Hey Jaime

I'm trying to figure out which exercise to focus on to extend my range. At the moment I can sing comfortably up to a high B in full voice, but the high C is hit and miss! Obviously I can go a lot higher in falsetto, but I was wondering what would be the best order to focus on the excercises.

Would it be a good idea to work on falsetto slides intensely for a while to develop muscle memory, and then work on transcending tone and siren? The idea I had was to divide my practice time into quarters, two on falsetto slide then one each quarter on siren and transcending tone at a lower pitch.

Then I was planning to switch around and focus more on the other exercises. This is basically due to having limited practice time and wanting to make the best of it!

Or would it be best to just follow the programme as it is in the book?

Thanks

Rich

I do not know what to say, I don't know the answer, but I can tell you that if you're unable to go any higher, you may be running into some tension issues. Watch yourself in a mirror going up your range and see where your larynx changes position or where your face seems tight or where you feel you have to push, check your breathing. How easy is that B? If it's not as easy as your lower range, definitely focus on transcending tone exercises, they REALLY help you build the strength required after you have the coordination. The same as one day you probably had to work your ass off to get an E4 to come out and now it's easy, so will it be with the C5. If you think you're not hitting that C5 because of improper coordination of the muscles (if it feels tight up in that range or you can physically tell you are not using the correct muscles), then falsetto and siren exercises will be good. Take everything I say with a grain of salt though. I am not 100% on, though I've read up on various functions of exercises for months and months now.

Thanks for the suggestions.
The B is fine, I can hold it no problem and it sounds fine, I just seem to hit a ceiling on the C!

What I've found is that if I do sirens working up the scale, I'm fine until the C and then it breaks up. However, I have hit it by going straight to the C rather than working up the scale, but it's not consistent.

Follow the system in the book. They are put in a specific order for a reason ;) You can try thr useful tip that takes you through an 8 week workout schedule to maximize your results.

JV