Vocal Registers - What they are and how to find them!

     I have had many students come in who can navigate through their vocal registers, but have no idea how they are doing it or even what a vocal register is.  Most students, however, have difficulty bridging the gap between vocal registers, and although they may not know the word for it, they sure know that they get to a place in their voices where things either stop working or crack.  Either way, it is important to understand what your vocal registers are and how it impacts your singing voice.
     The first vocal register is the lowest, and it is called the "vocal fry" register.  It isn't really used in a lot of singing, however it is sometimes used as a tool for warming up, or to ease tension in the voice, or to create the creaky, croaking sound at the beginning of phrases in country music.    Vocal fry register sounds like a low, creaky, groan.  The vocal folds are pulsing very slowly compared other registers.  Here is yours truly demonstrating Vocal Fry register.

   The next register is called the Chest voice.  Chest voice is the voice you speak with and for most men it is the voice they sing with as well.  Some women sing entirely in their chest voices, and have a very difficult time finding their head voices.  Others, especially classically trained Opera singers, have been taught to never use their chest voices, and instead sing only in their head registers.  From a Speech Level Singing standpoint, this is a severely limited take on a vocal register that can be beautiful crafted and maintained with the right training.  Many pop singers use only chest voice, which is equally limiting.  The chest voice "resonates" in the chest cavity and the mouth. 

Here is an example of me using chest voice, and an exercise to help you find your very own Chest Voice.  

    As your voice increases in pitch, the resonance must begin to shift from the chest and mouth cavity to the head.  Each person has unique voice not only because of the size and shape of their vocal chords but also the size and shape of the resonance structures in their head.  Your nasal passages and sinus cavities act like little drums for your voice to bounce around in, creating volume and shaping your tone.  "Head voice" refers to the shift of resonance from the mouth and chest into the head cavities.  Take a listen, and try and exercise to find your head voice.

                

    "Mix Voice" isn't necessarily its own register, in fact, it is a blend of the Chest and Head vocal registers.  Through training, a vocalist can learn to "split" the resonance so that they are utilizing both the head and chest registers simultaneously.  This creates a bridge from one register to the next, taking a fractured voice and molding it into one, smooth, continuous instrument.   Here is an example of Mix voice:

Last but not least is Whistle register.  It is also known as "Super Head" voice.  Finding it can take a lot of time and patience, so for now take a listen to my example and play around with your voice on the same vocal fry exercise in the first exercise.  Eventually you will be able to find a whistle register in your vocal fry.  Not making sense?  Shoot me an e-mail or post a comment!  I'm here to help!