The Blessed Mix
There is a fine, fine line between the chest voice and the
head voice. There is a fine, fine line between the bottom and the top. And, so
many singers want to find that sacred blessed spot, that sweet mixed up place….
the mix voice… the blend tones, as some refer to them. The mix voice is achieving the energy of
chest voice while maintaining the range of head voice. The goal of a mix voice
is to produce a more seamless transition between chest voice and head voice
while singing in the chest-head passaggio/transition area of one’s full range
OR to maintain a stylistic choice for a piece.
So, how do you start? Well, I have several suggestions:
- Find a good instructor who understands mixing, understands singer anatomy and health issues (because this is not always an easy task) and, even better, find an instructor who can produce a good mix themselves as a model for you to hear.
- Listen to good mixers! If you have a sound you are going for in your voice range, listen to those singers. It’s always good to have a good model. But be reasonable, you aren’t going to sound just like Christina Aguilera, Whitney Houston, or Christin Chenoweth, most likely… and if you do… uh.. get an agent asap!
- Be careful when you are trying it out! Take it easy! Mixing should not be a lesson in forceful power, straining or pushing the vocal mechanism. That is NOT the point of mixing. Mixing is a way to distribute the load on the vocal mechanism, not make it harder. It’s a trick of the trade, people. And, trust me; there IS a way to screw it up. You can hurt yourself if you repeatedly push too hard or create tension. Again… refer to no. 1 on this list. This is not to say you can’t experiment with what your voice can do! That’s how we learn!
