How to Sing High Notes

Do you want to know how to sing higher?

Let me teach you how to sing high notes that will not only allow you to reach the top of your range, but even increase it.
Your newfound ability will give you confidence and really let you enjoy singing in a way that you never thought possible.

Ready? Let’s begin

Vocal Range – Know Your Limits

Before we even start to try and sing highly, it’s important for you to know what your normal range (your Tessitura) and your complete range is.

The reason for this is because you need a starting point in order to be able to measure your successes. But more than this, if you know your range you’ll know when to stop singing.

How many times have you tried to sing waaayyy up there and all you’ve managed is a squeak? Or maybe a shriek? No one wants to hear that. It sounds terrible and it damages your voice. Remember that your voice is essentially a series of muscles. Singing high notes is like lifting big weights. If you are not ready for them then the weight will not go up in the best scenario and worst case will damage the muscle. You have to know your limits so you can look after yourself in the best possible way.

So, what are the different types of voices?

A little bit of background is needed here as well. The definitions below are and were created for classical singing. This is a certain type of sound which in very general terms has a bigger tone. (Some would say that this is all chest voice.) However, most people aren’t aiming to be opera singers, so the ranges are different. If you can sing in chest voice, head voice, falsetto, and whistle then you’ll have a huge range, but that doesn’t mean you are anything but a mezzo-soprano. It just doesn’t work that way. Whatever the reason is we don’t really need to concern ourselves with it. The point of the definitions is just to give us a starting point. Anyway, here they are:

A short note about the numbers: Normally we consider C4 to be middle C. However, this is actually incorrect. In treble clef (or tenor clef) this is the case, but musical notes are not actually categorized from there. They are done an octave lower. This means that C3 is actually middle C and not C4.

As I mentioned already, these are just starting points. Personally, my range in normal/ chest voice is from about G2 to D4 (very large)

Warming up – Your Body, and Voice

There are many different ways to warm up your body and your voice in preparation to sing. For more information about that and a more detailed post about getting yourself ready for singing, see what I’ve written about that there. However, for this post (coz I don’t want you running off any time soon) we’ll go through some of the more popular exercises that you can do to warm up your voice and get ready for singing high:

Stretching Exercises

The point of these exercises is just to get you loose and ready to sing. The more relaxed you are, the easier it will be and the higher you’ll be able to sing.

1. Massage your face: This may sound a bit weird but I want you to put your fingers on your face and move then around in a circular position. The same way that a massage therapist works their wonders on your back and shoulders, do the same thing with all parts of your face. Start with your jaw whilst opening and closing your mouth. Move onto your cheeks, mouth, temples, forehead, everything. You should do it a way that is comfortable for you. The whole point here is to get your face as relaxed as you can.
2. Yawn as wide as you can go: This will open your face up and relax your jaw. Don’t stretch to a point where it hurts.
3. Stretch out your shoulders and try and release some of the tension that you have.
4. Move your neck side to side slowly, allowing the tension to release.
5. Bend over: If you can touch your toes, go for it. If you can’t, bend over till you feel the stretch.
6. Put on some relaxing sounds (without voices) and breathe in and out: Concentrate on the moment and just try and live it. This is meditation of sorts. You don’t need to go all out here. It’s just about releasing some the tension that you have.

How Much and What to Drink

It’s really important that you are completely hydrated when you sing. This ensures that your vocal chords are pliable and are ready for the workout. It’s a bit like oil in your door hinge. No one wants or likes to hear that squeak when the hinges need oiling. Not you and not the door either as it will actually ruin the hinge in the long run. The same thing is true for your voice. By ensuring that you are fully hydrated (not to bursting) you will be able to sing without straining.

What should you drink and how much should you drink?

Since time immemorial water has been drunk and ultimately that is the best drink to have.

Water: The best temperature of that water is either room temperature or slightly higher. This gives your vocal chords the best elasticity and of course, the more flexible they are, the higher you’ll be able to sing.

If the water is too hot then it may damage the vocal chords by burning them and if the water is too cold then it will make them shrink and they will lose their elasticity. It’s not the end of the world obviously if you are very hot. However, before singing it’s definitely advisable to keep away from the cold cold stuff.

Coffee: Well… I love coffee and drink lots of it. However, especially when starting out, I can’t say that you should be drinking it. The reason for this is because coffee will dehydrate you and that in turn leads to dry vocal chords. This is something we want to avoid at all costs.

In fact, there is a further point that I want to make here and that is about sleeping. It’s important to get enough sleep and if the coffee drinking is because you are too tired then the answer is to go to sleep earlier. I know this isn’t always easy and convenient but if you want to give yourself the best chance of singing high notes you must be well rested.

Soda: Drinking soda falls in a category that is hotly disputed. Some swear that it’s fine and others say that it kills their voices. I can definitely say with certainty that it doesn’t “kill” voices. That is simply untrue. The worst it can do is make you unable to sing at your peak for a short time. And the reason for this is because you may suffer from reflux. But reflux doesn’t really have anything to do with singing per se.

On the other hand, soda is definitely not a healthy thing and in general, the healthier and more fit you are, the better you’ll be able to sing. (Yes, this is a huge generalization, but in general, it’s true?)

As well as this, it’s important to remember that most sodas dehydrate, and this is a big no no for singers.
In summation though, whilst I wouldn’t say that you shouldn’t drink it at all I would say stay away from it before you want to sing.

Tea: As long as the tea isn’t too hot that it will scald you or your vocal chords, tea is a great choice when it comes to singing high notes. If there is a little bit of sugar in the tea as well it can act as a sort of lubricant for the vocal chords as well.

Alcohol: If you need it just to calm your nerves I wouldn’t be against it but if you are just drinking because you like it then I would stay away before you have to perform. The alcohol causes your vocal chords to shrink ever so slightly and this isn’t a great idea. Of course, continued alcohol abuse will ruin your voice but if you have the occasional drink that is fine. If you can though, stay away from it before you have to sing for the reasons I’ve just mentioned.

How much to drink

This isn’t really so much to do with singing but in general, the more you drink the better. If you can drink about three liters of water per day you are doing great!

The Real Stuff: Exercises to Increase Your Range

Now comes the stuff you’ve been waiting for. I just want to stress in case you’ve skipped the previous sections that you shouldn’t. Being prepared is the single most important thing you need to do in order to be able to increase your range. Starting straight from here, without warming up, is just asking for trouble. So please warm up!

Exercise 1- humming

In this exercise I want you to go up and down a 5-note scale whilst humming. Keep your mouth closed and relax. Feel each note as it goes through your vocal chords and larynx. This should give you a basic idea of the top notes in your range.

Don’t push it here as this exercise in itself will not get you singing higher. This is just the first step

Exercise 2- Lip trills

Before we start talking about lip trills it’s important that you know how to actually do them.

To lip trill, try the following:

1. Lick your licks.
2. Put your hands on your cheeks and try and remove any excess stress from them.
3. Put your fingers just above your chin and push them up to the point where your fingers are just above your mouth.
4. Try and blow out and trill!
5. Don’t fill your cheeks with air. Try and keep them as flat as possible and ensure that all the air is going to your lips and not getting caught in your cheeks

If you still can’t manage to do the lip roll, try saying pudda pudda pudda pudda lots of times and then transitioning into the lip roll. This one sounds a little funny, but it does actually work.

There are two parts to this exercise.

1. Get a lip trill going without any sound. You are aiming for a sound that is similar to a horse to begin with and then try and release the breath slowly. If you can manage this for between five to 10 seconds you are doing well.
2. Now add a note to the lip trills

This is it essentially. Now what we need to do is scales. It’s very important that you know what your top note is in a normal singing voice so that we can measure how high you can really go. Make a note of it now.

Now start going up 5 note scales with your lip trills. At a certain point, you will start to feel that your voice has changed a bit. Don’t worry, this is often called a break or transition, and this is what happens when you need to sing higher.

What’s Happening to My Voice?

What actually happens is that your vocal chords will start to close ever so slightly throughout the exercise. What this does is that it enable you to sing higher. You can imagine it pretty easily as something that is smaller will be able to emit a higher sound. Look at the string instruments for example. The biggest instrument is the double bass and it is enormous. You have to stand to be able to play it properly. The cello emits a higher sound and is therefore smaller than the double bass.  Smaller than this is the viola and of course, the highest sounding instrument is the violin. The smaller it is the higher the note will be.

The same is true with your voice. The smaller you make your vocal chords, the higher you’ll be able to sing. As you are starting out your journey you may this almost impossible and probably difficult to imagine. However, with practice, you’ll be able to do it and eventually you may be able to change the length of the opening of your vocal chords for many individual notes.

You should make a note and keep track of the highest note you’ve been able to hit during this exercise. I’m sure that you’ve actually hit a higher note than you did in the humming exercise.

Now that you know that your range is actually higher you should have the confidence to be able to actually hit those notes.

Please note that this is more of a beginner’s technique. Later on, we’ll learn how to really implement those high notes into the songs you want to sing.

The Different Vocal Registers

There are essentially three or four different vocal registers. Although we aren’t going to discuss them here is great detail, in order to give you a bit of background about what you are trying to do we’ll go through them here.

1. The lowest register is known as the vocal fry and it’s kinda like the sound you make when you wake up in the morning. It’s more of a groan then a real nice sound.
2. The next register is known as the middle register and it’s basically where 90% of your singing will take place (at least at this stage).
3. The next register is known as the head voice register and it’s the one that covers the higher notes of your range.
4. After this you may have a whistle/falsetto register which is the highest of all.

The reason why you need to know this is because what you have to do in order to sing the higher notes is to access these registers. If you have never done so before it will feel very weird at the beginning but don’t worry, with time and practice you will get better and thrive with it

What Are the Things That Stop You Singing High?

There are many things that will not enable you to sing as high as you’d like and we’ll go through them below:

Beverages: Make sure you are drinking the right stuff.

Warm up: Ensure you are fully ready to sing before you actually go for it.

Acoustics: There are places with good acoustics and places with bad ones. If you sing somewhere where the sound is swallowed up by the walls it will feel weird and you may not be able to sing high. A lot of singing has to do with confidence and if you aren’t feeling it, you won’t be able to sing well. In fact, this is the reason why many popular singers nowadays have their own music studios. They may not get the full big, studio quality of a big studio but on the other hand they are completely at ease in their own surroundings. This is toss up and many singers prefer the comfort of their own home.

Health: As I’ve mentioned previously, you have to watch your health. You don’t want to be singing when you are not well and sick. As well as this, if you have a level of fitness, and tap into your endorphins that you get by working out, it’s even better.

The biggest take away though here is the following:

If it feels good, you are probably doing something right!

In Closing

We’ve gone through the different steps and background ideas that you need to get in order to be able to sing the high notes of your range. Remember that increasing your range doesn’t happen overnight. Stay the course and be patient and you will see results. Keep healthy, don’t practice when you’re not warmed up first, and try and stay calm are the big takeaways from this. I hope you have enjoyed this post and if you have any comments, please feel free to leave them below. Till next time!