Sustaining Notes

Hi! I was hoping for some advice about sustaining notes.

I find that very often when I hit a note and try to hold it out, my pitch goes allll over the place, even if the note is in my range. Do you have any tips to help?

Yes! My best advice for sustaining notes is to work toward them gradually.

1) Touch the note and fall off.

2) Repeat the note a few times (ex: if the word is "night", sing "nah-nah-nah-nah-nah"). This gives your voice the chance to rearticulate that same pitch, with the support of a consonant. 

3) Elongate the vowel. Same thing as above, but lengthen each "ah" sound. 

4) Try sustaining just one note (for longer). 

I find that airflow tends to be my issue with longer pitches; sometimes I've taken in more air than I need, and then struggle to hold that air back. So play with the size of your inhale, too!

Thank you, this is so helpful! And thank you for all the lessons on your site. They've really improved my confidence and helped me get my dream role, Katherine Plumber!

I'm so glad to hear that! Congratulations!