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Many people say that the first thing a beginner should do is finding the most comfortable pitches he/she can sing and then sing there. I myself, a beginner, don't know if "most comfortable pitches" really do exist. Sometimes I sing a little higher and sometimes a little lower. As a high tenor I probably project best with the higher pitches but it doesn't mean that the lower pitches is always less comfortable. The same thing applies to my speaking voice. I have a higher speaking voice but I am not sure there are specific pitches that are the "comfortable pitches". Different pitches have different sounds eg higher pitches have more power and projection but lower pitches sometimes require less power to sing but are not always easier for me. It's the same thing with piano. There are 12 different keys in which you can play a melody but no key is the "most comfortable". They just feel different.

Are there really pitches that are the most comfortable for a singer and for a speaker?

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    Yes. When one tries to sing pitches that are outside of one's "comfortable range", there is a feeling of straining. There also tends to be both a loss of tone quality and power.
    – Aaron
    Feb 2, 2021 at 0:27

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If you happen to have a range of much more than two octaves, and the songs you sing have an average range of around one octave, like so many songs do, then you won't have much trouble singing any of those songs in any of the twelve keys.

The problems occur when you have a smaller range of singing voice, and a larger range of notes in a song. You'll be stretching your vouce to its limits on certain parts of the song, in certain keys, so at that point, you'll need to change the song's key, so its range matches yours.

While some people's voices do have a wide range, there will still be points at the two extremities where the quality will suffer, so it makes sense to keep away from those places.

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  • I was asking this for one reason. There is a hymn (only one octave) that I can sing in both the key of G and B. Teacher often think the lower key should be easier and more comfortable. I say that both is comfortable. It's like being told that playing in C is always the easiest key. One pianist told me it is the hardest key for him. Why should the lower key be easier? Because we should love to sing with much chest voice? It's only certain higher tenors who don't really experience this?
    – user74879
    Feb 2, 2021 at 10:14
  • @andrewjohnsson This last question is simple. Try and sing the hymn it in E (the one 5 semitones above B). Then sing it again in B. You will see exactly why the lower key is easier.
    – fdreger
    Feb 2, 2021 at 10:21
  • the key of E (B3-B4) is a bit high and one octave lower is super lower. It is harder. Are you talking about baritone voices? I think they find that key easier but not higher tenors. I never said that I am a baritone.
    – user74879
    Feb 2, 2021 at 10:43
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    @andrewjohnsson - when commenting, always start with @ and the name to which the comment is pointed, unless it's the person who wrote the answer.
    – Tim
    Feb 2, 2021 at 10:59
  • @fdreger - Tried what you said and found that the version with the tonic of the B below Middle C was the easiest, with both the versions with the tonic of the E immediately above and immediately below that B being harder.
    – Dekkadeci
    Feb 2, 2021 at 14:03

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