By Lis Lewis

If you've noticed a break between your two voices (see "G! What's Your Key?" in Singer and Musican Magazine issue #27), it's time for some voice lessons.

That has to get fixed. You might have the biggest range in the world but you can only use one voice at a time because they are disconnected.

When there's a song you're working on, decide what you want your voice to express. Is it tender and intimate? Is it aggressive? The lower end of your chest voice has more warmth and more bass tones-it tends to sound sexier, more vulnerable or personal. Think of Toni Braxton or Luther Vandeross. As you work up toward the higher end of chest, the sound becomes more urgent, more intense. That's why most people try to push it up higher and higher. They never want to leave. There is a limit to how far up your chest voice can go and still live to sing another day.

Don't Push

These are words of wisdom so pay attention. Once you've built a 'blend'-so there is no break between voices-you'll be able to sing from chest to head without losing the tone. That doesn't mean you're 'belting' which is only chest, it means you are using both voices so there is a gradual shift, like a "cross-fade," from chest to head. You'll be able to sing in that range at any volume, without yelling. This means that this area can become the most exciting, the most flexible part of your voice. It's the perfect place for those final choruses that need to have energy and intensity without killing you. In the earlier chorus you can put the high note in head, or in a lighter blend so there is a build through the course of the song.

Which Is the Right Key?

There is no one key that is right for you. There will be different keys for different songs. The key you choose will depend on what you want the song to sound like and where the melody sits. If the melody is fairly low and you want it to have energy, you will choose a higher key, which raises the melody up. If the melody is high, you might need to lower it so you won't dread singing it when it comes up on the set list. If the melody is all over the map, just give up. No, sorry-just kidding. You have to find just the right key for all the notes or change some of them. Please remember to communicate to your band when there are parts of the song that are intimate. They shouldn't be playing all over the place while you're at the bottom of your voice where there's no volume.

Different keys will bring out different aspects of your voice. They will also make a difference in how you write a melody. Don't write in the same key over and over. It's boring for the listener but even more important, you will tend to write similar melodies. If you change keys, you will write melodies differently because you can't use the same parts of your voice in the same ways. Experiment. Even a small change in key can make a big difference.

I hope you can see that it isn't how high you can sing, or how big your range is that's the most important thing in singing. No one but you knows whether the note in one song is higher than the note in another. What does matter is being able to use what you've got to the fullest potential of your instrument. That's what will make you feel great about your singing.

Mark Baxter says, "Whether you rap, sing, belt, scream, croon or perform spoken word, you will always get more from your voice if you warm up first."