1. Open your mouth when you’re singing! Singers
who keep their mouths mostly closed are likely tense in the tongue and
are far from achieving maximum quality of tone. I like the two finger
rule. If you can fit two fingers between your teeth while singing (esp
on open vowels like “ah” and “oh”), then you’re good. If not, open your
mouth more.
2. Relax the tongue. After
years of giving voice lessons, I’m convinced that 65% – 85% of all
vocal problems involve tension in the tongue. Worst part is most people
aren’t even aware of it. Look in a mirror while singing. If the tip of
your tongue isn’t dominantly resting on your bottom front teeth then
you’ve got problems. Relaxing the tongue more forward in the mouth will
help.
3. Don’t take in too much air. If
you breathe in too much air, then you create pressure under the folds
that can easily hinder you ability to sing freely. It can prevent you
from singing high notes and it almost always causes tension in your
neck. To fix it, become aware of just how little is involved in regular
breathing and try to mimic that sensation when singing.
4. Keep the larynx steady. If
you don’t know what the larynx is, it’s where your adam’s apple is (or
where it would be ladies). If this area of your neck is raising or
lowering while singing, then you’re throwing off your whole vocal
mechanism leading to many different complications. Rest your hand on
your larynx while singing and make sure it stays steady.
5. Open and relax the back of the mouth. This
is equally as important as allowing the front of the mouth to be open,
if not more. If the back of the mouth is closed off, then the quality of
the sound is shot (and I guarantee you’re tense). To get a feel for it,
hold the “ng” sound of hung and feel how closed that is. Now say “ah”
like you’re in a doctor’s office… that’s more open. Leaving the back of
the mouth open like the “ah” sound can help create a beautiful resonance
in the voice.
6. Sing with ENERGY. I
can’t express this enough. Singing is a very physical activity. You
must be energized and excited about what you’re doing or else it lacks
passion (and it’s flat!). Singing with energy helps you hit higher notes
and helps keep the sound out of the throat. Allow yourself to get
excited before singing… do some jumping jacks or walk around a bit
before getting started and realize just how much it helps.
7. Believe what you’re singing. I
once read a quote that has stuck with me for years. It was something
along the lines of, “that which comes closest to expressing the
inexpressible is music.” Music is a form of expression. It’s alive and
has a great ability to influence listeners. But that’s only true when
you believe what you’re singing. Try to connect to the song through some
personal life experience and see how alive the music you’re singing
becomes.
8. Get out of your own way. Singing
should feel like speaking. There should be no pressing, tension,
straining, reaching, or grabbing when vocally active. These sensations
usually happen when we try to force the sound out of us. If
you’re not able to sing something, try to bring it back to speech first.
You’d be surprised how easy that high “C” can be when you speak it.
It’s important to mention that focusing on all of these tips at once
isn’t going to be overly effective because our brains can only process
so much at a time. Therefore, I suggest practicing one of these tips for
a few days, then move on to another. What we do when we sing is largely
based on habit, so be sure to practice consistently.
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