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Super high head voice?

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Opaa

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Any help for super high head voice / falsetto / whistle notes? Like this guy, starting from 1:26:

I'm absolutely obsessed with this, I need to find out how to develop that kind of head voice! I usually start to squeeze around C5-E5, depending how good day I'm having. I also distort my vowels and placement, I have no specific information of what should happen above E5 with vowels, placement, thinning out, support etc.

Usually I am more capable of belting out those super high notes than doing it thin and soft, but even then my limit is around G5 or A5 on a good day. Not that I even want to hit much higher than that, but I'm interested in the dynamics, sound quality and purity, vowels etc which I feel like I lack. Seems like Vitas on the video is capable of very pure vowels in that super high range.

Anyone any info or tips regarding super high notes?

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He gets pretty high. That's a great performance. The only thing I would say is to think smaller and smaller as you go up higher and higher. I would just use the typical exercises to develop range - arpeggios and scales moving up 1/2 step at a time until you reach the top note, and don't push yourself.

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Thanks for the comments.

Bob I'm a bit confused since Frisell method advices working the headvoice and ignoring chest voice for a while. I know it's temporary but still. I too have heard that practicing the low range helps high range, but what I understood from the book is that working the raw chest register incorrectly (without the overlapping headvoice control) might imbalance the voice and disturb the developing head voice.

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the descending head voice work is primarily for strengthening this "side" of the voice, so that when it comes time to integrate the chest voice "musculature" it's in a better, stronger position. so rather than dig chest voice musculature into the tone, the hope is that chest voice musculature yields and mixes and integrates with head voice musculature and one has an easier time of mixing the musculatures and holding on to them.

the important part of the head voice work is go from high to low so that you train the voice to phonate chest voice range with the head voice musculature.

does that help?

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What helps me personally getting into these high notes are the following elements:

* I think of the sound as a needle, really thin and focused. First it needs to be really small, only then it can be opened up. Blowing too much air into it without finding the closure won't get you there.

* Squeeze. It feels really high up in my throat

* Cartoon voices. I use alot of cartoon voices to get there

* Vowel: don't try to overemphasise the vowel, just focus on getting a sound out of there.

* Reverse phonation: try to make sounds as though you suck in the air.

Those are a few of the things which work for me, experiment! It might work for you, it might not, the only way you'll know is by trying yourself.

Good luck!

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Thanks for the comments.

Bob I'm a bit confused since Frisell method advices working the headvoice and ignoring chest voice for a while. I know it's temporary but still. I too have heard that practicing the low range helps high range, but what I understood from the book is that working the raw chest register incorrectly (without the overlapping headvoice control) might imbalance the voice and disturb the developing head voice.

A lot of people, if not most starters usually take chest voice up the wrong way when going higher. There is a thinning out process that needs to occur. The easiest way to train this thinning out is by starting pretty high in your range (but not extremely high cse that won't help you as much). For example you start on A4 or B4. On an ee or eh vowel. you bring this down with ALOT of squeeze. Over and over.

As you descend, try to ascend on the same coordination. This will encourage both more chest comming in, while still keeping the pharyngeal coordination active. At last the result will be a more appropriate amount of chest. (actually a bit thinned out too much, but way beter then your typical old coordination).

The final stage then, is to counterbalance it with the OO. This will make the sound less squeezed and more full SOUNDING. I highlight sounding, because you CANNOT drop that squeeze, or your coordination will go haywire.

Depending if you have an OO dominant or EE dominant voice, there will be a difference in how deep versus how wide the finish product will be, and which vowels you need to be more careful about.

At first this might feel and will feel almost like distorting or oversqueezing. I felt it, and it feels crazy. When musculature develops, you can learn other vowels w the same position, and it will become easier for you to hold the same good compression without having to resort to such a high larynx.

PLEASE BE ADVISED: Don't try this alone. Get someone who understands the mechanism and the building blocks fully. To go the full 9 yards with this method you will do REALLY AGRESSIVE stuff to your voice. It's perfectly healthy to do so, but you need someone who can tell you if you're going overboard or not going far enough.

Try to contact CunoDante, Anthony Frisell, Jaime Vendera, James Lugo,... People with experience in this domain, and let them be your mentor in this. The concept is pretty straightforward actually, but it's going to be the vocal bootcamp of your life once you find out how much effort this is. But the result will be like you have a new voice :p

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Any help for super high head voice / falsetto / whistle notes? Like this guy, starting from 1:26:

I'm absolutely obsessed with this, I need to find out how to develop that kind of head voice! I usually start to squeeze around C5-E5, depending how good day I'm having. I also distort my vowels and placement, I have no specific information of what should happen above E5 with vowels, placement, thinning out, support etc.

Usually I am more capable of belting out those super high notes than doing it thin and soft, but even then my limit is around G5 or A5 on a good day. Not that I even want to hit much higher than that, but I'm interested in the dynamics, sound quality and purity, vowels etc which I feel like I lack. Seems like Vitas on the video is capable of very pure vowels in that super high range.

Anyone any info or tips regarding super high notes?

Opaa: Watching this, and hearing what he does, a few things I'd point out:

1) He is not singing with very much volume, but rather letting the mic and amplification do the work.

2) Quite often in the first verse, he is using a vocal fry at onset and/or release, to ensure that he is getting a complete adduction.

3) All his tones, even the soft ones, have some twang.

4) When he goes in the the middle high and extreme high frequencies, after onset his larynx is still visible.

5) In the whistle range, there is no distinct vowel of any kind... its just a clear, resonant note. It may sound like a vowel, but its not.

If you want to learn how to do this, the very soft fry transitioning to a very soft, unforced vowel is a very good start. Fry/Creak (which takes almost no air) for a second, and then add just enough support to make the note become clear (un-creaky). Take that sound and siren it, keeping it small, and moving the pitch around just by thinking higher and lower. If you find yourself tightening at some point in the scale, start again, and let the note get smaller as you approach that area.

This will take persistent practice, but will help you re-tool the techniqe.

I hope this is helpful.

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Thank you both for your help.

"PLEASE BE ADVISED: Don't try this alone. Get someone who understands the mechanism and the building blocks fully. To go the full 9 yards with this method you will do REALLY AGRESSIVE stuff to your voice. It's perfectly healthy to do so, but you need someone who can tell you if you're going overboard or not going far enough."

I can feel that need for a professional now after doing this alone for a long while, if only I could find one here in my country. I'm aware that I need someone who is well familiar with this particular process, and I have yet to find one.. And I'm looking for a live personal coach instead of webcam sessions.

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  • 7 years later...
Guest Lordsuprem17

I have the same problem sometimes I can go all the way up to F6 or G6 in a really tiny head voice but sometimes I only go to A5 with cracking and I am a leggero tenor ( tenorino maybe )

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