Tips for hitting that high note- Page 2

[ponine24601]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 8:15pm

i find it easier to hit a note when you loosen up your entire body.

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 9:07pm

I have nothing to contribute, but I just find it funny everyone has their own solution to this. Reminds me of that episode of the Simpsons when Lisa has gum stuck in her hair, and everyone in town has some technique to offer.

[BJC899]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 9:46pm

Thanks for all the tips!

I had a meeting with the musical director today and we spent close to an hour working on that part in the song. Making sure my vocal cords aren't tense, relaxing the whole body and just being confident (plus lots of breathing I wasn't doing!) I can now hit the note.

Woot woot!

Thanks for all the help.
:)

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 9:55pm

Breathing from your lungs is better than breathing from your stomach. When you take in air, your sides/back should puff out a tiny bit (you can feel it with your hands). That's where your lungs are. Not in your stomach.

[MusicPos2]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 10:01pm

I think when they mean stomach, they mean around the navel. Yes, there are no lungs there, but the abdomen does expand that area to allow the diaphragm to drop and the lungs to fill completely. You should see it move. If you don't, you're taking too shallow a breath.

[brdwaybaby17]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 10:13pm

judy, the "dangling around" is to make sure you don't tense up your neck muscles. It is virtually impossible to do when you are slumped over and you are completely relaxed.

[MusicPos2]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 10:20pm

That's because you need a little tension in the abdomen. To be completely relaxed and dangling, you're restricting your air flow, and it goes out of your lungs too easily b/c gravity is pulling out the air.

[brdwaybaby17]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 10:25pm

Well, it seems to work well for me, and I think my voice teacher knows a little bit about what she's doing.

[MusicPos2]

Posted: 7/23/04 at 10:31pm

It depends on how high you want to go. Dangling is great to ease tension, but you won't reach the top of your range that way. You also won't have any support.

[Paul LW]

Posted: 7/24/04 at 1:00am

Haha...as tempting as it is...clenching your butt cheeks is not a good way...clenching means tension and tension is no good!

I am all for the singing "down". Think of approaching the note from below, and not reaching that extra little bit to reach it at the top of your voice. A lot of it is psychological too. Don't psyche yourself out. That's why you should never watch the pianist's hands when performing warm-ups. A lot of times I sing along with women's songs in chest voice and dont even realize I am comfortably singing F's and G's.

Bust most importantly...do what is right for you! Everyone is very different, but of course don't straing or hurt yourself!

Once you got it---comfortably---then just keep doing it! Your muscles will remember it and will make it easier to do in performance.

Good Luck!

[rclocalz]

Posted: 7/24/04 at 12:40pm

Hehe Paul LW... I just thought I'd mention the butt cheeks because it is so funny to watch! Your right it really doesn't help, but when your in the chorus of a show and the lead is in the front and that high note comes along and you can see them squeezing with all their might, it is the most hilarious thing in the world! Someone...okay me... told them they should squeeze her butt cheeks to reach the high note and they actually did it, it's so funny to see. Now with all that said, she did get the high note though, lol.

[MrsPooh523]

Posted: 7/24/04 at 1:00pm

This is a question that really involves work with your voice teacher. This is not a question to ask on a message board, as the answer involves more than words on a page. It involves visual and physical, one- on- one work with your teacher. It's about what phyically feels right...the position of the larynx, breath control etc... I could go on, but at the risk of filling up this page...my advice is to see your voice teacher for further instruction.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 7/24/04 at 5:37pm

Um, supporting the song emotionally does indeed allow a singer to hit the notes. Good writing is relative to this. It is one of the important components to good singing.

Updated On: 7/24/04 at 05:37 PM

[Phantom2]

Posted: 7/24/04 at 5:40pm

Have someone kick you in the balls. This would only work if you're a male though.

[BrdwyThtr]

Posted: 7/24/04 at 6:20pm

My voice teacher has instructed me, in the same way as redhotinnyc2, to always sing "down".

[sopranostar]

Posted: 7/24/04 at 6:50pm

Late response... Sometimes it helps if you don't think of the note as that 'high note'. Don't pay attention to it. Don't give it a designated name. Its just another note in the song that you have to sing. A lot of trouble from singing high notes comes with being afraid of them and afraid of your sound.

But always listen to what your voice teacher tells you! They know best!(most of the time...)

[MusicPos2]

Posted: 7/24/04 at 10:20pm

That point of not thinking of it as high is key. However, I think you might have typed wrong for the singing down (if not, you might want to be sure that your voice teacher knows vocal pedagogy and vocal health): you want to think of approaching the note from the top and landing down on it, rather than reaching for it. If you reach for it, you will get tension, and you won't get it. My teacher talks about hitting the ceiling when you reach for it. One thing that helps me is to think of the line more than the notes, and the high note is just part of the line, the line is what I worry about it, and the high notes just come. Works incredibly well. If you can avoid it, don't take a breath before a high note, let it be in the middle of the line, and it will help a lot.

[son_of_a_gunn_25]

Posted: 7/24/04 at 10:29pm

I love Dear Edwina Jr.! Such a cute show! Break a leg! Plenty of good advice so far so just keep on truckin, and listen to your voice teacher (or musical director if you don't have a voice teacher)