Now that I am singing in a higher range, I realize that my voice is extremely fragile. I can, in practice, go all the way up to a C5 and beyond that, but when it comes to singing a song that high, even using the notes a few times, my voice tires. My band has a nearly 7 minute song that has me singing up around G#4-A#4 for at least 3/4 of the song. The other songs teeter around a step lower and one has the occasional A4 and C5. I'd like to start playing shows, and while I can get away with it now, I am not sure if I can when our set gets longer. Thirty five minutes go by and while I experience no pain, I cannot consistently perform how I want to so there must be a huge flaw in my technique.

So my question is, how can I bring more head voice function into my voice? I think I'm on the right path of dropping my falsetto as low as I can and then crescendoing (really difficult at around E3) as it helped with band practice today, but I'd like some advice.

I drink lots of water everyday, get lots of sleep, eat healthy, don't smoke, don't shout, don't do too much talking and I warm up doing sirens and lip bubbles and stretches, the whole VSR and stuff. I practice breathing every day and can quite easily sustain a hiss for just over a minute. I've been singing for a year in February but with almost 3 years of screaming my head off behind that. So I am pretty sure it's technique.

Hey, my old band from about 7 years ago had a 17 minute song and everything I sang was abovr a B4, haha. It can be done. Practice the E scream exercise from RYV. It sounds like the same sound I make when I shatter glasses. Start very very light and soft ans allow the sound to swell while maintaining that same sound. Kind of like transcending Tone but not switching to falsetto. Start doing these BEFORE you do the TT exercises. Also, start these exercises up higher, around an A4 and work up as high as you can go. Afterwards, practice the TT exercises very very slow. You'll notice that they are a little easier to do after doing the E scream exercise. Now, by going slow, you can control that mix of falsetto/full voice. You don't always have to go totally full voice, you can use a light or a heavy mix, whatever works for you. Yes this is the same as SLS, but I show you hot to take that mixed voice even closer to full. And as far as head voice, you got to think "less baggage" vocally, as you go to those high notes. You don't need that same big chest tone all the way up. Use your body like a tuning fork and let it all vibrate, including chest, BUT, really feel it in your head. And keep that placement in the soft palate-physically feel the sensation of your voice there :)

JV

I think I figured it out. After reading that, it got me thinking...When I practice or sing, I am pretty much always creating a very cutting sound like I get when I do a really nasal EE. So my plan is to focus my ass off on TT and mesa di voce and that EE thing. Build more dynamics. I think I've just to to train myself to lighten the heck up. I'm seeing improvements even after three days with this mindset of singing quieter.

But ONE question Jaime; after you discovered a vocal method that worked for you, how many years was it until you could sing casually in the A4-D5 region? I'm not even a year with RYV and I've already added nearly an octave to my range, and it's almost all useable and listenable. I know you practiced A LOT mroe than I do now, but I am wondering what the next year will have to offer.