with yourself. If you're hesitant to saying you can reach a note.... admit that.

P.S. Men's voices peak later in life then women's.... jerks.

"Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil. " C.S. Lewis

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Reply #9 - Apr 19^th, 2008 at 3:56pm

mr. spiker Offline
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shimmer wrote on Apr 18^th, 2008 at 5:17pm:

I have the knowledge to give a long, scientific lecture on healthy voice, vocal cord abilities vs. restrictions, etc.

That's what I'm actually getting at, and would love to hear about.

I'm not asking specifically about my range, just wondering about the biophysics of it all, I guess. The theory of it all. Let's say your top note is C ... well, C# is just a few MHz away, right? And once you get those MHz, well D is not that far off, either.

What's the point as which there is an absolute limit on what an individual's vocal chords can produce in a literal sense vs. what can be achieved with more training, etc.

These are the sort of things I wonder about. I have a pretty good sense of my own range, but I'm fascinated by it's limits and why they exist.

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