What is Mixed Voice Singing?

What is mixed voice singing?  End your confusion forever. WATCH THIS VIDEO to understand Mixed Voice Singing and how to get it in your singing voice.

 

Hi, I’m Chuck Gilmore with Power to Sing.

 

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If you’re trying to sing higher into head voice but your voice gets jammed up, you must learn to sing with a mix. By the end of this video you’ll understand mixed voice singing and how to get it in your voice so you can sing higher and better than you’ve ever sung before. This is a proven technique that’s worked for hundreds of my students and will work for you.

 

What is Mixed Voice Singing?

 

I’ll describe it from the perspective of what it feels and sounds like to a singer.

 

On low notes I can feel vibration from my mouth down into my chest. [demo]

 

Notice that occurring with the chest vibration is a tone we can hear. [demo]

 

This chest vibration and tone is called chest voice.

 

On high notes I can feel vibration from just above my mouth and up into my head cavities…especially in my ears. [demo gee]

 

It’s harder for me to feel the head vibration…but sometimes it’s so strong in my ears that the vibration tickles them.

 

Notice that occurring with the head vibration is a tone we can hear. [demo]

 

This head vibration and tone is called head voice.

 

Because the resonating parts of the body are so close and interconnected, you can feel some chest or head voice vibrations throughout. But generally speaking, chest voice is dominant on lower pitches and head voice is dominant on higher pitches.

 

Sing “Ah” on a low pitch.  Can you feel the vibration in your chest?

Now sing “gee” on a high pitch. Can you feel the vibration in your head?

 

Which is easier for you to feel? Tell me in the comments section. Is Chest or head voice easier for you to feel vibrations.

 

Mixed Voice Singing is a Mixture (Mix) of Chest and Head Voice

 

As the pitch ascends from chest to head you can feel the vibration moving higher and it starts feeling very awkward. [demo ah]

 

We do it wrong if we keep using the chest vibration and get louder and push chest higher and higher. Often the tone breaks into falsetto. [demo]

 

The chest tone has broken. It is now falsetto. This is not head voice. This is not a mixed voice. It is only a disconnected tone which is a false voice or falsetto. It will not blend in with chest voice.

 

Mixed voice singing is a mixture of chest and head voice. As the pitch ascends from chest to head, the vibration also moves upward toward the head cavities. Near the E just above Middle C for men and five notes above that, the A for women, the vibrations move into the head cavities above the mouth. [demo]

 

During the E,F,F#4 for men and the A4, Bb, B and C5 for women, if done correctly, chest and head vibration and tone both occur together. These notes comprise the first bridge for most men and women. Sometimes it’s referred to as the passaggio.

 

This combined vibration and tone of chest and head voice might feel like a mixture of two things to us, but sounds like one tone to the audience. It’s a mixture or blend of chest and head voice. This is Mixed Voice Singing.

 

What is Mixed Voice Singing in Your Voice?

 

Try this. Sing “ah” through the first bridge. [Demo]

 

As you approach the bridge notes, allow the vowel to gradually adjust to “uh”. This narrowing from “ah” to “uh” allows the chest and head voice vibrations to mix together to produce a single tone.

 

First I’ll play the notes for the men to do it, then the ladies.

 

Men start on G3.  Ladies start on Middle C#.

 

Done correctly the vocal cords also adjust to allow a smooth transition to mixed voice singing. As the pitch continues upward, the mixed voice becomes head voice.

 

Did you make it through? Let me know in the comments below. Tell me, “Yes, I made it”. Or “No, I didn’t make it.”

 

Now that you’ve experienced mixed voice singing, what’s the next step to developing mix in your singing voice?

 

The first step is to get your vocal type.  Your vocal type describes what you tend to do as you sing through the first bridge. Download the free PDF, “Get Your Vocal Type” by clicking on this link here, or you can get it in the description below this Youtube Video.

 

After downloading the PDF, take the vocal test and answer the questions in the quiz to get your vocal type. Then watch the videos about your vocal type and download the free exercises for your vocal type.

 

These exercises will help you develop mix in your singing voice.

 

IF YOU LIKED THIS VIDEO, PLEASE LET ME KNOW BY LIKING IT BELOW, SUBSCRIBE AND SHARE IT WITH YOUR FELLOW SINGERS. Let me know in the comments below if this video helped you understand or experience mixed voice.

 

Also, If you want to join a community of singers just like you, I have a Facebook page, Power To Sing, where I share up to date singing advice to help you succeed with your voice.

 

In addition, be sure to join me on Twitter and Instagram @powertosing.

 

I’m Chuck Gilmore with Power to Sing. You can sing higher with beauty, confidence and power.

 

I’ll see you inside the next video.