How to Find Your Singing Voice Type

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Finding Your True Singing Voice – A Quick Guide

It’s one thing to select a music genre, it’s entirely another to know what type of singer you are and to find your singing voice. It takes a lot of back and forth, ups and downs, and mistakes to get to becoming a widely-loved pop-star.

Take the example of Justin Bieber. It took him years of practice to find that “Baby” voice; which many people across the globe loved. His real voice is very different from the one he sings with. Your vocal cords are a thing of beauty, producing a wide range of pitches and different voices.

So, how to find your singing voice type, and how do you know that people will actually love your voice?

How to Find Your Singing Voice Type

Before we get into it, we would like to mention that there is no specific voice type that performs better in one genre than another, especially when it comes to RnB, jazz, pop or blues. While a Chester-like voice would be preferred for rock, it isn’t necessary.

To that end, here is a guide to help you find your true self. You will just need a good quality microphone to record your voice and listen to it later on or have your friend listen to it and give feedback.

Step 1: Warm Your Vocal Cords Up

Before jumping into any muscle intensive job, even if it is vocal cord exercise, it is important to warm your muscles up. This means performing lighter exercises that will improve your blood flow. Doing so will not only reduce the risk of stretching a muscle but also ensuring that once you start singing, your voice is much smoother.

You can warm up your vocal chords by:

  • Humming
  • Pronouncing vowels and consonants judiciously
  • Repeating tongue twisters, and more

Step 2: Start From the Lowest Note

If you have a piano, look for the C4 note and tune your voice to it. If you don’t have a piano, use the virtual piano. Press the “G” key for the C4 note.

Start from here and go down to lower notes, singing along with each one. Lower your own tone too, to try and meet the piano’s sound. Keep going until you reach your lower tone. That is your lowest note. This will help you understand how low you can go.

Make sure you can sing along with that note comfortably. Your voice shouldn’t croak with it, nor should it sound as if you’re short on breath. Don’t go any lower, even if you can, else you risk straining your vocal cords too much.

Step 3. Find How High You Can Go

Take a break, drink some water, and start again from C4. Instead of going lower, this time you’re making your way upwards. Press higher keys and sing along with them. Sing for a few seconds on each note and see if you can sustain your voice.

When you find a note where your voice starts cracking, stop. Go back to the highest note where you could sing comfortable. That’s your high note. Do not try to push your voice any further.

Step 4: Combine Both Your Notes & Sing

Now that you have identified your high and low notes, look at the table below to see which voice type you fall under:

Notes Voice Type
C4-C6 Soprano (mostly females)
A3-A5 Mezzo Soprano (mostly females)
F3-F5 Alto (males and females)
C3-C5 Tenor (mostly males, some females)
G2-G4 Baritone (mostly males)
E2-E5 Bass (mostly males)

 

If you’re just starting out, there are chances that you will want to expand your vocal range further. However, we recommend leaving that bit for the future. First, reinforce your current vocal position, perfect your current voice and then move on to expanding your vocal range further.

Identify the voice type you have, choose an instrumental that reflects your voice type and start singing. At this point, it is a good idea to record your singing. Do not record the music as well; just your voice. You can include the music in the background later on when editing.

Furthermore, don’t base a decision whether you sound good or not on the recording until you add music into it. Let your friends listen to your recording and ask for their honest opinions. If you can’t seem to get enough constructive feedback, you might want to consider asking professionals or perhaps hiring a teacher.

They can help you stay on top of your voice and recognize your true potential, not to mention help you expand your vocal range when the time comes.

 

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Red
Hi, I'm Red, the Chief Editor of Red Diamond Audio.