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Quick tip: Practice in front of a mirror

One way to accelerate vocal development is to practice your singing in front of a mirror.

You can learn a lot about your vocal habits doing so.

Here are a few areas you can watch for.

1. Inhale being low in the body, especially the back ribcage which is where much of the lung/diaphragm tissue is actually contained (avoiding pulling up the chest/shoulders area)

2. Lifted cheek muscles. It helps lift and stretch the soft palate which also helps the larynx find a slightly lower released position. You are essentially aiming for the feeling of the beginning of a yawn.

3. Watch tongue and jaw use. Jaw should be very loose and able to release slightly backwards during vowels. The tongue should stay very relaxed in the mouth without pulling backwards to try and 'assist' with notes.

4. Check to see the lips are slightly rounded most of the time. Spreading them tends to hinder keeping internal acoustic space open and can result in a yelled tone. Every singer is different but most will benefit from slight rounding while singing.

5. Watch the neck/head position- Avoid abrupt movements of the head and neck. Many singers often push their heads abruptly forwards or up when ascending into their higher range as a unconscious way of 'helping' the voice. Watch that the neck is not squeezing inwards at the onset of tone. Good singing is close to laughter and the neck is slightly expanding when you laugh.

Practice often with attention to these and other details and you will find you will find singing becomes easier and more comfortable for longer periods.

Dealing with Excessive Breath Pressure at Consonants
by David Jones

If you are in a coaching and you are instructed to give more consonants, what is the natural reaction? Usually we start using too much breath pressure instead of activating the articulators on the same airflow as the vowels. This is a huge mistake which leads to forced or pushed singing. The singer may also feel hoarse after the session. Some coaches ask for too much pressure at consonants, often called the ‘Bayreuth Bark’. My advice is find a coach who knows more about the voice but does not cross that line into voice teaching. Using excessive breath pressure at consonants destroys any legato line in singing and those who know about Wagner’s wishes know that he wanted his operas sung like Italian, mirroring purity of legato line.

So how do we manage breath pressure at consonants, especially non-voiced consonants? It is not as difficult as you might think. There are many ideas regarding legato line in my book, “A Modern Guide to Old World Singing”, including the study of laryngeal function that assists in creating and sustaining legato singing. We all need exercises to manage breath pressure. In my upcoming book, “A Modern Guide to Old World Vocalization” there will be specific exercises included to balance airflow between vowels and consonants, making it easier for the singer to accomplish legato singing AND clarity of diction.


Exercise: Voiced to Unvoiced Consonants
1…2…3….4…..5….4…..3…..2…..1….
za.so..za..so….za…so…za…so….za…
ma.ka.ma..ka…ma..ka…ma..ka…..ma..
ma.pa.ma..pa…ma..pa…ma..pa….ma..
va..fo..va…fo….va…fo….va…fo….va..
na.blo.na…blo..na….blo…na..blo…na..
za.ro…za…ro….za…ro…..za..ro….za..

Study the exercise above and move through the voiced and unvoiced consonants matching the same flow of air. You will find that the plosive consonants will tend to over-blow with too much breath pressure. Begin the process of matching the air pressure for plosives with the airflow of the voiced consonants.

Work slowly on these exercises while teaching the body a different function at the consonants that tend to blow too much air.

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