How To Sing – Fixing Breaks In The Voice…

One of the most common issues that singers experience when learning how to sing, is a ‘break’ in their voice. This usually occurs when you’re singing from your lower register – namely the ‘chest’ register, where you use your ’speaking’ notes – up to your ‘middle’ register, notes you might use in more animated or excited speech.

Experiencing a break in the voice, is one of the main reasons that alot of singers feel that they don’t have a wide vocal range that allows them to sing many different vocal styles and colours. This is beacause most people feel, that at this point, their voice is trying to alert them to the fact that it is pushed to it’s limit – that there are no more notes to sing.
In actual fact, the potential vocal range of these voices is usually considerably larger and in most cases, the singer is only limited because of a misunderstanding of how the voice and vocal muscles actually work – and DON’T work.

Unfortunately, like most other professions, the singing industry offers teachers of many different singing techniques, to people wanting to learn how to sing. Some teachers are fabulous and some either don’t have the qualifications – both academic and demonstrative – to be able to back up their technical knowledge when teaching you how to sing. It’s the students of these teachers that usually end up pushing their voices beyond healthy limits without ever coming close to reaching their full singing potential – and all the while, they’re experiencing vocal fatigue, strain, frustration and discomfort – not to mention causing damage to their voices.

So lets looks at what’s actually happening when you’re experiencing a ‘break’ in your voice…

So why is it that you feel tension when you’re approaching the ‘break’ in your voice?

Well, to get a teeny bit technical for a moment, the voice is controlled by muscles and cartilage, that sit inside the larynx – AKA the voice-box. Oversimplifying, these muscles adjust the position of the vocal folds/cords to produce the different notes that you sing.

If you place your fingers gently over the front of your neck/throat and swallow, you will feel the larynx move upwards towards you jaw and then down again. The muscles that control your swallowing mechanism sit on the OUTside of your larynx and are NOT the muscles you use for healthy vocal production. As you can feel, these muscles work in a way that makes the larynx rise in the throat.

When you’re experiencing strain whilst singing, you are engaging these same ’swallow’ muscles. When they are pushed or stretched to their physical limits, the larynx can rise not further in the throat and the vocal cords become imobilized due to the tension in this area. This is precisely the point at which you experience the ‘break’. At this point, the muscles are forced to release causing your voice to ‘flip’ into the next ‘area’ of your voice where you will no doubt find that your voice is weak or breathy and lacks control and vitality.

Most often, the reason that we use our voice in this unhealthy way, is due to the desire to sing ‘louder’ or with more power. However, singers that have powerful voices – and there are many – achieve this power through the use of their ‘resonators’ and developed breathing techniques (which I’ll cover another time), NOT as a result of physical strength or learned ‘force of tone’.

So, how to fix this break?…

The first thing to understand when learning how to sing well, is that good singing technique takes time to develop. If you’re looking for a ‘quick-fix’, you’re looking for trouble. Alot of teachers may tell you that you can learn to sing like a pro in just a few lessons. To be really honest with you – they’re simply lying. It’s equal to guaranteeing you that you can become a professional sports player in a few training sessions. Remember, the voice is governed by a muscle group and like any other muscle group, it takes time to train it and be able to control it at an elite or professional level.

If you’re feeling strain or pain when you’re singing – SOMETHING IS WRONG!!
Singing should feel as easy (vocally) as speaking does, although having said that, singing does require more conscious effort and physical co-ordination and energy, than speaking.

One of the simplist and most effective exercises that will take the pressure off your larynx and help you learn to sing without breaks, can be found in a video I’ve uploaded to Youtube called ‘Vocal Tips & Tricks Episode #4 – Fixing Breaks In The Voice’.

Click my YouTube link below to watch the video!

…Break the cycle, ditch the frustration and begin experiencing your true vocal potential TODAY!

P.S. I’d love to read your comments and hear about your results so feel free to leave a comment here…

Fixing Breaks In The Voice:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6_3vR8oT18

The Essential Voice – Vocal Training Program:
Sign Up For Our FREE! Beginners Course
http://www.TheEssentialVoice.net

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