Tips for hitting that high note

[BJC899]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 2:38am

Does anyone have some quick tips to hit that high note that you always have to push to reach?

I have to hit a high G and I'm pushing so hard to get the note. I also don't want to blow my voice out (I have a show next week)

Tips?

:)

[~FloweryFriend~]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 3:18am

When you're rehearsing it, try bending your knees as you hit the note.
(I don't know why this works... It just does)
After you get it down in rehearsal consistently, your voice will just sorta adapt.
At least, that's what works for me.
Good luck with it.

[musicaltheatreman]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 3:22am

what show is it and what song ??? thanks :)

[BJC899]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 3:30am

Thanks for the tip ~FloweryFriend~, I'm going to try that out. :)

I mentioned a few days ago that I'm in a production of Dear Edwina jr. During Scotts song at the end it goes from a high F all the way to a high A. The A I can hit because I don't have to hold it, but then I have to hold a high G for 3 and a 1/2 beats and my voice can never seem handle it. I'm not breathing correctly...

:)

[m]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 6:49am

1. helium works wonders :)
2. fall onto a balance beam *^{- doesn't feel so great but also ... does wonders :)

[redhotinnyc2]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 7:24am

A coach once told me to "sing down" instead of up...as though you are standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon and you want to fill the space...so instead of feeling like you are reaching up for the note - think of sending it down into the canyon - I don't know how it works - but it always helps me hit those high notes and to make them clear and full.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 9:41am

My voice teacher, who trained me classically and did wonders for me, taught me that to reach that extra high note (mine was a C that I never thought I had in me!), just go back to when you were a kid and would scream. Sounds dangerous, but it's not - it will come out very naturally and will sound fine. Hopefully by the time you actually perform the song, you won't have to feel like you're screaming it anymore.

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 10:06am

I find that some whisky and a cigarette before singing and then screaming out the high notes works just fine.
Well, it did for Janis Joplin.
You can indeed drill a high note but I think you should work on that only with your voice teacher to insure proper breathing and placement. If you work it over and over in, say, your bedroom, you might find you're doing it very wrong and just wear your voice out.

[robbiej]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 10:21am

What's the thought behind the note?

What are you singing about? Find the appropriate thought (which will result in the appropriate emotion) and you'll probably nail it.

[judy_in_disguise]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 10:24am

USE YOUR STOMACH!
Honestly. If you give that stomach a little push you'll probably get it.

One thing that helps to practice it is position yourself as if you are doing a pushup against the wall (so, your hands are on the wall). Stay there as you are singing the phrase, then on the high note, push in.

It makes you think of your stomach muscles. Which are so often ignored.

[brdwaybaby17]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 10:42am

When you strain for the top note, you are probably tensing up your neck muscles, and that is probably the worst thing to do. Bend over and kind of just swing around. I know it sounds weird, but trust me, I got up to the high G when I did this, and now I can sing it on a regular basis. Do you scales while you are swinging down there, the note should just kind of come out naturally. I hope this works for you.

[MusicPos2]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 12:56pm

Shake your head no, that will keep you from having any tension in the neck. DO NOT push from the stomach, or it will sound hiccupped, and that will tense the neck. Let it be easy and soft. Think of letting the note thin out at the top: the tone should be very slender (that's how Idina can do the high F, she has a very thin belt). Think of it as coming to a point. If you're pushing to get it, you really need to talk with a voice teacher and not people on here b/c none of us can hear you.

[shesings]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 1:16pm

i would really talk to a voice coach or music teacher if i were you. in all honesty its too risky to just pick random advice from the board. many of us probably think we know what we're talking about, but its not safe to just trust everyones methods. I hope you find something that works for you, but in defense of your voice please ask an actual professional - in person - so they can demonstrate and help you with your problem. They have trained ears that can alert them to problems, or let you know that you're doing something correctly. Be Careful!

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 1:25pm

It's about

breath

support

placement

relaxation

emotional support--as robbiej said

maturity--you may not be ready for those notes--your voice doesn't mature until your 30s.

[Sumofallthings]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 1:27pm

"maturity--you may not be ready for those notes--your voice doesn't mature until your 30s."

What is Cheno's excuse?

[TheTruth2]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 1:45pm

She's forty. Hahahahaha!

[MusicPos2]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 4:05pm

Male voices it's the 30s, female 20s. Women also lose their voice 10 years earlier...Again, a great resource when you don't know anything about voice teachers is to find someone on the NATS list (www.nats.org), they all have to have credentials checked and a reference to become members.

[m]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 5:08pm

Cheno actually turns 3x tomorrow - July 24:) - Happy Happy BDAY Kristin !!! You are AMAZING !!! Updated On: 7/23/04 at 05:08 PM

[~FloweryFriend~]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 5:14pm

"A good hard kick between the legs should help"
(courtesy of my little brother)

[rclocalz]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 5:31pm

Squeeze your butt cheeks! It will give you that extra little that your diaphram doesn't want to give. I hit an A sharp with that technique. However I don't reccommend doing that every single time, you'll look quite funny.

[ponine24601]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 5:48pm

it's all about breath support. if you don't have enough air, it will make it harder to get the note out. You can push from the diaphragm to make it easier.

[MusicPos2]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 6:11pm

You can't push from the diaphragm b/c the diaphragm is an involuntary muscle. Support comes from the abdomen and front and back intercostals (this is a major myth of singing). If someone tells you that it's from the diaphragm than they haven't taken vocal ped. The diaphragm is a dome shaped muscle under the lungs that controls how the lungs open and close. At it's height the diaphragm ALMOST lines rib cage, and it flattens to allow the lungs to expand so that air can come in. It does nothing else, and you can't control. The abdomen and other muscles around the chest can keep the diaphragm from letting out the air as fast as in normal breathing, this is known as breath SUPPORT: they support the breathing muscle.

[bronxboundexpress]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 6:21pm

What kind of voice teachers do you guys have?!?!? "Just bend your knees and the note will magically come out!!" "Think about what the song is about and the note will probably just come!!" LMAO

[sycorax]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 6:23pm

I'm a soprano 1 in the chorus of a production of "Joseph..." right now, so this thread is tremendously helpful to me!

I know this is really no help, but what's helping me most with getting through it is marking whenever I POSSIBLY can and getting lots of rest and water. Just the basics.

Oh, and to state the obvious: be sure and warm up thoroughly at least a whole note above the highest note you sing in the show.

[judy_in_disguise]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 7:46pm

everyone who is saying it's about breath support is right. Breathe from your stomach, not your chest. Remember your stomach.

Don't just dangle around and hope the note will magically come out.