How to Sing Lower: 5 Vocal Exercises to Help You Sing Lower

The human vocal range is determined by physical attributes that each person inherits from their parents. While you can practice vocal techniques that improve the airflow, breath support, vibrato, vocal tone, and intonation of your singing voice, you cannot actually change your vocal range. Baritone singers cannot become tenors and sopranos cannot become altos by following a few singing tips.

While you cannot change your voice type, you can work within your existing vocal range to add more high notes and low notes to your repertoire. The easiest way to add high notes is to use a singing technique called falsetto, or head voice. Expanding your vocal range in your "real" voice, typically called a chest voice, is trickier. Yet with steady practice, vocal exercises, and singing lessons from a reputable voice teacher, a limited amount of range expansion is possible.

Use the following tips to loosen the vocal folds in your larynx, which in turn will help you hit lower notes.

1. 1. First, understand your vocal cords. To start singing lower in your existing vocal range, understand how your vocal cords produce lower register sounds. Vocal projection comes from vowel sounds, and those vowels will resonate in a low range when vocal cords are both thick and relaxed. Just like the thickest, loosest string on a guitar (low E) produces the lowest note, vocal cords that are thicker and looser will produce lower range sounds.
2. 2. Drop your jaw when you sing. Having a more relaxed, open mouth can help loosen up your vocal cords.
3. 3. Relax your tongue and your jaw. Your tongue and jaw are the primary sources of tension in your mouth. While a strategic dose of tension can help you sing high notes, it makes hitting low notes a lot harder. Stay relaxed if at all possible.
4. 4. Keep good posture. Stand up straight with your shoulder blades slightly back. Keep your head up and facing forward. The key is to avoid a stooped posture, which can lead to tension in your vocal cords.
5. 5. Avoid singing from your chest. Focus your physical energy on your mouth itself. Loosen your jaw if possible and let air flow out of your mouth with as little resistance as possible.
6. 6. Pull the microphone close. You may not be able to project bass notes very far, but a well-placed microphone can make up for a lot of this.

Perhaps the smartest way to reach lower notes in your singing range is to work with a professional vocal coach. Until then, use the following vocal exercises to develop a balanced voice and expand your range.

1. 1. Start your vocal warm-ups with long exhales. Begin your warm-up with a set of long, pitch-less sighs. Then begin adding notes and sighing downward—starting from your highest note in your head voice and going down to deep bass notes if possible. As your voice gets warm, push yourself to reach lower and lower notes.
2. 2. Warm up with descending scales. When you're done sighing, you can try some pitched singing. A good option is to descend from sol to do in a solfege scale as follows: sol-sol-sol-fa-mi-re-do. Try this with different vowel sounds and in different keys.
3. 3. Use descending arpeggios. An arpeggio spells out the individual pitches of a chord and skips over notes in a scale that does not appear in the chord. Try singing arpeggios that start on “sol” (the fifth scale degree) then go to “mi” (the third scale degree) and then down to “do” (the root, and the first scale degree). Make these vocal arpeggios fluid, and keep going lower until you hit the rock bottom of your vocal range. Be sure to experiment with different pitches and vowel sounds.
4. 4. Work on relaxing your face. The best facial posture for singing lower notes is one with an open mouth, relaxed jaw, and relaxed tongue. You can also try ever so slightly curving the sides of your mouth like you’re subtly smiling. All of these facial parameters can help make your low notes come forward with greater strength and control.
5. 5. Hum as you go about your daily activities. Your vocal training can continue even when your voice lessons end. To strengthen your voice and extend your lower range, try humming for at least fifteen minutes every day. Test your range as you hum; find out just how low and resonant your voice can be.

Become a better musician with the MasterClass Annual Membership. Gain access to exclusive video lessons taught by the world’s best, including Alicia Keys, St. Vincent, Christina Aguilera, Usher, and more.