I get this question all the time: “How can I sing high notes with ease?”
High notes are easy…once correct technique is learned. Trying to sing high notes without correct vocal technique is like trying to find a narrow path in the dark. Consider the professional golfer. They make it look so easy when they step up to the ball and blast a drive 325 yards right down the center of the fairway. Yet each golfer has a different approach to their swing. The mechanics generally remain the same: they have the proper balance, weight shift, club head speed, rotation and follow through when the hit a ball perfectly – but each golfer has a distinct swing. It is the same with every singer. You must have a proper technique and foundation in order to sing high notes, but your approach will be different from other singers that are using the same technique and foundation. This is why it is so critically important that you experiment some with your voice. Remember, your vocal cords and resonance chambers are unique, so cookie-cutter programs and lessons will not completely form you into a fantastic singer of high notes. While they can give you the proper vocal technique and foundation, they cannot give you all the results you want. You must experiment and discover your own voice!
With that being said, singing high notes can be frustrating if you do not have the proper foundation. I will harp on this over and over again because it is so vitally important: you must learn vocal cord closure in order to build your foundation for singing high notes. Without vocal cord closure, you have no other choice but to blast out air in order to sing the high notes, which in turn hurts your vocal cords. Trust me on this one – you want to learn vocal cord closure before you seriously embark on singing high notes.
*View the article on vocal cord closure to get more in-depth details.
Once you have the vocal cord closure, you then need to maintain vocal compression in order to sustain these high notes. A loss in compression results in an imbalance in the voice, giving way to a break or crack during the high notes. Vocal compression will help keep your vocal cords connected while giving you an expressive texture on the high notes.
Once you have learned these two techniques, singing high notes will become easier and easier. This is not a magical fix that will cure all your singing troubles, but it is the pathway that leads to vocal freedom and beautiful high notes. Once again, you must continually experiment with your own voice to find out best way to achieve these high notes. Your voice should never become sore or begin hurting during your experiments. If that turns out to be the case, stop trying that experiment and move on to something else. Vocal health is crucial and you never want to sacrifice your vocal cords for a few notes!
Believe in yourself. Take the time to learn the techniques and the results will be rewarding. Until next time, sing on my friends!
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An execllent article with good points, I have been a lurker right here for quite a while but wish to become a lot more involved in the future.
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