Ep.44 Singing Higher is Easier than You Think-Tip# 1 of 5

Ep.44 Singing Higher is Easier than You Think – Tip# 1 of 5

 

Singing higher is easier than you think!

 

How do you sing higher through the bridge into your head voice? How do you do it without straining, cracking or flipping into falsetto?

 

There are several ways to do this successfully. Today I’m giving you one of the best and most powerful ways to do it.  By the end of this video you’ll learn how you can do it yourself.

 

One problem you may face as you try and sing through the first bridge (the area in your voice where you start to strain or crack) is your vocal cords break apart.

 

It sounds like this: Ah

 

Singing Higher is Easier Than You Think!

Here’s one solution that works very well for many singers. It’s called the “bratty ney”. It sounds like this: ney, ney, ney.

 

Notice I didn’t just say the normal “ney”. I used an unfinished or temporary sound which is called the bratty sound. Sometimes it’s called a “pharyngeal” sound because it’s concentrated in the pharynx…your mouth and nose area.

 

The “ney” is a great word to use because it has both an “EH” sound (as in “egg”) and an “e” sound (as in “eel”). The first part of the sound “EH” encourages the chest voice and helps bring the vocal cords together.

 

The second part of the sound, “e” encourages the head voice to come in as the pitch gets higher.

 

The combined sound of “ney” encourages both chest and head voice and helps keep the vocal cords together.

 

It works even better if you add the “bratty” sound to the “ney”.  This bratty sound seems to help the vocal cords to not only stay together but press together more firmly and deeply.

 

The one problem with the bratty sound is that it is a high larynx exercise. But it’s not as high as you get when you are straining to reach the high notes by yelling or forcing your voice to go higher. Watch. Ney demo.

 

Just adding that bratty sound makes a big difference. Ney demo.

 

The primary goal is to sing from the chest voice (the lower notes) into your head voice (the higher notes) without the vocal cords disconnecting.  The secondary goal is to thin the cords so there is less physical mass in the cords and less pull as you sing higher into your head voice.

 

Watch. Demo ney.

 

Notice how much thinner it sounds? It feels thinner too, rather than (demo ney). You can hear the thickness, the heaviness as it pulls higher.

 

Once these goals are obtained, you should gradually use less and less bratty sound until you can sing from chest into head voice with nothing added to your natural voice. You should discontinue using the bratty sound altogether. Demo ney.

 

Or with less bratty now. Demo ney.  There’s very little bratty sound left in that.

 

Singing higher is easier if you maintain the bratty sound on all the notes, not just the lower ones. Watch. Demo ney.

 

What happens if I lose that bratty sound on the top?  Demo ney. You can feel and hear…it’s not…it just gets harder to do.

 

Or (demo ney) if I let go altogether it just goes soft and the vocal cords separate. Demo ney. It loses the purpose of the bratty ney. Maintain that bratty sound from the bottom to the top. Demo ney.

 

It’s not jammed into your nose like this. Demo ney.  That’s very nasally.  And it doesn’t have to be loud. It’s best if it’s medium to softer volume. Demo Ney.  

 

Ladies you can do the same exercise but I would start at this pitch. Let me show you. That’s the C# just above Middle C. Demo ney. All the pitches I’ve done today your starting pitch would be the C# above middle C.

 

The key is to keep the bratty connection going the whole exercise. Demo disconnection.

 

Some singers struggle making the bratty sound. Or they can’t tell if they are doing it right. Have someone help you if needed. Get them to listen to the video, and have them listen to you. Or record yourself and compare it to the video. Mimic the bratty sound as closely as possible.

 

Be careful not to over tighten the bratty ney. It only needs to have enough energy behind it to hold the cords together. Demo.  That’s too tight. But on the other hand if it’s too soft or if you don’t put enough energy into it the cords may separate. Demo.

 

You don’t want to let go. It’s got to be enough firmness to it that it maintains the vocal cords’ connection. Demo

 

If it doesn’t work for you, don’t over do it. Come back to it in a few days and try again.

 

There’s no need to do this exercise more than 5-10 minutes at a time. If done correctly that’s all it takes. Do it every day until you can easily connect the bottom to the top of your voice without strain or breaks, at medium volume with just the “ney” sound.  As mentioned stop using the bratty sound as soon as you can. Demo.

 

This exercise will make singing higher easier than you think possible. It’ll help you develop the ability to get through the first bridge of your voice and sing from chest into head voice without straining or breaking.

 

If you strain then your vocal type is likely Pulled Chest/High Larynx.

 

Do you know your vocal type? I’m not referring to whether you’re soprano, alto, tenor or bass. Your vocal type is what you tend to do when you sing. Or what your voice tends to do when you sing. This is especially revealing in the first bridge of the voice.

 

To discover your vocal type, visit PoweToSing.com and take the PowerTest. Take the quiz and immediately discover your vocal type.

 

Visit the Knowledge Center and watch the videos about your vocal type. Download the free exercises for your specific vocal type and start improving your voice immediately.

 

I’m Chuck Gilmore with Power To Sing. You can sing higher with beauty, confidence and power.

 

I’ll see you inside the next video.