Looking After Your Voice
As some of you might know, I’m a self-taught singer and songwriter.
I’ve recorded numerous albums, toured the UK, Europe and the Middle East, and had millions of streams online (it’s hard to say that without feeling like a douchebag, but here we are!).
I’ve never had a single singing lesson. I’ve learned everything I know from the internet and watching my favourite artists perform on tour.
So I wanted to bring together some of the main lessons I’ve learnt along the way, and give some useful tips on what you can do to practice and improve your singing voice at home.
Firstly, it’s important to remember that your voice is a part of your body, and is affected by the movement of surrounding muscles. This is why posture and vocal exercises are key to keeping a voice healthy and strong.
When singing, ideally, you should stand up straight and place your feet shoulder-width apart. Your head should be looking straight ahead, shoulders down, abdomen relaxed; this is the correct posture for singing. Staying relaxed is key here, as any tension will strain your voice and prevent it from sounding, and feeling, good.
If you’ve looked into singing lessons or tutorials before, you’ve probably heard people talk about ‘singing from the diaphragm’. Your diaphragm is a large, dome-shaped muscle located below the lungs. It holds the air in your lungs and gives you control of the air supplied to your vocal cords.
When singing, it’s important to train yourself to fill up with air horizontally instead of vertically. If your shoulders move when you inhale, then you’re pushing valuable air up vertically into your chest and shoulders - which is no use! The goal is to direct all the air to your diaphragm when inhaling.
To practice this, be conscious of where the air is coming from throughout the day. Is your tummy (diaphragm) inflating when you inhale or are your shoulders rising? With practice, you can train your breathing to do this correctly.
Like any other muscle in your body, your voice needs to warm up before we put it into action. Vocal warm-ups increase blood flow to the muscles that control your voice, thin out mucus on your vocal folds and make it easier to sing transitions between your head voice (the vocal register used to sing softer, high notes) and your chest voice (is the vocal register used to sing lower, thicker and warmer tones - this is the register we use for speaking).
Let’s look at some vocal warmups to get us started
Yawning (relaxes your voice and improves your vocal range) - take in air through your mouth as if you are yawning, and breathe out through your nose as if you are releasing a sigh
Lip Trills (for breath control and a balanced tone) - make a buzzing/motor sound with your lips by blowing air through them and humming - you should be able to feel your lips vibrate as you hum
Sirens (to practice dynamics) - make a long sliding ‘ooh’ sound that starts from the lowest note in your range and glides to your highest - similar to the sound of a fire engine or police car
I went on tour with a violinist once, Kieran O’Malley. He thought lip trills were the funniest thing ever to watch and listen to before each show, but trust me; it worked! My voice was ready for each show and felt great afterwards despite lots of singing.
Remember never to force your voice to do something it doesn’t want to do - this will strain your voice and slow down your progress. If something feels like it’s straining then it probably is.
To keep your vocal cords healthy, pay attention to your nutrition and health in general. This means eating well, staying fit, sleeping well, avoiding smoking and staying hydrated!
Several years ago I did a session with Grammy award-winning producer Martin Levan. We figured out that I sounded much better and much more relaxed when I had just taken a sip of water and a slow, relaxed, deep breath before starting to sing.
It’s also important to know when to rest your voice. Like other muscles, our vocal cords can get tired too! Quite a few musicians I’ve been on tour with have a period of vocal rest after each show so that they can feel confident that their voice will stand up during the shows in the weeks or months ahead if it’s a long tour.
Some other things you can do to help practice your singing at home include:
Try some online singing courses/tutorials
Join a choir or a band
Learn the lyrics properly so you can really focus on the singing rather than the words
Choose songs that fit your voice, to avoid straining
Get singing lessons or sing under the supervision of a vocal coach
Don’t let it knock your confidence if you hit a sharp/flat note - every singer on the planet makes mistakes, it’s normal
Be patient with yourself
I hope you enjoyed this blog about looking after your voice. You can get more from me (including music every month!) at: https://www.patreon.com/hannahtrigwell