Singing Tips

Tip # 1 Your Voice is a Car

Imagine your voice is a car. (I know that’s a stretch but bear with me a minute.) If you speed with your car you reduce the efficiency of your fuel. You literally throw fuel away.

The fuel for your voice is your breath. And speeding through life, running full out, being stressed and busy, will increase the likelihood that your breath is shallow and therefore not efficiently supporting your voice.

Take a moment right now and fill the tank.

1. Breathe deeply and consciously feel the breath as it moves in and out of your body.
2. Inhale 1 2 3 4. Exhale 1 2 3 4.
3. Do that several times. Feel how it grounds you here and now. Repeat this anytime as a pattern interrupt.
4. Try it with your eyes closed.

Breath is life.

Tip # 2

Do you sound more like a frog than a nightingale first thing in the morning? Start your vocal warm up early. If coffee is your favorite ‘warm-up’ exercise in the mornings, try this instead.

Sing or hum in the shower. It will energize you, wake you up and make you feel great. Don’t feel like singing first thing in the morning? Start slow, make that first sound and the rest will come.

And who knows, you might like it better than the coffee.

Tip # 3

I used to be embarrassed when someone would see me singing in the car. But I got over it! Now I just smile or wave and carry on. And guess what? People smile and wave back.

Singing in the car is a great way to warm up your voice if you are on the way to an important event. It’s also a great way to pass the travel time and avoid getting upset about traffic jams.

So join the club, sing along to your favorite CD, lower your stress and enjoy yourself!

Tip #4

Every time you sing you are telling a story. You and the songwriter/composer collaborate to create a rapport with your audience through shared experience.

So what’s your story? These questions are a way to begin thinking about the meaning in the music.

1. What is the “story” I’m telling?
2. How did the story begin?
3. Why and to whom is this story important?
4. How is the audience going to relate to my story?
5. What are the vivid images in your story? Can you see them?
6. What are the feelings invoked by the images? What mood are you painting?

Tip # 5

I’ve often been asked by singers how much they should practise.
There is no standard answer. People have different goals with singing, from career-oriented to doing it for fun and creativity. That means the time and energy that can be devoted to practise varies from person to person.

If there was one key it would be consistency. Ten minutes a day for six days a week is better than one hour one day a week. If all you can manage is ten minutes a day in your car on the way to work or in the shower, then with that consistency your voice will continue to grow and develop.

Here’s an exercise you can do without making a sound.

Step 1: Sitting or standing in a comfortable position, keeping your shoulders down, take a deep breath through your nose and exhale it through your mouth like a sigh while simultaneously lifting your soft palate as though you are going to yawn. Make a nice sound with it. Go on, no one is listening.

Step 2: Repeat the inhale, but this time when you open your mouth in the yawn position, do not let any air escape. You are actually holding your vocal folds completely closed. Notice how your body responds as you do this. Hold it for a few seconds and then release the air. You can start gently at first and then increase the push of air a little more. Notice what happens when you release the air. Notice the response in your body.

Subscribe to Vocal Mapping for more useful voice tips.