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Articles on Singing Technique:

The Best Kept SECRET To Singing High Notes and Increasing Vocal Range...

December 12, 2007 by Paul Gasztold

How Do I Increase My Vocal Range and Hit The High Notes?

Almost every singer at some point asks this question because they have come face to face a limitation of their current technique, ie. the way they are using their voice.  In today's contemporary musical world singers with a high vocal range is the norm that most singers have a challenge achieving, at least with easy on a regular basis.

The solution to dramatically increasing our Vocal Singing range is to recognize how the voice works.

There are two schools of thought on this; the traditional ( also referred to as 'legit' ) and a more modern 'Register' approach which recognizes different registers within the human voice.

Traditional singing technique ( Classical and Opera ) treats the voice as one continuous register. The challenge with this approach is that it usually takes a long time ( years ) to increase your range by just a few notes. With the traditional approach basically either you have it or you don't... and most don't.

The great news for singers ( and surprisingly most don't know it ) is that the contemporary Register approach by design DRAMATICALLY increases up your singing range.

Most of the most popular singers in the world use the Register approach whether they know it or not. Some just stumbled upon it. Most were fortunate enough to find a great vocal coach.

Who uses it?

Most popular singers from Bonnie Raitt to Stevie Wonder to Diana Ross to Al Jarreau... and basically everyone from Michael Bolton to Madonna.

The Register approach is the best kept secret to hitting high notes and increasing range. Why is this not common knowledge? Good question.

An even better question is:

'How do I use this to effortlessly sing the high notes'?

Singing teachers who know this vocal technique ( many don't yet so send them this link ) will teach you simple, even silly sounding exercises called Lip Rolls and Tongue Trills to activate the singer's upper vocal registers.

Try this...

First: Sing a low note with your chesty early 'first thing in the morning' voice...Ahhhh

Place your hand on your chest as you do this and feel the chest resonate. This is your chest voice.

Second: Place your hand on the back of your head and sing a very high hooty 'Hooooo' sound like an Owl would make.

Did you feel the resonance on the back of your head? This is your head voice.

The discovery of the head voice is the secret that most great singers have discovered. Note that this is not the same as falsetto, that airy/breathy sound where the vocal chords don't close completely. A head voice is a 'closed' vocal coordination and doesn't sound airy.

The secret...

The secret to full, rich and effortless high notes ( as well as very high notes ) is learning how to combine ( called 'Mix ) the chest voice with the head voice in the same note. This gives your vocal sound the richness and depth of the chest voice with the extended range and freedom of the head voice...both at the same time...in the same high note!

Your next step...

If I knew 20 years ago what I know now I would have run, not walked, to the phone book to find a vocal coach that could teach me how to activate my vocal registers. Regardless, I feel blessed to have them today.

Give yourself the gift that most great singers have already given themselves...the gift of a seemingly unlimited vocal range. Free your voice.

Have a great week and keep singing!

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