Ep.37: What is Chest Voice – Common Problems
What is Chest Voice? In Episode 36, I talked about how chest voice creates a richer, deeper and fuller sound that anchors and colors the entire voice.
But do you know what kind of trouble we can get into with chest voice? Watch and see.
What is Chest Voice – Four Common Problems
I love a rich, full chest voice. But for many singers, chest voice presents lots of problems. Here are some major problems you might be facing every time you sing.
- You pull the chest voice too high. This means your vocal cords stay thick and are not adjusting correctly for the higher pitches. The resonance fails to move above the roof of your mouth and into your head. You increase the volume and push harder which causes more tension. Your chest voice is being pulled upward into what should be the head register. [Demo] You hear that transition correctly.
- Your vocal cords are not coming together deeply nor firmly which produces a chest voice too light and breathy. This may also cause the middle and head voice to be too light and breathy. Your voice lacks a firm anchor or foundation. Some women sing falsetto in the chest register. As a result, there’s little to no chest resonance or overtones in the voice. Let me demonstrate. [Demo] That’s too light, isn’t it? Or here’s the falsetto in chest voice. [Demo]
- You have difficulty singing into your head voice because you don’t know it’s possible or you don’t know how to do it. It is possible to do it without strain, breaks, cracks or falsetto. Your cords must make a proper adjustment and the resonance must shift into your head. This transition from chest to head occurs in the bridge of your voice. That’s a subject for another day.
- If you have no chest voice, then you will be unable to sing in a mix of your chest and head voice. If it is a weak or breathy chest voice, your mix of chest and head voice will likely be weak and breathy.
Chest voice is the anchor and foundation of your singing voice. It vitalizes your voice. It provides resonance and overtones that brings strength and life into your entire voice.
What is Chest Voice vs Vocal Types
The 4 vocal types have an important component of chest voice.
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In Pulled Chest – High Larynx, the Chest Voice is present, but being pulled too high into the voice. [Demo]
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In Light Chest – No Chest, it’s too light or non-existent. [Demo]
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In Flip-Falsetto, chest voice might be pulled up too high, which is the reason for the flip or break into falsetto. Or falsetto may be pulled down into the chest register, which means there is no chest voice. [Demo]
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In Mix, there is a good balance of the ideal chest and head voice.
Do you know your vocal type? I’m not referring to whether you’re soprano, alto, tenor or bass. Your vocal type is what you tend to do when you sing.
Do you tend to pull your chest voice too high? Or do you tend to sing with a light chest voice?
Visit PowerToSing.com and take the vocal test, which I call the PowerTest. Take the quiz and discover your vocal type. Then go to the Knowledge Center and learn all about your vocal type. Download the exercises designed specifically for your voice.
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.
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