Good posture for better voice quality?

[lisahebert]

Hi everyone, I want to clarify if is there a required body posture or proper opening of the mouth to produce good voice quality?

Thanks!

[deepflight]

I wouldn't say there's a required posture, but you can sometimes change your sound for the better if you change your posture. There are ways of standing and sitting that make it easier to breathe and therefore improve your breath support. Likewise, the way you hold your jaw, tongue, soft palate, etc., affects the way that you sound.

[davie]

I think good posture is essential for singing. I've seen singers improve dramatically just from adjusting their posture. But just as long as you stay moderate with your body posture it should be fine. When your posture is good, it should feel like your spine is "tall" and your rib cage feels "suspended", and prevent the rib cage from collapsing downward. Overall its best to avoid any unnecessary tension in the body, neck and face, but at the same time there needs to be some flexibility and strength in the body.

[lisahebert]

T

[Ben Woodward]

If it feels uncomfortable, then don't do it!

 

 

What I mean is, if someone says adjust your posture to such and such a position, but doing so takes a lot of effort, then its not the right way of singing for you, even if it improves your voice somehow, there are easier and faster technical tools by making changes within the vocal tract to adjust your sound than to focus on how you stand / sit. Sometimes adjusting your posture can have a knock on effect to the sound you are producing, but its not only that that makes the difference.

 

Working with posture also affects what messages you are communicating. You couldn't ask Noel Gallagher to lengthen his neck and you couldn't ask Bjork to stand still. They would probably ask for their money back if it were a singing lesson! Even experienced classical singers don't have to focus on posture, although they were probably taught how they should stand a lot more than rhythmic singers.

 

However, you might work with posture if its getting in the way of someone's singing by causing unintentional constrictions that stop them getting the sound they want.