Day 7: High Head Voice Extension

From: 14-Day Range Extension Course With Camille
by Camille van Niekerk
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Description:

Alright, let’s begin working on our high head voice extension! If you are having trouble accessing and singing in low head voice comfortably, then I recommend spending some more time developing that part of your head voice before attempting to really stretch your upper range. Just like high chest voice, where we can end up shouting and potentially hurting our vocal folds, high head voice can feel squeezed and get squeaky.

Exercise 1: Give me Glee 1 2 3-5-3

A great way to make sure you are getting healthy cord compression with appropriate balance of lower body support is to use a gentle G sound. Here is that SOVT concept coming back to help guide us towards healthy high notes. The G sound also helps us naturally create some glottal pressure, without our external throat muscles trying to get too involved. 

Each time you use the G in the word Glee, see if you can notice your lower body building some pressure and at the same time a slight internal stretch up towards that tall EE vowel. Then let it all slide back down. 

Remember there is more than one shade of EE available to you - so if things are starting to feel and sound squeezed, change up the vowel, the mouth opening, and perhaps the volume (backing off if you’re loud, or giving a little more intensity if you’re quiet). 

Exercise 2: Sing Freely 1 5–4321 ( C )

Once we have the right cord compression and resonant position, we can start to lean into our lower body support a little more. That Ng sound is similar to the G and will help you get in the right position to rise up to that tall EE vowel. 

Make sure you aren’t spreading your vowel too much. Instead, nice and tall. This will be fun! We’re going to start testing out our highest notes. 

Exercise 3: Won't you Stay here  1 2 5 1

More open vowels take some time to learn how to navigate, so let's try a different combination of words that involve starting with a round Oh, rising up to an Aye vowel.

Stay patient with this; as we support more open vowels in head voice, our tongue has a tendency to try and help by locking or pulling back into our throat and sometimes our jaw and neck muscles can get extra rigid. Give yourself some head rolls and remind that front of the tongue to rest by your bottom teeth.

Exercise 4: Won’t Fall down 1 5 1

Last but not least let's try rising up to that open Ah in head voice, with the phrase “won’t fall down”. If it’s feeling too heavy, remind yourself of that head voice lightness with a wee-oo, then wey-ah. 

Let's finish off with a siren using specific vowels. The goal here is to adjust the vowel as needed.  First try an ee, and notice what you naturally do to keep the sound going - perhaps dropping your jaw. Now try an oo, and notice you probably need to let your mouth open wider at some point. Next try an Aye. An Oh. And lastly an Ah.  

Great! You may find you can't go quite as high with more open vowels like Aye and Ah. This is totally normal and points out that when we are at the extremes of our range, vowel choice matters and can extend or limit our options. Use the path of least resistance to help you extend those more challenging vowels by starting with the easier ones to access. The main strategy I want you to take away from this lesson is to use the shapes (or vowels) you find easiest, and let each vowel morph as needed to keep the sound going without feeling or sounding squeezed. 

Congratulations on completing your first week of this course - you’re halfway through!

Audio:

Range Extension Course Day 7A
Range Extension Course Day 7B
Range Extension Course Day 7C
Range Extension Course Day 7D

Lessons:

Instructor: Camille van Niekerk

Camille van Niekerk is a singer, writer and vocal instructor in Southern California. Camille began studying voice and performing in musicals at age seven. In 2010, Camille began working towards her BA in Music Education at Azusa Pacific University. She then earned her teaching credential from San Diego State University and taught classroom choral and instrumental music. Shortly after moving to LA county, Camille began her private vocal studio, providing vocal coaching, ear training, and recording for students of all ages. She is constantly refining her skills and methods for greater versatility and effectiveness. When she is not teaching, Camille enjoys singing with the L.A. Choral Lab and Ensoma Creative. She lives in San Diego with her husband and loves going to the beach, practicing yoga, reading, and cooking.