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This is exactly how I am able to transition into my head voice so smoothly as a countertenor. If I don't create that pharyngeal space, I especially notice it if I haven't sung with the classical rep in quite a while, it takes a bit to get used to all that space. I call it hitting the ceiling if I am having trouble, because it literally sounds closed off and notes don't come.

Your Aria recommendations for beginners are actually quite the opposite of how I learned. I started singing with 17 and at 18 the first opera piece my old teacher gave me was O Isis und Osiris, since my E2 was already there. Recently my new teacher did Deh vieni alla finestra with me for our first lesson together. I'm 22 now and I know for a fact I couldn't have sang that piece a year ago! It's pretty high for me. Doable, sure. I hit B flat 4 in lessons, but it's exhausting and somewhat uncomfortable to sing 4th octave or close to it for a long time. This video is probably not meant for me, just like the role of Don Giovanni.

Hi Mr. Raymond. What to do if the voice is overcovered even on the bottom? I should be a low voice but I tend to not sing open enough in the bottom range, always making more covered sound

This lesson has helped me immensely, thank you so much

Always helpful, thank you!

I'm a Bass, but I don't have any experience with singing, I Just love It, but your tips gave me some "freedom" in my voice, Thanks.

Hi my range is G2-G5 (i reach a E2 with warm up in chest but its forced) i also reach a C6 in Head but its also forced. Is it possible to extend the range with 30 minutes exercise lower. I want to reach a C2. In the morning i only reach a D2. Is it possible to extend lower?

I've learned so much from these videos. I'm so grateful for your willingness to share your knowledge and understanding of these techniques, because I could never afford to access expertise like this otherwise. I don't sing opera or classical, but I find this applies to any singing that needs a full, beautiful, resonant, well-supported sound that still cuts over full instrumentation. I've found significant improvement in my voice, personally. Many people don't need to sing that loud, or in very challenging environments, but for those who do and want to continue to do that for a (hopefully) long time, I feel these techniques are essential regardless of whether you sing opera or another challenging genre.

I find my larynx rises as soon as i sing any note, even low notes. I am some form of light baritone, and my highest note is stuck at E flat sadly.

Hi Raymond, thank you for all the great advice. Would you perhaps explain some ways to access falsetto? I have had some trouble “letting go” of the full voice and break into it.

Thats's a really nice master class, also beatiful timbre of both singers.

Enjoyed yourvideo...good technique

Thanks for the explanation! Many people seem to associate the concept with cord closure ie. sul fiato being a solid connected sound in which all of the air is transformed into cord vibration and col fiato a breathy sound with air leaking. What do you think about this?

On the subject of not falsely darkening the voice; Do you ever encounter singers who have a very low tessitura in terms of pitch and passaggio, but a voice that is naturally bright in a way that doesn't find as much use in the repertoire they can sing comfortably? A bass with a tenor-like timbre, for example. What do you personally do with a voice like that? Are they just not useful from a classical perspective?

Yes. The famous tongue retraction. According to my knowledge and experience, the root does not go back. They teach the tip to retract and the root is brought closer to the tip and “out of the throat”, they say it will make room in the pharynx. But it does go back, that would block the throat, true. So acording to Stanley / LoMonaco the tip retracts and the root goes forward. It is in Stanley’s book “Your voice” even with an illustration. Not advocating for anyone, just saying how my experience is

I don't have any vocal cord issues; my problem is muscle tension, which is why my voice always sounds tense and often comes out with a vocal fry. This makes it difficult for people to hear me. Even when I try to release the least amount of air while speaking, by bringing my hand to my mouth to monitor the airflow, my voice is still very unhearable, but a significant amount of air escapes. I don't want to become an opera singer; I just want a clear speaking voice. It's experts like you, not vocal therapists, who truly master this field. I admire how effortlessly and naturally your voice sounds. I would greatly appreciate any exercises you could suggest. The only time I feel my voice is normal is when I consciously relax my entire body and breathe without tension for a few minutes, but the effect wears off within a few hours and never lasts permanently.

Bonjour M. Modesti. Bravo et merci pour vos conseils si précieux et judicieux! C'est tellement appréciable lorsqu'on voit ce qui est proposé sur Internet par des soi-disant professeurs de chant! Bonne continuation. Alain 🎼

Chiarissimo e corretto .la laringe è il motore della voce

After an interval of twenty five years - I’m nearly seventy I’m returning to classical singing (bass) and find your content invaluable. Thank you!

AT LAAAAAAAAAAAAST

G E N I US . 😮

Not many, even professional singers, can say much about that passaggio. It's however like many men(me too) have it on E above middle C? And this a confusing point, since one finds that baryton Martin, Heldentenor, lyric baritone and perhaps many "in between" voices are there.

Thank you!

Потрясающий педагог!

Wonderful advice on this tricky vocal transition for bases…it’s obvious you’re a great admirer of our celebrated colleague ,Slavic basso Boris Cristof…he was wonderful!

I noticed that whenever I do this exercise and think about singing "on the breath" my singing becomes more legato but also very hoarse after. My question is how do I make sure that the vocal cords are properly adducted to avoid hoarseness?

HELLO MR MODESTI, WONDERFUL PRESENTATION AND DEMONSTRATION ON THE PHARYNGEAL VOICE. I,VE NEVER HEARD A BASSO SING IT LET ALONE UP TO HIGH C5 !!! I'M SURE YOUR AN INSPIRATION TO BASSES AND BARITONES! I'M A LIGHT AND HIGH BARITONE AND MORE OF A POP AND B'WAY MUSICAL SINGER BUT WAS ALWAYS FASCINATED BY THE ABILITY OF MALE SINGERS ABLE TO SING ABOVE THE F#4 PASSAGIO. I'M 87 BUT I CAN STILL SING SMOOTHLY UP HIGH F5 WITH PHARYNGEAL/FALSETTO MIX, AS YOU CAN SEE ON MY TUTORIAL. GOD BLESS YOU AND STAY HEALTHY AND SAFE, MR. SILVA

When a slight switch is turned on, I lose my voice. I have even suffered from aphasia. It might be stress. But I've been learning to sing. I feel most free when I'm learning to sing. However, I can't really feel that the vocal cords and diaphragm work together. Then the teacher told me, ``I can't do it anymore!'' This song is over! That's what she says. Still, I don't feel like quitting and I'm trying my best. I've been depressed many times, but I don't feel like quitting. I'm sure it's painful.

Thank you, with appoggio I learned how to sustain long phrases.

Magnífica clase propia de un magnífico cantante. Thank you so much

Bravo, maestro. Thanks for your helpful explanations. Very thankful..

Oh my my... Thank you so much. No wonder why the speech voice tone is so stable and beautiful.

Thank you for this! These videos are always so educational. I had no idea the historical use of pharyngeal voice, and that's fascinating to me. Do you find the loss in volume over your passaggio when transitioning to the pharyngeal voice causes issues in live performance? Or do you typically navigate the material in a way that minimizes spending time in your passaggio when you know the style of music calls for using the pharyngeal voice?

Thanks Raymond!!! Very nice deep dive thus far

I have a question: why do higher voice types use more head voice than lower voice types? Are their registers just more directly coordinated (covered chest, coordinated chest, girare head voice)?

2:53 - oh yes chiaroscuro, that’s key. Chest voice without head resonance is dull and overdarkened.

Thank you for responding to my inquiry. I saw a video of Nucci at home singing at the piano Il balen del suo sorriso from Trovatore which is a very difficult aria for the baritone. He was in his 70's when he sang this like water of a duck's back. At the end of the cadenza, he used his hand and curved it downward. Am I correct that this s what you were referring to as the tilting of the pharynx? The tilting of the larynx reminds me of what a shepherd's staff looks like. At the top it has a curve pointing downwards. One other point that I need clarification on. . Before I saw your video, which was yesterday, I read about the tilting of the larynx and was confused about it. But when I saw your video, you did not use the term tilting the larynx but the pharynx. Why the distinction? This may cause some confusion among singers.

I struggle to find the head voice. I just get a falsetto sound

Maestro Thanks for demonstrating the tilt by using your hand gesture. What was key for me in your demonstration is that the pharynx is tilted. What a difference it made for me. I am considered a Verdi baritone and what I noticed when I practiced the tilt with my mind focused on the pharynx that was I came down the scale say goi from Bflat thru the passagio to F or above on a 5 note scale is that I did not drop the voice when I came down back to B flat. I have had trouble all my life dropping out of position when going down the scale. This makes it more difficult to reattack since I am out of position and my resonance chamber is distorted. But when I thought of tilting the pharynx my sound going back down was secure did not drop out. This approach makes me feel the mask sensation like never before. One other point. I have studied Leo Nucci's way of producing his sound. The man is marvelous. He can sing Rigoletto in his 70's. What is quite obvious if you watch his face is that he seems to tilt the larynx and also draws down his upper lip. What is your opinion of my observation. I still sing as I approach 80. Thanks Enrico Adriano

Tenor writing here. Your way of singing absolutely demonstrates what I've always been saying: no matter the voice type, the singing technique is the same. From the perspective of classical singing there is just one technique. I am emphasizing that because on the journey to building the voice one meets so called singing teachers who come up with strange, confusing explanations that are not true, and thus do not support a student's development but rather hinder or prevent it. It could be so easy.....

Mr. Modesti: You often use a familiar axiom, "Col fiato non sul fiato" -- or is it the reverse? In any case, the distinction between with the breath and on the breath is not something easy to understand without help. Can you offer a short explanation and demonstration? Thanks. - LP

I used to try to push downward as a teen and young adult, but it was a little painful And I couldn’t afford singing lessons so I just stopped….

Do you do lessons

Do you do lessons

I do agree that people can over decades gain more low range. It's just not as easy as the high range. Sorry that I didn't make myself clear on my comment a while ago.

I have had a number of people assert that a "real bass" can project loudly into the 1st octave with a pure chest voice, and that always seemed like an odd assertion to me, perhaps even an unhealthy goal or standard to set. That's oktavist territory, and most of the oktavists I've seen who spend real time in the 1st octave or lower are using different techniques... they rarely if ever use a coordination I could call a pure chest tone, and they typically are singing into a microphone. You have much more experience working with a wide variety of bass vocalists, so I'm curious; what are your thoughts on these kinds of assertions?

So how do you strengthen the low notes that you already have? I know you can't extend lower range-wise (at least not much), but still.

But basses cover at C# don't they? Most baritones don't cover until Eb or E according to my knowledge. If you have other experiences let me know.

Are you a basso cantante?

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