Learning to belt and I need some help

[singinswinga]

Posted: 1/21/05 at 3:59pm

Hey, we're learning broadway-style singing (we call it belting) in my school's swing choir and i need some help. when i try to imitate belters from my favorite shows my throat really, really hurts, i sound nasaly or forced, or i fall super flat. anyway, help!

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 1/21/05 at 4:13pm

I had that problem as well, and honestly, my advice is to not attempt it at all unless you find a teacher who will teach you how to do it properly. If not, you can end up permanently damaging your voice, and we wouldn't want that.

[My Fair Lady]

Posted: 1/21/05 at 4:16pm

I agree with BroadwayGirl. I've been singing Broadway-Style for almost two years and I still don't attempt to belt with my teacher.

[singinswinga]

Posted: 1/21/05 at 4:21pm

Well, we have a teacher who comes in to show us who has been on broadway, she says to put the sound in your head, and sing like a little kid talks, like all air. i don't know, it's weird.

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 1/21/05 at 4:25pm

Still....there's a lot of technique that goes into it, and I think it's important to have someone who knows exactly what they're doing listening to you personally.

And with any kind of singing...if it hurts, don't do it. It's kind of a rule. Because if it hurts, it's bound to be doing some damage to your voice.

[WOSQ]

Posted: 1/21/05 at 4:25pm

Learn to relax your jaw.

Sing every day

Don't force your voice

Accept whatever limitations your voice may have and learn to sing from your strengths and not your short suits--if everyone else is belting and you're floating your voice along the top of all of them, who will the audience really hear?

Go to a real voice teacher and listen to what they say--this last one is the most important of all

"The Mighty Oz Has Spoken."

[Addicted2Seaweed]

Posted: 1/21/05 at 4:32pm

You might just not be a belter... not everyone is

[Kelliexo90]

Posted: 1/21/05 at 4:43pm

My voice teacher always tells me that you shouldn't treat singing any other way that I would treat soccer(I'm a soccer player too). If your ankle hurts, you don't use it. It's the same with your voice, just as you could permanently damage your ankle you can permanently damage your voice.

[jczelyph]

Posted: 1/21/05 at 5:53pm

Top Tips:

Get a good teacher that you are comfrtable with. Your teacher should be someone you understand and trust.

Relax. Sing when you're doing other things and you'll notice a big difference in how you sing compared to when you're conscious of trying to belt. I sing in the car when I have my mind on other things and shock myself at what I can do when I'm relaxed. And when you know you can do something, you can repeat it over and over.

Make sure you're warmed-up. It's essential.

Don't do anything that hurts, ever. If your voice hurts, rest it.

[ashley0139]

Posted: 1/21/05 at 6:14pm

Please please please learn the techniques and get a good teacher. There are sooooo many stories of people trying to "belt" before they are ready and they end up screaming and killing their voice and not being able to sing. Sorry, but I'm a fanatic about good technique and not doing stuff until you're ready. I'm just too scared I'm going to hurt something. And I'm very VERY against belting until you're absolutely ready, and if you're doing it right that's not even "belting" how I think you're thinking of it. Just be careful.

Posted: 1/21/05 at 6:28pm

I hear that a cherry picker, lots of fantastic lighting, yards of black material, an orchestra of 23, an audience of 1800 and green makeup does wonders for helping one belt.

[DickonDefysGravity]

Posted: 1/21/05 at 6:28pm

If only Eden Espinosa could read this thread. Heavens that woman needs some help.

[LightMyCandle125]

Posted: 1/21/05 at 6:41pm

it's all about the breathing. if you're not breathing properly, it can really hurt your throat. your vocal chords are about the size of your pinkie nail, and when they are banging together without the proper air, it can reeeeally ruin them. not to scare anybody or anything!

[broadwaybelter]

Posted: 1/21/05 at 10:16pm

always remember, more air, equals more sound "breathe in from the earth, through your toes and upwards, and slowly push your stomach in and that gives the sound" and then expand your ribs when you inhale, inhale through your nose. There is also a way to bring your stomach out when you sing, but i'm not entirely sure on the technique. You also have to find a comfortable key to sing in, don't belt something in a soprano voice if your an alto, etc. you get the idea..for instance, when i was in "les miserables" (community theater production) I belted, and my throat hurt everyday after practice and everday after the show, my throat was throbbing. I pushed it all too hard, then i learned how to keep at it a good tone and not too big but just right...yea...there's a lot to singing then i thought there was...
ric

[UsherMJD]

Posted: 1/21/05 at 10:51pm

broadwaybelter has the idea. . .

You should be concious of the fact that your voice can feel "tired". . . but it should never hurt. If your voice feels soar or scratchy after you sing, you're doing it wrong.

If you're good at visualization, maybe it will help you to visualize that the air you use to sing with should never touch the walls of your throat. When you sing incorrectly it feels as though the air you are singing with is acctually scratching your throat while you sing, and then is still feels scratchy afterwards. You should only be able to feel your throat contracting and relaxing. "belting" comes from how much air you push out from your stomach. . . its about the ammount of air you use to sing with, NOT how fast your throat can push it out.

Follow broadwaybelter's advice, and just try to be very aware of what you are doing. As long as you find a way to sing without your throat feeling scratchy. . . then you're singing the right way. As long as you sing correctly then belting will just come from practice.

[ShineOn]

Posted: 1/22/05 at 1:47am

Diaphram.

Use it.


I haven't done a sit up or a crunch in five years and if you touch my abs, they're hard as a rock. It's a constant workout if you're doing it right.

I don't think one can be taught how to belt, though. You can be taught techniques to maintain your voice and keep it healthy, but I don't think you can be taught how to produce the power needed for a belt. It's something you either have or you don't. It's a specific voice type. I can be taught millions of techniques on how to strengthen my upper range and gain notes I wouldn't have if I didn't work for them, but no one can teach me how to be a coloratura soprano. No one can explain to me the techniques they use to master those runs and vocalises and expect me to suddenly burst into a flawless aria. My voice just isn't designed for that.

So, it's possible to learn how to produce a "fuller" sound while singing (thanks to that good ole reliable diaphram... God love that muscle), but you may not necessarily be the next Merman, and that is OKAY! :)


But yeah, follow the previous advice... get yourself a good voice teacher. :) Technique is so important.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 1/22/05 at 1:53am

In order for a doctor to look to see if your vocal chords have been damaged, he or she must stick a tiny camera on a stick down your throat while you try not to gag. If you do not want this to happen to you, please consult a professional voice teacher. Not everyone should (or is designed to) belt.

[jarred03]

Posted: 1/22/05 at 2:26am

I KNOW WHAT YOU NEED!!!!!!

YOU NEED TO START EXCERSIZING YOUR VOCAL CHORDS, YOUR DIAPHRAGM, AND YOUR LUNGS. THAT'S WHAT I DID WHEN I WAS IN CAROUSEL.

I'll tell you a little story, if your familiar with Carousel then you know the song You'll Never Walk Alone, which is a very hard song to sing. Well when I joined the cast I only took 2 small, non-singing roles, because I can't sing. Well, half way through our rehearsals I had to take on the role of the principal and he has to sing You'll Never Walk Alone with the rest of the cast at the Graduation scene at the end.
So, of course I was horrified. I can't sing and now I was being thrown into the hardest song, vocally. Well, we had a great musical director/vocal coach and after a couple of weeks of breath excersizes and vocal excersizes I hit that last note and held it for the 15 seconds with no problem.

So hears a couple tips:
1) Breathing Excersize: take as deep a breath as you can in 4 seconds then slowly release for 12 seconds, then go up to 16 seconds, then in for 2 seconds out for 16, then in 2 out 24, then in 2 out 32, in 2 out 48, and finally in 2 out 64. I know it seems impossible to blow out the same amount of air that it took 2 seconds to inhale for 64 seconds but it is possible you will just need to work your way up to it. Keep teeth clenched when releasing air it helps keep it in longer.

2)Practice your scales daily, you know the do-re-mi crap.

3)Sing from your diaphragm. place your hand at the bottom of your ribcage you should be able to feel it.

4)drink plenty of water

5)sing with your throat and back of your mouth open, like it is when you yawn.

6)DON'T SMOKE.

7) Yoga always helps.

Keep away from caffeine.

Well, I'm by far a professional but all these things help me, so I hope they can help you.

[jarred03]

Posted: 1/22/05 at 2:30am

I meant to say I'm far from a professional.

[Justice]

Posted: 1/22/05 at 3:01am

Are they not teaching you to sing from your diaphragm???? What horrid teachers are these? Never sing with your throat, or you will end up sounding like Harvey Fierstein (And I'm serious about that, because that's how he got his voice.) NEVER EVER belt without using your diaphragm. That was the first thing I was taught in high school.

[bjivie2]

Posted: 1/22/05 at 4:45am

It is completely false for someone to say that you can't learn to belt. It's based highly on technique. Some people who have never had lessons just fall into the technique from immitating other vocalists. Singers like Ashlee Simpson (sorry for the horrible example) sing improperly which is why they lose their voice and are boo'ed off the stage at the Orange Bowl.

Belting is based on sending your sound into the upper front part of your face, focused mostly at the top of your nose, while lifting your soft pallet (if you run your tongue on the roof of your mouth back towards your tonsils, your soft pallet starts once you feel the soft part). It's all about finding the right placement in order for your sound to come out as a "belt." It's also based on slightly changing your vowel to an "eh" and using that as a basis for all your other vowels. An "eh" (or "ay") vowel gives you the space and resonance that is associated with a "belt." For example, instead of singing "me" you would sing "meh."

It is also highly important that you use your diaphram. This means breathing not into your chest (in which case your shoulders will rise), but breathing into your legs and then pushing your diaphram out while singing. This will give you the support needed to not strain your voice while "belting." The best belters make their job seem effotless, like Ethel Merman. A good exercise to do to work of "effortlessness" (haha) would be to lean up against a wall and sing whatever it is you're belting while leaning with your back flat against the wall and slightly crouching. This will take your mind off of what's going on in your mouth, and more to your legs. Also keep in mind that your jaw, neck, brow, and shoulders should all be relaxed while "belting."

And what many of the people on this board have been saying is true: if your voice hurts, don't use it. If you're practicing and it starts to hurt or is sore or tired, STOP. You should reest just as much as you sing whenever you're rehearsing. The last thing you want to do is blow out your voice.

My last word of advice is to not worry about sounding "ugly" or "nassal" at first. It takes a while to get used to a belt. My advice would be to get as nassal and ugly as possible just to find that placement in your mouth. Once you have found where to place the sound, you can slightly manipulate your vowel and placement to get the sound you want.

Good luck!

[clarky]

Posted: 1/22/05 at 8:43am

I agree, don't do it on your own. There is just so much one could do wrong and damage your voice. And you only have one voice!

Belting is not like belting these days. You have the Patti LuPone kind of way, you have the Liz Callaway pressed Head-Belt, there is just so much information one needs to know. Not every voice should belt like Patti or Betty Buckley does. Some voices are better suited for the Linda Eder or Liz Callaway version of belting...for that you need someone who can guide you!

[Katecab99]

Posted: 1/22/05 at 11:49am

So, with all what everyone is saying about finding a good voice teacher, how do I know if i've found one? The teacher I'm starting with now listened to me sing the first time and has been working on belting with me ever since. I practice my scales everyday and understand my breathing, but now you've all got me concerned about the fact that I started belting after she evaluated me the first time. Is this okay, or should I re-evaluate my teacher?

[singinswinga]

Posted: 1/22/05 at 2:05pm

Erin, the woman who's teaching us how to belt, says we need to make a square with our mouth. is that really all that important?

[clarky]

Posted: 1/22/05 at 2:07pm

sorry, but I just have to laugh............

singing should be as natural as speaking or walking....