Learn how to properly support your voice for high notes AND how to 'land' instead of reach for them. Join my free course! chrisliepe.com/free-your-voice/
Chris, after Ken's fuckup you're the only vocal coach out there I believe and trust. A couple of years ago I wrote a negative comment on how you were copying Ken's ideas. I'm so sorry about that, I was wrong. You truly are unique, humble and amazing.
I'm a pro singer and over years and years of singing I have somehow "forgotten" how to sing I've found myself struggling with songs I never used to. Time to retrain myself!
Dang, the "more support!" mistake rings true for me. I've been getting better about it, but I remember talking to a voice teacher about that and hitting higher notes, and she just told me "you're using too much air", I tried focusing on letting the air come instead of pushing it, and the note happened.
Per usual, mind reader Chris knows exactly what im struggling with. My band has me performing eye of the tiger, and staying in that register for too long is brutal.
Between you and Andy, I can’t thank you guys enough for all I’ve already learned. I quit writing and performing music 20 years ago, and all these little free tutorials are extremely helpful for somebody on a pocket lint budget. I would still be struggling to hit any of the notes in the songs I’ve working on without them. I know either one of your vocal courses will be worth the money and I will definitely be taking them ASAP. Thanks again Chris for what you do! 🙏🏻
Even in opera the trick is practicing ‘letting go’, ‘opening up’ and even lightening as much as needed to access the high notes. I still ‘over support’ sometimes and it feels like you’re bringing a ceiling on your voice.
this is the first "normal" voice tutorial i've watched, but it makes me realize how similar it is to learn "regular" singing and "screamo"!! Watched a few videos for this, there's 2(kind of 3) types of "screamos", voice fry and false chords(3rd is by combining both) one comes from the power of your stomach/chest , and the other is from what you call head voice!! never took courses, but used to practice singing a lot(kind of getting back into it), and had already been using both, just never really realized it until i watched this!! 😅I cannot practice the way i'd like where i live rn, because the insulation between me and my neighbor is paper thin, but it made me discover that i could "sing" pretty much quietly, i'm able to keep the volume down while still changing "notes"(that's head voice i guess?) and still make work most muscles i'd usually use except the "power" ones! It's not the same, but it still helps!!
I needed a reminder JUST like this haha Been struggling with high notes recently (and they've been working) but as you said it's totally unsustainable. Thanks for the video!
wow, it is wonderful aproach. I love the significance of the home! It is super idea to have home and enjoy it so much as the most powerful place in singing. Thanx a lot!
I’m a vocalist of 30 years and sing songs by Journey, Shinedown, Aerosmith, Alter Bridge in a band and I can tell you this, RELAX your throat and vocal folds when singing high notes. You don’t force range. Your Michael Jackson imitation in falsetto was really good!
Thank you for this. Just signed up for the training. I hope, after learning, I will be able to train our children's choir so they can sing better. Would be very helpful for their future!
I can't believe he's putting out so much about high notes lately. This is great I have a difficult spot in my upper falsetto before the whistles which have been coming so much easier lately
Really helpful video Chris. As someone focusing on improving my vocals and guitar playing I am definitely falling into the trap of pushing my voice too hard to "fit" with certain guitar tunings / chords voicings / keys of original recordings. Saying "I am only a semitone away" and pushing to get there. This gives me some good perspective on focusing more on where my voice can deliver, rather than striving for an arbitrary note or key
Chris I've learned SO much from your RUclips videos and your "Discover your voice" course. I've no doubt that in the next few years we'll see some great singers that are great because of you!
I find it very similar to playing guitar, just be as relaxed and focused as possible e.g. like Sam Carter. My singing has improved drastically after focusing on spending as little effort as possible for achieving the sound I want
chris i love your videos, i have no conditions to do vocal/screaming lessons and you just drop some videos that really help me through the process, just thank you.
❤I don't think I've ever heard ANYONE analyze high notes and transitions this well! 🔥And what a voice you have, Chris!!! Can I like this a million times?!
Your videos make me appreciate my own voice more... I sing at church and some events and parties but I've always hated my voice because I wanted to sound like other people instead of owning the voice that I have. But there were also people who kept telling me 'X' is what I do wrong thats making me sound like 'Y' instead of 'Z'. I had quit singing altogether, but because I found your videos I'm empowered to get back into it and am singing at a couple of upcoming events. Thank you for your content, you teach with compassion
might have been a little abstract were it not for your very generous sharing of very concrete demonstrations of approaching the technique. Once again thank you Chris! PS your paid $99 course a couple years ago was the best vocal investment I've ever made for myself!
Amazing video. I just recently figured out the "too much support" issue when recording. I wish I saw this video years ago hahaha. Thank You for the amazing tips and Instruction!
This is a great tip. In church I'm playing guitar and singing lead on a song in E mixolydian and the highest note is G above C4, which I can only hit using my mix voice around the break if I'm completely warmed up and actually yelling! If I sing that one in head voice, I can go back into mix on the way back down in that particular phrase! Thanks Chris!
Aye captain! This has been a blast, really appreciate your adventurous explorative attitude my dude! You killed it, and showed us how we can catch a fish for life 😉 we be in touch soon! Gona go through your free vocal training first and see what I can budget, but I'll definitely be hitting you up soon Chris! You a legend brah 😅🙏❤️
Love this whole concept of taking little trips out and returning home to what’s comfortable!! It’s pretty much just a mental trick, but thinking of it this way makes so much sense.. I also love your demonstrations and that you didn’t edit out any error. It feels real, and is nice to know that even great singers like you don’t hit everything 100% perfect, 100% of the time (don’t take that wrong 😅) Overall great video!
this is very important point, i would say one of the top things that needs to keep in mind before we start learning technical stuff for reaching hi-notes
This video was exactly what I needed! I did the free course and the “speaking musically” video definitely helped break the mental block I had which made my singing sound forced/unnatural even when I was using support. Paired with this video, it gave me everything I needed to combine my horn line experience to start singing in the mix and do covers that don’t sound forced or unnatural
I started doing this recently I feel like as a singer I have an identity crisis with trying to hit the same and sound the same as the original artists so now I’m trying to sing in how I’m comfortable and my range and I still sound good I gotta stop doubting myself
I am a professional guitarist..instrumentalist..but l sing for fun..mr coach ..ur materials are tremendously enlightening,rich in content and knowledge...so is ur command of English and voice..all the best mate..greetings from Havana.
My 2 Favorite Singers Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston..Very good choice of Artist to use as an example...i would've picked these 2 artists as well to use as a example
I've noticed many times already, when trying to attack a top note (of my passaggio, which is typically F4 /apparently it's D4-F4/), or to sing for longer time on E4-F4, that trying harder what my vocal coach tells me - ie squeeze all my diaphragm, ribs and other muscles to be able to reach that tone or to keep it stable, actually have the opposite effect - my voice drops a lot, at least couple of semi-tones. As I was normally struggling to hit F4 well, squeezing everything I have actually made it much harder to hit even E4 - often even impossible! But recently I got another break-thru. I now can hit F4# & G4 much, much easier, and even feel free enough to make twists. Sometimes I even hit G4# & A4, though it's still mostly experimental. Yes it's not pure chest voice (which was all I had until two years ago, and still IS the range of all the songs I practice, often we have songs transposed even further down, so that I don't have to struggle with F4 or to sing long time in E4-F4 ... fortunately I can drop down to C2-D2 with just a little warmup /like purring-fry or low-sigh/), but it sounds solid enough, not like my pure falsetto; and as long as I mix it at least a bit, I can introduce some "metal" (or perhaps buzzing is more accurate). Last Christmas for our holiday concert I picked the song "You're a mean one Mr. Grinch" covered by Small Town Titans, but since I didn't have the range to sing it as Phil Freeman does, I switched the D5-F5 notes to D4-F4, which was comfortable enough also that I could play with my timbre and change the character of different lines - just like Chris have said before - to play a role (sometimes it helps if you imagine it like animation character). And as long as I managed to warm up my low bass notes to sounds loud enough (when literally touching the mic with my lips :)), and keep the long high notes stable and on pitch I was very happy. But in the last few weeks I noticed that I can actually reach the D4-F4 notes - yes they're not yet usable - they're too thin, weak and unstable, and are pure falsetto w/o any grit - but I didn't have them before at all! Actually about 2.5 years ago I didn't have ANY note above F4! And now while not yet usable in live song, I have a full extra octave to play with :) The way to reach it wasn't very clear. But Chris' advices to first hit comfortable high note and then play with it (as duration or melody with other notes) was extremely helpful to get familiar with that range - and yes it sounded horrifying at first (and it still does the higher end), but it's definitely getting clearer and stronger - I'm quite sure my brain and vocal apparatus are getting familiar with that new turf, now that I can produce some sounds, get the feedback and experiment - and they're doing it without much effort - it's just like opening a whole new room. At first I tried to hit the high notes in few different ways - one was pure falsetto, or initially if I couldn't actually sing the note I could hit it with lip trill. After a little while of lip trill, I could hit it with pure falsetto. Then I experimented with nasal and baby-like cry sound (or duck-quack) - if I got that right it should be the vocal twang, which turns out is the natural way to produce loud and high tones, which babies use a lot (but with time most of us have forgotten about it). And when I can produce a given high note with these methods I start to experiment changing their timbre (as initially didn't like ANY of them :)), and also experimenting to reproduce a given phrase of a song that I couldn't normally sing in original (for example "Out there in the spotlight, you're a million miles AWAY" from "Turn the Page" in James Hatfield cover of Bob Sager). I still can't sing that song in original, but at first we had to transpose it with -4 semi-tones, and now it's only -2. And occasionally (though unreliably) I can hit G4#-A4 with nice timbre (Mixed I assume). Another thing I started to notice when I managed to produce a strong high note is that with becoming more comfortable with it, I actually let more air out, and that makes it much easier. It's of course a bit tricky, as the point is to use just enough air as is needed, but not too much. But it feels like a thing that I can fine-tune with practice. Oh and also my larynx is moving freely, and on the very high notes it goes quite high too. It really feels to me that the classical "keep your larynx low and squeeze with every muscle you have" is only restricting, and keeps a lot completely out of reach!
I agree! anytime we lean into a "should"... especially with the larynx, we limit ourselves. It's best to LET your voice do things and simply notice rather than overthinking and putting would-be possibilities into a confining box!
CHRIS does this apply for high rock phrases? Google Chris Stapleton‘s live version of ‘Whipping Post’ by the Allman Brothers. How would you approach the high phrase when he sings…Like I’ve been…. Tiiiiiiied to the whipping post? ‘Tied’ being the A4 high note. I’ve seen your excellent video ‘How to sing like Chris Stapleton’ but I’m not asking how to sing like him my question… is ‘how does he hit that high A4 so seemingly comfortably’?
It's kind of been a personal goal of mine to try and reach the high note in Fire by Queen Bee even though it's wayyyyy outside my range, and I feel like this might help to at least expand my range higher in that direction. For the record, I'm a baritone :)
![[#2024MAMA] G-DRAGON - 무제(Untitled, 2014)+POWER+HOME SWEET HOME+뱅뱅뱅+FANTASTIC BABY | Mnet 241123 방송](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ox29z5Nf1Uk/mqdefault.jpg)
Learn how to properly support your voice for high notes AND how to 'land' instead of reach for them. Join my free course! chrisliepe.com/free-your-voice/
Analyze Brian McKnight
I tried using the link but it won’t go through…. Help me I want to be a part of the free course🙏
Chris, after Ken's fuckup you're the only vocal coach out there I believe and trust. A couple of years ago I wrote a negative comment on how you were copying Ken's ideas. I'm so sorry about that, I was wrong. You truly are unique, humble and amazing.
Sing not by expanding range but controlling freedom or even fluidity. A groundbreaking concept for me 👍🏽
🙄
@@TommyPleasure 😆
I'm a pro singer and over years and years of singing I have somehow "forgotten" how to sing I've found myself struggling with songs I never used to. Time to retrain myself!
Dang, the "more support!" mistake rings true for me. I've been getting better about it, but I remember talking to a voice teacher about that and hitting higher notes, and she just told me "you're using too much air", I tried focusing on letting the air come instead of pushing it, and the note happened.
Yesssss
Your imitation of myself pushing for a note is so accurate it's scary!!! Do we know each other ;) ? Thank you Chris, you're the best
I love how Chris' low notes are always well above my high notes lmao
Per usual, mind reader Chris knows exactly what im struggling with. My band has me performing eye of the tiger, and staying in that register for too long is brutal.
Lol, yea, i tried 'Life is a Highway ".... which is not too bad.... but for the whole song 😮💨😮💨😮💨
Between you and Andy, I can’t thank you guys enough for all I’ve already learned. I quit writing and performing music 20 years ago, and all these little free tutorials are extremely helpful for somebody on a pocket lint budget.
I would still be struggling to hit any of the notes in the songs I’ve working on without them. I know either one of your vocal courses will be worth the money and I will definitely be taking them ASAP. Thanks again Chris for what you do! 🙏🏻
"Pocket lint budget" - I know those feels... And yes, what a great channel. I'm so glad to have discovered it! All the best.
Even in opera the trick is practicing ‘letting go’, ‘opening up’ and even lightening as much as needed to access the high notes. I still ‘over support’ sometimes and it feels like you’re bringing a ceiling on your voice.
Yess! Learning your tessitura changes everything in singing ::)
i didnt even realize there were high notes i could hit in chest voice that i couldnt hit in head voice. helpful! ty
Whitney having an ❌ is scaring me because thats the greatest singer
Makes u curious right!? Thank you stupid RUclips algorithm for pushing stuff like this on us! :)
Nowadays, they promote weak and noisy voices + yelling and nasal high notes.
Aretha
They said her throat was valid she just destroyed her lungs with crack and sigs that’s why her range diminished
That's not what he meant tho.
This is gonna help my music soo much i am actually becoming more in impressed with my natural voice! thank you!
I LOVE WHITNEY❤
This is some of the best vocal teaching on youtube!
YOU ARE THE BEST 👍👏
This is a revelation. Thank you!
This is fantastic. So clear, with actionable examples. Thanks.
Chris, your gift for communicating counterintuitive concepts is quite astonishing!! 👌
Useful tips. Thank you. I'm practicing high notes every days.
this actually is so helpful the more abstract the concept the more helpful they tend to be
A week ago I discovered this technique by trial and error yet the advice given has explained it perfectly . 🙏🏽
I really enjoy your videos and technique analysis, Chris!
I really appreciate your authenticity and passion in teaching! Well done!
This was very helpful in having me understand how I’m using the ranges of my voice. Thank you!
Chris, you are just phenomenal. We all owe you so so much for these free lessons!!!
this is the first "normal" voice tutorial i've watched, but it makes me realize how similar it is to learn "regular" singing and "screamo"!! Watched a few videos for this, there's 2(kind of 3) types of "screamos", voice fry and false chords(3rd is by combining both) one comes from the power of your stomach/chest , and the other is from what you call head voice!! never took courses, but used to practice singing a lot(kind of getting back into it), and had already been using both, just never really realized it until i watched this!! 😅I cannot practice the way i'd like where i live rn, because the insulation between me and my neighbor is paper thin, but it made me discover that i could "sing" pretty much quietly, i'm able to keep the volume down while still changing "notes"(that's head voice i guess?) and still make work most muscles i'd usually use except the "power" ones! It's not the same, but it still helps!!
I'm not a singer in any way but I see exactly what you mean, beautiful explanation
I needed a reminder JUST like this haha
Been struggling with high notes recently (and they've been working) but as you said it's totally unsustainable.
Thanks for the video!
I love how u use visualization and intención to Naturally flow with the notes easily and without straining❤tysm
wow, it is wonderful aproach. I love the significance of the home! It is super idea to have home and enjoy it so much as the most powerful place in singing. Thanx a lot!
I’m a vocalist of 30 years and sing songs by Journey, Shinedown, Aerosmith, Alter Bridge in a band and I can tell you this, RELAX your throat and vocal folds when singing high notes. You don’t force range. Your Michael Jackson imitation in falsetto was really good!
Chris, this vid is pure gold, thanks, it brings a new point of view for me as a singer.
Thank you for this. Just signed up for the training. I hope, after learning, I will be able to train our children's choir so they can sing better. Would be very helpful for their future!
This video and your other similar ones have been such a golden find, thank you for this breakdown
I can't believe he's putting out so much about high notes lately. This is great I have a difficult spot in my upper falsetto before the whistles which have been coming so much easier lately
spot on video ! Thank you !
Really helpful video Chris. As someone focusing on improving my vocals and guitar playing I am definitely falling into the trap of pushing my voice too hard to "fit" with certain guitar tunings / chords voicings / keys of original recordings. Saying "I am only a semitone away" and pushing to get there. This gives me some good perspective on focusing more on where my voice can deliver, rather than striving for an arbitrary note or key
Chris I've learned SO much from your RUclips videos and your "Discover your voice" course. I've no doubt that in the next few years we'll see some great singers that are great because of you!
I find it very similar to playing guitar, just be as relaxed and focused as possible e.g. like Sam Carter. My singing has improved drastically after focusing on spending as little effort as possible for achieving the sound I want
Thanks for this I have been doing this all along without having a clue that it is beneficial.
chris i love your videos, i have no conditions to do vocal/screaming lessons and you just drop some videos that really help me through the process, just thank you.
❤I don't think I've ever heard ANYONE analyze high notes and transitions this well! 🔥And what a voice you have, Chris!!! Can I like this a million times?!
that makes actually a lot of sense. great video, thank u!
Very interesting video. Congrats!👏👏👏
TANKS CHRIS A LOVE MJ ❤️
This is an absolutely amazing vocal coach!
Definitely notice the editing quality has stepped up. 👌
Appreciate it!
OMG this is exactly how too sweet by Hozier sounds of him slipping up to the high note then he goes back
When I saw the X across Whitney’s photo I hurried up and clicked ..Like “No way”😂
She’s the greatest female singer of all time❤
Clickbaiting works.
@@MrMcsia Yup…Facts!
i thought singing just only sing 😅 my voice sound awful, good thing i found your video to start out.
Very abstract but I believe this way of thinking and playing with my voice will help me as an alto. Thank you!
Chris, another great and insightful lesson. Thanks.
Thank you. Perfect explanation.
I really like this advice 🎉
Very cool exercise Chris!
Your videos make me appreciate my own voice more... I sing at church and some events and parties but I've always hated my voice because I wanted to sound like other people instead of owning the voice that I have. But there were also people who kept telling me 'X' is what I do wrong thats making me sound like 'Y' instead of 'Z'. I had quit singing altogether, but because I found your videos I'm empowered to get back into it and am singing at a couple of upcoming events.
Thank you for your content, you teach with compassion
might have been a little abstract were it not for your very generous sharing of very concrete demonstrations of approaching the technique. Once again thank you Chris! PS your paid $99 course a couple years ago was the best vocal investment I've ever made for myself!
Glad to hear the course was a great investment for you!
Thank you for sharing .very useful information will try these vocal exercises
Great lesson! Thank you 🙏🏼
I feel so called out! Great video, thank you so much.
Amazing video. I just recently figured out the "too much support" issue when recording. I wish I saw this video years ago hahaha. Thank You for the amazing tips and Instruction!
I've been experimenting with my voice a lot more as I've been getting more comfortable with recording. Your videos are a great help with that.
Thank you... Good training.
Thank you so much for this. 🥺🙏🏾
love it! thanks for sharing
One fthe best voice lessons ever 🎉😊❤
You're amazing pal❤
I really appreciate the content you provide for us and I also find your tutorials pretty useful and practical
This is a great tip. In church I'm playing guitar and singing lead on a song in E mixolydian and the highest note is G above C4, which I can only hit using my mix voice around the break if I'm completely warmed up and actually yelling! If I sing that one in head voice, I can go back into mix on the way back down in that particular phrase! Thanks Chris!
Aye captain! This has been a blast, really appreciate your adventurous explorative attitude my dude! You killed it, and showed us how we can catch a fish for life 😉 we be in touch soon! Gona go through your free vocal training first and see what I can budget, but I'll definitely be hitting you up soon Chris! You a legend brah 😅🙏❤️
I wanna hear you finish that MJ song in the range you were using!! Good stuff!! ❤
Love this whole concept of taking little trips out and returning home to what’s comfortable!! It’s pretty much just a mental trick, but thinking of it this way makes so much sense..
I also love your demonstrations and that you didn’t edit out any error. It feels real, and is nice to know that even great singers like you don’t hit everything 100% perfect, 100% of the time (don’t take that wrong 😅)
Overall great video!
Wow, interesting concept!! I love it
this is very important point, i would say one of the top things that needs to keep in mind before we start learning technical stuff for reaching hi-notes
Hi Chris ,
So cool 👍
This did indeed benefit me
Chris you're really great!
Good explanation. It is true that it is very duffiiult to go back to chest voice from head and mix
You really proved your class in this video.
This video was exactly what I needed! I did the free course and the “speaking musically” video definitely helped break the mental block I had which made my singing sound forced/unnatural even when I was using support. Paired with this video, it gave me everything I needed to combine my horn line experience to start singing in the mix and do covers that don’t sound forced or unnatural
I've heard this somewhere, "if you can speak, then you can sing" which is true.
SO much truth to that statement!
Thank you for the video!!!! I’ve been needing something like this lol I keep pushing
Watching Myles Kennedy is a great example of this
Great stuff Chris!
Thanks as always legend. Great examples and ideas 🤘
❤🎉awesome information of music...I will apply this techniques thank you 💟
loved this explanation, I will definitely try this approach, it makes sense 🙌🙌
I started doing this recently I feel like as a singer I have an identity crisis with trying to hit the same and sound the same as the original artists so now I’m trying to sing in how I’m comfortable and my range and I still sound good I gotta stop doubting myself
Great lesson!! thanks man!
2:03 i feel so called out right now
This is so cool! Well explained… I’ve subscribed 😊
Points well made.
I am a professional guitarist..instrumentalist..but l sing for fun..mr coach ..ur materials are tremendously enlightening,rich in content and knowledge...so is ur command of English and voice..all the best mate..greetings from Havana.
My 2 Favorite Singers Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston..Very good choice of Artist to use as an example...i would've picked these 2 artists as well to use as a example
chris, have you heard "i'll write a song by earth wind & fire ? phillip bailey does some crazy high note singing the dude blows my mind
Yes!! Incredible!
I'm a metalhead but I also love listening to Phillip Bailey. He said he grew up singing along to female singers which is how his range got so high
Great advice, thank you!
I've noticed many times already, when trying to attack a top note (of my passaggio, which is typically F4 /apparently it's D4-F4/), or to sing for longer time on E4-F4, that trying harder what my vocal coach tells me - ie squeeze all my diaphragm, ribs and other muscles to be able to reach that tone or to keep it stable, actually have the opposite effect - my voice drops a lot, at least couple of semi-tones. As I was normally struggling to hit F4 well, squeezing everything I have actually made it much harder to hit even E4 - often even impossible!
But recently I got another break-thru. I now can hit F4# & G4 much, much easier, and even feel free enough to make twists. Sometimes I even hit G4# & A4, though it's still mostly experimental.
Yes it's not pure chest voice
(which was all I had until two years ago, and still IS the range of all the songs I practice, often we have songs transposed even further down, so that I don't have to struggle with F4 or to sing long time in E4-F4 ... fortunately I can drop down to C2-D2 with just a little warmup /like purring-fry or low-sigh/),
but it sounds solid enough, not like my pure falsetto; and as long as I mix it at least a bit, I can introduce some "metal" (or perhaps buzzing is more accurate).
Last Christmas for our holiday concert I picked the song "You're a mean one Mr. Grinch" covered by Small Town Titans, but since I didn't have the range to sing it as Phil Freeman does, I switched the D5-F5 notes to D4-F4, which was comfortable enough also that I could play with my timbre and change the character of different lines - just like Chris have said before - to play a role (sometimes it helps if you imagine it like animation character). And as long as I managed to warm up my low bass notes to sounds loud enough (when literally touching the mic with my lips :)),
and keep the long high notes stable and on pitch I was very happy.
But in the last few weeks I noticed that I can actually reach the D4-F4 notes - yes they're not yet usable - they're too thin, weak and unstable, and are pure falsetto w/o any grit - but I didn't have them before at all!
Actually about 2.5 years ago I didn't have ANY note above F4!
And now while not yet usable in live song, I have a full extra octave to play with :)
The way to reach it wasn't very clear. But Chris' advices to first hit comfortable high note and then play with it (as duration or melody with other notes) was extremely helpful to get familiar with that range - and yes it sounded horrifying at first (and it still does the higher end), but it's definitely getting clearer and stronger - I'm quite sure my brain and vocal apparatus are getting familiar with that new turf, now that I can produce some sounds, get the feedback and experiment - and they're doing it without much effort - it's just like opening a whole new room.
At first I tried to hit the high notes in few different ways - one was pure falsetto, or initially if I couldn't actually sing the note I could hit it with lip trill. After a little while of lip trill, I could hit it with pure falsetto. Then I experimented with nasal and baby-like cry sound (or duck-quack) - if I got that right it should be the vocal twang, which turns out is the natural way to produce loud and high tones, which babies use a lot (but with time most of us have forgotten about it). And when I can produce a given high note with these methods I start to experiment changing their timbre (as initially didn't like ANY of them :)), and also experimenting to reproduce a given phrase of a song that I couldn't normally sing in original (for example "Out there in the spotlight, you're a million miles AWAY" from "Turn the Page" in James Hatfield cover of Bob Sager). I still can't sing that song in original, but at first we had to transpose it with -4 semi-tones, and now it's only -2.
And occasionally (though unreliably) I can hit G4#-A4 with nice timbre (Mixed I assume).
Another thing I started to notice when I managed to produce a strong high note is that with becoming more comfortable with it, I actually let more air out, and that makes it much easier. It's of course a bit tricky, as the point is to use just enough air as is needed, but not too much. But it feels like a thing that I can fine-tune with practice.
Oh and also my larynx is moving freely, and on the very high notes it goes quite high too.
It really feels to me that the classical "keep your larynx low and squeeze with every muscle you have" is only restricting, and keeps a lot completely out of reach!
I agree! anytime we lean into a "should"... especially with the larynx, we limit ourselves. It's best to LET your voice do things and simply notice rather than overthinking and putting would-be possibilities into a confining box!
CHRIS does this apply for high rock phrases? Google Chris Stapleton‘s live version of ‘Whipping Post’ by the Allman Brothers. How would you approach the high phrase when he sings…Like I’ve been…. Tiiiiiiied to the whipping post? ‘Tied’ being the A4 high note. I’ve seen your excellent video ‘How to sing like Chris Stapleton’ but I’m not asking how to sing like him my question… is ‘how does he hit that high A4 so seemingly comfortably’?
It's kind of been a personal goal of mine to try and reach the high note in Fire by Queen Bee even though it's wayyyyy outside my range, and I feel like this might help to at least expand my range higher in that direction. For the record, I'm a baritone :)