Chapter 9: What It Means to Have a Seamless Vocal Range

After Chen Chaonan finished speaking, He Hao continued to throw out topics, “Ying, Xiyin, do you have anything you want to say?”

Zhang Huiying stood up, visibly excited and somewhat incoherent, “Why doesn’t this show have a light-picking segment? Director, will the contestants be assigned mentors later on? Can Fang Xing join my team? No grouping? That’s so dull. Can’t the program rules be changed? Fang Xing, I want to tell you—whatever happens in the next rounds, this song, ‘Nocturne’, is definitely the best tonight. Director team, is there an A-class advancement card? I think Fang Xing should be in A-class—not to help him, but to help the other students in F-class. With him in F-class, how can the others even compete?”

Shen Xiyin gave two thumbs up, lavish in her praise, “This song is amazing! When will the official version be released? I want to hear the arranged version. Fang Xing, if you sing a few more songs this good, I might become your fan.”

After the three mentors spoke, only Liang Yusong remained.

Liang Yusong coughed lightly, chuckling, “This has become an international custom—you all say the nice things, leaving the criticism to me. The director team even assigned me the task of nitpicking.”

Host He Hao laughed and picked up the thread, “Yusong, what ugly words do you have for us? Does Fang Xing need to mentally prepare himself?”

Liang Yusong leaned back in his chair, adopting a thoughtful look, “I’m also wondering—what faults can I even pick out?”

Laughter rippled through the venue.

After seriously considering, Liang Yusong continued, “Here comes the ugly part. Fang Xing, let me ask you a question. Do you plan to focus on the fourth octave or the fifth in the future? I can hear your first passaggio is at G4. With a bit of mixed voice technique, you easily reach A4 and B4, and with such ease. Watching how relaxed you are, I’m sure you can sing even higher, but you deliberately avoid the fifth octave. Why is that?”

Fang Xing thought for a moment before replying, “I’d rather master the fourth octave first. High-quality notes in the fourth octave matter more than forcing the fifth.”

In the international notation, the fourth octave’s highest notes are A4 and B4. Generally, most men find it hard to sing above A4 in chest voice, even G4 can be difficult. So, A4 is already considered a high note. Delivering a high-quality A4 is far more important than forcing oneself into the fifth octave.

For example, Lin Zhixuan’s mastery of A4 alone is enough to dominate, with no need for fifth octave notes.

(Here, the capital letters C, D, E, F, G, A, B represent pitches, with C being the lowest and B the highest. The number after the letter indicates the octave; the higher the number, the higher the pitch.)

As Liang Yusong and Fang Xing conversed, the director team flashed a cue card to the host.

He Hao saw the prompt and steered the conversation, “Yusong, your comments are too technical for our viewers. Can you explain, in layman’s terms, what G4 is? And what are fifth octave high notes?”

Liang Yusong considered and said, “It’s actually pretty simple. For male voices, the natural range usually ends at F4 or G4. In other words, untrained men singing with chest voice will reach their limit at F4 or G4. What do you do then? This is where you need a technique called chest-head voice transition. The point of transition is called the passaggio. The difference between chest voice and falsetto is usually significant. Chest voice is fuller, falsetto is sharper. If you shift to falsetto at G4, you’ll notice that F4 sounds rich and G4 suddenly gets thin and sharp. This creates a big difference in tone between these pitches—what professionals call uneven timbre, or a break in the vocal range. Vocal training is all about unifying the tone below F4 and above G4, making it seamless. Of course, professional singers rarely use pure falsetto; they use mixed voice. In professional classes, we talk about vocal fold closure—but our audience doesn’t need that. Simply put, mixed voice is a technique combining chest and falsetto to improve quality in the transition zone. For most male singers, the first passaggio is at F4 or G4. Fang Xing’s first passaggio is at G4, but he’s polished it so smoothly it’s almost imperceptible. This makes his G4 and A4 sound like they’re sung in chest voice, with full richness—though he’s actually using mixed voice. I must say, Fang Xing’s mixed voice technique is extremely refined.”

The host, a bit bewildered, asked, “Yusong, wait—weren’t you supposed to say the ugly words?”

Liang Yusong coughed, straight-faced, “Don’t rush, here it comes. Fang Xing, your biggest issue is that so far, you haven’t showcased any fifth octave high notes. ‘Nocturne’ is excellent, but its highest note is only F4, which isn’t difficult for a professional singer. ‘Wild Bird’ is a bit higher, but only reaches A4. When will you show us some fifth octave highs? Without them, I can’t give a comprehensive evaluation of your vocal ability.”

At this, Chen Chaonan couldn’t hold back and interjected, “Wait a minute, Yusong, don’t mislead my student. Fang Xing, remember—vocal music isn’t about how high your range is, but about the quality you deliver in your best range. What you should do now is bring your current range to its peak. If you want to push for higher notes, aim for High C. Even world-class tenors only strive for high-quality High C, not blindly extending their range.”

A divergence appeared between Liang Yusong and Chen Chaonan’s opinions, though neither was wrong. They simply belonged to different musical fields. Liang Yusong works in pop music, where quality isn’t as crucial, and hitting high notes is more likely to win over the audience. Chen Chaonan, on the other hand, is an esteemed professor at the Eastern Conservatory, training students toward national-level vocalists, where quality trumps everything.

Thus, their viewpoints diverged. If Fang Xing were inexperienced, he might have been swayed by their opinions. However, with the foundation from his previous life, Fang Xing knew exactly what he wanted for himself.

…

Faced with Chen Chaonan’s rebuttal, Liang Yusong didn’t get upset. It was merely a difference of perspective from distinct musical fields, nothing worth arguing over.

Liang Yusong continued to joke, “Fang Xing, after graduation, you won’t have to listen to school lectures anymore. Let’s get down to business—will ‘Nocturne’ be released as a single?”

He Hao teased, “Yusong, earlier when Fang Xing sang ‘Wild Bird’, you also asked if it would be released. Which song are you planning?”

Liang Yusong suddenly thought of something and asked, “Fang Xing, do you have other songs?”

“Probably…yes,” Fang Xing sounded uncertain.

“Enough for an album?” Liang Yusong pressed.

“That’s confidential for now,” Fang Xing smiled, sidestepping the answer.

“Half an album would be fine. ‘Nocturne’ can be the lead single.” Liang Yusong kept persuading, clearly intent on negotiating business right on the show.

Host He Hao, seeing the conversation veering off track, quickly brought it back, “Yusong, we’re still filming here. Chen is recruiting students, you’re inviting songs—are we still making the show?”

Everyone was amused by He Hao’s jokes; laughter filled the venue again.

He Hao, seeing the topic finally refocused, moved on with the process, “The additional songs from both contestants have now been performed. I invite the four mentors to confer and give me a final result. Who gets the last spot—Fang Xing or Hashim?”

Despite the earlier praise for Fang Xing, until the final announcement no one knew who would advance. It wouldn’t be the first time a contestant was praised only for another to be chosen. Moreover, the director team had substantial say in the decision.

After the mics were cut, chief director Tong Fei stepped up to the mentors’ table to discuss. Initially, the director team had planned for Hashim and Shao Yu to advance. If one had to be eliminated from Hashim and Shao Yu, the director team would certainly choose to eliminate Shao Yu. Hashim, being an overseas returnee, proficient in multiple instruments and English rap, held strong appeal for rap-loving fans. However, Fang Xing ultimately chose to compete against Hashim, making it impossible to eliminate Shao Yu. Now, one had to be eliminated between Fang Xing and Hashim.

When Tong Fei approached, Chen Chaonan stated bluntly, “My opinion is clear—from a professional standpoint, Fang Xing should stay. Of course, I won’t interfere with the program’s arrangements. If you wish to eliminate Fang Xing, I won’t oppose it. But if Fang Xing leaves, I won’t participate in the next episode.”

This time, Chen Chaonan was here as a favor to a friend, lending support to the show. Yet, as a professor at the Eastern Conservatory, his attitude toward vocal music remained rigorous. Whoever sings well deserves to stay; eliminating a talented singer contradicts his professional principles. Thus, he had decided: if the program insisted on eliminating Fang Xing, he would resign as mentor.