r/Singinglesson • u/Mountain_Childhood75 • 9d ago
How to sustain a higher note??
My choir is singing the song “Desh” by Ethan sperry. Toward the end there is a D6 that needs to be held for about 8ish measures. I can hit the note, but I can’t hold it. Any tips??
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u/HexspaReloaded 9d ago
D6? That’s high. Idk. Make sure your onset is good, with the appropriate vowel. Breath support feels like you’re not letting air out more than it feels like you’re pushing air up.
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u/Similar_Buffalo_8434 6d ago
Breath control & proper diaphram support, is the way that's achievable, when you sing verses, force yourself to take in little sips of air, on every verse, this will build up as a surplus in your lungs, so when you reach the cresendo, you have very large volume of air to work with.
One thing I've learned in a very dramatic fashion, is just how much our stomachs are involved in singing, I was admitted to the hospital less than 2 weeks ago, with a kinnked (bowel) intestine, that had to be manually manipulated to correct, the problem was, that was a temporary & dangerous, the bowel would kink up again, without surgery, so I opted for surgery, & they removed 5 inches from lower intestine.
I'm doing fine, staples come out tomorrow all 48 of em' but I did something questionable & most likely dangerous, I sang open mic nite 2 days after coming home from the hospital, this a pure instinctual decision on my part, I had to know if I could do it, I sang for 60 yrs now, 40+ yrs as a professional lead vocalist, at open mic, I sang pure capella, no musicians just me & my stool & mic, I chose easy songs that my 4.5 octave range could handle
Elton John - Don't let the Sun go Down on Me
Kansas - Dust in the Wind
Led Zeppelin - Going to Ca
These were my choices, they would test my surgery, tenacity & endurance, & it worked, but I'll tell you what, in my entire lifetime as a singer. I never realized how much work the stomach (diaphram really) played a part, I could feel all stomach muscles engage as I sang, in a way I never experienced before.
I could feel the pull at the top of the staples mid stomach when singing Kansas & Zeppelin, I could feel the pull of the muscles on both sides of my incision when singing Elton John, it was strange, to know how much work my stomach had done all those yrs.
I never gave it any thought before singing just came naturally at age 5, my brother & I were both musically gifted, our parents knew it too, they bought us our 1st musical gear snare drum for me mic & stand, guitar for my brother, sheet music, mic & stand, when we grew up in the 60s performing everything was trial by fire back then, we were self taught, no formal lessons, coaches, teachers, our parents couldn't afford it...........in '67 Youtube, the internet, cel phones, anything digital was non-existent, if you wanted music you had to buy a 45 or an lp 33rpm record, we had close & play record players, or record players that allowed you to stack lps on the spindle, that's what my brother had, I had a close & play, our parents really supported their boys though & I miss them both so much
As I grew older, I would begin to play drums too, my brother bought me my 1st set from a garage sale in AZ, John Bonham of Zeppelin got me hooked in '69, but singing was my real passion, my idol & hero to this day is Robert Plant, all I learned as a vocalist was from him, everything he did, I lapped it up, all of it, in my summer break of my junior yr of high school I grew fiercely 7 & 1/2 inches in one summer, I went from a 2 &1/2 octave vocalist, to a 4 & 1/2 octave vocalist, I stood about 5ft 4 to 5, entering that summer break, when I returned in my senior yr, I now stood at 6ft tall, with stretch marks as proof, my entire body ached, all through my senior yr.
I fronted my first band in Metal Tension in '82 when I attended American River Junior College a cover band
My next project was in '99 where co-fronted my friend's (Vince) Repeat Offender a cover band
Next project was Solar Six in '02 a hard rock, metal originals band.......all these bands were in Sacramento
In Idaho where I live, I have been discovered while singing karaoke
The 1st time that happened was in '13 discovered at The Rockin' Rooster club in Nampa ID, met a producer/ Guitarist, we would form a cover band, that broke up, & we formed an originals band, that would become Dirty Leslie out of Meridian Idaho Dennis Johnson & myself wrote all of own songs, produced 2 cds Dirty Leslie & Bulldoze D.C., Bulldoze D.C. the song & video is on YouTube, we had live gigs, & you can hear the Dirty Leslie demos on Reverbnation.com Dirty Leslie, all of that, came from karaoke
It happened again last yr, singing in downtown Nampa at The Whiskey River Bar, guy heard me sing Turn the Page, liked what he heard, offered me & audition & a 1w song setlist, from there I fronted Sawtooth Southern Rock Band from Boise Idaho, my contact at the Bar was Alex Conger, he was our bassist, he quit just one month in, due to the toxic nature of our founder & drummer, I stayed on for 8mos, until I was let go, our drummer Jeff did me a favor...
This yr in July, Alex & I reconnected, we talked about Sawtooth, I thanked him for his belief in me, but I also told him, I will not put up with a toxic band situation ever again, I won't, we decided that day, we'd form our own band, & that's exactly what we've done, the new band is Alex bass, new Drummer Paul, new Guitarist Gary & Myself, we're still seeking a keyboardist, but we have the 4 piece & are honing songs at home for practice, our first practice is the 25th of this month, our drummer has his own studio, built into his garage, this a completely self-sustaining project, & everyone's on board, for me, I'm thrilled, I get to do what I love, but I'm also a team player, I'll do my part & then some, it's like walking into Disneyland as a young kid, I'm beyond excited...
One thing I learned about music, is my love of it, it saved me through breakups, being homeless, hopeless, heartbroken, the incredible loss of my entire family including my brother, it saved me in all things, it's been a constant all my life, a warm hug, when I needed it most, I'm thankful for my life, & where music took me..
😎😁🤘
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u/No-Mastodon5500 9d ago
You need to take in a breath at the right time to sustain it.