singing range

[nickname]

I'm gonna take a leap of faith and assume that since this is a songwriting forum that there's singers also. I'm curious, how can one heighten their range? Just from singing along with the radio and practicing it seems to have given me a bit that I hadn't tapped into, but I seem to be at an impasse. Thanks.

[freeorangeshoes]

breathing has a lot to do with it. im no expert, but i know what works for me. also, if you sing from the stomach as opposed to the throat, it seems to produce better results. open le mouth as well. know how you always see pictures of singers with their mouth open about a foot wide? theres a reason for that.

[TheGrinnan]

Originally posted by nickname
I'm gonna take a leap of faith and assume that since this is a songwriting forum that there's singers also. I'm curious, how can one heighten their range? Just from singing along with the radio and practicing it seems to have given me a bit that I hadn't tapped into, but I seem to be at an impasse. Thanks.

No, there's more to it than that. If you know a little piano, play major triad arpeggios with the root octave and sing what you played--in the Key of C it would be C-E-G-C (8va)-G-E-C. That will help with moving from third to third to fourth and backwards. Also, there's an eigth-note exercise that you play the first five notes of a major scale and regress back--in the Key of C it would be C-D-E-F-G-F-E-D-C. When you sing the pitches, do it with vowel sounds.

Singing is like anything else musically--only when you warm up to sing you are actually helping not only your range, but your volume as well.

[joeinthebox1980]

i used to have a pretty limited to range... but it's all about continuing to sing... and trying to sing at different ranges.

you might find that you sing at lower registers better than higher ones or vice-versa. you gotta know that about yourself too.

and then just gradually start expanding your range and see how well you sing at certain volumes and certain pitches.


the piano tip is a good idea, too.

[nickname]

I don't know how to sing in a certain key...such a novice..

[jacobhimself]

i take lessons, i noticed a HUGE difference in my range once i started lessons...

singing scales with a keyboard helps immensly... just do a 4 note scale... then move it up a position, then keep doing it till you cant go higher... go down to improve that range...

[nickname]

I'd like to take lessons in a year or so.

By singing along with a scale on the piano...do I attempt to sing at the same pitch, and how do I know if I am at it?

[jacobhimself]

Originally posted by nickname
I'd like to take lessons in a year or so.

By singing along with a scale on the piano...do I attempt to sing at the same pitch, and how do I know if I am at it?


you know how if you play an e at the fifth fret of your b string and play an open e it has a nice shimmer? and if its put of tune it has a weird shake to it... youll know... make sure the piano is loud...

all i can say is youll know if its right or not...

[nickname]

I found that directing my voice from the top of my throat I can achieve a pretty high (extremely high for me) pitch...it's quite neat. I need to practice the do re me scale some more with it, because it sounds a bit off-key...but it's high, which is what I need! Thanks.

[jacobhimself]

Originally posted by nickname
I found that directing my voice from the top of my throat I can achieve a pretty high (extremely high for me) pitch...it's quite neat. I need to practice the do re me scale some more with it, because it sounds a bit off-key...but it's high, which is what I need! Thanks.


no problem man... when your singing with a piano just sing Ahhhhhhhh or oooohhhhhhh... just a long vowel sound works great....


if you ever need singing help in the future feel free to pm me...

[fretboardmaster]

when playing live i plan my setlists very carefully, so that the songs that take the most range are nearer the end, then my voice is a little warmer. obviously i do some warmups before going on, but it helps to do that.

on improving my range, i just sang along to a lot of muse songs and tried to craft my style like that. i can now get much higher if i need to, though it doesn't always have the power. however, isn't that what the mic is for?

always just try to push it that little bit further

[::charlie::]

[Ice age coming]

since I've started playing guitar I've always been singing and I think it helped alot.. just singing all the time...

I can sing alot of Muse songs and stuff...

haha this is an early version of me before the guitar: me (http://home.no/sub-urbanhype/thestart.jpg)

[lucky13sp]

my range is so narrow that there's only one song on radio i can sing all of the notes for without straining my voice, audioslave-i am the highway.
damn that's frustrating.

[guidedbyechos]

singing a lot helps my voice ranges from godsmack low to mars volta high

[nickname]

I've been singing with a lot of portishead...that's pretty nice for the range...its odd, I can actually hit higher than some of the notes she hits.

[fretboardmaster]

ewan mcgreggor has a gorgeous voice, AND he's a high tenor. sorry jsut thought it had to go in, i watched moulin rouge yesterday :P

[::charlie::]

[Springbokk]

I'm in a choir and we won the Canadian finals last year for the under 19 division. As a Baritone (which I am) you have to be able to get up to high tenor as well as mediumly low bass. It's good to have a fair range, but knowing your own range is more important. Nothing sounds worse than a singer that is trying to hit a note and is just not making it. Breathe, be calm and stay in your range, you can also damage your voice if you don't warm up, practice or train your voice when moving to different keys and levels.