“How can I sing better?” This is a question I get all the time as an online voice teacher. It’s totally understandable, but when students of my online vocal training program ask me this, I immediately turn it back around on them and ask the to be more specific.
 
Imagine that you’ve gone to the doctor and asked, “How can I feel better?” The doctor will obviously ask, “Well, what’s wrong? What are your symptoms?” Vocal problems are really no different. If you want to improve vocal for singing, you first have to figure out what the vocal problem is. It’s no good just asking “How can I sing better?” without specifics.
 
So, why are you asking, “How can I sing better?” What is it about your singing that you feel doesn’t sound great? Are you gasping for air? Do you sound whiny? Does singing feel uncomfortable? The more specific with you can be about your vocal problem, the easier it’s going to be to fix.
 
In this article, I’ve covered the six top vocal problems that come up in my online vocal training program students. I’ll also share with you the general idea of how to improve vocals for singing my addressing these problems. 

Vocal Problem #1: Pain, Discomfort, or Fatigue
​​
Cause: Vocal Tract Tension or Vocal Injury
Solution: Move the Effort of Singing Down
 
Pain, discomfort, or quick fatigue due to singing are three major red flags of destructive vocal technique. Almost always, these problems occur when a singer puts the effort of singing into the vocal tract rather than the muscles of breathing and breath support. Imagine, for a second, that you’re watching a bodybuilder preparing to pick up a heavy weight. She squeezes her neck and facial muscles, and maybe her face even starts to turn purple. That’s a very tense vocal tract right there. If she tried to sing, how do you think it would feel? How long could she sing without getting tired?
 
The vocal tract includes the neck, throat, jaw, and tongue. Putting a lot of pressure on these areas strains the vocal folds themselves, and the vocal folds are pretty delicate little things. Singers who put the effort of singing into the vocal tract tend to feel a lot of pressure, itchiness, or even pain when singing. Over time, or due to one particularly bombastic event, this type of singing can lead to vocal injuries like hemorrhages, nodules, and polyps.
 
The solution? The effort of singing should occur in the breathing and breath support muscles. My video on the big picture of singing explains this. Learning to relax the vocal tract and engage the breathing and breath support muscles is a long-term project, but if you work on it, your vocal health and sound can completely transform. This is a major part of how to improve vocals for singing.

​ A lot of people ask me how to increase vocal range. It’s an understandable question, and for a lot of singers looking for the best online voice lessons or an online vocal training program, it’s the ultimate goal. After all, what’s more thrilling than a perfectly executed high note or floor-rumbling low note?
 
As much as I wish I could wave a magic wand and add an octave to your range, that’s just not how to increase vocal range. However, there’s a lot you can do to increase your range healthily over time. In this article, I’ll address healthy range expansion, the top 3 factors that hold most singers back, and the sneaky extra consideration of registration.

Safety First: How to Increase Vocal Range Without Hurting Yourself 

You might want to know how to increase vocal range, but first, let’s take a step back and think about vocal health. Vocal extremes are one of the most difficult parts of singing. I often equate singing to athletics, and singing a note at the top of your range is sort of like lifting the heaviest weights you can or sprinting as fast as you can. If your form isn’t good and you’re not in good shape already, the potential for injury is high.
 
So, before you think about singing as high or low as you possibly can, consider working on your technique in general. Once you have a decent understanding of how the voice works and have developed some fundamental skills, you’ll be in a better place to tackle healthy range expansion. Luckily, learning how to increase your range overlaps big time with standard vocal technique.
 
One more thing to keep in mind here is your actual instrument. People’s natural voices come with different limits, just like our bodies do. At 4’11”, I will never be a great basketball player, but I was perfect for gymnastics in grade school. If you have a low voice, your ceiling, even with perfect technique, is lower than some. If you have a high voice, on the other hand, those rich low notes may not be in the cards for you. That’s okay. Celebrate your natural abilities, work on your technique, and enjoy singing in your comfortable range.

​There’s a reason people love high notes! High notes are often climactic, exciting, even thrilling to hear and sing. Unfortunately, they can also be a real challenge to sing. Many people start looking for a singing teacher online or in person, or start googling "best online singing courses," specifically to master high notes.
​
I’ve been teaching in-person and online singing lessons in Fort Wayne Indiana and elsewhere since 2011. I've also created one of the best online singing courses for anatomical, habit-based learning. Students are constantly asking me for help with high notes and range extension. The good news is that there’s a lot you can do to improve your high notes right now! Here are my top four tips for nailing that high note.
 
How to Sing High Notes Tip 1: Breathe
Breathing is the fuel of singing. If you think of singing like a car, it doesn’t matter how amazing the car is if there’s no gas in the car or the fuel injector is broken—the car won’t run. That’s why the best online singing lessons (and in-person singing lessons) often start with breathing and breath support technique. So take a deep breath before you sing that high note! Here's a whole article I wrote on how to sing from the diaphragm that will help. 
 
How to Sing High Notes Tip 2: Open Your Mouth
If you ever see a great singer singing a high note, they probably have their mouth wide open. You’ve got to make space for those high notes! Allow your lower jaw to come down and relax into a tall “ah” shape before you sing a high note, and make sure you don’t automatically close your mouth as you sing. It might feel strange, but your high notes will likely become much easier (and you'll be far less likely to crack) if you just make some space.
 
How to Sing High Notes Tip 3: Don’t “Reach” for the Note
Excuse me for changing metaphors here, but now I’d like you to think of your body as a fountain, with the water in the fountain acting as air. A pump in a fountain moves the water up and out, but the pipe through which the water moves doesn’t do anything—it’s just there.

Lots of singers make the mistake of trying to sing with the pipe instead of with the pump. When you sing, the air leaves your body and vibrates your vocal folds on the way out, but your airway and the body parts that surround it (such as your throat and mouth) don’t actually need to do any muscular work to produce sound.

If this concept seems weird to you, this is because it’s very counterintuitive. Any singing teacher online can tell you that most people try to do the work of singing with their neck, jaw, tongue, even the shoulders—anything but the breath. Some people even “reach” for high notes by literally craning their neck up to sing (does that sound familiar?).

That’s why my singing lessons in Fort Wayne Indiana focus so heavily on learning to relax these body parts and use breath support instead. Not sure how to do this? I’ll drop some tips for all three of the preceding sections in the conclusion of this post.
 
How to Sing High Notes Tip 4: Pick Appropriate Music
This might be the hardest thing for singers to accept. After all, songs with high notes can be so much fun to sing! But if your voice simply doesn’t go that high or you’ve not yet developed the proper technique by singing up for the best online singing lessons you can get, some songs are best left alone. Straining to reach high notes not only sounds iffy; it can actually hurt your voice and cause serious internal damage. As my Golden Rule says, "If it hurts, don't do it"!

If you simply must sing “Let It Go” or “The Girl in 14G” but you feel like your vocal cords are going to burst, consider singing the piece in a lower key. Many karaoke apps now allow you to change background tracks to any key you wish. Sheet music can also often be transposed to a variety of keys. The only caveat is that if you’re entering a classical competition, at times transposed music is not accepted. In that case, you’re better off picking a piece more appropriate for you right now. Don’t sing music that doesn’t fit your voice; instead, set yourself up for success by picking something that isn’t a literal pain to sing.
 
How to Sing High Notes with the Best Online Singing Lessons in Fort Wayne Indiana

The most effective fix is to find the best online singing lessons or in-person lessons you can. You can also sign up for my online vocal training program,  which, for the price of just a few voice lessons, can walk you through all the basics of good vocal production. However, there’s also plenty you can do on your own. The best way to start doing this is to sing in front of a mirror. You can make sure your torso expands when you breathe, your mouth opens all the way (and stays open), and your neck, jaw, and tongue are relaxed as you sing. You’ll probably find that your high notes are suddenly much easier!
​
If you’re ready to take the plunge and seek out one of the best online singing courses or sign up a singing teacher online, or if you want in-person singing lessons in Fort Wayne Indiana, shoot me a message here. I’d love to help you learn to let those high notes soar!