It is much more difficult to move the lower limits of the range than the upper ones. However, in addition to perseverance, it will also take a natural talent to achieve the same range.
Not all talented vocalists have such structural features of the vocal apparatus that allow them to sing in this range. It causes stress, and that’s normal.
If you’re wondering how to sing lower than your range, you can start practicing with the tips below. These basic methods will help you succeed a little bit while working out at home.
Some Errors When Singing Low Notes
A common mistake that novice vocalists make when singing low notes is rearranging the entire vocal apparatus for their sound.
Reflex excessive lowering of Adam’s apple, shoulders, and palate lead to the voice’s exaggerated, caricatured sound.
In addition, low notes do not need such a large volume of resonator cavities. The posture and position of the organs of the vocal apparatus when playing lower-register notes are not so different from the posture and position when playing the upper notes.
But it would help if you closely control your breathing. The fact is that, to sound low notes, you will need less air than for high notes. Therefore, the air jet must be soft and smooth. And here, novice vocalists make another mistake.
They relax the diaphragm so much that the voice loses support. Of course, you can sing low notes without support, but only in pop genres and use this method exclusively as a vocal decoration.
If you perform the entire song without support, then, firstly, the voice will sound inexpressive, and secondly, there will always be a lack of breath for long phrases.
For smooth transitions down to the lower than your range, start with our tips!
How To Sing Lower Than Your Range?
So, if you want to expand the range of your voice towards lower-register notes, it is important not to miss the following points:
- Posture: Shoulders straight, back straight, chin not down;
- Breathing: Exhalation is smooth, restrained, with support on the diaphragm;
- Facial expressions and articulation: Raise the cheekbones and eyebrows, relax the jaw, and open the teeth;
- Organization of the lesson: It is better to work on a range under the supervision of an experienced teacher in a group or individual vocal lessons.
If you can’t make it to a vocal class, you can try practicing at home with the following instructions:
#1. Determine Your Vocal Range
To learn to sing lower notes safely, you must first determine the lowest note you can currently sing. Use an online pre-recorded tool or have a companion play piano notes.
Try singing the note starting with C4. Start at the top and work your way down until you reach a note that you can’t duplicate or that requires a lot of effort to sing. And the note before it is the lowest in your current range.
Because judging our voices properly can be challenging, having a vocal coach or someone else with musical expertise for this phase. If you need assistance, you can utilize an app like SingScope.
#2. Relax
We employ our natural chest register, which is low notes when we talk. It would help if you undertook general relaxation techniques to play the low notes relaxed and comfortable.
Yoga, for example, is an excellent meditation technique. The following exercises are also beneficial.
The roar of a colossus:
Stand tall, relax your body, and feel your weight distributed evenly over both legs. Make back-and-forth head motions, relaxing the back of your head and jaw, which should feel quite heavy.
Then, lower it and let it hang freely without pushing your jaw back. Rotate your head to the right and left in this posture.
Only then utter the sound “ha” with your tongue relaxed and gentle. Assume you’re portraying a colossal who is giggling. Your vocal muscles must participate in this exercise; they should push the air out as you exhale.
Please calm you down:
It would help if you strived to soothe down a worried hypothetical interlocutor in this practice. Say “slow down” as smoothly and as extended as you can.
While practicing this exercise, imagine yourself sitting on a nice, comfy sofa. Feel as if you are exhaling freely and effortlessly. Any other word will suffice as long as you stretch and sing the vowels.
Relax your vocal cords:
Relax your tongue and make a wide, open sound [a]. Then relax your voice to get a creak or crackle. This sound is also called “strobus” or “fry”.
At the same time, the vocal cords should barely vibrate, as if swinging freely. In this position, they are most relaxed. If your ligaments are tense, the squeak may not work the first time.
To produce this sound, one does not need to release too much air. The looser your ligaments, the longer you can squeak like this. Try to rattle in this way for a minute or two.
#3. Stretch The Vocal Cords
Ever heard how dogs whine when they ask for a walk? By imitating this sound, we stretch our vocal cords.
Place the tip of your tongue at the base of the lower incisors and begin to hum, gradually opening your mouth, and but not letting air out through it.
Imagine that air comes out through the nose. At this time, reminisce about the sensation of a runny nose when you say “in the nose.”
Also, to feel the difference in air movement, try to hold your nose and specifically speak so that the sound goes through it. Then try to speak in your normal voice, letting air through your mouth but not opening your nose simultaneously.
Remember to breathe deeply, and also do not try to raise your voice above your comfortable threshold. Do the exercise for a minute.
#4. Breath Support
First of all, when singing the lower notes, You must maintain a high singing position. It would help if you did not sing these notes in your throat.
The breath support at the bottom should be very soft. If you crush it with air, you will interrupt the note. You need to catch the sensation of the breathing duct, soft and free.
Of course, you need to get rid of any clamps in this case. Sometimes, you should put a palm on your chest to find chest resonance. Then direct your attention in that position, and indeed, the sound is more chest-like.
One of the most convenient ways to learn how to control the volume of exhaled air is to blow through a tube. Here are general guidelines:
- Take a small to medium diameter straw.
- Take in the air by swelling your belly.
- Let the air out through the tube. In this case, inflate the cheeks and relax the abdominal muscles. By placing your palm in front of the straw, you should feel a firm and even flow of air.
- As you exhale, make a medium or low pitch sound, lowering the tone very, very gradually as you exercise.
- When the lungs run out of air, take a deep breath through your mouth and repeat the exercise.
- Repeat for one to two minutes.
- If you want, you can dip the straw into the glass: for some, the feeling of water resistance helps.
- Repeat the exercise at least three times.
Get many other correct breathing instructions in this video:
#5. Chanting
It is better to start chanting on notes in the middle range. Then move on to singing notes from the middle of the range and down.
The main thing is not to think that the sound may not work. Such concerns lead to clamping and malfunctioning of the organs of the vocal apparatus. So, the more self-confidence, the sooner you will achieve the desired result.
Vocalists want to expand their range up or down. To sing low notes, You must extend the lower jaw. Usually, a chest sound is found in dark-skinned vocalists, for example, James Brown, Etta James, Ray Charles.
If you are not a happy owner of such a jaw, then remember that the lower you start singing, the more your jaw should protrude.
At the same time, do not forget about the vocal mask. It will help connect all the resonators and add breasts to them.
Simple chanting exercises include:
- Exercise number 1.
To get used to the extended jaw, say the word “Hey” while keeping an eye on your vocal mask and jaw. You can push your tongue a little. It will help the sound come out more freely. Gradually lower your voice down.
- Exercise number 2.
Speak the word “Hai” by extending the jaw. Gradually lower yourself down.
By the way, if you can’t push your jaw out, you can put your teeth on your teeth so that the upper ones stay inside; the lower ones come out forward and smile.
- Exercise number 3.
Try to do a little vocalization on the word “Hey” and work your way down.
- Exercise number 4.
Vocalize on “Haa” going down.
- Exercise number 5.
Combine the last 2 vocals and sing them as one phrase “Hey” – “Hey” – “Hey” – “Haa” – “Haa” – “Haa”.
By the way, it is very important: practice in front of the mirror until it becomes a habit.
As soon as you bring singing with an extended jaw to your chants to automatism, you can safely insert this vocal technique into your songs.
#6. Sing With Your Chest
There is also such a technique: tap yourself gently on the chest with a fist. But in any case, you need to remember about the top position.
It is important not only not to press but also not to gag. Forcibly lowering the larynx to the limit will not help. In general, you should sing the bottom note very carefully and gorgeously.
It should be in the top position, vibrato, soft, velvety, chest resonance, round and flighty. In some compositions, it is appropriate to use open lower notes.
They sound quite different, and in modern academic vocals are considered “gypsy”, “in a postcard”, “crucified”, etc.
Most singers don’t focus enough on training their voices to strike low notes cleanly and profoundly. On the other hand, the low notes will greatly increase your repertoire if you specialize in jazz or pop singing.
Final Thoughts
Singing low notes is just as difficult as singing high notes. We lower the larynx as low as possible and pull the lower lip down to show the lower teeth.
But you don’t need to open your mouth wide. On the contrary, we make the sound and, as it were, lower it down, feeling the sound somewhere in the throat or the chest.
Many professional singers have practiced these exercises, sharing them with us. Hopefully, the above guidelines have helped you know how to sing lower than your range.
As always, you will need to be persistent in your process.
Wish you early success!
