There is a wrong perception in singing technique, one of which is “a technique reaching high tone and low tone”. Getting this technique of course not easy, its as hard as playing US Poker without budget to spent.

Ever noticed people sing when he or she tried to shoot a high note? People tend to do when he wants to aim high note is tilted his head as if the tone was in over his head, in fact rarely up to his neck veins become visible.

Although many people use these techniques, but frankly this technique is not appropriate. Why? Due to the tilted head, we are interested in vocal cords and widened so that the high tone becomes more difficult to achieve; if they could, the resulting sound was rough and the vocal cords become easily tired.

The tips are when we want to reach the high notes, try the vocal cords are not interested and widen, but instead keep your head just a little (but do not get stuck because of your vocal cords are too subjective), then shoot the tone with power.
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Social singing is the act of singing in an informal setting with others. It can be one person performing karaoke at a local bar or it can be a large group of people singing the national anthem at a ball game. In either case, singing can be a very enjoyable pastime.
Social Singing is a creative outlet that allows us to join together with others and engage in camaraderie with our fellow peers. It can relieve tension from a hard day and remind us that we are part of a harmonious group. more
Harmony
Harmony is the key to social singing. I believe it is this harmony that we find while engaging in social singing that is the strong draw for many people to engage in the act of social singing. Through harmonious singing we can all join together regardless of age, sex, religion, nationality, or preferences. The pure joy of social singing is universal.
In this time where we find ourselves becoming more and more alienated from our fellow man, it is the joy and fulfillment that we find in creating a bond with others through the act of social singing that is so appealing.
Where can you join in social singing?
Finding social singing opportunities are not hard to find. Just look around, the opportunities are everywhere that are both formal and informal in nature. There are community choruses, church choirs, barbershop singing groups and musical theatre groups. For informal social singing, there are karaoke nights, ball games, private parties, and of course, birthday parties.
Not sure if you’re ready to sing in public?
Although we all have the necessary equipment for social singing, some people are more comfortable singing that others. Sometimes it has to do with your background. Were you exposed to music as a child and did you engage in social singing in your younger years? If you do not feel comfortable, there are tools to help you gain confidence in social singing. There are books, software, and private lessons available to assist you in gaining confidence in social singing.
Whatever you choose, I strongly recommend that you engage in social singing. It is great fun and a good way to socialize with others. They do call it ’social’ singing for a reason.

Women of my generation are at an interesting and challenging point in our evolution. We find ourselves in a phase of our lives historically referred to as “middle-aged.” Yet for many of us our brains, attitudes and mental energies feel much too young for this distinction. We don’t care too much what society has to say about middle-age, because it doesn’t feel like it applies to us. However, we DO care about making sure our bodies feel as energetic and young as our minds, since we plan to continue to grown, learn and experience life for several more decades.
For myself, I want to follow in the footsteps of my voice teacher – master coach Lois Hartzell – who led a full and interesting career as a singer then turned to teaching, writing, producing and directing until she was 92 years old. She was definitely never a ‘normal’ woman of her generation. She never married, never drove a car, and never took on the burden of running household and managing children – definitely things that can wear a woman down over time. Instead, she lived her passion to sing and perform and finally to teach. Yet although she lived a singular life, there are many things to be learned from the manner in which she lived her life. more
Over the many years that I studied with Lois, one of the critical lessons she taught me was the health benefits of “real singing.” I’ve added the emphasis because real singing is not singing in the shower or in the car. Real Singing is the art of singing developed and used by professionals over the last two centuries – and available to anyone who has a passion for music and for expressing themselves through song. Now, as I find myself “of a certain age,” I look back on her life and realize that real singing offers real health benefits to help us – me and my sister boomers – age well.
Here are the 10 health and anti-aging benefits from learning to sing:
Breathing/circulation
Singing, like nothing else, requires opening your throat and lungs and breathing deeply. Breathing for singing goes beyond taking a simple breath. Singers learn to drop their stomach muscles, expand the muscles around their ribs and fill their lungs to capacity. Then they vigorously hold the breath in as they sing because holding these muscles in tension helps to sing longer and higher. The physical act of holding your breath while you sing causes more oxygen to be absorbed into your blood cells to energize the body and increase circulation. Increased blood circulation, of course, brings nutrients to your cells and removes waste byproducts. And I can attest to feeling more energized and light on my feet after a good healthy singing session!
Recover from colds more quickly
Here’s another benefit – you can recover from colds more quickly. Many people think they can’t sing with a cold, But in fact you can. The problematic phase of a cold is when the mucus settles down onto your vocal chords and keeps you from being able to bring the chords together strongly – something that is required for singing a strong tone. If you continue to sing through the head cold phase of your illness, the vibration of singing helps prevent mucus build-up on your chords. And singing helps the body recover faster. Increased blood circulation helps your body fight off the virus more quickly! So really the cure for the common cold seems to be – sing!
Gently strengthens muscles – legs/torso/back/face
Nothing beats singing for a subtle total body work out. Correct singing requires a balance of tensions in the body including the muscles in your legs, bottoms, ribs, back, and even the muscles around your lips and jaws. Your core is strengthened through the gentle, non-jarring holding tension we use to sing and adds to overall health of the body without jeopardizing the joints because there is no aerobic activity.
Brain activity from learning new things
Learning music sets up new pathways in the brain that keeps the brain alert, active and utilized. Creative musical learning also requires activity on both sides of the brain. Your left brain reads the music, keeps track of the tempo and dynamic markings while your right brain enjoys the intuitive and creative process of interpreting the printed page in a musical way. Thus your mind is really engaged in a healthy holistic fashion.
Improves memory
I always recommend memorizing your song, because only when we have learned the song completely can we really work on the finer details of shaping the musical phrases and exploring the poetic meaning of the lyrics. The practice of putting music and words to memory stimulates the pathways in your brain that use memory – making them more accessible in your daily life. I see this as a huge benefit as we seem to be in an age where memory is harder to hold on to because we are over stimulated by technology.
Focuses and quiets your mind
Another benefit to both the mind and the body is a reduction of stress. If you approach singing by setting aside time to practice each day, it has a meditational aspect. Singing is a single-minded, focused activity and needs to be done in a private environment where you spend time looking at your music, thinking about singing, and creating sound. No cell phones, no computers, no electronic devices to distract you or raise your blood pressure! The body and mind is focused on a single activity without distraction and interruption and engaged in a pursuit that gives you joy. The body is flooded with oxygen and the mind is quiet. Yes – I think you can reach a state of bliss from singing!
Emotional release
There is nothing like music to reach you on an emotional level. The emotions can be joy, regret, fear, excitement, love, anger, and more. Singing is very cathartic and helps you connect with emotions from experiences you may have buried or forgotten, or help you relate to an emotion from someone else’s experience. In any case, music gives you an emotional release and is also a gift to others because it provides the same for those who listen to your songs.
Positive activity – lifts depression
Regardless of whether you sing a happy or sad song, the act of singing is positive because it is proactive and if pursued long enough, offers satisfying personal growth. When you endeavor to acquire a skill and put the time and effort into achieving that goal, you gain the self confidence and personal gratification from your accomplishment. Regardless of struggles in other areas of your life, you have something very positive to refer back to.
Gets you out of the house
Here is a benefit that might not be apparent at first. We aren’t usually drawn to singing because we want to get out of the house, but singing is very often a community experience. We sing in choirs, bands, on stage, with our family and friends, in karaoke bars, in religious ceremonies. When you learn to sing it may propel you into some kind of performing, either in a group or as a soloist. In any case, singing will connect you to others and help you avoid feeling isolated and lonely.
Avenue for new relationships
If you do find yourself joining some type of group for community singing, then new opportunities for friendships open up. Friendship and community, especially as you get older, is critical for staying healthy and having a healthy attitude towards your life. Regardless of other stresses, aches and pains or challenges in your life, all of these are better handled when you feel supported by your community.
Now you see why everyone in the world should be inspired to study singing! On top of these health benefits, women who have reached “that certain age” will be shocked and delighted to discover that due to hormonal and chemical changes in your body, you are more prone to having a voluptuous, dark, and warm tone – rich in expression and depth! And I must also add that life experience and wisdom make learning to sing in your middle years more satisfying. You have more patience than your younger sisters and understand that learning a new skill is a process which takes time and persistence. Yet once gained it is very enjoyable and satisfying.
Finally, some say that the harmonic vibrations of singing and music have anti-aging benefits. While I can’t site any scientific evidence to back this belief I did see through my teacher, Lois, who always looked and acted about 20 years younger than her real age, that singing and living your passion can have a real impact on how you age. I intend to follow her footsteps by singing, teaching and living my passion to help me age well and have a full and adventurous life in the process. I hope you will too.
If you love to sing I encourage you to seek out a qualified teacher and join a group of other women to sing with. For your health and your pleasure!

While we may call it the ‘First Secret,’ it is not really a secret, just something that not too many people can pinpoint. The ‘First Secret’ to singing is the control of breath. When you have control of your breath that means you have control over the muscles of your diaphragm, larynx, and vocal chords. This; however, can take years to master. Even Madonna, who is now in her thirtieth-odd year of singing, knows the importance of breathing and muscle control. She undergoes intense vocal exercise, along with strenuous physical exercise on a daily basis. Not only does this keep her in great shape, but also it allows her to control her voice and her breath. Through exercise, she has found that her breathing and vocal range can be extended to last an entire concert or recording session. more
Now, you don’t need to go out and run ten miles a day (which is about the distance that Madonna covers!), but it is necessary for you to gain control over your breathing, and that requires control over your muscles. Through breathing exercises and practice, you will be able to hone your skills so that you will eventually be able to control and pinpoint all the muscles that you are using while you sing.
Breathing Exercise:
As yoga has become more popular across the world, the breathing techniques that go along with it have gained popularity as well. The breathing exercises found in yoga are very beneficial to the singer because yoga teaches breath through concentration and control. This is very such the same way you have to treat your breathing when you are learning how to sing.
Try the following: Take a deep breath and hold it for two seconds.
You probably noticed that your shoulders raised, your chest cavity expanded and you felt the air in the upper part of your stomach. If you didn’t, try it again.
With most people who are not trained in the art of breathing, this above scenario is the case. When you are learning how to sing, you are going to have to learn to both hold your breath and relax at the same time.
Now, try this: Breathe in slowly, but this time, as you inhale, expand not your chest, but your abdomen. Push your stomach out slowly. Feel how your shoulders and upper chest are relaxed. This is important. You now understand the first step of breathing – that it can be controlled and how you breathe is what is important when it comes to making all the parts of your voice work in harmony.
The important point here is that you now have noticed the two basic places where inhalation occurs and where breath is stored. In order to start singing properly, you are going to have to combine the two methods. This time, inhale about 70% and hold the air in your upper cavity, but this time, try to relax your shoulders and keep your diaphragm taught. This is the ’space’ where you air will be stored so that you will have control over the air that is emitted when you want to release your voice.
We will work on this further in the next lesson, entitled “The Art of Breathing, Expanded”. Try to go through the next couple of days and pay special attention to how you breathe. Practice relaxing your upper thorax while holding your breath for a few seconds. If you have trouble, ask a buddy or even a yoga instructor about how you can breathe, hold, and relax completely.
The Art of Breathing
If you haven’t done so, you should review the last lesson. We talked about control of breath and how one begins to inhale before you even begin to emit a sound. This is the very first step on the staircase of breathing and it is quite important to remember.
Also, we discussed how some singers are naturally gifted with an amazing singing voice even though they have never had singling lessons, or paid special attention to their own methodology. This course is for those who might have a good singing voice and want to expand their knowledge of exactly what it is they are doing well and what they might not be doing so well. For those of you interested in the art of singing and want to learn the basics to be able to practice on your own, follow these next few simple lessons designed for the layman.
Back to the art of breathing. Remember in the last lesson how we discussed knowing how to breathe in order to control your breathing? Well, it’s true. We saw that you can consciously choose where you want your breath to go, your lower abdomen or your upper chest cavity. We also discussed the importance of relaxing your upper body while still holding your breath. Here is where you will have the most control over your muscles, which in turn controls the release of your breath and your voice.
Breath Expanded:
Now that you know how to control where your breath is going, you will have to continue doing these exercises for a while until it becomes second nature. Remember to breathe in, hold for two seconds, and make sure your shoulders are relaxed and your diaphragm (lower abdomen) is relaxed, but taught. Fill your lungs with air and allow your ribs to expand. Do you feel the air press against them? Now push the air against your ribs, the same way you did in lesson one where your abdomen pushed outward. Don’t worry about pushing out with all the pressure that you can. That is not the point. The point is to control your breath where it is stored.
Practice this one or two times. You might even want to sit down; you may get light-headed if you are not used to controlling your breathing this much. If you do sit, be sure to keep a straight back and keep your abdomen as straight as possible. Do not slouch or bend over, and keep your legs comfortably below you with your feet flat on the ground, knees bent.
Next, you want to be sure not to allow any air to escape through your nose. We will talk about nasal breathing later on. There is a little trick to help you keep the air from escaping your nasal cavity. If you slightly raise your chin in the air and gently press your tongue against your palate, you’ll feel the pressure from your chest. Remember to keep your diaphragm taught, but not stiff. Practice this a few times until you are 100% sure that you have felt each area; the pressure and sensation that the breath you inhale can have.
Having control over your breath and your breathing is not just important, but crucial. It is the basis of singing and the primary step used by those with well-trained voices. Once you are able to feel where the air is going and how you can control it, only then will you be able to move successfully forward to the next step, which is that of breath division, larynx control, and vocal chord sensation.

In classifying a voice, it is essential to consider particularly
1. The range.
2. The timbre (quality).
3. Vocal temperament.
In determining the range, care must be taken to keep it within easy limits ; in other words, consider only so much of the scale as is taken naturally, without straining. In cases where the voice has not been forced out of natural shape, this is a comparatively simple matter. more
A cut glass cup, under the friction of the fingers, will give out tone, yet by rubbing it very hard the sound ceases altogether, from which we conclude that the strongest sound obtainable is due to just sufficient friction to secure ample vibration of the crystal, without preventing the freedom of vibration. It is necessary, then, that the crystal vibrate freely under the friction. That liberty of vibration of its tonal walls is the essential condition to the production of maximum and most beautiful tone (Bonnier) .
This is a point having distinct application to vocal study.
The Range is the quantity of notes the voice can reach comfortably and musically. From low to high the tones increase in rapidity of vibration. The more rapid the rate of vibration, the higher the pitch. The rapid vibrations beyond certain limits give out no sound susceptible to human ears. The number of vibrations in musical sounds ranges from forty to four thou-sand a second.
Blaserna gives the following limits of vibration in a human voice :
Normal Exceptional
Bass C — 82 D 293 B (Contra) 61 — F 348
Baritone F — 87 F# 370 D 73—G 392
Tenor B — 109 A 435 G 98—C# 544
Contralto E — 164 F 696 C 110 — A 870
M. Sopr. F — 174 A 870 E 164—B 876
Soprano A— 218C 1044 G 196—E 1305
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The Timbre or Quality.–The variation in the timbre of two voices, of the same range may necessitate classifying them differently.
What Is “Timbre?” Musical sounds are not simple, but compound each note consists of a fundamental set of vibrations which determine the pitch, and of a number of superadded vibrations which indicate the “timbre” or “quality” (Helmholtz).
Take, for example, different instruments Fundamental “A” is the same on all of them, but the superadded sounds are different and those are the ones that give timbre or quality to the tone.
The timbre of a voice, being part of one’s organic constitution, cannot be changed.
This does not mean that a harsh, hard voice, made so by faulty method, may not be greatly improved in tonal effects by careful analysis and teaching. But as the timbre and quality of a voice is at bottom a part of the individual’s natural make-up, it is obvious that no other can be substituted, however much it may be attempted or desired. But the best that is in a voice can be secured, with the result that one at times. is tempted to believe that nature’s gifts really have been improved upon. The real fact of the matter is, of course, that the faulty conditions which have hitherto prevented proper results are removed, and the natural beauties of the voice shine forth. Timbre, like the individuality of which it is but a part, may be distorted and suppressed. By proper methods it may also be restored and expressed.
Vocal Temperament. Not of the least importance in the classification of the voice is “vocal temperament.”
Just as there are no two living persons possessing exactly the same character, there are no two singers of like musical or vocal temperament. One singer will grasp mentally and vocally with ease what may be extremely difficult for another. Such combinations constitute what, for want of a better description, may be called “vocal temperament.”
As an illustration of what happens when vocal temperament is disregarded, imagine “La Donna e mobile” sung an octave lower by a heavy bass, or a heavy mezzo-soprano aria from “Samson and Delilah” sung by a light soprano.
The general character of a person is a tremendous factor in his or her vocal temperament, all of which also indicates what a complex thing is individuality in singing, and how impossible and fatal it is to endeavor to develop any two voices by exactly the same processes.
Proceeding from low to high, the voices are classified as follows:
MALE VOICES
Basses, divided into three classes :
Profondo (deep, noble, contra), in which the greatest sonority obtains in the low range.
Cantante (bass-baritone) , showing better sonority in the high range.
Buffo, usually a poor voice, suitable for comedy only.
Baritones, divided into two classes:
Dramatic (very similar to basso cantante). Lyric, or Verdi’s type.
Tenors, divided into three classes:
Dramatic, or very strong.
Semi-dramatic (Lirico spinto).
Lyric, or light.
FEMALE VOICES
Contralto, having a marked baritonal character. (None of this extreme type is on the stage at present.)
Alto or Mezzo-Soprano, the link between contralto and soprano voices.
Dramatic Soprano, one who indicates the greatest sonority and strength in the high range.
Lyric Soprano, lacking the strength of a dramatic voice. (This voice could be called the product of modern music.)
Coloratura Soprano, a virtuoso voice. (This should be placed in a class by itself.)