How to Improve Your Singing Voice & Increase Range

Avoid screaming or belting to extend your vocal range.

Each individual singer must work with the natural ability they are born with. Extending your range requires following a series of techniques that gradually extend the vocal cords and increase the rate of vibration. The faster the vocal cords vibrate, the higher your pitch. Avoid resorting to alternative methods of increasing your voice, such as falsetto for men and the whistle register for women. These registers cut off the free vibration of the vocal cords and vibrate only the outside of the vocal cords, creating a thinner sound, but faster vibrations.

Things You'll Need

• Piano

Instructions

Breathing

1. Relax your body and search out any areas of tension in your body. Extend you head high as if it was pulled upwards by a string. Relax the throat and place your shoulders slightly back and relaxed.

2. Breathe in using your diaphragm. Fill your lungs with air and take in air with your sides and stomach. You should feel your entire diaphragm expand.

3. Sing by controlling the airflow from your diaphragm; avoid the tendency to belt and use a controlled even stream of air when singing. This will help improve your vocal range, since proper breath support must be maintained to sing high and vibrate the vocal cords effectively.

Fifth Exercise

1. Sing a pitch starting at a comfortable point in your range. For sopranos and altos start on middle C; tenors and baritones should start a fifth lower, and basses should start an octave below middle C.

2. Sing up a major fifth and then come back to the starting note. If you do not know how to play piano, middle C is the white key next to the set of two black keys nearest the center of the keyboard. Depress this key and match the pitch. Then count up to the right seven keys, including the black keys and match pitch with the key seven keys above C. Altos and baritones will start seven keys below middle C and basses will start on the C below middle C.

3. Fall back down to the original pitch. Take a breath and then move up one key to sing the same exercise again. Continue singing these exercises until you can no longer sing any higher without causing strain.

Tips & Warnings

• Look for a private vocal teacher to help you guide your voice in an appropriate and safe manner. Local music stores and college music departments can provide qualified references.

• Never sing higher than comfortable for you. Tearing your vocal cords or straining your voice can happen quite easily if you are not warmed up and try to go higher than is comfortable. Trust that, in time, you will gradually extend your vocal range.

References

• Cleveland Clinic Health System: Diaphragmatic Breathing