How to Sing Better: Make Your Entire Vocal Range Usable!

I truly want you to learn how to sing better! Singing is one of my passions, so why in the world would I keep that from you?

This is my last article in the series entitled "How To Sing Better". I have found great joy in writing and compiling this series, but I believe it is time to move on to a new singing series. The next series will be video examples of previous vocal articles as well as a new spin on looking at vocal technique in general.

Sometimes it can be so frustrating when you can't hit the notes you want to hit. It can be even more frustrating when you have days where you can hit the high notes and others where you can't hit the high notes. I fall into both of those categories (most of us do - we're human). This final piece is much less technical in scope. Rather, I would like to offer this article as an encouragement to help you sing with more confidence.

Here are two practical tips that I have learned through my own personal experience with making my entire range usable:

How To Sing Better Tip #1: Place your thumbs under your chin when you sing!

I know it sounds incredibly silly, and believe me, I have gotten some weird looks from folks driving down the road. The fact is: the technique works! I mentioned this in an earlier article, but I have to come back to it again because it has proven itself over and over. When you place your thumbs (or thumb) under your chin and apply pressure, you are disengaging the digastric muscles that are employed when swallowing. These muscles are extremely harmful when singing because they "squeeze" the voice (don't confuse with vocal compression) as you sing higher into your vocal range. These muscles will tighten up, causing your larynx to rise and thus reducing the amount of open resonance space in your mouth, mask and head. Apply pressure to these muscles to disengage them - this forces your vocal cords to do all the work. This will strengthen your vocal cords and give them the ability to connect for the high notes without the hindrance of the digastric muscles. Seriously, give this a try when you sing. It may feel funny at first, but you will notice a difference in the ease and clarity of your voice almost immediately, even if you have no technical background in vocalizing.

How To Sing Better Tip #2: Practice and be creative in your approach when you sing!

I will never be able to emphasize enough the importance of practicing. You will never get better if you don't practice! I encourage you to practice with proper technique - and proper technique that is easy to learn and understand is Speech Level Singing. Check out my article on Speech Level Singing to learn more about this technique. Learning how to sing better takes time - you cannot realistically expect to become an incredible singer if you only practice 10 minutes a day, 1 day a week. Remember, what you put into it is what you will get out of it. Even on days when I don't feel like practicing, I make it a point to run through exercises while I am driving in my car. Every little bit of practice will help, but it takes consistent and dedicated practicing in order to truly see results.

Don't lose hope my friends! I know you can sing! You just have to be willing to put some effort into it! I will begin posting video clips soon with visual and audio examples of exercises that I have written about in previous articles. I am hoping and praying that they will be a highly beneficial supplement to the writing work! Until then, keep the faith and continue to sing!

Be sure to check out some of my other vocal articles today!