Special message for male voices

A common problem for tenors, baritones and basses, is learning to successfully manage the passaggio.  Passaggio is an Italian word that means passage and when we use it in singing, it refers to the passage from one vocal register to another. Guys must learn how to master the ability to move easily and seamlessly from one vocal register to another which is the only way to gain ease for singing their high notes!   If you can’t manage the passaggio efficiently, the larynx will rise quickly with each higher note leading to a tight, squeezed feeling.  Watch your Adam’s apple, (larynx) if it goes up with each higher note in your range then you are not going to manage your passaggio correctly. 

Try this exercise…

Start in your middle register on an ee vowel.  Remember your jaw should be dropped comfortably as in the ah vowel position and your tongue resting lightly just behind your lower front teeth to create the ee vowel sound.  As you sing a rising scale at some point you should feel it difficult to maintain a pure ee vowel.  Try creating a lower position in your larynx by mimicking the feeling of a yawn.  Done successfully, the ee vowel will  become easier and the vowel more pure again.  Learning to navigate your passaggio correctly is extremely important to overall vocal health and good singing.  It will take the help and guidance of a well-educated voice teacher.