The Building Blocks of the
Vocal House
Foundational Techniques for Building
Better Vocal Production
Why Is Technique Important?
Proper Vocal Technique Will Give
the Singer:
More volume
Increased vocal stamina
Better tone control
Greater ability to blend
Better expression
Expanded range
Six Areas of Focus
1. Relaxation
2. Posture
3. Breathing
4. Connection
5. Resonance
6. Registration
Relaxation
The body must be relaxed to sing well!
Singers are often coming from stressful situations
(class, work, etc.), and must get relaxed and
comfortable.
Relaxation Exercises
Help relieve stress by:
Stretching
Rolling the head around
Rolling the shoulders
Massage (group setting)
Silly exercises (ski exercise)
Posture
Singing is a function of the entire body, not just the larynx!
Posture sets the body up for success or failure.
Correct posture is essential for correct breathing and vocal
production
If the body is not in alignment, the vocal instrument is not in
alignment.
Posture
Feet should be slightly apart
back should be straight
shoulders back and down (like an athlete,
not a soldier)
chest should be high and expanded
head should be erect, facing forward, and
level.
Posture Exercises
1. Make sure feet are approximately shoulder length apart
2. Fall forward from the waist. Rise up slowly, one
vertebrae at a time until you are erect.
3. “Y” chest lift
a) Lift arms up and slightly out as if forming a “Y”
b) Slowly drop arms back to side while maintaining the lifted and
expanded chest
4. 2 point posture check:
a) Make sure top of head is as far above the floor as possible
b) Make sure top of head is level with the floor
The Vocal House
Every instrument has 3 different parts:
1. Actuator – brings the action necessary to
create sound
2. Vibrator – vibrating body that creates
sound waves
3. Resonator – the part of the instrument
that allows the sound to fully develop.
However, for the human instrument, God
created a fourth unique part.
The Vocal House
Parts of the Vocal House:
1. Actuator - diaphragm,
abdominal muscles, and lungs.
2. Vibrator - vocal folds/larynx.
3. Resonator - throat and facial
mask.
4. Articulators - the teeth, the lips,
the tongue.
Breathing
The ground is prepared; the lot is ready.
Now let’s build the foundation –
the BREATH
Breathing
It’s simple, singing is impossible without breath,
and proper singing is impossible without proper
breathing.
Correct breath control can be taught and learned
and should never be optional.
Correct breath control must be practiced until it
becomes habitual.
Breathing
Breath control involves the use of the diaphragm,
the abdominal muscles, and of course, the lungs
Diaphragmatic breathing is natural – babies do it,
and so do animals. It is even the way we
breathe when we’re asleep. However, most
adults have learned not to breathe correctly over
the years.
Breathing Exercises
Here are some exercises to activate the diaphragm:
1 Using the abdominal muscles, squeeze the air out as
if doing stomach crunches (make sure not to collapse
the chest) Hold for a second, then release the
abdominal muscles. Diaphragmatic breathing will
automatically become active.
2 Repeat the exercise, but this time try to fill the lungs
even more by breathing deeply, as if sucking air into
your belly.
Connection
Breathing correctly is not enough! The breath (actuator)
must then be properly connected to the vocal chords
(vibrator) to produce the steady stream of air necessary
for good vocal production. This requires the use of the
abdominal muscles.
The diaphragm works in tandem with, and as an apposing
muscle to, the abdominal muscles.
It is when these two muscle groups are used together
properly that the singer finally has good breath control.
Connection Exercises
To activate the abdominal muscles:
1 Place both hands on the abdomen. Then take a
good, diaphragmatic breath and cough.
2 Using the same muscles, breathe deeply and replace
the cough with a strong “ha, ha, ha” belly laugh.
3 Now, using the same breathing technique, sing “ha,
ha, ha, ha, ha” staccato, in rhythm, and on a single
note.
Additional Exercises
Some additional breath and connection exercises:
Sixteenth notes on CGCE
Alternating legato, staccato, legato pentescale.
Deep breath 1, 2, and 3 x’s while breathing out
on a soft “s.”
Resonance
Like the sound of the trumpeter's buzzing lips, the
sound produced by the vocal folds is small, and
must be developed.
The resonance– or development - of the vocal
sound is done primarily by the mouth and throat
with some assistance from the nasal chambers.
The singer must have proper resonance to produce
ample sound.
Resonance
Parts of the resonating
chamber of the voice:
1. The throat
2. The soft pallet 4
3. The mouth and tongue 2
4. The nasal passages
Together, the mouth and 3 1
the nasal passages
make up what is called
the facial mask
Resonance Exercises
To lift the soft pallet and open the back of the throat:
Larynx should be comfortably down.
Hot cobbler/apple pie trick - drop imaginary spoonful on
the back of the tongue.
The beginning of a yawn.
Hum - begin on A or Ab. Teeth apart, lips together. Fill
the voice up with air until you feel vibration in the facial
mask. Open mouth from hum to oh.
Registration
Learning to sing a smooth, even scale without
breaks is crucial for the singer.
We should strive to make the upper and lower
registers have the same tonal quality. In short,
both registers should sound like they come from
the same person.
Blending the registers takes time and practice!
Registration Exercises
I. Find the “sweet spot” of the voice.
II. Do exercises to bring chest voice up and head voice
down to blend registers:
1. Fifth and octave slides, working both up, and down to the
extremities of the vocal range.
2. Siren exercise.
3. Oo vowel like English cathedral sound and arpeggio up
from Bb. Use half voice mechanism with no vibrato and
float the tone. Keep larynx down and chin back.
Crescendo and let the vibrato come in at around mf.