Kasino.co.uk - the singer's survival guide

The Singer's Survival Guide
By Donna Swabey and Paul McGazz

Singers (or vocalists, as people addicted to music biz jargon call them) are extremely important. Most people aren't raving musos, and tend to listen out for the vocals before anything else when they hear music. So, there's a good argument to say that your singer's form is more important than whether or not your guitarist gets that tricky solo note-perfect. Also, the number of different-sounding human voices out there is far greater than the number of settings the best turbo-powered guitar pedal has, so often the singer in a band is a signature element.

Whether you're a bellowing stadium rock wannabe, a lo-fi mumbler, or even just a backing singer who does the odd "oo ooh", you should learn to keep your voice in good condition. Below are some tips to help you.

Part 1: Vocal Hygiene

Don't smoke. This is the Golden rule - the Biggie - rule numero uno.
Drink lots of water. Dehydration is bad for you generally, but particularly bad for the throat.
Cut down on caffeine.
Rest your voice if it is causing you problems. Seek professional help if it continues to do so.
Try not to run out of air when you're talking.
Never scream.
Don't use anaesthetic throat lozenges when your throat's sore. They don't address the problem, just numb the pain temporarily.
Never force your voice. If you have to do this you're doing something wrong.
Learn to relax - not in a pub and pint sort of a way, more of a total body relaxation/meditation thing.

Part 2: Posture

Always ensure a straight and balanced spinal alignment. If your mike stand is too high, you crane your neck, thereby putting unnecessary strain on the muscles in and around the neck. Try to avoid this: the vocal cords are muscles too.

Lemmy or Liam Gallagher might look cool onstage, but they're not getting the best from their voices, and are probably in danger of doing their backs in. Keep your head and your microphone level, so that you're singing into the mike, rather than over or under it. Learn some basic relaxation if possible.

Part 3: Breathing

Good breathing technique is very important indeed. Here are a couple of exercises to get you started off.

The first thing you have to be able to do is figure out where you're breathing from. What happens when you breathe in and out?

The lungs are sort of pear-shaped with the widest bit, which has the most capacity for expansion, at the bottom. The breath is controlled by the movement of the diaphragm muscle, which is placed centrally at the base of your ribcage. If you think logically, and know a little anatomy you will realise that the ribs are fixed at the top and have room to expand at the bottom. Therefore to use your breath capacity to its maximum, you have to breathe in such a way that you fill the lungs from the bottom upwards. So, some basic exercises:

Lie on the floor with you hands on your stomach. Relax. See what's moving. Try not to change anything at this point, just become aware of the way your breath makes your body move.
Stand in front of a full-length mirror and do the same again. What's moving? If you find your upper body is moving rather than your stomach or the centre of your body this means you have to seriously think about how you breathe for speech and singing until you get the hang of it.
Practise breathing from your diaphragm - your abdomen should move out as you breathe in, and in as you breathe out. Your rib cage shouldn't really move.

Part 4: Vocal Tract Relaxation

Once you've got the breathing sorted, you can have a go at this stuff. Your voice will be at its best if you are relaxed. So learn. No more stressing out. If you get nervous before gigs or recording you might find meditation helpful. If your throat feels tight or it's slightly painful to sing you're probably tensing up. Try some of this stuff:

Try stretching your neck GENTLY in every direction.
Open your mouth as wide as you can and stick your tongue out as far as you can and hold it for as long as is comfortable. You may look like an eejit but if you practise this several times each day you'll notice a difference (that Gene Simmons impression will come on leaps and bounds as well). This exercise relaxes the root of the tongue. The tongue is huge - much bigger than you imagine - and it's important to remember that it's entirely made up of muscle and nerve tissue, and so very prone to tension.
Pretend to chew and talk at the same time. This is good for relaxing the whole vocal tract. Really make a meal of it, with exaggerated movement and make lots of different sounds.
Stretch your tongue, pressing against different parts of your teeth and cheeks for as long as you can bear it. When you feel a twinge in the base of your skull you're doing it right!

One of the key things you can do to help your singing voice is to ensure everything is relaxed and to use your voice without forcing. A good way to warm up is to yawn and sigh noisily as this helps loosen everything up. Gradually get louder and make more noise, eventually singing something you were planning on singing, quietly, then up to your full volume, but as before, never forcing.

Regardless of the type of music you sing, the advice above is very valuable. Looking after your voice is a top priority - a guitarist can buy new strings, but if you knacker your voice, the best you can do is hope for mime to make a comeback.