subject: What You Need To Know In Singing Higher Notes [print this page] For a lot of singers a huge obstruction to singing high notes is psychological. You consider you can't sing those notes, therefore you can't! Maybe someone once told you that you couldn't, or somehow you have just heard recordings of professional singers and thought, "there is no way I can do that."
When you're beginning to produce your upper range, there are various prerequisites. Good breath support is essential, as is relaxation of the face, jaw, and throat. Another way to accomplish that relaxation is to hum as moving your jaw as though you are chewing.
Singing high notes needs use of your upper vibrancy, often referred to as your "head voice." You like the sound to vibrate in your frontal sinuses; imagine it as coming from the triangle between your eyes and the bridge of your nose.
You should come to feel shaking in your nose and sinuses, maybe also the roof of your mouth (soft palate). Do several yawn-slides, and commence each one at a higher pitch than the last. Think of the tone as being vertical rather than horizontal, and consider the sound as coming from your forehead and the top of your head. Visualize it as riding up in an elevator, and your breath is the device that makes the elevator crest.
A difference on this exercise, which also helps with breath control and tone placement, is the "buzz-slide". It uses a system that goes by several names: buzz, bubble-lips, lip roll. After a fine deep inhalation with good expansion, exhale using loosely puckered lips so that they resonate. When doing the buzz, try to feel the vibration in your nose and sinuses. Just like the yawn-slide, start at the top of your range and slide to the bottom.
Next, sing arpeggios. Take in a good breath with total expansion of your midsection; lightly sing an arpeggio (do-mi-so-do-so-mi-do) on "ah" or "oo". Start at an easy pitch, and start every new arpeggio a half-step above the last. Let your mouth open broader at the top of each one, but prevent facial contortions. Maintain an easy, relaxed, erect posture.
When you're comfortable with the exercises, go for a song to practice that has a few high notes in it. Firstly choose one that has only a few high notes that aren't sustained; the majority of the song should be in a comfortable mid-range. Later you can develop songs that stay in the upper range and need sustained notes.
A strong upper range won't appear overnight, but if you work persistently and diligently at the exercises, you will be fortunately amazed with your outcomes.
