A collapsed rib cage is wrong!!

One of the things we see a lot of singers do incorrectly is drop the rib cage.  We call this collapsing and what that usually results in is a jutting out or sticking out of the jaw.  Sometimes we say to students, “You’re leading with your jaw” It’s the wrong position to have your vocal instrument in.  What you want to do is pick up your rib cage.  It’s difficult to do this because under our rib cage is our abdomen and we don’t have a spine like we do in our back to hold us up.  We can drop or collapse into the abdominal area which is really incorrect for great singing.  Instead, imagine a string that is tied to your sternum and up to the ceiling pulling your rib cage up which automatically puts your head in a better position and gives you better posture through the vocal tract area.  This will help you get a proper breath for singing and improve the quality or your sound!  Make sure, by looking in a mirror you never collapse your rib cage while singing!

Posture. Use the correct one for Breathing!

Posture is extremely important when it comes to breathing. If you don’t use the correct posture, you have nowhere for that breath to go.  We tell our students to put their heels hips, shoulder blades against a wall.  Head should be there too with chin not too high or too low.  Now, step away from the wall maintaining that position and you will have the correct posture for breathing and singing.  Taking in a straw breath like we’ve discussed before, can help you achieve correct posture so add these new techniques to your practice time.  Enjoy your newfound posture…it will make you sing better!