Is it all right to raise your singing range

@suspenseful (40193)
Canada
November 30, 2009 10:44am CST
I have not been practicing for a while and my singing range has gone down. I have now tried to raise it up but my husband tells me not to strain my voice. The trouble is unless it gets up to the high high C, it is not strained - at least I do not feel that way but it sounds like that to others. However I cannot go much lower then a middle C so I am now stuck with a short range. So I was wondering whether it is all right to raise my singing range or not? The trouble is that I am not exactly an alto as my voice cannot go down that much further and I blame the whole thing on when I was in my early twenties that we had to speak low to get people to listen to us.
1 person likes this
11 responses
@xParanoiax (6987)
• United States
30 Nov 09
You won't strain your voice if you're careful and go about it the right way. Eating lots of pineapple helps keep your voice in tune while practicing, also. I'm experiencing similar issues because I don't get to practice much in my curren environment.
2 people like this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
30 Nov 09
My husband is not that well, he has als and I have been looking after him. Also I wish I could afford singing lessons other then the ones that are ordered by cd or online, but then we do not have a piano. I know that if my husband lets me buy one, I can get someone to help me at home since i have to have someone look after my husband while I am away. Oh thanks for the tip about the pineapples.
1 person likes this
• United States
30 Nov 09
I've wished I could afford lessons too. But plenty of good singers have been self taught...so while lessons are a good thing to work toward, I'm sure you'll be able to make a ton of progress on your own...even with the difficulties and circumstances of your life. Anyways, sure. ^_^ Pineapples are awesome for alot of things, but I particularly heart them for that use.
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
30 Nov 09
oh suspenseful that would be such a help in your singing if you could have a piano and I think you can find them on sale too. also it would be a place to relax as I know caring for someone you love that has AlS is wearing and you do need an outlet, also if you could get someone to spell you occasionally that would help too. do take care of yourself for your own sake as well as your ailing hubby. cheers. hugs from hatley.
1 person likes this
30 Nov 09
There are some great videos on Youtube about the right vocal exercises you can do to widen your vocal range. There are also some great DVD's you can pick up for not much money which will give you step by step guides on the vocal exercises to do.
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
30 Nov 09
All I need to do is to get my speaker in my computer fixed or use my husband's. I do have some exercises but I do need a piano. I guess that is my next big project. So I guess you can raise your singing range and there is no law against it.
1 person likes this
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
30 Nov 09
DOnt know why you lost it my dad never did and he was a high tener adn I know ya dont smoke . I doubt speaking low had anything to do with it as you have been singing altho no to much practice lately. I know my range went down years ago I had a couple of my neices asked why i sounded like a man singing lol think they were 6 at the time. I did have a high and low range now my low range is lower. Y just not be a real high saprano .
1 person likes this
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
1 Dec 09
well hope they dont lower it .
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
2 Dec 09
I am practicing so they do not have to. I know it takes trouble to transpose and the lower notes have so many sharps in it that it is hard for me to practice.
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
1 Dec 09
Oh my low range is horrible. I am good at the middle and high, but I have not been practicing that much. And if I sing for a while, I can get the very high notes. It is just that I have this piece I am singing for the concert and if they lower the piece, I might not be able to sing the low notes, so I am sort of stuck.
1 Dec 09
I've been singing in public since I was a kid (now 63) and as I got older my range changed often. I simply adapt the songs to my range. If others say you sound like you are straining your voice you probably are even though it doesn't feel like it to you. Sometimes we have to strain a bit to hit a particular not to give it the punch it requires and that's ok as long as you don't continue at that pitch. Happy singing.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
1 Dec 09
This is just one note and the trouble is I can sing the note after it with no problem. I do not feel like straining, but I do not have the volume in that particular note. I do think that is because I am out of practice and of course, cannot afford Singing Success.
@Maggiepie (7816)
• United States
1 Dec 09
[b]I'm not sure, so if I were you, I'd check with a voice coach, or perhaps a medical throat specialist. It might cause problems. I do know that pro singers try never to scream or otherwise strain their voices in any way (as, say, ventriloquists & cartoon character voice-over pros do--regularly!), & I've also heard that straining you vocal cords too often can possibly lead to cancer! So find a pro & ask him or her for advice, for the sake of your health, if not for aesthetic reasons! I used to be an alto soprano, & I didn't take care of myself. Now I'm just an alto. Can't usually even get a squeak out over a certain level! And I just loved to sing! At one time, with training, I could have rivaled Sills' coloratura soprano! Not any more... Maggiepie "WHERE'S THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE?"[/b]
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@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
1 Dec 09
It does not hurt but I do not have the power. I remember when I first tried to raise my voice range, and I got this funny feeling as if the sound was coming out my ear. Maybe I did not explain myself clear enough. Right now I can sing from middle C to the first high c and after that up to E with no problem. After that, I sound rather like a little girl. I want to sing to the second high c and the E after that and have the tone and depth that a professional does I also cannot sing much below middle c without sounding like a grouch so I am not that good in the low end of my range. I am good at the middle and the first high range. The trouble is I do not have a piano to practice with and I set my organ a little too high and it is not working that way either. I cannot afford a vocal coach right now and if I could, she or he would have to come to our house, but how can I without a piano?
1 person likes this
@Maggiepie (7816)
• United States
1 Dec 09
[b] Excellent rule of thumb. Pain is a signal, & one should seldom ignore it. Congrats on giving such good advice in bumper-sticker mode! Unlike I! Maggiepie "WHERE'S THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE?"[/b]
1 person likes this
1 Dec 09
I think the most important thing to note when you are trying to improve your range is if it hurts you are doing it wrong so stop and do something that does not hurt your throat otherwise it will damage your vocal cords if you carry on.
2 people like this
• India
2 Dec 09
Dear, That is a very common problem and your husband is absolutely right. You should not stress your voice like that. It happened just because you quit practicing for a while. But after all that if you suddenly expect the same range that you had before, it would be mere torture. You may consider establishing one tone lower and one tone higher each day, and then add one tone every 2-3 days interval until you are satisfied. You have to start over, thats right. But its gonna be all right in a few weeks. Don't worry about it at all. You sound like a professional singer, so I don't want to tell you anything more on maintaining the tone of your voice. God bless you...
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
2 Dec 09
I was told that every two days, I try to raise my voice a semi-tone, but then go back to my lower range the other two days. So I am gradually getting up to my former range, but it is taking time. The trouble is that I do not feel strained unless I am that high up0. I do wish I had more time to practice, and I wish I had a piano so that I could have the accompanist come over but money is tight right now.
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
3 Dec 09
I do have an organ, and I could get an electronic piano. Also I may be able to get a second hand or third hand piano. I grew up with one when I was young and my parents did not make that much money. I am also getting better with my singing range so it is a matter of practice.
• India
3 Dec 09
Dear, Please take all the time you need, bcoz if you don't there is a high possibility that you may loose the sweetness in your voice permanently. Piano is really very costly. But there is this thing they call, "Electronics Piano". I've seen it. It's basically an high end synth and with a few modulation and adjustment you can make it sound like Piano, until you buy a real one. Take care...
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
30 Nov 09
suspenseful hi I see several mylotters have already given you good advice so I really cannot add more. I sing alto and feel so funny at times as I am singing low just like the guy sitting next to me with his baritone, I have a problem singing up in the soprano range and it really does strain my throat,but I am just a novice,not solo material at all, I just sing in choirs as I love to sing. If you do not feel any real pain or tension in your throat singing a high c you should be fine.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
30 Nov 09
When I was a teenager, I was in a choir and anyone who could not get to the second C after the middle C was automatically put in the alto. Then the altos did not have the nice pieces they have now or even the nice accompaniments in that if all the sopranos got a laryngitis, the altos could sing a melody that was nice. It was mostly only two or three notes mixed up all the time. So unless you really did not want to sing, you tried to avoid the altos. For instance in our church choir a lot of the altos are there because they do not want to stand out in a crowd or have the other ladies as backup in case they faint seeing the audience. But me, being rather foolhardy -
@walijo2008 (4644)
• United States
1 Dec 09
I used to be able to sing in a high C, but not now, over the years I don't know what's happened, now my voice is lower, we used to sing alot when I was younger, and all the songs we sung were in the key of C, now all I sing in is A or G, if you know music those keys are both lower than a C, and sometimes I wonder how in the world was I able to sing so high, I can't do it anymore. I was singing along with our song leader at church last night and he was singing in a high key and I couldn't do it, I could feel my vocal chords straining, so I dropped to an alto, I don't think its good to try to raise your voice higher than you can go, it will strain it and thats not good, unless of course you get the proper training to do it.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
1 Dec 09
I stsrted out as an alto when I was young and my voice gradually got higher, so I think it is out of practice. I do have a vocal training (could not afford Singing Success and did not have a piano for lessons at home, and the nearest vocal training place was quite a ways to travel) course and I have started to do the exercises again. The trouble is that I can reach high G with no problem and also get up to the A and the very high C, but high f is a problem so I think it has something to do with being either a little flat or sharp on the keys. Anyway my voice does not strain unless I get past the E on the second C after the middle C, so I guess that is my limit.
• United States
30 Nov 09
If you can raise it without damaging your vocal chords then its alright. A trick my vocal coach used to use was this, you can only sing as high as you can hum. This also helps your breathing since you have to keep your mouth closed and breathe out of your nose. If you can raise it that way you'll generate more power from your core.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
30 Nov 09
I will try that. I have been starting to do the sirens and lip rolls again. but did not know about the humming part. I do find that I can hum high but I do not have the volume. I think that is the trouble.
@Maggiepie (7816)
• United States
27 Dec 09
Wow, Suspenseful! Thanks for the Best Response mark! (Two of those in one day!) Knowing that the PTBs have set it up that one may only give a BR mark to initial responses, & not their follow-up posts even if they're actually better, was it meant for the one which I see the mark on, or one further down? And if so, which one? Just curious. Maybe that will be something this new "Alice" administrator will fix! I'd really prefer to give the BR to the actual best response! Maggiepie MERRY CHRISTMAS! FELIZ NAVIDAD! BLESSED NATIVITY!
@dm4140b (203)
• Australia
1 Dec 09
Have you thought of downloading a computer program to simulate a Piano? I mean all you need are the chords to practice right? The ability to go past your range to everyone. But it takes a lot of practice, patience and hard work. Definitely don't over work yourself. But gently push the boundaries of your range. Then go back to normal, and try again a bit later. Every time you will get a bit closer. I'm a male natural baritone, and I am singing VERY high at the moment :D Good luck to you ;)
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
1 Dec 09
I have thought about it, but my computer's sound is not that good. I can use my husband's though and see if that works. He is not using his anymore. I do know a good piano download program that will work.