When you try to sing in a very low pitch or very high pitch, you are straining your vocal chords, bad?

Question

I'm not a singer but alot of times i sing, or rather "Hum" . Sometimes when i do very low pitch notes, it's kind of difficult so i switch to high. However in high pitch too , it gets to the point where i have to go even higher and i can't..In my attempts to continue in low pitch or high pitch i feel like i'm putting pressure on my vocal chords and i was wondering if this is bad to do?

Or is it normal as exercise would be for your muscles?

Answer 1

You need to sing from Your Diaphragm and not Your Throat

Answer 2

There is a natural bottom and top limit to anyone's range.And the few notes before that, in either direction, will feel trickier.However, sometimes (well, often) people who are not trained singers will feel a lot of strain in certain parts of their range , because of physical tensions and habits they are unaware of.When you train to release these, a sudden ease is often found. Also--just to make things more complicated--going up, there is a point at which you must change from "chest" register (the same register you use when you speak...roughly speaking), and "head" register (falsetto). Men in particular can find this very hard, and think that they have hit the limit of their range, when in fact they have only hit the top of the chest voice.
In general, the rule is to aim for as much ease as possible. Unless you are really pushing it, and often, you probably won't do any serious damage. But yes--when it feels like you are straining your vocal chords, you are, and it can cause small tears and inflammation, and in some cases, permanent damage. Just pay attention to how it feels. Back off a bit, if it gets significantly uncomfortable. Hope that helps.