How do you sing from the muscles in your stomache? How long does it take to have a better voice?

Answer 1

First off, you always breathe with your lungs, period. Nothing else. When people talk about "singing from the diaphragm", it means singing with the stomach muscles engaged to give you a full, rich, supported sound instead of a shallow, thin sound. Most people are ok in their middle voice, but when you go into your lower and higher register, knowing how to support your notes is not only essential in producing a good sound but also in singing in a healthful way that won't damage your voice.

To learn proper support, you really need to enlist the help of a qualified teacher who can watch you, but in the mean time, try this:

Lie on your back. First take a big breath, letting your chest raise and puff out (keeping your stomach in line).You'll notice it feels kind of shallow and it's hard to let out over a period of time. This is what you want to avoid. Now, take another breath keeping your chest at the same level but letting your stomach extend out. Slowly let the air out in a measured breath over 20 seconds, keeping your stomach out and your abs engaged. This is what "support" is all about. Try this a few times. Once you get the hang of it, go to a piano and try the breathing again and once you have a big breath and your abs are engaged ( You should visilbly see it push outwards! It is impossible to suck in your stomach and sing correctly - that is why you never see any opera singers in corsets), sing on la: do re mi fa sol fa mi re do. Go up a 1/2 step and repeat. Remember that the top portion of your body, your chest and shoulders should be relaxed.

Also work on breath control by taking a big breath in (not gasping it in, just open your mouth and allow the air to fill your lungs) and letting it slowing trickle out, don't hiss or push it out. A good first goal is 30 seconds. Breath control and support are 2 of the most important fundamentals of good singing. There are others as well that a good teacher will be able to show you (like singing with a relaxed jaw/throat, placement and resonance and working your passagios to name a few). Breathing and supporting correctly takes a lot of time to make it automatic, so really focus on it until it comes more naturally, don't even worry about how you sound at first.

Once you start learning all these fundamentals, you can see an improvement in your voice in as little as a few months, but it's really an individual thing. To master them takes years.

To find a teacher in your area, check out the National Association of Teachers of Singing website - www.nats.org

Good luck!!

Answer 2

Yes, but there is one muscle you need to breath with when singing. It's called the diaphragm. Here is a picture:

http://www.becomehealthynow.com/popups/diaphragm_bh.htm

It depends on when you sing. If you sing everyday like I do, it will take about 3-4 months. I started to sing at age 9 and I sing well. Right now I'm 12. Sometimes it takes years. Just look at the link below and start today.

Answer 3

You want to sing from your diaphragm. Breath deep and open your throat, and it takes awhile before you can do it without thinking about it if you grew into the happen of singing with your throat.

Answer 4

Take private lessons. It sometimes takes a long time, depends on how good your voice is to start with