It was in high school that I was first classified as a tenor. I was a "late bloomer", and so my voice was still going through some variable changes. Although I now feel comfortable and confident in that classification (after a few years of lessons in university), back then it was really hard for me to sing resonantly or "supported" in my full voice. I wasn't getting individual lessons during this time either. I was singing in extremely large ensembles, so there wasn't much attention on my singing. Instead of learning how to make healthy vocalizations in my full voice, I ended up adapting and singing almost exclusively in my falsetto/"mixed voice". This made me develop a breathy quality to my singing, and looking back now, I recognize that I was fatiguing my voice constantly. I wasn't able to train my voice to have good onsets. I also became very self conscious of any vocalizations made in full voice in my upper range, because I felt like they were too "tinny" or exposed sounding (my choir competed competitively and my choir director wanted a mature sound, I felt like I could only achieve this in my falsetto - my choir director and ensemble was promoting unhealthy habits). I ended up developing some unfavorable techniques regarding tongue recruitment/depression when singing in my upper range (in an attempt to sound "older") which I am still working to unlearn.
Even though I do recognize the validity of my characterization of a tenor today (I mostly sing classical music), being classified that early was very problematic for my development. If I hadn't had lessons in college, I would have likely continued to have unhealthy singing habits for the rest of my life. I think if I would have had more freedom in what I was able to sing at that age, I would have had more opportunities to sing in my comfortable range. It's difficult to manage so many young singers in ensembles, especially when they're that large. I don't blame my choir director too much for that reason. I do lament it, though. I remember looking back on a solo I had during the Fall of my Freshman year of high school with sadness about how my voice had so much potential then, only to develop unhealthy habits in the subsequent years. If I hadn't been "forced" to sing so high when my voice was going through changes, I think I would have had a much better/healthier experience. I'm happy for all the progress I have made now.
Comments