Courtesy Bobby Owsinski Oct 2019
Many singers just do what comes naturally, which can work for a while but eventually leads to throat problems with heavy gigging or recording. Trained vocalists usually don’t have the same problem because they’ve learned the techniques that most great vocalists use. Check Bobby’s previous article about techniques for vocals here. This article by Cari Cole on the Sonicbids Blog provides some additional insight into a few simple tricks that can really make a difference for most singers.
To paraphrase, this is some of what Cari suggests:
1. Breathe into your ribs
Most singers know that power and control comes from your diaphragm, so you must breathe from your abdomen. That’s only half the battle though. If you breathe into your ribs and back you can actually get more air into your lungs.
2. Drop your jaw
If you drop your jaw when singing vowels you’ll get more volume from your voice.
3. Keep your tongue down
A high tongue in your mouth leads to a nasal sound. Keep it down like you were drinking a glass of water to keep your voice looser and for an easier transition from chest to head voice.
4. Keep your chest up
Keeping it down leads to loss of breath and vocal control. As Cari says, “The goal is to keep a lifted chest and relaxed shoulders and neck as you sing.“
5. Stop singing with so many “H’s”
H’s lead to loss of vocal control and even pitch. Most great singers use as few as possible or even eliminate them completely (this one was a new one for me).
There are more thorough explanations and a couple of extra tips in the article, so check it out. This is the kind of information that’s not only useful to singers, but to engineers and producers as well. These tips will help to not only get the best vocals performance, but to also make sure that singers don’t burn their throat out too quickly.
