Special message female Pop and Broadway singers
We need to address the female pop and Broadway singers. It is essential that you learn how to sing in a “mix” range. The mix range is needed when what you are singing is too high to sing in straight chest voice or in “belt voice” and too low for straight head voice. Taking the chest voice or belt voice too high can lead to vocal problems and damage over time. Just like a car needs to shift gears in order to go faster with less wear and tear on the engine, your voice also needs to shift gears in order to sing in a way that causes less wear and tear on the voice. Pop and Broadway voices have 3 different gears. The lowest gear of your voice is called your “chest” voice, the middle gear would be your “mix” voice and your highest gear is your “head” voice. In order to use your mix correctly, you need to take a bit of chest voice and combine it with a bit of head voice. When you sing something that makes you feel you are straining your voice by forcing it into chest but feels too low for your head voice, then the mix you use would be an 80/20 split meaning 80% chest and 20% head voice. When the range is still to low for straight head voice but much too high for chest voice then you use a 50/50 split which means 50% chest and 50% mix and for your highest notes in mix where it is still to high for straight head voice but way too high for chest voice, go for a 20/80 split meaning 20% chest voice and 80% head voice. When you sing in the highest part of your range you should be using 100% head voice. It is essential for long-term vocal health and a long healthy singing career to build a middle register or mix range.