Help for Seamless Singing . . . aid for passaggio and registers

Article submitted by Contributing Author Melissa Shallberg, DevelopingVoices.blog ~

There is so much conflicting information on the “Passaggio” or “Registers” of the Human Voice that aid in seamless singing! Be it speaking, theatrical, or singing the terminology and methodology of the vocal mechanism can be an intimidating subject to grasp.

Effective Exercises for Creating Seamless Singing or Passaggio . . .

• Always warm-up! Activate your bodymind by moving! This could be through natural movements like walking, dancing, swaying, or swinging the arms, etc.  Singing is a full body, contact sport that is most productive if attention is given to engaging the whole singer.
• Activate the breath for singing:

As air flows in and out, release the abdominal muscles. There are many ways to do this and you should discover what works best for you. If you are unsure how to do this try leaning against a wall with knees soft, hips and shoulders flat, head floating above or try the same by lying on the floor with feet flat on the floor (knees up).

• Add sound to breath. Manage the breath by adding fricative consonants in rhythmic patterns to reinforce abdominal control of the stream of air.
• Add pitch to breath, imprecise to specific – descending first.

1. Sighs, lip trills, rolled “r”. Then sigh down & up until transitions are smooth.
2. Start comfortably high and slide down in a five-note pattern then back up to the starting pitch. Aim for a consistent timbre throughout the exercise. When the voice feels like it wants to switch or fall into a different ‘register’ do a few more, but try to keep it smooth for a few notes below what feels comfortable.
3. Flip your slide pattern upside down starting comfortably low then ascending through the upper range.
4. Sing your normal repertoire!
5. When you are done with rehearsal or practice, REVERSE THESE STEPS to cool the voice down.

Current scholarship proposes that register shifts/lifts/ breaks are simply a matter of imbalanced muscle development. These slides are similar to lifting weights to balance the strength of the muscles that change the length of the vocal folds to facilitate changes in pitch. Do these things every day and you will hear (or not hear) 🙂 a difference!

For more questions concerning this article, please email Melissa Shallberg: