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.
Hi! I’m Chuck Gilmore with Power To Sing. 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
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.
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