by Mark Baxter

Are you a slave to high notes? Do they make you work harder than other pitches? If you find yourself reacting with a knee-jerk push every time the melody rises, then you have succumbed to Top Note Syndrome. Don’t worry; you’re in good company. TNS is so wide spread that songs are often written to accommodate the tendency. The best songwriters camouflage their vocal inabilities by placing appropriate lyrics on difficult pitches. It ends up sounding like passion. For the rest of us it sounds like strain. Either way, the instrument is in control rather than the artist.

At the root of TNS is a perception that something must lift to produce a high note. Here’s where a little understanding of anatomy can help. Your vocal folds sit across the windpipe, right in the middle of the throat. To sing a high note, tiny muscles in front of the larynx pull the folds forward. The stretch is horizontal, not vertical. The larynx, therefore, should not move up and down the throat like a pitch elevator.

The language we use to describe music is what inspires us to lift body parts. There’s actually nothing high about a pitch; it’s just a fast vibration. Just because the little black dots go up on a music staff doesn’t mean anything should lift in your body. Guitar and saxophone players certainly don’t lift their instruments to play high notes. Okay, they do, but that’s just for the ladies. It may look passionate but an instrument will never sound as good once it leaves its rested position.

The reason the larynx rises is to protect the lungs when we swallow. The problem is that your body can’t separate singing from swallowing. A raised larynx means a tight throat – no exceptions. Clamping off the throat significantly reduces the main resonator of the voice. It also inspires us to drive more air. Applying extra pressure compromises any instrument. Press too hard on guitar strings and you’ll choke the tone; bear down too hard on a sax mouthpiece and you’ll squawk and crack like, well, like a beginning singer.

A good way to break top note syndrome is to sing through high notes instead of at them. Just as karate experts focus on a point past the boards of wood they chop through, target a point past your trophy note. Spend more attention on the notes leading up or following a difficult pitch. Think horizontal. Most important, allow your voice to flounder while you explore alternative registers and feels. Do this until you can sing without engaging your face or throat whatsoever. Then, let the lyrics decide what gets a punch. Not only will this take a load off your voice, it will place the focus on the sentiment. You’ll be amazed how positively people respond when a song is about something more than a wrestling match with TNS.

Mark Baxter is a vocal therapist who offers private and video lessons. His vocal studios are located in Boston, New York and Los Angeles. Clients include: Aerosmith, the Goo Goo Dolls, Van Halen, Jonny Lang, Tonic, Aimee Mann, Journey, American Hi-Fi, cast members of Rent and thousands more. His top-selling book, The Rock-N-Roll Singer’s Survival Manual, and video, The Singer’s Toolbox, are available on line or in stores nation wide. To contact: call 1 (800) 659-6002, or visit www.voicelesson.com