What is a "mix"?

[sleepyguy1717]

Posted: 2/18/08 at 2:10pm

I keep reading in audition notices for female roles, "must have good belt/mix." What exactly is a mix? I've never heard the term before. Is that because it just applies to the female voice? Or is it a guy thing too?

Updated On: 2/18/08 at 02:10 PM

[Pippin]

Posted: 2/18/08 at 2:30pm

basically, you have two voices- a head voice, and a chest voice.

meaning your sound reverberates in either of those two places. A Mix is when you use both voices.

It is most commonly used when referring to womens' voices, but Men can achieve that sound as well.

[Prisoner 24601]

Posted: 2/18/08 at 4:20pm

I don't really know of a specific performance to use as an example, but it's what some people refer to as "fake belting" even though it is a legitimate style of singing. Like Pippin said, it's not a full on belt but it's not full on head voice either. What comes to mind when I think of a mix is a mezzo soprano voice.

[Juliash]

Posted: 2/18/08 at 5:35pm

Its a mix of your head and nose resonators. Someone is going to shoot me for this; but Idina Menzel does it when she goes high.

Belting is more straight out of your chest...

[dramatothemax]

Posted: 2/18/08 at 7:41pm

Hm, well Idina usually screams when she goes high, so I don't know I'd go off of that. A great example is Liz Callaway. Youtube her, great mix.

[Juliash]

Posted: 2/18/08 at 9:01pm

TRUE THAT; to Idina screaming.

Susan Egan also has a really good mix. Don't know why I didn't think of her earlier...

[Jesus]

Posted: 2/18/08 at 11:12pm

Anything Gavin Creel sings above an F is mixed. Its a really valuable tool for men, especially with musical theatre. It offers a lot of options when it comes to tone and extends your range a lot. All the really high wailing tenors use a natural mix usually without knowing it, Billy Porter, Darius Dehaas etc.

[dramatothemax]

Posted: 2/18/08 at 11:17pm

Gavin Creel and Billy Porter are my husbands.

[RunningInTheDark]

Posted: 2/19/08 at 9:35am

Mixing is what most men do, considering we never really venture into our head voice like women. If you ever have a teacher telling you to "belt" you should run away.

For women "mixing" is more important because some women sound more like their "belting" (using mostly chest) vs. "mixing" (think: Sutton Foster).

Personally, Mixing is a lot prettier than Belting (ie, SCREAMING!). Natalie Weiss, a popular YouTube star, has a fantastic mix.

If you feel any sort of buzz near your nose and/or head, you're mixing. HOWEVER, don't mistake this for nasality. If you can plug your nose and the sound changes, you're singing in your nose and dropping your soft pallat, which in MY opinion is bad. Others may disagree.

[nate2]

Posted: 2/19/08 at 11:46am

Why do you assume that anyone who belts is SCREAMING! If you belt correctly then your most deff not screaming. If you learn proper technique than you'll have a very healthy belt! EX: Marla Mindelle. ALOT of belters have beautiful voices! Updated On: 2/19/08 at 11:46 AM

[chinto1984]

Posted: 2/22/08 at 4:40pm

Sutton Foster is good example of a mix. Be careful what teacher teaches how to mix. Some teachers don't really understand the mix. Especially when teaching for guys. Look up Brett Manning online. You'll find a good answer.

[AnnaK<3LMIP]

Posted: 2/22/08 at 5:20pm

I think the theory is, the higher your soprano voice (for women) can go, the better of a belt you will have. Because it won't be screamin if you can belt correctly. Which is why classical training is so good. You start off training your head voice, and then your belt naturally develops.

[beyonddizzy31]

Posted: 2/22/08 at 8:04pm

The greatest example of a mix I can think of is very early Barbra Streisand. Get your hands on the Second Barbra Streisand album... her ability to switch between mix and belt is astonishing.

[chinto1984]

Posted: 2/25/08 at 5:31pm

Classical training doesn't exactly promote or teach the mix. The main reason is chest voice. You are able to mix your chest into your head voice with out disconnecting the vocal chords and head to chest. Mixing involves the proper coordination of the vocal folds to phonate. In order for this to work, you have to learn to sing in your chest. Not all classical teachers frown on singing in your chest. Classical teachers that have good experience with musical theater understand it more than those that primarily train opera singers. Pop, r&b, gospel, and even country singers learn to mix. Young recordings of Barbra and even Mariah Carey, are examples of mixing. You need to practice and keep the muscles in check because it is really easy to push and get lazy and weaken your voice.

[BroadwayBound062]

Posted: 3/8/08 at 4:22am

Running in the Dark " you ever have a teacher telling you to "belt" you should run away. " WRONG WRONG WRONG.....Belt, Mix and Head are all legitament ways of singing. As a voice teacher and singer I teach students and have learned myself how to belt, mix, and use just head voice. If you know how to belt correctly there is nothing wrong with it Idina Menzel belts, Liz Callaway mixes mainly but knows how to do both. I use a mixed sound when I sing higher notes with power but don't want the volume of a belt. In a simple definition a belt is singing above your break in a louder volume by raising the larynx. If you learn how to do this affectively, you can sing power ballads like defying gravity. You HAVE to belt certain songs or the sound wrong or don't acheive the vocal momentum you need.