Ah, sorry I misread. It can be hard - some people are really good at making a falsetto note sound like headvoice, and it's doubly hard to tell through a recording. In person it tends to be more obvious.
It's no problem! Who are your favorite singers?
Well the music I play is basically indie rock so just a standard non-screaming voice I guess. My range right now is about A2-E4. Right at that E4 point is where I have to add more volume which sounds awful. I'm straining something. It just feels like I have to belt to get any higher notes.
When you breathe when you sing, do you take full breaths before?
If I could have a consistent C5 I'd be happy.
This sounds like an issue with register coordination and your ability to move into your passaggio or higher. Unfortunately I'm not a singer or a voice teacher (and apparently some voice teachers aren't singers themselves. I have no idea how this works.), but, hey, knowledge is power. Maybe you'll find this useful. Or at least interesting! Anyway:
The human voice is an imperfect instrument, and one of the 'problems' is that the voice is not even throughout its range. There are points at which the voice changes in how it functions, which causes a 'break' in the voice. While some singers are able to disguise the points of transition through training or disgusting giftedness, they exist in every singer. These are called vocal registers. There have been a great number of vocal register schemes proposed, from two primary registers, to three, to five, and probably more. More modern studies have confirmed the primary two register scheme, with additional "acoustic" registers, or options within those primary registers (like belting / covered singing / mixed voice). I think the reason you're having a problem at that point is because Eb4 is where the voice undergoes a register break:
In the lower part of the voice, the main body of the vocal folds are thrown in vibration. As the pitch ascends, the folds are stretched by the increased pull of the cricothyroid internal tensors. This is called 'active longitudinal tension.' The maximum pitch that can normally be achieved while preserving this configuration is about Eb4 (311 Hz), at which point the vocalis muscles are fully contracted. Beyond Eb4 a completely different adjustment of the vocal folds is required. At this point there is a quick shift of musuclar function as the active tension of the vocalis muscles is completely released. This is the so-called register break. Now the crycothyroid stretches the folds until resisted by the fully distended vocal ligaments, which are within the inner margins of the vocal folds. In this configuration only those inner margins vibrate.
Also of note regarding this point of transition:
"Pressure phonetograms, as developed in Groningen for trained singers, record both subglottal pressures and sound pressure levels, and show the relationship between them. [...] At the lower pitch levels (G2 - D3), subglottal pressures are fairly uniform; in the middle portion of hte voice (E3 - D4) pressures rise gradually; at E4 a 'pressure event' takes place in which there is a significant increase in pressure. This may be related to the glottal squeeze that becomes stronger as the passaggio is approached. Above the passagio, from about F4 - Bb4, there is a marked rise in subglottal pressure, reaching a maximum of about 60 cm H2O when singing fortissimo.
Once you learn how, you should be able to
effortlessly transition through this area of your voice. In opera, male singers use "covering" to extend the upward range of the "chest" register - it's some complicated interacting effects between different parts of the vocal folds and the surrounding ligaments that happens when the larynx is lowered below the point of rest by the action of the sternothyroid muscles. This allows operatic tenors to carry their "chest" voice up to C5, or sometimes higher. It's a
brilliant sound, but not the sound you'd be going for, obviously. Belting is actually quite similar to covered singing and is primarily differentiated by the fact that the larynx is not placed into a lowered position. If a pop singer was to belt, and then lower their larynx, they would achieve a covered tone.
In order to have a C5 in your modal voice, you will need to belt or used mixed voice; it's just not possible to carry up the same sound (without hurting your voice!) above that point without making changes to your approach.
Unfortunately as I said, I can't give you detailed advice on how to belt properly or achieved mixed voice. If you can't afford lessons, I would suggest a) first checking to see if there's anything to that idea that you have nodes, b) if that's clear, try seeing if your library has materials. My library has a number of DVDs, books, and CDs on learning how to sing; there are also a number of Youtube channels, including some by professional vocal coaches, that have short videos that talk about aspects of vocal technique. You may also find the videos in the OP useful; sadly the belting video has been taken down but the rest are still there.
Oh, and you'll find that oftentimes singing advice uses notions like "resonating in the mask" or "placing the sound forward" or "attacking the note from above." These examples of resonance imagery shouldn't be taken as literal assertions of what is happening in your voice, though. For instance, you are resonating in the mask, it is because with proper placement you should feel the vibrations in that area of your face - but the resonance is still coming from your throat and pharynx. These are pedagogical constructs (and have been used for centuries), and useful in that respect. Since much of vocal fold function is controlled indirectly, it's easier to try to sing a certain pitch while maintaining a certain tone and have your voice do it (because you have trained your voice to naturally do what it is supposed to) as opposed to somehow thinking to yourself consciously, "I will now vibrate my vocal folds at exactly 523.251 Hz." This is obviously nonsense; no one has that sort of conscious control of their voice. Instead, a singer knows the note she wants to sing, and if she has good pitch and good control, her vocal folds will vibrate at the correct speed. The advice you'll find will largely make use of these sorts of things, which is why it helps to have a vocal coach who can give you instant feedback on what you're doing wrong and model what sort of sound you should be going for. If you are able to correctly emulate the sound, your voice will be doing what it needs to be, even if you don't actually understanding how it functions.
