Let's start with a general definition of what belting for singing is and then we will discuss the technique.
Belting is a high-intensity sound to produce heightened vocal performance as a way to express an emotional climax in a song. Notice how we are mostly talking about the quality of the sound, rather than a way to produce louder high pitches. Most people assume that belting is about loudness, when it is more about INTENSITY. Before you even attempt to practice this technique, you must understand that we are not going to aim for loudness. Therefore, belting should come from a place of emotion.
Belting is NOT a way to produce high pitches.
The biggest misconception about belting is that singers use this technique in the attempt to get a stronger sound for their high notes. However, belting is not how you get high pitches. Higher pitches are produced at the vocal folds. It is a technique to highlight an emotional part in a song that boosts your resonance in a way that is stylistic to tell the audience how a singer is feeling at that particular section of the song. That is why belting is described to be more of a VOICE QUALITY.
How are high notes produced in singing?
In order for you to sing high notes, the vocal folds must stretch and lengthen. When air passes through the tension of these thin folds, the faster vibrations create the higher pitches. If you want your high notes to sound like a belt, we need to understand what makes that voice quality happen and apply it to the higher notes you sing.
Pure Belt versus "Mix Belting"
Before you try to sing high notes in a belt quality, understand what it means to belt higher. We will not do any "chest pulling" up into higher notes to achieve a belt.
According to the Estill model, a Pure Belt is primarily in short thick fold vibrations or Mode 1 register (chest voice register). That means a Pure Belt is reserved for when you are singing mostly in your chest voice register, using both the Cover and the Body of the vocal folds for more muscle mass without the need to push your effort levels. If you want to belt higher notes beyond the transition zone from the mid-range to the upper register, the singer needs to learn how to mix their voice first and work on maintaining that "belt" voice quality as they ascend in pitch. We encourage the singer not to muscle their way up trying to hold on to the Body of the vocal folds. As you sing higher, you will slowly lose a bit of that Body, leaving you to sing on thinner folds. This is where the mix technique comes in handy.
How does mixing help you belt higher?
Mixing is a technique to transition between vocal registers. This approach is more about balancing the two registers. Instead of "pulling the chest voice" up to achieve the belt, we aim to thin out the coordination of the vocal folds while maintaining steady airflow. Any flip into a breathy tone or a "crack" is a result of imbalance in breathing patterns and requires more awareness of where the blend needs to happen so that the tone shift from low notes to high notes become smooth.
When you can achieve a strong MIX without the need to pull your chest voice up into your head voice range, your voice can be PERCEIVED as louder and more powerful, when really, you are evenly distributing the sound in the resonating chambers of your vocal tract leading to a more balanced vocal production.
To find more detailed instructions on how to belt, learn more through my Belt Like A Broadway Star Course.
Sources
Bozeman, K. W. (2014b) Practical Vocal Acoustics: Pedagogic applications for teachers and
Singers.
Tracy Bourne, Maeva Garnier. Physiological and acoustic characteristics of the female music theatre voice in belt and legit qualities. International Symposium on Music Acoustics, Aug 2010, Katoomba, Australia. pp.9-13, 2010. Lu, K. (2022, October 27). Hirano’s Cover-Body Model. Glossary of Terms in Otolaryngology. https://www.otoscape.com/eponyms/hirano-s-cover-body-model.html
Vocalist.org.uk. (2023b, September 22). Vocal Registers explained: How does your larynx change your voice? Vocalist.
Golda, L. (2010). Deciphering Vocal Technique with Estill Voice Training. In Classical Singer (pp. 27–28).
Belting Explained | What is Belt? | How to Belt (Singing) a Musical Theatre or Pop Song. Andy Follin (Estill EMT) - Professional Vocal Coach.
If you need personal guidance on your belting, book a lesson with Tina and she'll help you make adjustments that will make you wonder “why aren’t other coaches teaching me this!”
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Tina Golden is a voice teacher who studies holistic, science-based, and brain-based training to help singers achieve their vocal goals without losing their voice.
She is continually researching methods and techniques to help all singers in any style. This ranges from Bel Canto techniques to Contemporary techniques. Through her research she has found out that there is more to just knowing the basics. There is science that we can rely on, therefore anyone can learn to sing in any style without hurting themselves. Although every singer has different physiologies, 1:1 coaching is how Tina can quickly assess what is going on with the singer and come up with solutions to help.
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