Ok, so it’s one thing to understand the mechanics of singing, and quite another thing to put everything together creating a clear, even tone. If you’re not sure if you’ve found it yet or are still at a loss, let’s do a quick checklist to help you find that pure note.

First of all, every time you take a breath in, tell your body to use the diaphragm. Remember, the breath starts in the center of the solar plexus, moving outwards, i.e. sideways. To help the diaphragm relax, try to get the feeling of “smiling” with the diaphragm as you breathe in.

This helps avoid constricted breath, strained vocal cords and a tense body. An image that can be helpful when practicing a clear note is that of a ping-pong ball kept absolutely still on a jet of water. As we breathe in, the diaphragm relaxes, then works to produce an even, controlled breath, keeping the note clear and focused at the back of the mouth.

If the note is sounding strained, you’re probably doing one of the following:

Tensing or sticking out the neck.

Sticking out, and/or tensing the jaw. Remember, the tongue is doing the work for you, not the jaw.

Placing the tongue too far forward, or else bunching it up in the mouth – remember that when the note is propelled into the mouth, it then becomes an “acoustic cave”, so the shape in the mouth needs to be very focused.

Pressing down on the larynx at the back of the mouth. You should be able to feel if you’re doing this, but you’ll also hear it in the voice. It’ll either sound too breathy, strangled or strangely “froggy”. It helps to remember the image of the tongue going straight back, “two big muscles” (really one, but it helps to think of them as two) under the tongue creating the “round shape” at the back of the mouth, everything focused and in balance.

One little trick that can be helpful to find the pure note is to first of all push the tongue down at the back of the mouth, thus pushing down on the larynx. Then gradually raise the tongue incrementally at the back of the throat, making a “ghuh” sound. When you reach the center of your voice, i.e. the tongue is raised enough that the pressure if off the larynx, you should hear it in your voice and also feel it at the back of the mouth (make a sound bite?).

Another way to not only find the pure note, but to also imprint the techniques into the body is to sing them. The same student who coined the “deadmouth” phrase also came up with this idea, and I think it’s really helpful. So, for example, you’d sing:

“I’m breathing with a nice relaxed diaphragm, back relaxed, knees relaxed, body relaxed under the string, looking straight ahead. My head is balanced on my spine, my voice connected to my breath. My jaw is relaxed and slightly back, and completely relaxed. The tongue is doing all the work for me, two big muscles under the tongue pulling the tongue straight back, and then creating the round shape at the back of the mouth. The tongue is arched at the back of the throat, so that it feels like I’m smiling at the back of the throat, everything balanced. I’m controlling the flow of air from the diaphragm, and I know that it only takes a small amount of air to sustain a pure, clear note. The note is sitting etc.

Another thing to remember, once again, is that the subconscious is still at work, finding ways to make life easier. Finding a path, over time, that works better than before. Once that path is clear, it’ll start going to the “right place” automatically. For example standing with better posture. You might have to work a bit to get there, but it’ll be worth the effort.

Everything needs to happen at the same time, working together as one, for it to really work. And you’ll know when it’s working because you’ll hear the difference. It’ll feel and sound right.

Ah yes, one last thing, when you find that pure note, it can really help to think of it as “floating” at the back of the mouth, nothing to do with you. Once again the Zen paradox of singing: you recognize the place easily because you’ve been there many times before, but you don’t hold on to it in any way. Create the sound, and then let it go, ready for the next note.

Vibrato (“a pulsating effect in the vocal tone produced by slight and rapid variations in pitch”), i.e. “wobbling the note” (see online tutorial Chapter 28) is, in a perfect world, produced with diaphragmatic control. One of the basic mistakes that everyone makes when first learning to sing is to create vibrato using the jaw. You can feel if you’re doing this, because your head will wobble up and down slightly as you sing. True vibrato is controlled by the larynx and diaphragm, working together, to produce an even vibrato, i.e. an even wobble! Once again, relaxation is key. It’s a gentle action, so try not to force it. I’ve had a few questions from students who have a large, deep, wobbly vibrato that they want to learn to control, so they can turn it on and off at will. In my experience, a big vibrato is often acquired early on. Either one admires a particular singer with a big vibrato, or the voice has a natural propensity to create one. A big vibrato is a taste issue, there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with it. But it can be like the loudmouth at the party, taking over the whole voice and robbing it of its subtlety. When your voice is centered, vibrato is something that occurs naturally. The mains reasons for big, wobbly vibratos are:

The throat is controlling the note, not the diaphragm.

The diaphragm is working nicely, but the singer is used to creating a big vibrato and the subconscious continually “goes there”. So it’s something that needs to be unlearned. It’s like taking a plate of metal and wobbling it. The wave formation is slow and even. Yet again, even though larynx and diaphragm may be working together, to create this effect most of the work is still going on in the throat. The focus is on the throat, i.e. “my voice is in my throat”, and not the whole body working together as one.

The best way to control a big vibrato is to go back to basics, re-training the emotion memory of the body. Sing long, even, quiet notes in the middle of your range. Try to create a “white” note, i.e. with no vibrato at all. Relax the back, looking straight ahead, everything balanced, knees relaxed. Then sing some vowels in the middle of your range, using long, quiet notes. Remember to use the tongue, not the jaw, and image the note connected to the diaphragm, like a ping-pong ball sitting on a jet of water, i.e. the note controlled by the diaphragm. Close your eyes and concentrate on relaxing the diaphragm on the in breath. Concentrate on the solar plexus on the out breath. Image the “string” going through the center of the body and feel the connection between the solar plexus and larynx through the string. Make the note as quiet and even as you can. Then try to quicken the vibrato, i.e. speed it up. So instead of big, floppy waves, you have quick, “further together” waves, like a hummingbird.

It can also help to use a breathy voice, concentrating on controlling the amount of breath in the note (online tutorials Chapters 30 and 31, Soft to Loud and Pure to Breathy). Concentrate on the breath, and not the vibrato, i.e. take the focus off it. Remember, the diaphragm controls the note, not the throat. You can use Track 17 of the Vocal Exercises to practice these exercises.

So the basic rule of thumb in controlling a big vibrato is to take the emphasis off the throat and to learn to use the diaphragm. The more we try and the sing from the throat, the harder it gets. The subconscious is telling us that the voice is in the throat, so everything has to come from there. If you’re “trying too hard” then that is often when the vibrato sounds unnatural and forced. The more centered your voice is, the better. You don’t need a lot of breath, a small sip will do. It’s what you do with the breath that counts, how you control it. Diaphragm relaxed (i.e. smiling) as you breathe in, creating a centered note. Using your energy internally to control the note. In fact, rule of thumb, the more centered the note is, i.e. the more you use your internal energy and relax the rest of your body, so you’re using certain parts very efficiently and the rest of the body is working to facilitate that action, then the focus should change from your throat to your whole body. Flex your hand and see how everything has to work together to make it work in one smooth action. The same thing needs to work for your voice to be balanced and whole.