It sounds like when you were a tenor you were a low one. Baritones can have a consistent Bb and can often sing as second tenor. Your voice just dropped naturally and moved you out of that higher type.

thanks for your last advise. I got a serious problem – and Im asking for your advise and help. Im currently enroled as a student at a conservatoire in classical singing in Austria. After every lesson I feel a certain tension in the area of my vocal cords. My teacher is forcing me to put much pressure on the vocal cords – especially in the middle register (from D4 to G4 and A4), also she wants me to carry up chest voice really high (she provoces me to sing “un aura amorosa” like a jugendlicher Heldentenor).

I agree with you totally – Im a light voice, but it seems that she wants to make my voice bigger than its actually is. Do you know a good teacher in Austria?

Unless you’re doing something totally bizarre to give yourself that timbre, I’d say that you’re a tenor with no hesitation. Your timbre is very light, and your top notes sound pretty easy. You still have technique work to do, but it sounds like you’re gravitating towards the right material in the Donizetti and Mozart. Stay in the light lyric side of things. If you can work up the agility, then you might look at Rossini too later, but that will take a lot of work. All opera will.

We can all wake up and sing pretty low notes, but they’ll likely go away throughout the day as we work the higher part of our voice.

I read your article about baritone and tenor voice. I’m 25 years old and Im kind of confused about my type of voice. In the morning when I get up I can sing a G2 (from baritone range) but at the same time I can also perform effortless high B flats and high Bs right after getting up. I just recorded a bit of my voice and put it on youtube. The finale note of Tonio in “a mes amis” and some arpeggio stuff with a high d, also the beginning phrase of Taminos aria in e major. Would be great if you could listen to it and tell me whats your guess about my “fach”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtBiUTKrdfo

Thanks man!

I feel like there’s something happening around B3 and I have to work more with my body to support it. For several months had problem with D4 and yesterday with new teacher I achieved F#4. It sounded like my maximum. Sound was consistent and strong as hell (I’ve got big voice) but I kinda couldn’t hear myself that mnuch when I was singing along with teacher. Voice felt placed very much on the top. It was very hard for me to support it and few more takes caused some muscular pain at abdominal area.

Note which I find is my middle and feels best is C#-D3. Not much chance to be dramatic tenor, eh? I have rather dark timbre at bottom while singing, but it brightens up on top.

It is entirely possible that you are a tenor.

You are still quite young – vocally speaking – and your voice is still in a slow state of transition. If you can, try to not worry about it too much. Are you working in choirs where you need to make a decision? If so, then sing whatever feels best. It sounds like that’s tenor from your most recent post.

Height, yes, can be a kind of indicator, but it’s not as reliable as we’d like. How far does your Adam’s Apple extend? That’s more reliable because it gives some indication of the length of your vocal folds. But I’ve seen tenors with healthy sized Adam’s Apple’s, so that’s not perfect either.

Baritone, yes, will feel bad if you really try to sound like a baritone. Again, you’re young, so you won’t sound particularly baritone-ish just yet even if you are.

But it does sound like you prefer tenor, so go with that for awhile.

I just can’t shake the feeling that I’m a tenor of some sort.
I have drastically improved my technique since the last time I posted but I am no where near perfect. I still find my high notes lack oomph short of shouting them out. I’m 20 this month for the record.

Updates I’ve found:
My voice is much more comfortable singing lightly. I prefer to sing above C4. I prefer singing lightly rather than powerfully.
I notice a slight change in timbre above D4/Eb4/E4 (breath support changes where exactly but it’s always around those notes) and another acoustical change and timbre change around G4.
The most unstable part of my voice also falls between the notes E4 and A4.

Using this easily produced way of singing the lowest note I can reach is A2 before I have no choice but to use vocal fry. I start sounding baritonish on my low notes.

I can sound like a lyric baritone and possess a similar range if I use only chest (like I would talking) but this is difficult for me and requires me to shout the upper notes of G4 and A4. It also hurts my throat to “sing” like this. I would describe this as feeling like every note is difficult in it’s own way (low notes feel forced down and upper notes feel forced out)

I keep falling in to believing I’m a lyric baritone and then changing my mind and believing a tenor. I read things about both baritones and tenors and I honestly could be either.
I’m tall and thin. Tall people are generally lower voices and my talking voice does not sound high which makes me believe I’m a baritone.
I feel much more free in my throat as a tenor though.

How can I decide for definite which I am?

Yes, that’s even better. More importantly, you and your teacher are doing the right things. Those vowel combinations will help loosen tongue tension. The breath flow exercises have warmed up your sound.

Good work.