The Singing Studio Ep. 6: What in the world is my range? (Plus Range Exercises)

What in the world is my range?

What in the world is my range?

Hey you guys! Welcome back to The Singing Studio. Today we are going to be talking about vocal range. There are three main questions that I am going to answer. First, what is vocal range? Second, how do I identify each vocal range? And finally, can my range change over time? Let’s dive into these questions and then do some example exercises.

So what is our vocal range? Just like any instrument our voice can go high and low, but there are certain points where we may not be able to reach a higher note or reach a lower note. So just like the piano, for example. The piano only has so many notes that can go high and so many notes that can go low. And it’s the same exact thing with our voice. So everything in between our highest note and our lowest note that we can sing – that’s our vocal range. So now we’re going to dive into how to identify the different vocal ranges.

We are going to talk about the different ranges now and I’m going to show you how to find them on a piano. So this note right here is middle “C”. It’s just a great reference note as I show you all of these different ranges. So I’m sure you’ve heard of the terms bass, alto, soprano, and tenor. You guessed it! Those are the different ranges. So I’m going to start with the lowest ranges and go up to the higher ranges.

So let’s go ahead and start with a bass range. Typically a bass range is found from a “G” all the way to middle “C”. Let’s move on to tenor. That is typically found from a “C” all the way to this “F” above middle “C”. Awesome! Moving on to our altos, we have “G” all the way up to this “E”. Awesome! So again that’s “G” below middle “C” all the way to an “E”. And finally, we have our sopranos. They are the “B” right next to middle “C” all the way to “G” and beyond.

I just wanted to add a little thought. I realize that there are so many different voice teachers out there and lots of different views on music and range. You may find that other teachers and instructors may teach this a little differently and may have a different location of the different ranges on the piano. And you know what, that’s totally fine! We all have our different experiences with music. However, I just thought I would let you know that I did consult with some musicians and these were the ranges that are pretty much the average and what you see in most music. I just thought I would clarify that.

So you’ve probably also heard the terms mezzo-soprano and baritone. To put it very simply, mezzo-soprano is somewhere between an alto and soprano, and a baritone is somewhere between a tenor and a bass. So just the middle voices between all of those different vocal ranges that we just went over.

So the burning question is, can our range change over time? The answer is yes. As our bodies change through the years, our voice does as well. So naturally our voices and our singing abilities will shift and our ranges may also shift. Most importantly though, we can actually train our voices to expand our range. So if we want to sing a super high note but we can’t get there quite yet, we work with our voice teachers. We work on warming up, taking care of our voices, and practicing. And eventually we can train our voices to hit those higher notes. Same on the lower spectrum to hit those lower notes as well. Our voices have the ability to be trained in order to expand our range.

Now we are going to do some awesome range exercises. And like I’ve done in my previous videos, I have had a supplemental video that goes along with it. Now in these exercises today, I’m going to be singing them in my range that’s comfortable for my voice, but in the supplemental videos I’m going to be starting with the bass range and going all the way up to the soprano range.

Let’s try some exercises!

So the first exercise we are going to do is called “Hum Hum”. And we are starting that from the lower part of the voice to the higher part of the voice. Remember to have good breath support. Remember to be nice and relaxed. And if you’re getting tired make sure to take a break and drink some water. Remember vocal health is everything. We are going to start with a “Hum Hum” and this is how it sounds.

Make sure to keep it nice and easy and nice and light. Especially when we’re starting with the lower note and going to a higher note, make sure not to make that lower note heavy. We don’t want it in the back of our throats and we don’t want it heavy. We want it nice and light. Imagine that you’re skipping through the exercise.

Now we are going to go from the higher part of our voice to the lower part of our voice. This exercise requires a lot of swinging as you sing it. It’s a “Wee Ooo Wee Ooo Wee” and this is what it sounds like. I’ll do it in the lower part of my voice first so that you can really hear it clearer and then I’ll show you how the exercise is done. So nice and swinging. We’re going to start the highest part of your voice and you’re going to take it down. Okay ready?

Now we’re going to do some full range exercises. So this exercise is done on a “Wee”, but you can do it on whatever vowel you want. You can do it on an “ah”, or you can do it on an “oo”. Before we begin the full range exercises, I would suggest that when you’re practicing to make sure to focus on that lower exercise we did and the higher exercise we did before we put it all together. So think of these full range exercises as putting it all together. So let me just demonstrate it for you. Make sure that as you’re doing this exercise that you’re not pushing the sound out or having any sort of tension in your jaw. Especially when we’re singing a scale where we’re going all the way up and then going all the way back down, we have this tendency to sort of tighten up because we’re going all the way up and going all the way back down. It’s a total natural response to have that, but we can’t do that because it’ll just end up straining our voices and it’ll really restrict our breath. Really make sure that you’re focused on that good breath control and you’re really standing your ground. Also, as we’re being strong and as we are focused on not straining our voices, make sure to also focus on being relaxed. I know! I’m asking you to do a million things at once, but that is one of the beautiful things about singing and how our voices can just sound the best that they can. So let’s do a couple more of these awesome “Wee” exercises together

In this full range exercise we are singing about singing! The phrase is “I love to sing” and this is what it sounds like. And as we sing this exercise, make sure not to make the sound dark or near the back of our throats. Make sure we’re keeping it nice and forward and we’re not going back to “I love”, but we want “I love to sing”. Okay here we go.

And you can take that up the piano and then you can take it back down the piano. Whatever is most comfortable for you.

And that is all for our range video today! Make sure to check out the supplemental video that goes with this one, so that you can follow along with the exercises. Thanks and have a wonderful day!

I do these videos every other week, but if you still want more musical theatre, check out my newsletter! It’s called, Beyond The Score, and it just takes a closer look at musical theatre history. You can find that at jskstories.com.

Range Exercises

Hey you guys! Welcome to the supplemental video, Range Exercises. I’m so excited for you guys to get started and follow along with me. Now, if you haven’t already, make sure that you watch the episode: What in the world is my range?. That is going to explain all of these exercises that are in this video. Thanks and I hope you enjoy the video!

For these exercises, I will be demonstrating them in my range. And then I will be beginning with the bass range and going up to the soprano range. Or, if it’s starting with the higher part of the piano, I will begin with the soprano range and go all the way to the bass range.

Range Exercise 1: Hum Hum

Range Exercise 2: Wee Ooo

Range Exercise 3: Wee

Try this exercise on any vowel! Examples: Wah, Why, Woh

Range Exercise 4: I love to sing

Thank you for watching! These exercise videos are made to guide you through your practicing! Be sure to take breaks if you are feeling tired and make sure to drink water.

Make sure to like this video!