Work on your posture
This is the first thing to do if you want to learn to sing. When you habitually slouch, this is what happens:
The airways are bent and air cannot pass freely through them.
Internal organs are compressed. The lungs suffer: it is difficult for them to expand and contract and they are able to take in much less air than in a free state. As a result, while singing, you constantly stumble to grab the missing oxygen. And your voice does not sound as powerful and deep as it could – it remains quiet and deaf.
Correct posture – straight spine, open shoulders, chest forward help to maximize lung capacity, makes it easier for air to pass and allows you to sing more loudly.
How to sing while standing
- Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart and one of them slightly forward.
- Imagine that your spine is a string going up into the sky.
- Lift your chin so that the bottom line is parallel to the ground.
- Unfold your shoulders.
- Put your hand on your stomach in the area of the diaphragm – this disciplines you, not allowing the stomach to protrude forward, and additionally helps to control breathing.
This position will facilitate your breathing as much as possible and allow your lungs to fill.
How to sing while sitting
- Sit in the front half of the chair, do not lean on the back.
- Remember: your spine is a string going into the sky.
- Place both feet parallel to each other without lifting your heels off the floor.
- Unfold your shoulders.
- Keep your lower jaw line parallel to the floor.
This position may not seem very comfortable at first. But during training, it is extremely important to sit in this way in order to accustom the body to the correct position. Well, and get acquainted with your own, not constrained voice. It may surprise you.
Find a comfortable position
Correct posture is important for the strength and sonority of the voice. But a comfortable posture is more needed for self-confidence, without which it is difficult to speak in front of the audience. Try to combine these two factors: look for a position in which you feel as relaxed and comfortable as possible and which at the same time gives freedom to your lungs. Find a position that makes you feel like a superstar.
Learn to breathe correctly
Correct, effective breathing is the foundation of singing. We need enough air to make long sounds. We also need to develop the ability to inhale quickly, so as not to interrupt the vocals and not disturb its melody.
How to learn to inhale correctly
Your task is to fill your lungs with air quickly and to the maximum. You can develop this skill by using the following exercises. They must be repeated every day.
- Imagine that the air you are breathing in is very heavy. Well, for example, it weighs 10 kg. Visualize this weight and let it literally fall into your body, below the level of your navel. An important point: when “10 kg of air” falls, the belly expands, not the chest. Try to breathe this way – with your belly. In this case, the diaphragm, a muscle that provides maximum expansion of the lungs, will actively work. Take 5-10 slow breaths in and out with your belly.
- Speed up your belly breathing. Again, pretend that the air weighs a lot, but allow it to sink into your body as quickly as possible. Take 10-15 quick and slow breaths.
- Try filling your lungs with air as if you were a balloon. Inhale with the diaphragm as deeply as possible. Feel the belly and lower back expand. Do 3-4 sets.
How to learn to exhale correctly
Breathing out is equally important. It should be even and smooth to help you hit and hold high notes and long musical phrases. To work out exhalation, do one of the following exercises.
- Run a feather around the house. Or, if it is not at hand, imagine it. Now lift the feather in the palm of your hand to the level of your mouth, take a deep breath and blow on it – so that it rises into the air as high as possible. Further, your task is not to let him fall as long as possible. Blow on the feather while you can. At the end of this long exhalation, you should feel an urgent need to inhale immediately.
- Sing any note at a relatively high volume. Keep this sound for as long as you can. You will need a stopwatch to test the effectiveness of this workout. Note the time you can sing a note. And then watch how this time gradually increases every day.
- Make a hiss. Inhale slowly and deeply, hold your breath for 1-2 seconds and begin to release air with a constant low hiss: “Shhhhh …”. Listen to this sound and make sure that the tone does not go down or get higher, and the sound flows without pauses or hesitation. Hiss until there is enough air in your lungs.
Work over singing technique
Vocals can be trained, just like muscles in a gym. But it’s important to do it right.
- Stretch your vocal cords before exercising. For example, like this. Start by singing any note at a volume that is most comfortable for you. Then sing in a low voice. Then – in a high, thin voice. If you feel that at some point the vocal cords are overextended, stop, take a break, and then repeat the warm-up from the beginning.
- Train resonance. It gives the voice strength, sonority, and richness. You can control the resonance in two places: by placing the fingers of one hand next to the wings of the nose or by leaning your palm against your chest, 10 centimeters above the solar plexus. When you sing, your fingers or palm should feel the vibration. The more perceptible it is, the better the resonance.
- Learn to hit the notes. For this exercise, you will need a voice recorder (you can use the simplest one built into your smartphone). Record how you sing along with your favorite song performed by your favorite vocalist. As you listen to the recording, you will find out where your voice sounds unnecessarily low or high. Adjust your singing to match the notes. The more often you do this exercise, the more accurate you will sing.
- Articulate. It is important that the singing is intelligible and the listeners can understand it, because few people like someone else’s purr. Work your lips more actively, pronouncing each word.