We, humans, are just marvelous, aren’t we?

When you really think about all the stuff we do (including the things we don’t have control over, like hearts beating) it really just blows my mind.

And the voice is no exception. To sing and sing healthy there’s some stuff going on.

To really appreciate it, you have to know a bit about how it works.

(and it works the same no matter our gender or age)

Today John Henny published a blog post, a primer for how the voice works.

I have studied voice pedagogy and some business building with John over the last few years and he knows his stuff.

So when he put out this post, How The Vocal Cords Work For Singing I just had to share it with you.

If you’ve ever thought:

It should be easy to sing because I use my voice every day.

or

Why is it so hard to sing smoothly and with control?

or

You have to be born with a great voice.

Well this article is for you because it proves that:

• just because we talk doesn’t mean the muscles that work to control the voice are trained to work together for singing.
• it’s hard to do only IF you haven’t been trained (but it’s not hard to be trained)
• and anyone can learn to be a better singer, (YES even children) with more in control and more power because it’s muscle coordination, strengthening, and control.

#sorrynotsorry

I respect and admire John (I’ve studied with him a bit over the last 5 years) and there’s one thing John shares here that I want to add my own spin on.

John mentions singing through a straw to warm up and while that can be helpful, there’s 3 problems with it.

1. You are puckering your lips around a straw which can create muscle memory that is not helpful for singing actual songs.
2. You have to have a straw which you may not have with you and can impact the environment.
3. You’re not able to fully move your tongue to create clean, clear vowels sounds we need to our audience can understand us.
(there’s more but 3 is enough for today)

The good news is at Confident Voice Studio we teach a technique to help you to get the back pressure you can get from a straw but you don’t ever need a straw and you can vary the degree of back pressure easily as you need to.

Wanna know more? Contact us today to learn how we can help you make your voice the best it can be.