Breathy Mixed Voice

Hi Camille, 

After lots of practice, I still notice that my mixed voice is really breathy. Whenever I drop my jaw and larynx when I go higher mix, the tone gets even breathier. So that being said I have a few questions for head dominant mix voice:

1. What vowels and exercises can I practice doing to train better chord closure and strength for upper mix voice?

2. Do I need to strengthen my head voice more in order to strengthen my head dominant mix voice?

3. Is dropping my jaw and larynx supposed to introduce more head resonance in my mix voice?

Thanks!

1. Neutral (UH) to wide (HEY/YEAH) vowels will encourage more strength. I love using "bratty" sounds like NAY to encourage cord closure!

2. To me, there's so much overlap. I personally trained my head dominant mix just by singing in head voice and trying to make it stronger (using vowel modifications, bratty sounds, etc). So yes, strong head voice will lead to a stronger mix!

3. Hmm, not necessarily - depends to what degree! Dropping your jaw a medium/relaxed amount is helpful, but dropping it a lot can actually encourage a chestier sound. And as for the larynx: a lower larynx typically leads to a darker, more classical sound. It's impossible to "shout" with a low larynx, meaning you'll get less chesty sound. 

Thanks Camille! Should I try first singing and practicing those higher breathy mixed notes in head voice first to strengthen it ?

You're welcome! I'd always begin with something semi-closed (like a hum, NN, NG, lip trill, or straw singing). Those semi-closed sounds help to strengthen your high notes with the least "work" for your voice!