March 21, 2024
About the Author: Urpi
It is widely known that a vocal warm-up is essential for singing properly, but most singers omit another crucial step that is part of the warm-up and that, if done, brings enormous benefits.
We are talking about paying attention to the “Sanctuary of The Voice,” to our precious body, of course, as obviously the magical instrument that is the voice is located in the body. So, here we explain to you why stretching the body is a must in your vocal training.
Mental Preparation for Singing: Achieving Focus and Relaxation
Living in a world as fast as the one we live in, it is highly probable that before starting our singing lessons or before singing on stage, we already have accumulated worries and stress, maybe from work, personal issues and so on.
This is something natural since, as we mentioned in the previous lecture, the body is not only a source of energy but it acts like a sponge that absorbs energy, so even if we do not want to absorb any kind of worry or stress, eventually, the body will accumulate a bit of it.
Besides that, as the body is connected to the mind, any kind of stress or worry in the body will affect the concentration and the focus of the mind.
Therefore, it is crucial to switch off from any kind of preoccupation by stretching the body before any vocal exercise and switching on the mind to focus on singing.
Furthermore, singing increases the release of endorphins, which promote relaxation. To streamline this process, it’s important to prepare the body, ensuring the mind is light and ready to sing. This mental readiness is crucial for optimal singing performance.
Optimise Your Singing With Stretching Exercises
In the same line, any kind of concern that is in the body will not only disturb the concentration of the mind for singing but will affect to a large degree the performance of the voice as the body absorb the negative feelings and emotions and place them in certain parts of the body which generally are the areas where the muscles and organs of the Vocal System are located.
Unfortunately, these areas tend to be principally the shoulders, the neck, and the tongue.
In the first place, if the shoulders are tense, it will be difficult to maintain a straight position, and the chest will be closed, making it challenging for the voice to project. This will result in reduced stage presence.
Secondly, if the neck has tension, pain will start to be felt in the vocal cords. The voice will become quickly drained, making it impossible to achieve high and middle notes correctly, and voice cracks will appear.
Finally, as the tongue contributes to the sound design of the voice, if it is tense, the voice will not be able to come out freely, nor with clean notes and clear articulation.
This is the reason why it is very important that singers do not skip stretching the body prior to a vocal workout or live gig!
It doesn’t have to be an intense session of stretching, but a quick one focusing on relaxing the muscles of the neck, shoulders, back, torso, face, tongue, pelvis, and knees.
I promise you it is going to help you a lot, a quick and short routine of stretching is also a game changer for singing.
At the end of the day, the magic is in the details.
