Singing Terminology

That's right! Singers & musicians have their own terminology which if/when you work professionally or work with other musicians/singers you may use...

Chest voice - This is your main voice and where lower notes, as well as powerful belty notes, come from. When you use this voice it resonates more from the chest which is why it is important to use more diaphragm and pay attention to breathing when using this voice.

Head voice/falsetto - This is usually where higher notes come from and sound more delicate from your chest voice. When you use this voice it resonates more from the facial structure as opposed to diaphragm & chest.

Mixed voice - this is a voice which is a tricky one to place and put into practice. A lot of professional singers don't & can't access it. It is (as it says on the tin) a mix between chest & head voice. It is in the higher register of your voice, it sounds like chest voice (so very powerful and belty!) but feels like singing in head voice, so there is no straining (in sound, as well as physically) and you hit the notes with ease.

Blend - this is a term you'll hear if there is more than one singer - when singing in harmony you want to blend together, so even though there are X many different voices, you should be singing as 1. A tip how to do this is listen to the little nuances the lead singer makes in how they sing phrases, pronounce words, their tone and try to mirror it as closely as possible.

Constipation - this isn't a term I use a lot (it's pretty obvious why!) however it is a singing term and something singers do. When belting out those powerful notes, you need to support yourself, not just with the diaphragm but with other parts of your body. When constipating to sing a note you have your legs, should width apart, you bend down a little and literally, sit into the note. When you belt out your note, you will try and push that to the bottom of your body. It gives the body and the voice additional support needed when belting out those tricky notes (particularly in chest voice)!

Melismas/vocal licks - These are what you will hear Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey and (for younger readers) Ariana Grande do A LOT. A melisma is a sequence of notes sung very quickly. An example of this is in the song 'Bootylicious' - Destiny's child - at the end where Beyonce sings the phrase 'and my body too bootylicious for ya baby'. The word 'bootylicious' is the perfect example of a melisma!

Grit - Someone who will sing with a type of growl on certain vocal phrases, more commonly done on Rock songs.

Gravel - this is similar to Grit, however, this is the persons natural vocal tone.

Timbre - posh word for (vocal) tone.

Whistle tone - Following from Mariah Carey who is a prime example of a singer who uses this - it is someone who sings extremely high, higher than a falsetto, to the point where it sounds like a whistle. Not quite to the point where only dogs can hear, but nearly!

Phrases singers will say....

Pull in on the diaphragm - if you read my previous blog if you pull in a sharp movement on the diaphragm it helps support you to enable you to belt out/reach a note.

Smile through the note - to avoid being pitchy and going slight under the note/being flat, it helps if you smile when singing the note. This lifts your face where the note is resonating and enables you to be on point and in tune. This is useful if you're trying to hit a note which is at the top of your range in chest voice.

Yawn through the note - again a technique to help pitching but when you're in your falsetto/head voice.

On the roof of your mouth you have the hard pallet, you can feel this with your tongue, its at the front where your teeth are. Further back you can just about feel where the soft pallet is, and when you yawn, the soft pallet lifts up. When you do this whilst singing you are again, lifting a part of the facial structure where the voice resonates and it'll help you get to that note easier.

There are plenty more phrases and terms i'm sure which i've missed but this gives you a good starting point!

For any questions or queries about this, or, to enquire about singing lessons with me, you can email me on roseraysilvsingingteaching@outlook.com.