How long does it take to sing an opera high C?

[@TheandricOfficial]

Thank you for the reality-based non-clickbait presentation regarding the high C! An oasis of helpful information amidst a desert of misinformation!

[@joshualindsayvoicestudio6022]

You're welcome! Thanks for the comment! Yes, I wanted to give a reality check on the amount of time it actually takes to sing high C. Most people want a quick solution to be able to sing high C, but unfortunately it doesn't work that way. It takes a lot of time, training, practice and great vocal technique.

[@DarthCiliatus]

I'm 23 and I have a high C. I'm a higher and fairly light tenor (although I've certainly met several higher and lighter tenors) with a passagio at G4 and although I've only been singing seriously for about 2 years I was lucky enough to get some excellent teachers that helped me build good technique. I'm working on Corner of the Sky from Pippin right now and I'm hitting the high C at the end in full voice instead of falsetto like most versions I've listened to. I also spent my teenage years belting out rock and metal in my car (Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, etc) that frequently goes higher than high C although with more CT dominant technique (and reliance on a microphone for volume) than what you find in classical or opera. I've pretty much always pursued tenor parts because I have nothing reliable below a quiet A2. I can sometimes get a G2 but usually G2 and G#2 is just fry for me so baritone parts were out of the question for the most part.

[@bradleymonroemusic4688]

I am a 28 year old tenor most likely to develop into a full lyric tenor that can sing with a heavy flair enough to sing dramatic tenor repertoire and can sing high Cs plenty of time but mostly never sang any higher reliably than the high C is the A4 and B4 (high B).

[@MichaelRainboy]

If your passage is around G and no trouble or passagio around F and F# you're totally going contratenor

[@iii-ej5qj]

A GOOD experienced vocal pedagogue can always teach to hit high C. In my singing class there wasn't any tenor who was unable to hit it. What's time consuming is developing overtones up there, i.e. so that the note sounds beautiful and worthy of showcasing on a stage. Young tenors have it, it's just a straight, loud, boring note, often sounds squeezed because of lack of overtones.

[@joshualindsayvoicestudio6022]

True, a great voice teacher of any voice type is quite invaluable! There is also a big difference between warming up to high C, and having a performable, operatic high C that people would come and pay money to hear.

[@TheeJordanRossi]

I'm a Light Lyric Tenor who was miscategorized as a Baritone because I have a fairly strong lower register. It's crazy how that happens.

[@joshualindsayvoicestudio6022]

Yes, that happens sometimes. I was a lower tenor and so my high notes were weak when I was a teenager and so my teacher trained me as a baritone.

[@zoteck9177]

You are certainly a baritone…it’s the most Time baritone who are confused with tenir because they have a strong head voice to hit a c5. A pure tenor is rare and doesn’t have a good Low registrer

[@geminikid1617]

@@zoteck9177this comment is as inaccurate as it gets. Nothing you’ve said is true. It’s the other way around.

[@TheeJordanRossi]

@ I'm not going to argue with weirdos over the internet. I've been classified by somebody who's actually qualified to make that distinction. My passaggi is solidly tenor.

[@Celatra]

literally me, the entire internet keeps calling me a baritone because i have solid C#2's and sometimes even solid C2's (but they're quiet and i lose vocal thickness past A2, tho sometimes im able to carry it to a C2 with really good morning voice) but my passagio is around F#4 despite all that.

[@DarthSupremeus1020]

This was a really well done and informative video. A lot of the singing videos I get on here about high notes are normally complete clickbate. Again, this was incredibly informative. I am 18 and a dramatic tenor with a passagio of F/F# and a consistent A4, and I have been training classically for about 6 years now. I keep wanting to go higher (I know I have the range because I have sung as high as B4 before) but my voice isn't yet fully developed, and I keep beating myself up over it. Knowing that most tenors don't have their voice fully developed until they are 26-28 is really interesting and honestly helped to reassure me that I will hopefully be able to do it one day with enough patience and dedication. I am glad the algorithm recommended this video.

[@quayscenes]

Really enjoyed that. I sang popular music in my younger days with very little formal training and have always sought to expand my range. I used to be F#4/G4 before going falsetto. Now I am closer to E/F. But my lower range has increased to an "early morning" C2 - down from the E2 of my teen years.

[@mpaezmusic]

Great video! Awesome to keep learning from you! I'm finally able to consistently hit high C's but sometimes lack the laryngeal depth needed to create the overtones I want. I'm sure with more time and practice it will come!

[@everly_the_first]

I feel like the best way to learn it might be to practice countertenor technique and then bridge your chest voice into a mix up to it. I can sing up to a decent F#5 because of this.

[@joshualindsayvoicestudio6022]

I take a similar approach as well. I sing in true false, and then I tried to abduct the vocal cords, a little bit in falsetto, and then I move over to chest voice.

[@everly_the_first]

Yeah, I won't pretend I'll ever hit a C5 in full chest voice, but I'm personally content with a mixed voice version as I'm primarily a bass-baritone and countertenor / contralto.

[@Oberon90]

Gregory Kunde is still singing very high, Salvatore Fisichella is now 80 something and still going strong. Many rock tenors with good technique sing far higher than high C and they do this for decades. Angelo Loforese sang high C’s into his 90s. For me, it’s much more about technique and the right training.

[@joshualindsayvoicestudio6022]

True, there are some tenors that have great longevity and are able to sing high C in their 80s, but it is rare. Not impossible, however. I think it’s part genetics and part how you treat your voice. If he has your voice like the guys in AC/DC, you probably won’t the singing high C in your 80s. 😀

[@ZENOBlAmusic]

They are very, very light tenors with very small voices, that does make a difference.

[@Oberon90]

@@ZENOBlAmusic yes, very very small voices. No Squillo and no technique, especially Kunde when he sings Calaf, Otello and Pagliacci with 70+ years and is jumping in for colleagues that are 30 years younger. 😜

[@Максим-с9ы5т]

​@@ZENOBlAmusic What? Angelo Loforese started his career as baritone.

[@LostSoulAscension]

30 years old this year, Im probably some kind of bari tenor. I can hit a high C and even Db with a very much head voice approach, some chest ofc, but it no where near sounds like the operatic tenors like the Corelli and Pavarotti examples. I can hear my sound getting there. It's so weird how the body works, but I like how you mentioned strength, I got sick last month and I am realizing my come back has been terrible cause I also just havent been exercising much in the last 3-6 months. Not that we need to brute force our High C, but the intercostals and all the muscles of the body need some buoyancy and stretching and constricting usage in other contexts to wake up the body. Stretching, push ups, pull ups, etc. All help a bit within reason. But yeah, I think there's a genuine misconception too as to how much effort is required for High C. We want that minimal effort and relaxation, and ease of stretched cords right? But maybe some integrity in the body combined with a trained looseness of the body. We gotta workout to build the body up but we also have to learn how to relax all that musculature and stretch out the new muscular fibers after exercercising. But man, Im even learning about the importance of Onset rn from Richard Miller's book, so many pieces, Apoggio, etc.

[@joshualindsayvoicestudio6022]

I like your insights! Thanks for the comment! I think you're spot on!

[@eemoot]

Im 19, and I'm not even a tenor. And I can still sing a C5. Passagio is E4. Everyone can sing a high C, and your natural range shouldn't determine your ability. I could only sing D#2-D#4 just a few months ago. You just need the right path which you discover yourself.

[@keegirose]

took me about a decade of training and turning 28.

[@joshualindsayvoicestudio6022]

That sounds about right! Good job sticking with it!

[@natsuplay8808]

Those info about passagio really helped me a bunch thanks i never trained my voice with a voice teacher . I am 24 years old now i am so impressed how true and accurate your informations are i mean f#4 was that last note i can do with ease and play around it what ever shap and darkness i can add but at g4 the strugle begin my voice love to crack like a donkey but the real strugle is g#4 i can only get over it by adding high volume .then a4 is stable to c5 but demending c#5 is a not i can do after a rested voice and i dont dare to spam it plus its low quality compare to bb4 .bb4 is my shiny note its the most beautiful one .i am singing gospel pop 😊 pls with those info can you tell me who i am vocally?

[@joshualindsayvoicestudio6022]

Thanks for the comment. I would need to hear your voice to give you accurate information as to what kind of tenor you are. You can check out my website and sign up for a voice lesson with me on Zoom. www.joshualindsay.com/book-a-voice-lesson.html

[@CameronTaylorSEO]

Nice haircut, Josh.

[@joshualindsayvoicestudio6022]

Thanks Cameron! 😊

[@jcgrejaldo6018]

If I may ask, how long in total did it take you to reach a high C or higher? What did you do, and how did you not lose hope when frustrated? Thank you for taking the time to answer.

[@joshualindsayvoicestudio6022]

I was probably in my early 30's when I performed professionally a high C. I started singing when I was 15. I inched my way up over time. I think my problem at the time was that I was bringing too much weight into the upper register and I would hit a ceiling and then I couldn't reach high C. Once I let go of that and kicked it into 6th gear, then I was able to sing high C and above.

[@0_0flextape72]

@@joshualindsayvoicestudio6022I’m a lyric baritone who’s currently dancing around this issue as my voice isn’t turning into that 6th gear. I’m able to sing up to a c5 through scales but it seems like past D4, I don’t know how to “let go”. It just doesn’t feel good, it almost feels like yelling up there. I have a good ring on the d4, past that I just can’t seem to shift. What exercises have you done to learn to “let go” as you faced your passagio?

[@ZENOBlAmusic]

The comparison between Pavarotti and Corelli is not that good here, because Corelli is live singing next to Brigit Nilsson who had one of the loudest voices, whilst the Pavarotti version is a studio recording, Corelli's high C's were as big as house. They were likely 5 times the size of Pavarotti's high C. He also started a baritone like yourself, I think he only sang a high around the age of 36, but he did start late.

[@joshualindsayvoicestudio6022]

Thanks for your comment!

[@gerodserg]

How to find the passagio? I don't know if I'm bariton or tenor. I can hit smth like A4-A4# in voice that sounds like full and F2/E2 in low. But I have a problem if I need don't just hit but sing some words there.

[@ilecier]

If you're talented, have a tenor voice by nature and get the right instructions you'll sing the high C either right from the start or in a day or two. If you need to stabilize it because you want to sing opera much depends on individual commitment and training.

[@joshualindsayvoicestudio6022]

If it only took a couple days to preform an operatic high C, the world would be crawling with Pavarotti's all over the place! :)

[@ilecier]

@@joshualindsayvoicestudio6022 Thorough reading before commenting is tremendously helpful. For those with correct instructions and the right physical requirements reaching the high C is quickly feasible. Stabilizing, strengthening and being able to pull it off in classical musical pieces at any time is another story. As I wrote, this requires commitment and training. How much depends on the candidate's talent and his will to work. Btw, for many tenors the high C isn't the real challenge as they can sing a note or two above that (operatic style).

[@leolacic9442]

Maybe in markt have Modul whit TRANSPOSE FUNCTION, like Guitar Modulator, but I am not shure that's have in a productions.

[@samuel379_]

im not an opera singer, like..not at all, however, i found myself finding the video soooo interesting and i respect opera singers so much, their technique is truly unparalleled.. im a 20 year old who's never had a voice lesson but has always been singing since forever, i've always thought of myself as a bass or baritone at most but this video made me realise i might actually be a low tenor? cause i can sing around g4 and g#4 in chest voice if i want to (of couse the technique is not the best i assume), i tend to sing in mixed voice mostly tho! i've always had so many doubts about my true vocal type cause my speaking voice lies at the top of the second octave and the bottom of the third, however i can sing in mixed voice up to e5s and my head voice goes up to a5 usually, i also happen to have access to the whistle register which allows me to sing even up to an a6 pretty comfortably, yet my chest voice remains the most unexplored part of my range, especially when it comes to belting,, still im glad to have found this channel !!

[@pepsiq210200]

Angelo Loforese good example. This man was almost 100 years old while hitting high C and above. For me thats insane.

[@joshualindsayvoicestudio6022]

Wow, that's amazing! I hope I can still sing high C when I'm 100 years old.

[@MrLuigiFercotti]

That guy who opened the video. 😳

[@rihannaimvu8834]

Small voices have higher notes that might make their voices seem big as for example, Michael Jackson

[@slavdob2637]

СпасиБог тебя,ты все правильно говоришь 🤝 Но я тенор и сразу саел ,,C" D,,,E 5

[@Celatra]

correction, Corelli was a spinto tenor, not dramatic, Del Monaco and Lauritz Melchior fit that category better awesome video though

[@ZENOBlAmusic]

Corelli was a dramatic tenor, it does not make any sense to think of him as a spinto. Corelli had a similar vocal size to Del Monaco, he had bigger voice Kurt Buam, McCraken and Giacomini who are known as dramatic tenors. How does it make sense for a spinto to have a bigger voice than many dramatic tenors. People that have seen Melchior, Del Monaco and Corelli have said that Melchior's voice did not travel as much Del Monaco and Corelli's voices, their voices had more squillo. The difference is really that Corelli sang more in the older prewar style.

[@Celatra]

@ZENOBlAmusic his vocal size was massive but his actual tessitura and timbre was higher than MDM's

[@joshualindsayvoicestudio6022]

Thanks for watching!

[@joshualindsayvoicestudio6022]

Very insightful! Thank you so much for commenting!

[@sina.faramarz]

❣️❣️❣️

[@joshualindsayvoicestudio6022]

I’m glad you liked it! Thanks for watching! 😊

[@sina.faramarz]

@joshualindsayvoicestudio6022 🫡🙏

[@8ypicals726]

I am female and thought what high C from males? Then I saw C5 and relaxed xd

[@deaddarkones1089]

look, maybe where u live u have high and low tenors... in my country i have high or low fear depending on the place i deliver my food and thats it... nobody sings in my country

[@joshualindsayvoicestudio6022]

That is quite sad.

[@megarockfreak]

How rare is it to sing dimash notes? haha

[@alancutouwu2327]

It depends on which vocal register u use

[@megarockfreak]

@@alancutouwu2327 I like singing when I've got you. The lowest notes of ave maria and most of all sos. But my highest notes are the staccato j'ai jamais été un ouisions. and d'un haut. Those parts in light falsetto. But I'm working to make it more classical. That in belting and even higher not for now. btw I'm also a bariton just like Dimash. who also likes to sing metal. edit: Eb5?

[@IcyX-u4v]

Thanks for the video! What would somebody like David Phelps be classified as? Here's an example of how he sounds like with a high C#5: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e52tYZmfeZWfocUm01s

[@joshualindsayvoicestudio6022]

I would consider him to be a medium tenor, based on what I heard. His passaggio is around f#. He has a ton of strength in the upper-range, which allows him to sing those fantastic high C#s.

[@ZENOBlAmusic]

Full lyric tenor. Most popular singers are either light lyric tenors or full lyric tenors.

[@SidneyZurhytt]

I’m not in opera but my passagio is around Bb and my A is clear and full I can hit the Bb but it’s a hustle, my head voice is weak! I’m lost…

[@hiiiii442]

Then start training your voice, just crying around doesn't do much good

[@Celatra]

your passagio is nowhere near Bb...tenorinos have it at like A4....most tenors have it around F4-G4.

[@SidneyZurhytt]

@@hiiiii442 I’m doing what I can! And I’m not crying at all!

[@SidneyZurhytt]

@@Celatrabelieve me, my passagio is around the Bb!!!

[@Celatra]

@@SidneyZurhytt that would make you one of if not the highest tenor in history.