It’s every singer’s worst nightmare. Imagine you are performing in front of a crowd and at the climax of the song, you know, that part that has all the ‘money notes’ that everyone is waiting for, your voice CRACKS!

This is a very common source of frustration for singers. The dreaded Vocal Break. Or the part of your voice that cracks/flips/changes gears into a horribly weak and thin sound. The part of the voice where you lose connection.

Of course, the voice can crack even when you are not singing around your bridge or passagio, due to an imbalance of the muscle vs. airflow ratio or some dryness or mucus on the vocal folds, but in this blog we will focus on the cracks that happen around the bridge and how we can avoid them.

Tip #1: Avoid Pulling chest voice up

Many singers, especially those without formal singing training, approach high notes trying to push their chest voice further and further up in their range. Their shoulders, eyes and larynx go up in the hope of ‘reaching’ high enough for the note.

This only causes a thickening of the vocal folds which adds pressure and tension. Once the pressure is too much, the vocal folds have no choice but to get out the way and open, resulting in a weaker sound or a ‘jodel’.

Instead of pulling up your chest voice, let your voice go where it wants to go naturally even if it initially sounds a little weak in your ears. Doing this will allow what you perceive as the weaker part of the voice to strengthen without adding constriction and closure to your throat. When you learn to mix your voice, you will be able to transition smoothly throughout your vocal range.

Tip #2: Sing with Support from your AIRFLOW

Rather than relying on the small muscles in your larynx and putting pressure on them – make sure you are singing on the airflow and supporting your voice. Support does NOT mean pushing and stopping the air but providing a constant stream of air so that your vocal folds continue vibrating. This will give adequate breath support which frees up your throat and allows your voice to move freely between registers.

Tip #3: Don’t overpower in your low-mid range

A common habit that singers have is that in order to compensate for what they perceive as a weak high voice, they tend to belt out their low notes.

This means that they are unknowingly creating a greater chasm between their low chest voice notes and their high head voice notes, accentuating and reinforcing the vocal break

Instead, try singing lighter in the chest range so that you can even out the sound between the two vocal registers. Practice descending arpeggio scales that start from your head voice range and come down into your chest range. As you come down try to keep the sound as even as possible.

Tip #4: Strengthen your head voice

The opposite problem to the above mistake is that singers sing way too lightly and breathy in their higher range. Rather than singing with a forward sounding, bell-like tone, it becomes an unsupported and somewhat weak falsetto.

Strengthen your head voice and aim to develop a fully resonating bell-like sound in your upper ranges.

I hope these tips will help you to strengthen your voice and get those cracks under control J

How to Stop your Voice from Cracking