How to Strengthen Your Singing Voice the Right Way

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Last Updated: November 2022 | Article Details: 949 words (5 – 7 minute read)

In this post you’ll get some essential tips on how to strengthen your singing voice and vocal cords.

If you’re a singer or rapper it’s important that you have a strong voice so you can get the right tone when you’re recording and performing music whether it’s lead or in harmony.

One important note, though – when doing any exercises to make your voice better, don’t strain or go too far beyond your comfortable vocal range.

Using Warm Ups

The first thing you need to know is that before you sing (even if you’re just practicing), you should be warming up your voice. There are several vocal warm up exercises you can do that will help get your voice ready. It’s important!

Doing this helps “stretch” and loosen up your vocal cords. Think about it like exercise – it’s a REALLY good idea to warm up before you do any crazy running or heavy lifting.

The same applies to your voice. Here are some things to try (within your existing vocal range):

• Sirens: start with a low and gradually move to a high note without straining in a sliding sound – like a police siren that’s heading towards you.
• Lip Trills: loosen the lips by blowing air through your not-quite-fully closed lips so they start to vibrate
• Vowels: sing scales with vowel sounds using exaggerated mouth positions to stretch your mouth.

Remember, don’t go far beyond your current vocal range. The idea is to gradually exercise your voice without straining so it becomes strong over time. Here’s our full guide on increasing your vocal range, if you’re interested in learning more.

Live Like a Singer

In our complete guide on how to sing better we talk about the ideal singer lifestyle – because it truly is a lifestyle. You need to live in a way that takes care of your voice. And that includes a few things:

Hydration

Hydration is absolutely essential to a strong singing voice. If you’re dehydrated, your vocal cords are dry and can’t work to their fullest potential.

What’s worse, is it may even cause damage if you’re consistently dehydrated.

So, drink up. LOTS of water. And before you sing or practice any singing, make sure you’re lubed up.

Health

Vocal exercise isn’t the only type of exercise you need. We also think keeping your body in decent shape is important. Why? Mostly because of your ability to breathe.

In order to have a strong voice, you need good control over your breathing. The more in shape you are, the better your breathing is naturally.

As far as diet goes, that’s more about being able to sing. Eating a bunch of greasy food or a heavy meal before you decide to sing is not a good idea because it will really weigh down your ability to breath and vocalize effectively.

Beyond that, it’s probably not a good idea to smoke either…

Habits

One of the most effective ways to get a stronger singing voice is to make regular vocal exercise and practice a daily habit.

You’re not going to magically have a strong, bold voice overnight. It takes time. So make sure you’re using your time effectively.

Otherwise, it’ll be 6 months from now, and you’ll still have a weak voice.

Start practicing and doing vocal exercises regularly, if not daily – even if it’s just for half an hour.

Master Your Breath

This next tip is also one of the most important. It involves breath control.

I cannot overstate the importance of breathing when it comes to singing with a powerful voice. Singing is all about breathing right.

Both of our favorite online singing lessons have dedicated sections on breathing with some great exercises that help improve control of your breath.

If you can master that, you’re well on your way to a powerful and strong singing voice.

Do this:

• Find a place where you’re not distracted and start focusing on how you’re breathing
• Start taking long, slow breaths of air in and out and notice how it feels
• Put your hand on your chest and another on your stomach and breath in – your stomach hand should move more than your chest hand

There are a lot of great breathing exercises in programs like 30 Day Singer, so definitely try them out (there’s a free trial).

That’s really it, there’s not some magic secret that’ll help you belt those notes out like Whitney Houston.

You really just have to live right, exercise your voice regularly and learn to master your breathing.

If you do that, you’ll find it a lot easier to hit certain notes and control your volume/power. Especially if you are singing in falsetto.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Thanks for reading this guide on how to strengthen your voice. We hope it was helpful!

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