5 Secrets to Sing Better and Hit Better High Notes Consistently

Singing better high notes consistently has a lot to do with your approach to them. The setup, the technical approach, and the control of the breath all work together to help you execute those notes with precision and consistency. 

In today’s blog, I will share some of the little-known secrets to singing better and hitting high notes with more ease and consistency. 

Here are my 5 Secrets to Sing Better and Hit Better High Notes Consistently. I hope it helps you sing your heart out and impress your audience!

1. The Larynx Pull Down 

Before singing it helps to open up your throat muscles. We do this with our “Larynx Pull Down” self-massage movement. This opens up the throat before you sing which helps to open the voice and your range. 

The position of the larynx affects vocal production quite a bit. As you ascend in pitch the larynx tends to get pushed upwards. In a well-trained voice, this movement is minimized providing a more stable larynx allowing for smoother register shifts.

Untrained singers generally have little to no control of this area. Even in trained singers I often find higher laryngeal position due to oversinging and a lack of technique. 

Try this:  

• Place your finger at the top of your throat
• Yawn
• Did you feel the throat slip down?
• Now keeping your finger there, gently pull the jaw open with your hand
• Did you feel the throat slip down?
• Now bring an imaginary glass of water to your lips and pretend to drink
• Did you feel the throat slip down?
• Now place your index and middle finger and the thumb of the same hand on either side of your thyroid cartilage (throat) and as you drink gently pull downward to stretch and relax the throat muscles.

This is a motion singers use before they sing to open the throat and drop the larynx. A deeper position for the laryngeal muscles during singing helps to stabilize the voice during singing achieving smoother transitions in the passaggio.

We practice all of the above mentioned positions and movements inside the Singers Gift Vocal Warmups which is Part 1 of the Cole Vocal Method™. 

Watch my demonstration of this on Instagram here.

2. Keep Your Chin Down  

This is an instant fix that will help you sing high notes with more fullness and consistency. 

One of the biggest mistakes singers make when singing high notes is lifting the chin up. When the chin lifts, the back of the neck shortens and the soft palate, which needs to lift, is pulled downward constricting the throat. Both of these movements restrict high notes. 

Keeping the chin down as you sing high notes opens up the throat and lifts the soft palate, allowing the higher notes to resonate more fully. 

Try this:  

• Sing on “ah” moving note by note up an octave (from A to A or C to C).
• Keep your chin level or tipped slightly downward (don’t let it lift).
• As you keep your chin level or pointed slightly down and think downward for high notes you’ll be able to access them with more ease and consistency!

3. Open Your Throat Before a Phrase

One of the movements I teach inside my Cole Vocal Method™ is a motion that opens the throat before each phrase. Once learned it becomes automatic and creates a freer, more open sound that can sing better high notes and access range with more ease and consistency.

Vocal teachers try to teach this using the yawn, but the yawn has its problems because the full yawn is a tense motion that tightens the throat. I have found a better way with a more natural movement you do throughout the day. 

Try this:

• Bring an imaginary cup to your lips as if to drink and then take an imaginary sip.
• Did you notice the throat slip down?
• Now combine this motion with a gentle inhale.
• Bring the imaginary cup to your lips as if to drink and then inhale gently as you drink so it becomes one motion.
• Practice this motion so you can execute it with ease and use it before your phrases, in particular before phrases that lead to high notes.

This movement will open your throat and prepare your voice to sing with more fullness and range.

Click here to learn more about The Cole Vocal Method™.

4. Think Down for Higher Notes

Think of your voice like an elevator. As an elevator rises up a heavy cable pulls downward so the elevator can rise up through the floors. This is the weighted movement of your high notes. 

Similarly, as the elevator lowers, the cable lifts upwards. These are your low notes. 

As you ascend in pitch, you’ll want to give the voice a little weight to anchor the larynx against the weight of the extra pressure required for high notes. 

We use the technique of reaching downward for high notes to sing them with more power and consistency. This helps the voice achieve better high notes without the strain of lifting upwards.

Try this:  

• Sing a 2 note scale returning to the starting note on UH – 1-2-1 / C-D-C
• As you sing the second note think of your throat opening and the note reaching downward (as you would if you are singing a lower note)
• Use a deeper sounding UH to help.
• See if you can feel the downward motion of the second note.
• This starts the process of “anchoring” the laryngeals keeping the voice more open on higher notes. 

5. Pull Sound Inward

Singers are so focused on getting the sound up and out that they often make the mistake of pushing the air out especially when they want to project or sing loudly. As a result they end up straining and falling back on the throat ruining their voice.

A way to avoid that is to use the visual image of the sound coming in towards you to create more resonance and fullness. 

Try this:  

• Sing an AH on one note imagining the sound coming in towards you.
• You can put your hand out in front of you and draw it toward your mouth as you sing, imagining the sound filling your mouth and body.
• Try it again.
• Do you notice more sound?
• Try it again and use a slight “pulling” sensation to help bring the sound inward to resonate even more!

This is a technique that can accomplish more resonance and sound with less effort and help to avoid strain and fatigue.

I teach all of the above mentioned positions and movements inside The Vocal Freedom Circle which is Part 1-4 of The Cole Vocal Method™.