Singing High Notes Effortlessly

In my previous post, I talked about voice types and how helpful those classifications can be for setting proper vocal boundaries. In this post, I’d like to talk about ways to get up to high notes more easily, no matter what your voice type is.

Particularly as a bass-baritone, high notes were always the bane of my existence. Some of my previous teachers drilled into me that I need to sing as loud as a 9-foot Steinway piano, keep my larynx LOW (emphasis on LOW), and turn my vowels over all the way when I got to the top of my register.

What really happened when I sang like this was I was pushing my voice very hard, my larynx was depressed, and my singing was swallowed, almost feeling bottle-necked in my throat. I thought the way to free my sound was to push more, but unfortunately, that just led to more voice cracks.

My mom always yelled at me, “DON’T OVERDO IT”, when she heard me practicing. My friend, Trevor, a vocal music educator, always told me, “That’s in your throat”, when he heard me practicing. Admittedly, I also aggravated the HELL out of my teachers because I cracked repeatedly on the same high note every time when we sang “Joey, Joey, Joey” from The Most Happy Fella, and even songs from Beauty and the Beast like “Me”, “If I Can’t Love Her”, and “Evermore”. It was defeating, seeing all my peers excel at their craft while I still had these issues. Everybody else could sing high notes! Why couldn’t I?

In studying with other teachers that were more willing to help, I found the answer to that question: The way I was being taught wasn’t working for me.

The techniques and warmups I learned from these new voice teachers involved the mixed voice, which I was always taught was unhealthy and “wimpy”. The truth is this tool couldn’t be any more helpful! It taught me so much about shedding vocal weight at the top and making the tone lighter, so that I’m not pushing.

One exercise I learned was to sing “Hee-Hah-Hoo” on 5-3-1 in different keys (i.e. G-E-C, E-C#-A, etc.). I was supposed to start with a whispering tone, then do it again without the breathy quality. This helped me figure out what my mix should feel like on the higher end.

Another exercise I learned was sirens. I was initially taught to do this on a “th” or “v” sound as a cooldown method, going up and down various scales. But while doing this, I remembered that sirens were a key warmup in choir. I just never understood why. After all this time, I finally realized they help you understand how your voice should feel when you slip between registers. Practicing so many times helped me transition effortlessly. Now, I can sing my high notes without cracking, and all of my registers feel connected as one voice.

Another technique I was taught had to do with vowel placements. As I mentioned, I used to cover my vowels to the extreme side, making them more closed than they should’ve been. Now, I’m trained to spread my vowels more the higher I go. It was mind boggling to unlearn what I had initially been taught for years, but it began feeling more comfortable and free the longer I did it.

This step usually works for the highest notes in your range. For example, if you see a tenor or soprano singing a high Bb, B, or C, you’ll notice their vowels are spread wide open. They’re also not exuding as much force up in that register, which is another important lesson to highlight. You don’t need to yell to increase volume. You just need to have your mouth open, and your volume will be naturally loud.

Some of these tricks are more tailored to tenors and sopranos, but they are also most helpful to basses, baritones, and altos. However, it is worth noting that these tricks will not automatically give you a tenor or soprano range. While a tenor may be able to spread their vowel for a powerful high C, my high C would be lighter and more falsetto-like, even with a spread vowel. My most powerful high note would be a high F, since that’s more within my range. The principals are the same, but the anatomy is different.

Mixing is very healthy to use in your singing, providing ease and strength to your high notes. It’s important to practice these techniques with a voice teacher or vocal coach. If you or someone you know is looking for a vocal coach, please reach out to me at jacemccloymusic@gmail.com.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you at the next post! :)