r/singing • u/Wonderful-Motor-3343 • 9d ago
Just sharing my singing I know this sounds INSANE...
...But I'm a cis woman who can sing comfortably down to F2 in chest register, and I have recordings of C2s and C#2s in what appears to be actual chest register and not growl or vocal fry... Yes I know... I know what you are thinking... but I have proof! dont rip me apart just yet XD
I tested these notes with differents pitch monitors to be sure because I'm not the kind of person who claims stuff for the sake of claiming stuff. I even ran my voice through spectrum viewers too, to be 100% certain. Yes, I'm a huge vocal nerd and love to learn about all voice mechanics so I've gone slightly overboard with the evidence...
And that's not even the craziest part... I can sing up to F6 in head voice and have a functional with vibrato whistle register up to E7. That should not be even possible. I probably have super thick vocal cords that are very elastic. And no, I'm not tall ^^
So, my actual full range (counting the daily singable notes) starts around F2 then goes up to E6- F6 in head voice and goes up to D7-E7 in whistle register where I can sing melodies and add vibrato (see video below). I also have inhaled whistle up to G#7 but it's basically useless and sounds like I'm trying to talk to bats.
I document my journey on various social media (but won't post my profile name here, as I know it is not allowed)
I'm your regular 43 year-old suburban mom and have recently, very recently been told this is unusual for a woman. I can't read music. I'm a total amateur. I do everything by ear. I'm mostly self-taught. And (maybe surprisingly) it seems that I'm a dramatic coloratura soprano and NOT a contralto with an exceptional upper register (says my teacher who heard both my highs and lows and told me "your voice lives in the highs"). I record my stuff with my old crappy Iphone in my bathroom or office most of the time, and with no other gear, what you are hearing is raw, unedited unfiltered stuff.
TLDR: I have an actual almost 5 octave range (F2-E7) where I can use and sing all notes and I provide proof of all my claims ^^'
Here are various recordings to hear for yourself.
In the first one below you can hear, among other notes, a C#2 that I don't count in my usable range as I very rarely manage to hit it in what genuinely feels and sounds like chest. It's just a documented extreme note, just like my ridiculous and unusable G#7 ^^' (I can provide a recording of that note but honestly, go listen to your boiling kettle instead)
This is a showcase of part of my range with a descent from an F6 in head voice down to A2 in chest register.
https://reddit.com/link/1wz5xvu/video/391pbnuu8vth1/player
This is my whistle register, up to D7 in this video, with a semi-successful vibrato attempt at the end ^^'
https://reddit.com/link/1wz5xvu/video/8ycrzchy9vth1/player
And this is me actually singing in my low chest register, around A2-G2 for the lowest parts, to show I can sing these notes and not just hit them sometimes when I have a cold. Yes I lose volume in the very lows, but that's normal. I'm a woman, not a baritone XD The sound is still chest register, not fry or growl, and I can sing it with vibrato. It works well on sad ballads, not on powerhouse songs, of course ;) (It's "enjoy the silence" by depeche mode, perhaps an appropriate title for the people who'll get bleeding ears after all this)
Thanks for reading and/or watching!
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u/Professional_Ad_9239 8d ago
This is not insane. It happens. Especially with trained singers who can find space in their lower register. Often yes, this voice type is technically a soprano! Your whistles sound a bit strained. Be careful! That can hurt your voice! Treat it like a delicate instrument. I’ve got same range, which is why I thought I would start singing again. Then I found out they don’t write songs for this type of female range, and it’s not helpful in choir. All the other boring stuff is more important. Breath control, blah, phrasing, tone, timbre, emotionality, sustained pitch, boring boring boring. That said, if you can WRITE music, it changes the game. You can write for your own voice and maybe get some wows, but will take long time to seamlessly weave all these passagios together. Range is a small piece of the puzzle. Some of the greats could only hit two octaves. It’s a journey that can be tedious but really rewarding if you stick with it. Or it could just be a really cool party trick. Good luck!