Singing tips I may not be a diva yet, but I've had many years of singing lessons. Believe me. I know a thing or two. Anyway, totally free of charge, only for today, here are my singing tips: It all starts with your vocal chords This might sound gross, but your vocal chords, also called vocal folds, are actually very thin flappy pieces of flesh in your throat. When you talk or sing, they vibrate and create the sound you make. Why do you need to know this? You'll see in a minute. If you really want to be a singer, you have to care for your throat. There are a few things you should avoid doing: Shouting Clearing your throat Growling at your brother Coughing Why? Because when you do these things, you are smashing your delicate little vocal chords together. If you do it too much, they can get tiny little bumps on the edges, and they won't vibrate nicely. You'll either be "airy" or "hoarse." These bumps can go away if you talk quietly for a while and rest your voice, but if you abuse your vocal chords too much, those tiny bumps can be permanent, and you can kiss your recording deal goodbye. The only option is surgery. This is very serious to me. There should be a law against damaging your voice like that. There should be commercials where a police officer points his finger at the screen and says: "Only YOU can stop vocal abuse." Keep them watered! Drink water. If your little thin vocal chords get dried out, they won't vibrate well. Keep them hydrated, but DON'T drink pop or milk before you sing. Milk will coat them with mucous (I can't believe you made me say that word) and pop is just too bubbly and harsh on those membranes. Not to mention the burp potential. Trust me, that is NOT something you want to do into a microphone. Tea is fine, too. But lots of water is best. When performing or warming up, have water beside you so you are not tempted to cough or clear your throat. Singing is like a sport—protect your muscles! One thing to remember is that there are many, many muscles in your abdomen, shoulders, neck, and face that have to work when you sing. They may not be scoring points or wearing a cool uniform, but these muscles deserve respect. "Stretch" them before you start singing. Here's how: Gently drop one ear toward your shoulder and hold for a few seconds. This stretches out your trapezoid muscles. Drop other ear to shoulder to stretch out your other trap muscle. Roll your shoulders back repeatedly to loosen up the shoulders. Make a "C" with your cupped hand. Now, gently massage your voice box, located at the bottom of your throat above your chest bones. You can find it by tilting your head back while singing a note. Hold the note and feel with your fingers. The large vibrating area is your voice box. Gently massage around it to warm up those little muscles in your throat. Drink water. Prepare your body to sing Now, have a yawn. Seriously. Hopefully, you aren't yawning because of my singing tips. Anyway, do you feel how the back of your throat is nice and open, and the inside of your mouth is round and open? That is perfect for allowing the sound from your vocal chords to "resonate" or bounce off the open space in your throat and mouth. You'll get more sound and your notes won't be squeezed by a tight throat. It allows you to sing full, rounded notes. Now, stand up tall and stick out your fabulous chest. Don't have a fabulous chest? Says who?! Have some confidence. Shoulders back, chest out, and chin up. The air needs to come from your diaphragm up through your chest into your throat and out your mouth. If you are hunched or bent over, the sound won't make it out clearly and you'll either sing some notes flat or your high notes will never make it in tune. Don't go out there cold. Warm up! Before any diva sings, she must warm up. But first... Drink water. Okay, now start low and do your scales. You know, do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do. Do this a bit higher each time you do the scale. If you know other warm-ups, keep doing them. If not, pick an easy tune (like "Row row row your boat") and sing it on "Ah". This means that you sing "ah" for every note instead of the words of the song. Then sing it again a bit higher. Then again a bit higher again. You get the picture. You're trying to warm up your voice so that your lower and higher notes sound smooth and clear. Now you are ready to hit the stage!