singing from your gut

snoopdoug1 · Unread post by **snoopdoug1** » Thu Mar 27, 2003 8:02 am

I hear people always say that some people sing from their throats and not from their gut/stomach. What in the heck does that mean

I'm sure I sing from my throat, and I'm sure that's probably why I sound so bad... Any help would be appreciated

juineaux · Unread post by **juineaux** » Thu Mar 27, 2003 10:08 am

Hmm im not too sure either, i just sing and see what happens

but i think singing from the gut is much more powerful and clearer sounding(kinda like a choir type of voice?). Singing from your throat is(in my case) much better sounding tone wise but harder to control. I think you need to balance both the throat and gut singing.
I dont really know, i hope somebody else has a better anwser for you-

snoopdoug1 · Unread post by **snoopdoug1** » Thu Mar 27, 2003 11:21 am

Thanks juineaux!

Anyone else have a description?

ticohans · Unread post by **ticohans** » Thu Mar 27, 2003 11:53 am

Singing from your "gut" is all about using your diaphragm to support the voice and generate airflow as opposed to straining your vocal chords. When singing with proper technique, tension is at a minimum, at it really produces dramatic results: you can sing in places that you never were able to get to before. It does produce a pure "choir" tone as juineaux suggests. You can also generate a LOT more volume as you're using a lot more airspace as opposed to just keeping things happening in the upper lungs and throat. It is much easier to sing that way, once you learn how, and it is much easier on your voice. Singing continually from your throat can be dangerous as you can produce long term damage to your voice. Juineaux talks about singing from the gut as being more difficult to control not because it is any harder to do, but because people build up awful habits that are very hard to break. There's nothing that's implicitly more difficult to singing from the gut. In the end I personally try to support from the gut as it is less tiresome, provides more volume, and lets you get more out of your range. I then try and "color" that with my throat.

billywestom · Unread post by **billywestom** » Thu Mar 27, 2003 4:10 pm

snoopdoug1 · Unread post by **snoopdoug1** » Thu Mar 27, 2003 5:15 pm

Wow, nice description Tico... any good way to practice? I'm almost positive I sing from my throat... how do I start to sing from my gut?

billywestom · Unread post by **billywestom** » Thu Mar 27, 2003 6:06 pm

i would say the best way to do it is don't be afraid to yell...you should feel your stomach moving in and out, something like that, hard to explain

ticohans · Unread post by **ticohans** » Thu Mar 27, 2003 7:05 pm

It's more than just not being afraid to yell, cause you can yell from your throat. A few things:

1st When you breathe, you don't want your chest to go up and down. You want your stomach to go in and out. If you breathe properly, that's what will happen.

2nd Also when you breathe, you want your "soft pallet" to rise. This one's getting a little technical, and you don't HAVE to do this, but it does help fill out the voice and adds some punch to it. The soft pallet is part of the roof of your mouth, way way way in the back. To find it, stick your finger right in the front of your mouth and press against the roof of your mouth. It's really hard right there. Now, keep your finger pressed against the roof of your mouth and move it further and further back until you hit softer tissue. There's your soft pallet. If you don't sing right, when singing, your soft pallet will be depressed. You want it raised.

3rd You want to stay as loose as possible. Try not to carry tension anywhere. I personally carry tension in my neck normally, and when I sing, I tense up my tongue a lot. None of that is good. When I'm in my voice lessons or practicing, many times I massage my tongue while singing so as to keep it loose. I don't stick my fingers in my mouth for that one, but massage under my jaw, which is right where the tongue rests.

4th Ok, so, we've breathed in properly, our soft pallets are raised, and we're nice and loose, and we haven't even begun to make any sound yet. To feel what it's like when you "support" or generate airflow with your diaphragm and gut, exhale in short, stacatto "ha's," except don't actually say "ha," just get the air moving. If you do this correctly, you'll notice that your lower abdomen goes out each time you exhale. That's a good thing. That's what you want to happen when you sing, as opposed to tensing the throat up. See, the bad thing about tensing the throat, neck, tongue, jaw, or anything like that is that it restricts the airflow and makes it more difficult to sing and more often than not makes one sound thin. You want free airflow and good resonance.

We've not even begun to sing yet, and already there's a lot going on. Singing properly is VERY difficult, not because the actual mechanisms are difficult, but it's because we have years and years and years and years of bad habits built up. It takes a lot of concentration to break all those habits.

Once you have the handle of all this wierd breathing stuff, go ahead and try singing just a simple scale. After you get comfortable with that, go ahead and try a very simple song, one that's easy to sing normally.

A few final notes. What all this proper technique is getting at is trying to remain loose and creating lots of space. If you're tense, you cut down airflow and hurt the sound. If you don't have a lot of space, the notes won't be able to resonate much, and you'll sound thin and dull. Finally, really be wary of the throat and tongue. Those are the two areas that most people seem to struggle with. Watch yourself in the mirror when you sing so that you can be sure about not tensing the throat, and go ahead and massage your tongue under your jaw as you sing. It should be soft and loose under there. Finally, don't worry about what it sounds like initially. Most likely it will sound like crap. But that's because you're working through a totally new technique of singing and fighting years of bad habits. If nothing else, at least learn the proper breathing technique and how to support that properly. While many pop/rock singers don't use completely correct vocal technique, almost all of them sing from the gut and support with their diaphragm. This is essential if you want to get any amount of volume or depth and is key in protecting those vocal chords. You only get one set, so don't mess them up.

Once you get the hang of all this (and that should take quite a while) go ahead and try bringing a little more of the throat back into it and see what happens. When I sing the songs that I write, I don't sing like I'm in choir, and that's ok. But I definitely use certain techniques from "choir" singing, and it really helps me to know the theory.

All that being said, I've only had voice lessons for 8 or 9 months, so there's still a whole lot to learn.

nancies21 · Unread post by **nancies21** » Thu Mar 27, 2003 7:54 pm

damn man, im glad u got all technical, i mean u sounded gay saying it, lol but it helps for real! thanks bro

Trippin Hillbilly · Unread post by **Trippin Hillbilly** » Thu Mar 27, 2003 7:55 pm

Yeah man!! Thanks!!!.......ok, ok you convinced me, im gonna go get me some vocals lessons!! hehe

Lennox · Unread post by **Lennox** » Thu Mar 27, 2003 9:12 pm

Nothing gay about singing well or the mechanics behind it. Being able to sing well and play a winded instrument appears to be very similar. I've been playing the Alto Sax for 13 years and I keep an open throat and play from my gut as it's put.

I'd like to be able to sing better as I've never been in a choir or anything voice related. People have said I sing well but sometimes I wish I sang better then what I seem to. Of course I rarely sing in front of people. Unless they are like my family or something. I'm too scared of sounding bad hehe.

shaboogie25 · Unread post by **shaboogie25** » Thu Mar 27, 2003 9:24 pm

Thanks alot man for all those tips/semi-lessons. You are really helping me out since I just got into a band and think I may have to sing so I need to start practicing and stuff. I think one major problem that I have and maybe others do too is that I am not confident in my voice. Whenever I try to sing, I feel like it's not strong enough or doesn't sound good. Someone gave me a good tip one time on how to get something down that you're nervous about: watch yourself do it in the mirror, and really stare into your eyes. If you can watch yourself sing and feel comfortable with it, you should feel a bit less nervous about doing it in front of others.

juineaux · Unread post by **juineaux** » Thu Mar 27, 2003 10:02 pm

I actually kinda like the sound of my voice by now, but I dont think im singing correctly. So my voice might be gone in a couple of years :cry:

DustyDave · Unread post by **DustyDave** » Fri Mar 28, 2003 10:33 am

Damn Tico

oldman · Unread post by **oldman** » Fri Mar 28, 2003 11:04 am

You cerrtainly said a mouthful Tico. Great advice for all of us. And to whoever said he sounded gay for saying all that.....

You won't be thinking hes so gay when hes railing TWO CHICKS after his last set at a gig. The ladies definately love a good singer.
Peace.

DMBTabs.com

singing from your gut

singing from your gut

Nicely put!

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