Unlike instrumentalists, a singer cannot replace, upgrade, or improve the physical components of voice. You, the singer, are the instrument. That means whatever is going on with your health will likely affect how you sing, be it fatigue, illness, or injury. The part we should be most concerned with is self-inflicted injury by misuse.

Correct vocal technique is many things, but first, allow me to say what it is not. It is not production, placement, or trying to sound like someone else. Rather, the goal is vocal freedom, which is to allow your voice to be all that it can be.

There are many misconceptions about singing and most of them will actually prevent you from singing correctly if not actually harming your instrument.

The challenge of teaching vocal pedagogy is that the actual process is gestalt. We can try to isolate correct breathing, an open (not tense) mouth, laryngeal function, appoggio, diaphragmatic and intercostal support, a singer’s posture, diction, legato, correctly navigating the passagio, onset, etc. But all these processes work in conjunction with each other.

While explaining correct vocal technique cannot in, and of itself, transform you into an accomplished singer, it can help you identify areas that you can work on to help improve your ability to sing correctly.

Our choir director, Dennis, correctly has been focusing on breathing because it is part of the foundation for good vocal technique. Another part is correct posture. Whether standing or sitting, appoggio must be maintained. Appoggio is a forward-leaning, almost off balance with a projected (raised chest). The image that I use is of a bird puffing up its chest as if filled with helium so that it never sags or deflates. While standing, you lean slightly forward with one foot more forward than the other so that you don’t fall. In addition, to avoid tension it takes practice and a concentrated effort to relax and let go everywhere except the diaphragm, intercostal muscles (side muscles that go around from you front and back near your waste), your pelvic floor (the muscles you use to pee), and holding a dime in your buttocks.

Singing loud doesn’t happen by pressure or tension. Rather, you learn to correctly allow your resonators to release the harmonic overtones. Advanced training can also enable singers to project over a full orchestra harnessing stronger resonance in the fourth formant. Involved in this is allowing your mouth to be as open as possible without tension. Think of the inside of your mouth like a cathedral. When you yawn you approach this open space. The trick is to always have that feeling of a yawn while you sing and never allow it to cave in even when you close your lips. Part of that space is vertical and involves your soft palate, which you can find by touching the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth. The soft palate can (and should) be raised. This can be achieved by imagining yourself expressing surprise. When raised properly, the soft palate actually becomes hard. Just remember that hard surfaces reflect sound while soft surfaces absorb. Any sound not reflected out of the mouth becomes absorbed and not heard. Resonance allows the sound to project and be perceived as louder. Yet, surprisingly enough, singing softly should also involve resonance.

The most difficult part in singing correctly is release, relaxation, and letting go. We think erroneously that the best way to sing is to maintain control by holding on to every process. That’s why we have trouble singing high notes, running out of breath, tiring vocally, and why some singers get nodules on their vocal cords, often requiring surgery and extended vocal rest.