How to Eliminate Register Breaks (and Develop Evenness of Scale)
Register breaks are primarily the result of static laryngeal function, in which the larynx remains in one dominant muscular function until it absolutely must allow another muscle group to take control. There are also other factors that affect the flexibility and functionality of the vocal instrument through the passaggi (pivotal registration points), including incorrect posture or use of the tongue, soft palate, pharynx and larynx, and poor management of the breath (incorrect 'support').
When static laryngeal function plays a role in register breaks, the voice gets 'stuck', or is encouraged to remain in a given mode of function beyond the natural physical boundaries of the singer's registers, and then demonstrates 'clumsiness' and a lack of control as it attempts to execute a registration shift. This inflexibility and inept navigation of the register shifts are seen most frequently in the ascending transition from the chest register to the adjacent, higher register. Both males and females commonly carry chest voice function up too high. For women, chest voice will be carried up well into their middle registers, often to around A4. Men, who have a much smaller middle range (the interval of roughly a fourth representing the zona di passaggio), will tend to carry chest voice up to the secondo (upper) passaggio or beyond, bipassing the zona di passaggio and omitting the use of middle voice altogether. It is also not uncommon for a break to occur in the descending scale, especially when singers are in a rush to return to their 'comfort zones' (i.e., chest voice) after singing in an unsupported or squeezed (constricted) head voice or falsetto.
Register breaks can only be eliminated through the development of laryngeal flexibility, which may involve learning to allow registration events to occur at more appropriate pitches, increasing the resonating space within the vocal tract ('opening' up a throat that is constricted or stabilizing the position of a larynx that tends to rise) and making slight adjustments to the vowel (moving from 'speech vowel' to 'acoustic vowel') and to the breath. The laryngeal muscles need to be allowed to make gradual adjustments for every pitch. When the singer can successfully move through the registers with a consistency of vocal timbre and an absence of register breaks, this singer is now said to have developed 'evenness of scale'. ('Scale' in this context refers to the individual singer's performable range, not a musical scale.)
Some singing methods and techniques encourage the singer to carry chest voice function up as high as possible to produce a more energized, heavier, 'controlled pushed' or belted sound. This is true also of methods that teach a 'mixed voice' that is more heavily 'chest' dominant. Teachers with a poor knowledge of voice science and an undeveloped 'ear' may not recognize the signs of a voice that is being subjected to register abuse. While a bit of a skillfully 'pushed' sound may be desirable in many contemporary genres to add drama or intense emotion, the singer cannot hope to develop an even scale and eliminate his or her break if this is the only manner in which he or she ever moves throughout the scale.
Making a commitment to do whatever it takes to fix registration problems may require making changes not only in how the singer physically navigates registration events, but also in how he or she thinks or feels about applying a different technique to his or her scale. This is especially difficult for singers who are used to producing a very dark, thick, heavy, pushed or 'edgy' sound. As well, the singer must be receptive to, and willing to adopt, a new or changing aesthetic and accept the loss of the physical feelings associated with hyperfunction of the laryngeal muscles - the feeling of much or hard 'work' being performed by the throat in order to produce the desired sounds. This can cause a sense of uneasiness, along with concerns about losing the 'power' in the voice when one is no longer carrying up too much (unhealthy) vocal weight or employing a great deal of muscular control or excessive effort. This is where the singer must 'trust the process', believing that a new approach will ultimately correct the problem of a register break and help him or her find a natural 'mix'. (Remember that continuing to do things the same way will not bring about any changes.) The singer needs to be willing to try to apply this new approach with one hundred percent consistency for a time so as not to continue reinforcing old habits while attempting to establish new ones.
For singers with a history of pushing the 'lower mechanism' of the voice (chest voice function) up too high - apparent in the 'shouty', forced, strained, strident or 'precarious' (teetering on breaking) quality that tends to appear once the singer has carried this function above his or her primo (first and lower) passaggio - I prescribe five steps: 1) increasing the authentic resonating space within the vocal tract; 2) correcting vocal posture that is interfering with the functionality, freedom and beauty of the voice; 3) temporarily switching into cricothyroid dominant function (that which is associated with true head voice and is a significant part of middle voice production in females) earlier in the scale, at the lower passaggio; 4) gentle, 'light' singing within the middle and higher range for a period of time; and 5) employing a 'top down' training approach.
MAINTAINING OPENNESS AND RELAXATION OF THE THROAT AT THE PASSAGGI
I have already written an article on singing with an 'open throat' which discusses how to invite more openness and relaxation in the throat in order to create a warmer, fuller, richer, easier sound and preserve vocal health.
ADDRESS AND CORRECT POSTURAL HABITS AND REFLEXES AT THE PASSAGGI
Many singers have developed an automatic tensing or squeezing reflex around the passaggi. In response to changing vocal fold tension and rising pitch, they increase their muscular effort. Squeezing and constricting the vocal tract, most commonly the supraglottic muscles (including the ventricular folds, or false vocal folds), will not only narrow the resonator tract, but they will also shorten it by causing the larynx to rise, making it impossible for the larynx to pivot properly for changing pitch. Bulging or contracting muscles on the outside of the neck are often visible, as well. The vocal tone will typically sound forced or constricted (or simply not completely 'free' flowing), and the airflow will be choked off. Sometimes, a secondary tone will be produced by the ventricular (false vocal) folds as the air attempts to squeeze through the tight space.
A study of the 'open throat' posture and a move toward more 'classical' sounding vowels will help to relax these muscles. However, constricting or squeezing reflexes typically take quite a while to eliminate because they oftentimes have been present to some degree or another for many years. It is usually best to sing only within comfortable speech-inflection range until this muscle tension has been eliminated and the vocalist can sing with a relaxed throat and a neutral position of the larynx.
Another common tendency amongst singers is lowering the soft palate around the primo (lower) passaggio. While doing so may not interfere directly with the funtioning of the larynx, it will create a thin and bright vocal tone (that is slightly nasally) within this small range of pitches that will be inconsistent with the rest of the singer's scale. This inconsistency in tone is due to the fact that when the soft palate lowers, the resonating spaces of the voice are narrowed. Also, the addition of nasal formants (overtones) to the tone when the lowered soft palate opens up the nasal port, diminishes some of the oral formants, which have more carrying power and acoustic balance, because the airflow and resonance are now being filtered through two smaller spaces. (The narrow nasal cavity favours the higher overtones, thus creating more brightness in the tone.)
The soft palate can be retrained to raise correctly by revisiting its action during inhalation. A barely audible 'kuh' while inhaling can help to raise the soft palate. For singers with problems with over active tensor muscles (of the soft palate specifically), simply practicing deep, 'open throated' inhaling through the mouth throughout the day for a few weeks can help to release those tensor muscles. Additionally, raising the zygomatic muscles that lift the cheeks up below the eyes may help the singer to maintain this raised soft palate posture. (The singers should be careful not to smile while raising these muscles, as this will over brighten and thin the singing tone.)
The tongue, for many singers, becomes actively engaged as they attempt to navigate their passaggi. Very commonly, the singer will retract or flatten the tongue, possibly in a subconscious effort to control the larynx (as the root of the tongue is positioned immediately above the larynx in the throat). Flattening or retracting the tongue, thereby bunching it up in the throat space and causing its root to sit on the larynx, becomes a reflex that enters the picture when the singer has a habit of increasing muscular effort as the pivotal registration shifting points approach. A flattened or retracted tongue will not only inhibit the larynx's ability to pivot properly for pitch (thus increasing the likelihood of a register break and making it nearly impossible to sing notes within the higher range), but it will also cause discomfort and vocal health issues, and a very dark, 'gagged' tone.
Most of the time, the singer can eliminate this habit simply by watching himself or herself in a mirror as he or she sings. Singing an /a/ vowel, in particular, is best for observing the behaviour and posture of the tongue because the mouth is more open than it is while articulating other vowel sounds. (The /a/ vowel also tends to be the most problematic for many singers because of the already lower position of the tongue and jaw.) To retrain the tongue to remain in the correct position for singing, the vocalist can begin by speaking the vowel within comfortable speech-inflection range and observing the natural curve of the tongue. Assuming that the tongue doesn't flatten or retract when the singer is speaking the sound, he or she can then begin to gradually increase the duration of the vowel until it is being briefly sustained. Pitches throughout the scale can be tried in this manner. The singer must pay special attention to the tongue at the passaggi. Initially, it may feel as though the singer must 'wrestle with' the tongue in order to resist and reverse its tendency to flatten or retract. This is normal, and is part of the process of deliberately changing habits in favour of a better way of vocalizing.
If the tongue tends to bunch up within the throat, the singer can also try vocalizing with the tip of the tongue resting gently on the lower lip. This position of the tongue, while slightly more forward than otherwise desirable, may cue the singer to the sensation of a throat that is free of obstruction. The singer can allow the tongue and jaw to relax - in a 'dopey' position or expression - while singing vowels. Although the vowels will be slightly distorted with the tip of the tongue resting slightly forward - it's proper position should be behind the lower front teeth - this temporary measure can help a singer find the correct feeling of freedom in the throat and the correct posture of the back of the tongue.
Many singers find success at taming their tongues and developing consistency of timbre through the passaggi by returning to speech (assuming that they articulate correctly during speaking tasks). For example, the singer can begin by saying a word that contains the desired vowel sound, such as 'not' for /a/. When it is established that the tongue is behaving correctly during speech, the singer can then try singing 'not-not-not-not-not' on 1-3-5-3-1, followed by 'no-o-o-o-ot' in the same pitch pattern followed by /a/ alone in the same pitch pattern. Singing a 'real word', as opposed to an open vowel alone, may help the singer eliminate the tendency to treat articulation for singing as being different than that for speaking.
AN EARLIER (LOWER) REGISTRATION SHIFT
Allowing the vocal instrument to switch into head voice (cricothyroid) dominant function lower in the scale - by the primo passaggio - is often the first step in developing laryngeal flexibility.
Note that register breaks typically do not occur at the true or natural passaggi locations (which is why these two terms are not synomymous); rather, they tend to occur several notes higher than the passaggi. The primo passaggio marks the natural location for the first muscular shift or registration event. When this passaggio is passed without the correct laryngeal adjustments being made, there will be an increase in energy and volume, sometimes with a squeezing of the muscles or raising of the larynx in response to increasing tension, and the beginnings of a 'shouty' quality, as the singer begins to use the 'call of the voice'.
Habitually using chest voice dominant muscular function higher in the scale (above the primo passaggio) will cause this muscle group (the thyroarytenoids) to become overdeveloped, while the head voice muscles (the cricothyroids) remain underdeveloped in that same part of the singer's range. Then, whenever the singer with the habit of abusing his or her registers attempts to sing in middle voice function or head voice function within the range of pitches to where chest voice is typically extended (beyond its natural boundaries), the voice will likely sound thin, weak and unstable or shaky. The singer will not be able to sing in piano (soft) dynamic for ballads or vocal effects because there is not enough strength in the cricothyroid muscles and because he or she is unaccustomed to using the other muscle group within this range. In men, it may sound like an unsupported 'false falsetto' (pre-pubescent 'choir boy' voice) or flip into a true falsetto production where there is a slight gap in the glottis. In women it may also sound like a version of a false falsetto, with a damped quality that makes it sound lacking in resonance, or only 'half voice'.
In order to eliminate the register break and develop evenness of scale, the singer needs to exercise the laryngeal muscles differently through the passaggi. In training, I encourage my students with registration problems to begin allowing their voices to shift earlier (lower) in the scale for a while, and to not pay any attention to the resultant awkwardness of their voices for a while. (The voice will waver, break, 'clunk', or sound unstable, like a boy going through his voice change at puberty. I believe that it is better to have the voice start to 'break' lower, in a healthier range for the registration event to occcur, rather than 'postpone the inevitable' break that will otherwise occur a few notes higher, all the while pushing the voice.)
While this vocal unsteadiness may be unsettling and frustrating, this is part of the process of strengthening the weaker cricothyroid muscles and allowing the stronger, overdeveloped and overused ones (the thyroarytenoids) a chance to rest. The weaker cricothyroid (head voice) muscles cannot compete with the stronger chest voice muscles. While the chest voice muscles are being asked to 'sit it out' for while, the head voice muscles have a chance to do some 'weight lifting'. When these once weaker muscles are stronger, they will help the singer find a better muscular balance, and a proper middle voice quality. In time, the singer may be able to return to producing an intentionally 'pushed' sound within that same range of pitches, but he or she must be careful to not neglect the use of the 'lighter mechanism' in training, or else the same registration problems will re-emerge.
HIGH, LIGHT SINGING
While the singer may not wish to have a light head voice, especially in the area of the range where a skillful 'push' is desirable for the genre, keeping the voice more 'gentle' and easy for a period of time can discourage the kind of pushing up of lower voice function and weight that causes a register break, as well as discomfort and strain. The singer will find it nearly impossible to push or to carry chest voice up too high if the voice is not allowed to increase in volume.
I sometimes refer to this voice as a 'lullaby voice'. This voice is not necessarily in piano dynamic, and it is not a whispered falsetto or unsupported head voice. Rather, it may be more of a mezza voce dynamic, (perhaps equal to that used in a non-emotionally-charged private conversation in a quiet environment or when one is singing and doesn't wish to disturb anyone in the next room), in which the vocal and 'support' muscles are still getting a bit of a workout, but are not being allowed to overwork. The singer, of course, wants to have greater control of the dynamics in a performance situation, but high, light singing is appropriate as a temporary training approach until relaxation and correct use of the musculature and breath are established, and until the voice naturally begins to shift registers at the true passaggi.
A 'TOP DOWN' APPROACH
In a 'top down' approach, the singer executes primarily descending patterns that usually begin above the passaggi. This approach is particularly effective for singers who have a tendency to push chest voice function up too high, who 'muscle', squeeze or compress the voice with the supraglottic muscles, and who can comfortably access the pitches above the passaggio in either head voice or falsetto. If the voice is generally moving downward in pitch, 'muscling' is nearly impossible (especially since the singer is already using the 'lighter mechanism' of the voice), and much of the physical and psychological tensions that accompany ascending pitch patterns in many singers are removed.
Portamentos, descending sighs (with vocal folds adducted after the initial /h/) or sirens, controlled slides and glides are useful in helping the laryngeal muscles to become more flexible, even when breaks are present during these exercises. A singer can begin with downward portamentos on thirds or fifths, singing a vowel sound on the 3 or 5 and sliding in a controlled manner down to the 1. This interval can later be extended to an octave. Once the descending patterns have become smoother and break-free, the singer can then try sliding back up to the original note, or try a more challenging exercise yet, such as sliding from 3 down to 1 then up to 5 then down to 1 then up to 8 then down to 1 one a single breath and without pausing. These slides should be executed as slowly as necessary in order to allow the laryngeal muscles to make gradual adjustments, and to avoid what I call the 'roller coaster effect' in which the voice begins its descent gradually, but then starts to pick up momentum and bipasses several notes along the way.
A second exercise that I use quite frequently in my studio is a rapid 5-4-3-2-1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1, with the first eight notes tongue-tip trilled or lip rolled, and the last five notes sung on a vowel sound. (This exercise is only effective if the singer can trill or lip roll in a very relaxed manner, without any tongue or muscle tension.) The singer should begin the exercise above the passaggi, then move downward in key each time through the exercise.
The success of this exercise at smoothing out registration shifts lies largely in the trill itself. Trills set or 'place' the voice exactly where it ought to be in terms of muscular balance, enabling the singer to readily find a correct 'middle voice' or 'mixed voice' function through the lower passaggio, assuming that he or she doesn't significantly alter his or her vocal tract configuration when moving from the trill to the vowel. Because they use less muscle mass, trills prevent 'muscling' and pushing, and induce relaxation. The neutral /UH/ (as in 'good') vowel posture that is automatically assumed at the back of the throat when trilling further encourages relaxation because it opens up the throat. Trills also naturally regulate the airflow - too little air, and the trill can't get going; too much and the trill is lost; unsteady airflow and the trill can't be properly sustained. The compression created at the tongue-tip or lip level (as opposed to attempting to compress the air at the laryngeal or pharyngeal levels) also 'holds back' some of the air pressure, cuing the singer to how little air is truly necessary to produce those pitches.
Trills are also helpful for developing the upper range and for finding the optimal acoustic or resonance balance for the voice at a given note and for a given vowel. The singer can trill on a single note and switch to singing a vowel sound on the same note and breath to help find the correct 'placement' of the voice. Finding the correct muscular and resonance balance through the passaggio by focusing on balancing one note at a time in the chromatic scale can be part of the plan for eliminating register breaks, as well.
When executing descending scales that pass through the primo passaggio, the singer needs to be aware of and avoid the tendency to rush back into using heavy chest voice function at the first possible note, as this will cause the voice to 'bottom out', 'clunk' or break, and may continue to reinforce the habit of using too much muscle mass or the incorrect muscle group too high up in the scale. (I always tell my students that just because they 'can', it doesn't mean that they 'should' use chest voice.) Many singers tend to 'push down' on the lower notes, especially when they drop down into a lower register, which can also cause an undesirable lowering of pitch so that the singer's note falls slightly flat. A lighter upper chest range will more closely approximate the vocal weight and timbre of the lower middle range, thus allowing for a more seamless transition through the passaggio. (The descent from head voice into middle voice, especially in women, often has the same issues with a tone that becomes comparatively heavy and inconsistent with the next higher register.)
When returning to ascending scale patterns, the top few notes of the lower register need to begin adopting the quality and volume of the lower few notes of the higher register. This will prevent the heavier and louder upper chest register from dominating the lighter, lower middle register (women) or range (men). (The top notes in the chest register will sound dramatically heavier and darker than the lower notes of the next higher register.) Even though the location of the registration event may be correct, if the singer pushes hard through the passaggio and then suddenly flips into the next (higher) register, the difference from one note to the next will be stark and dramatic. Some work on balancing out the individual notes of the chromatic scale (e.g., beginning with trills and then switching to the vowel) can help the singer find the correct way to sing each note. (Remember that skillful navigation of the scale involves not just muscular shifts but acoustic shifts, as well.) The singer can move from one semitone to the next, then back down, then walk up two semitones, then back down three, etc..
MANAGING THE AIRFLOW
In addition to using the voice's optimal muscular balance throughout the passaggio, the singer may need to learn to manage his or her airflow differently in order to increase his or her skill through the passaggio. More often than not, the singer uses too much air pressure. This problem develops out of the long-time habit of pushing, squeezing, 'muscling', compressing, pressing or belting, which inhibits airflow in unnatural ways. When the breath is not managed well through the passaggio, the problem of a register break is often exacerbated.
One exercise that can cue the singer to the correct amount of airflow and air pressure necessary for the vocal task is a rapid 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-7-6-5-8-7-6-5-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 on either a /z/ or a /v/ sound. In many cases, the singer's break will disappear, and the light middle voice or head voice will instantly become more substantial in weight and resonance simply by making the correct adjustments to the airflow. (When the airflow is managed correctly, the vocal tract responds favourably, relaxing and opening more readily.)
The singer may also practice inhaling, then hissing on an /s/ sound for a count of four beats, then producing a /z/ sound for four beats, then hissing again for four beats all on one breath. Then, he or she can try /s/-/z/-/o/-/z/-/s/ each for a count of four beats.
A study of appoggio breathing technique will make a significant difference in how air pressure is held back and the exiting airflow is paced.
APPLYING THIS APPROACH TO CONTEMPORARY GENRES OF SINGING - FINDING THE VOICE'S TRUE 'MIX'
The above steps to this approach outline a way of developing a healthy classical middle voice function. What is ultimately produced is a voice that, with some 'tweaking' of technique, is capable of a powerful contemporary sounding 'mixed' quality or light belt without both the undesirable 'shouty' and strained sound and the physical discomfort, as well as an absence of register breaks. When a slightly more 'classical middle voice' quality is achieved, this 'mix' then becomes easier and more skillful because the cricothyroid (head voice) muscles are now strengthened and can be more appropriately respresented in the balance ('mix'), rather than there being a complete imbalance in muscular function, with the voice being heavily weighted, chest voice dominant high up in the scale (and 'muscled').
A skilled singer can be fully energized and even a bit chest dominant within the middle range, producing a heavy, pushed or belted sound without sounding as though his or her voice is about to break at any moment, or as though he or she absolutely cannot sing any higher. The listener should get the impression that the singer has considerably more range above what the song is demanding, not as though he or she has reached the absolute upper limit of his or her range capabilities. The voice may begin to lighten slightly earlier, but the singer does have creative control over how the voice is used throughout this area of the range. Furthermore, achieving healthy middle voice function will encourage natural carrying power through an open resonator tube ('open throat') and resonance balance.
After the singer has achieved mastery of his or her registration, moving through the registers with skill, ease and comfort (e.g., with no register breaks and an evenness of timbre throughout the entire scale), some 'wiggle room' can then be permitted and explored. The singer can experiment with carrying chest voice function or quality up a bit higher, or 'mixing' the voice differently to produce a slightly 'pushed' sound that still boasts complete control, 'openness' and relaxation of the instrument. A little more 'weight' can be added, or vowels can be altered differently or vowel modification delayed by a few notes to add some brightness and to encourage the vowels to retain more speech-like qualities for longer, some pressing or firmer glottal onsets can be used to create a light or 'faux' belt, etc.. Strengthening the cricothyroid muscles a little lower in the scale will allow for more versatility, because the singer will have more technique options to choose from when performing.
Of course, all of this experimentation must be done while paying very close attention to the singer's vocal health (i.e., watching for signs of discomfort, pain, strain or vocal fatigue). Having first developed the technique to be able to navigate the entire range with evenness, ease and comfort, the singer will now be more aware of what the voice can and cannot handle - what is healthy and what it simply too much for the voice to endure.
For more information and practical tips on improving various aspects of singing technique, be watching for my upcoming book on vocal technique, to be released sometime in early 2021.