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Let’s face it, which singer doesn’t want a belting voice with power and control? But how can you achieve this sound without ruining your vocal cords ?
With vocalists such as Bruno Mars, Sam Smith, Adele, and Lady Gaga it is doesn’t know how to belt healthily. It’s all related to having a proper belting technique. Belting technique in singing is best learned by studying with a professional vocal coach but this article is a great place to start practicing proper belting technique.
If you’re learning how to sing, you need to learn how to belt sing technique. Let’s jump straight in…
How To Belt Singing Technique
Here’s how to belt sing. Before you begin to belt out singing, it’s a good idea to understand belting technique in singing. Belting singing refers to singing notes in your head voice using the power of your chest voice.
When you place your hand on your chest and sing low notes, you will feel a vibration which is known as your chest voice. When you sing higher , you will feel that vibration move. Your head voice is an old term established by Italian singing teachers which refers to the range of notes at the top of your voice.
Belting voice means yelling and we yell when we’re angry, excited, or scared. When people sing, they yell or belt notes in their voice to demonstrate emotion. If you belt incorrectly, you can damage your voice.
How To Belt Higher
When belting high notes, you will gradually approach your mixed register. If your voice is untrained, you will feel tension. Here are some techniques for how to belt higher:
Build vocal strength
Belting high notes requires vocal strength. This relates to power and stamina. Basic vocal strength comes from singing and practicing belting technique in singing. Singing incorrectly damage your vocals and limit your power as well as your stamina. Practicing how to sing correctly reduces strain and makes you a stronger vocalist.
Support your notes
Known as a point of Appoggio (an Italian term for support). It’s a fancy way of saying depend on your breath support to project notes rather than your throat and chest for how to belt healthily.
Correct vocal placement
Belting high notes is your singing head voice notes with the power and strength of your chest voice. To get the power you need the correct vocal exercises for proper belting technique.
How To Mix Belt
The proper belting technique is acquired by learning to mix the chest voice and head voice registers to produce one smooth and powerful sound. There are plenty of teachers that will teach singers to pull up their chest voice as high as they can. This is the difference between belting vs singing and is very difficult to correct if it’s done for a while. Many students who have just been taught to belt won’t trust their mixed voice even if it sounds better than their belt.
How To Belt Without Damaging Your Voice
There are some techniques to belt out singing:
Vocal Strength
Proper belt singing technique requires some basic vocal strength that comes from singing and practicing vocal technique. Singing incorrectly affects your voice and ruins your strength. Practicing proper vocal techniques to ease the strain and make your belting voice stronger.
Tongue Down, Soft Palate Up
When you watch a belting singer, their whole throat opens up and you can see their tonsils. This is due to their tongue being down where it should be. As the tongue goes down it allows the singer to have laryngeal compression which means they have control over the increase in air pressure. The only time this isn’t required is for vowels where the tongue is high especially for ee sounds. When the back of the tongue is down, and the soft palate is lifted then the voice can create a more powerful, belting voice. Ensuring the tongue remains down as you sing takes a lot of practice. You shouldn’t force it and it is through a proper belting technique that teaches the tongue how to move which eventually becomes muscle memory, just like learning to ride a bike. Singers who are taught the correct vocal technique get control of the tongue without force. The position of the tongue assists to keep the larynx down and allows a belting voice that can handle the pressure of volume and power.
Power Up Your Alignment
Belting singing has a lot to do with alignment. People’s postures are usually slightly rounded, which is a problem for belting singing. You need a lifted sternum and head aligned over the body to enable a belting voice without straining.
- Stand with your feet hip-distance apart and keep knees soft
- Tuck your pelvis under, then pull up tall from the hips and waist.
- Lengthen the back of your neck up as if you are standing at a wall.
- Shoulders back and down.
- Chin tucked in and down.
Use this alignment each day when practicing the belting technique in singing and it will become muscle memory.
“Point of Appoggio”
To do proper belting technique it is important to make sure you know how to belt sing healthily. You can do this with the correct support so you don’t belt from the throat as this will damage your vocals over time if not straightaway. The easiest way to take the belt away from the throat muscles is by using your body instead.
As mentioned for how to belt sing technique correctly you have to practice feeling the point of appoggio at your sternum/chest area that takes the pressure/tension away from the throat, neck and jaw. You will gain a skill called the “sternum press.” The only tension you should feel when belting singing is the pressure of your chest while the head and neck remain free of any tension.
Rehearse this when you are conducting a simple breathing exercise. Allow the pressure from your fingers to do the work in order to keep your chest lifted. The more you press the easier it will be for your chest to stay up. Keep the high chest during your inhalation and exhalation. This is perfect when you begin to program the right muscle memory for your belting voice. Make sure you relax the back of your neck when you maintain pressure on your chest. A good tip is to do pushups daily as this helps to strengthen your pectoral muscles which need to be strong for a good belting voice.
Warm-ups
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The following belting voice warm ups are great exercises which are designed to challenge singers and let singers get a lot out of them.
How to Belt with the “Nae” Exercise
- Say the word “Nae” (just like “Nasty”) out loud with the bratty sound. Tip: If you are struggling to find the correct sound then pretend as if you are a child in the playground teasing with a “Nae Nae Nae” sound.
- Then, sing the bratty “Nae” on a relaxed starting pitch (you can try F#3 for males or C#4 for females).
- Lastly, sing the bratty “Nae” on an octave repeat scale and then you exchange each note of the scale with a bratty “Nae” sound.
It is not uncommon for singers to when learning to belt incorrectly so it is important to try to keep the bratty sound. Make sure when you are learning belting voice with this exercise to retain the bratty sound even on the high notes. You will be impressed by the amount of power you can add to your voice just by completing this easy exercise.
How to Belt with the “Mum” Exercise
- Speak the word “Mum” (just like “Mummy”) out loud at a volume that is comfortable.
- Then, discover a comfortable note at the bottom of your voice (such as C3 for males and G3 for females).
- Lastly, sing an octave and a half-scale where you exchange each note of the scale with a “Mum” sound.
How to Belt with the “Gug” Exercise
- Recite the word “Gug” (as in “Gut” but with a “g” at the end) aloud at a powerful volume. Articulate the “G” consonant powerfully.
- After, find a comfortable note (such as E3 for males and C#4 for females) then sing the word “Gug” on that note out loud.
- Then, sing the “Gug” on an octave repeat scale where you change each note of the scale with the “Gug” sound.
Final Thoughts
There you have it, how to belt sing! Once you have learned the belting technique in singing you should be able to belt out singing. By now you should be able to understand what it means to do belting singing. Hopefully, you have a clear view of what the difference is between good and bad belting singing. Although you may sometimes have a good and bad belting technique we hope you have learned some techniques to ensure you don’t damage your vocals and know how to sing properly. With these techniques, you can build power on high notes, and don’t worry if you are not sure of the exercises straight away as these take practice. Find the exercise which works for you and make sure you practice daily to become a successful belting singer.
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