Sing High Notes
Want to hit those high notes, but can't get your voice up there? Can't afford to get an expensive teacher? Try these steps to teach yourself at home.
Steps
- Warm up your voice. Warm ups can include humming to your favorite song or singing something like "Row, Row, Row Your Boat". Another great exercise for range increase includes humming your lowest note, then moving up to your highest and back down like a siren. Do it a few times, and you should already notice a difference. It is always best to warm up the middle voice before moving to the high and low extremes.
- Breathe correctly. You should be breathing with your diaphragm, in other words, when you inhale, your stomach should rise first followed by your chest. Stand up straight, and try singing some quick "ha, ha" to feel quick the quick puffs of air that come right from the lower parts of your belly. This is called "support" of the voice.
- Start in the middle of your range and sing higher and higher. Keep singing along the notes scaling up and down. Never strain your voice. Your throat should not hurt. Drink enough WARM water to hydrate your vocal cords. Don't drink ice water or milk before singing. Temperate water is best.
- Think about the whole phrase that includes the high note. You must support your voice continuously from the beginning, connecting the high note to the notes before it.
- Use your Stomach, not your throat. Using your throat on high notes will cause strain to your vocal chords, and that can really hurt. when you sing high, push out your tummy, so it sticks out more, like a blown up balloon. this may seem silly, but this lets your lungs take in more air.
- Remember that "high" notes are not actually physically in a higher place. They originate in the same location as the rest of the notes. Avoid looking up or tilting your head upwards, and try thinking of the note as farther away from you, rather than somewhere up in the air.
- Find the right vowel modification. Each voice has certain vowels that work best when one sings above the staff. You should experiment to determine which vowels work best for you. Once you have an idea of which vowel works best, modify (gradually) towards that vowel as you ascend the scale. (Don't be afraid to use mixed vowels like singing the vowel in "head" while rounding your lips like an "oh".)
- Yawn on those higher notes. When rehearsing, never hesitate to sing the word "yawn" for one of those notes in your upper range. The position of the mouth, to say that word, is the exact-perfect place to start when you're singing that note. It sets up the back of your mouth/throat perfectly.
- Repeat. Throughout a period of time until you get the desired results.
- Try singing your highest note and holding it out, then try the next one.
- Take your time. High notes are not that easy so do it bit by bit.
Tips
- Don't give up, you probably won't get the results you want the first time, but the more you work at it, the better you'll get.
- Don't be discouraged if you can't do it the very first time! Keep trying and don't let anyone tell you you can't because you can.
- Despite popular belief, hot tea and lemon are both bad for your voice. Not only does lemon dry out your voice, but anything that is extremely hot or cold will hurt your voice! The best things for your voice are simple vitamins and room temperature water. It also can cause a poor performance if you eat or drink one hour before singing.
- It is absolutely important not to strain your voice. Doing so could cause damage to your voice that cannot be fixed.
- Watch celebrities who can hit high notes and watch to see if there are any special things they do, and then try them out. (Some singers who can hit high notes really well are Mariah Carey, Leona Lewis, Brendon Urie, Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, and Whitney Houston.) For example, Adam Lambert sticks his tongue out when singing a high note. Find a technique that works for you.
- Open up the mouth/throat to hit higher notes. Keep a wide space in your mouth by making a 0 shape and keeping your tongue down.
- Make sure your throat or lips don't feel dry when you start to sing and warm up. If you start singing without warming up, either you'll strain your voice, or no sound will come out. Either way, you are going to hurt yourself.
- Breathe deeply and stand/sit up straight.
- It is best to know your range. Men especially take a long time to build range, and it doesn't help to force high notes that aren't ready to come out.
- Get a voice teacher to help you. You are more likely to accomplish something with a professional at your side. If you can't get a voice teacher, you'll have to work at home. It would be best to have some instrument at your side that will go high. The best choice would be a piano or keyboard if one is available.
- Start singing slowly at first, while breathing with your diaphragm. Take deep breaths with your stomach and project your voice in order to make your voice clear.
- Use warm-ups that concentrate on the front of your mouth and lips to bring the sound out of your throat. Ex: Mamma made me mash my M & M's - moving up and down in scales
- Another good technique for singing high notes is to first sing as low as you can go, this stretches your vocal chords so that when you sing higher they don't tighten as quickly, increasing your range. Never strain when singing below your range as your voice may crack, causing you to lose your high notes.
- Remember, you will never be able to sing lower than your lowest note, but with enough practice it is possible to extend your range as high as you want (theoretically). You should be able to have at least 2 octaves with work.
- Let the high notes come out naturally; your throat should be relaxed, not tensed. If you force it up, you are actually using your muscle to reduce the flow, which can hurt.
- Don't eat sugary foods before singing. It could cause straining in vocal cords.
- Try your best think of your target and aim.
- Practice every day. You won't improve if you let your singing voice sit idle; in fact, it might even get worse.
- Do not scream when singing high notes.
- Try to hit high notes using your stomach and abdomen, not your throat. It can cause a lot of damage to your vocal chords.
- Start with a simpler song that doesn't strain your voice. Then move on to the harder things. The simple songs will warm up your vocal cords for the harder pitches.
- For breathing, try imagining your stomach dropping. Make sure your shoulders don't move.
- If you tilt your head downwards and stick out your tongue to practice, it will release the strain of your throat and will help expand your vocal range.
Warnings
- Do not sing too much (if at all) if you have a sore throat. You're more likely to decrease your range than increase it.
- Be sure to warm up your voice, it will allow best results and will help prevent injury.
- If you really like a song, but you have to 'step the song down' by transposing to avoid losing your voice, if at all possible, do that. It is not a sign of weakness, you may be sensible by doing that, or just do a different song altogether.
- Most important of all? Concentrate on singing, and only singing. Keep remembering the ease you need to feel in singing, and the pitch you are trying to produce -- not what you'll be doing later in the day!
- If you feel any pain in your throat, stop! This could mean that you're straining your voice.
- The voice you hear in yourself is not the one being projected outside so try recording your self singing and improve from that standard.
- Never strain! Your head should always be in a normal position, and should never move up or down for note purposes.
Things You'll Need
- Voice
- Music
- Lyrics
- A song
- A well-tuned instrument with somewhat of a wide range (to see how high you get!)
- Some device to record your voice
