How to Increase My Vocal Range?

Hey folks! Vocal range is a term that gets thrown around a lot among singers, singing classes and in choirs. We believe that singers with a wide vocal range can sing a variety of musical genres. Indeed, that is true!

Ergo, I am going to guide you through tips for improving vocal range and to sing higher notes straining, useful vocal range exercises to improve vocal range. You can also find deets about our vocal range test.

Let’s get going!

What is Vocal Range?

Vocal range is the range of pitches that a singer can sing comfortably without any strain in the voice. Vocal range differs from person to person. As everyone’s voice is unique and different in some way, it is next to impossible to have the same vocal range as another singer. There are singers with wide vocal range and some have limited vocal range. With that being said, practicing vocal range exercises is simply one of the greatest tips for increasing vocal range irrespective of gender.

It has now become easier to find your vocal range through vocal range exercises and vocal range tests available online for free. Basically, this concept in music starts at the lowest note till the highest note one can sing easily and comfortably. To understand this better and to sing higher notes without straining, let’s take a ride through voice registers.

Voice Registers and the Fundamentals of Vocal Range

Before we begin, check out my other article on Anatomy of Voice to know the mechanism of production of voice in a human body. Now, voice registers refer to the usage of different areas of our body to sing low or high notes. Basically, there are 4 voice registers.. Singers with a wide vocal range are the ones who understand voice registers well enough to do the vocal range exercises correctly.
There are 4 voice registers that every singer looking for tips for improving vocal range should definitely know about.

Chest voice

Ideally, when we speak you can feel that your chest part vibrates. That’s because we use our chest register when we speak. So, the voice used for singing the lower pitches is called the chest voice. In the chest register, you can feel the sound resonating in the chest part. Therefore, you can feel the vibration when you sing in the chest register.

Note that studying voice registers is yet another one of excellent tips for improving vocal range. Moving onto the head register.

Head Voice

Head voice is the upper range of where the sound or your voice resonates in the head. Usually, the sound produced in the head register is much lighter than that of the chest register. However, we can make it strong through warming up for singing and vocal range. Vocal range exercises also play an important part in helping us sing higher notes without straining our head voice.

Mixed Voice

Alright, you guessed right! Mixed voice is a mixture or blend of head and chest voice. Mixed voice lets singers transition from low notes to high, smoothly. Sound in this register usually sounds as if it’s resonating in the chest part. Exercises to improve vocal range also help in the smooth transition.

Falsetto

Falsetto is basically a voice technique used by both male and female singers to sing high pitches that are higher than their vocal range. Singers with a wide vocal range also use falsetto from time to time.

We also have a whistle register which is the highest register of human voice.

Before I tell you how to find your vocal range, let’s quickly glance at voice types

Average Vocal Range by Voice Type

Here are different voice types with their vocal range. Check out Types of Singing Voice to get a deeper understanding of the concept.

1. Soprano:

Soprano has the highest tessitura (tessitura is another term used for vocal range) of all the voice types. Sopranos are singers with a wide vocal range. An average vocal range of a soprano voice type is C4 to C6. Sometimes, even higher.

2. Mezzo Soprano

Mezzo sopranos are literally called the half sopranos who would generally sing the soprano counterparts in a choir. This voice doesn’t have a vocal range as high as sopranos. The average vocal range by voice type of an alto singer is A3 to A5.

3. Alto.

Altos and contraltos have the lower range of female voices. Their voices have a deep resonant tone. Altos’ average vocal range is G3 to E5. Everyone learning singing usually takes a vocal test to know which voice type they belong to.

4. Tenor.

Tenor is the highest vocal range among male singers. There are so many famous singers with wide vocal ranges who happen to be tenor singers. To name a few Luciano Pavarotti in the classical and Bruno Mars in contemporary. An average tenor singer’s vocal range is C3-E5. Sometimes even higher.

5. Baritones

Baritones are the counterparts of tenors. Tenor vs baritone vocal range happen to be the discussion of the decade. The average vocal range of a baritone is A2 to A4. But, not exactly they are singers with a wide range. They can adjust according to their repertoire.

6. Bass

Bass has the lowest vocal range in the whole SATB group of singers. Famous singers with wide vocal range in bass include Johnny Cash, Avi Kaplan. Their vocal range ranges from E2–E4 and even lower.

Now comes the million dollar question!!

How to Find Your Vocal Range?

The best place to start is to sit on a piano and start to sing a note. On the piano, locate the corresponding note. And keep increasing the pitch to the highest possible pitch you can sing and do the same with the lowest possible pitch. Avoid forcing anything at all. Your range isn’t being tested just yet! just lightly and easily warming up the vocal cords. Repeat three or five times. Here is a superb vocal exercise that can help you determine your vocal range.

Make the entire process as simple and easy as possible, whether you are using any singing apps or a piano. If you hear a “break” in your voice anywhere, don’t be shocked. Try to understand your highest and lowest notes that you have recorded.

You should not be shocked if you don’t match one precisely because they are only meant to serve as a general guide.

How to use a Vocal Range Test?

Head on to the Vocal Range Finder of MUSICMASTER and find your vocal range today!

So here are the instructions on how to use a vocal range tester. Basically, any vocal range finder will help you find your lowest note and your highest note that you can sing. You can try vocal range exercises while taking a vocal range test.

All you have to do is sing your lowest note and the vocal range test app will detect the pitch and display the name of the note on the screen. Likewise, sing the highest note that you can sing comfortably without straining your vocal cords. That note will be displayed with the number of the octave next to it.

And that’s how you can find your vocal range. It doesn’t really matter if you are a singer with a wide vocal range or not. Find your vocal range using a vocal range test app and then follow the tips for improving vocal range along with vocal range exercises.

How to Increase My Vocal Range?

Let us look at a few techniques you’ll require to easily expand your vocal range.

Learn these Vocal Techniques to Expand Vocal Range

Diaphragmatic Breathing

Diaphragmatic breathing is using the abdomen muscles and your stomach as well as your lungs for breath support. In simple words, your stomach expands when you inhale and deflates when you exhale. It’s also called reverse breathing. This technique enables maximizing your breath support and helps you to have relaxed muscles in your abdomen. Sufficient breath always makes singing low and high pitches in a relaxed way.  Diaphragmatic breathing is a must for increasing vocal range.

Good posture 

When I say good posture, I mean relaxed shoulders and the placement of your head properly aligned with your spine. This is called Alignment. You need to make sure this is done when you’re sitting or standing. This is very important for proper airflow.

Vowel Placement

The vowels that we sing need proper placement for proper resonance. For each vowel to resonate properly, a little different lip shape and tongue position are needed. This will automatically raise your shoft palate thereby creating more space. Now more space means more pitches to sing without pushing so much which enables you to expand your vocal range. Vowel placement is a skill that singers can use to produce a steady, well-balanced tone throughout their vocal range. Vowel placement also helps you perform vocally expressively and effectively

Blending Voice Registers

You must work on blending the voice registers for smooth transitions between chest voice and head voice. It is an absolutely necessary technique required to increase vocal range fast. We know that typically there are three voice registers to keep in mind. Chest voice (low range), middle voice (mixed register) and head voice (upper range). You will need proper breath support and flexible vocal folds to blend registers and easily expand your vocal range.  Learning to correctly blend registers helps you increase vocal flexibility, increase vocal range fast and have a consistent tone clarity throughout your vocal range.

Exercises to Increase Vocal Range

Octave Jumps

Octave jumps are excellent exercises to increase vocal range. Shifting from one octave to the other helps you sing higher pitches. Both ascending and descending octave jumps can help you expand vocal range.

Sirens

Sirens are just long glides between a low and higher notes. The idea is to glide through the pitches in between these two notes.  Vocal sirens can frequently span several octaves in a single glide. This method has a siren-like feel because you can start and end it in any key.

Lip Trills

I say, lip trills are the best for enhancing resonance and improving flexibility in your muscles. It can Increase vocal range fast as well help you keep a check on your breath support. Lip trills are one of the best exercises practiced to expand vocal range because it makes your lips and vocal cords and the muscles around it flexible.

Scales

Scales in both ascending and descending orders help you create a smooth transition while shifting from one voice register to the other. Practicing scales in humming can improve your ability to sing high pitches thereby letting you expand vocal range.

Scale Runs and Arpeggios

Both scale runs and Arpeggios help you to have control over vocal transitions and pitch accuracy. Gradual practice of scale runs and Arpeggios with proper breath support and relaxed muscles can easily expand vocal range

Stay hydrated to ease vocal cords tension

You should definitely check out What to Drink to have a Good Voice to know exactly how to ease vocal cords tension and why you should do that to sing higher notes without straining. Most importantly, a dry throat can make you tired and hinder the possibility of having a wide vocal range.

Few Tips for Increasing Vocal Range Fast

• Practice Gradually, Regularly and Consistently for increasing vocal range. Focused and regular practice is far more effective than practicing occasionally. 

• While practicing the exercises to expand vocal range, make sure the jaws, lips, neck and vocal cords are relaxed. Tension in these muscles limit the chances of a wide vocal range.

• When you feel a slight pain in your throat, you must stop pushing. These frictions can worsen your vocal health in time.

• You must have vocal rest from time to time to recharge your energy. 

• Keep yourself hydrated. Adequate rest and hydration is a must as it directly influences the increasing of vocal range.

• Remember to be patient and persistent. To expand the vocal range requires patience. Another important reminder is to not push your voice beyond your limit so you can avoid any sort of voice injury.
  
• Try singing songs that’s higher than your vocal range. This is a long shot and a tiring one, I might add. You cannot sing the lyrics right away. You should not! Hum the entire song. You may feel a little tightness in your throat. Try to raise your soft palettes to avoid that. 

• This may sound weird. Right posture is relaxed muscles. Look at the picture shown above. Stand in front of the mirror and do your vocal range exercises. And Presto! Another fantastic tip for improving vocal range

Here are a few of the best songs for practicing vocal range.

Try singing songs that’s higher than your vocal range.

This is a long shot and a tiring one, I might add. You cannot sing the lyrics right away. You should not! Hum the entire song. You may feel a little tightness in your throat. Try to raise your soft palettes to avoid that.

Here are a few of the best songs for practicing vocal range.

Closing thoughts !

Improving your vocal range cannot happen in one day. It is okay to take a longer time. Remember you must have your voice warmed up before starting to reach higher or lower notes. I would also recommend taking guidance from a professional to avoid singing high or low notes without straining. So book your demo with us MUSICMASTER. Happy singing Ya’ll!