Voice Strain and Head Voice sounds airy

Posted in Category Singing Basics
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    Eden Mow 3 years ago

     Hii, I am currently learning to sing in mixed voice and which means that I have to train a strong head and chest voice to make that happen. But the problem is, my voice sound airy when I sing in head voice below notes like C4 and I think it shouldn't if I want to train a strong head voice. Other than that, I also experience voice Strain when I sing in head voice above notes like D5 and anything above that I just feel my voice choke and the larynx will just cut off the sound entirely if I sing any notes above D5 in head voice and maybe if I am lucky I can squeak out a note or two but I definitely won't want to sing like a squeaky rat lol. Any exercises and any advice to overcome this problem is greatly appreciated!! 

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    Camille van Niekerk 3 years ago

    Hi, Eden! 

    It's common for head voice to be breathy before you've started training, since up to this point that function has probably not been used a lot! I wouldn't worry about your head voice sounding airy below C4 (middle C), since you'll almost always use chest voice for that pitch. The female passaggio is typically between Eb4-Ab4, which is the range in which we want to be mixing (sometimes mixing just below that, and often mixing above). 

    Are you able to sing above D5, after warming up, on something like a lip trill, MM, NN, or NG?

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    Eden Mow 3 years ago

    Hi, I am able to but its just that my larynx cut off my head voice anything above D5. Btw I am male lol 

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    Camille van Niekerk 3 years ago

    I should've asked! I assumed because of the range - I'm sorry!

    In that case - the tenor range (higher male voice type) typically extends to C5. Some guys can naturally sing higher than that, but if I were you I'd focus on your comfortable, singable range. Most tenor songs don't require you to sing higher than a C5 (with the exception of people with super-high voices like Bruno Mars, Michael Jackson, etc). 

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    Makayla 3 years ago

    Hiiii I need to know how to do a high pitch for a school project next week~Makayla 

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    Sofia 3 years ago

    I need to learn how to get better at singing and high notes and low notes.

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    Camille van Niekerk 3 years ago

    Hi, Makayla and Sofia! 

    My advice for high notes is to first sing them on whatever syllable or sound allows you to sustain high pitches comfortably: I recommend something closed like a lip trill, MM, NN, or NG to start. Then, sing on an EE or OO for head voice, and a MUM or NO for mixed voice to train the tone you want in the best register for whatever pitch you're singing. 

     

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    Teodora Skrobonja 3 years ago

    Hello Camille,

    I'm following your course and I do warmup exercises well, but when I start to sing I strain a lot at the limit between my chest and head voice and when I want to reach higher notes - it's mostly psychological. I get terrified when I go up which causes the tension. My voice cracks later and I lose it. :( I have to focus 100% to relax when I sing, so it shows that it'san acquired bad habit. What can I do to get rid of it?

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    Camille van Niekerk 3 years ago

    Hi, Teodora!

     

    The long-term goal is to develop mixed coordination so you gradually begin "lightening" your chest voice sound, incorporating head resonance, as you ascend. And one way to do that, over time, is to let your voice crack when it naturally wants to "flip" into head voice on exercises like the lip trill (1-5-1) and MUM (1-3-5-8-5-3-1). 

    To assist you in the meantime, I recommend doing more top-down exercises that begin in head voice (for example: 8-5-3-1). That way, you're eliminating the scary transition point from chest to head. You can also find a good placement on 8-5-3-1 and immediately go back to 1-3-5-8-5-3-1, noticing if it's easier to transition then. 

    Let me know how that goes! And you're always welcome to book a lesson if you'd like live feedback: https://guitartricks.as.me/?calendarID=3093310. 

    Best of luck! I really do know how you feel: I avoided my head voice for years as a young singer, and only developed my mix once I forced myself to sing in head voice daily!

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    Teodora Skrobonja 3 years ago

     Thanks for your feedback, Camiile! I will wait for my voice to recover and then try out your warmup exercises + new ones you proposed, see how it goes and will let you know if I need more help and live feedback. I will also make sure not to strain at all when I sing songs, no matter if it "sounds ugly", cause I have to train myself some new muscle memory.
    I used to sing in choirs as a kid and never had this problem because I didn't worry about much except hitting correct notes, and my voice would always feel great after a choir session. When I started singing alone, it all changed and I started putting a lot of pressure on the cords, wanting to add more power. :(

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