BELT  VS  MIX

(*To understand the following explanations about Belt and Mix Voice, I would recommend reading my blog explaining “Chest Voice and Head Voice”.)

Whichever style of music you sing, you may have experienced a sensation in your voice where you felt you had to push your “chest” voice (the voice you use to speak with) to it’s limits in order to reach higher pitches. In many musical genres this ability is highly valued and a singer is given much praise for their ability to do this.  They work for years with teachers who train them with techniques to take this type of vocal production to it’s furthest possible extreme. Of course, the ability to belt is a useful skill and there are ways to do it fairly safely – to a point (I’ll cover that in a future post). 

And then there are those voices you hear who seem to be able to effortlessly take this powerful vocal quality up into the stratosphere without breaking a sweat – for example, Barbra Streisand, Josh Groban, Adam Lambert, Patty LaBelle, Beyonce, Pavorotti (OK so he was a little sweaty at times), 

Most people believe that either you have this ability or you don’t. Somehow these effortless voices have a God-given miraculous ability to sing in a gifted way you’ll never possess. In fact this ability is available to most singers if they have the right instruction.   

To simplify, when a voice hits a chest voice “ceiling”, I would refer to that as a “Belt”. When a voice can take a strong, balanced sound effortlessly throughout their range, I call that a “Mix” or “Blended” sound. Now for a more detailed explanation.

BELT

When a voice is coordinating in a true “belt” the vocal cords are attempting to take the chest voice coordination up as high as it can go without allowing the vocal cords to make the switch to a thinner vibrating mass (For further explanation see my “Chest Voice and Head Voice” blog). And when a singer takes it to that limit they will often find that, when they do make the switch, it flips into a falsetto or “heady” sound that is very different from the power of the chest voice.

If you’re a guitarist, imagine trying to play your higher notes all on the bass string – it would only be possible to take the pitch up so high before you’d have to shift up to the next string….but now the shift to the next higher note will be more abrupt because you have to travel so far back down the neck of the instrument. It makes much more sense to make the shift earlier when it’s easier and less abrupt. 

Also, in order for the vocal folds to create higher pitches in chest voice coordination, the Thyroarytenoid (TA) muscles must ad extrinsic muscles (muscles not necessary for healthy vocalizing) to pull and stretch the vocal folds to make them thin enough to make higher pitched sounds. As a result the Larynx (pronounced “LAIR-INKS”, the cartilage that houses the vocal folds) – also known as “Adam’s Apple” and “voice box” – physically starts getting pushed up along with the pitch by those extra muscles. At this point, the only option to keep the note vocalizing in that way is with a lot of volume and a lot of extra muscle strain.

There are also specific ranges of Harmonics this sound production is limited to, commonly leading to a “splatty” tone quality.

 

MIX

When a voice is coordinating in “Mix”, the vocal folds are making a transition at the top of the chest voice range to a thinner vibrating mass and transitioning to adding the Cricothyroid (CT) muscles around those shifts known as “bridges” or “passaggi” while maintaining a similar “closed quotient” to the chest voice resonance (*see “Closed Quotient” explanation below).

This is different than head voice because, rather than an abrupt switch (known sometimes as a “vocal flip” or yodel) from TA muscles (chest) to CT muscles (head), this is more of a gradual hand-off, allowing for a seamless sounding transition.

In an ideal mix there will be no strain present as the singer vocalizes throughout their range: only the action of the vocal cords vibrating and resisting the air.

The larynx should stay neutral, meaning that it should stay comfortably in the middle while vocalizing – not moving up or down with the pitch. (Take a moment to find your larynx with your fingers – if you swallow you’ll feel it moving up, if you yawn you’ll feel it move down. Now say the sound “ahh” from a low pitch to a high pitch and back again. Does your larynx move up and down with the pitches?).

The transition from chest to mix means that the resonance, while starting in the mouth will begin to move behind the soft palate (where your uvula hangs) causing you to experience a phenomenon known as “split resonance” – where the resonance sensation is felt both in chest and head voices at the same time. 

This type of sound production also creates the possibility for more Harmonic range, allowing more “warmth” and fullness to the sound.

 

Most people need guidance finding their Mix Voice. I highly recommend finding a voice instructor who has the skills to walk you through the process. I will describe some of the steps to finding mix in an upcoming blog but can’t recommend enough that you find an instructor who has the tools to get you there correctly. Everyone comes with their own unique set of vocal issues and there may be some work to do before your voice is ready for this step.

 

*Open Quotient/Closed Quotient

The vocal cords are attached at one end, like a “V”, and vibrate quickly together while resisting air pressure from the lungs to create what we hear as pitch. Like when you pull the end of a balloon together with your fingers and gradually allow air to escape the balloon, creating that high-pitched, “eeeeee” sound. (Interesting aside, that is how your vocal cords sound all on their own, without your throat and mouth as resonating spaces). The greater percentage of time the vocal folds stay closed between vibrations – the more air is resisted – the clearer the vocalized sound is (Closed Quotient). The lesser percentage of time the vocal folds stay closed between vibrations, – the more air escapes – the “breathier” or more air is heard in the sound (Open Quotient).