How to Belt High Notes Without Strain (Pull Chest OR use Mixed Voice?)

This video is all about how to belt higher notes for men and women. Is it unhealthy? Do you need to use mixed voice instead? What is belting? All this and more is revealed in this short belting guide.

0:00 Intro
0:15 Is belting unhealthy? Mix instead?
1:53 Examples of Belting
3:12 Examples of head voice/falsetto
4:27 Examples of “mixing” aka NOT belting
6:30 What is belting? The four aspects
7:40 Analyzing the resonance
11:25 The three things you need to be able to do for belting
11:40 Finding a clear vocal quality
12:30 The yell pocket
16:32 Twang
20:11 Common mistakes with belting

[TruthSurge]

when I was a kid, my dad belted. Mostly he belted me. He didn't need any lessons, either!

[ElSings]

As a Professional singer, Herr Are some tips and notes on top of everything that was said in this video! :)
1. Use your back muscles!!! Emphasis is usually on your core and diaphragm (which you definitely need for belting!) but everyone almost always neglects those back muscles! If you watch great singers perform live, you’ll notice their arms are usually stretched wide and they are up in a straight stance most of the time. This engages the back muscles
2. DO NOT overpush on that breath support!!! Think of it like this- instead of taking a deep breath and going for your phrase, take a deep breath, blow half of it out, and THEN start singing. You should not be using more air for belting- in fact, you may even use less. What you need is not more air, it’s more PRESSURE behind the folds! That being said you also do not want to tighten or strain. So don’t put TOO much! There really is a healthy medium to be found, and you will not find it in 1 day of practice, it will take weeks or months.

You got this, my lil friend! :D

[ac]

I hit a note yesterday with so much power and grit I didn't know I had in me and I credit this video 100%. I wish I could share it with everyone! Thank you so much!!

[maxx_xero]

As a rock singer, I've had so many teachers tell me not to "pull chest" and just use Mix and bring my head voice down but it always felt and sounded wrong for me. All the rock singers I listened to were clearly yelling and projecting a very intense sound and I learned how to do it as well by basically doing the same thing getting into the "call register/yelling and then applying singing fundamentals and technique from there. This video is 100% the correct way to do it if you wanna belt epic rock songs, you have to get into the yell pocket, add twang as you go higher and use your full fold closure.

[renemartinez]

Hi I've been singing professionally since 1981 when I was still a freshman in college. I am also a vocal coach. After watching this video, it has opened my teaching techniques to a much wider dimension. Probably because the old fashioned teachers have taught us styles that were mainly too boxed and too old. Thank you for this video. I will try to get a hold of your other videos which will help me especially in teaching those of this new generation.

[noideawhattonamethis]

I CHOKED WHEN YOU USED THE QUEEN OF THE NIGHT ARIA AS AN EXAMPLE OF NOT BELTING

[choochd]

The problem with pulled-up chest belting is that you can only take it so high, and it can quickly fatigue the voice. Especially if it's done incorrectly the margin of error is amplified 10 fold and so is the risk of damage. So this among many reasons, makes it imperative to have a reliable mix.

[silvan]

hey gregory, i studied vocals at a university in germany. I have big respect for your knowledge and how you are not only explaining, but also showing what u are talking about. You are literally a better vocal coach than all lecturers i had in my university.. Crazy cause you are still so young. I hope you will have big success on Youtube, you definitely deserve more followers! Wish you the best - you definitely got my subscripition!

[TaurusVenus]

Wow. I’m a professional singer and voice teacher of 20 years, and I’m floored. I started teaching technique with Seth Riggs and Brett Manning as my model and go to, and this is totally different! It explains some things that I’ve been intuitively discovering and takes it so much further. The way he differentiates, demonstrates and gives note guides is very helpful. Will be reviewing this video multiple times and taking notes!!

[kohammy]

i'm currently a self taught vocalist because finding vocal coaches is a TASK and i am just tryna get through high school. widening my range and belting is very difficult for me because i'm a contralto but practicing my belting every two days (neighbors) has been very helpful!!!

[robbiichan]

“That’s a bunch of bullshit” 😂😂 subscribed.

[jabz]

Agreed! Being afraid or holding back of what you are trying to do is the hardest thing to practice. That's me! I can tell it is true. I need to conquer my fear of something went wrong when I try to belt high notes. Thank you for this explanation. Mabuhay!

[makoymorales]

I started to sing some bruno mars songs (which is way way higher for my voice, to the point which it's in the edge of cracking). But after following your three steps for better belting, i could instantly reach the note without feeling the need to pull my body for it to work out. Thanks man.

[JohanaPage]

I've belted professionally in songs for over 12 years and have never heard it put like this before ☺ Sometimes we sing and don't actually grasp why things work or what we're doing right... this makes a lot of sense to me. Great video

[hackyjacksgaming]

I just became the lead singer/front woman for the band "Look For The Light" and this video helped me so so so much!
We're in the process of recording and making our EP with our producer and manager. I was terrified back in the day to belt and everyone said, no matter what I did, that I needed to be louder. I never belted. I used a very soft chest voice and was too chicken to use that power I had locked away. Man...I was missing the belts that helped us get noticed!!!!
I'll use this for recording and warm ups. Thank you so much!!!! It was amazingly helpful. I used to strain and now I don't. 😊

[NotebookLives]

You helped me find my "yell pocket" and I can't thank you enough. There's a myriad of notes I thought were reserved for falsetto that you can hit just by raising your volume and power without literally screaming. Amazing.

[corystajduhar]

I definitely feel and hear the difference between mixed voice and belt. The easiest way for me to access the full sounding belt is by using "hey" like we're yelling hey, but without the closed /i/ at the end. It is very conducive to the yell/call quality. I find the twangy sound by doing a baby cry or adding a quacky sound. There's definitely a window where it's a full sounding belt and it then goes into a bright, twangy mix sound. One tip for your video would be to actually demonstrate the belt on words and in the context of a phrase. All of my students really appreciate it when I demonstrate a technique by applying it to an actual song. I can even make up lyrics, for example:

"I don't care..." = I (D4) don't (D4), (G4 F#4 E4 D4) and then do the same phrase in the next key a half step up (and continue up). That way they can also hear the shift you mentioned (more thinning among other things).

I like your perspective of "belt." Some people call too many sounds "belt" when they are clearly using mixed voice. If there's no difference, then it's pointless to use the words.

[tracematson]

I'm a bass 2 and have a baritone brother who belts all the time. I have always wanted to be able to get really good at belting. Thank you soo much for this great toutorial.

[laughingwolf]

This is so dope man. Everything you're describing is used in spiritual practice of mantras, incantations, meditation, on and on. Vibrating a specific vowel & tone combo and then moving it around, back and forth, up and down, expanded and contracted - practicing that actually did help me learn to sing better! Training your voice is really a powerful thing even if you aren't a performer or professional - singing is so empowering and most especially BELTING! :D It challenges you to SMILE and to tap into that self love and confidence and flow it out there to the universe <3

[yuukilei]

This is effective! I hit E5 note without any pain in my throat! (I once tried hitting E flat 5 before without belting and ended up getting a sore throat...) Your teaching is helpful to improve my singing voice, thank you so much! 😊