Meet F#

F# is the current ‘bane of my existence’.  It’s not that I bear any particular ill will toward F# in general.  I play violin!  I actually prefer F# to F-natural!  However, this F# happens to be the second one above middle C.

I thought that E was my biggest challenge.  I brought it to my vocal coach, saying “Is this just plain out of my range?  Is it an interval thing?  Should I just scrap it altogether?”  After some analysis, she came back with “It’s just waaaay up there.  You really can’t belt that out, it’s completely head voice.”  We got down to work, and it has become a little better.  Don’t be fooled, though.  There is plenty more work to be done on it.

So, along comes F-natural.  I find that it is somewhat hit-and-miss.  Perhaps I’m not warm enough, or maybe I’m not loose enough.  Tension is a problem with me.  Maybe I’m just not making the face!

Aside:  It’s a real thing.  I stand in front of my coach, and she says, “I suspect that this can be more extreme.  It isn’t supposed to be pretty.  Offend me!”  So, I make the face.  It isn’t pretty.  The sound is offensive.  But it gets EASY!  Because there are physiological changes that happen by engaging those muscles!  My stage performance may get interesting…

More aside:  We talk about extremes a lot.  In the end, we usually want a happy medium, and I tend to find that happy medium by exploring the extremes.  I can’t remember exactly what we were doing, but my coach said that my “Ah” was sounding a little too open, and she wanted to hear me flatten it out more so that it became more of an “a” (like ‘cat’) and less like “o” (as in ‘calm’).  Let me tell ya, I flattened it all right!  She immediately said, “OK, that was too much!” and praised my exploration of the extreme in the same breath.

Back to F-natural.  It seems to be in every flippin’ song!  Why can I hit it just fine in this one, and then feel like I’m reaching and straining in that one?  It’s the same note…

Fearless Leader says he really wants to cover this other song.  I really want to cover it, too!  The first chorus?  No problem.  The second chorus?  It feels higher…  The third chorus feels even higher still!  It turns out, the first and second choruses are the same.  The third is, in fact, a third higher.

And starts on F#.

The second one above middle C.

At the moment, it is THE highest note I have been asked to perform.