Everybody loves to hear high notes, because they’re exciting.
But if you think low notes are not important for singers, think twice.
Low notes are extremely important because they are the foundation of our vocal range.
If you are reading this post because you came to a similar realization, congratulations, you are going to find this post very helpful in your development as a singer.
I’m going to share with you 21 best tips on how to sing low notes. I promise you these tips are my original ideas on vocal training that you won’t find anywhere else.
If you’re ready, let’s begin.
Can My Vocal Range Be Extend Lower?
The short answer is YES – with the right kind of training, you can sing lower.
Like high notes, our lower notes are produced by vocal muscles. When the muscles become stronger through training, they are able to produce lower notes.
I used to have no low notes, but after training, I have extended my lower range by FOUR more notes, from G2 down to D2.
It was an incredible experience since I am a high tenor and my low range was practically non-existent.
When my lower range became solid, I became much more expressive as a singer.
I am able to convey more emotions through the use of vocal colors in my songs.
I got the same results from my students as they built up their lower notes.
You can do the same for your voice.
Further reading: How to Find Your Vocal Range
21 Best Tips on How to Sing Low Notes
Here are my golden nuggets to help you sing low notes, so you can become a better singer.
These are very original ideas that I have applied to my own singing, as well as training my students. So, they are proven to work.
Here they are:
Tip #1: Proper Vocal Warm-Up
Many people think low notes are easy to sing, and you only need to warm up if you have high notes to sing – that is a big mistake.
You need to warm up your voice to sing low notes well. Vocal warm-up gets the blood flowing to the vocal cords and makes the vocal muscles more flexible.
Here are the top 3 vocal warm-ups that I highly recommend:
1. Lip Bubble
Probably the best way to start your vocal warm-up. If you only have time to do one exercise, you can do this one. Slide down and up an octave.
2. Humming
This exercise gets the vocal cords to close more deeply in a very safe semi-occluded way. Make sure you hum lightly. Slide down a 5-tone scale.
3. V sound
Make sound on the consonant V and feel the buzzing sensation on your lips. Slide down and up an octave.
4. Z sound
This works the same way as the V sound. Make sound on the consonant Z. Slide down and up an octave.
5. Tiny singing
Sing a song as soft as you can with good vocal resonance and support. This will get rid of all the strains on your voice.
Tip #2: Release Vocal or Body Stress
Your vocal cords are connected to the rest of your body – believe it or not.
When your body is tense, especially in the throat and neck areas, the tension will transfer to the vocal cords making singing more difficult.
Doing proper body stretches and massages will actually help your singing – a lot!
Your low notes will be much more open, relaxed, and resonant.
Before you sing, do some body stretches for the upper body.
Also, massage your neck and jaw area. If you can find a partner, do a shoulder rub on each other.
Tip #3: Use Abdominal Support for Low Notes
This is one of the most important vocal techniques you should master – Abdominal support.
The right way to support your voice is to push down on your abdomen.
You don’t push out or pull in the stomach, but you bear down.
This keeps the breath low and controls the airflow, which takes the pressure off your throat.
Tip #4: Use Vocal Placement to Train Low Notes
The vocal placement I’m talking about here is one of the biggest secrets for great singing.
It is a buzzing sensation at the roof of the mouth.
Sometimes the buzz will feel like it’s in the nose. As long as there is a buzz, it means your voice is produced in a very efficient way.
You can find the buzz by making an owl sound – OOH-OOH.
When you find this buzz, you can apply it to everything you sing. Let me emphasize – whenever you sing, the buzz has to be there.
When you sing low notes, you will feel a lot of chest resonance, which can be confusing.
Try to focus on this buzz at the roof of the mouth. If you feel it in the throat, you are not doing it right.
Tip #5: Breathe Deep
This is one of the most important fundamental skills for singing – Deep Breathing.
Allow your stomach to come out when you breathe in. This will take the pressure off the throat, shoulder, and chest areas.
If you lift your shoulders or chest when you breathe in, you need to stop and fix that.
Look into the mirror and monitor your chest and shoulders while you sing.
Tip #6: Do Not Push For Volume
You really don’t need to push to make your low notes louder. You will tend to grunt or squeeze your throat, which is the last thing we want in singing.
You build vocal power in your low notes on top of good muscle coordination.
In general, your throat should be more relaxed while your vocal cords are working.
Your low notes will get stronger as you get really good at singing them with good technique (Focus on the buzz in Tip #4).
Tip #7: Get Rid of Extra Breath
You want to make sure you are not using too much breath when you sing.
You should try to make your vocal tone as focused and clean as possible.
If you sound a little bit airy, that means your vocal cords are not closing efficiently – That’s why air is leaking through.
Again, you need to focus on the buzz in Tip #4 and apply deep breathing. Keeping the breath low and apply downward pressure will help you minimize the airflow when you sing.
Tip #8: Do Not Grunt While You Sing
This often happens when you sing low notes. Grunting is one of the worst things you can do for singing.
Grunting closes down the throat, like what we do when we try to lift heavy things.
When you sing, air has to pass through the vocal tract to release the sound.
When you grunt, you are working against yourself.
You can use a little yawn to open up your throat and counter the grunt while you sing.
Tip #9: Do Not Squeeze Your Throat
A squeezed sound is very annoying.
Singers tend to squeeze for high notes, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen in low notes.
I used to squeeze my low notes, because I didn’t have any low notes. I was trying really hard to make any sound in low notes.
Use a yawn to fix the squeeze, like what we do to counter the grunt. Yawn while you breathe in and keep that yawn while you start singing.
Tip #10: Do Not Lock Your Jaw
We tend to grit our teeth when we are having stress or emotional baggage. I do that while I sleep, and I wake up with a very tight jaw.
A tight jaw will not help your singing. Oftentimes we tend to lock the jaw because of tension.
Massage or rub the cheek and jaw muscles to release stress and tension.
Monitor your jaw to keep it flexible and free.
Tip #11: Keep Your Body Hydrated
When your body is dehydrated, you can sound very throaty, or even tight, when you sing low notes.
You need to drink water – a lot of it.
You might ask how much is a lot? I try to drink a gallon a day when I’m at my office and I have access to the restroom all day.
It is possible and necessary for a singer to drink this much water. It helps your vocal cords to stay lubricated, and it’s good for, not just vocal health, but health overall.
If it is really not possible for you, try to at least drink half a gallon, or close to 2000 c.c. every single day.
Tip #12: Avoid Alcohol and Smoking
Alcohol and smoking are the biggest enemies of singing.
I do realize that a lot of singers do drink and smoke. I drink some alcohol to relax as well.
But, try to be cautious of the effects alcohol and cigarettes bring to your voice.
They will affect not just your low notes, but your entire vocal range.
Tip #13: Limit Coffee Intake
I know many people think coffee is healthy, but the fact is coffee dehydrates your body and makes your vocal cords dry.
I’m not saying don’t drink coffee at all, but try to limited yourself to 1-2 cups a day.
Also, coffee will artificially increase your heart rate and affect your sleep, which is so important for singers.
Tip #14: Get Rid of Nasality
You should get rid of nasality during vocal training. Nasality is caused by the space in the throat not opening (Soft palate not lifting and high larynx).
Check for nasality by pinching your nose when you sing. If the sound changes or gets stuck, then you are too nasal. If not, you’re good to go.
Nasal tones are used for stylistic expression. Nothing wrong with that, but you want to avoid that during vocal training.
Tip #15: Sing Soft Volume
The advantage of singing soft is that you are relieving excess vocal stress, making it easier to strengthen the right muscles for singing.
Singing soft is done with good abdominal support and placement, of course, or you lose the purpose of doing this.
Pick a song with the low notes that you want to practice with, and sing softly with good technique. This will ensure that you build muscle memory with the right muscle coordination.
Tip #16: Increase Volume Gradually
After you get used to soft singing, you can build vocal strength on top of that.
You want to do this gradually, so you don’t encourage the grunt and squeeze back into your voice.
Remember you CAN sing loud, just with the right coordination.
Tip #17: Sing Songs with Lower Notes
After you are done with vocal exercises, you want to sing songs – real songs, every single day to finish up your practice session.
Make up a song list of at least 5 songs with low notes that you want to practice with.
Sing those songs after vocal exercises every day. It is very important that we make singing real songs a part of our training routine.
Tip #18: Train 5-6 Days a Week
If you want to master your low notes, high notes, or master anything in singing, you have practice very consistently.
You don’t have to practice 2 hours a day, like I do, but at least 30 min per day.
If you don’t practice like this, your progress will be very slow.
Tip #19: Plan Low-Note Training in Your Routine
If you want to master your low notes, you need to practice them deliberately.
I was wrongly taught that low notes will come naturally as you progress.
No, they won’t. You need to train and strengthen them directly.
Tip #20: Experiment with Different Vocal Colors
It is fun to play with your low notes with different vocal colors, because it is easier to experiment with low notes than high notes.
The vocal cords are not pulled so tightly in low notes, so you have more freedom with vocal expressions.
Play with basic vocal colors like cry, vocal fry, breathy tone, grit, loud and soft volumes, etc.
You will find that you can do more things with low notes than high notes.
Tip #21: Enjoy Your Low Notes
I used to hate my low notes, mainly because of my vain misconception that low notes are boring, and high notes are what gets you noticed as a singer.
Again, singing low notes, when done tastefully, can be very sexy and appealing to the audience, sometimes even more so than high notes.
Low notes can be used to express warmth and intimacy.
I enjoy singing my low notes now more than ever. I hope you get to see how your low notes can be very charismatic and soothing to the audience.
Recommended reading: 100+ Vocal Training Tips: The Ultimate List
Why Low Notes are the Foundations of Your Voice
I ignored my low notes for the first 20 years of my singing career, which is one of the biggest mistakes I made as a singer.
I thought low notes are boring and dull, and high notes are where the money really is. After all, people call the tenor high C the “money note,” right?
So, who cares about low notes…especially when you’re a tenor.
The fact is – low notes lay the foundation of our entire vocal range. When the foundation is strong and rooted, it is safe to build the whole thing up.
The same is true in building your vocal range.
If your low notes are weak, they will greatly affect the quality of your high notes, because vocal muscles that produce low notes and high notes are all connected.
Further reading: How to Sing Higher For Men & How to Sing Higher For Women
Advantages of Having Good Low Notes
Low notes can sound really sexy, if you’re good at singing them.
There was a time when singers didn’t vainly pursue high notes at the disposal of low notes.
Male singers used to have solid middle and low range as a show of masculinity.
But now, it seems that guys are singing higher and higher, and more female singers are singing deeper and lower, which is rather ironic.
Low notes are where you build the meat for the voice. You can show a lot more vocal colors in lower notes, such as deepness, breathy tones, consistent vibrato, chesty resonance, or the intimate feel.
I made the mistake of focusing on hitting high notes, which is only 20% of the song. The other 80% of the time I’m just kind of winging it, because I didn’t care for low notes.
You can do so much more in selling the song to your audience when you master the low notes.
I know singers who have a small vocal range who are more successful than I am.
So, What Do You Think? Let Me Know…
There you have it – my 21 best tips on how to sing low notes.
Do you find these tips useful and helpful for your singing?
What are your favorite tips in this post?
I’m really eager to know what you think.
So leave a comment below if I have missed anything or if you have anything you want to discuss.
All the best to your singing,
Rex
