Vocal Exercises: Tuesday 30th September 2014: Flexibility, Tone and Range Development

Tuesday 30th September 2014

Flexibility, Tone and Range Development

The third vocal techniques are flexibility, tone and range development. Improving flexibility and tone is an extremely useful area to work on when developing and improving your voice. 

Your own flexibility will depend on your vocal range. Your vocal range is the measure of the breadth of pitches that a human voice can phonate - which is then put into categories/ranges. 

You may be familiar with the types of ranges which depend on how low/high pitched you can sing, such as:

• Soprano
• Alto
• Tenor
• Baritone
• Bass

Knowing you range is great because you may be asked when discussing harmony work, etc. 

If you're unsure on your vocal range, take a look at this video which may help you: 

Knowing your vocal range will help you discover areas to improve and develop your voice. 

I personally have a low voice so fit in with the Alto range. I would like to increase my range and be able to sing in a higher pitch as many female songs are sung in soprano or mezzo-soprano. So as a performer would make me more versatile. 

My of my favourite exercises is singing "Bella Señora", travelling up and down the scale as your sing the words. 

I use "Bella Señora" to focus on my tone. As you go down the scale you decrease your pitch and as you go up the scale you increase your pitch. You need to hit every note rather than just do a vocal slide. Accuracy in pitch is also important to stop the temptation to force notes and instead have a smooth transition from head to chest voice. 

When singing in head voice, you may think that it sounds quieter or lighter - this is perfectly fine, you want to refrain from singing too harshly when your voice isn't prepared/developed enough, straining your voice could lead to damage in the vocal chords, leaving you unable to sing. 

Exploring the flexibility in "Bella Señora" is easy as you can stretch vocally how high or low you want to sing it. The more you practise the stronger your development will be. Expanding your vocal range and extending your flexibility and ability can help your confidence and your skills as a singer. Slowly and gradually make your way up to avoid strain and really focus on developing your skills as much as you can. 

Exercising, practising and developing your voice is all down to you! Unfortunately, you can't take a pill where suddenly you have an incredible vocal range. By making yourself achievable goals with exercises that can be developed further you may be able to sing a song you never thought you could have! 

Good Luck, 

Somer x