Finding The Magic In Your Voice with Better Posture and Breathing

For a free Guide To Breathing for Singers click here, or go to the “FREE Singing Resources” tab at the top of our site at vocalcoach.com, then see “White Papers.”

“When something exceeds your ability to understand how it works, it becomes kind of magical.”  I recently heard that statement in an online demonstration of the Apple iPad.  It occurred to me that the same descriptive applies to the human voice.

Here’s what I mean: Aren’t there times when you hear a singer that just amazes you?  One who can do things with their voice that you can only imagine doing, but never actually do?  That’s the “magical” aspect of the voice.  The part that defies analysis, or duplication by the average listener, and even the average singer.

But, what if you really, really, really want to at least come close to delivering that kind of magical performance.  And, what if you are willing to invest the time, effort and resources to take the voice as far as you possibly can.  What are the steps?

In truth, it’s no different than choosing to absolutely maximize your athletic performance, or your intellectual performance.  It takes sacrifice at all levels.  Sacrifice that most of us, frankly, aren’t willing or able to make. Sacrifice that would make having a normal family life and job almost impossible.  Like being an Olympic athlete in training.  It takes all that you are, often at the expense of normalcy.

Discouraged?  Don’t be! No one is asking you to give up family and friends to compete for “World’s Best Singer.  But, there is sacrifice and investment involved in becoming a better, more consistent singer.  And, it starts with constant, non-stop awareness of your daily posture, and the way you manage your breathing in speaking and singing.

You see, many people compromise their posture throughout the day, and that leads to poor breathing.  Then, they “get straight” for singing and wonder why it feels so stiff and unnatural.  The key is being upright and aligned every waking hour.  I don’t mean standing at attention.  I just mean being upright, like any two-year-old. It’s natural, and how we were designed to function.  And, it’s one of the first things to go if we don’t get daily reminders.  For years I would go so far as to put reminders in my calendar to check my posture and breathing.  Seem extreme?  Not if you’re really serious about being your best.

When it comes to breathing it’s a matter of management, not power or push.  Untrained, three-week-old babies do fine with sharing their vocal messages to the entire household with no formal training whatsoever.

For a free Guide To Breathing for Singers click here, or go to the “FREE Singing Resources” tab at the top of our site at vocalcoach.com, then see “White Papers.”

Tags: breathing technique for singers, chris beatty, vocal coach, vocal training, voice lessons, voice training

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 1:34 am and is filed under Breathing, Posture, Singing Subjects. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.