seeing the “ flip zone ” as an opportunity , they are reluctant , or even fearful of “ flipping ” to access their head register .
A very few female singers may not have a head register at all . That ’ s true . But I believe they are very rare . In most cases , it seems to me that it ’ s not actually that female singers can ’ t sing around the C5 , it ’ s that they don ’ t feel comfortable “ flipping ” to access their head register .
They might say , “ It sounds thin ”, “ squeaky ” or “ I don ’ t like singing there .”
I have even had female singers say to me something like , “ I can ’ t sing that C ! Well , I can at home or in the car , but I can ’ t here with a microphone .” In not so many words , they ’ re saying , “ I have a head register . I can sing these notes , but I don ’ t want to when there are people listening .”
But if we are going to get our whole congregation singing - utilizing the tried and true “ C to shining C ” approach - we will need our female singers to be willing and able to access their head register , not just their chest register .
I ’ m trying hard not to generalize here ( especially as it relates to gender ) but I believe it ’ s true to say that most ( almost all ) female singers can sing C5 and even higher . But doing so will require that they access their head register . With a change of mindset , a little practice , better technique and perhaps some training , this ability is within reach ! Ideally - and as they develop their vocal ability - the female vocalist becomes less aware of any “ flip zone ” and is easily able to disguise any change between chest and head - moving comfortably from one to the other . That ’ s what the experts are telling me anyway . And that ’ s what I hear with my own ears when I listen to more proficient female singers .
Not so long ago in church music , pretty much every female singer was very accustomed to using their head register . Every choir alto or soprano knew that their more “ classical ” or even “ operatic ” sounding head register would be required . For hundreds of years choir music assumed that all the female singers - alto or soprano - would be able to sing significantly higher than C5 . This is how four-part choir arrangements - with soprano , alto , tenor , and bass voices each having their own distinct range - were made .
For me - as a kid growing up in choir culture and attending my fair share of opera - the head register sound of the female singer - whether she was an alto or soprano - was pretty much all I knew ! To me , that was the sound of female singers . It ’ s only by using this higher , head register that most female singers can possibly achieve the notes that qualify them as either an alto or a soprano .
But a female singing solo in her head register certainly has fallen out of fashion . Over recent years , we have grown accustomed to the sound of a solo , female singer only ( or mainly ) using her chest register . Perhaps especially in the genre that we might call “ worship music ” where the original , hit single version of the song is performed by a solo female , they will primarily ( almost exclusively ) use their more powerful chest register and avoid using their head register .
The sound of a solo singer belting out the notes at the higher edge of their chest register moves people . The listener loves the sound of the effort and passion required to nail those notes . It ’ s exciting ! When Jenn Johnson sings “ Goodness of God ” or Kari Jobe sings “ The Blessing ” at the top edge of their chest voice , it ’ s truly enthralling .
But the song key and vocal register choices for those professional recording artist vocalists are “ concert ” choices . And rightly so . They are performing and recording a hit single version of a song that first needs to be a great listening experience before the song will ever move to be warmly accepted and sung by regular church congregations . For the likes of Bethel and Elevation ( and other high-profile churches who produce many of the songs we sing in our church services ) the Sunday morning gathering to worship God blurs the lines between concert
and campfire - between performance and congregational singing .
But for the rest of us , we need to think differently : Make more appropriate vocal and musical choices that remind our congregations that we are not performing for them but , instead , we are inviting them to sing with us .
And so , to any female singer who feels like C5 is too high :
• I ’ m doing my best to feel the discomfort - the struggle - of what I ’ m asking you to do .
• But please know that I ’ m not asking you to sing like a solo , performer .
• You don ’ t need to try to replicate the solo performance of the original recording artists .
• Just show us how the melody goes in the female register .
• Please don ’ t strain in your chest register to reach the higher notes .
• Use your head voice !
• If you do , you ’ ll be giving other women in the congregation permission to do the same .
• When we ’ re all singing together as one “ voice ” no one ’ s listening to hear if you ’ re using your chest or your head voice anyway . At that point , we ’ re focused on God .
• It ’ s okay to feel a bit uneasy as you learn that your “ flip zone ” offers an opportunity and is not something to be feared .
• Thank you for your courage and self-sacrifice as you move beyond your comfort zone . For being willing to absorb this “ musical sadness ” so that we might all experience the higher joy : Our whole congregation singing together as an expression of worship to Almighty God .
Bethel Music Goodness Of God ( LIVE ) - Jenn Johnson | VICTORY
Grant Norsworthy founder of MoreThanMusicMentor . com