Even professional equipment designed to make song mix and master it is unable to eliminate serious vocal flaws. Moreover, this cannot be done using amateur online mixing and mastering. Only the improvement of the vocal skills of the performer will help to achieve success in this case. Fortunately, this is possible if you regularly improve the following characteristics:
- properties of the vocal cords;
- range;
- submission;
- breathing technique.
Vocal cords
The vocal cords are a pair of taut muscles that sit in the middle of the throat. And since these are ordinary muscles, so that they are in shape, and this is necessary, if you want to learn how to sing well, you need to do exercises for the vocal cords. Singing or vocal cord exercises are advisable to be done every day, and some several times a day if you want to achieve good results. So, let’s look at what these exercises are.
Here are some effective vocal cord exercises.
- You need to stand up straight, feet shoulder-width apart, take a breath, it is advisable to take air not into the chest, but into the stomach. On exhalation with a closed mouth, pronounce the sound “mmm”. Repeat this exercise 5 times.
- In the same position, inhale, and on exhalation, go like a steam locomotive. In this case, the lips should take a very active part in all exercises, in this exercise you need to stretch the lips forward and round.
- The position of the body is the same as in the first two exercises. Inhale, and as you exhale, pronounce long vowel sounds. This exercise is used by many professional vocalists, as it allows you to relax and warm up your ligaments as well and gently as possible.
Range
There are several zones in the voice range:
- primary zone (the height of the speech sound at which it is convenient to speak);
- working zone used when singing;
- non-working zone, which includes low and high notes that the vocalist takes on chants, but does not use while singing.
The working range is the part of the voice where it is convenient to sing vocal works. It is much wider than the primary zone and can be gradually increased. To do this, you need to not only sing correctly, using all the necessary resonators, but also regularly do special exercises. It is the wide working range that vocalists value most of all. The total non-working range is the full voice coverage of several octaves. It is usually achieved by singing chants and vocalizations. This range includes working and non-working notes. Usually, the extreme notes of this large range are not used when singing. But the wider the non-working range, the more complex pieces with a large tessituation will become available to you.
To expand your range, you need to do a few simple exercises before singing.
- Find the primary notes on the piano and start singing a simple chant in the fifth upward range. Singing should be light and fluent. Having reached the topmost notes, gradually begin to go down. Notice when the voice has completely shifted to the chest sound and how wide that range is. Can you hum a melody freely in this tessiture?
- Select a chant in the octave range and sing it up on vowel sounds. This chant will greatly expand your range in the top notes, and you can gradually sing along a wider range.
- Select a song with a wide range and large jumps for singing. Such a piece can be the song “No Me Ames” from the repertoire of Jennifer Lopez or “Ave Maria” by Caccini. You need to start it in a tessiture, which is convenient for you, close to the primary sound of the voice.
Pitch
The essence of voice production in vocals is the formation of vowel sounds by the speech apparatus in different keys, but in the same manner. In singing, consonant sounds only briefly interrupt vowel sounds, while they must be pronounced clearly and distinctly so that the text of the song is legible and understandable to the listener.
When shaping the sound delivery, it is important to understand exactly where to direct the sound in a particular passage of a piece of music. In vocals, the sound is directed into resonators – cavities that resonate with the sound arising in the glottis and give the voice timbre and strength.
Resonators are:
- low-frequency chest (chest, bronchi, trachea);
- high-frequency head (nasal cavities, nasopharynx, frontal and maxillary sinuses).
To direct sound into the resonators, it is necessary to breathe through the diaphragm and relax the larynx.
Breathing
When singing and working on the development of ligaments, correct vocal breathing is very important. Vocal teachers insist that the most correct for the singing voice is the so-called diaphragmatic breathing. Such breathing must necessarily take place with the participation of the oblique abdominal muscles, which provide support for the diaphragm. Such breathing, together with the work of the vocal cords, creates a deep and voluminous sound, while not interfering with natural blood circulation.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that vocals are difficult to train. However, this is extremely necessary for a singer. Without the right vocals, recording problems are inevitable, and even professional mixing and mastering cannot eliminate them.
