If you’re struggling with high notes, let us assure you that even the best singers have been where you are someday. The only thing you need is time, practice and patience, so follow these tips and you’ll be singing like Adele or Freddie Mercury in no time at all.
Obviously, for stepping out of the bathroom concert stage and into the real one, a vocal coach can provide you with the right direction and guidance. But until then, these no-frills-attached tips can help you hit all the notes just right.
Warm Up Exercises/Songs
Both amateur and professional singers incorporate warm-up exercises before practice sessions because it leads to many inadvertent accidents or injuries. Voice training scientists have introduced a new method which advices singers to sing into a straw, as a way of modulating their voice. To begin, find a 1/8in straw and start slowly with songs that have minimal tonal shifts.
After the warm up session with straws, you can then proceed with some single song exercises that are more suited to your vocal range. This preliminary stage sets you up for the higher notes without creating excess stress.
Identify Intensity
One of the important aspects of singing is the amount of intensity which varies depending on the song. Before beginning on any new song, you should listen to it a couple of times to identify the kind of intensity in every line.
Try segmenting the song sheet and using symbols or codes for various high, medium, or low-intensity chords. You will need to match your intensity according to the intensity of the song, so things to look out for include your twang, registration, vowel sounds, and larynx position as mentioned before.
Find Your Voice
It is important that you identify your own vocal range before beginning on an intense exercise of your vocal chords. We have four distinct voices – vocal fry voice, modal voice (spoken), falsetto, and whistle voice – and we habitually shift between these when singing. Before you can hit the high chords, you absolutely must locate your own voice and this can be done in a number of ways.
We would recommend that when a song calls for a falsetto, don’t try to reach the high notes while singing in your everyday modal tones. Try recording yourself on your phone.
Modify Head Positions
The next and final tip is to detect your head position and adjust it according to your requirements. For the high notes that require high intensity, you need a new belting technique with a raised head position. A lower head position allows you to belt out the sweeter tones, without letting you hit the powerful highs. Just modify this in order to suit the song you might be singing.
Locate the Larynx
The larynx might just be one of the most important biological parts of any singer because it is where your sound comes from. It rises as you sing higher tones and lowers accordingly, too, so trying to force yourself to sing a high pitch when you’re in a low-larynx mode is a recipe for disaster. When singing, you should observe the natural rise and fall of your larynx and decide on suitable techniques for the same. Practice breathing in through your diaphragm, and strengthen it through regular exercises as well.
Watch out for the “er”
Twanging is an important part of a person’s singing career, and it’s nothing but the simple “er” sound produced while singing. When trying to sing high tones, do not hold back on the “er” sound you produce. Although there is a slight catch in this: too much of an “er” sound in your voice can render it nasal, and unless that’s the style you’re going for, you should be on the lookout for it. The general rule to follow, however, is that the higher the tone you’ve chosen, the greater the twang necessary.
Try Vowel Singing Methods
Singing exercises lay a lot of emphasis on vowels as a means of gaining expertise over different vocal ranges. Different vowels tend to have different effects on a person’s voice, and you’ll get to gradually see this as you keep singing. While working on a particular song, try to identify the vowel sounds and see what works better with each such shape. Pop songs might have an overwhelming “Ooh” sounds, so if you’re into pop, emphasize on picking it up for your pop repertoire and using it accordingly.
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— shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) February 19, 2016
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