Top Singing Tip: Posture Matters!
In a world overwhelmed by information, everyone is looking for that one singing tip to help them get a little higher range or produce a purer tone. Whether you’re a novice vocalist looking to improve and develop a budding voice or a seasoned vocalist striving to take your voice to a higher level, everyone is looking for that unique singing tip that will do wonders for your voice.
In that unrestrained search for “new” and “best,” it’s sometimes easy to overlook the basic, foundational singing tips that really work wonders for your voice. One of the most important aspects of singing is covered in a little singing tip that should never be overlooked.
That simple tip for singing is: Posture. Proper posture is one of the most essential singing tips because it affects so many aspects of the body. We can all remember high school students being incessantly reminded by a well-meaning teacher to “sit up straight,” or our mothers at the dinner table reminding us “not to slouch.” There is a lot of wisdom in those words, especially for a vocalist.
Posture has multiple effects on the body. Spinal alignment can affect the hip, shoulder, and neck joints, which in turn affects the stress placed on the muscles in those joints and how that stress affects the adjacent muscle and the joint it connects to …and well I think you get an idea of ​​how posture has a “domino effect” on the rest of the body. For a vocalist, it is this “domino effect” that can hinder or help improve voice quality.
The effect that proper posture can have on the voice is profound. Just think of the effect incorrect posture or “slouching” has on your body. When one slouches, the shoulders are pushed forward. The torso hunches forward causing the rib cage to compress the stomach and other digestive organs. For a vocalist, this compression limits the space needed for the full expansion of the diaphragm. The diaphragm is the muscle that allows the expansion of the lungs and provides adequate and necessary respiratory support. By practicing proper posture, one relieves tension in the shoulder and neck muscles, opens airflow through the trachea, and opens the abdomen so that the chest cavity can expand to provide adequate respiratory support. And using maximum breath support not only increases projection, it improves the quality of vocal tone.
This simple singing tip – improve your posture – can have a very profound effect on your voice and help even the most inexperienced person who wants to learn how to improve their singing. So how can you improve your posture? A very simple way to “check” your posture is to stand in the anatomical position. (This means you are standing flat-footed on a level surface with your arms at your sides and palms facing forward.) It is in this position that your body can feel as if it is properly aligned. However, when standing up on the balls of your feet, you may feel your back arch slightly and your shoulders roll back. It is in this position that your body is properly aligned and that will go a long way in improving the quality of your voice.
Proper posture is a key singing tip because it is essential to developing respiratory support and strengthening the muscles needed to improve your singing. It is a fundamental and essential singing tip to develop a professional quality voice. Even professional and celebrity vocalists recognize the need to hone basic skills like proper posture.