Can anyone learn to sing higher?

Question

So, I sing to myself a lot, and one thing that really frustrates me is that I cannot even reliably hit a middle C. (I'm male.) This is basically unacceptable to me even for ordinary shower-singing. Now after I'm a little warmed up, the highest note I've ever convinced myself I actually got was an Eb4. Now I see a lot of websites saying that you can damage your voice permanently (scary!) by straining too much. I think I might be doing this, since typically it hurts a little after any amount of time around middle C. Is there any way to determine if my voice is already damaged? One thing: if I'm ever able to reach, say, D4, it's only if I have a lot of breath and sing it loudly; it'll never come out if I try it soft.

When I search "how to sing higher" the most common advice is to 1) avoid falsetto and 2) avoid straining. That's like teaching someone to jump higher by telling them to 1) avoid cheats, like trampolines and 2) avoid jumping harder than you normally would; just jump naturally. Well, gee, I don't think I'll get any higher then! Any help?

Answer 1

Simple advice is to take singing lessons. We here cannot know what you're doing and what you're doing wrong just by reading. You have to have a professional coaching you how to use your body in another way than you do now.

Answer 2

As Thomas Bryla said in another answer, there's really no substitute for working with someone who can hear what you're doing and observe your posture while you're doing it. But here are some things I have learned from years of casual choral singing as a low female voice trying to do better (I usually sing tenor):

1. Breath support makes a big difference. If you're feeling that straining in your throat, then you're not supporting the notes and you'll hurt yourself. When you breathe in you should feel your diaphragm expand; as you sing you should feel it deflate. This is hard to teach in writing.

2. Practice rising scales: start on a note, sing 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1 on open vowels, then take the starting note up half a step and do it again. (You can do the reverse going down too, to work on lower range.) It's easier to approach the extremes of your range gradually and gently. Once you're warmed up on that you can take in thirds. (In both cases, make sure each note is crisp -- no slurring the pitch.) Exercises are boring compared to singing the songs you like, but over time they'll get you there. I've finally managed to smooth out an awkward break in my range doing this, and I can now produce a D5 if I have to (though I'm not happy about it; I'm really not comfortable much above B4).

3. When it hurts, stop for a while. Don't wait for it to get bad.

Answer 3

You can definitely enhance your range a little with tuition. However, professional singers, like the rest of us, sing with what nature gave them. That's why there are some men who have the most wonderful rich, pure voices very low down. Singing high is just not important compared to singing well without strain, and a teacher can help you do both. You can always sing your favourite songs on a starting note of your choice if unaccompanied, or sing down an octave or harmonise if accompanied. Again, you might like some musicianship training for this to make it easier. If you've not yet done so, how about looking up the ranges used for bass, tenor etc to see where you fall in the spectrum. You are not alone!

Answer 4

There's a lot of people that seem to tell you that you're not built to sing high but that's not exactly the truth. When i first went through puberty around 12 i couldn't sing middle c either but as i got vocal training i can now sing up to an A and feel no strain. It's a matter of how to learn to use your upper register.

Answer 5

As some other people have already mentioned, find a reputable vocal teacher to give you lessons. I myself am a bass baritone and have been taking singing lessons for the past 2-3 months or so. Before I had been struggling not only with range plateaus but worse yet, with plateaus in technique (or better said, lack of technique). Obviously, I am still struggling, but I can already see the light at the end of this very long tunnel.

Mind you, even with lessons, progress is slow, there are no magic bullets but one thing I can guarantee you, is that when you find freedom of the voice, you will forget all the things about range and start to relish in singing. There is no better feeling than singing with the freedom of the vocal instrument.

And freedom IS key if you want to sing WELL. Maybe there are some potentially damaging techniques for range expansion, but if you want to sing WELL and to really get to enjoy your singing, you need to free up the body tension.

P.S. Your story in many ways resembles mine. When I started to be range aware, the best I could hit was Eb4. With practice, a lot of bad technique and "improved" air pressure, I managed to get up to F4. Now I am going back down on working on actual singing and not on some notes. The notes will come, I can already sense that notes around the C4 are much fuller now.

Answer 6

It sounds like you are a bass. I'm a tenor. I can sing higher than you, but I bet you can sing way lower than me.

Some men are born to sing bass, some to sing baritone, and some to sing tenor. It's determined by your physiology, and that you cannot change.

Get some singing lessons from a professional voice teacher and learn what your natural range is, and how to work with the range you've got.

If you're a bass, then look for some songs to sing that were written for a bass and not for a tenor.

Answer 7

I've been training for about 4 years. So I've developed my voice to give myself a solid range. I'm a 21yo male, if it matters. Like said above, you could just be a bass singer. An untrained bass would struggle with Eb4 as a trained bass' limit is generally around an E4-F4. Now you didn't state an age.... But I was 17 when I started singing and I found notes higher than a middle C tricky back then too. But I enjoyed singing and kept working at it, just because I wanted to. With the vocal training I've had, by definition, I'm a bass-baritone. (like most men) I have a chest voice range spanning from roughly F2-G#4. G#4 being raised from the same limit of the OP. It's very true that you have to build your voice. You don't just have one.... Singing is a way of life. It's what I've noticed over the past 4 years. The only way to develop your voice is to treat it like a job. Now to the advanced stuff... Everyone has a chest voice range and a falsetto range. But not many people know that you can actually combine the two together and use them at the same time to form a 'mixed' voice. It's very difficult to master. I'm in the process of it myself. But it virtually eliminates 'vocal range' and voice categories like baritone and Tenor. It's very elusive and difficult to master, but it's how the rock band singers sing their songs. But for anyone struggling with limited range, is why I posted here. Research the 'mixed' voice. There are tutorials on Youtube but it's taken me about 6 months to actually work out how to use it myself (illusive). I said I'm a baritone but can easily hit a Tenor high C using this technique. I just need to actually get good at it, and work on the technique and tone of notes once so illusive to me and make sure I'm doing it correctly. Go to Youtube and listen to "Roy Kahn". I don't think there's a better master of the mixed voice, personally.

Answer 8

My voice teacher has worked as a voice teacher for over 20 years. She is very strict on teaching the healthy singing technique and I have had great success with her and developed my (opera) voice to a level I could never have imagined when I started singing lessons.

I am a bass (the lowest male voice type) and at the moment can still easily sing a healthy tenor high C (C5) and usually a bit higher notes than that. Voice teacher has said I have very good muscles for singing those high notes: as a result I also have no problems with the high bass notes E4/F4/F#4. I started voice lessons around 2010 and at that time struggled with notes above middle C (C4), so I think this has been a crazy improvement.

But this is not for granted for every person. My voice teacher also has other students that struggle with the high notes even though they have taken singing lessons with her longer than me. One bass student struggles with the high bass D4. Baritones rarely have a very large tessitura: they seem to struggle with something starting from high Bb4.

If you cannot sing the high notes, it is perfectly normal. Singing is about the body and muscles and every person has different physique and biology. You could have such muscles that you never reach the very high notes, even though you have sung tens of years, but could still sing well with your "normal" tessitura (of your voice type). I have also heard basses have larger vocal cords than other voice types (such as baritones) and that is why they might have similar high notes as tenors, but their comfortable voice range "sits" lower.

You could also have sung with the wrong technique your whole life before beginning with a good voice teacher, which could also mean that you have "stuck" your body with the wrong technique (= wrong muscles --> wrong muscle memory) and may not get out of that for several years, and e.g. struggle with the high notes.

I would not say "anyone can learn high notes". I would say "anyone can learn to sing in a healthy way and with their own voice", which also results in a possibility to sing very high notes in a healthy way.

Source: based on own (partly professional opera) experience and health, plus what my voice teacher has told. Please also remember that singing technique (e.g. singing high notes) is a complex labyrinth of learning things and there does not seem to be a consensus on which is the "right" singing technique and how does the singer's body/muscles work. There is a lot of quarrel and argument on the subject, everyone think their opinion is the right one. I base mine on the fact that over the years, my body (not only the vocal cords!) responds to my singing better and better, I feel less and less vocal fatigue on my vocal cords, I can more easily notice what I am doing wrong with my muscles (mainly facial muscles) when singing and my voice has grown a lot larger over the years. I think this tells that my voice teacher has taught me a healthy technique, and I myself have practiced the right things and corrected my mistakes very well, which still allows me to sing professionally if I want to pursue that career.

Answer 9

I've been singing for 7 years, and I think that anyone can definitely learn to sing higher. Obviously everyone has a maximum range, so there will come a point where you can't sing a higher note without losing tonality and possibly hurting yourself. I do not know why anyone would advise avoiding falsetto. Falsetto is an excellent technique that can not only allow you to sing in a higher range, but it can also sound great and provide an alternate tone for your singing when in the upper range.

It would be a good idea for you to master the range that you're most comfortable with, but it's great to try to expand your range and step outside of your comfort zone. Just make sure it does not hurt when you're singing notes that are higher than you normally sing. If it hurts try it in falsetto. If it hurts in falsetto, then it might be higher than you should sing. However, with proper practice and vocal exercises you may be able to hit those once hard to hit notes and possibly even go higher.

Answer 10

There is always the question what you are expecting to do with an extended range. I can produce sound over about 4 octaves, but people would not be interested in hearing more than about 3 of those (when I transitioned from tenor to alto/bass, I had choir concerts where I had to change my place between tenor for the old repertoire, alto for baroque and earlier repertoire, and bass for romantic and newer stuff where a male alto would have been out of style).

To those who say "don't use falsetto", my advice is "go screw your own voice". Falsetto is the base material for developing a good downward reaching head voice. When done correctly, it delivers a rather pure tone that is pleasant to hear and blends well with other voices. Yes, you are "out of style" in a group of "tenors" straining their baritonal chest voice into the tenor range, but a smooth falsetto will blend even better with three strained quasi-tenor chest voices than a fourth strained quasi-tenor chest voice.

Strained voices blend badly. You can hear out every one of them. True tenors (those with a naturally high-reaching chest voice not requiring force) are rare. Work the ranges you can reach comfortably with the best register and voice type you can employ. While it takes years of practice to connect disjoint registers into smooth and controlled transitions and mixed voice types, working on the connection when you don't have the basic styles at the end points well under control on their own will not be feasible.

The mixed rein is really tricky and it makes sense bridging it from two solid shores.

Answer 11

My experience so far is that you CAN sing higher, as high as a tenor or even higher, but you will never sing the way a tenor does, if that's what you expect...When I started I probably couldnt sing higher than F#4 for instance(probably "yell", "sing" would be a compliment). Now I have gone as high as F#5 on good days. Basically anything you can hit with that soft falsetto voice you can hit it in your "normal" voice.

BUT your voice will still "feel like home" in a certain range of notes. This is called tessitura. It will feel more natural to sing there, your tone will be better and retain its fullness and your voice will have an easier time in general. In the end it's probably better to sing like a nice baritone/bass(assuming you are one) rather than a cheap imitation of a tenor.

I think choosing your notes is about finding the equivalent points between the different voice types. What I mean is that a tenor might sing a B4 as his high note but a bass might only hit an E4-F4. Still they might be both at the same "physiological point", it's the intensity that matters.

Answer 12

I had the same problem. Notice I said had. Your issue is one of technique. Best advice is what others have said here which is to get a singing instructor.

I recommend a male just because imitation is so critical to the journey of singing better, and it is easier for you to imitate a male than a female voice obviously.

You can also look at Singing Success. I don't have stock in the product, so don't worry. I'm not trying to sell you anything. I just know how frustrated I got over this exact same issue.

Let me offer you this one piece of advice. You are pushing too hard. Pushing too much air. And you are trying to sing your high notes with the full weight of chest voice. It sounds thick and rich. Think instead of lightening your voice to start to take on more of that tenor vocal quality. I'm not saying you are going to become a tenor, but if you start to produce that tonal quality, then you are getting closer to proper technique needed to get higher.

So, instead of pushing, you've got to learn the proper abdominal support and a "held back" feeling of support. Back way off of the push. Use MUCH less air. Don't remove the supported abdominal feeling otherwise you will err on the other side which is to try to control the sound with your neck muscles. Don't do that. Keep a supported feeling but while using less air, see if you can find that lighter sound. Let it crack if it wants to. The cracking is a glimpse of what the lighter sound quality is supposed to be.

So let that happen while you are training. Find a vocal coach who understands this phenomenon. Good luck, and in the mean time, DON'T PUSH. Pushing just forces the thicker, outer muscles of the larynx to take over, because the lighter, thinner edge muscles (the ones that make head voice and tonal brilliance) unable to hold back the air and vibrate to make the sound. You reach a point where you cannot get any higher and the voice just stops. Search for "head voice", and "vocal registration" and terms like that. It's the head voice that you are missing, that will add brilliance even to your low register. Strengthening head voice (the thin edges of the cords) will make the low stuff sound better and will allow you to go higher. It will not turn you into a tenor or take away your low notes.

Answer 13

I am still not sure about how far you can increase your vocal range. But a typical baritone who practices on increases his range can get up to G4 (A4 being the extreme). Me being a lyric baritone I managed to get up to A4 with a slight strain, I can hit A4 sharp without falsetto but its just full straining and the note itself is very shaky and I can't hold it for long. I am not sure how far a baritone's range can increase but I heard there are limits to how far one can increase his range.

Answer 14

Anyone can sing higher with the right practice and commitment. I've found that the best way to practice is to sing along with songs that touch on notes which are just out of my comfortable range. This means that I have to strain a little bit but it's not enough to do real damage.

But the truth is, in order to get higher you have to strain some. It shouldn't be painful, but you may feel a slight ache. Drink lots of water, and suck on ginger root (anti inflammatory).