High note

I tried the oil thing this afternoon. I didnt know it was olive oil, so i used vegetable oil. NOT A GOOD IDEA!
Its so gross. I had to drink three cans of root beer to get the feeling out >.<

I'm one of those as well. I even did a little bit of opera once upon a time, and you're spot on. I remember that voice lesson where I sneezed and my teacher said "Like that!" It's all about air, air, air, and air. And the control of that air, and keeping your throat relaxed and singing all the way from your ankles. And then there's voice placement and stuff like that, but really, it's about air.

I don't recommend trying to strain yourself and using falsetto. Work with your own range and what's comfortable for you. Not every guy is a tenor, not every girl is a soprano.

I can't sing and play uke at the same time. It's too much like walking and chewing gum I guess.

I have the reverse problem of a crappy unreliable chest voice. I can't go low. Well, at least after the voice is warmed up (and talking during the day is enough for that), it's a crap shoot. I have a range down there, but when the vocal cords are tight, it tends to crack low and I loose all control of it. I've got a play coming up where I have to sing something in chest voice, and I've had to practice it two octaves up, just in case on the night with all those nerves, I don't have a chest voice.

The best kind of singing to my ears is what I think of as controlled speaking. Do what's natural for your voice. Stay in a range that's comfortable, and sing as if you're speaking and even if it's not perfect, if you mean it, then it will be music.

If you want to really push that throat, I'd recommend getting with a good voice teacher. All that junk about what oils and fluids (other than water) that are good for singing is all just a bunch of hooey. They're placebos. You think it helps and so it does. I knew a soprano who ate chocolate before singing - something all of us avoided, but we all had our rituals.. .they are just that, rituals.

menehunenyc said:

If sung all my life in choirs, classical and jazz. I was lucky enought to have received some excellent training in college too. For those who don't know how to sing and it doesn't come naturally, you need to start singing with people who do know how to sing. They will teach you how.
In a nutshell here is what you gotta do: To hit the high notes you have to tighten the belly. And thats about it. If you keep your abs rock hard, the pressure in you lungs will support your vocal chords so they don't get strained. You can't believe how complicated the human voice is, especially to sing nicely. You must be careful not to hurt yourself. In which case you may just have to do it the old fashioned way; seek instruction (via books or a live instructor) do the vocal exercises, and gradually extend your range. First though you have to find out if you are a tenor, baritone, or bass. If you are a bass you can just forget it, you were born to sing low. Baritones can sing high but it takes alot of time and will almost always be the falsetto voice. Tenors, you wouldn't be asking this question if you naturally had a high voice, you'd be doin' it already. I hope this helps.

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Misguided Musician said:

Anyone else have trouble hitting the high notes like me? Just wondering, how do you work with a song full of high notes?

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some people say think low when you wanna hit a high note. in other words, instead of raising your head up to the ceiling with all your might, try looking down (literaly) and sing high notes (i saw this on youtube btw).

instead of playing it sooo high I play it low.

i am terrified of high notes

yeah, i would just say practice! i've been singing in the choir at my school for 6 years now, and i sang bass for years and this year i just switched to tenor, and i just have to practice the songs over and over, make sure you have good posture, it sounds preachy but it does actually help you hit the notes that are higher in your range.

Be careful with some of the advice people give you about hitting the high notes. Your voice has a natural range and it is easy to strain if you do not expand your range correctly. Increasing your range is possible, but first off, you need to relax your throat, not tighten it. Most amateur singers think it is the other way around.

I have a natural baritone range, but I can hit high tenor range when I need to do so, but I won't sing lead in that range. I will do backup harmonies which put a lot less wear on me.

I am 51 years old and still sing fine, so, I know it pays to take care of your throat.

For troublesome songs, I use this site to help me find a key that A) fits the range of my voice and B) flows well on the ukulele.

http://www.logue.net/xp/

Not sure what you mean by high note. but for falsettos or any other high notes, basically, u need to push using ur stomach to force the note out. its hard to explain but you'll get it if u practice in the shower a lot. closing ur eyes or squinting might help.

i agree with Plainsong...controlled speaking worked best for me...this way was recommended to me...
i didn't know what key i sang in, so 'sang a scale' most comfortably into my tuner and my comfort zone was 'key of c' and i went from there...
i hated singin'; now i can't play without it!
good luck!
: )
p.

With high notes the key is really to relax. You think you need to prepare yourself for them so you get all tense and then nothing comes out; I'm a soprano and used to have a really hard time with this, but, now that I have some training, they come easily. Just make sure that your mouth (the inside of it) is as open during the breath you take before you sing the note as when you sing it so the space is prepared.

So... relax and open up.

Also, it helps to convince yourself it's going to come out no matter what so you don't get worked up about it and then squeeze off the space before you even start singing.