5 Tips to Sing Through Your Mix Voice and Smooth Your Registers
This post helps you get started, but that’s only the beginning. What would it feel like to sing your heart out with a transformed voice performing to thousands of people by the end of the year? Come join the tens of thousands of singers who have already transformed their voices with my Singers Gift Warmups. Set your voice free in just 20 minutes a day with these revolutionary techniques found only here! Click here to find out how.
The attainment of the mix voice is one of the goals of good singing. The voice has shifts in registers which interrupt that seamless flow. In todays blog I will lay out the process of how to develop the seamless blend of the mix voice. The mix seamlessly blend your lower and upper registers without cracking, straining, struggling for pitch, or experiencing a loss or shift in tone quality.
Before you can mix well, you need to strengthen the core of your voice and build the overtone series in the voice as well as fix any mechanical issues. The seamless blend of registers has more to do with mechanics than any fancy vocal tricks.
1. Register shifts
Register shifts are natural changes in breath velocity and laryngeal position. Most singers are aware of register shifts, but not always.
Female singers have chest and head registers.
Male singers have chest, head, and falsetto registers. Women do not have falsetto.
Most singers find shifting registers a little awkward right around the “passaggio” or “break” area. Passaggio is an Italian term that means “passage” or traveling between registers.
As you train in vocal technique the register shifts start to smooth out. It is the final piece that falls into place once the voice is developed properly.
Try this:
- Sing from the bottom of your voice upwards through the scale slowly on “ah” and notice where your voice shifts into a different “sound” or texture. For example start on A below middle C and move upwards an octave and a half through the notes. Did you notice the voice shifting?
- Do it again and see if you can identify the notes your voice typically shifts on.
- This is called your “passaggio” or “break”.
For the female singer:
- The lower register is called “chest” voice.
- Upper register is called “head” voice.
For male singers:
- The lower register is called “chest” voice.
- Upper register is called “head” voice.
- Above head the voice gets super breathy – this is called the “falsetto” register.
2. Vocal strength
Before you can smooth your registers and master the mix voice you need to build some vocal strength. A weak voice will have a harder time coordinating the “break”.
First we have to build up the tone, the range and the overall strength of your vocal instrument. You can have a strong sounding voice, but a frail or weak voice at the core of the mechanics of the voice. My method, The Cole Vocal Technique, strengthens the core of your voice.
Start here:
- Build your vocal strength with 20 minutes a day of my Cole Vocal Method. Start with my Singers Gift Vocal Warmups. I have the warmup series organized into 2-20 minute practices for you to alternate. You can practice with audio or video for a fuller demonstration.
- As you practice the specific positions you will start strengthening your vocal instrument to have more control over your register shifts.
- Once you have some basic strength from the Singers Gift Vocal Warmups, join one of our Vocal Freedom Circles and learn the rest of the entire Cole Vocal Method. Inside the circle (or in private Sessions) I teach the Master Vocal Exercises which are the foundation of developing a true professional voice. This builds the overtone series of the voice and strips away the “compensatory” exercises that mask strength. Once we get to the core of the instrument we strengthen the real voice. Once we strengthen the core we are able to control the “passaggio” and smooth out the register shifts.
The register shifts are usually the final piece to fall into place in the development of the professional voice. Keep going and you’ll get there!
3. Laryngeal position
Mastering the “mix” voice and smoothing the register shifts has a lot to do with the approach and position of the vocal muscles during singing. The position of the laryngeal muscles has a big role in the smoothing of the registers.
When the laryngeal muscles are too high up in the throat it’s impossible to manage the register shifts leading to a “high” sounding larynx or cracks or breaks in the voice. Singing in general pushes the laryngeal muscles upwards which can contribute to this. The laryngeal muscles need to be in a relatively lower position to navigate this area without breaks.
To get the laryngeal muscles down is a process – it’s not something you can force. But start here.
Try this:
- Yawn with your finger horizontal at the top of the throat. Try to yawn more with the back of your throat vs. your jaw. A little of both is good.
- Watch in the mirror. Do you see your finger and throat slip downward as you yawn?
- Another trick is to bring an imaginary cup of water to your mouth to drink. As you drink do you notice your throat slip downward? This is a movement we do throughout the day and is easy to identify.
- This is a motion you want to get on auto-pilot to use before you sing high notes. Once it is programmed into the body it becomes a natural movement. Don’t overdo it. Everything with the voice is best experienced as small and subtle movements as tense movements will tighten the instrument.
Warning: You can’t force these muscles down. They need to be gently and correctly trained to sit in the right position. Start with my Singers Gift Vocal Warmups that come with full demonstrations. When the larynx sits in a deeper bed (which comes from training) you have more control over smoothing out your register shifts.
Getting control of your instrument is achieved by practicing The Cole Vocal Method 5 days a week for 20 minutes a day. Start with my Singers Gift Vocal Warmups to get these motions programmed into your voice!
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4. Anchor your voice
As I mentioned in number three above, singing with a “high” larynx leads to cracks and breaks and makes it hard to navigate register shifts. As we go up and down the range of the voice, we tend to lift and drop this area of the throat—which will naturally happen.
However, when we want to execute more control, we use techniques that “anchor” your voice. As I’ve mentioned in prior blogs, the pectoral muscles and a lower laryngeal position help to “anchor” your voice to your body providing the support it needs to produce a strong solid sound.
The next time you sing an ascending vocal scale or you sing a high note, try thinking of the way an elevator works. A heavy weight is attached to a pulley and as the weight pulls down, the elevator actually goes up to the higher floors. So, the highest floor is reached when the weight is the heaviest. Similarly, you should think down for your high notes or think of adding weight (resistance) to your highest notes.
This idea will help to keep the laryngeal muscles from lifting upward leaving the voice unstable.
Try this:
- Hold your jaw open a 2-finger distance with the tip of the tongue touching the inside of your lower lip.
- Keep your chest raised up high towards your chin.
- Use a deeper sound for this exercise. Use a more “operatic” tone. This will keep the laryngeal muscles “anchored”.
- Sing a scale on “UH” in a comfortable low note and move up the scale.
- As you move upwards in pitch, trick your mind by thinking you are singing a lower note.
- Move your hand downward as you go up in pitch.
- Go slowly up the scale. Just try 3 notes first. Then 5. Were you able to keep the voice anchored? Could you feel a downward movement as you rose in pitch? Keep working this exercise until you feel a downward movement.
5. Raise your chest voice
One of the first things I focus on in voice building is prepping the break area by raising the chest voice. Using the exercises in The Cole Vocal Method we are able to raise the chest voice upwards safely and healthfully.
This has to be done carefully without adding any strain to the laryngeal area or vocal folds and muscles. To do it healthfully be sure to use the right alignment.
When the chest is in a high position for singing, the pectorals are more active in providing support for the voice, helping to anchor the laryngeal muscles, provide better breath support and control over high notes.
Try this:
- Tip the chin slightly downward.
- Lengthen the back of your neck up towards the ceiling.
- Grab the hair at the top of your spine and pull upward lengthening and straightening your neck.
- Balance the head over the body.
- Lift the chest upwards toward your chin.
- Now press on the chest with your fingers keeping the backs of your hands together. Use 3 lbs of pressure. Position for your fingers is about 4-5″ down from the collarbone.
- Sing “ah”. As you sing apply 5-7 lbs of pressure while keeping your neck relaxed.
- This is an effective technique used to stimulate the use of the pectoral muscles in singing to support high notes and strengthen the sound and volume of the overall singing voice.
In addition to raising the chest voice, we work on building the whole voice including the head voice and full range. Learn more about that in our Vocal Freedom Circle. See the schedule of upcoming circles here. The Cole Vocal Method technique is also taught in my Private Sessions. Find out more about that here.
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To work on mastering your mix voice and smoothing out the register shifts, 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.
You’ve got talent, but you want to become great at it. You’re in the right place! My mission is to help you refine your unique artist vision to bring to the world.
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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