I was wondering whether or not my vocal timbre will change over time. I’m 19 now and I don’t really like the sound of my voice. It isn’t falsetto, pitchy, nasally or anything like that and I’m not singing out of pitch or range either, but it kind of sounds like I’m trying to sing in an older voice even though I’m still young. I also had a small chest cold a few months back and I still have a little bit of it in my system and I’m wondering if that’s affecting the sound of my voice. Thank You for taking the time to read this message and I hope to hear from you soon.- Sean

Hi Sean,
Thank you for your email.  You know it is hard to give a person evaluation of your timbre and voice since I have not heard you.  Every voice is different, and timbre can be effected and manipulated or undone by many things.  The best thing you can do is get to a good voice teacher and have them evaluate you.  If that is not an option I offer Vocal Assessments on my site where you can submit your voice with questions and I will listen and act as your “virtual voice teacher”.
Check my blog out on my site.  I did a whole blog on vocal timbre that might offer some help
As far as your cold, your chords could still be a little swollen which could cause some short lasting changes.

Thank you for your question.
Ariella Vaccarino

I have a trained voice. I have sung in large choirs and chamber choirs. I want to record a CD of religious music (hymns) I want to know for sure which of your products would be more adecuate to  meet my needs.

Silvia

Hi Sylvia,
I see that you ordered my box set.  That should be a great choice for you.  It will give you a lot of variety in your vocal warm-ups and further your training.  For more independence you may want to consider purchasing my book Vocalize! which is the compilation of all four CDs into sheet music.  This way you can sit at the piano and flip through and play the vocalizes that call to you at your own speed. Good luck with your CD.  Please feel free to send any questions you may have along the way.  I will send your CDs right out to you.
Ariella Vaccarino

www.voicelessonstogo.com

Hi , I watched your video on you tube and i am interested in ordering your voice lessons. I am not sure what to order. I have no training but I have been singing since 1999. I really need to develop my voice and I am in a band. So what CD of yours should I start with?

Mira

Hi Mira,
Thank you for your interest in my CDs.  I have not heard you , so it is hard to know where your voice is.  I have four CD voie lessons out right now.  I suggest you either buy the box set which includes all four- with it you will have your own program with a lot of variety to last you.  Or you can of course just start with the first CD and see if it suits you, then order the next etc.
I also offer a program on my site called your vocal assessment, where you send me a link or mp3 of your voice with any questions you may have and I work as your Virtual Voice Teacher.  This may be good for you at least once to have a professional ear listen in on what you are doing.

Anyway, hope this helps.  Sing well!
Ariella

Hi Ariella, I wondered if you could answer a question for me? Is there a reason why some of the exercises are so much faster than others? Does it help “free up” the sound when you sing the exercises quickly? Cheers, Elizabeth

Elizabeth,
That is exactly the reason.  When you sing fast you just have to let go.  Often times when we concentrate on each note we can get “stuck” and not release.  It is good to sing slowly as well so that you check yourself and become really aware of your sounds, but to let go and really try and release your sound into speed is important as well.  Thinking of the vocalize as one cycle, phrase or arc  as opposed to freezing on every individual note.  I do the same type of alternating when I warm up.

Hope that helps a bit!

Ariella Vaccarino

www.voicelessonstogo.com

My pitch is fine, am interested in adding reverb to my voice.

Nancy

Hi Nancy,
Sounds like you are looking to add vibrato to your voice.  I just blogged about this a few weeks ago, please check out the article in my blog for some more detail.  But in general, you can unlock vibrato by release tension in your muscles when you sing.  This is something that would be ideal working with a voice teacher or doing my Vocal assessments.  You need to be heard and assessed to see how much natural vibrato is coming through and why some of it may be being held back.
You can not fake vibrato and everyone has a different level of it.  Some people’s are more like a flutter or bell and others naturally have a straighter tone.
Again, being assessed by a professional would be a great way to start even if only one time just to check where you are at.  If you are interested I offer “Your Vocal Assessment” on my site where you send me a link or mp3 of your voice and I work with you as a “virtual voice teacher”.  This way you can sign up for one lesson or many without the commitment of a teacher.

I apologize if this answer is not totally satisfying.  Certain issues have straight answers and others need to be evaluated before answered.  I hope you understand.  Thanks!
Ariella Vaccarino- creator of Voice Lessons To Go- singing lessons on CD and author of Vocalize!

www.voicelessonstogo.com

hi!…anyway i have my singing voice where i want it….with one acception…the timbre…in reading your blog post reply to the question of timbre…i want to experiement with timbre…how is this achieved? playing with nasal and the openess of throat? playing with vowel sounds? what would you recommend to consider while playing around to create a unique timbre? what are the contributing factors or elements that determine timbre? thanks-vincent p.s if you have any products that relate to this specific area please let me know and i am happy to purchase!!!!

Hi Vincent,
Your vocal timbre is really a natural finger print that is individual to your voice.  Some people’s are more unique than others.  That is why certain singers you can identify the minute you hear a few notes from them as opposed to others who are more generic.
Can you change your timbre?  I think you can adjust it using as you said, vowel sounds, making sure that you are supported throughout your range to allow for full release of yur natural sound and focusing on opening the appropriate resonators in the body.  For example if your sound is nasal then you would possibly ground your sound more to your chest resonator.
I have not heard you so I can not be to specific on your advice.

I have a program on my site called Your Vocal Assessment.  Where you send me your voice via mp3, link, video, or hard copy and questions and I send you my assessment.  This might be a good idea for you if you are looking for another “ear”, I could work for you as your “virtual voice teacher”.

I hope this helps a lot!

I am in college; I take voice as a hobby. (I think that, in addition to reading, it’s my favorite one.) I wanted to know: A. Can vocal range be “improved?” My lower range isn’t the best, and I wish I could sing higher. B. I hear there are nine “sub-types” of soprano? Is it at all possible, (at least to some degree), to improve repertoire? To statemy query a different way, I’ve heard lots of operatic and
musical/Broadway songs I’ve loved and wish, at least once, to try and sing, if only in the presence of my vocal instructor. Is altering/improving/slightly changing one’s “sub-class” possible in any
way with training? Would performing these songs be at all feasible with hard work?
Thanks for the help; I’m very grateful.

Amy Herstein

Hi Amy,

Thank you for trusting me with your singing questions.

A. Yes, your vocal range can be improved. You are born with a voice that sits in a natural place, that you can’t change, but you can get yourself singing in the healthiest and freest way possible that allows for all of your naturally given range to fill in. You need to be supporting your voice, using the correct abdominal muscles, getting the throat muscles and tongue out of the way so that your sound is free to come out and flourish. Combing free singing and properly supported singing, will increase your range and stamina.

B. Regarding being able to fit yourself into certain subclasses of the soprano voice, also known as your Fach, again, I believe you are naturally preprogrammed to lend your voice to a certain fach. But that is will great singing technique. I have not heard you and do not know how far you have to grow as a singer. A lyric soprano, may never be able to touch a coloraturas range, as a coloratura may never find herself singing with a rich luscious warm quality.

Some voices tend to have qualities of a few different fachs and a choice has to be made by the instructor or singer as to which direction they should study. Just because you can sing a dramatic sopranos Aria well, does not mean your voice could handle it night after night in a production. It is vocal quality, range, timbre, body strength, and physical build that determines your fach.

The best thing you can do of course id get yourself to a great voice teacher for their opinion of your voice and its possibilities. I would be happy to hear and assess you in my “Vocal Assessment” program on my website, to give you some more personal input.

It’s great to hear how much you are enjoying to sing!

Ariella Vaccarino

Hi Ariella,

I have started to take lessons with an instructor. She is 25 yrs old and not certified. What I find “different” is that she is giving me theory, teaching me how to read music and uses to piano for that purpose. When I took lessons in Madrid we went straight into the scales and we used the words” do re mi fa sol la si”. She uses A B C…etc. Do you think this is a good style? I love your CDs and I use them both. Maybe Kathy is not the right instructor for voice. Hopefully I will.

You sound so Italian, I would love to meet you. I spent years in Rome with the U.S. Embassy and Italian is a language I love and would like to keep it.

Have a nice weekend,

Hello, There are many approaches to teaching voice. Using solfege (do re Mi- as in my v.2 CD), warming up to songs, just warming up to vowels, singing the letter notes of the scales, (A B C…)
What matters most is that your voice feels good and that you are improving and not regressing in your vocal production. You should like your teacher and enjoy the lessons that you take. You should never feel any strain or unnatural singing. Other than that, trust your instinct and study with someone who makes you feel good about singing.

Ariella

Dear Ariella,
Is there an age for voice lessons? I am retired and love to sing but I have never continued with lessons because of continuous relocations, from Europe to Latin America and vice versa, due to my job. Now I would love to start taking singing; I have purchased your two CDs and would also like to take lessons with a teacher. What do you recommend I do and how? I just love your voice, I wish I could sing like that. Do you have any other CDs? Thank you, Inge.

Hello Inge, Thank you for your kind words. Of course it is NEVER too late to take voice lessons. You should absolutely do what you enjoy in life! Unfortunately, I am in LA so I can not be your voice teacher. I suggest you call some university music departments in your area for a referral. I currently have volume 1-4 of Voice Lessons To GO. So v.3 Pure Vowels and v.4 Stamina would be next for you. I offer “Your Vocal Assessment” on my site if you need access to a voice teacher (me). You send me your voice and I send you my assessment within the week. Happy singing. Ariella.

Dear Ariella,
This is Omar Al-Marzooqi from United Arab Emirates known as (UAE). I purchased your Cd’s and I am in the first CD which is Volume 1.
I have a question regarding the exercises. You set a 23 vocal exercises and 14 breathing exercises, How many times should I use or practice each exercise?
Is it better to go all over the vocal exercises and breathing every time I start practicing or take every time 1 exercise from vocal and breathing, or another way I have to exercise?
could you clarify it for me please?
I really appreciate this effort for making these lessons.
Regards,
Omar

Hi Omar
Nice to hear from you. Thank you for purchasing my voice lessons CDs. Please follow them in order. For example: Do all of the exercises in the vocal section all the way through to warm up your voice and then sing through whatever songs you want to work on of your own. The breathing exercises can be done before you warm up your voice or any time that is convenient. It is not necessary to do the breathing exercises every time or all of them. But the more you do the better you will become at them and the stronger you will be vocally I hope I answered your questions. Take care Ariella.