How To

Sing
Higher
Notes

Step # 1

Locate Your

Vocal Range

e: You will need a piano or keyboard to continue. First you will need to find middle C,
eferred as C4. If you are using a full-size piano, middle C will be the fifth C from the bottom.
see the diagram below:

Once you have located C4 or Middle C, play the note and try singing using the commonly knownsolfges
Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, and back to Do.
Make your way down the keyboard, singing each note in the reverse order,
until you reach the lowest note you can comfortably sing, while maintaining good tone.

You have successfully located the bottom of your range.

Now, again starting at middle C, repeat the process moving up the notes until you find the highest note yo

ce Youve Reached A Comfortable Rang

You Have Located Your Tessitura

Tessitur
a:

Tessitura is the rangeyou are most comfortablewith, in which you are able to sing the
notes consistently,
on-pitch, and while avoiding any strain.
This term can also be used to describe the average pitch range of a song or choral part.
This is your starting point, your foundation, or benchmark in
which to stretch your range.

www.vocaltips.ne

Step # 2

Stay Connected
To Your

Breath
Breathe

Breath Support
&

Singing High Notes

It takes a considerable amount breath energy
to sing higher notes than lower notes.

IT DOES NOT MEAN

PUTTING PRESSURE

ON YOUR VOCAL CORDS

Avoid straining to reach higher not

Proper breathing requires

resistance of airflow
using your diaphragm.

Step #
3

reathing Exercises For

Hitting High Notes

>Keep everything
expandedwhen exhaling
with the exception your abs,
which you use to control the
rate of exhalation.

>Focus on your upper resonance, better known as yo

Imagine that thetoneis vertical rather than horizontal, an

the sound you are creating, coming from your forehead an
of your head.

To illustrate: its the same as riding in an elevator, as you

breath is like the mechanism that makes the elevator asc

Feeling the vibration in your sinuses and the roof of your m

(soft palate) is very important.

ape your mouthso that it is horizontally narrow

ertically tall inside.

e like to think of it as someone trying to

ow something unpleasant while opening
throat just enough to allow whatever it is
o down without touching the sides.
while dropping your jaw.

>Start with yawn-slides or the vocal sirens.The yawn-slide is fairly

simple.
Start by inhaling and opening your mouth like you are trying to yawn.
When you go to exhale, make a hoo or hee sound. Beginning with the
top of your range, then slide rapidly to the bottom of your range. Each
time you try, continue to progress one a bit higher.
Vocal sirens are similar to the above, with the exception of starting at the
bottom of your range and moving up. Its much easier to do it as a hum at
first.
Gradually your breath support will become stronger, as you do the siren
up and down several times on one breathe.

>Try scale climbingbyrapidlyascendanddescendafive-tone

scale.Begininthemiddleofyourrange,usingeitherabuzzing
(alsoknownasaliprollorbubblelips)oravowelsound,like
ooorah.
DoyourememberthefamoussongfromTheSoundofMusic,
Do-Re-MI?
Well,weuseasimilarpatternasthat,onlywegofrom:do-remi-fa-so-fa-mi-re-do.
Basicallyyoustartthesecondpatternahalf-stepabovethefirst
andcontinueinthesamefashion.Itsimportanttohavegood
breath support.

www.vocaltips.net

>Sing staccato, meaning that you singshorter and lighter (less

weight), the notes you wish
to singhigher. Keep your neck completely still in order for your larynx to
remain steady.
Its important to discover all the little muscles involved in creating these
types of sounds. Rememberto use less pressure when hitting those high
notes, thus avoiding strain.
Clarity is key, so start with a longer note, progressively singing notes
that become shorter in order to hold that clarity.

www.vocaltips.net

Step # 4

Lose Vocal Weight

Vocal Weight is..

ed as too much thicker vocal fold mass used too high in pitch often
ving taking one register higher than it is designed to function in pitch

www.vocaltips.net

In other words..

have two main registers or areas where you create your sound known
r Head Voice & Chest Voice

ead Voice is naturally where the lighter part of parts of

our voice is created. The higher notes and thinner tones.
his is where we use the thinner, more vibratory control
ver our vocal cords.

est Voice is the area where the heavier parts of your

ce are made. The lower notes and thicker tones.
will use the thicker parts and less vibratory control
er our vocal cords.
www.vocaltips.net

The Point is..

Focus on using your Head Voice

When Singing Higher Notes

Step # 5

Free to Download