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How to sustain your long notes and phrases by expanding at the heart

Singing Technique, Singing Tips, Voice · November 19, 2020

As you sing long phrases or notes, you want to sustain a stable sound until the end of the phrase and also not run out of air too fast, right?

But what if the endings “fade out”, get less powerful in volume, or even a bit wobbly?

You may have tried things like optimizing your in-breath by making those lower ribs flexible, or making sure that the belly around the navel is slowly moving inwards during singing. And while that helps a bit, you still notice that the endings aren’t as controlled and sounding as stable as they could be. 

The problem is, it’s not your support muscles but your alignment that’s not working optimally. You’re “shrinking at the heart centre”, and that’s sabotaging you. 

What you should do is making sure the ribcage doesn’t collapse around the area of the sternum, and apply what I call “expanding at the heart”. In this video, I’ll show you how to do this! 

As a bonus feature, practicing expansion at the heart centre – which is all about connecting and relating – will also help you connect with your audience. ❤️

After having watched and practiced with the video, let me know in the comments:

Did you notice you’re “shrinking” (if ever so subtly)?

What changed in your voice when you applied “expanding at the heart”?

If you’re ready to go faster and deepen the work, here’s some ways we can work together:

  1. Join my community for lifelong learners who love everything about singing.
  2. Interested in One-on-One coaching & mentoring? Schedule a call to discuss your dreams, goals, current obstacles & coaching needs.

Schedule your FREE Discovery Call

Filed Under: Singing Technique, Singing Tips, Voice Tagged With: alignment, breathing, posture

Katja

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Janike van Dijk says

    November 19, 2020 at 3:43 pm

    Thanks, Katja, this is helpful.

    Reply
    • Katja says

      November 19, 2020 at 3:53 pm

      Glad to hear it was helpful Janike!

      Reply

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