For the singers out there - how do I hit these uber high notes in 'Old Man' ?

[GibbyPrague]

I can hit the notes but they sound quite strained. My singing teacher told me I have a natural tenor tone, although its been couple years since i visted her, so forgot a lot.

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

What is your range now? How close are you getting?

[GibbyPrague]

That what my 69'er is for, great tone half step down and for singing practice ..

Originally Posted by slewis

You clearly need to buy another guitar to keep in step-down tuning!

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by GibbyPrague

I can hit the notes but they sound quite strained. My singing teacher told me I have a natural tenor tone, although its been couple years since i visted her, so forgot a lot.

NY's top note is towards the top of tenor range, but not beyond it - so with some singing exercises your voice should do it.
A sense of strain can be effective for the high notes (adding the element of intensity), as long as you can pitch them OK.

[Danno]

Have rlouie sing it for you.

[hotwired]

I'm working on that now ... I to tune down a half step anyway, but still a killer! I do find if I suddenly relax ... like instead of tensing up to get ready for this horrible thing, I just sort of exhale and "sing the line" at the correct pitch but with not so much force. Seems to work so far...I'll try to report back if I find anything else!

[s11lko]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

Snip-snip?

HaHa! That'd be ONE way...

[leew3]

You're right on track then, Neil strains as well

[Laughingboy68]

I’ve done that song for years, usually tuned down a half step. What I find hardest is not singing the first two lines. They start with “Old” and “I”. Those vowel sound are easier to sing comfortably. It’s the “Ah, one look in my eye and you can tell that’s true” line that I find hardest to sing. It doesn’t help that it is the third time the melody hits A4 (or Ab4) in short succession.

[Pitar]

Originally Posted by GibbyPrague

In the Neil Young classic, where he really goes an octave higher.

Im finding that Im tightening up, and its coming up all through the throat, uncofrtable and sounds thin and poor.

Can anyone offer advice on technique how to access those high notes so its not such a squeeze and a bit more comfortable ?

Alternatively, a different way of singing it, maybe a third lower ?

thanks a lot.
GB

Of all the people I've ever jammed with I've been the only one to copy NY's concert pitch original rendering of that song. It's just vocal training and that is no different than learning to play the guitar. Your pipes will change over time but you'll need to practice a lot. Or, you can drop down a full step and go at it.

[PapaC]

Good suggestions so far. How about a guest vocalist (female perhaps?), for that one tune. Or.....take it out of the set list. Why make yourself look bad just for one song?

[ARiley]

Yeah, any singer is at least a little uneasy about the top end of their range. All I know is lots of air, lots of breath support, stand up straight, open wide, and let it float on out there.

You don't want to push the sound out of your chest or throat -- the high notes come from your head. There's at least half an octave up there in head voice, and then men have a whole 'nother register with falsetto -- what a gift!

My old voice teacher taught us to envision a dome atop the voice -- a round, low dome for the low notes, and a high, narrow dome (like the US Capitol building) for the high notes, and the higher the note, the higher it comes out of your head. Those really high notes, envision them going straight up out of the top of your head.

High notes don't need a lot of volume to work, by the way. You don't have to push it -- just float it on out there.


You can do it!

[kkrell]

AFAIK, for the last 50 years, Neil Young uses his falsetto voice. When covering him, I use mine.

[merlin666]

I sing tenor in a choir and have a decent range, but for "Old Man" it just does not sound right when I try this with a clean falsetto. So my solution is to just sing it as a lower harmony. Seems to work. I do the same thing with "With A Little Help From My Friends" for the parts where Paul & John sing really high.

[martingitdave]

I’m a tenor. Neil young sings in falsetto with a nasal delivery. It’s hard to explain, but I can mimic his voice when I want to.

My view is that if you can’t hit the notes then either change the key or dump it. Sometimes changing the key either by using a capo or just changing key without it simply doesn’t work but on other occasions it actually sounds wonderful.

I’m a baritone and have had weekly lessons for years. I have found a lot of songs that work really well with a key change and I even think it really helps me impart myself into the song.

You certainly can, to a degree, extend range through lessons and good technique but this will need discipline and time.

Neil Young has a very distinct voice and I reckon most people would have a hard time covering his songs, assuming you want to hit the same notes and sound like him.