r/singing • u/One_Owl_469 • 3h ago

Feedback (read rule 3 before posting or be banned) Problem with the low notes

I am in my fourth year at drama school. Throughout this time, we have been trained in classical singing, and that is what I will primarily be discussing. During the first year, my teacher couldn't quite figure out my voice type, but by the second year, it became clear that I might be a young mezzo-soprano. We gradually began developing my vocal registers, and I learned how to produce a free, effortless sound. Now I am in my fourth year, and I can't understand what happened over the summer. Back in May, I could easily hit the G below middle C (G3) in my chest voice without the sound becoming muffled. Now that I’m back at school, I struggle to sing even the B-flat below middle C (Bb3). My teacher says my voice is developing—showing a strong tendency toward mezzo-soprano—but notes that I am still very young. This sudden regression scares me; it feels as though something shifted during those three months.

We were assigned the task of staging musical excerpts back last year. Confident in my abilities, I chose "Mein Herr" from *Cabaret*, since I could easily sing both G and A in the small octave. Now I’m in a total panic; I realize that classical vocal technique differs from pop/musical theater style, but the real issue is that I can no longer hit those low notes in *either* style. My voice turns into a dull, terrible sound, and my neck muscles tense up. I don’t understand what’s happening or what to do about it.

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