Moving Between Registers
One of the most difficult aspects of singing is achieving an even tone when moving between low and high registers. Most mature voices have a vocal range of about 2 octaves (approximately 13 or 14 white notes on the keyboard).
When moving from high notes to low notes and back again, many singers have one or more notes near the middle of their range that require(s) practice to develop an even tone. As mentioned earlier, this is called the break. The eventual aim of a singer should be to have the all the notes in their range, from the lowest notes of the chest voice up to the highest notes of the head voice, connected in a smooth, even manner.
A good way to work at reducing the effect and severity of a break is to practice slurring from one octave of a note up to the next octave of that note, and then back down again to the original note. This is demonstrated in the following example, which begins on a C note and glides up to another C note an octave above, before falling back to the first C note. This pattern then continues up a semitone on a C# note, then a D note, and so on up to a G note. This example is not notated, so you will need to listen carefully to the recording. If some notes feel too high or too low for your voice, start and finish on whatever notes feel most appropriate for you. As you move through the different pitches, try to keep each note at the same volume and tone as the preceding ones. Work on this exercise for short periods and remember to stop if you feel you are straining your voice.
