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Home: Choirs and Choral Music: General discussion:
soprano high notes
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pearlfisher
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Oct 26, 2006, 11:45 AM

Post #1 of 2 (14705 views)
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soprano high notes Can't Post

hello

can anyone suggest me some tips and techniques... am trying to train my sopranos to sing the high notes like " g" "a" above the treble clef...but they have trouble singing them without sounding sharp shrill and almost screaming..how to get that soft smooth and warm tone for those notes?


tomos
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Oct 26, 2006, 6:30 PM

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Re: [pearlfisher] soprano high notes [In reply to] Can't Post

Hi

As you might be aware the notes around f or f sharp are regarded as a type of shifting or changing gear or the technical terms is the Passagio.

Some voices find it difficult to shift from one register to the other, they try to continue to sing the upper notes in the same register or place as the lower more chest voice notes. This will cause a very tight harsh sound as the singer is forcing the voice.

Other reasons could be due to the voices straining, Ie in the wrong section of the choir. You might wish to watch their physical appearance when singing these notes, check they are not lifting or tilting their heads upwards. As strange as it sounds they need to keep their heads down if anything, this will create more space in the throat, let them drop and relax the yaw

Other points could be the idea of resonance, Eg two bodies vibrating at the same frequency. If the resonance is not felt high in the face or mask the sound will be harsh as it has not got time to resonate as it is coming straight out of the mouth.



If i was you i would begin by checking the posture of the singers. get them to stand correctly, make them feel good

Then check the breathing technique, this is the fuel for to the singing, this will give them the support to sing the upper notes

I would then try a few ex which reach around e or f, then raising the pitch move towards the f and g. Why note make it a pattern of notes such as g b d e d b g, eventually the top note will be the g, dont make a meal of the ex make it fast and let them feel the top notes change i.e moving from one register to the next.

Another idea could be to sing the bottom f and slide up through all the notes to the top f, keep the support , and let the singer feel the change. When sliding up its always a good ideas to ask the singers to pull their hands down as if they are pulling the note down.

You might need to look at the music and see what vowels they are having difficulty with, some vowels will cause a harsh sound if they are not modified ( Thats another story)



Hope this might be of some help, things will not improve overnight the voice takes time to develop.

Good look

 
 


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