Are you happy with your singing? Are you interested in immediate improvement? If so, one of the very first things you should examine when trying to understand the cause of your vocal issues and assessing your areas of need is your posture for singing. How you hold yourself and your overall posture are integral to optimizing your singing mechanism and achieving better vocal performance.
Let's see how good your posture is:
Are your shoulders round and forward?
Do you have an increased curve in the upper and lower parts of your back?
Is your neck forward?
Three Reasons Why Posture For Singing Matters
1) Posture impacts breath management. In fact, bad posture can potentially compromise your singing. Let me explain. Breath is at the foundation of singing. If your breath is off, your singing will be off as well. When you breathe you need to fill up your lungs from the bottom up. That's impossible to do with poor posture. And it is certainly challenging to sing well if you have difficulty breathing. Instead, adequate posture allows the air to flow smoothly from your nose and mouth to your lungs in order to maximize their function. It then comes back out vibrating through your vocal cords to produce the most beautiful sound you have ever heard!
Remember that you may not always have the luxury of taking long breaths during a song, therefore, make it count by straightening yourself up so that the air fills up your lungs quickly and effectively. You will be able to take in more air at once by creating alignment around your neck and chest. Correct posture begins with a straight neck and larynx. With relaxation and space, the larynx is able to pull the vocal cords to pitch. The diaphragm is given a chance to engage and offer some support. That is how resonance is given access to all of its chambers.
2) Posture influences your ability to show off your skills. Posture contributes to beautiful singing but also helps you sing higher, lower, hold notes longer and more powerfully. Don't believe me? Try this: slouch on the couch and see if you can sing as high as when you stand up, straighten up your back and roll back your shoulders. How easy is it to belt or sing a run when your chest is collapsed?
3) Bad posture indicates low confidence. Since body talks, when your shoulders are in and you look down, what you express is that you don't feel confident. Your performance suffers a great deal and you then feel even less confident. Come on, you can fix this! Correcting your posture is the perfect place to start to improve your mindset and create the first impression you want to make on people. Stand tall. Make yourself important by taking space with your arms when moving to the music. Don't be afraid to act larger than life to give your self-esteem a boost.
Now that you understand why you should be mindful of your posture let's have a look at what this actually looks like.
Generally keep your chin parallel to the floor and look forward. It is understood that when performing, you may want to dance and express yourself creatively in ways that may slightly interfere with your posture. That's all right as long as this happens during songs that you are comfortable with. When tough notes come around however, take a moment to realign your instrument with a correct neck position.
Most singers stand when performing so it's best to stand when practicing. Always do so unless you are planning on sitting for your performance. You should then practice your song this way.
External elements that may affect your posture include whether or not you play an instrument. Check if how you hold you guitar stresses your shoulders or inhibits your breath. When resting your guitar on your laps what kind of seat do you sit on? A sofa has a soft cushion therefore you may have a tendency to slouch on it and that's bad news for your voice. Choose a harder chair and sit at the edge of it without over extending your spine. Do you hunch back and look down when playing the piano? Straighten up! Is your mic position at the right height? You should neither be looking up or down to it. Holding the mic in your hands gives you the freedom to move around and is in many ways easier to work with.
Syndromes of inadequate posture include headache, neck, hip and knee pain, sore shoulders, numbness in hands and legs, difficulty breathing to name a few. It transfers to singing in the form of tension, overall tightness, a dull tone or unwanted rasp, range inconsistencies, inability to reach high notes, unexpected and embarrassing vocal breaks, a sore throat, vocal fatigue, etc...
Is that you?
Let's recap. Maintaining a healthy posture is your first step in resolving those problems. Stand with your feet shoulder length apart for balance, roll your shoulders back, keep your chest open and look forward. You are off to a good start! Your vocal mechanism is now in position to engage properly and it sets the tone for correct vocal technique.
Correcting posture alone brings about subtle but immediate Improvement to singing. If you are interested in finding out what else is holding you back and want to see major vocal advancement then you need to seek expert guidance from an experienced singing teacher who can tell you exactly what you are doing wrong and how to correct it.
That's where I come in.
If you are open to setting the record straight and to finally mastering your voice, I am darn straight confident that I am the one who can BEST help you do it. Sing better fast. That is the outcome I get for my clients. Are you interested?
Let's get something straight.. ACTIONS yield RESULTS.
Stop procrastinating. Don't just stand there; do SOMETHING!
Stand up to the challenge and do yourself a favour. Set up your FREE consultation with me. Let's chat about your wants and needs, what are your dreams and how I can get you closer to living your bliss! Book now:
Stand tall,
Val
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