Hi all. My name is Ken Taylor and I am a Vocal Coach and owner of Sing Studios in Memphis, TN. Today I’m taking the time to share some singing tips that will help each of you Sing Better Now! Some of these tips are more detailed and some are very basic, but I want to encourage each of you to take notice of each tip as I find that they are often helpful to both beginner and advanced students alike.

8 Ways to Sing Better Now –

1. Open your mouth when you’re singing! Singers who keep their mouths mostly closed are likely tense in the tongue and are far from achieving maximum quality of tone. I like the two finger rule. If you can fit two fingers between your teeth while singing (esp on open vowels like “ah” and “oh”), then you’re good. If not, open your mouth more.

2. Relax the tongue. After years of giving voice lessons, I’m convinced that 65% – 85% of all vocal problems involve tension in the tongue. Worst part is most people aren’t even aware of it. Look in a mirror while singing. If the tip of your tongue isn’t dominantly resting on your bottom front teeth then you’ve got problems. Relaxing the tongue more forward in the mouth will help.

3. Don’t take in too much air. If you breathe in too much air, then you create pressure under the folds that can easily hinder you ability to sing freely. It can prevent you from singing high notes and it almost always causes tension in your neck. To fix it, become aware of just how little is involved in regular breathing and try to mimic that sensation when singing.

4. Keep the larynx steady. If you don’t know what the larynx is, it’s where your adam’s apple is (or where it would be ladies). If this area of your neck is raising or lowering while singing, then you’re throwing off your whole vocal mechanism leading to many different complications. Rest your hand on your larynx while singing and make sure it stays steady.

5. Open and relax the back of the mouth. This is equally as important as allowing the front of the mouth to be open, if not more. If the back of the mouth is closed off, then the quality of the sound is shot (and I guarantee you’re tense). To get a feel for it, hold the “ng” sound of hung and feel how closed that is. Now say “ah” like you’re in a doctor’s office… that’s more open. Leaving the back of the mouth open like the “ah” sound can help create a beautiful resonance in the voice.

6. Sing with ENERGY. I can’t express this enough. Singing is a very physical activity. You must be energized and excited about what you’re doing or else it lacks passion (and it’s flat!). Singing with energy helps you hit higher notes and helps keep the sound out of the throat. Allow yourself to get excited before singing… do some jumping jacks or walk around a bit before getting started and realize just how much it helps.

7. Believe what you’re singing. I once read a quote that has stuck with me for years. It was something along the lines of, “that which comes closest to expressing the inexpressible is music.” Music is a form of expression. It’s alive and has a great ability to influence listeners. But that’s only true when you believe what you’re singing. Try to connect to the song through some personal life experience and see how alive the music you’re singing becomes.

8. Get out of your own way. Singing should feel like speaking. There should be no pressing, tension, straining, reaching, or grabbing when vocally active. These sensations usually happen when we try to force the sound out of us. If you’re not able to sing something, try to bring it back to speech first. You’d be surprised how easy that high “C” can be when you speak it.

It’s important to mention that focusing on all of these tips at once isn’t going to be overly effective because our brains can only process so much at a time. Therefore, I suggest practicing one of these tips for a few days, then move on to another. What we do when we sing is largely based on habit, so be sure to practice consistently.

Also, as always, if you’re looking for vocal instruction and you’re in the Memphis area, feel free to give me a call at 751-SING or visit my website at SingStudiosMemphis.com.

Thanks for visiting and happy singing!