Learning how to sing well is one thing, however learning how to sing higher is a totally different kettle of fish. If you find that you can’t sustain your higher notes do not fret, this article will explain how to sing higher in a very short period of time!
Many singers learning to sing higher notes find that even if they expand their vocal range the variation between higher and lower notes take its toll on your voice, leaving you feeling extremely fatigued.
Tessitura
Tessitura is used to describe an average pitch range of a particular song, or the comfortable range you can sing at. Therefore, when you aren’t used to singing high notes you are pushing out of your singing range and may feel strange and uncomfortable.
Even mezzo sopranos have trouble with this, occasionally pushing their vocal range to sing high C notes, although their tessitura will be around high A above middle C. Vocal issues and strain will become apparent if they sing music where the tessitura ranges from G to C.
As you may be aware, the best how to sing higher method here is to raise your tessitura, which can take time and effort but is definitely worth it.The secret is in correct breathing combined with some upper resonance. Singing higher notes without correct breathing support can cause vocal strain, and eventual long term damage!
When you control your breathing muscles such as abdominals, diaphragm and intercostals you are able to regulate your breathing much easier. Once you can do this you can combine your breathing control with learning how to maximize your head voice. Learning how to control your head voice may seem difficult, however it’s really not and can really help you learn how to sing higher. Your head voice enables you to produce a sound which vibrates your sinuses.
When learning this don’t try to rush anything, this will only cause discomfort and may discourage any progress. The fastest way here is to take it one step at a time. A great exercise to develop this is the yawn-slide.
Exercises to help reach high notes
To do this open up your mouth as if you are going to yawn whilst breathing in. Now, exhale on ‘hoo’ or ‘hee’, beginning with the higher end of your vocal range and moving downwards rapidly. Do this a few times before pushing the boundaries to higher and higher notes.
Another great exercise is the five-tone scale (rapidly ascending and descending). To do this start within your range and use the ‘lip roll’ technique in the pattern do-re-mi-fa-so-fa-mi-re-do. Begin the pattern normally, although begin the second pattern half-step above the first. Keep doing this to maximize the effectiveness of this exercise.
