My Journey To Normalizing My Mix

Normalizing my mix has been a journey indeed. Learning how to sing better is not the easiest thing in the world to do, but it is very rewarding reap the benefits of hard training. For some, mix comes easy. For others, mix is tough. I would say I am a mix between the two (pun possibly intended).

Just to clarify, mix is generally the part of the voice that lies between your first and third bridges (or passaggios). Learning how to sing in this area of your voice takes concentrated time and effort. I know this from firsthand experience.

It did not take long for me to uncover my mix when I first started singing. I discovered my head voice in just a couple of days and my mix in a couple of months. Needless to say I have been rigorously training the two ever since. I must confess that I still have not mastered these two parts of my voice, and quite frankly don’t know if I ever will. But I do know that I am continually learning and gaining new understanding about singing in these areas each day that I practice.

I personally struggle with carrying too much vocal weight from the bottom (chest) as I go into my mix. Since I struggle with this so much, I have to consciously be aware of how I warm up my mix. I first have to start in a very light spot with a lowered larynx, just barely connecting in my mix. I may even have to do some edgy vocal fry exercises to get that initial connection. Once I find that connection, I vocalize lightly using “mum” on a 5 or 7 tone scale. I gradually bring in compression, moving from “mum” to “bweh”, from “bweh” to “guh”, from “guh” to “buh”. If I feel any of these exercises are too heavy, I go back and work on the previous exercise some more or switch to a light weight exercise such as “quo” or “pwee”. Only when I have completely warmed up my mix and placed it in a comfortable spot will I attempt to sing songs that require my mix.

Some days I have it – some days I don’t. When I am struggling mightily to get into my mix, I forgo mix training for that day and work on another area of my voice. Remember, there is always something to work on with your voice, so don’t get discouraged if one part isn’t working like it should. We are human. We have good days and bad days. We just have to make the best of each day. Always be ready to train another part of your voice when your mix is being ornery!