How to Sing in Head Voice: Expert Tips, Recommendations, Steps
Tyler Connaghan Music producer, Singer
10/29/25 | Last modified: 11/18/25
If you feel like your throat is hanging on for dear life when you try and hit a high note, head voice can be your best friend. While there are more scientific ways to define this vocal register, the best way to explain it in layman’s terms is the “ lighter, higher part of your range.” When you sing in head voice, you should feel the sound resonate in your forehead or skull instead of your chest. It’s an effortless feeling.
Training head voice isn’t something we often think about as singers, as it isn’t necessarily the most “impressive” register. However, doing so can help you control your pitch and glide between registers with more ease.
In this guide, we’ll tell you all you need to know about how to sing in head voice with helpful exercises you can incorporate into your everyday routines.
What Is Head Voice in Singing and How Does It Differ from Chest Voice?
Head voice lives in the upper part of your range. For some, it’s a breathy, airy sound. For others, there’s a bit more meat. For most people, there’s a lack of tension, which makes it a lot of fun and very easy to move around in.
This is because the vocal folds stretch thinner here, allowing air to move more easily.
Chest voice, on the other hand, sits lower and feels grounded in your body. The sound vibrates through your chest and ribcage, and your vocal folds come together more firmly. It’s the register most people use when speaking. Most would describe it as strong, full, and direct.
A simple way to think of it:
Chest voice feels like it lives in your body, while head voice feels like it floats above it.
What head voice is not, however, is falsetto. Falsetto has an airier tone and doesn’t connect as tightly to the rest of your range. Head voice is a bit fuller and clearer. Still light, but more powerful.
Learning how to sing from head voice means shifting your resonance upward and letting the sound vibrate in your face and skull, rather than your chest.
10 Effective Exercises to Improve Your Head Voice
Head voice feels totally natural for some singers. For others, it takes time and patience to build. If you’re in the latter camp, the key is consistency. Train your muscles and resonance areas to respond naturally instead of forcing your high notes.
These ten exercises for head voice are designed to wake up your upper register and teach you how to sing in head voice the right way.
1. Humming Slides
Start with a light hum, gliding slowly from a comfortable low note up to a higher one and back down. Keep your mouth closed and jaw loose.
You should feel the vibration move from your chest toward your face as you rise in pitch. That’s your resonance shifting.
This exercise helps connect chest and head voice. Do five to ten slides per session, keeping the volume relatively low.
2. Lip Trills
Blow air through relaxed lips to make a steady “brrr” sound, moving up and down your range.
Lip trills are part of the semi-occluded vocal exercise family, which helps build coordination between airflow and vocal fold closure.
If your lips collapse, you’re pushing too hard. Ease up and let the air do the work.
These are great as warm-ups and for bridging registers.
3. “E” Scales
Sing a slow five-note or octave scale on “Ee.”
The “Ee” vowel naturally focuses your sound forward and brightens the tone.
Keep the sound small and focused, and imagine you’re aiming it toward the space behind your eyes.
This exercise is one of my favorites for resonance placement and control in the upper register.
4. The “Ng” Exercise
Sing on the “ng” from the end of “sing.” The back of your tongue should gently touch your soft palate.
Hold a mid-range note and feel the buzz in your nasal cavity or forehead.
This exercise isolates head resonance and improves airflow direction.
Don’t press your tongue too hard. Light contact can help establish a cleaner tone.
5. Mask Resonance Drill
Stick your tongue slightly out of your mouth and produce an “mmm” sound. Notice where it buzzes. You should feel it right around your nose and cheekbones.
Now sing a light “mee” or “nay” while keeping that same forward focus.
This exercise helps provide awareness of the “mask area.” It’s great for making sure your head voice is placed properly. I like to do this at the beginning of every singing session to get my placement right off the bat.
If it starts sounding too nasal, lower the soft palate slightly and relax your jaw.
6. Octave Slide
Sing a short phrase that glides smoothly up an octave and then back down. An “Ah” is the perfect sound here. Keep your throat open and the sound connected from start to finish to avoid any breaks in the voice.
If you feel yourself starting to force your voice at the top, stop, relax, reset, and try again without tension.
This exercise teaches your vocal cords to shift gradually instead of snapping between registers. Focus on keeping your voice steady rather than adding volume.
7. Yawn-Sigh Technique
Take a deep breath, mimicking a natural yawn, then let the sound slide downward in a sigh.
You’ll feel your soft palate lift and your larynx drop slightly, creating space for resonance.
This exercise keeps your throat open and tension-free. Do this a few times before any singing exercises to prime your voice.
8. Straw Phonation Exercise
This one’s a staple in vocal training because it balances breath pressure and vocal fold closure. Grab a regular drinking straw and hum through it on a steady pitch. You’ll feel gentle back pressure as the air flows out. That resistance helps your vocal folds stay relaxed while vibrating.
Once you’re comfortable, glide up and down your range on a long “oo” sound through the straw. Your airflow should feel steady.
The exercise might feel a bit silly, but it’s one of the most well-documented and beneficial exercises in voice therapy and professional vocal coaching.
9. Siren Exercise
Make a continuous “oo” or “ee” sound and glide smoothly from your lowest to highest note and back down.
Keep the airflow even and don’t break between registers.
This is one of the best ways to connect chest and head voice.
Start slow and stay relaxed. If you feel tension, reset and use lighter air.
10. Falsetto Bridge Drill
Sing lightly in falsetto, then gradually add a bit more closure and support until it transitions into your head voice.
This teaches control and helps thicken the tone without losing ease.
Repeat short ascending phrases to strengthen the coordination.
It’s especially helpful for singers who struggle to connect falsetto to full voice.
Why Strengthening Your Head Voice Is Important
Once you’ve learned how to sing from your head voice instead of forcing notes from your throat, you’ll notice your and upper range open up.
Strengthening your head voice also helps protect your vocal cords. Without it, many singers rely too heavily on their chest voice, developing fatigue and tension as they sing.
Beyond technique, it opens up a world of creative possibilities. You can make your voice sound delicate and airy during one moment of a song, then allow it to ring cleanly at the next.
How Forbrain Can Help You Strengthen Your Head Voice
Forbrain’s bone conduction technology can help you sing better and learn how to use head voice correctly by giving you instant feedback on how your voice actually resonates. Instead of relying only on what you hear through the air, Forbrain sends sound vibrations through the bones in your skull, helping you sense tone placement in real time. This awareness makes it easier to locate head resonance and adjust airflow and pitch.
Because head voice depends on feeling subtle vibrations in the upper cavities, Forbrain can be a valuable training companion. It helps you track where your sound sits, spot tension early, and maintain a steady tone across exercises, all while reducing fatigue.
How to use it in practice:
- Warm-ups: Use Forbrain during your warm-ups to dial in your resonance
- Resonance targeting: Notice how sound shifts between your face and crown as you move through pitches.
- Pronunciation drills: Refine clarity for fast or lyric-heavy songs.
- Playback review: Record short takes to hear tonal consistency.
Final Words
Learning how to sing in head voice doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a gradual process of learning how your body and sound work together. As you practice more, you’ll gain better awareness, coordination, and confidence.
Stay patient, listen closely, and work through these exercises for head voice daily. Over time, you’ll notice your tone becoming smoother, lighter, and easier to control.
FAQs
Can everyone sing in head voice?
Yes, everyone can learn how to use head voice. Some singers just haven’t learned how to access it yet. It takes awareness, breath support, and practice to feel that lighter resonance, but with consistent training, anyone can strengthen it.
How do I know if I’m singing in head voice?
You’ll feel vibrations in the upper part of your face or skull, rather than in your chest. The sound feels lighter but still connected to your breath, rather than airy and weak like falsetto.
Why can’t I sing in head voice?
The most common reasons you might not be able to sing in head voice include throat tension, shallow breathing, or pushing too hard from the chest. Try gentle sirens, humming slides, and “Ee” scales to release tension.