Why Does My Voice Break In The Middle? And How Do I Fix It?
How do we create a super smooth voice that can move through our vocal registers without cracking and breaking? In this blog post I’ll explore why your voice can crack and break in that tricky part of your range called the “Passaggio” or “Middle Voice” and give you some simple exercises to help strengthen and smooth out your voice.
First let’s talk about the parts of our range:
What is “Chest Voice”?
The lower part of our range is commonly called “Chest Voice” because we feel the sound resonate in our chest when we sing. It is created by the vocal folds coming together and vibrating with “thick folds”. To get an idea of the difference between thick folds and thin folds, clap you hands together with all four fingers (thick folds) and then with only two fingers (thin folds). Hear the difference in volume and fullness of sound. The vocal folds also vibrate more slowly.
And “Head Voice”?
This is the higher part of our range. So called because we feel the vibrations in our head, around the front of the face and in our nose or mask when we sing. The vocal folds vibrate more quickly and are thinner (remember the two fingered clap). They become thinner because the vocal cords are stretched and made longer as we move up through our range. There is not as much volume produced by the vocal folds but we use the shape of the larynx and vocal track to make the sound resonate more loudly when in this part of our range.
So what is the “Middle Voice”
The middle part of our range is created by using a little of both techniques. We want. some of the fullness and volume of our “Chest Voice” combined with the flexibility and high notes of the “Head Voice”
Why does it break?
When we sing in the lower part of our range, sometimes called the “Chest Voice” we find it very comfortable. It is very close to our speaking voice so we are used to using our vocal chords and larynx in this position. Also when we sing in the higher part of our range, sometimes known as head voice, we can also find it relatively easy as we position our larynx and vocal cords differently but we instinctively know how to do it. It gets tricky when we try to create the sounds that lie in the middle of our range because we have to use a little of both set ups and this can cause our muscles to be come confused and work against each other.
The problem occurs when we try to navigate our way through the middle with our vocal cords and larynx in the “Chest Voice” positions and try to force our voice higher by pushing more air through the wrong alignment of the vocal cords and larynx. It can also be a problem when we try to use the “Head Voice” alignment to hit these notes because it can end up too light and breathy because once again we’re trying to push too much air through the vocal cords.
How do we fix it?
Practice a targeted daily warm up - it sounds obvious but one of the best ways to strengthen your middle is by warming up daily with targeted warmups.
I love the “Siren” which is where you hold on to an “ng” sound and move up and down your range with a clear, quiet tone. Imagine sounding like a police car or fire engine siren. The key is to not try to get louder as you go higher and not fall off your voice as you go lower. This exercise seems simple but is very powerful as it zeros in on a clear tone and a flexible larynx.
Straw Phonation - This is a wonderful way to exercise your voice and strengthen your middle, because the straw creates a back pressure which sandwiches the vocal folds and puts them into their proper alignment. Also you can’t make a big sound, only a smaller, quieter sound. It’s a bit like being a dancer, you wouldn’t start off by launching into high kicks. You’d start with knee bends or smaller stretches. To practice straw phonation place the straw in your mouth and move up and down your range on different vowel sounds. Both of these exercises are excellent for reducing the amount of air we push through our vocal cords, which is helpful for long term vocal health by making sure we don’t dry out the vocal cords and cause damage and scratching.
Having good posture when you sing
This is something you may already know, but it is worth remembering. When you’re singing those low notes, you can almost get away with bad posture. However when we move up through our range it becomes much more important. If you start off a song with bad posture as you move through the high notes and intervals you might unconsciously do things like stick out your chin as you go for a high note, which will push your larynx out of alignment. You’ll then tense up through the larynx and strangle the note as you go higher.
The body knows how to sing. We don’t need to do so much excessive pushing to achieve the sounds we want but rather learn how to relax the parts of the body we aren’t using and engage only the muscles we need.
I suggest getting a mirror and noticing, without judgement, what you do when you sing. Notice what happens when you move higher and lower in your range and take some notes.
Using words with a glottal onset
Words that use a glottal onset, words like gug and kick are helpful because the vocal folds are closed and lined up correctly before the air begins to move through them to make sound. Try a word like “Gug” and see how it feels. Now try a word like “Who” which has an aspirate onset and notice that it’s not as easy to line up the vocal folds in the correct position. If we perform scale exercises on “Gug” for example, we can build a habit of the vocal folds coming together in correct alignment while we naturally engage the resonators as we move up the scale. Our bodies can become used to this feeling and will be more likely to default to this feeling as we move through the middle part of our voice.
Conclusion:
It’s all about practice and training the vocal folds and muscles in the larynx to do what you want them to do. If you make these exercises a part of you daily routine, you’ll notice a big change in the way your voice feels in the middle part of it’s range. For the video tutorial of this blog go to https://youtu.be/abId1eW12VA
Happy singing
Helen Barrett Vocal Coach