Free tips

Breathing

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The majority of beginning singers breathe high. Practise breathing in front of a mirror, making sure your shoulders don't rise, and your chest doesn't rise. Try breathing low around the navel (belly button area). Drop your stomach, rather than holding it in. Keep your back straight, and your hips swung down as you slowly release your air, drawing your naval gently in toward your spine. Keep your knees loose as well, so that you don't end up with a "sway" back. As you run out of air, allow your diaphragm (umbrella like muscle beneath the lungs) to rise again, so that you "grow" into the breath. This enables you to use all the air you have left. When you are finished, release your abdominals and diaphragm again, and start all over. A singer's breath is a complicated thing; you may have to read this paragraph again to understand the essence of it!

Additionally, relaxed breathing helps a great deal in piano playing, as it straightens the back and takes tension out of the shoulders and upper chest, facilitating free playing. 

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​Tongue

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Have you ever thought about much your tongue is involved in singing? The tongue is a huge muscle, and if it is too flat in the mouth, it crushes the larynx (voice box) and makes it impossible to direct the sound. Try placing a chopstick underneath your tongue and then singing a scale or broken chord on a vowel. The chopstick should stay under the tongue at all times, without your hand helping. You will find your tongue is forced into a more upright position. The sound may immediately change, becoming brighter and easier to produce. Important note: always supervise a young child when they are doing this.

Interestingly enough, a tense tongue can tighten neck muscles and upper shoulder muscles as well, making it difficult to play fast, brilliant passages on the piano. Students who have this trouble may be advised to place their tongue gently between their teeth while they are playing passages they struggle with.