Pick’s Thoughts and Tips!!

Vocal Tips

Here are some "Do's" and "Do not's" for vocal health...

  • Don't smoke.
  • Don't do drugs.
  • Keep alcohol consumption to a healthy level.
  • Get plenty of rest.
  • Avoid shouting and whispering. Always speak at normal levels.
  • If it hurts, STOP!!! The "no guts, no glory" mentality should not apply to singers' throats.
  • Cough drops with menthol simply dulls the pain. Look for cough drops that contain natural ingredients that heal. My recommendation is Ricola.
  • Be careful of sodas. The caramel coloring in dark sodas is awful for singers.
  • Hydrate properly. If you MUST drink coffee, soda, or milk before singing, drink at LEAST three glasses of REGULAR water. This will (hopefully) flush all of that stuff out of your throat.
  • Sore throat? Hot tea with honey and/or lemon is a great fit!

Vocal Technique

Much of the information on Bel Canto is from

I subscribe to the school of Bel Canto. Bel Canto is an Italian term literally meaning, “beautiful singing”. There are several aspects that are used in Bel Canto singing:

  • An impeccable legato production throughout the singer's (seamless) range.
  • The use of a light tone in the higher registers.
  • An agile, flexible technique capable of dispatching ornate embellishments.
  • The ability to execute fast, accurate divisions.
  • The avoidance of aspirates and eschewing a loose vibrato.
  • A pleasing, well-focused timbre.
  • A clean attack.
  • Limpid diction.
  • Graceful phrasing rooted in a complete mastery of breath control.

There are generally three stages of Bel Canto technique:

  1. The "lift of the throat”.
  2. The "mask of the face".
  3. The "inhalation of the voice".

Thoughts On Singing

Breathing Ins and Outs:

  • The muscle used to control breathing is called the “diaphragm”.
  • When we breathe, the shoulders stay down and the stomach goes out.
  • When we sing it is important to take deep breaths, NOT quick shallow breaths.

Proper Singing Techniques:

  • Open the mouth so you can fit two fingers in from tooth to tooth.
  • Keep the mouth round and tall. (Think North/South not East/West).
  • Take deep breaths (make each breath count).
  • Sing as if the sound is pressing the front of your teeth.
  • Squeeze the stomach in (using the diaphragm).

Posture is SO very important:

The proper way to stand when we sing to get the most out of our air is to:

  • Stand with our feet flat on the floor and shoulder width apart and back straight.
  • Stand with our arms at our sides and out of pockets.
  • Keep our head level (parallel to the floor).

Do….. / Do Not…..
Be relaxed and natural and keep your knees loose. / Stand rigid with knees locked.
Keep your movements fluid. / Move stiffly or jerkily.
Keep your chin level with the ground. / Lift your head or chin up or down to reach notes.
Keep your shoulders sloping and relaxed (especially when you breathe). / Drop or hunch your shoulders when you sing or breathe.
Keep your toes pointed forward with your weight on heels and soles. / Rock back and forth or side to side unless the director wants that for eurhythmic effect.
Keep your abdominal and and back muscles relaxed. / Strain or push your abdominal muscles.
Breathe from the bottom up. That is to say, imagine filling your body with air starting from the toes and working up. Remember, singing is all about the air flow. / Lift your shoulders up when you sing. You are depriving yourself of much needed air support.
Show proper and appropriate facial and body expression. (Ask your director before doing this. / Look bored when you sing. The audience responds and reacts to the choirs’ facial and body expression!
Ask questions. / Be afraid to ask questions. If YOU have a question, someone else in the group has the same one! Remember, make the mistakes (due to lack of knowledge) IN REHEARSAL, not on stage!!

But wait! There's more!

Stand up (or sit up) tall when you sing…

Correct posture helps breath support and proper resonance of tone

Take deep, silent, and productive breaths…

When you breathe, make it count. Take in lots of air (imagine filling up your body from your toes up to your head)

Look up, not down, at your music…

Looking down crushes your throat and vocal chords and makes it harder to sing. So you may have to hold your music/folder high so you can simply move your eyes slightly to see the director.

Sing with an open mouth…

Open North to South not East to West. Remember how your mouth looks and feels when you yawn? That is where the soft palette needs to be (lifted in an arch, not flat). If you can sing the note ONLY by flattening your mouth, maybe you are singing the wrong voice part.

This can happen over time. Ask your conductor(S) for help or to assess your voice. There is absolutely NO shame if this happens.

Facial expressions are not only fun to look at, but they make for a great choral sound…

Lift your eyes and eyebrows, show some front teeth, relax (loosen) your jaw and the sound will be glorious!

Sing from your stomach, not your throat…

Use your diaphragmatic muscles. This puts a LOT less strain on your voice and can therefore help you sing better and for longer periods of time. Remember, using your diaphragm can you give you rock-hard (singer’s) abs!

Don’t reach FOR the note, reach OVER it…

Try not to scoop up to a high note. Instead, think of it as being higher than it really is and bring your voice DOWN to touch it.

Don’t try to be SUPER CHORISTER!

Singing loudly to “help others” is not a good thing. Let them learn on their own. Singing too loudly for you damages the voice, affects the sound, and makes you tired quickly. Let the Director be the judge of the dynamics.

It's all about how you say it. Glottal stops are awful to listen to...

(These are ideas to help soften sound. ALWAYS check with your conductor before putting these into practice)

Vowels should be softened…

  • Sing them “tall” with a “silent h”
  • oA=ahh; E=ehh; I=ihh; O=awhh; U=uhh
  • Putting an “h” before vowels helps a LOT!
  • ex. Alleluia = “H”Alleluia

Consonants are hard and should be softened...

  • Putting an “m” or “n” before consonants helps a LOT!
  • ex. “M”Bless the Lord; “N”Take my life and let it be
  • “R” and “S” is the death of good choral sound…
  • Immediately cross out all “R”s in a score (with a pencil, please). This way you (HOPEFULLY) will NOT sing them.
  • The “S” soundhappens as late as possible and it is a VERY short sound. Remember, no snakes in Choir! (Only on planes)
  • Watch the w…Sing words beginning with “W” like this “hooww”
  • Tr is TR not Ch… (Truth NOT CHrooth)
  • Sing THROUGH an M and N…(don’t let the sound die off at the end)
  • Watch the Lovely L’s… (Not too heavy on the l)
  • Consonants (D, K, T, etc.) at the END of a word are just as important as the one(s) at the beginning…

Listening is VERY important...

Open your ears to the others’ voices in your section and try to match/blend with their voice and tone. You will be amazed at what listening to each other can accomplish.

A great Choir Director is known to say “Music is 90% mental…”

That’s why we are all a little nuts.  It takes a lot of thinking to be a musician.

Don’t go on “autopilot”…

Look at every piece (regardless of how often you have done it) as a brand new piece. Look for things you have never noticed before (dynamics, nuances, etc.).

Music ebbs and flows…

All long tones (notes) should have energy. That is to say, they should have a little swell. What? Watch your conductor. 

Don’t worry… be happy…

Smile when you sing

Enjoy yourself. Remember, the audience can (usually) see you…

If you look like you do not want to be there, they will know. You should enjoy what you are singing. However, if at first you don’t like it, keep an open mind. Pieces, like bad haircuts, grow on you!

I know this seems like a lot to think about.However, the more you do it, the easier it becomes.

All of the above does not just happen overnight. It takes years of training for it to just "instantly click". Don't give up!