Singing Instruction - To Belt Or Not to Belt

First of all, lets get on the same page when we talk about "belting". I'm talking about the way we sing when someone important yells "I can't hear you". We begin to push and shove and try to sing LOUDER. Our veins pop out in our neck, we take a fighting stance, firmly set our jaw and SING. Tension is everywhere.

Yet invariably we are still told " you're still not singing loud enough."

I suppose, if you were on stage with no microphone, and a band or orchestra behind you, and a big audience, "belting" might help you be heard a little better. But centuries have passed with opera singers doing just this, only without pushing their voices - or "belting". Opera singers have the uncanny ability to make their voices heard over the orchestra, without a mic...and they do this without forcing. This has to do with years and years of training, and some special physical equipment most of us aren't blessed with.

Think about this: do you really need to "belt"? Maybe so, if you are performing opera or musical theatre without a mic and with a small, soft voice. My only advice if this description fits you is to find other kinds of music to perform.

I'm really speaking to the singers who perform pop, rock. country and musical theatre with microphones. Mics are essential to these types of singers. So, if you have a mic, why would you ever want to "belt"?

Let's suppose you front a rock band and your vocal amp goes out while you are singing. The rest of the band is pounding away and so....you start to yell the song. Funny thing. The audience still won't hear you no matter how loud you try to sing. The human voice simply isn't capable of competing with a rock band. So, if you don't want to stop the song you might as well keep singing it at the volume most comfortable for you. They aren't going to hear you anyway.

There are exercises and techniques which will add punch, power and volume to your singing voice, but they take some time to learn. If you are too often feeling pressured by yourself or others to "belt" it out:

• Ignore them.

• Ride your mic closer or turn up your volume in the mix.

• Add more high mids and treble to your vocal mix.

• Buy a mic which is made to boost the highs and high mids.

• Find a good voice teacher and learn how to do it right.

• Purchase a good singing course and learn how to do it right.

Want to learn more easy techniques to improve your singing? Download my powerful new FREE ebook: "TIPS & TOOLS FOR ALL SINGERS" at: http://vocalvision.com/ad1.php

Al Koehn is a nationally recognized voice teacher, known for achieving amazing results with simple techniques. http://vocalvision.com

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