High notes can be such a challenge. It can seem impossible to move onto them without tension, and with our breath support and airflow intact!
Today I want to show you a series of exercises that will help you release your neck muscles, approach the high notes with momentum, and find a free, high resonance that feels like it’s coming out of the top of the head.
Let’s dive in!
How to do the Dive Over:
- Our pitch pattern for this exercise is an up and over octave arpeggio (Do-High Do-Sol-Mi-Do) on the syllable “Yo.” Learn that first.
- Now, sing that pattern and dive over into a forward fold as you move up the octave leap.
- Stand and repeat.
It’s ESSENTIAL that you release the weight of the head so the neck is relaxed as you dive. It should feel like a rag doll or bobble head, and you should feel gravity encouraging the head to draw away from the shoulders.
As you sing, pay attention to what you’re feeling: many singers report feeling the sound coming out of the top of the head like a whale spout.
Variation 1: sing the whole exercise hanging upside down, giving a gentle wobble in the arms and neck.
Variation 2: sing standing, IMAGINING that you’re upside down and that you can feel that gravitational pull lengthening the back of the neck.
Let me know if this works for you, and thanks for practicing!
