High notes in head voice will be no problem if you give singing the dedication of time and lots and lots of hard work.
Singing is a cummulative art. Each skill is reliant upon the next starting with stretching and posture and working on though breathing, etc.
Before singing one should make it habbit to stretch all of the body to release tension and to warm up the vocal instrument. Any tension can and will cause vocal strain and eventually damage.
Nothing should be stiff. Loosen up. Do some light stretching and rub out tight muscles especially the ones around your neck, face, and jaw. It might seem strange, but yes, you should massage your face.
Posture: the foundation of great singing.
(Standing) from the top:
Your head should be level with the floor and you are looking ahead, not up or down. No tension, just placed as so.
When singing everything should be loose with no stiff tension. Tension causes things to be incorrect even when you know the right way and use it.
Next, Roll your shoulders back. Rolling your shoulders back elongates the spine and thorax or chest cavity and lifts the sternum, the bone in the middle of your chest. This allows space for proper breathing.
Keep your knees loose, so that they can bend. Don't lock them.
Keep your feet shoulder width apart. One foot can be a little farther forward than the other if that is more comfortable for you.
Imagine yourself as royalty. This is all perfectly natural and normal. It is simply the way you present yourself--with poise and self-confidence.
(Sitting) additional information:
When sitting it is important to keep all the same posture techniques used for standing.
Make sure you sit as far forward on the seat as possible and keep your feet flat on the floor.
When you have proper posture you can learn to breath properly. Correct breath support and control is the gateway to good singing.
To learn the proper way, you've got to know which ways are wrong.
Improper ways to breath when singing:
1) Clavicular breathing ~ shallow breathing--the shoulders lift
2) Costal breathing ~ heaving like when you are sick
3) Abdominal breathing ~ from just the stomach excluding use of the top of the lungs
To understand diaphragmatic-intercostal breathing, the proper breathing for singing, it is import to understand basic breathing for life. Breathing for life is nearly the same with only a few slight alterations.
How we breath for living:
1) involuntary impulse of the brain
2) the diaphragm contracts and flattens to enlarge the thorax or chest cavity
3) the costal or rib muscles expand causing the air pressure to drop within the lungs. the air pressure inside then equals to the air pressure outside the lungs.
4) exhale
Modifications used when singing:
1) more air is required
2) quicker inhalation
3) longer periods of exhalation requiring control
4) voluntary--you determine how and when
**It is impossible to breath correctly if you are not using proper singers' posture.**
Ways to make sure you are breathing correctly when singing:
1) Make sure your shoulders and upper chest don't raise when you inhale.
2) Make sure you are expanding all around. The stomach, sides, and even the back
The laying down exercise is great for practicing proper breathing. You should practice it every night before you go to sleep. When practicing, pay attention to the appoggio, or the moment of balance between inhaling and exhaling just like breathing for yoga.
Before bed breathing exercises:
Lay on your back and wait until your breathing deepens and evens. You will feel expansion around your stomach, sides, and even back. This type of breathing is the ideal form of healthy breathing and the breathing we use for singing.
1. Practice inhaling over a count of 10 and gradually grow to a count of 15 and as high as your lung capasity will allow.
2. Use inhalation explained in (1). Exhale with a hiss of air. It will sound like ';tissss...';. Work your exhale from a 10 count to a 15 count and so on.
3. Use inhalation explained in (1). Exhale with a hiss of air and pulse using the abdominal muscles. (';tisss, tisss, tisss,...) Work your pulsed exhale from a 10 count to a 15 count and so on.
Remember: When people refer to singing from your diaphragm it is ment to be a locational reference. The activities of the diaphragm are completely involuntary. You don't control it--your brain does.
Proper breathing takes time to develop. You have to keep practicing to build stregth and endurance.
Vocal instrument placement:
We'll start with the voice box or larnyx. You can feel it in the center front of your neck. Swallow while touching it. Feel how it lowers? That's the position it should be in when you sing. You can't really mentally control it, but if you've gotten rid of your tension it should be just right.
Your mouth/teeth/lips... It should be opened wide enough to fit two fingers in vertically between your teeth. For some people even wider for higher notes. Sometimes people just don't open their mouths wide enough for high notes to come out properly.
Your hard and soft pallet... Feel the top of your mouth with your tongue. Upfront, behind your teeth it's hard--that's your hard pallet. Farther back, there is a soft fleshy part. That's your soft pallet. When singing you have to make sure your soft pallet is raised. This allows the air to resonate for a fuller sound. This kind of resonation is especially important for high notes.
To find this position you can yawn. Feel how your soft pallet raises? You could also imagine you have one of those really cool little paper party drink umbrella things. Imagine putting it in your mouth and open it up in there. Now sing like that.
Some pointers for working on high notes:
1. Make sure your head is level with the floor when you sing. Raising the chin for higher notes cuts off the air flow and causes tension.
2. Make sure all your vocal placement is correct. Pay special attention to proper mouth space on the inside (raised soft pallet) and outside(teeth and lips).
3. Mind set is another issue for alot of vocalists. When you think of high notes, don't reach for them. Realize that you have them. Just reach down from above them and tap them Let them fly!
Good luck and happy singing!How do we reach/sustain high note without going to falsetto? It's pretty hard to control it.Any tips?
lots of support from the diaphragm don't push and practice going up there by degrees and sustaining .... and hope Ms Chick gets around to answer this questionHow do we reach/sustain high note without going to falsetto? It's pretty hard to control it.Any tips?
Stay within an area which you can control ...your voice will thank you for it by getting more range all by itself ....simply because you are staying within the natural placement ....be patient with yourself...
Oh geez. My first tip is practise. Second, make sure that you have good posture and your hands are in front of you, not behind you. If they're behind your back, it make it harder to breathe, and therefore to sing. Also, don't be afraid to use lots of air behind your voice. I hope these help. =)
1 i don't know because i was born with a gift: i can sing the highest notes in Phantom of the Opera with no practice
but my choir teacher told me to always stand up straight and never put your hands in your pocket and keep them by your sides and keep your mouth wide open so if you had it open and u were singing you could slip in a ping-pong/golf ball without pushing your mouth open wider. so keep a very nice posture and it should really help
2.what the heck is falsetto
