Posts Tagged ‘singing exercises’
Step 1 in preparing the body for a performance or practice is to "Learn to Relax".
Rotate your head to allow the muscles in your neck and upper shoulders to relax. Dip your chin to your chest and hold your head there for the count of 5 (1-2-3-4-5). You should be breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. This will expand the diaphragm and ribcage while it keeps your shoulders stationary, meaning they should not be moving up and down with each breath. This will also help determine whether you are breathing properly from the diaphragm or not.
As stated in an earlier article, I would like to give you more information on relaxing the body, your muscles and your mind before a practice or performance.
Relaxing the mind will come automatically if you focus on what you are doing to relax the body and muscles used to sing. By focusing only on singing and relaxing, rehearsing can become like a form of meditation. As you are focusing on relaxing tense muscles and breathing, try to block everything else from your mind.
When you are preparing to sing; whether it be for a performance or just rehearsing, your mind should be focused on preparing your body and mind. Continue to focus on tongue placement, breathing properly from the diaphragm, becoming aware of what muscles in the body are tense and then releasing that tension. This cannot be achieved if you are thinking about the fight you had with your boyfriend/ girlfriend or any other stressors that may be in your life.
Become aware of what your body is doing and telling you. When you sing, your face muscles should be completely relaxed. This means there should be no tension in your jaw. If there is tension, it will limit your ability to hit those higher and lower notes you want to achieve. Common areas for tension are:
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the tongue
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jaw
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shoulders
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neck
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throat
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back
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arms
I have a few exercises I would like to share with you that will help you to achieve the relaxed form you want to have before any performance. With some practise, you will eventually be able to do all of these exercises in a matter of 10 to 15 minutes and achieve the relaxed form I’m talking about.
How to Relax
First, clear your mind and focus only on your breathing and finding the tension spots in the body.
Take your arms and swing them as hard as you can to the front of your body all the way up above your head. Then let them drop - swinging them as far as you can to the back of your body behind you. This will loosen the shoulders and chest area. While swinging the arms forward, breath-in through your nose…on the down swing to the back swing you should be exhaling slowly out of your mouth. Your focus should be on breathing-in on the upswing and breathing-out (exhaling) on the downswing. Do this 10 times.
Now lets focus on releasing tension in the torso, arms, shoulders and chest area.
Take your arms and shake them out slowly at first, and then more vigorously. Twist the upper body, keeping the hips stationary. Remember to focus on breathing from the diaphragm. Even though there is movement from side to side while shaking your arms vigorously, DO NOT STOP BREATHING or hold your breath. You must breathe through every exercise by breathing in slowly and deeply – in through your nose and out through your mouth without raising your shoulders.
Last and probably the most important exercise is to make sure the mouth throat and tongue are relaxed. Believe it or not, the jaw can have a tendency to carry a lot of tension. Take your bottom jaw and move it back and forth from side to side. You can do this even while your singing to release tension in that area.
To relax the tongue, let your tongue hang out of your mouth (like a panting dog), count to 5 (1-2-3-4-5) while you focus on breathing. Now twist your tongue from one side of your mouth to the other. You should feel a pull on the muscles at the back of the mouth just behind your molars.
Another great exercise to help warm up the throat is to open your mouth as wide as you can and raise and lower the pallet (the dangling piece of flesh in the back of your throat). If you look in the mirror and yawn, you'll notice that the pallet disappears to the top or roof of the mouth. This is the desired affect you want when practicing this exercise. You will learn to control this movement and it will aid in helping you to achieve those higher notes you are looking for. Eventually all of this will become second nature to you and you will be able to achieve the desired results in about 10 to 15 minutes.
Doing these exercises regularly will help you to become a better singer.
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So You Want to Sing?
Here's a list of the 10 Secrets you need to know:
- Find a place to practice without distractions.
- Set a time of 30 minutes to an hour each day for rehearsal. I recommend one hour per day at the least; and try to get in a practice 5 or 6 days a week.
- Being comfortable and relaxed in your rehearsal environment is very important. I suggest wearing workout attire or loose fitting clothing.
- Try to clear your mind of anything non-singing related. Singing has been known to be a form of meditating and with a little focus, it can be very soothing and healing.
- When choosing your music, your best choice as a beginner is something not too complicated, usually performed by a “GOOD VOCALIST”. The best way to learn is by watching and listening to those who sing correctly. I personally like the great opera singers however there are many great singers to choose from in every genre (type) of music.
- Use backing / karaoke tracks, or sing along with your favourite artists / cds. I suggest both methods. Backing tracks will allow you to hear what your own voice sounds like, helping you to develop your tone and pitch. While singing along with the artist will help train your ear to the correct notes and various styles of singing.
- Use a recording device; whether it be a web cam with sound, karaoke on-line, or something as simple as a tape recorder. You will need to do this fairly regular in the beginning to learn when you are in your “correct voice” and when you are not.
- Get comfortable with your own voice and the practice area. What I mean is, find a place where you are able to make as much noise or hit as many bad notes as needed, without feeling embarrassed, shy or uneasy in anyway.
- Take at least 10 minutes to warm-up before you begin singing. During this 10 minutes, notice any tense areas in your body and begin relaxing them. For example, think about your jaw, tongue, neck, shoulders, arms, back, and chest, while you relax these areas. You can learn more about how to relax these areas before a performance or rehearsal in an upcoming article.
- Devote some time every day to breathing exercises, since it is the fundamental key in singing better and protecting your instrument; your voice. Whether your goal is to sing in a choir, for friends and family, at the campfire, or to become the next big singing star, at the very foundation of all great singing is learning how to control your breath using your diaphragm.
Remember, the basic fundamental factor of singing is breathing properly which is something that should be practiced several times daily.
Proper breathing technique can be done:
- discretely while waiting in line getting your morning coffee or while sitting in class,
- on your commute to work or school, or
- as a means to relax the body through meditation.
How to Breathe Properly
Basically, proper breathing technique can be done just about anywhere you are. The basic rule in beginning to breath properly or from the diaphragm is to inhale (breathe in) through your nose and exhale (breath out) through your mouth.
Try this …
Take a deep breath in through your nose and breath out through your mouth. Breathing from the diaphragm is the art of expanding and collapsing the middle and upper abdomen, the area from the pelvic up to the lower chest cavity. When breathing fully from the diaphragm, the shoulders will not raise and lower when a breath is taken. The middle area (torso) of the body will expand on the *breath in* (inhale) and collapse on the *breath out* (exhale).
- There are two times when your body does this naturally, as you are sleeping, and
- when you yawn.
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