What is Belting and what exactly should it sound like?
Belting comes from the slang word “belt” which means to wallop or deliver a hard blow as in boxing.
Before we had the availability of microphones, singers had to be belters in order for the audience to hear them. In our modern day with electronic amplification, crooners grew in popularity.
Our modern definition now is projected speech-like or yell-like (in the chest voice). When done properly you shouldn’t feel tightness, pinching or strain. The key is to NOT over squeeze those vocal cords!
Speech-like sound is created when you project speech. This is NOT head voice which is a completely different vocal fold vibration pattern. You can create strong sounds in head voice by adding resonance but belting is strictly a chest voice sound.
This speech-like sound can be loud, soft, high, low, ringy, nasal, and dull. This speech-like sound can be taken by both males and females to the top of their ranges comfortably and safely with proper training.
Belting should express emotion as humans
The basic belt stripped down is speech-like belt. It sounds simple, sincere and natural. This is the first style of belting I teach the students I work with since it’s comfortable to produce and easy on the ears. From there, I teach them resonance which is an acoustic phenomenon that allows their voices to be stronger and more brilliant in nature without putting extra pressure and stress on vocal cords.
Resonance can then be added in a tasteful way once the singer knows the character of the piece or person they’re trying to portray such as in musical theatre.
Muscles used in singing
There are two main muscles that control the larynx and vocal fold’s movement and they are the CT muscles (Cricothyroid) and the TA muscles (thyroarytenoid). The CT muscle are located on the exterior of larynx (back muscle) and controls primarily the higher pitches while the TA muscle (felt in the front of larynx) controls the lower pitches. As your ascending you’ll want to feel the CT muscles stretching back and when you’re descending, you’ll want to feel the TA muscles pull you down as the larynx pulls forward.
NEVER ever should there by pressing!
There is much controversy over this in the belting world but let me clarify one thing. The vocal folds should never ever be pressing when belting. Pinching and over compression of cords is often prevalent among untrained, young singers. If singers begin to over constrict the vocal cords, they risk vocal injuries such as hoarseness and possible vocal lesions on their cords. Firm closure is fine as that is essential for the chest voice but pressing is a whole different thing and not recommended if you want to have a successful, long career as a singer. Stay away from pressing and over-squeezing if you want longevity as a singer.
XoXo,
