5 Ways to Get More Sound and Power Out of Your Singing Voice

Let’s dive in!

The Power of Alignment in Singing

Too many singers end up not using the right alignment and fall back on their throats, ultimately ruining their voices over time.

Through learning how to support the voice with the proper alignment helps to free up the throat and experience more sound and resonance without strain.

A strong and healthy voice that sings without strain at the top of performance starts with improving alignment and using the trunk of the body to support the voice.

Good posture is essential for effective singing which leads to better tone, breath control, and a more open and resonant voice.

The majority of people have a slightly forward-placed head and a slightly dropped or dropped chest. This causes vocal strain and disconnects you from the support that comes from the trunk of the body.

In singing, we need to work on lengthening the back of our necks and tipping our chins slightly down in a neutral position. Balance our heads over our bodies as if they are resting there. At the same time, lengthen the small of our backs to lengthen the spinal erectors that hold good posture.

Try this:

Alignment Test

• Stand up. What side is working more than the other?
• Notice your feet – are you standing on the outsides-insides? front-back?
• What areas feel tight? Legs, hips, shoulders, back, neck? “
• Now look at your feet. Just notice. (one hip is torqued – something to work on)
• Are your knees locked? Make a note. Tighten – and release
• Is one hip tight? Make a note. Tighten butt – and then release

Alignment Adjustment

• Stand evenly in the center of both feet
• Soften your knees so they are not locked
• Scarecrow: Head sitting on top of spine
• Tuck your pelvis slightly underneath you
• Pull up tall out of the waist
• Shoulders at rest (heavy): down and back
• Lengthen the cervical spine (neck)
• Lift the base of your skull towards the ceiling
• The head is level + placed over your body (not in front of)
• The chin is slightly tipped down to achieve a level head position and a long cervical spine
• As you stand in this alignment
• Notice if you feel your body working more on one side?
• Do you feel any tension anywhere?
• Do you feel any muscle pulling or pain anywhere?
• Any areas you feel tension are indicators of shortened muscles and areas that need attention and lengthening.

Next…

• Elongate / lengthen the back of your neck – pick up your hair at the base of your neck and pull upward
• Tip the chin slightly downward – to a neutral position – do you feel that in your back?
• If you feel tension, after you get into position, gently take a step back and soften those areas. Over time this tension will go away. For now, practice this alignment before singing and during singing notice what is occurring and make notes.

Try this Wall Test

• Stand against the wall. Feet hip distance apart and about a foot from the wall.
• Lean your hips into the wall.
• Straighten your spine against the wall.
• Press your lower back against the wall – does your head come forward?
• If so, this is an indicator that the small of your back is compressed and tight which indicates an issue with alignment, breathing and a compressed neck and forward head. When the head is forward you constrict your sound, your range and fall back into your throat singing from the throat.
• Now step away from the wall maintaining that posture.

Working on your alignment and overall posture will greatly improve your voice. To get an experience of how to decrease strain and improve your overall sound get my free 4-part series here. The Better Voice Challenge 4 part workshop learn more here.

Breath Control On Onset

The next step is to not only get a good breath, but to retain the air you’ve brought into your lungs instead of letting it all spill out on the first note—which is quite common.

It’s not how much air you take in, it’s what you do with the air when you sing. Particularly on the first note.

Try this:

• Wrap your hands around your ribs with your fingers to the front and thumbs at the back.
• Take a deep breath, but this time focus on breathing into the 3-4 lower ribs.
• Now exhale, paying attention to the rib movement.
• Did you notice the ribs coming inward on the exhale?
• Take another deep breath, but this time focus on keeping the ribs expanded and not letting them come inward on the exhale, especially in the first few moments of the exhale.
• Were you able to keep the ribs expanded?
• Repeat the same thing now as you sing an “AHHHH” and focus on keeping the ribs expanding out on the first few moments of the note.

This is the beginning of supporting your voice to sing “on the breath” instead of pushing the breath out.

It’s how you retain air and keep it in the lungs that gives you the fuel to sing on.

This is a more advanced technique so here are a few tips when practicing this.

Tip 1: Be sure you are not holding your breath

Tip 2: This is an isolated movement where only the ribs and surrounding muscles are engaged. Be sure not to hold tension in the throat as you keep your ribs expanded.

Learn this and more inside my Cole Vocal Method based on 40 years of vocal science here.

Decrease Tension to Increase Sound

Many singers struggle with a lack of sound, power, and endurance in singing. This is a result of using incorrect techniques and muscle patterning that constricts the voice, limits the range and causes vocal fatigue and early burnout.

When there is less tension surrounding the vocal mechanism, the voice can perform under less tension.

We have seen over time that when the singer decreases tensions in the muscles that surround the vocal instrument, there is an increase in sound, range, resonance and tone.

The key to decreasing strain and improving a strong, healthy sound and endurance is to decrease the usage of the compensatory or accessory muscles that “squeeze” or constrict the voice, limiting sound, tone, and range.

Try this:

• Try tipping your chin slightly down on high notes to decrease strain in the throat.
• Try lifting your chest higher to support the voice and not fall back on the throat.
• Try breathing deeper into the lower 4-5 ribs, expanding the breath there to support the singing voice.

This is the beginning of freeing up your voice to resonate with more sound.

To learn the techniques to build a strong, powerful, and resonant voice click here: Learn my Cole Vocal Method based on 40 years of vocal science here.

Singing Better High Notes Safely

There are many vocal techniques that help singers sing high notes. Today I will focus on one less discussed, but quite powerful when applied.

Called “The elevator technique” we imagine the pulley system of an elevator to “weight” the voice as we move upward.

Ascending through your range is like an elevator. As the elevator rises up, a heavy cable pulls downward weighting the cable so the elevator can rise up through the floors.

Similarly, as the elevator lowers, the cable lifts upwards. These are your low notes.

This is a useful movement for your high notes. Think of your voice like a pulley. Imagine reaching downward as your notes ascend. Reach downward for high notes. Using this technique of thinking down for high notes helps to sing them more effectively.

Try this:

• Sing on “ah” moving note by note up an octave (from A to A or C to C).
• Keep your chin level or tipped slightly downward (don’t let it lift).

As you keep your chin level or pointed slightly down and think downward for high notes you’ll be able to access them with more ease and consistency!

Laryngeal Resistance Builds True Power

In vocal technique we use the term “laryngeal resistance” to identify the motion of keeping the laryngeal muscles in a lower position during singing. This is tricky because this is a motion that needs to be programmed into the voice and can’t be forced.

But this motion is imperative to sing strong and full high notes —and consistent high notes that don’t crack or break.

Try this.

• Yawn with your finger horizontal at the top of the throat. Try to yawn more with the back of your throat vs. your jaw. A little of both is good.
• Watch in the mirror. Do you see your finger and throat slip downward as you yawn?
• Another trick is to bring an imaginary cup of water to your mouth to drink. As you drink do you notice your throat slip downward? This is a movement we do throughout the day and is easy to identify.

This is a motion you want to get on auto-pilot to use before you sing high notes. Once it is programmed into the body it becomes a natural movement. Don’t overdo it. Everything with the voice is best experienced as small and subtle movements as tense movements will tighten the instrument.

Warning: You can’t force these muscles down. They need to be gently and correctly trained to sit in the right position. Start with my Singers Gift Vocal Warmups that come with full demonstrations. When the larynx sits in a deeper bed (which comes from training) you have more control over your voice and high notes.

Getting control of your instrument is achieved by practicing The Cole Vocal Method 5 days a week for 20 minutes a day.

Learn my Cole Vocal Method based on 40 years of vocal science here.