Over time, we’re going to be sharing several tips we’ve learned to help you make immediate improvements in your voice. We’ll start with some of the most useful.
The first is one of our favorites because it’s easy and also a good way to warm up your voice. Here’s how it goes:
- Using both hands, place three fingers in the middle of each cheek.
- Gently push on your cheeks until you can lightly feel where your teeth come together. This will make your lips “pucker up” a bit (we sometimes refer to it as “fish lips”).
- To make sure everything is set up properly, hum a few notes while letting your lips lightly flap together to make a “bubble-like” sound.
- Begin to hum your favorite song while keeping your fingers on your cheeks and your lips puckered. You won’t be able to actually sing any words, but the result will be the sound coming through your lips while they are flapping against each other.
- Maintain this flapping sound and sensation throughout the song. If your lips come apart to the point where the flapping sound stops, then you are forcing too much air out. When this happens, relax your lips and jaw, then try again–this time trying not to let your lips come apart.
One of the points of this exercise is to reduce the amount of air passing through the vocal cords so that you can begin to feel what it’s like for the vocal cords to be working without any extra help from the muscles outside of the larynx. You may notice that it’s hard to keep your lips together when trying to hit certain notes. It’s perfectly okay–especially in the beginning. Just remember to relax, use less air, and try again.
This tip is especially useful when learning a new song, and, as we mentioned before, a good way to warm up your voice. As an FYI, this exercise is often referred to as “lip trills”. We hope it helps. Be sure to let us know (please leave a comment) if you find it useful.
Related posts on better singing:
- Tips on How To Sing #6 – Hum A Song
- How To Sing With Vibrato
- Tips On How To Sing #5 – Lower Your Jaw On High Notes
- Tips On How To Sing #2 – Bend Forward On High Notes
- Tips On How To Sing #3 – Breathe In Through Your Nose
