In the last several months, I have had a number of singers from reputable colleges in Miami and a well-known university here, as well as a respected university in Chicago come to my studio.

To my surprise, I’ve discovered that despite their enrollment in the university programs, these students have no training or basic understanding of the Passagios or Bridges (areas of vocal transition).

Some of the individuals actually have good voices but unfortunately are unable to connect their registers, and thus feel a dissociation with their voices.

I have observed that several of these singers struggle in their reach of high notes within their chest register simply because they lack the guidance and training on how to get into their Mix Voice, and are therefore very breathy in their upper register. There are also cases where some students demonstrate that they have a nice Head Voice but still have not discovered their Chest Voice.

Unfortunately, due to their obvious focus on the university requirements necessary to obtain their degree, they continue on this path for graduation without the appropriate training or necessary tools to grow as singers in their Vocal Technique.

Unresolved, they experience vocal fatigue and hoarseness among a number of other issues with their singing and come to my studio looking for some “magical” solutions that will correct their issues in a mere 2 or 3 lessons as they attempt to gain a better understanding of the Speech Level Singing technique.

I can see the sign of relief on their faces when they begin to find and experience for the first time, this connection from the Chest Voice to the higher notes, no longer feeling that they have to pull hard to get to any of the notes or registers. At this point, they begin to realize that for a significant amount of time-and in some cases, their whole life or the entire length of their vocal career-they have only been singing with 30 % of their vocal potential, because they were never connected. What an epiphany for a singer!

However, what should be a turning point in the singer’s journey generally results in reversion and after our short training period, they return to the University or College to finish their degree, and unfortunately, their old habits.

Sadly, they feel they have no other choice. I definitely recommend that they:

-Continue practicing the lessons they recorded while in the studio with me, in addition to the lessons they have at College or University.

-Continue performing their own research of this experience or other techniques that will help them to build a strong voice through their entire range and not in just one part of their registers.

Ask, Understand , Deliver

Ultimately, I really encourage all of my singers to be active students in their training, working to understand each of the vocal exercises they are doing, to ask the purpose of each vocalization, and to really understand where their individual bridges are (Male or Female). Every singer needs to recognize these bridges within their range so that when they perform and sing higher, the result is an even, balanced sound and not a break in the voice. A commitment to this undertaking is imperative for any vocalist to make his or her education translate to their vocation.