WHERE DOES VOCAL POWER COME FROM?

Every singer strives to sing with control and power in their voice, very few start out that way. It’s important to create a consistent sound from top to bottom when singing. It’s important to learn how to bridging the gap between registers. The powerful voice sounds full, yet released (not forced). The full and healthy sound (with ease) has a lot to do with three techniques that we will be discussing today. If you fail to use good technique moving from one register to another, it will almost sound like a car shifting gears. Here are three very important techniques to create a powerful voice.

The first technique is making sure you keep an “open throat,” do not let your throat muscles constrict (try to close). When you yawn you can also feel your larynx naturally move down, you will also feel the muscles in your throat pull away from the throat, opening the airway for your vocal cords (folds) and airflow to move through the throat. If the muscles constrict (close up the throat) the sound will be cut off. The bubble (lip trill) and “R” roll (tongue trill) help to work through this technique (read blog November 27, 2020 “Moving From One Register To Another”).

The second technique is singing with a “mixed voice” which produces a fuller sound. It is the bridge or gap between the chest and head voice. Singing in a mixed voice will allow you to sing smoothly into the next register without gaps or a shift in your voice. The middle voice feels like a lighter version of chest voice and a fuller version of head voice. Mixed voice combines the beautiful highs of head voice with the deep and strong lows of chest voice. It lets you access your entire vocal range at its full power, tone, and richness (read blog October 27, 2020 “How To Sing In A Mixed Voice).

The third technique is using your “diaphragm and breath support,” which go hand in hand. There is no control if a singer does not utilize all the muscles their core, which is the diaphragm and muscles surrounding the rib cage and chest area. It is important to breathe from the diaphragm and use the diaphragm support to accomplish this sound. The power in your voice comes from the diaphragm, not your throat (read blog 8/28/20 about the diaphragm “Singing With Power”).

Train your voice by keeping a steady airflow, proper amount of compression, and support from the diaphragm. When this vocal balance is present, your vocal folds operate and adjust to different pitches in a free and flexible manner without strain or squeezing. Maintain a good ratio between an efficient amount of airflow with an appropriate amount of compression and you’re on your way to a well-balanced voice! Listen to Audrey Diaz singing “Shallow” by Lady Gaga at the Ventura County Fair; when she gets to the chorus, she just blows the audience away with her open throat, mixed voice, and diaphragm/breath support, belting out those notes!!

JOKE FOR THE DAY:

Singing in the shower is great until you get soap in your mouth…

Then it becomes a Soap Opera.

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