Learn How To Sing Natures Way

March 24, 2014

Did you know that there is a natural way to sing with an open throat? That’s right, we are all born making sound naturally.

Did you also know that your voice doesn’t have to deteriorate as you age. In fact, my singing teacher’s teacher was quite happily singing high C’s well into his 90’s and right up until the day he died.

Most people seem to think that as you get older that you won’t be able to sing as you did when you were younger, but it’s a myth, your voice should get better with age, not worse.

What’s The Problem

I think we all have heard a baby cry. But, have you heard a baby go hoarse from crying? I know I haven’t.

The interesting thing here is that when we are born, we make sound naturally without thinking about it. As we grow older and start learning the bad habits of adults, this is when it all starts to go wrong.

This is especially true with talking.

There are generally two ways to close the vocal chords in order too make sound: The Swallowing Muscles and Proper Support. Lets look at each in detail:

The Swallowing Muscles
So, what do the swallowing muscles do? In a nutshell, they close the vocal chords and raise the larynx in order to close the epiglottis so food and drink does not go down into our lungs.

I know when I talk, I use my swallowing muscles as probably most of us do. For the most part this is not a problem as we talk in short bursts which really doesn’t put much stress on the vocal chords unlike singing.

Some professions such as school teachers for example, can have vocal troubles due to the fact that they are talking a lot during the day. I have actually hurt my voice and not been able to sing for a couple of days because I have talked consistently or loudly to get over the music or other noise at a bar or pub when out socially.

Proper Support
What is proper support? A simple definition would be: lifting the abdominal bulk up against the diaphragm in order to close the vocal chords. Did you know that when certain inhalation and exhalation muscles are exerted at the same time, by the act of “pulling up” the abdominal bulk against the diaphragm, then the vocal chords will close by reflex action?

Click on the link to find out how to improve your voice using support.

This is what babies do when they cry, or dogs do when they bark, and both can do so for hours. They do it without thinking and that is what we as singers need to do. To illustrate, check out this video of a newborn baby, and watch how the baby pulls up when she cries. The best view of this can be seen around 0:40 onwards.

4 tips To Learn How To Sing Natures Way

So, we now know that to sing naturally, we need to use proper support. This will enable us to avoid vocal damage and keep our singing voice from deteriorating as we get older. So how do we learn how to sing nature’s way:

Learn how to support properly – Support is pulling up the abdominal bulk against the diaphragm. Take a breath, then as you are about to make a sound, lift the abdominal bulk upwards. To get a feeling for this, interlock your fingers across your bellybutton, take a breath, then use your arms to lift the abdomen upwards. Try doing the same thing without the arms. The important thing is to pull up and then continue to pull up as long as you are making sound. Do not push out or pull in as this will engage the swallowing muscles in order to close the vocal chords.
Practice support at every opportunity – Practice it lying in bed for a few minutes in the morning, or walking down the street, waiting for the bus etc. The more you get use to it, the easier it will become.
Find a teacher or online course that understands and teaches these concepts –This is really important as you will need to make sure that you are reinforcing the correct technique and not letting bad habits creep in. Click on the link to learn how to sing by finding a good teacher.
Don’t give up – Learning to coordinate your muscles in a new way takes time and practice. The more you do it, the more natural it becomes and eventually you won’t even think about it anymore.

The use of proper support is the foundation to learning how to sing natures way. Although, there is much more to singing than just proper support, this is the foundation on which everything else is built. You could learn all the other concepts such as resonance, blending or mixing the voice, the registers etc, but if you don’t close your vocal chords the way nature intended, then you won’t get the most from your voice or worse, could be risking permanent vocal damage.

I hope you found this article insightful. If you would like any more information on support and other foundational elements of singing, you can check out introductory singing course and start learning how to sing better in your own home.

To success in all your singing endeavors.

Andy Barnes