A lot of singers come in with the same question. “How can I sing better?” This post is all about how you can sing better with better posture.
All singers should keep these three things in mind. We included some helpful exercises to help you better understand our suggestions. For more in-depth and personalized help, book a trial lesson today with one of our experienced teachers. You can sing better and Martucci Music can help!
Better Singing Means Unlocking Your Knees
Better posture for better singing starts from the ground up and we like to focus on the knees. Unlocking your knees means you are not placing your weight in the wrong area and causing unneeded tension. As singers, your weight should be firmly on the floor. We recommend checking in periodically while you are practicing because we tend to shift our weight as we sing. Ask yourself:
- Am I standing solid on the ground?
Here’s an experiment for you to try. Stand as though you’re getting ready to sing a phrase. If somebody were to suddenly walk by & give you a hard poke would you become imbalanced? If the answer is “yes”, then you are not standing firmly on the ground. That means you need to adjust where you are placing your weight. Unlock your knees and you will immediately feel a shift in weight. Now try balancing your weight between the heel and toes of your feet and you will feel more relaxed and less tense which is ideal for better singing! Make sure you are keeping this balanced stance while you are singing and notice how much more free your body is. This small shift creates better singing with better posture.
Move Your Hips For Better Singing
Believe us (or Shakira) when we say that hips don’t lie. You should be able to move your hips with ease while you are singing. Relaxed hips indicate that there is no unwanted tension in the spine, pelvis, quads, and the upper body as well. Tension in any of those areas results in tense singing and restricted air flow (check out our post all about breathe!) Yes, it really is all connected! For shake-able hips and better, freer singing, here’s how to check in with yourself:
- Could I “hula hoop” while singing?
Try it! If you find that you’re unable to maintain this imaginary hula hoop throughout a song, chances are you are tensing in parts of the song that throw off the rest of your posture. Better singing is all about releasing and letting go. Try singing through parts of the song and incorporate this hula hoop exercise. Notice when your hula hooping starts to stiffen and you’re fighting to stay swaying. You’ve found where tension occurs! Because of this awareness, you will now be able to address your tension where it is happening. Which means…yup…better singing!
Watch Your Head
Head placement is extremely important for better singing. Nowadays we all suffer from “text neck” which is a phenomenon resulting from craning our neck to stare into our smartphones. However, head placement can go awry several ways. There is what we call “turtle neck”. This is when the head is jutting out, usually led by the chin. Then there’s what we call “falling neck”, where your head seems to be readying itself to fall backwards. For better singing with better posture, you want your head to be in line with your neck & shoulders. Here’s that magic question to ask yourself.
- What direction is my head going in?
Identifying what type of head placement you have is key! That way you know what direction you have to work in. Once you know have figured out whether you’re more of a “turtle” or more of a “falling over” posture, start by rolling your shoulders. Let your shoulder relax and then gently do some head rolls. The key to head rolls is leading from the chin. Let your chin lead the way as you do a slow shaking of the head, then a slow nodding of the head. Your relaxed upper body is now ready for proper head placement.
Fix Your Head
Take whichever hand you prefer. You will form an “L” shape with your thumb and pointer fingers. Your thumb will gently press into your shoulder. Your pointer finger will then naturally point up to the back of your ears. You want your thumb and pointer fingers to parallel to each other; adjust your head accordingly to line them up. You will feel if your head is strained over your pointer finger or seemingly falling backward over your pointer finger. Correct head placement is important for better singing because the voice box is left free & unconstrained by any unnecessary tension caused by poor neck and head placement. The spine is aligned. The jaw has room to relax and unhinge.
Better Singing, Here We Come!
Remember, better singing comes from improved body connection. As a result of addressing your knees, hips and head placement your singing will immediately improve for the better. Of course, better posture for singing means better posture in your everyday life and we all know how important that is. You can sing better and live better!
See you at your next lesson!