We’ve all hummed our way to the train station, half-sung a ditty while preparing dinner, or belted out our favourite Wicked solo in the bathroom. But knowing how to sing means more than simply having a pleasant voice and being able to carry a tune.
Being a good singer means adopting vocal techniques, learning how to breathe properly, finding your posture, knowing how to preserve your vocal health, and ensuring that you deliver stable performances regardless of your mood. Noting how anatomy impacts the act of singing is also crucial to achieving excellence and enhancing your singing voice. By understanding how to apply certain singing techniques and implement specific exercises into your routine, you, too, could go from shower to stadium.
This isn’t a technique, per se, but when it comes to singing tips it’s important to keep in mind that you’ll need to warm up before you even begin to think about singing. Athletes don’t jump right into their sports of choice; they stretch and limber up beforehand. So should you. Singing is a physical act and you should never sing at full volume before you’ve warmed up correctly. Try to relax and open with deep breaths. Go into gentle sounds like humming and low trills, staying within a comfortable range. Then gradually introduce movement up and down with scales, maintaining a steady airflow and avoiding tension in your jaw, neck, and shoulders.
Is your voice warm? Here are six tips for fine-tuning your vocals.
The way you stand impacts your singing voice. Generally speaking, singing works by pushing air through the vocal cords in the larynx in a sustained and controlled manner by extending your exhalation to create a specific sound. In doing so, you are resisting your natural instinct to expel the air you just inhaled to keep yourself alive. That makes the muscles in your abdomen work overtime in order to reach the desired outcome. The right posture can ease any rigidity, so you can get the most out of your voice. Start by standing up straight and keeping your head level with the ground. Your shoulders should be relaxed but engaged. Try not to lock your knees and maintain a comfortable stance with your feet shoulder-width apart. You should not feel any strain in your body.
Your chin shouldn’t be pointing anywhere except right in front of you. Naturally, you may want to lift your chin as you go up in pitch. Resist that urge, though, because moving your head too much could impact your larynx. Once you have your chin figured out, you may want to keep track of your neck and jaw area. The position of your jaw can drastically alter the sound you produce. The bottom half of your face should move freely without any added tension. You can find the perfect position by placing a finger vertically between the upper and lower jaws as you exercise your singing. Try not to alter the shape of your mouth too much. By learning to sing intentionally, you will see that vowels should form in the tongue and consonants in the relationship between the narrowing of the vocal tract and the stretch of your lips.
Singing is storytelling, so it’s really important that people understand what you say. The clarity of your enunciation will help you connect with your audience and, ultimately, bond with your fanbase. You can achieve this by adding consonants into the rotation of your vocal exercises. Because the pronunciation of consonants stops the airflow in different parts of your throat and mouth, by doing this you will also be working on your breathing. You can find an example here.
It may sound obvious, but your voice (as well as your larynx, throat, and mouth) is at its most relaxed when you’re speaking in your own natural tone. Saying that you should sing the way you speak may sound counterproductive, and you may even struggle to wrap your head around the logistics of it. It’s all part of the process and you will get better as you grow more comfortable with this style. By focusing on natural voice production rather than projecting or belting, you will be making the lyrics clear and conversational. That is what most contemporary singers do, from Taylor Swift and Chappell Roan to Queen and The 1975. It’s easier on the body and more sustainable long term.
Mastering your singing voice means learning how to use your diaphragm to your advantage. The diaphragm is the muscle that separates the chest from the abdomen. It’s the main muscle used for breathing, so it’s crucial that you learn how to employ it correctly. Initiate your breathing lower in your tummy; shallow breathing puts too much pressure on the larynx and makes it difficult to control your voice. Your shoulders should not move when you inhale. You can practise this by lying on the floor and noticing your stomach and rib cage rising and falling as you breathe in and out.
Every singer possesses their own volume. Failing to find your vocal range (or tessitura) will result in your voice cracking or flattening by singing too softly or too loudly. Summon your natural speaking voice and go from there, exploring all notes without straining your voice. Focus on breath support and find a balanced sound. Your volume will often lie on the same spectrum as the loudness of your speaking voice. As with many things in life, comfort is key. If you notice that your tone sounds too light or breathy, it could be an indication that your vocal chords are too open. You can circumvent this issue by trying to reach every inch of the room with intent, projecting strength with your chest as if you were trying to speak and be heard by everyone.
We’ve covered the significance of warming up, but cooling down is equally important. You can use the same exercises backward to de-escalate your voice, ending it with some light humming. Strictly speaking, it’s not essential to cool down, but it will ensure that your voice stays strong and your body reacclimatises to speaking gradually, especially if you’ve been overexerting.