Exercises or understanding to unlock my highest notes (I'm a man)

Question

I've been taking singing lessons for a few months now and one notable thing is gaining confidence with my head voice. Previously I probably never used it, now as well as my chest voice being able to go much higher (A2 - E4/F4) I can confidently sing some fairly powerful head voice notes in the range D4 - Bb4, and can reach B4, in a relaxed manner that doesn't strain my voice and feels quite natural.

However above B4 I notice I have to switch to a much more forced technique, and have far less control. I sort of have to "throw" my voice and hope it hits the right note. I've tested with a vocal app and I can reach C5-E5, sometimes as high as G5, and hold the notes in pitch, but it's really just a squeak not something useful. And it tires my throat out very quickly. And I feel stupid doing it which is a big factor for me personally.

I believe this is me switching from head voice to falsetto and wondered if there are specific techniques and exercises I can use to develop this part of my range... and if I should be using this technique or instead trying to expand my natural voice higher rather than trying to sing these very high notes at all in this style.

Answer 1

[Note; I'm an untrained rock/pop singer with 40+ years' experience, so my opinions on the subject are from my own experience rather than academia/classical training]

There are points at which your voice needs to 'swap modes'. As you rise towards to the swap point you need more control to hold the lower mode without having to switch to the higher. These points are unlikely to change much over time, except they will drop lower after many years.

In the meantime, all you can do is strengthen those 'weak points' by repetition - just below the switch point is always going to be the most tiring area. Working on songs that reach or even exceed it will help - but don't go all out & expect you will gain the strength in a week or two; you'll really tire that switch point very quickly to start with.
Think of it like doing 50 sit-ups after not having exercised for a year - you won't really find out how much it hurts until 2 days later, & then you'll have trouble getting out of a chair for a week... so take it steady & build up.

As a singer who has schedules with little or no work for months, then a month of sustained effort [I'm pretty much retired these days so I take a lot of time off in between] I find I need to work gradually up to it over 2 ~ 4 weeks, the more the better. Start slow, work up to it.

As far as I know, based on my own experience, you will never get rid of the 'switch points' but you will eventually learn to live with them & make the most of how they work for you.

Answer 2

I sing in the Grace Cathedral Choir and have learned a few things about strengthening my falsetto / switch into falsetto. I am a bass, so my falsetto was not very strong either. This is what I did:

1. Relax

First of all, to successfully sing in head voice, you need to relax. Your thinner, stretched-out vocal cords won’t work if the body around them is tense. Find a mirror and look at yourself as you talk in your Mickey Mouse voice. The more relaxed your body is, the easier it will be for you to produce sound in head voice.

Here are some specific areas to check and relax as you make sound in your head voice range:

• Tongue
• Jaw
• Neck

• Shoulders

  2. The Concert Woooo

Have you ever been to a concert and heard someone yelling “Wooooo!” in a really high voice? This exercise comes from that concept. Take in a good breath and do some of these “woo” noises while maintaining your relaxed body. Open your mouth as you go up in pitch. Make sure that you are not pushing; you should feel as though your voice is finding its way up rather than being forced.

3. Ghostly Singing

This last exercise borrows from that spooky “oOoOOOooOO” high voice that all of us are familiar with. Using your breath, practice doing this in your head voice. Remember to stay relaxed!