How to increase vocal range?

How do I increase my vocal range (higher) and what would one classify my vocal range?

• I am an 18 year old male and I believe my vocal range is baritone. My voice can reach down to the second D below middle C and the F above middle C without going into my falsetto (sometimes if I'm lucky I can MAYBE reach a G). Regardless of what my voice classification is, how can I push the limits of my voice higher than the F I can hit now? Because I would like to be able to hit the notes that tenors can (I am happy with my low range and don't want to go any lower).

• Answer:

  You need to train your upper register (falsetto) to be stronger. I guarantee you, people who sing higher notes than you can are not doing it in their lower register, they've just trained their upper registers to be strong enough to sound the way they want. Trying to push your voice higher than it can go, and especially trying to do that without switching registers, is a good way to hurt your voice permanently. It sounds like you have just enough knowledge about vocal technique and science to cause yourself some problems. Since you've clearly thought about this a lot and are serious about it, I think you should find a professional voice teacher to evaluate you and suggest some next steps. Keep in mind that a bad teacher can be worse than no teacher, so be sure to speak with several and not to bargain shop - you really do get what you pay for. You shouldn't worry too much about your vocal category, because those are really just words. But what you *should* worry about is singing only things that your voice can sing safely. A qualified teacher can help you figure out what those things are. You probably can increase your high range, but you just want to make sure to do it in a way that doesn't hurt you.