Through my many years teaching voice and presentation skills, it has been fascinating to discover all the tremendous benefits that can occur just by finding your ‘real’ voice; but certainly, one of the most rewarding is that your singing voice will improve. In some cases, the change is amazing. In all cases, you will have a greater range and greater depth.
I should point out, however, if you cannot carry a tune, voice training will not make you a singer. I should also point out that if you can carry a tune, improving the sound of your speaking voice will not make you a professional singer. What I can tell you, however, is that if you do sing for pleasure, good voice training will make you a better singer and, in some cases, the change can be dramatic.
When I first started my business, I had no idea that some of my clients were noticing a difference in this respect until one of them mentioned it to me. He sang with a band for fun on the weekends and informed me that he had experienced greater endurance, more flexibility and that there was a marked difference in the breadth of his musical sound.
Upon hearing of his success, I was not surprised because when I teach others how to find their ‘real’ voice, they must first learn to breathe with the support of the diaphragm, a muscular partition which separates the chest from the abdomen.
If you have ever taken singing lessons, your coach or singing teacher should have taught you how to breathe in this fashion.
As a music major in college, I learned some diaphragmatic breathing techniques in my singing classes but I never felt comfortable with the breathing: I never felt that I was doing it properly. In graduate school, however, when my singing professor showed me where the optimum pitch of my speaking voice was, I subconsciously started to breathe with this support in order to achieve a deeper, richer, warmer sound. From that moment on, I worked at making my ‘real’ voice a habit because I was able to appreciate that my ‘real’ voice made a statement that my ‘habitual’ voice did not. The latter sounded young, thin, and had no depth.
I also know that my ‘real’ voice landed me the jobs I wanted in New York City after graduate school because I sounded more mature than I was: I sounded like I knew what I was talking about.
From my experience, I know that it is easier to learn to breathe properly if you establish the techniques of diaphragmatic breathing before attempting any change with either your speaking voice or your singing voice.
Improve the sound of your speaking voice and I guarantee you will love hearing your new singing voice even if it is just in the shower!