Many singers are keen to learn the skill of taking their chest voice higher. The term chest voice is used by many singers to describe those sung notes that, for the most part, are sung in the lower register. But for most singers, there’s a point at which the voice needs to change into the upper register. This change in sound is referred to by many as the head voice. I prefer to label it as ‘upper register,’ lengthener dominant, but regardless of terminology, the change in sound signifies a movement in the muscular mechanics of the voice.
Today, we are going to be learning how to take our chest voice higher into our range with a couple of beneficial singing exercises. Both exercises are designed to stretch the vocal ligament safely, while simultaneously strengthening vocal fold closure and also bulking the vocalis muscle (the thyroarytenoid).
As we get started with the activities, it’s important for me to recommend that you only do the exercises once the voice has been prepared for use with a 10–15-minute vocal warm-up. We’re going to be stretching the voice in a rather vigorous manner, so it’s crucial that the laryngeal muscles have good blood flow which in turn helps us avoid unnecessary vocal wear and tear.
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