Voice type and benefits of Ken's method

Morrow_84

Hi All,

I have two questions please:

1. My vocal type. I know vocal type doesn't really matter nowadays but really want to find out to understand where am I and what are my strenghts / weaknesses.

I am quite sure I am a baritone but really don't know if I am a high, lyric (are they the same: high and lyric?), med or low one. I hope you guys can help me out.

I am in my 30s. I had some basic vocal classes before, have an idea about vocal support.

I don't feel any discomfort singing low notes, but the lowest note I can sing with little or no vocal fry is probably A2, but it is definately not a strong, juicy note like bases have. I can sing E2-G2 but they have vocal fry, but I can sing them if required without much discomfort.

I believe my passagio is C4 - E4. I can sing higher than E4 too but when I sing sentences higher than E4 I sing them mainly in head voice with very little chest, so vocal agility is not good E4 and upwards while singing sentences. However, holding whole notes between E4 - A4 is much better, they do have little more chesty sound, not just pure head voice, it's in mix I believe and I can hold them comfortably.

For example, if I sing Human by Rag n Bone Man (the "I am only human" part) which is around F4 I believe, it sounds good and comfortable. But if I sing Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You by Glenn Medeiros, the "they take us where we want to go" part, that is also around E4-F4 I beleive, it sounds more head voice / falsetonnish. So E4 and upwards depends on a song / sentence and whole notes sound best.

I can hold a whole note in A4 easily, anyday, even without warmup. I can sometimes reach A4 sharp too. I can sing B4 and C5 too but they are in pure head voice / falsetto, no chest I believe. With warmup, I can reach A5 in falsetto, or even B5 sometimes but it doesn't sound good nor comfortable.

I believe my voice is light, I mostly don't have much problems in switching between registers, it generally goes smoothly.

The problem is that even when I listen to lyric baritones, for example, Ken (his voice and vocal technique is just fantastic, by the way) I believe my voice is a bit lighter than theirs but its maybe how I hear my voice.

Here is a short demonstration of my voice. Again, I am just a beginner and don't think my voice is any good at this stage, so apologies in advance for unprofessional performance

This one was recorded in RUSH and with mobile phone so doesn't sound very well:

demo 1

demo 2

So, my first question is: what kind of baritone am I?

2. And the second question: what benefits I should expect if I buy Ken's course? Will it help me to sing passagio notes more easily and, roughly, how soon I can expect to see the changes?

Thanks a lot and sorry for such a long post!

[Deleted User]

As a student myself, all I can tell you is that this course will take you as far as you want to go. That will all depend on how much you put into it. If you do the recommended 5-6 days a week, You'll notice your voice getting stronger rather quickly.
It's really cool because the course is set up in a way that you progress without even knowing sometimes. You just start singing something, and it sounds great, and you're doing it naturally, and at those moments you start to understand how all the things in the video are coming together.

Personally, I feel like I landed in a pot of gold when I found/bought this course.

Peace, Tony

highmtn

@Morrow_84

Long posts take a little longer to answer, because you are so specific in the questions you ask, that it's more suitable to answer more simple questions before taking the time to answer one or two really long walls of text.

You are on the dividing line between Lyric Baritone and Baritone-tenor (tenore robusto). Conservatively speaking, you would be a Lyric Baritone.

We don't worry much about what "exact" type variation a person is, but we do encourage you to know the locations of your primo passaggio and your secondo passaggio.


Ken's course will train you to extend your chest voice range as far as is possible for you. That will give you more choices at what to do, when to remain in chest voice for a passage, or to select to go into head voice. You'll also eventually develop a broad range that you can mix in.

You mentioned having to do some passages in head voice that are performed in a chestier sound on the recordings, like the Glenn Madeiros line. Extending your chest range would give you that option.

Ken's Pro Bundle also includes a module called "Building Head Voice" that builds a more timbral head voice sound, unlike the hooty-flutey head voice that is more associated with falsetto. This timbral head voice is stretched down low in range, to overlap the chest voice by a number of notes. This creates a wide swath in the zona di passagi, that is the foundation of a strong mix voice. This allows you to bridge at your choice, rather than be locked-in at E4.

It takes a long time to get through the course. That's a good thing, because building a voice is like body-building. You don't take a pill, add water, and presto! You work, you train, you grow, you understand.

You'll have to unlearn all of your habits that are holding you back where you presently are.

You'll see some immediate changes, but you'll notice some things that require growth and development take months and even years. The good news is that if you keep working Ken's program for years, you will continue to see progress for as long as you keep working it.

Ken's program starts with the foundation and builds from there.

You'll get from it what you put into it. If your passaggio needs work, then you'll have to do that work. You'll be amazed at how much you can improve, if you have the patience and determination to follow-through and develop your abilities.

Ken shows you what to do, and we help you here to get you over the rough spots.

It's up to you to want it badly enough to do what you have to do to accomplish your goals.

I hope this helps you to see a little more clearly what Ken's program is like.


All the Best!


Bob

Morrow_84

Hi highmtn,

Thanks a lot for your detailed reply!

I will go ahead and purchase the Pro Bundle. Hope it will help me to achieve my goals.

Morrow_84

Thanks a lot, videoace, for your reply too!