How to Sing Without Strain

Let yourself sing.

Don’t make yourself sing.

Often students will strain to sing notes that they believe are too high. That is part of the problem. You think the note is high so you reach for it. Then you might even “hit” it or… you might not. And if you do “hit” the note, how attractive is it if it’s been “hit”? If you are straining when singing then you are in fact doing something wrong. You are going to have to try to sing differently if you want a different result.

Higher (not high) notes demand more breath pressure than notes that are lower. That’s how the body works. It is more breath pressure that you need instead of straining in order to execute that note. Think about this. If you can sing a note while straining, it makes sense that you could sing the same note without straining. The problem is the strain NOT the note. All the energy you put into tensing, reaching, pushing and tightening is interference. If you think a note is (too) high then you prepare your mind and body to reach for it. Do the opposite. Relax your mind and body, plant your feet and let the sound move through you. Let your body sing. Let it all go and let your diaphragm take care of carrying your notes for you. If your diaphragm is not strong enough, you’ll have to adjust, i.e. change the key of the song, use your falsetto, or sing it later when you are stronger. Of course, all of this is much easier to learn and accomplish with a good vocal coach and proper voice lessons.

Another way to think about this is to imagine that ALL the notes you own and can sing are right in front of you. You do not need to go looking for high notes or low notes. You own them all. I believe that we innately never choose to sing anything that we are incapable of singing.