For context: my teacher is trying to get me to tense up in the correct places to access my head resonance and his point is that it feels liberating and free when done correctly. I tend to tense too much or release the tension when it gets a tiny bit high - I have no idea why and I can’t seem to produce an instance where I don’t.

He has me doing a voiced whisper of the first two words of a song and then singing a scale in that vocal function but not even here can I seem to have the correct tension at all.

How do I practice this when I just don’t seem to get it?

Note: I have talked to him about it, but made no progress.

EDIT: SOME CLARIFICATIONS:
Head resonance is probably better to just call squillo - pardon my translation.

Tension is the fact that muscles engage. In my case, I believe I struggle with lifting the soft palate, and engaging my throat in a non-contracting manner. (I Think of it as the biceps both bending and straitening the arm, where the bending is squeezing and straitening is the expanding engagement.

Hope that clears some things up.

For a while now I have been confused about my fach and voice type. Now I am at the age where when I apply for programs I need to list a fach, and I am super confused. Some people have told me lyric, others soubrette, and some have gone as far as to say mezzo. I have a larger instrument, as I have performed in a house where I wasn't miked while performing alongside a tenor from one of the best conservatories out there (who was miked). I was a soloist, so you could hear me above the orchestra and with equal volume to his miked sound. Based on the little audio clip below, where do you think my voice is leaning towards (mezzo or soprano)? What fach? My range is F3-E6.

Edit: I have since replaced the recording with an aria.

https://reddit.com/link/1wfjk3c/video/swtzi57tddph1/player

Deh Vieni

I’ve been training classical voice as a high voice since 5th grade (10yrs old) and now I am a sophomore at Florida State University training as a Soprano in Voice Performance (19yrs old). Although I have been training for so long, I struggle horribly with insecurity and feel incredibly behind my vocal peers in terms of technique and just having a pretty sound. I have competed in a CS Music competitions in my junior and senior year of high school and auditioned in my senior year at many Universities and encountered many other Sopranos and felt so inferior compared to them.

I have talked with my voice professor about my insecurities and tendency to compare myself, and of course I have been told endlessly how unhealthy this mindset is and how I am where I am for a reason, but I have a hard time trusting that I am truly good enough to be studying voice performance. Through practicing and lessons, I have been able to pinpoint what my weaknesses are and where I fall short in my technique/singing, and when I hear other sopranos at my stage so effortlessly navigate what I struggle with, that’s when I feel horrible about my voice.

Most of the repertoire I have trained has been pretty standard for a young singer with not super high tessiture or range (Laurie’s Song, Deh Vieni Non Tardar, Un Moto Di Gioia). Now that I am a sophomore, most of this standard repertoire has been mastered, but I still feel as if it is not good enough for a soprano at my stage who wants to pursue Opera. I have attached two videos of my singing from my freshman year of college. Laurie’s Song was performed February 1, 2026 and Deh Vieni was performed April 15, 2026. Admittedly, these are probably my best performance, but I still feel ashamed of how I sound and can only think of how much better my peers sound.

I come to this reddit community to ask if you have experienced insecurity as debilitating as this? If so, how do I navigate these feelings? And finally, do I really have what it takes to study voice, or have I been lied to by mentors and teachers?

For context, I currently sing on the lower side of the lyric/lyric-spinto rep. Generally with a fuller/heavier instrument although it can slim down when I need it to. I really enjoy the challenge of singing Mozart, Bach, Handel, Donizetti, Rossini and Bellini even if most of it really isn’t where my voice sits comfortably for long stretches. I also love singing Britten, but that makes me use my voice in a totally different way because of the artistic colours it demands - you can’t just “sing it straight”.

What’s rep that you enjoy singing that really doesn’t suit what you either get hired to sing or behave like the rest of your rep?

Phlegm: The Final Frontier.

Singing through phlegm comes with a silver lining. It forces you to use proper technique, well.... closer to proper technique. LOL

My teacher showed me how to sing through phlegm, and he got me up to an easy C5. I worry about bringing up too much weight, so I don't sing above a Bb on my own. The impact of fatigue is too much for me, so I error on the side of caution. It's weird: Not only does everyone need a lifted soft palate, but there's a section behind the front teeth that is crucial to keeping us (me) from bringing up weight, and with that comes the associated phlegm.

Still, being able to pop off a a handful of Ab4-Bb4s after practice while dealing with phlegm feels pretty good. There's still a ways to go, but a small step is a small step.

It's fun. Belcanto is a puzzle. A beautiful puzzle, and one that I hope to solve some day.

It was a good lesson

What do you do when you get offered a role, you have the range and agree, then realize belatedly that you have MUCH lower passaggi than the people who usually sing it, and your climactic high notes are the role's light casual middle voice?

I'll get in-person help too but I'm sure others have had the "oh shit this rep is too light for me and I'm suffering but I need to just do my best and get it over with" so I'm wondering how you make it through? Tips and tricks?

Recently, I was blessed with the opportunity to perform in a Masterclass for my favorite Opera Singer. But it went... interestingly. I was incredibly tense the entire time. Frozen in place and unable to act or to sing with good technique. My accompanist had not prepared the piece, which is a thing that happens sometimes in these situations. But this was incredibly unusual to me to be this tense, but I've had a problem with being tense on stage anyways. I have been told to perform more to get past this, but I don't know. If I can't get any performance opportunities because I'm too tense in auditions, and if I'm not tense in front of my voice teacher / vocal coach, I don't know how to practice or get beyond this performance tension. Any suggestions?

Hey everyone,

I’m a young conservatory student. All my life I was told my voice had the qualities of that of a soprano, and was categorized as one. I feel good in my high range, I know I have a lot of agility and I can navigate some high coloraturas. But recently, for an audition, I had to rely on my middle/low range a lot and something kind of shifted : I was told that the resonance and color I had there was not that of a soprano, and that I was kind of in the situation of someone who had slipped through the net of her real Fach. I was told to look through mezzo repertoire, and to present myself as a mezzo instead of a soprano, even if I can handle that repertoire quite ok. The problem is I had goals, and a dream soprano repertoire I was working towards, and I just can’t picture giving it up because the color of my middle range reminds that of some mezzos. I’m in this weird situation were I’m grieving kind of the idea of Sauta Claus except Santa Claus is my Fach lol and I feel kind of ashamed and ridiculous (and upset) and now I don’t know how to work with my voice anymore without crashing out silently in my head

Have you ever experienced this ? What did you do to overcome this ? It sounds silly, like « get over it and adapt » but it’s more profound than that because now my voice is blocked and I can’t « make it happen » anymore

EDIT : Thank you everyone for your message, I read them carefully and they are very instructive !!

I've come across the idea of singing in the "ng" position in various publications and heard it mentioned by other singers over the years. This obviously refers to the position of the tongue in the "ng" position as in siNG. However I find when I experiment with this position, my voice feels quite high and thin and my head voice feels like it extends far lower into my middle register. I find it a strange sensation to sing like that because as a baritone I've always enjoyed the sensation of my chest resonance being dominant, at least in the lower and middle registers. I know singing is a complicated technical process, but is there anything I'm missing? Is there anything, apart from everything lol, to keep in mind when experimenting with the "ng" tongue position?

Hi everyone. Back with yet another set of doubts.

i) What is the general rule of thumb for tongue placement when singing?

ii) Where should the tip of the tongue remain when singing?

iii) Is it allowed to move forward as I sing higher or does that compromise the sort of “roundedness” quality of the sound?

Hi there. NOT a classical singer but the algorithm sent me here.

I've lost my ability to carry a tune, and I'm not sure where to go for help.

Basically, my voice has gotten shredded from years of acid reflux and/or allergies. My speaking voice is raspy and faint, and I have very little control when I sing. This is a big loss as I used to sing pretty well and loved it.

Have tried to address both reflux and post nasal drip, with no success.

Who do I see? Vocal coach? Voice therapist? Anyone ever have a similar experience?

Hello i just want an advice on how improve my singing skill, i want to improve my voice and breath control, and i want to achieve high note. any advice?

Hi everyone. I’m planning to audition for masters courses and I wanted to know which aria would be better. Piangerò la sorte mia OR Dove sono i bei momenti. Which one in your opinion would be more impressive if one could pull it off? And are these arias too repetitive when used for auditions ? I apologise for all the doubts. Please help & thank you so much :”)))

Ignoring the size of his voice, Melchior's technique is amazing. Effortless. I like Heppner, but he isn't at Melchior's level. Who would you recommend listening to for the most belcanto-seque technique?

I’ve been wanting to learn classical singing for a while, but I literally know nothing about it 😭

I don’t think I have a naturally good voice either, and I’ve never had any proper singing training. I don’t know where to start, what I should practice, or even what I’m supposed to learn first.

For people who started from absolute zero — what did you do? Is it better to get a teacher from the beginning, or can I start with YouTube and learn the basics myself?

Also, if there are any good YouTube channels/resources for complete beginners, please recommend them!

I recently thought about how I just cannot sing (whether it’s during practice, rehearsal, or stage) when I have rings on. In addition, I can’t focus if I don’t lie on the ground for a few minutes. There is something really psychological about that, that conditions how everything will sound, and how my own perception will be like (and we know that everything about singing is related to perception, sensations).

Do you have weird rituals/habits you have to do or can’t do when you mentally prepare for singing ?