SINGING TIPS

HOW TO STOP
VOICE CRACK
WHEN SINGING
(7 PROVEN
REMEDIES)

Posted on 15/03/2019 (Last updated 06/05/2021)

by Poppy Scarlett

Voice cracking usually happen when the vocal

muscles stop working for a moment,
interrupting the sound produced. Here are
some of the most effective remedies to help
prevent this.

Professional singers call voice breaks the

passaggio, with unintentional register breaks
called voice cracks. These cracks are real but
they are not forever, and with experience and
research it only takes a little work to
cure. Voice cracks can be stopped through
continuous vocal exercises, breathing
exercises and physical exercises.

In this article, we’ll teach you how to stop voice

cracks when singing and prevent vocal fatigue.

How to prevent voice

cracks when singing
Here are our top tips for preventing voice
cracks, taking proper care of your voice, and
remedies for voice cracking you can start using
today.

7 Remedies for voice

cracking when
singing
Here is what you need to practice to help
prevent and get rid of voice cracks.

#1 Breathing the
right way
When singing, inhaling the air has to be done
with the help of your diaphragm. The
diaphragm helps you carefully give the amount
of air needed for the vocal folds to vibrate and
make the sound without straining and making
the voice crack. Therefore, engaging the
diaphragm when singing gives you better vocal
protection. When you understand these
mechanics, knowing how to stop voice cracks
will become a lot easier.

Eric Arceneaux, a well-known YouTuber and

vocal coach, gives a very good example in his
series “How To Sing From The Diaphragm”, that
you can see below:

Voice Lesson: How To Si…

#2 The crucial vocal

warm-up
Warming up your vocal folds is very important
because it is linked to how well they will
perform. The voice warm-up should never be
done on full volume, and if it’s hurting, then you
are forcing it.

Here are some warm-ups and vocal exercises to

help prevent voice crack.

Lip roll
It starts with your lips connected and letting
the air get out through your lips while making
your lips vibrate (and slightly tingle). These can
be sung on scales or simply low to high notes
and vice-versa. Lip rolls also engage your
diaphragm, thus it is a good way to start
engaging your body with the singing.

Here’s another one of Eric Arceneaux’s vocal

warm-up demonstrations:

Professional Vocal War…

Humming
Start by making the “mmm” sound whilst
imagine having a small wild apple in your
mouth when doing this exercise, as it adds
depth to the sound and it takes away from the
strain on the vocal folds and facial muscles. This
exercise can be performed on scales or
arpeggios too. Just remember not to go too
high up, rather stay in your comfortable vocal
range.

Vowels
Warming up on vowels helps to condition your
tone. You can sing vowels such as “aa-ee-ah-oh-
oo” or “aa-ee-ei-oh-oo” either on the same note
or move up and down a scale. The secret is to
sing all the vowels on one breath and then
inhale and sing all over again.

Sirens
This sound is imitating the vehicle siren by
doing extended pitch glide on different sounds
like “si-nnnnnng”, “rrrrrrr”, “brrr”, “aaaa” etc.

You can find a video by Dr Daniel K. Robinson

covering the different voice sirens here:

Vocal Sirens are AWESO…

Once you completed the simple version of

these exercises, you can always make it more
advanced by adding a different progression to
the sounds, making them shorter or longer.

#3 Workout and
keep active
It is your diaphragm that helps you inhale, but
it is your abdominal muscles that help you
exhale and have control over the diaphragm
when you do it.

Thus, Your abdominal muscles help you control

your breathing when you’re singing and they
need to be trained for that. Working out will
also improve your posture and give you more
confidence.

Moreover, physical exercises increase the blood

flow to the muscles, which raises your body
temperature warming it up along with your
vocal folds. Some artists are even running
around the stage to do it.

#4 Facial exercises
Facial and tongue exercise will help you
tremendously by bringing ease to the
pronunciation of words, opening your mouth to
different sounds and taking away the strain on
the muscles around your cheeks.

You can rotate your tongue in your mouth to

the left and right, open your mouth as wide as
you can and then squeeze the lips as tight as
possible etc.

Anna from Verba Vocal Technique gives a very

nice example in combining those in her video:

Singing: daily exercises f…

#5 Conditioning the
voice through food
and drinks
What we eat and drink before we sing is very
important because these affect how our body
reacts afterwards and how our vocal folds
perform. What you probably want to remember
is what you actually are allowed to eat before
singing, which is chicken, fish, nuts, peanut
butter, honey, fresh fruits, sweet potatoes and
other yellow vegetables, and dark leafy greens.

If you want to discover what to avoid, you’ll find

this other article useful:

#6 Silent resting: the

vocal rest for singers
Silent resting aims to take any type of pressure
from the vocal folds by avoiding speaking and
singing.

This means you should consider taking a few

hours or even full days of resting (in more
serious vocal conditions) to help your vocal
folds recover properly before you put high
demand on them.

#7 Song mapping
and planning
Singing involves a lot of emotions and
psychological engagement. So many of us
don’t hit specific notes just because of the fear
of singing them, and cracks can be a result of
fear too.

For this, we recommend you think the song

through, both because you need to know when
you can take your breaths, but also because you
have to put thought on the sounds too.

This way you are not only protecting your voice

throughout a series of songs, but you also give
them colour and character.

What is a voice
crack?
A voice crack occurs when the vocal folds
spasm and release, which makes the voice
enter a higher register (usually falsetto) for a
moment or two. This uncomfortable sound can
be a real problem, especially for younger
singers.

Why does the voice

crack during
singing?
The reason your voice cracks when you’re
singing is because of the incapacity of your
vocal folds to vibrate at the pitch you desire
when trying to sing a sound, no matter how
much you force it.

What causes voice

cracks?
how to stop voice cracks when singing

There can be many different causes for voice

crack, such as illnesses that come with
inflammation and mucus, or overall vocal
fatigue. Puberty can cause voice cracks for the
simple reason that the size of the vocal folds
change and they no longer ’remember’ the
positions to different sounds.

However, for most of us, they start because our

vocal folds don’t receive the necessary support
that would assist with singing in a healthy way.

What we call singing is not only the part where

your vocal folds vibrate. Singing involves a
variety of muscles, your respiratory system and
even the products you consume that
contribute to the singing exercise. This is why
stopping voice cracks means not only focusing
on your vocal folds but your body as a whole.

How to stop voice

cracks and vocal
fatigue- some
additional tips
how to prevent voice cracks

Avoid screaming, yelling and talking

loud as a general rule, as these can
cause inflammation to your vocal
folds.
Avoid clearing your throat as the
mechanism behind that has a
harmful result on the vocal cords.
If you are living in a dry climate, use
a humidifier to help moist the air
you breath in your room. This helps
moisten the vocal folds.
Always keep yourself hydrated to
make sure that your vocal cords are
moisturised for when they vibrate.

Why are these remedies important?

A very good explanation to that question was

given by Lucille Rubin, PhD. in the Journal of
Voice, where she states that the body
constantly needs to be trained and adapted to
different conditions, such as “physical,
emotional, psychological, or environmental”.

For example, you don’t run a marathon without

any training and adaptations. It is only when
you don’t do so that you suffer injuries. It is the
same with your voice. Continuous pressure to
the vocal folds without proper adaptations and
preparations will lead to vocal fatigue and
therefore, voice cracks.

Final thoughts
There is no magic potion and instant way to
recover, but the good part is, your journey to
stopping voice cracks will help you gain control
over your voice. You are not broken, you are just
not yet supporting your voice box correctly in
delivering the beautiful sounds that you aim
for.

Multiple worldwide artists have been through

it, thus, there’s no need to be discouraged. Just
breath in, breath out and get working on
becoming a better singer right away!

Interesting fact:

A lot of people confuse voice cracks for vocal fry.

Voice cracks can be intentionally achieved by
pushing the air on an uncomfortable high note.
This strains from the focus on your throat so it
isn’t good to do regularly.

Vocal fry, on the other hand, is the controlled

drop of your voice in your lowest vocal register,
that pushes the vocal folds to vibrate giving the
sound a creaky texture.

Share with us how far you are in your mission to

stop voice cracks and what worked best for you!

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