As a singer, you should know about the different parts of your voice, especially mixed voice.
It will allow you to be more precise and successful while singing songs with different ranges. Every day, I am sure you hear each part of the voice in your favorite songs. Once you’re able to identify which part of voice you are singing in, you’ll have the knowledge to perfect each part making yourself a pro!
So, what is the difference between full voice, mixed voice, head voice, and falsetto?
And where in your body are these parts created or felt?
Full voice, or also known as chest voice, is basically your normal speaking voice because the range and quality is the same when singing. It is the most comfortable to sing in because it is more natural. These tones are lower and thicker sounding. To see if you are truly singing in chest/full voice, place your hands over your chest and notice the vibration when you begin singing. Using your full voice does require a good amount of energy to really push those notes out and get the full tone you are going for.
Head voice, or upper register, is used when you go to reach higher notes but still with strength and energy. Most people feel that vibrating sensation in their head as they go higher, hence the name! To see which voice you are using, sing “ah” as you place your hands on the back of your neck. Start in your chest voice then begin singing higher, gradually. Notice how the sensation moves from your neck to the top of your head. Pretty cool right?
But what about the famous falsetto?
Often the head voice and falsetto are confused but the real difference between them is the amount of power you have behind what your singing in each voice. While the head voice is backed with strength, falsetto tends to sound weaker and more breathy. Falsetto is the register above head and chest voice, usually used for stylization. While singing in falsetto, air escapes the stretched vocal chords easily and produces a high-pitched sound. In my opinion, nobody does falsetto sweeter than Mariah Carey, especially at the end of her record “Emotions.”
Singing in mixed voice, also called blended voice, is really just singing with a combination of your chest and head voice.
The key to finding your mixed voice is finding comfortability between the chest and head voice. Mixed voice allows you to belt safely at a higher note because you still have the strength and energy from your chest voice. Blended voice is something you have to develop personally because it is all about your ability as a singer.
How high can you sing with continued strength? Play around with singing vowels in your chest and head voice and as you go up in range notice where in your body you feel the vibration. At what point are you beginning to lose strength behind the note?
Find that perfect mid-section and attack it. Practicing singing in your mixed voice will allow you to find it easier the next time you sing.
Your singing voice is an instrument and with all instruments, practice makes perfect. Knowing these four parts of your voice will allow you to be a singer with great range and sing at ease. Let us know in the comments how much this blog post helped you understand the different parts of the voice. Were you able to find your mixed voice? Can you reach falsetto tones? We want to know!
