Improve Your Singing Voice

Many vocal teachers will tell aspiring singers that their voice is an instrument inside their body. So it's important to learn how to get the most out of it. Whether you are into singing in the shower or on the stage, it is possible to improve your singing voice with the right breathing, the right training, and lots of practice.

Steps

Adjusting Your Breathing and Your Mouth

1. Practice “hiss” breathing. Before you go to sleep and right when you wake up, take five minutes to do “hiss” breathing. This exercise will help you better control how much air you are inhaling into your diaphragm, instead of into your lungs. In singing, its very important to control the inhales and exhales from your diaphragm to get the most power and tone in your voice.
   • Place your hands on your diaphragm, or just underneath your ribs. Inhale as much air as you can into your diaphragm.
   • Slowly exhale, making a “hiss” sound. Exhale as slowly as you can.
   • Count how long it takes you to exhale. Maybe on your first try, it takes you seven counts to exhale. Once you do this exercise on a consistent basis, you may be able to exhale for more counts.
2. Maintain good posture as you sing. If you slouch or are too rigid when you stand, your diaphragm can lock. This will close off your breathing.
   • To get a better sense of correct posture and breathing, start by lying on the floor. Place a book on your abdomen. Breathe in and out. Notice if the book rises and falls as you inhale and exhale.
   • From lying down, you can move to your hands and knees. As you breathe in this position, notice if your abdomen rises and falls as you inhale and exhale. Your chest should stay steady and not collapse.
   • Once you feel comfortable with breathing in your abdomen or diaphragm, try to breathe in a standing position.
3. Keep your mouth open as you sing. This seems like a no-brainer, but many singers do not open their mouths open as wide as they should. Less space in your mouth means less sound coming out of your mouth, and less resonance to your voice.
   • Test this with the two finger rule. Try to fit two fingers between your teeth while singing, especially when singing open vowels like “ah” and “oh”. If you can fit two fingers between your teeth, you are opening your mouth correctly. If you can’t fit two fingers, open your mouth wider.
4. Open the front area of your face. Singing from the front area of your face, just under your eyes and around your nose, can create a fuller, richer resonance to your voice.
   • Say the word “hung”, drawing out the “ng”. Notice how the back of your throat feels closed and the sound comes out of the frontal area of your face, including your nose.
   • Say the word “hung” again, drawing out the “ng”. This time, move your tongue down towards the bottom of your mouth. Sing “hung”, drawing out the “ng” so it sounds like “hungahhh”. Now, you are accessing the front area of your face as you sing.
5. Keep the back of your mouth open. This is equally as important as keeping the front of your mouth open. If the back of your mouth is closed off, the quality of your voice will be off.
   • Hold the “ng” sound in “hung”. Note how closed off the back of your mouth feels.
   • Say “ah” like you’re in the doctor’s office. Note how open the back of your mouth feels.
   • Try to leave the back of your mouth open like the “ah” sound to create a beautiful resonance in your voice.
6. Make sure your larynx remains steady as you sing. Your larynx is where your Adam’s apple is on your neck (or where it would be for ladies). Notice if this area of your neck is rising or falling while singing. If so, you are throwing off your voice and letting your larynx get in the way of your vocal tone.
   • A raised larynx can also cause your voice to crack.
   • Rest your hand on your larynx while singing to make sure it stays steady.
7. Try to open your jaw more when you sing. This is a great trick to improving your singing voice.
   • Stand in front of a mirror. Say A-E-I-O-U. Notice if your jaw closed on any of the vowels.
   • Chances are your jaw closed on the E and the U, as well as other vowels.
   • Take your two fingers and pull your jaw down 2 inches. You can also use a plastic bottle cap or wine cork to prop your jaw open.
   • Say the vowels again. And again. Now, sing the vowels on one pitch: A-E-I-O-U. You want to keep your jaw open (long, not wide) so it doesn’t close for any of the vowels. Keep singing the vowels until you can keep your jaw open.
   • Try to sing a phrase or line from a song. Make sure your jaw opens to the same position on all the vowels. Practice this until it becomes natural.
   • Your voice should sound louder and more resonant, with less strain.
8. Tip your chin down when you sing. This simple technique will help you get more power in your voice without straining it.
   • Stand in front of a mirror. Keep your chin pointed slightly down and your pectorals (or chest area) flexed.
   • Sing an “ah” scale up and down (1-2-3-4-3-2-1). Press your chin in, towards the floor.
   • Don’t let your head bob around as you go up and down the scale. Your chin may want to raise up when you get to the higher pitch but keep it down.
   • This adjustment should give you more power and control over your vocals.

Doing Vocal Warm Ups

1. Warm up your voice before every practice. This will help to protect your voice and to improve your vocal range.
   • The length of your warm up routine depends on the type of singing you are practicing. A classical singer who uses the higher octaves of their voice may need more warm up time than a singer of a contemporary genre who is only using a limited vocal range. As well, a belter may need more warm up time than someone who sings soft, gentle children’s songs.
   • The time of day you are singing may also affect your warm up time. Many singers need more time to warm up in the mornings because their voice has not been used for many hours (during sleep). If you have seasonal allergies, you may need to have a longer warm up to remove any excess mucus in your throat and lungs.
2. Release your jaw. This exercise will help to reduce any tension in your mouth or jaw. Loosening up your jaw will also help to loosening up your voice.
   • Place the heels of your hands directly below your cheekbones.
   • Push in and down from the cheeks to your jaw line, massaging your facial muscles.
   • Allow your jaw to open as you move your hands down your face.
   • Repeat this several times.
3. Do lip trills. Lip trills are an exercise where you blow air through your pursed lips, letting out a sound on any given pitch. You can do any scales, intervals, melody patterns, or even whole songs on the lip trill.
   • To do a lip trill, you need to have an even flow of air, very relaxed lips, and control of your breathing. The air pressure must be constant but not too high.
   • Begin by trying to make an “h” sound during a lip trill. Then, try a “b” sound.
   • If you can’t get your lips to buzz, lift them slightly with your fingers. Think of holding the vowel U inside your mouth to keep your larynx relaxed. But don’t push or strain your vocal chords.
4. Do tongue trills. This exercise will relax your tongue and engage your breathing and your voice.
   • Place your tongue behind your upper teeth.
   • Exhale and trill your tongue with an “r” sound. Hold the sound steady and keep your breath connected.
   • Try to vary your pitch up and down the scale while trilling. Avoid straining or pushing your voice beyond what is comfortable for you.
5. Practice two octave scales. This exercise will allow your vocal folds to stretch and expand.
   • Start in a low pitch and glide up the scale, making a “me” sound. Don’t push the top or bottom of your range. Instead, try to increase the range every time you do the scales.
   • Reverse and glide down the scale from top to bottom, making an “e” sound.
   • Try to do this exercise on an “oo” sound.
6. Practice the kazoo buzz. This exercise will improve the sound of your voice and stretch your vocal folds.
   • Pretend you are sucking spaghetti as you inhale. On the exhale, make a “woo” sound. It should sound like a buzz.
   • Hold the buzz steady. Repeat the sound 2-3 times.
   • Use the “woo” sound to go up and down the scales.
7. Do humming exercises. Humming is a great way to warm up your voice. It highlights the frontal vibrations in your lips, teeth, and face. Humming is also a good way to cool down your voice at the end of a warm up.
   • Begin with your lips closed and your jaw loose. Breath in and exhale while saying “hum”.
   • Make a nasal sound with “hum” and glide down from a high to a low pitch, as if you are sighing.
   • You should feel tickling vibrations in your lips and nose as you hum.

Taking Care of Your Voice

1. Prevent getting a cold with a healthy diet and lots of rest. A singer needs to take good care of his or her voice by also taking care of the entire body. Eat a balanced diet and get enough sleep every night to boost your immune system.
   • Don’t let health issues or sickness affect your voice.
2. Maintain a daily cardio routine. This will help to increase your lung capacity and stamina. Having good lung capacity will help you during performances, especially if you are moving around on stage or dancing while singing.
3. Stay hydrated. Drink room temperature water throughout the day. Avoid cold water as it can have a numbing effect on your throat and make it more difficult to use your vocal chords.
4. Avoid smoking. Cigarette smoke can dry out your lungs and vocal folds. This will make breathing during singing more difficult and lessen your vocal quality.
   • You should also avoid dairy products. They can create mucus in your throat that can muffle your voice.
   • If possible, avoid taking medications that have a drying effect on your throat or that might irritate your throat.
5. Adjust your technique if you feel any discomfort or pain when you sing. Pain is almost always a sign of an unhealthy singing technique. The old adage “no pain, no gain” does not apply to singing.
   • Pain and discomfort can be anything from hoarseness, unsteadiness, an inability to sing at a softer volume, and a voice that cuts out. If you feel pain or experience any of these symptoms, rest your voice, and consult a throat specialist.
   • Once your voice has recovered, adjust your vocal techniques so you do not damage your voice again.

Hiring a Vocal Coach

1. Research vocal coaches in your area. Look up vocal coaches in your area online. Watch their example videos to get a sense of their teaching style and their demeanor as a coach.
   • Keep in mind, a good singer does not always make a good vocal coach. A good vocal coach should be able to explain singing concepts well and be willing to guide your through even the most basic singing techniques.
   • Another good way to find a quality vocal coach is to ask any friends, colleagues, or peers who are strong singers to recommend a vocal coach they have used themselves or heard good things about.
2. Discuss your goals and expectations with the vocal coach. If possible, meet the teacher in person first before you hire them. Ask them several questions to ensure you will be comfortable taking lessons from them:
   • What is your teaching methodology, and how are lessons conducted?
   • What is the strength in my singing voice, and how would I use it and build on it?
   • What is the weakness in my singing voice, and how would you guide me to correct or improve on it?
   • If the vocal coach cannot answer these three questions, they may not have enough experience to help you or they have not thought deeply enough about how to conduct singing lessons.
3. Be prepared to sing badly before you sing well. This applies not only to working with a vocal coach but with working on your singing in general. Singing, even badly at first, will help you identify the flaws in your voice and improve your technique. A good vocal coach will be supportive of your learning, even if you start off with a rocky or rough singing voice.

Tips

• Don’t forget to put energy into your singing. Singing is a physical activity. So if you sing with passion and conviction, your voice will sound full, rather than flat.

Warnings

• If you feel like you are straining or hurting your voice during any of these vocal exercises, stop doing them immediately. Go back to the basics and work your way up to the more challenges exercises.

Related Articles

• Strengthen Your Singing Voice when You Are Unfit
• Expand Your Singing Voice Range
• Develop a Strong High Singing Voice
• Find Your Own Singing Voice

Sources and Citations

See also

• Heal Your Vocal Chords
• Be a Singer
• Prepare and Relax Vocal Cords Prior to and During Singing
• Have a Good Singing Voice
• Harmonize
• Sing
• Sing Better if You Think You Are Bad
• Make Your Singing Voice Sound Better
• Sing Vibrato
• Become a Good Singer

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