Vocal Music Advice

I remember that it didn’t hurt or anything it just took me lots of focus like it was required a lot of factors to make it work.  I wanted to ask you for tips about the whistle register, like how my throat should be like….for me to improve on this.  If possible would you mind giving me some warming up exercises??

Answer: You are at an age when puberty has produced most of its physical changes in a young woman.  Therefore, the fact that you have found the whistle register may be an indication of a future facility as a soprano – although your final classification is not something that should concern you at the moment.

By the way, in the literature the “whistle register” is also identified as flageolet, piccolo, flute or bell register.

As the top-most notes available in the human voice, the vocal muscles are pulled to their longest and thinnest position.  The sound is thin, small and whistle-like.  At sixteen you probably need to be careful not to overdo with exercises in this area of your voice.  The percentage of time spent as you sing, should be a very small one in the whistle register.

If you will close one of your hands into a fist and imagine that it is your favorite kind of apple, imagine now that you are going to fit the entire fruit into your mouth.  Well of course it can’t be done, however, as you make the attempt, you will experience the stretching of your mouth and lips to their widest possible aperture.  So, be aware that this kind of openness will help facilitate more freedom in this area of your range.

Now let’s do a couple of exercises that will help hear and feel how these high notes should be.  Imitate some light, high, laughter.  It may sound like “tittering” or it may feel as you laugh hilariously.  Get some of your girl friends to join you in this,  encouraging each other on to cast aside inhibitions and feel utterly abandoned in the laughter.

Another more musical exercise is this: once you have completed a normal vocal warm up, do some extension exercises on a 1-3-5-3-1 pattern on an open vowel (ah).  This should be fast moving – not slow.  You can experiment with singing this pattern legato or staccato to see which works best for you.  Sing this exercise beginning an octave above middle C and ascend by half-steps.  You may find that when your beginning note is F that your top note (5) will take on a shrill light sound.  The higher you ascend, the more notes in the exercise will sound this way.  Don’t worry if you have trouble tuning the highest notes perfectly at this time.  Do this exercise with a keyboard so that you can see where your highest notes are.  You should soon (in a few months) be able to vocalize up to G above high C – and higher if you are truly a light soprano.  Once you get to your boundary – return by half-steps to your lower range again.  Remember to sing this exercise with some abandon – not with careful, slow “control”.  This will begin the process of you learning how to negotiate the whistle register.

Again, just a reminder, don’t spend very much time up there.  Vocalize up there for four or five minutes every day doing these kinds of exercises, and be done.

If you find that you have increased facility in this, you can be certain that your choir director will have some specific notes that you (alone?) will be asked to sing on some pieces.  If you find that your discovery becomes fraught with tension, then stop making the attempt … and allow your voice to develop without it for a while.

Best wishes.

PS. By the way I have another blog post on warming up the voice.

I’m in chorus in high school and I love to sing.    Almost every year I do this solo & ensemble contest but my nerves never get any better.  For a little bit, before I go up to sing I don’t feel nervous at all but then once I start then the whole shaky voice and leg shaking starts.  In 6th grade and freshman year I got a 3rd.  Last year I got a 1st.  I’ve always been the type of person that is really insecure and no matter how many people say I sing well, I always doubt it.  It’s kind of hard to know who to believe when your own choir teacher says you’re not good enough for a solo and everyone else says you sing well.  So please help me with my nerves, the competition is in a week.  Thanks

Answer: Hi Esther,

Great question!

I’ve written another post on “dry mouth” nerves, so my answer will only serve to expand on that very slightly.

Nerves are normal.  What you described very well, 98% of the all performers also experience.  Part of the answer is to learn to balance the “adrenaline dump” with oxygen in your body.

You’ll recognize the feelings …  at a time very shortly before you are to perform your heart rate increases – anywhere from double to triple the normal speed.  (Adrenaline has been dumped into your blood stream.)  It’s important AT THAT TIME to breathe very deeply and slowly repeatedly.  This helps to accomplish two things: a) slow down the heart rate and b) increase the oxygen to your brain.  When the two are not in balance nerves tend to “take over” and “shaky voice” and “shaky legs” also known as “tetanic flutter” seem uncontrollable.

Nervousness isn’t going to go away – but you can get it under control – so that your nerves (the added adrenaline) actually serve to enhance the performance.

Go ahead and practice ahead of time what you are going to do when you feel the heart-rate rise – so that when the time comes, you’ll be doing something familiar and something you’re prepared to do.  (Sit tall, stand or walk and breathe deeply – slowly and fully – several times.)

Then, when it’s time to walk on stage, look confident and secure (you’ll be amazed how feelings of the same will follow) and you’ll also set your audience at ease.  Then enjoy expressing the song.

Best wishes to you!