Jenny Cooke (of the duo "Jenny and Ashley") in the vocal booth

How you breathe in the vocal booth will determine your degree of vocal control- affecting pitch, tone, volume, vocal licks and your susceptibility to vocal strain. As is true for all singing, breath during vocal recording includes three areas that should be balanced and mastered:

1. Inhale (air you are getting in)
2. Breath Support (air you are sending through your vocal cords)
3. Breath Control (air you are holding back from your vocal cords)

Unfortunately, the vocal booth is often one of the most frustrating places to get all three of these areas of breath technique right. Why? Because of your position, stance and body language at the mic.

You don't have to do three months of breathing exercises to make a huge difference in your singing breath. Try these things for an instant upgrade in your vocal booth breathing:

1. Move the music stand so that you can place your feet closer in towards the mic, balancing your head over your tailbone or heel (same thing).
2. Use your hands when you sing... do NOT hang them limply at your sides.
3. Stand tall with a flexible spine
4. Make sure the mic pop screen is placed a height that will not encourage you to lift or dip your chin.
5. Pull, don't push, your voice for resonance power!

Did you find this useful? There are so many more things you can do to help you optimize your studio voice and conquer problems in the vocal booth. Check out the absolute ultimate resource you can get on studio singing at SingingInTheStudio.com.

Labels: breath control, breath for singing, Judy Rodman, Recording Vocals, singing in the studio, vocal booth, vocal control