WORSHIP LEADERS
C TO SHINING C : RECLAIMING FEMALE VOCAL REGISTER ( PART 2 ) | Grant Norsworthy
Congregational singing is highly valued in the Christian Church . Having every man , woman and child singing together - even though many of us may not consider ourselves to be “ singers ” as such - is an important expression of worship . A cherished means to show how worthy God is !
But if we are all going to sing corporately , concessions may need to be made individually . Generally speaking , male singers might need to sing the melody a little ( or maybe quite a bit ) lower than they might really want to . And some of our female singers might be required to sing the melody a little higher than they might want to .
But as we “ lean ” towards each other , a greater good can be achieved . If we truly value the whole more than the sum of the individual parts , we will be willing to make these personal concessions for the greater good . … in humility value others above yourselves . Philippians 2:3b
As we all sing , each of us - individually - has a sense of being just a small part of something way bigger than just ourselves . We are a community . We are Church . And we are expressing adoration towards and connecting with God . As we move into this worshipful experience , we can quickly forget about our own personal vocal comfort … or otherwise .
In last month ’ s article I described my finding that - if you want to use the traditionally ideal “ C to shining C ” approach to decide on song keys - you may find some female singers resisting , or even unable to sing as high as the C5 note that the approach requires . But historically , the C5 - and considerably higher - has been easily within the range of ( almost ) all female singers - alto or soprano .
The problem - I believe - is that female singers using their head register as well as their more familiar chest register has fallen out of fashion . But if we are going to have our whole church congregation sing together as an expression of worship to Almighty God , some women may need to use their head register from time to time too !
If female singers restrict themselves to only their chest register , “ C to shining C ” doesn ’ t work . We ’ ll have to have “ female ” and “ male ” keys for songs . Without the use of female head register , the melody - sung an octave lower by the men in our congregation - can become impossibly low for them . Our goal of having every man , woman and child in our congregation singing the same melody together falters !
This is the second article of two called “ RECLAIMING FEMALE VOCAL REGISTER ” and the continuation of a series of articles dedicated to the “ C to shining C ” concept .
Take this link to read Part 1 .
Many women can sing all the notes required for “ C to shining C ” using only their chest register . But a significant proportion will struggle . Those that struggle should be encouraged to develop their head register . If these female singers have both head and chest register at their disposal , C4 to C5 is easily within range . This will be of HUGE benefit to them , our team , and our whole congregation .
I ’ ve come to believe that most - almost all - female singers have or can find their head register . Of the very few female singers I have encountered who can ’ t access their head register , most sound to me like they unfortunately have some vocal damage - probably through incorrect singing .
Many of the leading , female vocalists I coach in church teams actually know they have a head register but ( for one reason or another ) they don ’ t want to use it when they have a microphone :
• “ That ’ s not real singing .”
• “ That ’ s my ‘ when I ’ m alone ’ voice .”
• “ Oh ! I didn ’ t know I was allowed to use that part of my voice .”
• “ I don ’ t like singing like that .” I ’ ve heard all those statements and others that are similar .
So , how can we get over this ? How can Musical Directors help resistant female singers become more willing to use their head register ? It ’ s a challenge for sure , but I have had some breakthroughs during some of my more recent
More Than Music Mentor workshops .
After receiving super helpful input from some incredible female vocal instructors ( including Sheri Gould and Voice Up Coaching ’ s Carolyn Baker ), I ’ ve started using a process that is producing positive results . Some steps I walk female singers though that seem to help . Maybe these can help you and the female singers on your team too !
It goes something like this :
THE SCENE
I ’ m working with a church ’ s team of singers , instrumentalists , and technicians for , what I call , a “ Rehearsal / Workshop ”. As is typical in most churches ( prior to a More Than Music Mentor workshop ) each rostered ” worship leader ” would pick song keys to suit their voice . Other singers with mics might support with harmony , or perhaps the melody if they can , but the