5 Secrets to Master the Passaggio: Transitioning Between Registers With More Ease and Control
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The passaggio refers to the vocal transition between registers in singing. It is the area between a singer’s chest voice and head voice where the voice changes registers to continue ascending or descending in pitch. Passaggio is an Italian term meaning “passage” and refers to the passage between vocal registers. Locating and navigating the passaggio is an important skill for singers to master and involves many technical aspects of the voice that have to line up to implement.
Most singers feel the primo passaggio from the chest voice into the head voice. It generally occurs somewhere around:
- F4 to G4 for female voices
- E4 to G4 for male voices
However, the precise location will vary widely based on vocal training, breath control, support, and anatomy.
There can also be a second passaggio between the middle and upper middle register. This is called the secondo passaggio. Mastery of both transitions leads to a seamless vocal scale between registers.
With vocal technique training, you can even out the passaggio transitions. This kind of mastery is not a quick accomplishment. It can take years to accomplish as it requires the execution and coordination of
the following aspects of technique: true diaphragmatic breath support, alignment, chest wall and pectoral support, and laryngeal position and resistance. I’ve detailed them below.
Here are my top 5 Secrets to Master the Passaggio: Transitioning Between Registers With More Ease and Control:
1. Developing the right breath support
Breath support is integral to being able to execute smooth register shifts. When breath support is not well established, the passaggio (or break) will be bumpy and hard to control. You’ll also notice a vast difference in sounds in the chest and head voice registers.
This leads singers most times to “push” air to control the register shifts, but what you need is to alleviate the pressure felt at the vocal muscles by gathering air below the vocal folds in the sub-glottic area and using the “trunk” of the body to support the sound.
To do that we need to gather and manage air below the laryngeal area in the “sub-glottis” area we need to breathe down into the diaphragm, release the ribs, and expand the intercostal muscles. Yes ‘breathing down into the abdomen’ heads you off in the right direction, but it’s the ribcage movement that frees the diaphragm suctioning air deeper into the lower triangle of the lungs where the reserves of breath are. .
Try this:
- Lift your chest (sternum bone) towards your chin without arching your back or raising your shoulders.
- Press your fingers of both hands on the sternum at the bottom of your pecs to keep your chest lifted during inhalation and exhalation.
- Exhale gently without dropping your chest.
- Work on maintaining this position throughout singing.
2. Using postural alignment to set up the right positioning
To navigate smoothly through the passaggio good posture needs to be well-established. Postural alignment affects the “vocal path” of the sound. Poor posture will thwart the vocal path and cause tensions to arise that affect the passaggio.
Try this:
- Stand evenly in the center of both feet
- Soften your knees so they are not locked
- Scarecrow: Head sitting on top of spine
- Tuck your pelvis slightly underneath you
- Pull up tall out of the waist
- Shoulders at rest (heavy): down and back
- Lengthen the cervical spine (neck)
- Lift the base of your skull towards the ceiling
- The head is level + placed over your body (not in front of)
- The chin is slightly tipped down to achieve a level head position and a long cervical spine
This alignment practiced during vocal technique helps to clear the “vocal path” for the voice improving the ease of the register shifts in the passaggio.
3. Enhancing support using the chest wall and pectorals
The chest wall, sternum position, and pectoral support provide an opportunity to control the amount of air being expelled and absorb the pressure of singing to keep it from hitting the throat and vocal muscles.
To exercise control over the amount of air being expelled from the lungs during sound, keep a nice reserve of air inside the lungs, and maintain a steady flow of air to create a steadiness in the overall vocal production and sound. We do this by maintaining a raised sternum and chest position to avoid the dropping of the chest and collapsing of the ribcage during singing.
Try this:
- Lift your chest wall and sternum towards your chin without arching the back
- Press the fingers of both hands on the chest at the level of the bottom of the pectoral muscles
- Sing through an octave scale on the AH vowel using the “aw” pronunciation to create more depth.
- Go up and down maintaining pressure at the chest and keeping the head and neck free.
- Use more pressure to help to smooth out the passaggio.
4. Laryngeal position
The position of the larynx affects the passaggio area quite a bit. As you ascend in pitch the larynx tends to get pushed upwards. In a well-trained voice, this movement is minimized providing a more stable larynx allowing for smoother register shifts.
Untrained singers generally have little to no control of this area. Even in trained singers I often find higher laryngeal position due to oversinging and a lack of technique.
Try this:
- Place your finger at the top of your throat
- Yawn
- Did you feel the throat slip down?
- Now keeping your finger there, gently pull the jaw open with your hand
- Did you feel the throat slip down?
- Now bring an imaginary glass of water to your lips and pretend to drink
- Did you feel the throat slip down?
- This is a motion you do every day that you want to get in your reflexes
This is a motion singers use before they sing to open the throat and drop the larynx. A deeper position for the laryngeal muscles during singing helps to stabilize the voice during singing achieving smoother transitions in the passaggio.
5. The "pinch position" to set the larynx in its deepest position
A technique to help you achieve an even deeper position for the larynx can help to feel what it can feel like to not “feel” the register shifts is the “pinch position”.
Try this:
- Place your finger at the top of your throat
- Yawn
- Feel the throat slip down
- Now keeping your finger at the top of the throat add a pinch. Pinch your cheeks to separate the jaw.
- See how the throat moves way down?
- Now sing a scale on AH using an “aw” sound, maintaining that position through the scale. Repeat a few times.
- Did you notice how you didn’t feel the shift in registers as much? Or at all?
This shows you what is possible. The way to achieve this is by practicing vocal technique exercises that set up these movements.
To sing with more power and control, start by practicing my Singers Gift Vocal Warmups (see below). These are the starting point for my technique. These exercises will open and free your voice while developing vocal tone and the right alignment that leads to power. To sing with power, your voice needs to be free of tension, have good alignment practices (long neck and a raised chest), as well as have great breath control by breathing diaphragmatically to support a powerful sound.
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Hi, I’m Cari Cole.
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About Cari Cole
Cari Cole is the CEO / Founder of caricole.com and CCVM: Label Without Walls. She is a Holistic Vocal Coach, Artist Development Expert, A&R Director, and Songwriter based in New York City helping artists for the past 38 years. She is a mentor for Women in Music and The Association of Independent Music Publishers.
Her latest venture, CCVM a label services company, provides artists with a seamless path from creation to completion. After 30+ years of observing the overwhelm and challenges that artists face, Cari pulled together the best top creative professionals and designed a new approach to supporting our artists.
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The information provided on Cari Cole's website is informational only and should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. Those seeking personal medical advice should consult with a licensed physician. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health provider regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on Cari Cole's website. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room immediately.
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