What is a cover?

 In an adult male voice, there are four different sections: the low register, the middle voice, the high voice, and the falsetto section (Hines The Four Voices of Man).  Between the middle and high register, there is a passagio where males need to cover for a number of reasons: 1.) It allows a singer to sing higher with more security.  2.) Cover allows a more noble sound without it sounding like screaming.  3.)  Singers can sing in their high register more consistently.  4.) It prevents injuries to the vocal chords over a long career.  5.)  Singers can bring the strength of their voice to their upper voice without it thinning out.   Most professional male opera singers use some form of cover or switch.  There have been a few singers that didn’t really use a transition, most famous being Thomas Hampson and Donald Gramm.  However,  even these two singers used cover in some instances.   

                   The reason a number of male students don’t use cover is it’s difficulty to master.  It takes many years to integrate it into a voice and one needs patience and constant practice in order to use it.  Very few singers can learn it and then use it at a professional level instantly.  Sherrill Milnes said the only singer he ever meet that was a natural singing talent was Mario Lanza.  Unless, you’re that 1% that comes out of the womb with this gift, you need to practice covering on a daily basis.  That’s where vocalizing comes in.  Warm-ups are not just to get singers voices started.  It’s a way to practice every pitch on every vowel and improve one’s voice.  It’s in these constant practice periods for ten minutes a day that ingrains cover into a singers voice.  

                   In my previous post I talked about my favorite resources on singing.  In everyone of these books and videos, each emphasizes and describes covering.  Most people would agree that Pavarotti was one of the greatest singers of all time.  Sherrill Milnes told me that Pavarotti had the most seamless transition into his cover and he was the greatest at it.  Listen to the king of the high C’s talk about cover (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo6dDQiBGyI).  In less then two minutes, he described cover, it’s importance, and demonstrated how to do it properly.  If there’s anything that I’d suggest to a male student wanting to learn this, find a teacher that knows how to teach it.  Listen to students that go into a studio without the ability to use cover and come out being able to use it at a high level.  That will be an important key to new singer’s success.