Singing

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Singing

Singing is the production of musical tones by the human voice with or without words. Singing is a natural form of expression found in cultures and societies throughout the world.

Singing may be accompanied by instrumental music, or it may be a cappella (without instrumental accompa­niment). This article discusses how people sing, the major voice classifications, and voice training for the in­dividual singer. For information on group singing, see Classical music (Choral music).

How people sing. Singing is produced in the same general way that a musical wind instrument creates sound—by causing a column of air to vibrate. A person sings by drawing air into the lungs and exhaling it past the vocal cords. The vocal cords are two folds of tissue that stretch across the larynx (voice box) in the throat.

The movement of the air against the vocal cords and the surface of the throat and mouth causes vibrations that create the sound of the voice.

Because the vocal cords are elastic, the pitch of tones produced when the cords vibrate may be varied, de­pending on the degree of tension. The more tightly the vocal cords are stretched, the higher the pitch. The more relaxed the vocal cords, the lower the pitch. A man's vocal cords tend to be longer, wider, and thicker than those of a woman. As a result, a man's voice tends to be an octave or more lower than a woman's voice.

Voice classification. Both men's and women's voices fall into three general categories of pitch—high, middle, and low. Within these categories, voices are classified into six basic types. From highest to lowest in pitch, they are soprano, mezzo-soprano, and contralto for women; and tenor, baritone, and bass for men. Most voices be­long in the mezzo-soprano and baritone categories.

Training the voice. Singing is a natural function and it requires no training to perform simple music. But seri­ous singing makes special demands on the voice. There­fore, a singer requires special training to perform opera and other difficult music. Singers study and train to de­velop and improve four basic singing skills: (1) breath control, (2) a broad range, (31 smoothness throughout the range, and (4) good resonance.

Breath control allows a singer to perform long musi­cal phrases in a single breath. The singer learns to breathe freely and naturally, filling the lungs from the bottom upward and expanding the chest cavity so that the lungs take in the maximum amount of air. The singer must learn how to release the air with evenly controlled pressure. The actions of muscles in the abdomen and chest cavities help the singer to achieve this goal.

A broad range allows a singer to correctly produce a wide span of notes from low to high. The singer's range determines his or her voice category. Training helps singers to produce the easy mid-range tones comfort­ably, and also the highest and lowest tones of which they are capable. Most untrained people can sing over a range of about 1 ½ octaves or less. But trained singers usually have a range of about two octaves.

Smoothness throughout the range means that a singer produces no audible breaks in the voice when moving from one tone to another. Some experts believe the voice is composed of either two or three registers (groups of tones within the range). They believe that the untrained singer whose voice breaks is moving from one register to another at the moment of the break. However, other experts believe that the entire range is composed of only one register, and that breaks result from other causes. All agree that the singer should be able to sing smoothly throughout the range, with no abrupt changes in the quality of the tone.

Good resonance strengthens and beautifies the tone. Resonance takes place as the tone vibrates in the cavi­ties of the throat, mouth, chest, and face. Resonance oc­curs naturally and cannot be directly controlled by the singer. However, to allow this action to take place, the singer learns to open the throat by relaxing the throat muscles. The singer also learns how to relax the jaw and lips and where to properly place the tongue.

Other singing skills. Singers should learn to read music notation (the signs and symbols) and understand music terms. For example, where the term messa di voce appears, the voice must increase the volume grad­ually from pianissimo (very soft) to fortissimo (very loud), and then back again. Singers also learn how to sing trills, which are quick alternations of two adjacent musi­cal tones, and how to control vibrato, a vibrating sound made up of slight, rapid changes in pitch. Clear diction (speech) is important so the lyrics can be understood.

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Top 10 Tips for Singing Better

Singing is something that almost everyone has the potential for, but that not a lot of people have been taught how to do. Some people want to sing to improve the sound of their garage band, impress friends, and even make it big. Whatever your reason may be, let’s take a look at the top 10 ways to become a better singer.

10. Breath - First and foremost, make sure that you are breathing. And when we say “breathe” we mean “breathe properly”. When you inhale, push your stomach outwards. At this point, you should feel your diaphragm rise. For those who don’t know, a diaphragm is the muscle that is located just above your stomach. This will allow you to take in more air and this extra air is what will allow you to hold pitch and sing more smoothly.

 9. Open the Throat - Aside from breathing, try to be conscious about pushing your throat outward. Now this may sound like an odd concept so let’s talk about what this means. Basically, try to push your throat as far outward as you can while singing. This will allow your vocal cords to expand and will allow for much more sustainability with your notes.

 8. Stand Up - There are few singers who can sound amazing when they are sitting down. The reason why there aren’t many singers who can do this is because sitting down tends to restrict your airway and prevent you from singing as smoothly as you want. While there is certainly nothing wrong with sitting down and practicing your singing, you should try doing it while standing up to achieve optimal results.

 7. Shoulders Back - Whenever you push your shoulders back by a small amount, you can literally feel your chest cavity start to open up. A lot of professional singers and instructors recommend this as it will allow you to breathe much more easily as well as take quicker breathes while singing.

 6. Open Your Mouth – This is a simple tip that not a lot of people think about. Basically, keep your mouth open. And make sure that you keep it open wide enough so that when you sing, you receive a better tone and overall sound. Opening your mouth while you sing will ultimately allow you to increase volume as well as have better pronunciation while singing.

5. Use Your Tongue - The best singers in the world know how to use their tongue and if you want to reach their level, you should start learning how to do the same. Basically, to really become good at using your tongue, practice saying this out loud: “la, le, lo, lu”. Repeat it over and over and continue to do so until you can quickly and effectively make it through the entire thing without messing up or stopping. This can be a really effective exercise that you can use to increase your singing capabilities.

 4. Forget the “R’s” - This is a tip that is designed to help you eliminate that nasal sound that a lot of singers have when they aren’t too experienced. All that it means is that you should leave off the “r” at the end of all words that you are singing and replace them with an “ah” sound instead. This will result in a much smoother overall sound when you sing.

 3. Find Your Key - Another simple tip that you can apply is this: locate your key. More specifically, locate your key and then try to find songs that match it. If you try to sing a song that is either too low or too high for your voice, you’ll sound off. The best singers in the world sound the way they do because they stick to their strengths and don’t venture too far out past their normal ton.

 2. Relax - This is probably one of the most important tips that you can take from this article. To put simply, you need to relax when you are singing. If you’ve ever watched American Idol or any other singing talent show then you know that a lot of contestants get eliminated or sent home because they are nervous. Nerves can play a huge role in your overall sound as a singer. When your body is relaxed, you’re able to breathe easier as well as sustain a nice, solid tone.

1. Find Your Volume - We all have a normal volume at which we speak on a regular basis. Some of us speak rather loudly while others of us speak rather low. There is nothing wrong with having either attribute and as a singer, all that you need to do is located a volume that works best for you. Whenever you do this, you will be singing at a level that is comfortable for your body. Singing at the right level will prevent your voice from straining and should allow you to sound a lot better.