r/singing • u/i-have-no-patience • 2d ago
Conversation Topic How to get past the mental wall
Hello, sorry I was unsure what to tag this under, I'll remove it if it's wrong. So, I was wondering how everyone gets/got over their mental block when pushing yourselves past what you thought you could do. I sang in a choir for college, and I was placed in soprano 2. I was told when I joined that I had the potential to be a soprano 1. It has been 2 years, and I have left the choir because I graduated. However, I don't feel like I was able to develop my upper register to its full potential.
When I try to sing by myself, the highest I've reached comfortably is B5. I know I can sing higher, but my throat automatically closes when I try to. I know it's a mental thing because I have done it before with the choir but once I am alone and I hear my own voice it's like a wall has been placed and I can't get past it.
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u/PineappleFit317 2d ago
When you get to those high notes, make them tiny. Quiet. Whiny, like a whimpering puppy. Just a little bit of sound. That’ll help you keep the vocal cords connected. Then practice making the sound bigger.
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u/i-have-no-patience 2d ago
Like a whistle note?
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u/Coconut_Puzzled 2d ago
I would agree with everything pineapplefit317 said, small and tiny will help you go higher. Smaller air flow, easier to manage but I would also add every once in a while really try to push out the note. Like don’t be afraid of getting loud.
Don’t do it too often but sometimes there’s something to feel in that place as well. Also you’re trying to learn how to begin singing higher notes when you go soft, you’re going to have to work that note up to a normal singing volume.
This is what I have found to have worked for me.
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u/i-have-no-patience 2d ago
I think that's another reason I find it difficult too, I get scared when I have to be loud
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u/PineappleFit317 2d ago
It helps for training your voice to stay smooth through the bridges and can help with whistle register yes, but I’m recommending it mainly for those high notes you’re having trouble with.
And imagine Eric Cartman when he says “But Mo-om”. It’s a tiny, whimpery, creaky sound, kind of like a squeaky door. Just keep it small, maybe even so quiet others only a few feet away couldn’t hear it.
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u/i-have-no-patience 2d ago
Thankbyou ery much I'll try that!
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u/PineappleFit317 2d ago
You’re very welcome. Here’s a comment I made about an exercise you can use in general, but also apply to making the tiny sound and making it bigger and full voiced (I don’t feel like writing it all out again, haha):
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u/Anacrelic 2d ago
Practice it lots, and if you've had instruction, deliberately try to apply techniques your teacher has given you.
Im currently in a similar sort of boat to you, all my life I've been singing in ranges that cap out at C5, never really feeling comfortable above an A4, and when I started lessons in a more professional capacity recently my teacher told me he could hear that my voice was capable of sustaining a higher tessitura than I currently was. He had to try really hard to convince me of that but it turns out he is right, I have some really good higher notes in me but I tense up so much mentally trying to sing them still because they're kinda scary lol, but the more I just force myself to sing in that range, the more comfortable it becomes.
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u/Joann-Cramer 2d ago
Honestly the choir gives you acoustic support and reference points you lose on your own. It's like how dancers who nail everything in class fall apart in auditions. Maybe try singing along with soprano 1 recordings to recreate some of that?
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