Is There a Correct Way to Sing with a Mixed Voice? Is it something anyone can learn?

If you are a vocalist, you have probably heard about people who sing with a mixed voice.
It is also known as the middle voice, which means roughly the same thing.

It is said that by mastering this technique, one can easily produce a high voice, and many vocal coaches offer lessons to help people master the mixed voice.

However, in recent years, many people have been saying, “The mixed voice is an urban legend!” or “The mixed voice is just a slang term and isn’t real.”
This has confused not only those who are trying to learn the mixed voice, but also those who thought they were already singing with a mixed voice.

In this article, I would like to talk about what the mixed voice is and whether or not it is something that can be learned.

■ Mixed Voice Really Does Exist

In the medical world, a mixed voice is defined as a voice that can smoothly connect the natural voice and the back voice.
So, it is one of the voice categories along with the natural voice and the back voice. It is not a slang term without definition, nor is it an urban legend.

The reason why there are rumors is that the boundary between the natural voice and the back voice is still being researched.

If you have been thinking that there is no such thing as a mixed voice, don't worry.
There is no doubt that there is a mixed voice and that anyone can learn it with training.

■ Reasons why it is difficult to learn the mixed voice

When you look at instructional books or websites to learn how to sing in the mixed voice, the first thing they explain is how it works, but it is very difficult to learn.
It is composed of the cricothyroid muscle, nasal resonance, and so on.
One of the most confusing instructions is “open the throat and close the vocal cords.”
I don't know the difference between the throat and the vocal cords from a sensory point of view, and when I try it, I don't know if it's right or wrong.

Unlike playing a visible musical instrument, you can’t see the movement of the vocal cords when I hear an advanced singer sing. Even if it is explained in a diagram, you still wouldn’t know how to use it because it is not a place you usually consciously move.

Also, in my opinion, the main reason why learning the mixed voice is so difficult is that there are too many trainers and instructional books that use this kind of theory to explain it. You don't need to know this stuff to learn the mixed voice.

This is because those who happen to be gifted are able to use the mixed voice without even knowing it.
They do not know about nasal resonance or vocal cord closure.
In other words, what is needed to produce a mixed voice is not unnecessary theory, but developing the body to produce a mixed voice.

■ Training Methods for Learning

There is nothing wrong with learning how to use the vocal cords and their mechanisms.
However, no matter how much you learn, you will never be able to produce a mixed voice.

If we compare it to sports, it’s not about learning how to ride a bicycle but how to make free throws in basketball.
The reason why children cannot ride a bicycle at first is not because they lack muscle strength, but because they do not know how to keep their balance.
Once they get the feel for it, they will not learn how to ride a bicycle unless they actually go through the experience themselves.
Free throws require a good sense of aim, but they also require a certain amount of muscular strength to shoot with accuracy.

The mixed voice is not something that can be done by just getting a feel for it, like riding a bicycle, but daily training is required.

○ Lip roll

This is a method of vocalization in which the lips are kept closed while buzzing them.
This training has many advantages, such as strengthening the breathing muscles and using the correct amount of breath, and it's easy to perform at home because it does not produce much volume.

The mixed voice is a vocal range that naturally switches between the natural voice and the back voice, but one of the reasons why this is not done well is because the volume of the breath is not properly adjusted.

However, if you do a lip roll, you will be able to sing with a volume of breath that is always just enough to make your closed lips buzz, so the volume of your breath will naturally remain constant.

First, try singing a song with a lip roll at a higher pitch than you would normally produce in your natural voice.
If you can produce a voice that feels like a back voice at that time, then that is the right sensation.
It will probably be so natural that you will not be able to tell where the back of your voice begins and ends.

○ Scale practice

Many trainers practice scales over a wide range of pitches, but do so within a range that is comfortable for you.
It is easier to do this with a piano or other keyboard instrument.
If you feel pain or a sore throat, it is most likely that you are doing the wrong vocalization.
If you continue to do so, you may end up hurting your throat or developing a bad habit, so there is no need to go to an unreasonably high pitch range.

It is said that the easiest pitch for men is around G3 and for women around C4, so start from there and work your way up to two octaves.
Of course, you don't want to squeeze out 2 octaves while bending your face; you want to be able to do it with a cool face.

○ Recording

This is not directly related to mixed voices, but if you are going to do lip roll and scale exercises, record them.
You can do this with the touch of a button on your phone, so it would be a waste if you don't. You may not know your own singing voice as well as you think. You may notice pitch deviations or unreasonable vocalizations when you listen to the recording later.

■ In closing

If you repeat the process of practicing scales and recording and listening to lip-rolls every day (even 3 times a week) for about 20 minutes, your range will certainly increase and your pitch will become more stable.

Of course, there are many other training methods.
If you add a variety of training methods and increase the time from 20 to 40 minutes, you will be able to sing in the lower register as well as the upper register with a mixed voice.

However, it seems that people are not good at making a habit of adopting something that has never been done before.
This is evident from the fact that many people do not continue with dieting or muscle training.
It is important to start with just 20 minutes a day and continue, rather than start with 40 minutes a day and increase the possibility of falling behind.
If you have never done this before, you should be able to feel the difference within a month.

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