2. Dare to Dream
It all looks so intimidating: the lights, stage, cameras, studio audience, television
audience, judges. Oh, the judges! They nitpick every little thing. And that’s even with
Simon out of the picture!
How do the contestants on TV’s biggest singing shows manage the pressure, rise above
the competition, and make it into rarified air?
The “dirty little secret” is that they each started as regular Joes or Janes, just like the
rest of us. They dreamt of the big time, which gave them the drive to work hard and
prepare themselves. A poised vocal performance is not something you are merely born
with—raw talent is a small part of the
equation. Rather, it is something you can
achieve with training, practice, and
coaching.
Keep Reading...
Inside you will learn more about breathing
with your diaphragm, warming up your vocal
chords, increasing your range, improving
your technique, and maximizing your
opportunity to perform.
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3. Breathe, Relax, and Warm Up
Master the fundamentals of singing to get the most out of
the “musical instrument” that is your body
Your body is a musical instrument. It produces notes when air flows through your vocal
chords, into resonators throughout your upper body, and out your mouth. Making this
instrument work properly for long periods of time requires the air to come from the right
place and pass through vocal chords that have been properly warmed up. Let’s look at
this in some detail.
The Diaphragm
The thoracic diaphragm is a large muscle that sits just below the lungs at the bottom of
the rib cage. It acts as a pump to expand and contract the lungs during the breathing
process. Professional-level singers train the diaphragm to control
the flow of air to the vocal chords to produce notes and tones.
They know that, if they were to use the small muscles in the
throat to control breathing, their vocal chords would incur undue
stress.
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4. Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercises
As with any muscle, training makes the
diaphragm stronger. A great way to start is to
lie on your back and think of filling your
stomach like a balloon while feeling your
diaphragm with your hands. From that
position, you can practice
letting the air out slowly (as
if there were a hole in the
“balloon”); all at once; and
in short bursts. Keep your
mouth relaxed and teeth
closed. After repeating those
exercises several times, move
to a standing position, and try them again. You
may find them to be a little harder while
standing than they were lying down. Be sure
not to involve your shoulders or your chest in
the breathing process. You want to focus on
staying relaxed and pushing the air up with your
abdominal muscles.
Vocal Warm Ups
Just as it is important to stretch and warm up
before working out at a gym, any singing
practice session or performance requires a
vocal warm up. This is also a good time to
focus your mind on the task at hand and tune
out distractions.
Vocal Warm Up Exercises
Start with one of the most basic sounds a
human can make: humming. Your lips should
be closed but loose, and you should feel like
you are pushing the sound gently with your
stomach. Spend a few minutes feeling
comfortable before moving on.
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5. Next, try lip rolls. Imagine you are trying to make bubbles underwater, or imitating an
angry bull. You will need relaxed lips and diaphragmatic breathing to make your lips
move freely while making a “brbrbr” sound. Again, spend some time with this exercise
and resist any temptation to rush it.
Lastly, we want to use scale singing to begin the transition from making silly noises to
producing notes and actually singing. Go through
different notes in a relatively easy range,
American
20. Here
anything, play the next higher note and attempt
to repeat it with your voice. If that works, try one
or two more. Repeat the same practice on the lower end of the range. It is important to
balance range exercises at both ends of the comfortable range.
Should You Hire a Personal Coach?
A personal vocal coach can provide personalize attention and customized instruction.
He or she also requires a substantial financial commitment; private lessons are often
expensive. Such a commitment can be a good thing: you will become invested in your
training and, therefore, less likely to avoid practicing. Also consider that you and your
coach must work out mutually acceptable schedules, and you will only have access to
him or her during these time.
Alternatives for folks with more limited budgets and/or a need for more flexibility include
joining a church or community choir, online vocal lessons, computer-assisted singing
programs, and software tools for ear training. The upfront expense for the training
products is higher (though financing is often available), but you end up spending much
less per lesson, and you can take them on your own time.
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21. Improving Your
Technique
Speech Level Singing
Train your throat muscles to relax with the Speech Level Singing technique. Your
emphasis will be on keeping your larynx steady and in a low position at all notes in your
vocal range. This forces you to use your diaphragm to breathe properly.
Alexander Singing Technique
Singing puts a surprising amount of stress on the back, neck,
and head. The Alexander Technique helps you focus on how you
are using your body. Once you find a balance between your
back, neck, and head, you can then balance your whole body.
This leads to proper alignment of your resonators (see sidebar
on the next page) and a more relaxed approach to singing.
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23. Resonators When singing high notes, feel the air go from your
Chest belly, through your vocal chords, and on to your head
resonators—the oral cavity, nasal cavity, and sinuses.
Tracheal
24. Tree
Imagine the sound pushing against the top of your
Larynx head before coming out, merely passing by the vocal
chords along the way. When done the right way, you
Pharynx
should not feel any strain in your throat.
Oral
26. Cavity Singing Falsetto
Sinuses Falsetto means “false voice” in Italian, referring to the
fact that it is not really your normal voice, but one that
is outside of your normal vocal register. When you
force the air up from the diaphragm, concentrate on
not forcing the throat muscles. The goal is to make
your vocal chords vibrate on their outer edges. The
sound vibrates on your head and not on your chest: if
you place your hand on your chest, you shouldn’t feel
it vibrate.
Singing Vibrato
To learn how to get a regular, pulsating change of
pitch, a good drill is to sing one note that is easy for
you while pumping with your hand at a location right
under your ribs and immediately above your belly
button. Once you get used to this feeling, you can
train your diaphragm to sing this way on command.
Developing Perfect Pitch
The ability to recognize the precise frequency or
musical note is a skill that the top concert performers
have honed. It is a learned skill: almost anyone can
develop perfect pitch. To train, repeat the sounds of
an instrument; practice at night so your nocturnal
subconscious can process the information; and
practice one tone repeatedly until you memorize it.
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27. Show Time!
Preparing Your Act
When choosing a song, consider the fit between what you sing well and what the audience
will respond to. Magic happens when a singer is able to bond with the crowd, and the
song is an important ingredient to the mix.
Also, don’t underestimate the importance of stagecraft. Your clothes, hair, movement,
and stage presence all factor into how you “market” yourself to the crowd. Before the
performance is the best time to test a new hairdo or shirt and solicit feedback,
particularly from people you don’t know who can provide an unbiased assessment.
Day of the Performance
All winning performers on TV exude passion and engage with the audience. Summoning
your passion from within starts before a performance,
requiring focus to “get in the zone.” Plan to spend quiet time
alone before the show meditating and/or visualizing your
connection with your audience. Fifteen minutes should be
sufficient to achieve the proper mindset.
Do your best to stay in a positive frame of mind. Thinking
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28. negatively drains energy and leads to stage
fright. Conversely, positive thoughts lead to
confidence and help you engage with the
audience. Use your sense of humor as a guide.
It is also important to talk as little as possible
prior to your performance, in order to maintain
the freshness of your voice. Keep your focus on
good posture and proper breathing. Perform
vocal warm-ups first thing after waking up.
Then silently rest your chords all day until
another warm up session just prior to the show.
From a dietary standpoint, certain foods and
drinks can hinder your act, while others can
help it. Avoid dairy products, coffee, spicy
foods, citrus fruits, carbonated drinks, icy cold
foods, and large amounts of alcohol and junk
food. Hot tea or hard candy can help your
voice. Never eat less than one hour prior to a
performance, and stick to fish, vegetables, fruit,
rice, meat, and clear liquids.
During the Show
The key to a great performance is engaging with
the audience. Your job is to relate the passion
you feel for your music to the crowd (and
judges). Passion comes from within. Getting it
out requires your authentic personality to
emerge. Throw in some entertaining banter
between songs. Project your confident singing
voice to the people in the back row. And don’t
forget to smile! You’re living your dream!
All images used in this document are licensed under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license. Photo credits go to the following Flickr users: Freedom to Marry, kwalk628, mtanne, The
Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, serena_in_VA, thomaswanhoff. The photos are for illustrative purposes only. None of the artists pictured endorse this guide or this website in any
way.
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29. Visit us online to learn more
• We have a popular free online guide to better vocals and performances
• Our reviews cover the best online, computer-aided, and audio singing products on the market
• We frequently update our blog with product updates and news from the world of singing
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