The 5-Tone Count

The first step in getting your voice warmed up is making sure you have a strong chest voice.

Many singers tend to sing breathy and light at the bottom of their voice.

That’s because order to sound beautiful, they think they have to sing breathy.

But if your voice is light and breathy on bottom, you don’t have a chance of singing high notes with power.

As we discussed earlier, the chest voice is the vocal register responsible for all the notes at the bottom of your voice.

But even more important, the chest voice is also the foundation for all the notes that come above it.

So it pays to start here.

In my experience, the best way to strengthen your chest voice is to use the power of your speaking voice and apply it to singing.

It may sound strange, but many people who have a strong speaking voice sing too lightly.

So what’s the solution?

Remember that most vocal problems come from an imbalance of the vocal registers.

So if your chest voice is weak, then the whole range will be weak.

But what would happen if you applied the same strength you have in your speaking voice to your singing?

You would end up with a strong, resonant chest voice and a solid foundation for your higher notes.

The first exercise we’ll use to strengthen our voice is the 5-Tone Count.

Here’s how you do it:

1.     Begin by saying the number “One” aloud at a comfortable volume.

2.     Find a comfortable starting pitch (try C3 for guys and G3 for girls) and say the word “One” on that pitch.

3.     Next, say the numbers 1 through 5 on pitch with the ascending 5-Tone scale pictured here:

A Few Things to Note:

·      The whole point of the 5-Tone Count is to match the strength of your speaking voice to your singing voice. So make sure there’s no breathiness in your voice as you count out loud.

·      It’s totally fine to speak/sing these notes. They may even sound ugly to you. We’re not trying to sound pretty. We’re trying to get the full power of your chest voice on the notes.

·      Stay at a consistently strong volume.

A Note on Volume

Finding the right volume can be a tricky thing. Some singers sing too softly which makes your voice more likely to crack.

Other singers yell, which limits your range and often makes you sing flat.

So we need to find a suitable volume for singers of all kinds.

Here’s a trick to help you find the perfect volume when you’re singing these exercises:

1.     Pretend you’re on a stage in a small auditorium

2.     Now sing the notes at a volume where you could reach the back row.

3.     Do this without yelling and without whispering.

The result should be a comfortable but loud and resonant tone where you could still be heard in the back row.

Now that we’ve got a loud and resonant chest voice, let’s start to expand our range to both registers.