Singing Posture and Why We Do It

Posture for singing is one of the first things most teachers of singing will teach. It is rather introductory, but takes many students a long time to fully figure out. I'm going to provide a short explanation of what it is and why we do it, followed by a slightly longer and slightly more specific description. Overall though, this post will mostly be aimed at beginners and not advanced singers.

In short, the aim of posture is to ensure everything else in the process of singing goes as smoothly and uninterrupted as possible. If the shoulders and slightly forward, for example, the lungs will be bent and breathing (and therefore all singing) will be harder. Because of this, the short and simple version of posture is to make sure the neck is not engaged with holding up your skull and your lungs are not bent. If you are doing these two things you are already 90% of the way to excellent singing posture. These can be done standing or sitting. The last bit of importance is that you should not be stiff in this position, but as loose as possible.

A more specific version of posture can be seen in the image attached. Essentially, there should be a vertical line of weight being put on your skeletal system. The aim is to ensure that not singing muscle is engaged in holding up your body. The center of your weight (while standing) should be on the arch of your foot, upwards to the center (not cap) of your knee joint, upwards to the joint where your legs meet your pelvis (not shown in the image), upwards to the highest point of the pelvis, upwards to the shoulders, and finally the ears. Note that between these points there is bend, but the points themselves are in a vertical line. Once in the posture, you should be relaxed enough to walk around smoothly or even dance. Also, once this posture is attained you can walk or sit fine as long as you keep the posture from the waist up.

With this posture, your body will be in the ideal position to use your voice. If you need extra help or are not sure if you are doing it correctly, sign up for a singing lesson by clicking here!