It’s been another mad week here at the studio, with people in every day and some other crazy things kicking off. I hope you’re all managing to stave off those coldy coughs that seem to be going round!
This week I was working with a lovely singer called Bethan, and the success she experienced in a very particular area of her voice was something I wanted to share with all of you.
Here’s what happened (clue: it involves whistle register)
When we first started working on Bethan’s voice, she had very little access to her upper ranges (a bit like me when I first started!). The teacher Bethan had worked with previously had essentially just taught her to “reach” for those top notes, which resulted in strain, fatigue, and often just a complete inability to sing with ease. Sadly, this is all too common with voice coaches who don’t really understand how the voice works or how it needs to be treated to develop fully.
Within the first lesson or two we had accessed not just those same notes with ease, but her voice had opened up about another octave of range, to about an G5/A5. We’ve been working together since that first lesson a long time ago to solidify that range and make it even easier and even stronger.
Then this week rolled around…
… when we sat down to work on her voice, I felt like the balance in her voice was really starting to progress, so I decided to vocalise her higher than normal… and for the first time she accessed her whistle register. We then worked throughout the lesson progressively higher until she was hitting F#6/G6 notes. We then worked on a song, and she sounded absolutely fantastic – even better than normal.
The principle here is that often working on the voice in a “top-down” fashion really helps to smooth out and connect the rest of the voice, and it really paid off in droves here! But the challenge is very much getting there in the first place!
When your voice “pays you a compliment”
Bethan has got a fab voice, and now she’s experiencing even more balance, her voice is ‘paying her a compliment’ by opening up in response. It truly is fantastic to hear these things in every students’ voice. This also equips her with the ability to show other students what it’s like to access these parts in their own voices – empathy and ability goes a long, long way!
Want to unlock your own whistle register? Or even just hit those high notes easier?
If you’ve been inspired and you’d LOVE to have a story like Bethan’s as your own, then get in touch. If you’re serious about developing your voice, we’d love to work with you.
