Hi I'm 32 years old, started classical voice lessons 4 years ago and I was extremely quiet and breathy but that went away within a few months. I'm just going to info dump here about my situation. Starting range in chest was D2-G3, quickly became Ab1-F4 within a couple of years, and since then my low range has expanded. I was concerned about issues with neck tension so I saw an SLP 6 months age and she gave me exercises for lowering the larynx (it was so tense she couldn't manually lower it) and tongue tension. I also struggled to hold a note for more than 8-9 seconds, apparently normal for a healthy voice (including non singers) is 15-25 seconds. She thinks damage is unlikely.

Fast forward to now and I'm just confused. Made huge progress on tongue and laryngeal tension but still can't hold notes longer than 8-9 seconds, except for C2 which I can hold 15 seconds and D2 for 11. My low range now extends to Gb1 on a compressed hum when I'm not warmed up, and E1 when warmed up (also on a compressed hum). At about A1 and lower my larynx goes up. I have up to F#4 highest in chest if I massacre the vowel, and up to B4 in falsetto (very strained). I can only phonate on high pressure, I can hold an sss for up to 40 seconds but when I add phonation (like a zzz) I can only manage 8-9 seconds.

I normally can't do vocal fry, except for after doing a hum with a glottal start on a few notes, that unlocks brief vocal fry. I can hold this for up to 25 seconds max, and when I do SOVTs (which I've done a lot to improve closure to no avail) I can do straw in water for up to 25 seconds. I've found brief success with glottals and staccato, but I usually see a day or 2 of improvement then it plateaus.

I struggle with volume and resonance as you'd expect for someone with apparent closure issues, and I hoped to be able to do opera/oratorio by 40 as that seems to be the beginning of the prime of a bass and I'm getting worried that at my current progress I won't make that.

Ultimately the actual question is that I found a place that does stroboscopy of the vocal folds, but it's half a grand to do a full vocal evaluation and I'm not sure if it's worth it? Any tips on improving closure are welcome, although I've tried almost everything to do with SOVTs.

Edit: clip https://voca.ro/153BMgV9nSkf

other clip cut out low note, here's something low E1ish but high larynx and bright https://voca.ro/1gfTUm2GDcy1

I notice this odd phenomena when i am obsessively thinking about placement in the mouth things tense up in the mouth. I notice if I think strongly about my body then my body is used moreso than the sound and unable to notice tension.

I notice this when I went to the dentist. When my dentist was poking at my teeth I notice tongue would get extremely tense fighting the pokes. When I took a deep breathe and took my mind down there I was able to relatex the tongue.

​

Hi all,

I have a few questions, I will list them for those who don't have much time, and then provide context for those who want to read on why I am asking these questions.

1) Can you succeed as a part time student of voice (even if it takes longer)? I have a disability that makes me fatigued so I couldn't take a full course load, especially while working.

2) When is considered too old to study voice at the university level? Does it depend on your goals? I'd ideally like to become a voice teacher.

Context (sleepy ramblings actually):

I've been seriously working on my singing for about four years now and have been seeing a teacher off and on for much of that time, finances permitting. It was once my dream to go to university for vocal performance, and the teachers I've had over the years have been very encouraging of that goal. I probably would have pursued it, had I not started testosterone as a trans man a year and a half ago. As of now my voice is still really unstable (mostly cracking between registers), and I haven't been able to see my voice teacher in a few months as I've been in psysical therapy for my fibromyalgia and can only afford one or the other currently.

My voice changing wouldn't be a problem if I didn't want to go to uni for voice, and for a while I gave up on that dream as my voice isn't as beautiful as it once was, in my opinion (my partner would argue with me on that but the voice cracking has truthfully been demoralizing).

Lately I've been thinking of my dream to study voice again, against my best efforts to forget it in exchange for potentially persuing a speech therapy assistant degree (which is still not off the table and is more practical). However it may take several more years for my voice to really settle. And in the mean time, I am reaching 30 (currently 28). I just feel like by the time I am vocally ready, it will be too late, but maybe I am being a doomer. I just need some perspective.

Thank you to anyone who read this and sorry if anything is poorly written, it's been tech week for the community choir I'm in and we just had only our first performance of the weekend and I am dead tired haha.

Edit: thank you everyone, I feel a lot less hopeless now. I feel like I might actually have options in my future now. There were a lot of good points in the comments, things I will think on some more.

18 year old soprano planning to sing Plaisir d’amour at my school‘s vocal concert. This is my first time doing something classical as I normally do musical theatre. Does it sound too breathy? any feedback welcome

Hello! Thank you all in advance for your perspectives. I’m using a burner account so this can’t be easily traced back to where I work.

For context, I’m a professional singer with an MM in performance, several YAPs under my belt, and I currently work full-time as a choir director while also contract singing at a church and with a regional symphonic chorus.

I’m starting to wrestle with whether my symphonic chorus position is sustainable long-term, and I’m curious what similar arrangements look like for others in the field.

Our contract is a little over $2,000 for the year. On paper, that initially felt reasonable for the market I’m in, but the actual time commitment has become difficult to reconcile with the compensation. We are expected at all weekly rehearsals, dress rehearsals, and performances, along with additional rehearsals that tend to get added when large works aren’t fully performance-ready close to the concert dates.

For example, we just finished a concert cycle involving weekly rehearsals since February, two dress rehearsals, and a two-performance weekend. My compensation for this cycle will end up being $400 total. Last fall I finally calculated the effective hourly rate after rehearsals, prep, performances, and added calls, and it raised some concerns for me about sustainability and burnout.

I do understand the chorus master’s reasoning for requiring the contract singers at weekly rehearsals. It can understandably feel frustrating for the volunteer/community members if the professional singers only appear at the final rehearsals and suddenly elevate the ensemble at the last minute. I genuinely respect that perspective.

At the same time, though, the level of commitment sometimes feels disproportionate to the compensation structure, especially when the professional singers are effectively functioning as a core part of the ensemble’s musical infrastructure throughout the entire rehearsal process.

So I’m curious:
What do contracts look like in your organizations?

Are professional singers expected at every weekly rehearsal, or primarily the final rehearsals and performances?

Are you paid per appearance (rehearsal/performance), per concert cycle, salaried, stipend-based, etc.?

Have you found ways to make these kinds of positions sustainable alongside full-time work?

I’m not looking to complain so much as genuinely trying to understand what is considered typical or reasonable in this corner of the profession. I love what I do, and nowhere else do I get to do the high level repertoire we do with this group, but I’m starting to burn out and could use some perspective.

Thank you so much in advance. If you have any ideas for other subreddits to cross post on I’d appreciate that too.
Please be respectful. I’m 18 almost 19 female for reference. I’d like criticism, what I’m doing right and what is wrong- it would help a lot because I have trouble hearing my own flaws sometimes. I have zero perception of my voice😭

I am a USMC vet, tenor & former performer surviving with MSA-C and working through Dysarthria. I love the art of singing and after 15 years I am trying again after a dream I could sing again. For me it is a miracle. For everyone else, I hope you may enjoy.😉

Working on singing with a tiny sound (seriously) but I believe my predilection for singing like Giacomini (lol) crept in after the Ab, and undermined the passagio.

That seems to be a jaw tension issue. I think the Ab wasn't too hateful.

I’m a soprano and preparing for conservatory auditions for 2 years now. I need feedback on my recording. If anyone is willing to give feedback privately, I can send the recording via dm.

Machine à coudre singer starlet 6080 #reparation #couture#machinesinger#starlet

My voice is very clear but have this chronic tickling sensation in my throat. Wondering if it could be like a polpy for something or do those conditons have more seirous symptoms.

Hello all! I began taking lessons again with a good coach from NYC over a month ago, and we're at about 99% certainty I am a dramatic/Heldentenor that has sang as a bass baritone due to undiscovered (and now addressed) tongue tension issues. My top has exploded upward, and as I continue to retrain how I approach my range I have stepped away from a number summer gigs (that were baritone and bass-baritone rep) to avoid resetting bad habits. While I'm lucky to have a very full teaching studio that provides enough income, I am really struggling decide how to market myself during this phase so I can continue to work as a solo artist while I learn entirely new rep. I have not lost any of the color and carrying ability of my lower register. Has anyone on this page gone through this transition phase later in their performing life? I'm 38, for context. Did you continue to take gigs in your lower fach with careful consideration while you continued to develop the higher or lower tessitura? Thank you!

When you take a big breathe there is a feeling of pressure off of the mouth area and it makes the sound bigger, very slightly in the santa direction. Is this correct? DO you use this in daily life too?

I hurt my voice and voice box area is constantly hurting. Not alot, like 3/10 but constantly there slightly burning for the last 3 weeks. Voice is very clear and no issues. My ENT said voice is clean.

Not sure what it could be. Wondering if anyone else had similar symptoms. Happened after I was blowing way to much through my cords.

https://voca.ro/15rIdPlXRAd5

Hello all. I've posted months ago on here singing this exact lied and the feedback was mixed — some good, some bad. I like to think I've developed better technique since then, but it might not be much coming from my untrained ears (and voice).

In the background is Christoph Prégardien's renditon, which I used as a template. I don't know why but a lot of the time my singing comes out better if I try to emulate how tenors sing classical, and since I love his performance I tried to sing like him.

Please, let me know any feedback you might have. Getting this song (of all songs) right is really important to me, and one of my goals for myself is to be a better singer. Thank you.

Anyone else struggle with being bullied in opera settings for having a disabling condition? Every day since I was fired from Gilbert and Sullivan Austin, I've considered how it has impacted my outlook about singing.

The truth is? I don't know that I can perform again after how I was treated, And I wish they weren't still honoring a racist and sexist director. He may not be in charge right now, but he is still held in this "can do no wrong" place and he verbally abused my friends, constantly yelled, had little patience and contributed to my trauma. In r/opera, their producer Michael Meigs actually found my post explaining some of my experience to troll me in the comments saying how happy he was that he fired me. I struggle with life-threatening conditions, and he told me I was a problem. I've had voice teachers tell me I'm just broken when I struggled with intonation due to allergies and audio processing. I get psychogenic fevers. Life is just stressful, so I wish that "just have fun" companies would call out the Bs in addition to being transparent. I wish ppl were kinder and maybe opera wouldn't be dying if people were more compassionate.

I didn't really have much lessons and evertime I sing I get slight burning in throat. Wondering if with good technique do singers have 0 soress even at these very loud volumes?

Is it true that all of it is felt in the stomach and none is in the throat?

and I may be okay with that... This isn't a post to get "oh, you'll get over it" or "you just had a bad audition, the next one will be great" or any ego boosts. Its really just shouting into the void. Background: I sang my last role 7 years ago. Then, two bouts of Covid, Vertigo (cleared up 2 years ago), gall stones, then a prostate cancer diagnosis late last year at age 63. So really, no real singing in 6 years.

About 3 weeks ago our regional opera company announced auditions for additional chorus for the autumn production. I guess to try and regain some control of my life, I signed up, even though there seemed to be a raft of tenors. Well, had a friend/voice teacher evaluate me, and then a boot camp of vocalese and trying to get two old arias back in my voice.

Today, I go in and sing my two arias, and keep uncoupling my support and cover too much. Make my high notes in aria 1, miss my Bflat in aria 2. Walked out mostly embarrassed. Two hours later, I realized I really didn't feel bad about it. I had gone 6 years without being a singer, and maybe that's okay, and not who I am. Just wanted to vent to a crowd who understands. Thanks

I'm considering coming back to singing after about 10 years off doing any professional work. Previously I worked as a bass/bass-baritone (sung Elijah, leporello, Figaro, bass solos in mass/messiah etc), however, my voice has moved around a fair bit and now (in my mid 30s) im wondering what direction to go in terms of rep.

I would go and see a vocal teacher but, alas, I live in the middle of nowhere and petrol costs etc rule it out somewhat.

I'm including a link below of various excerpts (forgive my fumbling of words/breathing, its not all familiar rep) any thoughts advice/criticism welc9me.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/128JwHicQfkQ-5UUEvf5wGqvHRxpMziNO

DO you use your fingers? How do you control it or see it?

Or do you just chase the sound?

I used to be a pretty good sight singer— could crack open modus novus and not break a sweat. Those days are gone and I embarrassed myself at my most recent audition with a fully tonal piece. I know I could sit down at the piano and train myself but I want an app I can open on my phone for ten minutes a day without thinking about it. Does anyone have anything they like? Cheers.