Most singers that come to me for vocal guidance have this recurring question - Is there really a method to how to make your voice strong?
At the beginning of my singing journey, I had a soft voice with a total range of only an octave and a third. I believed this was the voice that I was born with. I tried to practice belting and thought that working out my voice will make my singing stronger and bigger... but it had the opposite effect in the long run. My voice got tired and it took complete re-training to answer this question for me.
Today, because of the method, I can choose the quality of voice that I want to use - Strong, Soft, Belted, Breathy... or all of them sprinkled through the song.
I wasn't special - THE METHOD WAS !
There are 3 answers to how to make your voice strong....
1) What do you consider a strong voice ?
Should the voice be Unwavering? Should it be Loud? Should it be able to sing High? How would you describe the quality of this voice in addition to what it can "do"? Interestingly, many singers have had different ideas of what a strong voice sounds like.
2) The Voice Works Best Backwards
All the study I have done in the physiology of the voice points to one thing. We need to leave our voice to its own devices and ask for the vocal weight or vocal quality we want and allow for the mutation to happen on its own. This is the only sustainable way to develop variety and capability. The use of force to strengthen the voice might give you a louder sound for a short while, but force eventually leads to rupture.
3) Strong is a feeling induced in the mind of a listener.
Rather than thinking of a strong voice being only empirically loud, it's of utmost importance to recognize that evocative voices are called strong or powerful. A voice that is loud but not evocative is responded to with distaste - it seems like the singer is shouting at the audience. A voice that is evocative and has dynamic contrast, will have the opposite effect. People will feel "shaken", "Moved", Deeply impacted by such a performance.
OK SO HOW DO WE TRAIN THE VOICE TO MAKE IT STRONG THEN??
Since it's your listening ear that calls a sound strong, you must train it exclusively with the ear.
How does one do this?
Literally by recording oneself relentlessly.
Singers, please do not resort to pressure or muscular force in order to make your voice strong. Play with tone and see how an open, free tonality appears LOUD.... open tone sounds BIG.... Record yourself singing 'loose and loud' rather than 'pushed and loud' .... Use your ears to hear the difference. See the effect these recordings have on you as your own audience.
Let your ear be your teacher. Know what you are asking your voice to emit. and leave all the muscles free as you do this.
Please go crazy singing this week. Love you Vasundhara
For those looking to set up a career in music in India:
https://www.amazon.in/BIG-DREAMS-BOLD-CHOICES-professional-ebook/dp/B08FCJT842
Photo Credits : Ritz Designs , Ryan Snaadt & Vidar Nordli Mathisen
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