Are you unhappy because you have a limited vocal range?
Don't despair. Expand your range by using these proven
approaches, and soon you'll be singing high and low notes with poise!

   Identify Your Natural Range

   If you want to expand your vocal range, you first have
to know where you're beginning from. The most prevalent vocal
scales, from highest to lowest, are: soprano, alto, tenor,
baritone, and bass. Most women fall within the top three
ranges, and many men fall in the bottom three.

   To identify your normal vocal range, begin by singing
a middle C in a natural tone of voice. Use a keyboard or
online tuner to help you, if necessary.

   Now move down the vocal range in half-steps until you
can no longer sing the low notes easily. Go back to
middle C and do again the exercise going up until you hit
the highest note you can comfortably sing.

   If you are a real soprano, you can naturally know how to sing
notes from middle C (C4) to high A (A5). An alto can
easily sing notes between G3 and F5. A tenor scales
from C3 to A4. A baritone singer has a naturally vocal
range between notes G2 and F4. A bass range includes notes
F2 through E4.

   By discovering your natural vocal scale, you can set
realistic goals for expanding your range.

   Practice Constantly

   They say practice makes perfect, and they're right!
Like any instrument, you will only master your voice if
you practice usually. Sing as far as you can every day
without exhausting your throat.

   Each day, tend to sing notes that are just a little bit
outside your comfort zone. Go a bit higher and a little
lower each day. Extending your vocal scale will take time,
but it will go faster if you practice as much as possible.

   Develop a Mixed Voice

   Every vocalist has a natural "break", or a point on the
scale where they switch from their chest voice to their
head voice. You can make this sudden change much smoother by
developing a "mixed" voice.

   Sing up your vocal range until you hit the last note
you can comfortably sing in your chest voice. The notes
around that position on the range are the one you will
practice singing in a mixed voice.

   Once you've learned your mixed voice, or middle voice,
you will be able to transition more or less seamlessly up
and down the range. If it takes greater than than you'd like,
don't be bothered; some of successful recording artists are
still trying to find their perfect mixed voice.

   Do These Vocal Exercises

   Start at the low end of your vocal break. Sing the note
in your chest voice at a normal volume. Sing the word
"whom" and feel how the note resonates in your throat.

   Now sing the next best note, also using the word
"whom". You will feel the vibration move from your throat
to your mouth. Move up to the following note and feel where it
resonates.

   Try to keep your volume consistent throughout the
exercise. Stay within and just around your break scale,
and practice transitioning from your head voice back down
to your chest voice.

   After you've performed for several days, you will
know that your transitions are more seamless. Keep at
it, and you will develop your vocal range into a whole new
octave while keeping good tone and control.

   Remember to warm up beforehand! Your vocal chords,
like any muscle group, need to be warmed up before you
exercise them. Warming up will prevent vocal strain and
will help you produce the best quality notes.