Use your head voice and particular exercises to increase your vocal range. Your head voice is a technique that employs the use of your vocal cords without the power of your lungs or chest. Perform scales that incorporate your head voice, which will be in a higher range than your normal chest voice. Start with a comfortable note for your range and slide it up one full octave. If you are a novice, sing along with a piano, guitar or keyboard to hit the note correctly. Continue to move up until the second note is just out of range.
Sing scales using your chest voice to improve your range. Start at a low note and sing the notes in that particular major key. Work your way up to the octave and back to the root note. Move up one half of a step and repeat the exercise. As you get out of your comfort zone, you may hear yourself crack or your throat may hurt. Continue to push yourself every day and you will find that your range will improve and you strive for the higher notes.
This technique will help you bridge the gap between your head and chest voice and get you accustomed to shortening your vocal cords for high notes. Grunt a note twice and then sing the corresponding note two octaves above that. The grunting will shorten your vocal cords to facilitate strength in your head voice for the high note. This exercise utilizes both the head and chest voices.The action of shortening your vocal cords during this exercise will help you sing higher notes.
Vocal cords are delicate and caution should be used when attempting to increase or extend your vocal range. Warm up before trying any of the exercises and consult a vocal coach if you are having an issues or are showing little to no improvement. Everyone progresses at a different rate, so do not give up if you are not getting more versatile. Make sure you take breaks when necessary and keep your vocal cords moist with room temperature water when needed.