- February 13, 2023
- By Cari Cole
As one of the top celebrity vocal coaches in the world, I’ve seen it all. From stars to rock legends and Grammy winners to tens of thousands of emerging independents, one thing is true.
You don’t have to have the best voice in the world, but you do have to have a good one. And one that won’t quit on you when it matters.
The tricks below are my gift to you, but if you’re really ready to uplevel your voice, I’d like to invite you to join my upcoming Vocal Freedom Circle. This 3-month, LIVE program teaches you The Cole Vocal Method, a holistic vocal technique designed to help you achieve your best voice ever with just 20 minutes of practice a day!
Our next run kicks off soon! Click here to learn more and join the waitlist to be notified when registration opens!
Here are my Top 7 Vocal Tricks to Make Your Voice Rule the World
1. Breathe Into Your Ribs (Not Just Your Abdomen)
Your abdomen is a starting point but it’s not even half of the battle. If you want to sing, you’ve got to breathe into your ribs and back. 360 degrees around your empire waist (just under your breasts) needs to expand outwards. That’s the ONLY way the diaphragm will drop and pull air into the deeper recesses of your lungs. Get your diaphragm working for you instead of against you. Go high notes!
2. Open Your Throat
Lay your fingers across the top of your throat. Open your jaw. Did you feel your throat move down? Hopefully. Now, keeping your fingers at the top of your throat and pinch your cheeks between your teeth hard. Do it again. Did your throat move further down. It should have. That stretch is really good for opening your throat. Do it daily. Practice some of your vocal exercises with a pinch to improve laryngeal depth. It is one of the ways to open your throat before and during singing.
3. Drop Your Jaw
Drop your jaw down when singing vowels. This brings more sound and volume to your voice. It’s magic.
4. Think Down for High Notes
Think of your voice like an elevator. As it rises a heavy chain pulls it down (that’s your high notes). As it lowers, the chain lifts. Think of your voice like a pulley. Reach down for high notes, lifts for low notes. You’ll notice really good singers don’t lift their chins for high notes. Works like a charm.
Voice Lesson: 5 Quick Tips to Sing Better High Notes
5. Tongue Down
Singing with a high tongue causes all kinds of problems. I’m talking about the back of your tongue. A high tongue is the number one reason for nasality, problems with transitions through the “break”, and a tight tense voice. Open your mouth, take a gentle yawn and see if you can drop the back of your tongue at the beginning of the yawn. Sometimes you have to practice it for a bit before it lowers (you can’t force it). Think about dropping your tongue before you sing and during singing to help you control your voice. Helpful suggestions to drop the tongue are: imagine you have a sock in the back of your mouth, imagine you are swallowing vitamins or drinking a glass of water…. down baby down!
6. Chest Up
Dropping the chest as you sing is the number one cause of a lack of breath control and vocal strain. You only end up singing from your throat and losing your breath too early when your chest drops. Notice if you drop your chest near the end of the phrase and practice keeping it up all the way through the phrase (until you train it usually does). The goal is to keep a lifted chest and relaxed shoulders and neck as you sing. Watch that breath control improve almost instantaneously!
7. Stop Singing With So Many H’s
Great voices limit their h’s or eliminate them altogether. You-hoo-hoo vs. You-oo-oo. Hint: H’s are usually added when you are singing several notes on one vowel. It’s a small adjustment that an untrained voice makes as it changes pitch. Too many h’s sound amateur and choppy. Limit your h’s and sound smoother instantly!
I hope it helps your voice rule your world!
There is obviously more to improving your singing voice than we can get to in this article, but we included the most important techniques that can help.
If you’re looking to find the tools to free your voice, my Singers Gift Vocal Warmups are a great place to start. Rated the best vocal warmups on the planet by many singers and used by Grammy winners, these vocal exercises will help you build healthy technique! Experience our transformative vocal warmups to warm up, eliminate vocal tension and free your voice. Comes with 17 vocal warmups on audio and video + cooldowns to condition your voice post-performance. Click here to learn more.
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Hi, I’m Cari Cole.
You’ve got talent, but you want to become great at it. You’re in the right place! My mission is to help you refine your unique artist vision to bring to the world.
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About Cari Cole
Cari Cole is the CEO / Founder of caricole.com and CCVM: Label Without Walls. She is a Holistic Vocal Coach, Artist Development Expert, A&R Director, and Songwriter based in New York City helping artists for the past 38 years. She is a mentor for Women in Music and The Association of Independent Music Publishers.
Her latest venture, CCVM a label services company, provides artists with a seamless path from creation to completion. After 30+ years of observing the overwhelm and challenges that artists face, Cari pulled together the best top creative professionals and designed a new approach to supporting our artists.
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Disclaimer:
The information provided on Cari Cole's website is informational only and should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. Those seeking personal medical advice should consult with a licensed physician. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health provider regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on Cari Cole's website. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room immediately.
