Let Your Passion for Singing Become a Reality!

I have set up this website to help anyone who wants learn to be a better singer. It doesn’t matter whether you want to learn singing from scratch, or would just love to expand your vocal range, sing higher or improve the tone of your voice. At Singing Higher I can help you do all that as quickly as possible.

You can get started right away by checking out the valuable articles and resources on this site, or easier still with my FREE Ebook “Becoming a Better Singer”. This will get you on your way to realising that you can learn singing and improve your voice to start singing higher and sounding better, fast.

You know a lot of singing is just about learning how to do it properly! Even gifted artists usually take lessons and practice regularly to help them sound better. Provided you want to sing, then you can learn to sing and and to sound good with just a little help and some effort on your part.

The type of vocal exercises you choose for any particular practice session will depend somewhat on the nature of the songs you will be rehearsing. Some songs need different skills to others so a good place to start is by sorting out what skills your songs require.

If the song you are rehearsing requires singing at the top end of your range, you should go for exercises that are geared to help with that. For a song with a bunch of trills in it, or lots of fast runs, it is best to do vocal exercises for flexibility. If the material has a lot of long, sustained notes, then work on breath control and support. This article is really designed to suggest some vocal exercises that will suit a variety of different purposes.

 
Vocal Exercises for Low Range

First up, don’t neglect your low range! While these exercises are suited to alto or bass voices, they are also important for tenors or sopranos that need to sing a tune in the lower part of their range.

Octave slides descending. Use the buzz (also known as the lip roll or bubble lips) and slide down a whole octave from a comfortable starting pitch. Take the starting pitch from the middle of your range and move down in semitones (half steps). Try experimenting with vowel sounds as well like “ah”, “oo”, or “vee”, “voh”.

Fifth slide. As the name suggests you begin on a comfortable, middle range pitch and sing down a fifth (ie: so – do). Use the buzz and descend in semitones. You can then add in a return to the starting pitch (so-do-so) or try reversing the pattern to “do – so – do”.

Vocal Exercises for High Range

These exercises are targeted at tenors and sopranos but they are useful for anyone singing at the high end of their range.

Up and down arpeggios. Arpeggios are simply the notes of a chord sung separately eg: “do-mi-so-do-so-mi-do”. The middle “do” is an octave above the starting pitch “do”. Use the buzz or a vowel sound and move up a semitone each time you repeat the arpeggio.

Using a turn with upward arpeggio and downward scale. This is much the same exercise as above but with added complexity. After singing the first arpeggio (do-mi-so-do), you then do what is termed a turn. A turn involves (ti-do-re-do-ti-la-so-fa-mi-re-do) where you then sing the octave back down the scale to your starting pitch “do” (see the scale pattern below).  Try using vowel sounds here like “oo”, “ee” and “ah”.

  
   ee—————————————–
   oo—————————————–    etc.

Using upward arpeggio and high note repeated. This vocal exercise is really aimed at helping to keep your tone light when singing high notes. The note pattern below shows singing the arpeggio up (do-mi-so-do) and the repeating to top “do” in a staccato (short separate notes) at least 5 to 6 times. Try using “ha” to sing these.

 
Find Out Exactly The Vocal Exercises That Will Make You A Better Singer. Click Here Now!   

Vocal Exercises for Flexibility

The ascending triplet scale. Although this exercise will sound complicated to explain, it is a lot easier to follow if you can read the notes below. Using do, re, mi, etc; sing an upward eighth-note triplet that starts on each syllable of the scale. When you get to the top of the octave, reverse this pattern and sing each triplet back downward. The idea is to sing this exercise as fast as possible.
 

        do  re  mi  fa  so  la  ti  do  ti  la  so  fa  mi  re  do

Ascending and descending thirds. Again, this exercise is easier to sing than to explain. Starting on the bottom note, go up a third (do-mi), down a whole step, up another third (re fa), etc. until you reach the fifth tone (mi –so), then turn around and go back down a third, up a half step, down a third, up a whole step, etc. Again, sing it as quickly as possible. With these it really helps to have a guitar or piano handy, or an interactive program that lets you hear the note pattern first.   
 

   
Up and down five note scale, repeated rapidly. This exercise is pretty simple – you just sing up and down the five tone scale (do-re-mi-fa-so-fa-mi-re-do) and repeat it as fast as possible.

Vocal Exercises for Breath Support and Control

The buzz slide. There is no doubt that the buzz is probably the best exercise to improve breathing support. Doing the buzz literally forces you to supply solid breath. Start on a comfortable mid-range note and then slide down a fifth—so-do. To repeat this a few times, move down by half-steps. Then use the buzz for the descending triad (simple chord) —so-mi-do— and slide your voice between the tones. Repeat this several times, moving down by half-steps. Finish off by buzzing a five-tone descending scale—so-fa-mi-re-do.

Messa di voce. This last one is straightforward. Start by very softly singing an easy mid-range pitch on the syllable “ah”. Then, while holding the note, get gradually louder, then go soft again.

It can take some time and practice if you want to learn how to sing and play guitar together. This is mostly because you are dealing with playing one song, but at two different rhythms.

This can be a challenging task, particularly if the guitar part involves a riff or syncopated line to play under the singing.  Some common issues that musicians find include:

* Singing at pitch while splitting your concentration
* Making a song syllable match to a certain guitar note
* Keeping up a strumming rhythm while singing
* Coordinating the two tasks
* Maintaining song rhythms and timing throughout the whole song

While it might  seem too tricky to deal with two different rhythms at once, many artists and musicians have mastered this skill and learned how to sing and play guitar together.  I have put some brief guidelines together to help you get started…..

Start Easy

Don’t fall into the common trap of starting out doing too much at once. Often people choose songs that are either too hard to sing, too hard to play, or both.  This usually means that one of your performances will suffer.  You may sing the song ok, but the guitar pattern is repetitive and lacks variation. Alternatively, you spend a lot of time focusing on playing and can’t concentrate on the pitch and tone of your voice.

For this reason it’s best to start with choosing a song that is fairly easy on both tasks. Pick a tune that sits within your comfortable singing range and does not have a complex rhythm. It also helps if you really like the tune. This way you will have a good chance of succeeding and you will be motivated to continue practicing.

To help with the process, try humming the song while you get familiar with the guitar parts. You need to get the guitar playing so familiar that you really don’t have to think about the chords or your finger placement. Once you can do this it will free you up to concentrate on your lyrics and your singing voice.

Click Here For Interactive Lessons To Learn How To Sing and Play Guitar Today!

Timing

Possibly the most difficult issue facing beginners is their timing. Timing is crucial in any musical performance! What this means is that particular words and/or syllables must occur in time with particular guitar parts or notes. If your time is out then the whole performance gets out of sync.  One great music teacher of mine told me that timing is the “Holy Cow” of music and he was right! 

To master this, keep it easy and simple. Begin by breaking the song down into parts like verse and chorus. Play the guitar verse part only until you are familiar with it, then add your vocal. Practice this section to a good level before you go to the next.  Again, by choosing a more simple song you will be less likely to encounter big problems early on. Once you feel comfortable, you can start to tackle more complex playing or rhythms.

Using Your Imagination

One of humanities greatest gifts is the ability to imagine or envision things before we do them!  An important skill to learn as a singer is to imagine pitch. To do this, you use your imagination to envision yourself singing and producing the right note at a performance. When you learn how to sing and play guitar you can also apply the same strategy.   

Try singing the song in your head while you play the guitar or the other way round. Imagine your hands holding the chords down while you sing. Another great help is to practice singing along with a recording of the song before you try to play it. This will help to develop your timing and allow you to more easily match the singing and playing rhythms together. 

If there is any one rule for how to sing and play guitar it would probably just be to have some patience and do a whole lot of practice.  Your ability to split your concentration and match different rhythms will develop with time.

When we think of how to increase vocal range we generally tend to think about adding higher notes, right? However, our lower range is also very, very important. Some of the best sounding tones come from your lower range and this tends to be an area that a lot of singers neglect.

How often have you heard songs that require a strong, emotional lower range before they build to higher parts? The lower you can sing properly means that you might not have to be always at the extreme of your high range for the top parts a song.

Find Your Chest Voice

The chest voice is usually used for everyday speaking and your speaking voice can tell you quite a bit about your singing voice. You can both help and hinder your singing vocal depending on how you use your normal speaking voice.

To get started we need to explore your spoken voice. First you need to be near a piano or have a pitch pipe handy. Start by speaking some monosyllables like mm-hmm, uh-huh, ah hah, and then find the nearest pitch to the spoken sounds on the piano or pipe. Now do the same again using some other sounds like yawning, crying, or sighing and find the pitch for them.
Extend on this process by speaking a few simple sentences like “I love singing” etc. and get the pitch that matches. The best outcome is that the pitch for the sentences and for the other non-speech sounds you first did should be the same. If you find that your spoken voice is lower than the other sounds then you may be hindering your singing voice.

The reason for this is that your spoken voice should not get down into the “vocal fry” level. Vocal fry refers to a gravelly sound that comes when you speak too low in your chest voice and is unhealthy for your voice. The best pitch for your speaking voice should be around four tones or scale steps above the vocal fry point.

Now try speaking or reading some sentences out loud while you experiment with higher pitches to check out how high you can speak. The idea is to find out where you feel comfortable and the point where you begin to experience vocal strain.

Isn’t It Time You Began YOUR Journey? Click Here to Start Learning How to Be a Better Singer Now!

Exercises to Improve Lower Tone

When you sing with your Chest Voice you will be able to feel resonance in your upper chest and collarbones. You can check this by lightly placing your hand on the top of your chest with fingers and thumb touching your collarbone. You will feel vibrations with your hand when you sing and slide down from the top of your range and into your chest voice. This vibration is a result of the air moving across your vocal folds from your lungs while the actual sound vibration is coming from your throat.

Next you could try a simple fifth slide. This is a continuous vocalization that starts in the comfortable middle area of your vocal range and then slides down five scale steps without a break in your voice. For C major key this would be So – Do, or G to C. Try using the buzz or lip roll (where you pucker your lips and vibrate them) as you sing. Your voice should not be bumpy or creaky but smooth and even. If you do get any bumpy or creaky feelings in your voice as you slide down the scale then it could be the result of tension.

Take a little break and do a few relaxation exercises for your neck and face. Try being aware of your whole jaw-line from ear to ear and allow this to relax or do some gentle massage around your face and throat. When you start to slide down the scale again, try closing your mouth a little from the starting note position.

Now you could move to singing an octave scale up and down. Let your jaw drop and allow your mouth to open wider as you go up the scale and then do the reverse as you descend. Try imagining that your voice is a road that leads away from you. The low notes are nearest to you and the high notes are the furthest away.
 

Stay With It

Just like any exercise, to increase vocal range takes some time and effort. Be positive and stick with it, I guarantee you will see results.

Ever wanted to learn how to sing harmony? Harmony singing requires two or more people to sing together but in different pitches. Singing in harmony successfully with another vocalist can be a great experience, and also adds amazing color and depth to a song. However, if you attempt harmony singing without some training and practice it can end up making an  awful sound that is especially hard to listen to.

Music Scales

Learning how to sing harmony starts with gaining some familiarity of the major and minor scales. A scale is just a group of 8 consecutive notes within one octave, labeled A,B,C,D,E,F,G, and then restart at A and so on.

The major scale pattern has note intervals of: whole-whole-half-whole-whole-whole-half.
The minor scale pattern has note intervals of: whole-half-whole-whole-half-whole-whole.

When you do sing harmony, the notes followed generally come from a major scale.

Singing Harmony – Two Different Pitches, One Song

When you sing in harmony, you sing around the original pitch and tune. The first singer starts with a melody note. Use a piano or guitar to play the associated chord. The second singer or voice now joins in but singing at the next higher or lower pitch you are singing in. In the above example, you are singing ‘first voice’, while your partner sings ‘second voice’.

How to Make Harmony Work

First up you need to be really comfortable with the song. Most singing teachers advise that you learn both of the voice parts rather than just your own. It usually requires a fair bit of practice to get harmony singing right. However there are some people who can sing harmony on-the-fly. These people have a special ability to quickly determine the melody and hear the harmony pitch and start singing. This approach is the same as doing ear training. 

Great Sounding Harmonies Are Only a Click Away. Start Your Harmony Training Now!

Ear Training

For this reason, ear training exercises are also very helpful in developing harmony skills. If you start taking online singing lessons, some courses will have interactive ear training programs. In these programs, a note will be played on a musical instrument (usually a piano). After hearing this melody note (first voice), you visualize singing it by “hearing” the note in your head. Next, actually sing along while the note is played. Now do it again, but try singing a note higher than the original note being played (this higher note is the second voice). The next time, try singing a note lower than the original note (this would be the third voice) and so on.

The online ear training software will then give you feedback on how well you did. By using this type of software you can quickly develop good pitch. Some experienced groups can do 4, 5, or even 7 part harmonies. 

Not That Difficult

Harmony singing is common across a range of musical genres including rock, pop, dance, classical, jazz, country, – well the list just goes on…. The principles of harmony singing are not really that difficult to understand, it just takes a little practice to learn how to identify a pitch and then hear a harmony note lower or higher.  The best way to do this is to seek online singing programs that specifically teach people how to sing harmony.

Do you love to sing and want to start improving your voice? If so, then you wont go wrong by trying free online singing lessons. They can be cost effective and useful. You see, singing is a skill. And just like any skill, you need to practice and train to improve it.

Sure, there are those fortunate to be born with a good singing voice. But most professionals practice regularly and continue to learn and work with their voices. They still require singing lessons to improve on what they naturally have. Furthermore, there are many things you need to consider to improve your voice and free online singing lessons are great and inexpensive way to get you started.

How Free Online Singing Lessons Can Improve Your Voice

Our voice needs to be trained well to sing well and there are literally hundreds of techniques you can apply to enhance your voice. Think of your vocal chords as guitar strings, they need to be constantly fine-tuned to produce the best sound.

Here’s a quick run-down of common singing woes.

* Inability to hit a high note or find the top of your range.
* Difficulty in properly pronouncing words in a song.
* Unable to sustain a long note.
* Losing one’s voice while singing (Blank spots.)
* Inability to sing in key with a song’s melody/tune.

Start Your FREE Online Singing Lessons With My Free Ebook “90 Days To Becoming A Better Singer”: Click Here Now! 

When you take free online singing lessons you will begin to learn such things as timing, pitch, resonance, key, and many other topics that all help to shape and improve your singing voice. Here is a list of a few of the things you could learn.

* Exercises to warm-up your vocal cords.
* Proper posture while singing.
* Proper breathing techniques.
* How to add expression (i.e., the right emotion) while singing.
* How to control your larynx to create high-quality sound.
* Proper word pronunciation while singing.
* How to master performance anxiety (stage fright).
* How to sing and play a musical instrument at the same time.
* And more!

The list above is just an indicator of what you can learn. Most successful singers use a range of different practices and exercises.
 
You might enjoy singing as a hobby and want to improve your vocal; or maybe you’ve always aspired to be a professional singer but just didn’t know how to get started accomplishing this. For professional singers, lessons are pretty much mandatory. Whatever your reason, free online singing lessons will help you get closer to your goal.

Get Advice From Experts

Sadly, many forego singing lessons thinking they would cost too much or that they are only for career musicians. Not true at all. The internet has now made it possible for anyone to benefit from expert advice. My personal advice is to start with free online singing courses. You will learn a lot from them already to get you started.

Free online singing lessons can be a simple way to benefit from tips and suggestions about physical and vocal techniques, new ideas, and motivation to help you pursue your singing goals. Free online singing lessons may be just what you need to get started on improving your singing voice. So dont hesitate to give them a try!

One of the most effective ways to help prevent vocal cord damage and voice fatigue is by doing some warm up singing exercises before performing or rehearsing.  Warming up helps to relax your muscles and get air flow working prior to doing any real singing.   It does help to see your voice production as an athletic exercise because it really is just that and just like any athlete you should always do a warm up routine.

It might sound a bit strange that you have to do singing exercises to stop overuse injuries, but your voice is essentially the result of a whole lot of muscles working together. So when they are warmed up they easier to control, more flexible and less likely to be injured if you really go for it.

Even before you do the actual singing exercises vocal warm up part it’s a good idea to start with a little stretching and relaxing of your whole body. You can do the “rag doll” by standing up and then bending over, letting your arms and head dangle down freely. Give them a little shake and continue to let them hang loosely for a couple of minutes. 

Next, an easy stretching exercise can help with correct posture alignment. The singer stands with feet flat separated approximately a hip-width apart while your arms remain at the sides of your body. Then raise your arms up over your head, rise on your toes, and inhale deeply as your arms go upwards. When exhaling, go back to your original position slowly, with arms at the sides and feet flat on the floor. Try to keep your chest and shoulders back like they were at the very top of the stretch as you lower your arms to their original position. Hey, you’re now set to start singing.

Warm Up 1.

Start with the first warm-up exercise known as the bubble lips, buzz, lip trill or lip roll. In this exercise, you pucker your lips while exhaling to form a vibrating sound similar to a motorboat or blowing a raspberry.  Try doing the buzz using three tones: start with the base tone, then move up a fourth, and then go back to the starting (base) note. For C major key the notes would be C, F, C or do-fa-do. Repeat the pattern only move up a semitone each time (eg; C#, F#, C#, then D, G, D, and so on). You can experiment with different syllables like “oo” or “ee” but you will find that using the buzz actually forces you to have good breathing support.

Warm Up 2.

Another well-liked warm up singing exercise is known as fifth-slide. You begin on the fifth tone and slide back to base using the syllable “wee”. For the key of C Major the notes would be G to C or (So – Do). Do this again, changing the syllable this time to “zoo”. Use these two syllables and repeat again a half step up (Ab and Db) and so on, climbing up in half-steps.

Want To Discover The Simple Secrets to Singing Higher and Sounding Better? Click Here Now!

Warm Up 3.

You may also want to try the five-tone descending scale. Begin on the fifth tone and slowly go down in steps to the base in the pattern: so, fa, mi, re, do.  You can use the syllables “na”, “nay”, “noh”, and “noo” respectively as you move up half a step on the scale and repeat.

Warm Up 4.

Next in our warm up singing exercises is the 8-tone descending scale using the notes do, ti, la, so, fa, mi, re, do using syllables such as “noo”, “nah”, “nay”, “nee”, and “noh” or you can changing the beginning consonant to “m” rather than “n”.  As usual, try moving up a half step as you repeat the pattern. As you do this, try to feel the mask resonance in your upper throat and between your eyes and the bridge of your nose. Next, follow this up with a descending arpeggio in the pattern do, so, mi, do, and using the syllable “nah”. You can change “nah” to “nay”, “nee”, “noh”, or “noo” as you move up a half-step to repeat.

Warm Up 5.

The final warm-up exercise is the octave slide. Use the buzz and start on the base note; slide up an octave and back down to the base: do, do, do. Repeat on “oo”. Move up a half-step, do the buzz, and then “oo”. Continue moving up by half-steps.
The last exercise is called the octave slide and as the name suggests you begin on a base note and slide your voice up an octave and back down again (do, do, do) using the buzz or lip trill described above.  Try repeating it using “oo” and then go up a half step and do them both again. 

These singing exercises may seem a bit daunting at first but if you try them out you’ll actually find them fun!  I mean you will find a couple of favorites that really work for you. Exercises warm up your muscles, protect your vocal cords, and help to improve your tone and pitch. So don’t forget to do some….

If singing high is your passion, you are usually looking to improve your performance. But if you have been singing for some time, you can get the feeling that you are in a bit of a rut. It’s important to revitalize your passion and enthusiasm for your voice, especially for your high notes. Below are some great tips to help you do that.

Tip 1. Enrol in a Singing Lesson

Though you may have undergone training before, it a good idea to enrol in an occasional singing lesson to catch up on some fresh advice or get a new perspective. It’s common to find that most professional singers still get lessons just to tune up and check on any bad vocal habits.

Tip 2. Be Versatile

Try experimenting with different songs, maybe from a genre that you have not covered for a while. Get out an old high school favourite and sing that!  You may be surprised to find it more difficult than you thought. Also it can give you a break so that when you get back to your usual stuff it will be more fun to return to.

Tip 3. Self Analysis

Just do a bit of analysing on yourself as a singer. Are you maintaining good basic posture and breathing support? Any unnecessary tension around your face or neck can affect your tone and detract from the fun of singing so check for that.

Click Here Now To Find Out Precisely How To Sing With A Full Vocal Range

Tip 4. Chill Out and Relax

Singing takes a lot of effort. Before you sing, whether for practice or performance, it helps if you’re relaxed.  Of course, most singers experience some nervous tension before a performance so one easy way to help is to use the “Rag Doll”. While standing, bend over from the waist and let your upper body dangle loosely. Allow your head and arms to hang down and give them a little shake. Do it until you feel a relief in tension. It can make a big difference! 

Tip 5. Try To Exercise

If you are singing a lot it really helps to have a regular fitness routine. If you find yourself touring then try to access the hotel gym or go for a walk. Try to use stairs instead of lifts as a way of keeping fit.

Tip 6. Treat Yourself

You can keep yourself inspired by pampering yourself every now and then. This doesn’t mean you have to buy yourself something expensive, although you could!  You can simply treat yourself to a luxurious hot tub bath or get a massage or by reading a favorite book. Any small luxury will do.

Tip 7. Have Fun and Jam

Singing really is a whole lot of fun! Isn’t it?  All singers know that singing is enjoyable and that’s mostly why we do it. I know that’s the case for me, especially when you get to sing and play music with your circle of friends. Invite some musicians over for a jam session then have dinner together afterwards.

You have no doubt noticed that at least half of these tips don’t actually involve singing!  The reason for this is that being a singer means your body is your instrument. If a piano goes out of tune you get a tuner to fix it, but if your voice lacks vitality, emotion and tonal quality you need to repair your whole body and mind.  Once you are back in good shape you can return to your usual repertoire with renewed enthusiasm and energy.

We all know how to sing don’t we? Singing is just about opening your mouth wide and hitting the right notes, right? Well, maybe. In fact there is a healthy, sustainable way to learn singing that will lead to an improved and lasting vocal; and a wrong way that may be harmful and end up damaging the potential in your voice. Whether you want to sing professionally or simply want to develop your voice, remember that not everybody is born a natural singer and a lot of what makes a great vocal can be learned.

Keeping Your Voice Fit

Your voice is your main capital and you want it to sound as good as possible for as long as possible.  Maintaining a healthy and fit body is possibly the best way to help preserve your voice. Try to exercise regularly, eat balanced meals and get sufficient rest and sleep. It is best not to smoke or drink excessively. If you have noticed, the stereotype of the trashed rock star is not a reality most of the time. The majority of successful musicians and artists who’ve gone a long way in their careers are those who knew how to take care of themselves and not have their careers ended prematurely.

Getting Vocal Training

Singing is both an art and skill. If you are serious about singing, whether professional or recreational, you will need to do some training. Just like doctors or lawyers or carpenters have to learn the skills of their occupations, training for aspiring singing professionals is essential. You can start by finding a local teacher to help you and enrol in singing lessons or you can access online singing courses such as Singing is Easy by Yvonne DeBandi or Singorama by Emily Mander.

A proficient teacher or online singing course can make learning to sing an exciting and fun experience. Singing is fun however to get maximum enjoyment you need to understand the workings of your vocal apparatus and the proper techniques on how to sing without harming your vocal chords.

Want To Discover The Simple Secrets to Singing Higher and Sounding Better? Click Here Now!

Fundamentals of Singing

One of the first steps that any decent teacher or course online should begin with is good posture and breathing support that will give you the best sounding voice tone.  The way you stand plays an important role in singing. The best way is to stand up fairly straight, but in a relaxed way, with your shoulders back a little so it keeps your chest high. Position your feet slightly apart and have one a bit forward of the other. 

Here is a simple way to help you find a good posture for singing. Stand upright with your arms by your sides. Next, move your arms using a circular motion across the front of your body and up over your head. At the same time, take in a deep breath and rise onto your tiptoes. Now, while coming down from your tiptoes begin to exhale slowly and bring your arms back to your sides. When you start to exhale and come down, try to keep your shoulders and chest where they were when you were at the top of the stretch.

Breathing support helps you to get a great tone and also prevents you from straining your vocal. On taking a breath in to sing, you should feel your midsection expand and include your diaphragm, abdomen, and spine working hand in hand. Next, breathe out with a hissing sound and as you do, try to keep your midsection expanded. It will take a little practice to get strong but once you do you will be able to get a better tone and sing longer without strain or tiredness. You will feel more relaxed and confident about singing especially if you plan to sing in front of a crowd.

Tone Quality

Good posture and breathing are the just the base of learning to sing well. From there you can start to look at tone placement and tonal quality. Your vocal tone is derived from three main areas: your chest, your mouth and throat (pharynx), and the sinuses (your head). Typically, higher notes use your head voice while lower notes are produced with your chest voice.

For most singing you will need to use what teachers call a “mixed tone”.  This is a combination of the pharynx (throat) and the head and is also known as mask resonance. This is because you should feel your vocal sound resonating in the part of your face that would be covered up by a Halloween mask. You know the half-face ones that you often see at parties.

You can use this easy exercise to start to feel mask resonance. First, inhale and then starting on a high note slide down your range to the bottom using a “hoo” or “hee” sound. Try to feel the sound vibrating in the triangle made by your eyes and the bridge of your nose as well as the roof of your mouth.

Getting these basics down is the first step on how to learn singing. It will take some time and effort on your part. However if you work at it patiently and be consistent you will be surprised at the results you get.

Best Tips to Singing Higher

Despite having practiced singing higher tones and improving your range to reach higher notes, chances are there will be times when you can’t fully sustain them.  Or you will find a song composed of lots of high notes (rather than say hitting one high note and coming down) that will tire your voice out quickly. This is natural, especially for beginning singers and the issue is not to do with your range but with your tessitura!  My what??

Tessitura

Your  tessitura is your comfortable vocal range and refers to your ability to sing all the notes  in a music piece on pitch with consistency and without straining your voice out.  Tessitura  can also refer to the regular pitch range of a piece. For instance, if you’re a mezzo-soprano you may be able to  reach a high C occasionally at the very top of your range but your tessitura may be half an octave or so lower than that.  Probably an octave up from around A above middle C.  That’s why when you try to sing a song with tessitura of high G to high C, you end up with strain and fatigue in your voice.  Knowing your own tessitura can really help you to select or write songs that are within your vocal range. While you could be singing higher than your tessitura range you risk  subjecting your voice to extreme fatigue and strain. Perhaps you’re wondering if you can raise your tessitura. Indeed you can but it will take a lot of practice and getting used to. The secret lies in proper breathing support and upper resonance. You’ll end up straining your voice or even cause permanent damage to your vocal chords if you try to sing higher tones using your throat only without the proper breath support

Breath Support

In singing songs with higher notes, it requires more breath than lower notes, so it’s imperative to use your diaphragm, abdominal and spine muscles in breathing. When you inhale, you have to expand your midsection fully. When exhaling, you need to  keep all the rest expanded except your abdomen which will  facilitate the outflow of your breath.

Head Voice

If you’ve mastered the breathing process, it’s time you pay attention to your upper resonance area known as your head voice, by imagining that the sound of your voice is coming from in your forehead and above your head. You can imagine it as being in an elevatotor going up, and using your breath to push it there. Try to feel the vibrations in your soft palate, particularly your sinuses.  One teacher says imagine swallowing something you don’t like, and that will cause your throat to open wide enough so that the unpleasant thing will not touch on the inside!

Click Here to Find Out How To Release Your Full Vocal Potential

Exercises

It is important to maintain a light tone by doing simple exercises and not trying to force things at all. You can start off with the yawn-slide technique where you begin by opening your mouth to resemble a yawn, then exhaling on syllables like “hee” and “hoo” from the highest note then going down your range quickly to the bottom. You can then try beginning each “yawn” at a slightly higher note. Another effective exercise is the vocal siren. It’s the opposite of the yawn-slide technique since you start from the lowest note  going to the highest note in your range. Use a  humming sound.  As you find your breathing getting stronger then gradually start doing it up and down a few times on the same breath. One of the most effective exercises many singers use is the five-tone-scale sung rapidly up and down.  You start in your middle range singing the pattern do-re-mi-fa-so-fa-mi-re-do. You can use a vowel like “000″ or “ahh” or try a buzz (also known as bubble lips or lip roll).  Be sure you use proper breath support as you continue doing the exercise with the succeeding patterns a half-step higher than the previous.

Singing Higher

To raise your tessitura and sing higher notes more easily it will take some practice, proper breathing exercises, and the patience to continue.  Remember to be persistent and realistic.  Success doesn’t happen overnight and it will take time to master the techniques to singing higher.