If you strain when you sing higher, this video is for you. A lot of big vocal phrases (ones that start low and go high, or vice versa) may seem like one single voice. But actually, it’s a map of registers stitched together so smoothly it SOUNDS like one voice. I use anchor words to feel it: chest, chest, chest… mix, mix… chest, chest, chest. Your voice is constantly shifting, you’ve just trained it to sound seamless. Two tools from the video to actually practice this: First tip: The “mum” exercise. Pouty, a little whiny, almost like crying. “Mum, mum, mum, mum.” It feels silly, but it sneaks your voice into that mixed, compressed place without strain. I use it to find a hard note (that’s an A4 in the video) and then shape real words around the same sensation. If thinking about the lyrics makes you tense up, just sing “mum” first, then swap the words in. Second tip: The suspended breath. Watch my hand in the video, breathe in, hold it, then vocalize from that held place. That little exaggerated exhale at the end? That’s me showing you I’ve still got gas in the tank. That leftover air, that control, is often exactly what’s missing from your high notes. Try it on your own tough phrase. Map the registers. Find the mix. Keep the air back. You’ll be surprised how much more stable those notes get. — Here’s the truth though… A single tip like this can help. But knowing exactly what YOUR voice needs, in the right order, is a completely different thing. Most singers stay stuck not because they aren’t working hard, but because no one’s ever told them the specific thing holding them back, the thing they can’t hear themselves. That’s what I do in my 12-Week Vocal Intensive. We find your blind spots, build a plan made for your voice, and work through it together, so you finally know what you’re doing right (to do more of it) and what’s holding you back (to do less of it). Just like having a fresh, trained set of ears on your voice the whole way through. I’m only taking a limited number of singers this round, and spots are filling. Link in bio! - @huntermariano