On 20 July 2019, 22 students and alumni attended a Vocal Training Workshop, where they spent 2 hours with professional vocal coach, Mr. Aaron Lim. Aaron is one of only two Estill Master Trainers for Voice Singapore, having 18 years of experience guiding hundreds of students to their big stage.

Before starting with singing, students were taught the basics of our vocal anatomy and physiology. After understanding the different factors affecting our pitch, Aaron went into how we could make use of some techniques and practices to tweak our tones, reaching the higher and lower pitch range.

Those who had trouble reaching the high notes were taught to eliminate and control the physiological conditions associated with straining in a process called “head voice”. High notes that are sung with balanced physiology tend to have better resonance than falsetto or strained notes.

Having controlled breathing also plays an important role in your singing, which does not come naturally and would require training. There are some tips that you can try practising at home to discover your singing breath!

1. Pretend that the air is really heavy as you inhale. Visualise it weighing 50 pounds and let it fall low into your body.
2. Let it fall lower than your belly button. Explore this sensation.
3. Then let the breath fall in faster. Still visualizing it being heavy but let it fall quickly into your body.
4. You can also fill your lungs as if you were going to blow up a balloon. You will feel your abdomen and lower back expand.

This sensation of quickly filling your lungs with air is how you properly inhale for singing.

Towards the end of the class, a few volunteers also stepped up to sing in front of the class, after which Aaron provided them with valuable feedback and techniques which can help them improve their singing.

It was definitely an eye-opening and fun session!

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