Why Your Voice Gets Stuck in the Middle (and Why “Forcing It” Isn’t the Answer)

“I’m working on my transition from chest to head and started using the straw… but right in my transition, I can’t get sound through without forcing it. Lower is fine. Higher is fine. But the middle feels stuck.”

This question 👆recently came up recently inside our Singing / Straw™ Studio community, and it’s one of those questions that makes me want to gently take a singer by the shoulders and say:

“You’re not broken… you’re actually right on time.”

Because when the voice resists sound right in the middle of the range, it’s rarely a failure.

It’s information.

And usually, it’s good information.

So let’s talk about what’s really happening here, and more importantly, what to change so you’re not wrestling your way through the passaggio like it owes you money.

“Why is it easier for me to sing through my lower and higher registers, but not through the transition?”

If I had a dollar for every time I heard this, I’d have… well, a lot of straws.

Here’s the pattern most singers describe:

• lower notes come out easily

• higher notes are surprisingly fine

• but the middle feels blocked unless they push

That “stuck” feeling isn’t because your range disappeared overnight or your technique packed up and left.

It’s because the coordination between breath pressure and vocal fold closure gets a little inefficient right at the handoff point.

In plain terms:

The system isn’t organized enough yet to let sound through without extra effort.

And listen, the instinct to force it makes total sense. 

Most of us were taught that if something doesn’t work, we should try harder.

But in the transition, trying harder is usually the exact thing that keeps it feeling stuck.

A quick note on language (because this matters)

You’ll often hear singers describe this as moving from “chest voice” into “head voice.” That language is common, and I get why people use it.

But here’s how I want you to think about it instead:

This is still one voice. 

Your voice, in fact. 

We’re not switching gears or jumping tracks. 

We’re simply asking the voice to reorganize as it moves from the lower register, through the mix, and into the higher register.

Nothing is breaking. 

Nothing is disconnecting.

We’re just navigating a coordination shift.

Why resistance choice matters more than effort

One of the first responses inside the Studio went straight to the real issue: resistance.

Because if the resistance you’re using is too light for where your voice is right now, the folds don’t get enough back pressure to stay organized through the transition.

That’s when singers start feeling like they have to “help” the sound along.

Instead of pushing, the suggestion was to:

• slide through the full range using two smaller straws together, or

• try a slightly wider option like the 4mm straw from the PRO

Notice what we’re not doing here:

We’re not making things harder…
We’re not muscling through…
We’re not “powering up”... 

We’re giving the voice just enough support so it doesn’t panic in the middle.

And when that happens, a few magical but very logical things tend to show up:

• the transition smooths out

• the blocked feeling eases

• the urge to force disappears

After a week or two, many singers can reduce the resistance again and keep the coordination they built.

That’s how strength actually develops.

Quietly. 

Consistently. 

Without drama.

“But I mostly sing below my transition… does that matter?”

Short answer: yes.

Longer answer: yes, and this explains a lot.

The singer who asked this shared that they feel most comfortable between E2 and A3, meaning they spend most of their time below the transition.

That context is huge.

If your voice doesn’t regularly live in or above the passaggio, it simply hasn’t had many chances yet to organize that coordination efficiently. 

So when you suddenly ask it to, it may say:

“Hey… can we not do this the hard way?”

That resistance isn’t a flaw.

It’s feedback.

This is exactly why straw work is so effective here. It lets you:

• explore the transition without overload

• give your voice time to adjust

• build coordination without brute force

When the straw is doing its job, you’re not making the transition happen.

You’re creating the conditions that let it happen.

Big difference.

The most important takeaway

If your voice only makes it through the transition when you force it, that’s not strength.

That’s compensation.

A voice that flips, cracks, or resists sound is not failing you.

It’s asking for different feedback, not more pressure.

When you stop fighting that moment and start listening to it, the transition usually shifts from feeling like a wall to feeling more like a ramp.

And that’s how real coordination is built.

If you’ve ever felt stuck in the middle of your range and wondered what you were doing wrong, chances are the answer is: nothing.

You just needed a different approach.

If you want help figuring out which level of resistance makes sense for your voice right now, that’s exactly what we work through inside the Singing / Straw Studio. 

It’s where questions like this get answered with context, nuance, and zero pressure to “fix” yourself.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.. your voice isn’t broken.

It’s learning.

And you’re doing better than you think.