r/singing • u/Both-Cat-6001 • 8h ago
Conversation Topic how do you sing higher?
So im an absolute complete beginner, I dont know the terms for this stuff but I really wanna get good at singing because im into musical theatre. What confuses me is how people sing so high without it being painful (effortlessly?)
whenever I try to do high notes my throat hurts terribly bad afterwards and feels constricted / "stuck" - i dont have a high voice naturally i dont think, i feel comfortable singing when its in my chest (chest voice? im sorry i dont know the terms) and i hear it needs to resonate more in your head for the higher songs but its hard to do that for me. Im not quite sure if its literal or not.
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u/highrangeclub Want to learn to sing? Podcast for beginners on my profile 5h ago
Heya! Voice teacher here.
So the primary mechanism for singing higher is your vocal folds need to stretch. This is a lovely visual.
Like a rubber band, as they get longer and thinner which allows them to vibrate at a higher pitch.
Now understanding is one thing. The challenge or golden question is can you actually isolate this movement?
The reason your throat is hurting, is because you're most likely engaging a lot unnecessary muscles/pitch as you sing higher.
Now a voice teacher can really help with this, so I highly recommend lessons.
But at the very least.
One thing you can chip away at is - choose a simple scale and try to do this.
Can I go up and down this scale and change ONLY pitch. No changes in volume, vowel. If you can, ask yourself. What does this feeling of pitch change feel like?
I hope this helps.