Expanding range

Jersou

Hi I'm Jerry s
I'm an older vocalist who has been singing mainstream pop for over 50 years. I have been losing my vocal range over the last 10 years and have been working Ken's course in trying to expand it. Doing scales I can get as high as F4 to where I can't hit the high note in the scale, because that's where I start to crack. I have purchased the course and am wondering if there is a particular lesson I should concentrate on to help me get it back. I am new to the forum and would like to be able to navigate more comfortably around it.

Thanks

highmtn

Hello, Jerry.

The main ingredients you need to get comfortable at F4 and higher is time and proper, regular practice. After F4 comes F#4, and G4 and for males, these are formidable barriers. But with time and gentle persistence, you will find that these notes gradually begin to avail themselves to you. Not from forcing them, but more from patiently allowing your voice the time and space it needs to adjust and begin to grow.

You may have had these notes in the past, or maybe not. But that does not mean that you won't have them in the future.

It took me the longest time to get past G4. As in years... but I'm well past those notes now, in chest voice, and comfortably so.

So while on the one hand, we would like to be simply informed of how to go directly to those notes, we have to apply all of Ken's techniques, and wait for the notes to appear on their own, after we do the work for weeks, months, and/or years. We are stimulating our voices to grow with these exercises.

The more you do the KTVA exercises, the more rapid the growth. But even if you don't have time to do the exercises every day, if you apply the techniques from now on, and practice as you are able, you will find your future self being surprised and delighted as you sing notes you have never comfortably sung before, and without straining or struggling.

It just takes time, patience, and a lot of proper practice. If you keep on doing the exercises, and stay within the boundaries of your voice, you will find that those boundaries begin to move, and your range will slowly begin to expand.

So know that you have started on the right path, and that the longer you stay on that path, the more your voice will begin to grow. You will have plateaus where you think you are never going to get past certain boundaries, and then a little later you will realize that you have arrived at the next higher plateau, and then the next, and so on. It keeps on happening, literally for years and years. Each year you will look back and marvel at the progress you have made. But like watching the hour hand on the clock, it can be hard to perceive the progress in the moment. But believe me, the hour hand is moving. Just like the days on the calendar.

Next year, you will realize that getting Ken's program was the best thing you ever did for yourself! You'll be getting glimpses of that over the weeks and months to come, if you stay the course!

So follow the course, and do everything Ken says. It all comes together as a whole. Exercise both your bridging into head voice and your stretching of your chest voice (to the extent you are able) every day, in approximately balanced amounts.

Hang in there, and you will be very pleased with the results.

All the Best!

Bob

Jersou

Thanks Bob for your in depth advice. Throughout my life, I have had some professional instruction in my early years, (1967) and have explored on line courses in the latter years. But to be honest, Ken's course is head and shoulders above anything else ot there! I am an old dog, who is willing to learn new tricks, so I will keep working at it. I have successfully completed volume 3.4, and don't want to move ahead until I can get my 3and 1half octaves back, or something close.
Thanks again for some very helpful and interesting tips. I will keep you in the loop on my progress.
Jerry s