Like any field, when it comes to vocal technique for singers, the voice world is full of conflicting opinions, myths, and controversy. Some highly respected journals have even referred to it as a “snake pit.”  

It doesn’t help that the loudest videos online get the most attention, leading to DIY voice training—overly simplifying vocal technique into quick tips such as:  

“belt the sound out” or “use your entire body to sing!”  

If your goal is to improve your voice and perform optimally, then you may need to cut out all the noise and focus on getting your mechanics right.

After training active singers for over 16 years, my advice is to build a foundation that allows you to sing dynamically with ease and balance so that you can sing for long periods of time without strain or injury.  

When I say active singers I’m referring to vocal performers who need to use their voices consistently every day—whether it’s take after take on set, long hours in the recording studio, or back-to-back gigs on stage or rehearsals.  They need to have a voice left at the end of the day.

The shouting videos you see online don’t necessarily provide practical takeaways for them.  

When it comes to ensuring your voice works well and sounds good for what you need to do on stage prioritizing voice mechanics is essential.  

So what should be our number one goal?  

We need to restore the pitch-making to the vocal folds.  

Not the swallowing muscles.  

Not the chewing muscles.  

Not hand gestures.  

Not fixing your breathing.  

The vocal folds themselves should be coordinated and aligned, stretching and thinning as we sing higher, with adequate cord closure and functioning with a relatively stable larynx (yes, this is still important!).  

Of course we have great tools that are well-researched starting with SOVT exercises and beyond.  The question is, in this day of quick fixes are we willing to put in the time with the exercises daily to build consistency? 

Restoring the pitch making to the vocal folds, does NOT happen with excessive shouting and "sending the sound out."  

This is a process of slow, smart work that may require you to avoid quick fixes and spend time building muscle memory.  

Let’s talk about what we’re getting wrong:   

Exaggerated pronunciation or adding unnatural accents to your singing: Overly exaggerated pronunciation, excessive jaw dropping can make register transitions even harder. 

Over-reliance on imagery: Some imagery-based teaching is well-intended but it can sometimes cause the singer to work harder than necessary.  No amount of arm movements will help you to mix. It may encourage excessive breath pressure making your folds have to brace themselves leading to constriction and voice cracks. 

Keeping singers in exaggerated sounds: The use of exaggerated sounds is important ie: bratty sounds. While very important for accessing connection and developing mix, a huge mistake is not returning back to your speech level.  You don’t want to stay stuck in an overly high larynx position. This is not the end game. Don’t leave singers in ‘bratty’ voice.  

Focusing too much on breathing: No amount of inhalation techniques will fix the underlying mechanics. Good breathing is byproduct of efficiency in the vocal tract. 

So if your goal is to improve, if you REALLY WANT to improve - your focus may need to be consistency with the underlying vocal mechanism.  Take the time to build a strong sustainable foundation vs chasing after quick tips. Get to know what feels best for your voice and when viewing content, ask yourself, “does this really help my goal?"