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No sound without straining in high notes...?

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steve95

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So its always been like this, but whenever I try to attempt high notes around and above high C, I have to strain to get the high notes. I'm not sure if its straining or not, but the larynx definitely goes up. If I don't do this and try to "thin" out at the top without my larynx moving or straining, no sound comes out at all.

What am I supposed to do in this situation?

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IMO, a mobile larynx is a good thing. Holding it one position or another is a momentary tool to achieve an effect. Holding the larynx down can make a more oscuro tone, which can work well for a certain vowel on a certain note at a certain point in a song. But one wouldn't necessarily have to hold that position throughout.

A rising larynx is not all that bad, assuming we're not talking about rising high enough to engage the swallowing action.

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Please upload a link so I can hear it... however, my educated guess is that, you have not achieved good isolation of your intrinsic anchoring set. The energy and support and activation of twang-like phonations you are getting by straining needs to be replaced by more efficient muscle coordinations... You body is confused... your shallow in your placement and your engaging your constrictors... things that come from the "primitive" , as described in "The Four Pillars of Singing" 2.0. Your muscle coordination is sloppy and underdeveloped... this is likely because your not training onsets and your not training sirens to learn how to maintain a PERFECT phonation package as you sing higher... if you are a TVS student and are trying to do these things, then you need to get in front of me and get the issue resolved and move on.

Sort out the physiological, acoustic and some psychological components that need to be trained and understood to produce these extreme singing sounds, then practice them in sequential work flows, slowly, over and over and over again... you then begin to train the body to do what it needs to do.

You need good training content and a good teacher to help you get it cleaned up. If you choose to not get help with this, the issue will not go away. You can learn conceptually a little bit about whats going on and get some tips on this forum, but if you don't train it, its not going to build any muscle memory.

This is a magazine for singing technique, it does not replace the requirement to train and transform your body to be able to do these things. High C? You mean C5? That is extremely high and is just, "extreme"... if thats what your pounding on, you need coaching and an expert to help you get it working right.

Hope this helps...

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oh so its not the rising larynx, but the other muscles on the neck you mean?

I'm currently using the singing success program... and I also had a vocal teacher for 2 months until I found myself unable to pay for it anymore. In Brett Manning's follow along audio tracks, he says the male high C, so that was what I was referring to... I never really learned theory so I can't tell you more about that...

I'm still a beginner so maybe I should work on the very basics first before working on the high notes? Because for sure I am still in the process of developing a good technique and getting rid of bad habits...

Thanks for the answers guys!

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Notes above C5 for most and E5 for some have a tonal shift. The reason for that is structure. The resonating spaces get smaller and smaller, having just enough room to resonant the fundamental frequency and not enough room to resonate overtones. That is why the vowels all start to sound the same up there. Up there, the words can only be formed with articulation by means of lips and the tip of the tongue.

Also, the folds have thinned out and you are only vibrating the outer edges. A high note is a small note, resonated properly.

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