Vocal cords are two bands of muscle tissue located in the larynx. As you exhale, the air that passes through your throat moves them and they start to vibrate. These vibrations create a sound (your speaking/singing voice). Depending on the rate of said vibration, different pitches are created: for example, a1 (above the middle c) is a note called A440 because it has a frequency of 440 Hz which is very important for a singer to know because it means that, on that note, vocal-folds approximate 440 times in a second.

Air pressure is a force exerted by air, on any surface in contact with it. The air pressure inside of the human body is different than the one on the out-side, in the space that surrounds the body. Air is a gas and, like all gases, its natural tendency is to maintain equal pressure. Given access, it flows from areas of high pressure into areas where pressure is lower. According to this, air will go in the body when lower pressure is created there; that happens when the chest cavity expands. This expansion forces the air di-rectly in the body in order to equalize the pressure and the process that is called inhalation happens. By decreasing the size of the chest cavity, the pressure inside of the body becomes higher again and so, in order to equalize it with the outside pressure, the air will want to leave the body. This is the process of exhalation; decreasing the size of the chest cavity in order to force the air to leave the body. Singers goal is being able to con-trol the amount and the speed of air that enters or leaves the body, and so, one has to learn to work with the muscles that enable the breathing process in order to control the air- flow. The amount of air that comes in depends on the excursion of the diaphragm and ribs, which in turn de-pends on the extent of release in the abdominal and pelvic floor.

The diaphragm is a dome- shaped muscular structure located inside of the rib cage. Contraction and relaxation of the diaphgram causes inhalation and exhalation process. In order to sing a long phrase, one must learn to control the movement of the diaphragm with the help of the muscles of the abdominal wall.

In order to sustain a long line, a singer needs to be able to control the stream of air that´s leaving the body. The amount of air needed for the production of the tone depends on the pitch and the volume at which one wishes to sing. The mechanism that controls a singers breath is called ap-poggio- it is a feeling of constant ‘leaning’ on the abdominal muscles dur-ing singing; a notion of constant and slow ‘expansion’ of the lower ab-dominal structures during the exhalation period.

Both male and female voices are divided into three main categories. Male voice- types are: tenor (the highest), baritone (middle) and bass (the lowest). Female voice types are: soprano (the highest), mezzosoprano (middle) and alto (the lowest). In classical singing there any many other sub-categories, depending on the repertoire.

Singing the correct pitch is a skill that can in most cases be learned. So, with some practise, even people who struggle with hitting the correct no-tes are able to improve and sing better.

Human voices are able to cover a wide range of high- and low- pitches, due to having different „registers“. While singing low notes, we activate our „chest voice“- the part of the voice that vibrates in our chest. Hence, we call it head voice.

In order to avoid hoarseness, while singing high notes, we switch to the part of our voice (high register) that vibrates in our head. Hence, we call it „head voice“.

Vocal cords are very delicate tissue that can easily be injured if it’s not ap-proached with care. That’s why professionals always warm-up their voices before singing- it’s exactly like streching before going to the gym and lif-ting heavy weights!

Belting is a singing technique used mostly in pop&rock singing- it includes pushing the chest voice higher than it would naturally go. Some people are naturally able to sing high notes using their chest voice, but this technique has a limit. If the voice is pushed above that limit, it will crack.

Falsetto is the upper vocal register that gets activated when signers try to sing high notes. It is especially distinguishable in male voices.

Stage-fright is a completely natural and normal process that everyone goes through before a performance- even professional singers experience it. Doing breathing excercises before performing, being prepared and con-fident can help reduce the pre-show anxiety.

As singing requires fully formed voices and strong bodies that can support the sound, learning singing technique could be challenging for children un-der the age of 7.

Yes. Smoking severely dries out your throat which in turn makes it hard for your vocal cords to vibrate properly- that’s why smokers have raspy voi-ces.

Hoarseness is a condition that can occure due to number of reasons, such as viruses, acid reflux and other medical conditions, but can also happen when a voice is not used in a proper way. For that reason, beginners are always advised to sing and train their voices under the supervision of a tra-ined professional.