Jiggling your voice out- little tricks for better singing

Apr 01

Jiggling your voice out- little tricks for better singing

By Ariella Vaccarino creator of Voice Lessons To Go

Sometimes our voices can feel stuck in certain parts of our body. When this is happening you may have the sensation that some of your resonators have their doors shut, or access to certain muscle support is just not connecting.

I was just feeling this way warming-up at the piano this morning. When these things happen you can try and "jiggle, tap, and shake" open these areas as you are warming-up your singing voice.

If you are sitting at the piano playing through your vocal exercises (my book Vocalize! is a great resource for that), wiggle as you sing and focus on the different areas that feel blocked: your lower back, leg support, nasal resonators...

Tap on or shake these areas to "wake them up".

If you are standing singing to warm-ups (Voice Lessons To Go- singing lessons on CD), you can jump a bit as you sing, trying to get your whole muscular system involved with your singing.

Also, you can drop at the waist to pick up "pretend flowers" during your runs, or every time you hit a high note to trick your body from clenching and prepping. Hopefully this will open you up to a fuller sound.

I find myself in my own vocal warm-ups, tapping on the top of my head to release the height of a note, the back of my head to give a note its' fullness, in between my eyes to help bring out a point or ping on a note, and tapping on my upper chest to help ground my high notes in warmth.

Also, try jogging in place while singing through a piece and then sing it standing still. You will probably feel much more access to your sound that second sing through. These are little tricks of the trade when you practice.

Massage your neck, pound a bit on your lower back, do bends at the knee to root your sound.

Whatever it takes to unlock all your available sound, do it. Listen to your body and be aware of what parts are shut off and figure out what it takes to get them to free up.

What ever works for you.

Some people find visualizations to be enough, but others really benefit from certain physical movements.

When you are practicing don't be afraid to do "odd" things to get the most out of your sound. What ever you can do to trick yourself into a free sound is worth it!

(Just skip this part when you are on stage ;)

Jiggle well!
Ariella Vaccarino creator of Voice Lessons To Go

If you would like to sing for me, before that next audition to get feed back, I offer a service called Vocal Assessments. There are many levels to choose from. Submit your voice through a link, or attachment with your questions and I will give you an honest constructive Vocal Assessment within the week.