Bob wrote:
"I am a tenor and am having difficulty in blending the head register
with my chest register from Ab above the treble clef through A
natural. These are my two most difficult notes. Below the Ab I'm
fine, and again I'm fine at the Bb and above. But when I sing scales
up through the Ab, A and Bb I invariably pass through some
scratchiness, particularly on the way down from Bb through A to Ab.
Can anyone kindly suggest some imagery that I might try to employ to
smooth out this transition?"
Hi Bob,
what you're dealing with is your second passagio or bridge (could be your
first, too, but I'd need to hear you). If it's crackling right around the
passaggio point it could be because you're taking to much chest up with you. I
suggest you choose scales such as
8-5-3-1-3-5-8-5-3-1-3-5-8-5-3-1
which work you from the top down, on syllables such as "wee" with a lot of
"woof" or "hooty" on them to keep your larynx stable as you go up. Give it
almost a falsetto approach up there to make sure you're not pulling and bring
it down to chest gently.
One question, do you feel a squeeze or taughtness at any time when you sing?
The tricky thing about the second passagio is that singing starts feeling
really heady; some people are uncomfortable with a strong head resonance
(particularly men) and therefore hang on to chest to avoid it. Always remember
that what it feels like and sounds like to you is not representative of what it
sounds like to the outside world. Recording yourself while you practice is a
good way of getting an objective "listen".
Best Regards,
Rocio Guitard
Seth Riggs Associate
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