Singing Coach

Singing is a favourite artistic pursuit of many men and women. People the world over are uplifted, energized, comforted and entertained every day by listening to songs on the radio, on CDs and on the internet. Even more magnificent and empowering is attending a vocal concert or choral concert, in which the audience members are treated to the sounds of beautiful voices accompanied by sweetly-tuned instruments.

-

With the professional vocalists as your role models, you have decided that you want to invest time in singing training to improve your voice. Your knowledgeable singing coach advises you to practice your singing at home, beginning with a thorough vocal warm-up. Warming up your voice is important for your vocal health, to prevent damage to your vocal chords and build a strong voice for singing.

-

Follow the steps below to properly warm up your voice.

When you begin your vocal warm up, especially if you are singing early in the morning, begin by singing lower notes first. Before singing the entire musical scale, sing through shorter scales first to ease your voice into singing. For example, sing “doh, re, mi, re, doh.” Before singing large intervals (skipping between 5 or more notes) singing small intervals, such as thirds, for example, “doh, mi, doh.”

-

Now you are prepared to sing the entire musical scale. Sing a major scale using the solfege note names – doh, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, doh – as you play your piano or keyboard. Sing through the ascending (upwards) scale and descending (downwards) scale several times. Sing the scale in different keys if you are comfortable with playing the piano or keyboard.

-

Another singing exercise involves singing a “major arpeggio” scale. This scale is made up of the dominant chord notes from the major scale: “doh, mi, sol, (high doh), sol, mi doh.”

-

An alternate singing exercise involves singing both the major scale and major arpeggio scale, beginning with the highest note and finishing with the lowest note (doh).

-

You can also do a humming warm up. Learning to hum notes takes practice, so start with a simple exercise such as humming little scales of 3 notes within a range of 5 notes, for example, hum “doh, mi, sol, mi, doh” several times, starting with lower notes, then repeat with slightly higher notes. Humming notes with proper pitch will help to warm  up your “singing muscles” – your vocal chords.

-

It is important to warm up your facial muscles, which are all used in singing and in proper articulation and pronunciation of the lyrics. The muscles used to sing and speak include the jaw, lips, tongue and soft palate. Warm up these muscles by reciting tongue twisters, as these can help you to warm up your voice and practice proper breathing. One example is, “Suzie sells seashells by the seashore. The shells Suzie sells are surely seashells. So if Suzie sells shells on the seashore, I’m sure Suzie sells seashore shells.”

-

Make sure that throughout your vocal warm up and singing lesson or practice that you keep your body and your vocal chords properly hydrated.

Singers, both amateur and professional, experience a series of common problems regarding proper singing exercises, breathing technique and overall health. Listed below are some of the most common problems that singers experience.

-

Singing with Improper Posture

Most people have problems maintaining a healthy posture. Vocal students need to learn how to achieve and maintain a proper posture in order to improve their singing voice. Common postural problems include singers slumping their shoulders forward, caving in their chests, slumping their head and neck forward and maintaining a hyper-extended, tense posture that leads to muscular tension through the body. Correcting these problems alone can be one of the quickest ways to put you on the right track towards singing better.

-

The best singing coaches and many singing books will tell you to think about building proper singing posture from your feet up to your head. To do this you must stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and make sure that your feet are flat on the floor. Ensure that your legs are relatively straight, but avoid locking your knees. Stand with your back straight, but remember not to tense up your back and chest muscles, giving the “tin soldier” effect. Breathe deeply and comfortably. Relax your shoulders and make sure that they are not pulled forward. Hold your head up comfortably, making sure that your chin is parallel with the floor. Avoid looking down to the floor or looking up to the ceiling, as both positions will create muscle tension in your head, neck, and shoulders and will block your sound from projecting nicely. In order to develop better posture, consider participating in yoga or Pilates classes.

-

Singing with Improper Breathing and Insubstantial Breath Support

As with developing ideal singing posture, mastering proper breathing technique takes time and effort. Many people, singers and non-singers alike, have unhealthy breathing habits and use what is referred to as “chest breathing,” only filling up to top one-third of their lungs with air and raising their shoulders when they try to take in a deep breath.

-

Imagine your lungs as two big balloons. Imagine slowly inflating the balloons as you inhale in a deep and controlled manner. You fill up the balloons with air, beginning at your stomach and filling your lower and upper lung cavities with air. Proper vocal breathing, called “diaphragmatic breathing” involves using your diaphragm, an important muscle below your stomach, to support and control your breathing. Be patient as you work both independently and with your qualified vocal instructor on learning diaphragmatic breathing techniques. Over time, your deeper breathing and improved breath support will translate into singing better.

-

Problems with Vocal Abuse

Avoid smoking cigarettes. Smoking is very unhealthy for your lungs, heart and throat. Smoking irritates your vocal tract and negatively affects both your singing voice and your speaking voice.

-

Avoid yelling and screaming, as this places unnecessary strain on your vocal chords. If you need to get someone’s attention, walk toward them instead of yelling across the house or room.

-

Limit the time that you spend in noisy environments, such as restaurants, rock concerts, clubs and loud parties, as you will end up having to talk louder just to be heard by others.

-

Problems with Dehydration

It is very important to keep your body and your throat hydrated. Singing and speaking both dehydrate your throat and body. Drink six to eight glasses of water per day and drink water throughout your singing classes.

-

Avoid consuming alcoholic beverages and drinks containing caffeine, including coffee, tea and soda. Alcohol and caffeine deplete your vocal chords of necessary lubrication.