Many novice singers struggle to develop their vocal talents when that shouldn’t be the case. If you’re one of them and you’re frustrated by your apparent inability to achieve your musical goals, you may have set your standards too high. Even if you’re not a particularly talented singer, you can still sing beautiful tones, vibrato, and ripping high notes.
This is possible by getting the proper vocal training. You’ve probably heard of vocal techniques like “lip roll,” “interval training,” and “lowering the larynx.” Vocal training tips like these can serve as good starting points for beginners, as well as problem-solving remedies for singers who have picked up bad singing habits over the course of their career.
Of course, there are many singers who are born with the talent. However, most of them will have their voices untrained. Even if you are a born singer but have no intention of pursuing singing as a career, you need to have some training to shape your voice to a particular degree. By studying the technique and practicing singing regularly, your voice can reach its full potential.
The main hurdle that all singers must overcome is control of the larynx. The vocal cords are located in the larynx. These are actually fine muscles that vibrate to create sound. The upper part of the larynx works to swallow food. This act of swallowing forces the larynx to move upward.
It is possible to achieve control over the vocal cords and other muscles of the larynx. By doing so, you will not only notice an improvement in the tones you produce, but you will also eliminate the tension and effort commonly seen in novice singers.
One technique to achieve this is to “lower the larynx”. Just follow these steps…
1) Place your index finger on the ridge at the top of the Adam’s apple.
2) Say the word “drum” and hold it. This will cause your larynx to move up and down.
3) Then sing a complete song while keeping your finger in the same position. You should feel the movement of the laryngeal muscles.
Another technique is called “lip rolling,” which is geared toward warming up the throat muscles. Lip rolling can also expand your vocal range, enhance the tones you produce, and improve enunciation. These are the steps to make the “lip roll”…
1) Place your hands on each cheek. Slide your hand slightly to the side while pushing in at the same time so you can feel your teeth.
2) Blow through the mouth like “sprinkling a raspberry” with the lips uncontrolled.
3) Mutter the five vowels “ee ay ah oh oo” in a sustained manner while blowing through your mouth. Repeat 2-3 times.
As you do this exercise, you will notice that some vowels are harder to hold than others. This knowledge will benefit you when you start singing full songs.
The third technique is “interval training.” This is mainly used to train your hearing while singing. It will help you identify and become familiar with the note breaks that occur within scales. For example, in the C major scale, the first note is C and the fifth note is G.
Interval training will familiarize you with the pitch interval of these two notes.