Unlocking Vocal Powers: The Secrets To Master Your Voice

Gone are the days when Singaporean parents only wanted their child to be a doctor, lawyer or engineer. Nowadays, parents are far more supportive of their child’s artistic abilities – sending them to voice lessons or art classes and even being willing to move to an entirely different country to support their musical career as the next K-pop star.

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It is not too late for you or your child too! With the proper techniques, you can push your ability to become the next singing sensation in Singapore or the world! In this blog post, we will cover breathing techniques, the importance of vocal warmups, and how interpreting and expressing the emotional weight behind the story of a song could help you improve your singing and your chance to take centre stage.  

Proper Breathing Techniques  

You may have observed how professional singers fill an entire stadium with their voices. Aside from technology like speakers, there is a technique to achieve this effect. If your voice does not ‘travel far’ - you might be singing from your throat instead of your diaphragm!   ‍

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Vocal coaches recommend:  

“Putting your shoulders down and breathing from your tummy instead.”  

There are exercises you can try to check and see how it should look like, such as lying on the floor with a book on your stomach and making the book go up and down by breathing through your diaphragm.  

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“A voice cannot make sound without air.” So, by mastering breathing techniques, you control the air inhaled in and exhaled from your lungs and your voice. Ensuring you ace this technique is vital to producing that full sound you hear from professional singers.  

Vocal Warmups  

You might have seen the singers making weird sounds or lip trills before they begin singing - an example is The First Take, a YouTube channel that only records a performance once. And you guessed right – they are warming up their vocal cords!

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Warming up before singing is vital in ensuring your voice sounds good and “is kept healthy”, similar to why fitness experts recommend warming up the body before any sport like swimming or jogging. It is also a way to observe if your muscles “feel tired” and to pull back if they do to avoid injury to your voice.

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Some examples of warmups are lip trills and humming, which are excellent for releasing tension, and singing scales that enable you to explore your voice and improve your tuning.  

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Last but not least, warming up aids in stretching the vocal cords and relaxing your muscles as you prepare to sing in different tones and registers.  

Vocal Articulation & Body Posture  

Singers have gotten teased for not being able to enunciate their lyrics. While this is not as grave as singing off-key, it is still something to be aware of. So, how can you articulate the lyrics better? Practise vowel and consonant articulation during your warmups.  

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Add on tongue twisters as you practice scales, becoming mindful of each vowel and consonant sound as you pronounce them one by one, “singing them in different ways to get comfortable with them.”  

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Posture is just as important! As mentioned earlier, when you are singing, you should be breathing with your diaphragm – which is where your core muscles are. If you are in a strained position, such as resting your weight on your heels, your core muscles are not relaxed and feel strained as you try to sing from your diaphragm.  

Pitch Accuracy  

It is obvious when a singer’s pitch is inaccurate, even more so to those with a trained ear. When they are singing below the expected note, they sound flat. And when they sing higher, they sound sharp.  

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Most students who struggle with pitch accuracy are either relatively new to singing (e.g. a 25-year-old student who has never sung for 25 years until taking up lessons at 25) or have yet to train their ears. Thankfully, you can train up your ear and improve your pitch accuracy with the proper guidance and techniques.

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Try using a keyboard to check your pitch with solfège as a warmup. Sing along to your favourite songs, noting the melody and pitch variations.  

Song Interpretation and Expression  

With the recent popularity of anime thanks to streaming services in Singapore, Japanese songs are also on the rise, like Ai Higuichi’s “Akuma no Ko”, the ending song for the well-liked anime series Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin). Why is this song so popular among international fans even though most do not understand the Japanese language?  

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Spoiler alert - the show does not have a happy ending. Ai Higuichi flawlessly conveys the heartbreaking point of view of the series’ doomed protagonist with such emotion that it transcends the language barrier. Official channels on YouTube have since uploaded the song with translations, enabling fans to gain a deeper understanding of the meaning of the lyrics (and adding to their sadness).  

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Don’t worry if you’re not fluent in Japanese! There are many songs in the four languages of Singapore for you to practice as well. Study the song lyrics and try to understand the meaning and the intended emotion. Adding a ‘cry’ during a sad song adds depth and stirs emotions for the listener. It is a powerful skill to build on and will take you far in your musical journey.  

Bonus! – Enrol for Voice Lessons  

Aside from these five techniques (and other techniques not mentioned in this article), enrolling in voice lessons is another foolproof way to master your voice! Consider enrolling in voice lessons in Singapore at Aureus Academy. Focus on the techniques we have listed – proper breathing techniques, vocal warmups, vocal articulation and posture, pitch accuracy and song interpretation and expression, and work hand in hand with your teacher to take your singing to the next level!  

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Book a free trial lesson with us here and find the right teacher for YOU!

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