Vocal freedom – it’s what every singer wants for your self and for your art. A free voice can easily respond to the music, changes is emotion and point of view and dynamics. A performer with a voice that soars out to the audience through an open instrument is engaging to watch and a thrill to hear. But how to you achieve vocal freedom?

At Sing Like You Speak™ we believe in a logical step-by-step process for technique. Just a word about vocal technique. I’ve had many a student say after several months of lessons, ‘Now I get it. It’s the technique that gives me freedom.’ This is true.

Unfortunately, many singers shy away from technique because they think it will make them sound trained or unnatural. The Sing Like You Speak™ goal is to help you find your signature sound and absolutely not to be a clone of your teacher.

The first step in any vocal training always ought to be posture, or body alignment. The body is your instrument as a singer and it must be straight and strong to produce a clear and distinct sound – your signature sound.

Get aligned:
Ankels over heels
Hips over ankels
Allow the lower back to readjust and the torso to align itself
Shoulders on top of the rib cage
Head on top of the body, earlobes over the shoulders

Next step is a simple, opening inhale. Your inhale is not really about filling the lung with air. It’s much more about opening the airways where breath and sound flow through.

Opening Inhale:
Unhinge the jaw and let the mouth drop open
Widen the nasal passage (behind the nose and out to the cheekbones)
Soften your lowest abs and back muscles
Let the breath drop to the tailbone and pubic bone

The above steps can eventually be done simultaneously. If you can do just one, that’s great. The others will follow. Actually when you ‘let the breath drop to the tailbone and pubic bone’ you will also feel the space behind the nose open up. All 4 of these steps are interdependent.

Now to a step that will contribute greatly to your vocal freedom. Drop the jaw and keep the jaw muscles loose. Release the jaw. Unhinge the jaw and keep it unhinged as best you can. A loose jaw allows the voice to move freely through your instrument.

Take a moment now to check in with your jaw. Is it tight or relaxed? If it’s tight are you able to release the tension a bit? If you believe it’s relaxed see if you can find another way to release it a bit more.

Try this exercise:
Use good body alignment
As you open to inhale, drop the jaw – really release it so the mouth is open
Now puff breath out as you continue to release the jaw
Do the same process as above and add sound to the breath out – imitate a ghost howling – keep the jaw loose
Repeat the above and this time say ‘no, no, no, no, no’ as you exhale keeping the jaw loose
Now do the exact same thing saying ‘no, no, no, no, no’ on a 5 note scale exhale keeping the jaw loose

Practicing the above steps a bit each day will improve your vocal freedom. If you’d like to have a free video Singer Quick fix, email me, SingLikeYouSpeak@gmail.com and I’ll send you a like. My hope is for everyone to have vocal freedom!

About the author

Sally Morgan is a professional vocal trainer with over 30 years of experience. Sally is also the creator and author of SingLikeYouSpeak(TM)!

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