Intro to Belting
Belt training is one of the most important things you should do in your practice routines. Practicing Belt not only gives you powerful notes to impress, but it also has the byproduct of helping you build strength. In a sense, belting is also a type of resistance training.
Before moving forward though, we just want to clarify a few things. First, although belting exercises aren’t inherently dangerous, belting is not something we’d recommend a beginner to work on right off the bat. If you haven’t developed a foundation from working on the coordination onsets and similar exercises, know that there’s a risk of hurting yourself while working on belting. Some things to consider before you start working on your belt is to make sure you are able to sing in pitch, shape your embouchure, tune the formant, buzz on nasal consonants, and bridge registers before you work this type of resistance training. Know that diving into belt techniques without a singing foundation can be highly risky for your vocal health.
That being said, if you have developed your singing foundation already, here at TVS we have multiple ways of practicing your belt in a healthy way. Out of the eight specialized onsets we offer, four of them are for precision training and four are to help you with your resistance training. The first four are also called “coordination” or “tuning” onsets because they help you work on coordinating your muscle movements. They help you work on your precision when tuning the vowel or the pitch. On the other hand, the resistance onsets are the group that help you work on your muscular strength. For this, you want to use the resistance group when working on your belt.
THE FOUR RESISTANCE ONSETS ARE:
- Dampen and Release
- Attack and Release
- Contract and Release
- Quack and Release
From these four, the main onsets that will help you develop your belt are the Attack and Release onsets and the Dampen and Release onsets (watch the video above for a short demonstration of these onsets). The Attack and Release onset is particularly good for practicing belting because it involves the use of a quick glottal attack. A way to begin practice this is through the use of the “call register” by pretending you’re calling out to someone who is standing far away from you. Call out to them and try to keep the call on pitch. If you work this throughout your range, you should see an increase in your intrinsic musculature, stability, and an increase in the chest resonance of your upper register.