To develop vibrato in your singing voice, start by practicing good vocal technique to open up the throat area and decrease strain. The key to developing a natural vibrato is to sing with less pressure at the throat and develop the right breath support and control over the voice. 

Here are my top 5 secrets of a smooth natural vibrato for your singing voice. Click here to: Learn more about the Cole Vocal Method.

Here’s a quick outline of the topics covered in today’s blog: 

• The Difference Between Straight Tone Into Vibrato
• Relax Your Jaw and Throat
• Strengthen Breath Support
• The Power of Alignment to Free Your Vibrato
• The Support of Your Chest and Pectorals

Let’s dive in!

1. The Difference Between Straight Tone Into Vibrato 

Natural vibrato occurs when a singer has developed good foundational vocal techniques, such as breath control, pitch accuracy, and tone quality. In essence, Natural Vibrato is the result of a relaxed and well-supported voice.

Some of you sing with more vibrato than straight tone. 
Some of you have a fast vibrato. 
Some of you have a wobbly or slow vibrato
And some of you have no vibrato. 

Vibrato is a slight, regular variation in pitch that adds expression and richness to singing. It typically involves 5–7 oscillations per second and is achieved through the coordination of breath support, relaxed vocal folds, and muscular balance. Proper vibrato should sound smooth and natural, not forced or shaky. Fast vibrato happens when the sound is forced or pushed. 

Try this:  

• Sing a single note holding it smooth without vibrato to build control.
• Hold a comfortable note for 4–5 seconds.
  Now try singing with vibrato at the end of that held note.
• Try varying the pitch up and down to feel the muscular action involved in vibrato. AH 1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2-1.
• If your vibrato doesn’t flow easily, it’s because the throat muscles are too tight. To help your vibrato flow more naturally try using the Chest Press, see #5 below. 

See my blog on how to attain the right speed for your vibrato here: 
5 Secrets of Vibrato: How to Build a Smooth Natural Vibrato for Your Singing Voice

2. Relax Your Jaw and Throat

Vibrato won’t happen naturally when the throat and jaw are super tight and when there is a lack of breath support. 

Start by relaxing your jaw and throat muscles. 

Try this: 

• Let your jaw fall open.
• Take your hand and pull is slightly downward
• Take a deep breath and let your jaw feel heavy as you pull slightly downward.
• Next place your thumb and fingers wrapping around your throat at the top.
• Pull gently downward as you inhale and exhale. This helps to release tension in the throat.
• Now as you sing a phrase, practice not tensing your jaw or your throat as you sing. This helps the sound to flow out more effortlessly and vibrato will happen more naturally.
• Then work on building breath support (#3 below) and using alignment (#4) and the support of your body (#5) for vibrato to flow easily and naturally.

3. Strengthen Breath Support

The secret to unlocking the diaphragm starts in the ribcage. 

The secret to unlocking the diaphragm and getting the breath into the lower portion of the lungs which unlocks a deeper breath capacity. The key to diaphragm descension is in the movement of the ribcage.

To unlock the deeper wider part of the triangle, the ribs must expand outward to make room for the diaphragm to descend.

Also it’s important to avoid tucking your stomach inward to support your sound. You will often hear the incorrect suggestion to tuck the stomach in to support the sound. This is incorrect and immediately tightens the throat causing more constriction. It doesn’t actually support the voice, it tightens the vocal muscle. Ribs that go in when one breathes in or go out when they exhale are respiratory faults.

Let’s do a quick exercise.

• Put your hands on your ribs.
• Exhale.
• Now hold your ribs firmly with pressure and breathe slowly into your hands.
• Do you feel the ribs slowly expand and swing outwards into your hands?
• The trick is to breathe slowly and not too fast to gently feel the ribs move outward in small increments.
• The slower you go, the more you will release the ribs and breathe more deeply.

This is the beginning of breathing diaphragmatically. As you get more breath support you will get more control over the choice of straight tone or vibrato and be able to sing either more smoothly. 

Click here to learn more about my Singers Gift Vocal Warm Ups and Diaphragmatic Breathing exercises inside.

4. The Power of Alignment to Free Your Vibrato 

Posture creates a freer, less constricted throat area.

Vibrato won’t happen naturally with poor posture. Poor posture or a slumped chest interrupts the path of the breath and chokes the throat. 

Here’s one of several reasons why. The weight of the head is 10 to 15 pounds. When posture is slumped (even slightly), the head is in a slightly forward position. With the head in this position, what is holding the weight of the head over the body? The neck. When the neck muscles hold the head over the body that go into a constant state of contraction which constricts the throat causing tightness and tension in the throat muscles. This tension prohibits the vibrato which is accomplished with free movement within the laryngeal muscles. 

Start by lengthening the back of your neck and tipping your chin slightly down in a neutral position. Balance your head over your body as if it is resting there. At the same time, lengthen the small of your back. 

Try this: 

• 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.
• 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.

5. The Support of Your Chest and Pectorals

Once the throat is free and supported by the chest, the voice will produce a more natural vibrato in the singing voice as well as give you more control over straight tone without choking or straining.

The support for the singing voice is provided by a series of muscles in the trunk of the body. Strengthening the support of these muscles helps to unlock the vibrato. 

Starting with the pectoral muscles that anchor the laryngeal muscles and give it more strength and power against the air pressure from the lungs and breath. 

When the chest is lifted, the pectorals are naturally engaged and support is established. This takes the pressure off of the throat so the voice and vibrato can ring naturally.

Try this:

Chest Press Exercise: 

• Lift the chest upwards towards the chin and keep the back flat.
• Activate your pectoral muscles by squeezing the insides of your upper ams to your body like a hug.
• Relax the back of your neck while you do this.
• Exhale while flexing the pectorals without letting the chest fall.
• Next, press on the chest about 5 inches down from the collarbones in the center of the chest (on the bone).
• Sing an AH keeping the pressure on the chest and the chest lifted higher than normal.
• As you sing, apply more pressure to the chest keeping the throat free and the head balanced over the spine.
• As you practice this movement, you will notice the sound resonating more freely, vibrato naturally occurring, more control over straight tone and those big beautiful held notes. 

Tip: Daily pushups will help strengthen your pectoral muscles that need to be strong for a good “belt” voice. The best pushups for singers are done into a door jam where you can stretch the pectoral further than you would on a regular pushup. These are performed to stretch the pectorals while you strengthen them.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Forcing Vibrato: This can lead to tension and fatigue.
• Overuse: Too much vibrato can distract from the song.
• Straight Tone: Avoid only using straight tone with excessive pressure at the throat that prevents vibrato from occurring.

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