Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Reach Those High Notes With Ease!

By Thomas.L. Smythe

Everyone has tried singing in the shower at one time or another, but what exactly happens when the high note is attempted? Maybe you squeak or sound tinny that somehow forces the high pitch into an unearthly falsetto sound that scares the neighbors? It's true that most people have not experienced voice lessons so that they know what exactly to do if they have to reach some high pitches.

Most people never really think about it, but most people treat their voices roughly every day by shouting, shrieking, coughing loudly, and not to mention using cigarettes. This poor treatment of your voice in combination with the limited range of sound you do when you are speaking, does not help the voice if you are a singer at all. No singer who wants to be taken seriously must treat their voice this poorly, so they should get some input from an experienced vocal performer about care of the singer's voice.

If you want to take yourself seriously, make sure that you rest your voice so that it is not overused and become raspy sounding. Speaking with your voice too much will also create problems, so as a singer protect your voice by not using until absolutely necessary. When you use good breath support the correct way, you will find that you will be able to attain those high notes with ease.

If you practice good breath techniques daily you can make it a primary component of your vocal expertise. For example when you speak, run, move your body around, or practice yoga you employ your lungs to distribute air. Learning how to breathe should be your main goal for use in your daily living and with your singing.

If you want to sing falsetto, you don't need to use your lungs at all. When you sing falsetto, you will use the muscles in the neck and throat which singers do not use for actual singing. Try to let go of stress so that that your breath flows easily and effortlessly to reach those high notes, such as using those Lamaze breathing methods for expecting mothers.

Try to sing with scales on a piano or chords on a guitar to see if you can sing higher each time. If that's not possible have someone play flute, clarinet, or saxophone which will also be helpful. A great software tool you can install on your computer is Sing and See software where you will get a visual feedback of your singing, including how high you sing. It's wonderful for an independent student training on his or her own.

If you want to really hear your voice so you can study it, record yourself singing. The best part about hearing your voice sing is the authenticity it has, voice impersonators can sound like somebody but only you can match your real voice. You will have the chance to hear your pronunciations of words and your delivery, and make the necessary corrections if you need to.

While you sing and listen try to sing along with your recorded voice to see if you can match exactly the recorded voice. You can even try to sing in harmony just for fun, or just sing along with the melody of the song that you recorded. You will then become familiar with your range when you sing and try to expand it even more with more practice. - 15359

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