Best way to work on extending range?
drdave
Pro Posts: 4
Hey guys,
I have found that I have quite a low range i can sing certain songs but I find that most male singers I enjoy in the rock genre have a range somewhere in the middle that I struggle to sing without sounding like i'm straining a lot. It seems that they can sing in these ranges comfortably and I find it frustrating that I can't get comfortable within that range. As a guitarist and songwriter I feel that extending my range to the likes of most male rock and pop singers will take my music to the next level. BUT MY VOICE IS JUST TOO LOW AT THE MOMENT!! makes the kind of music that I'm writing sound a bit flat and boring. I know ken touches on stretching chest voice in the KTVA course but I was just wondering if there is anything in particular I can do now to help me increase my range over time to the point where I feel comfortable singing most rock and pop male vocals. Im not too fussed about the really high vocals of artists such as glenn hughes although I love glenn and it would be great to be able to do it. i just want to break into that higher middle range. Hope this all makes sense! haha.
cheers,
Dave 
Answers
Hi, @drdave,
I would suggest that you to do exactly that. Stretch your chest voice as Ken recommends.
You will probably, over the long haul, find that singing in mixed voice will be less of a muscleman way of singing in the range you want to eventually master.
What you may not know is that the most quality mixed voice you can learn (which is what you want) is going to be a mixture of high chest voice with a bit of head voice blended-in. In order to get there, you have to first be able to hit those high chest voice notes as clear as a bell. Then, you can, at your option, decide to ease off and put a little bit of head voice in there. And not just ANY head voice... a Timbral head voice, which Ken Teaches in BUILDING HEAD VOICE, which is to be learned ONLY after finishing Volume 3.
So this is a step-by-step process that takes time to build at each step along the way. Each step has to be done correctly. Then you learn the next one.
If you don't learn it this way, then you will simply go to a wimpy head voice at an early, lower note (and that won't be very satisfying) or you can learn to mix that lighter head voice, down low, with a wimpier, lighter chest voice. How satisfying is that going to be? Ken's way takes longer and gives you real choices, because you will (depending on how far you want to take it) be able to sing a given note in your zona di passagio in full chest, full timbral head, or a blend of any proportion of either. You will still be able to sing in an airy, lighter voice any time you want to. (That's not the healthiest way to use your voice, however)
Ken's way gives you options and choices. The other ways give you no way to sing with power. None. That limits the emotion and dynamics of the songs you are going to sing.
If you can tough it out, there is a method behind learning to stretch your chest voice, and it will be beneficial to your overall range and tone. You want to get out of that baritone box that you're in. This is the way out. It's not easy, and sometimes it's not much fun, but the rewards are great. You have to train a lot, and each note takes time to earn. But slowly, those songs in the range you've been longing for, begin to move from beyond the horizon to the point that you're right there, and it's no big deal (except to your audience).
That's what you want.
Dig in, and fix your eyes on the prize. Don't look back, just keep focusing on getting there.
All the Best.
Bob