Singing at the bottom of your range, or the top?

[Crreeaammy]

When I perform songs I find myself gravitating towards either the bottom of my range or the top. I'm starting to try to work on improving my voice, and I was wondering, does anyone who actually sings well know whether it's better to lean towards the high or the low?

Here's an example of one where I sing high

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTP1MrN15Qg[/media]

Here's low

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi1TrRlGFAY[/media]

I find that high sounds too strained and low sounds too breathy. Which one is gonna actually sound better with practice?

Edit: I'm the guy btw

[DoctorSalt]

I don't know much about singing, but I do know you can expand both. I'll wait for someone who knows anything, just don't practice too much.

P.S I like the high range better so far, but I like both regardless. Keep it up man

[butre]

I think men should generally stick to lower ranges, it tends to sound more natural. In your case the low end sounds pretty good.

[kevaughan]

Keep at it

[Lord Pirate]

In the lower voice video, is that toward the very bottom limit of your voice or is it around comfortable speaking range? If both seem out of range then it might be worth adjusting the keys your play the songs in.

When trying to extend both ends of the range, you basically need to sing lots and your vocal range will slowly creep higher and lower. Make sure you have plenty of diaphragm support, and make sure you let the sound properly resonate in your mouth especially on the low notes (My teacher always used to tell me to imagine I had a whole orange in my mouth/throat).

It'll be more difficult to stop the higher one sounding strained (unless you try falsetto, but chances are it'll sound silly), than it will be to stop the lower sounding breathy in my opinion.

[Crreeaammy]

[QUOTE=Lord Pirate;38978572]In the lower voice video, is that toward the very bottom limit of your voice or is it around comfortable speaking range? If both seem out of range then it might be worth adjusting the keys your play the songs in.

When trying to extend both ends of the range, you basically need to sing lots and your vocal range will slowly creep higher and lower. Make sure you have plenty of diaphragm support, and make sure you let the sound properly resonate in your mouth especially on the low notes (My teacher always used to tell me to imagine I had a whole orange in my mouth/throat).

It'll be more difficult to stop the higher one sounding strained (unless you try falsetto, but chances are it'll sound silly), than it will be to stop the lower sounding breathy in my opinion.[/QUOTE]

The "lower" one is closer to my speaking range. I could sing lower but it'd sound silly.

Thanks everyone for your advice, I guess I'll just keep working on both

[falloutguy]

I like both the low and high a lot. the high doesn't really sound strained at all. you have a very nice voice. just practice every day and especially on the high notes try and keep your throat as open as possible. although you dont seem to have a problem with that at all in your upper range. if you're serious about it I suggest getting a good vocal coach. I got one over the summer and within two sessions I had already gained about 5 notes in my range. it can do wonders. but I practiced for maybe a year until I got lessons so yeah. you're off to a great start tho

[notgeogzm]

I don't sing as much as I play guitar but when I sing, I stick lower, especially after listening to Woodkid's music.