How to Sing Higher for Men – No More Cracking!

If you want to learn how to sing higher, you are going to love this post.

Not a lot of people know that it is actually more difficult for men to sing high notes than it is for women.

Modern female singers could switch to falsetto in the high notes and easily disguise it as full voice because of their vocal colors.

Three hundred years ago, men used to sing falsetto in the high notes just like the women. It was widely accepted as the norm for the music audiences in Europe.

Technically, it is much easier to do, but men cannot do that anymore. Now, men are expected to sing high notes in full voice, real voice, or belt voice.

There are no switching to falsetto or even mixed voice except for stylistic choices.

I am a tenor who has been studying how to sing high notes all my life. I would like to share with you the top secrets of how to sing higher for men.

Further reading: How to Sing Higher For Women

Top 5 Mistakes Men Make When Singing High Notes

1. Scream and yell

This is when a lot of beginning singers, especially men, hurt their voices and develop nodules in the vocal cords.

Sure, you need to flex the vocal muscles more for the high notes, but there is a correct way to do it.

Yelling and screaming out the high notes can be very dangerous for vocal health.

The problem is some singers don’t know they are doing it.

Here is a good way to detect if you’re singing high notes wrong – it hurts every time you do it. If this is you, stop immediately. You’re doing something wrong!

I suggest you find out some of those stress-relieving vocal exercises and do them daily. The best vocal training for relieving vocal stress and balancing your voice is using the mixed voice technique.

Further reading: How to Sing Mixed Voice

2. Using too much air.

This is one of the biggest myths I want to clear once and for all.

Many people think you need a lot of air to sing the really difficult high notes. In actuality, you need less air to sing the high notes than the low notes – a lot less!

The vocal cords are pulled together at a much higher tension than in the lower notes.

If you pump too much air through, you will end up hurting the vocal cords. You won’t get much volume out of it either. Just more tension.

3. Switching to falsetto or mix voice

This is actually not as bad of a problem as the previous two. At least you won’t hurt your voice while doing this.

However, technically and aesthetically speaking, it doesn’t sound good if men sing falsetto for high notes because it lacks fullness and edge in the voice.

Technically, men singing falsetto for high notes is generally viewed as cheating.

I know. I know. Justin Timberlake does it. That’s a stylistic choice that works for his songs.

However, if you want to get some really full and edgy high notes, I suggest you get started with some hard core training that’s going to get you to those high notes.

4. Avoiding the high notes by riffs and licks

Riffs and licks are the stylistic runs you hear a lot of R & B singers do usually with long notes – a lot of times they are overdone.

Many “natural” singers who are not properly trained are very good at riffing because they learn mainly by ear and have developed great stylistic taste.

However, I’ve seen too many “natural” singers who riff away from the high notes, disguising it as stylistic choices, when in reality it is caused by incompetence to hit high notes.

I’ve had a professional Jazz singer who came to me for lessons admitting to me about this practice.

Getting the right vocal training is the way to cure this problem once and for all.

You have to build real high notes.

5. Accepting the myth that vocal range is naturally fixed

This is biggest myth that stops singers from hitting higher notes.

You can expand your range through proper training. You can sing higher and higher.

I have heard Basses (lowest male voices) hit incredible tenor notes in full voice, not falsetto or mixed.

If you accept that vocal ranges are naturally fixed, you can be sure that you will be forever limited by that belief.

High notes and extremely high notes can be trained regardless of your voice types.

Further reading: How to Find Your Vocal Range

How to Sing Higher for Men – 3 Main Solutions

If you want to solve your high note problems once and for all, let me share with you the 2 most important approaches to get those coveted high notes.

1. Vocal Technique Training

Before you discard this point as cliché, let me explain to you what I mean.

Many people sing with unnecessary vocal tension, especially male singers, which inhibits them from hitting those high notes.

The most difficult thing to do is to relax the unnecessary muscles – the ones that have nothing to do with singing, while “flexing” the actual vocal muscles.

It’s a very tricky maneuver that takes technique.

One of the most important technique that you can use immediately is to keep the sound ROUND!

It is counter-intuitive and you have to be intentional to maintain the roundness in the high notes.

We naturally tend to spread the sound when we go higher. If you could keep it round, you will add natural resonance to amplify the high notes with no extra effort.

Further reading: 100+ Vocal Training Tips: The Ultimate List

2. Vocal Weight-Lifting

When you get better vocal technique, it’s now time to build some serious vocal muscles.

The vocal cords are a set of intricate muscles. Although delicate, the vocal cords are still muscles that have to be developed.

In order to sing a lot higher, your vocal muscles need to be able to sustain heavier vocal weights.

The stronger your vocal cords are, the higher and louder you can sing.

But, you need to be able to isolate the “right” muscles from the wrong ones, much like training the biceps with dumbbells. That takes technique.

This kind of subtle technique is rarely taught, but after digging in the industry for quite a while, I found Robert Lunte teaching this.

The concept is – you need to do vocal weight training with good technique. That way you will get to those high notes quicker, because you are training the right muscles.

Further reading: Teach Yourself How to Sing-The 7-Step Guide

3. Optimize Vocal Health

High notes challenges the limits of our vocal ability, therefore, it is very important that you protect and keep your voice in superb shape.

Honestly, it is not that easy to take care of your voice. My old teacher used to tell me – you need to live the life of a monk if you want to be true vocalist.

It starts from adjusting your diet, behavoir, and lifestyle. There are a lot of limitations that most people are able to follow completely, including me.

But, here are a list of ways to keep your voice in top shape:

1. Avoid alcohol

This one is hard for a lot of people. Many of us enjoys a little drink after a long day of work.

The truth is alcohol dries up your vocal cords. You cannot expect your voice to work properly, let alone hitting high notes, after drinking.

I wouldn’t expect you to cut out alcohol completely, but at least, stay away of it before a performance.

2. Avoid smoking

In my opinion, smoking is even worse than alcohol. Not only does it dries up your throat, it hurts your lungs as well.

If you are a singer and smoker, I would advise you to quit. If you’re not, avoid places that exposes your to second-hand smoke.

3. Adequate sleep

I remember there was once I cracked a high C in front of an audience, because I didn’t get enough sleep and rest the night before.

Not geting enough sleep will definitely affect your high notes.

We are all very busy and this seems like a luxury, and it probably is, but you should get at least 7-8 hours of sleep.

4. Nutritional diet

For singers, your vocal instrument is a part of your body. It is important that you get enough nutrition for your voice to work at an optimal state.

This is common knowledge, but focus on getting enough protein out of what you eat, including a variety of meats, vegetables, and limited carbs.

Avoid junk foods and soft drinks.

5. Drink water

This is actually the most important tip for vocal health, because it directly affect your vocal cords.

When your body is dehydrated, your vocal cords are dry. You cannot expect your high notes to be good when your vocal cords not lubricated.

It takes about an hour for the water you drink to get to the vocal cords. So, drink up!

How much? I drink a gallon a day. If you can’t, drink at least half a gallon. It’s good for your body as well.

My Final Thoughts

I believe it’s absolutely possible for every voice to sing a lot higher than its natural range.

However, you need to be willing to put in the time and effort to learn and practice on your high notes.

I want to be honest with you – it takes a lot of work and commitment!

But it’s possible for every voice. This I believe with all my heart. And it doesn’t take forever.

If you commit yourself to intensively train your voice for high notes, you will see results in 2 to 4 weeks.

High notes are important. And it’s definitely worth all the time, effort, and money to training your voice for excellence.

To great singing,

Rex