How to use Chest Voice: Easy To Follow Steps

(Last Updated On: June 27, 2023)

Using your chest voice is fairly easy as it is nothing but your speaking voice. When you sing, you use the same vocal range as when you speak, using your natural low and middle notes. When utilizing your chest voice, your vocal folds vibrate along their entire length, producing a fuller and deeper sound than when you use your head voice.

The term “chest voice” refers to the vibrational sensation you feel when you place your hand on your chest while singing in your chest voice. The term “chest” doesn’t imply that the voice originates from the chest, as both chest and head voices come from the larynx, also known as the “voice box.”

How to use Chest Voice?

Your chest voice serves as the foundation for most musical genres, including pop, rock, country, and many others. Therefore, developing it is crucial if you want to demonstrate your vocal power without coming off as overly exerted or gasping for air when you’re actually using your chest voice to its full capacity. It can also help you in perfecting your mixed voice so you can transition smoothly and effortlessly to your head voice.

To use your chest voice, say something random like “hi, how are you?” using your normal speaking voice while placing your hand on your chest to feel the vibrations caused by your vocal cords. As long as you’re feeling those vibrations, you’re speaking in your chest voice!

Now try saying another sentence, like “I’m good, how about you?” in a high-pitched voice. You’ll notice that the vibrations in your chest have diminished, if not completely disappeared, indicating that you’ve switched from your chest to your head voice.

Keep in mind that because men have a naturally lower voice, they tend to speak using their pure chest voice as opposed to women who speak in the area where chest and head voices converge. However, it is quite simple for women to lower their pitch and speak using their pure chest voice if they want to.

What are some exercises to strengthen your chest voice?

If you want to access more chest resonance and improve your chest voice, these are some of the best vocal exercises to help you fully access your chest voice.

Before starting your exercises, make sure your posture is correct.

Stand up straight, relax your arms and shoulders, keep your chin up and parallel to the ground, and keep your chest held high without straining it.

Exercise 1

Find the lowest note you sing and its major triad. (1st, 3rd, and 5th notes) if the lowest note you can sing is a C4, sing any vowel you want, like “O” or “A” in C, E, and G, then go back down to C4 using the pattern 1-3-5-3-1.

Repeat this 7 times.

Exercise 2

The idea of this exercise is the same as the first exercise, but instead of repeatedly singing the same note and its major triad, you gradually increase the pitch every time you perform the pattern 1-3-5-3-1. To do this, start by singing C-E-G-E-C, then move up to C#-E#-G#-E#-C#, and so on.

Exercise 3

Pick a major scale, we’ll use the C major scale again as an example. Start with a C4 on the piano, then begin singing along as you slowly slide up using the WWHWWWH (W = whole step. H = half step) pattern until you reach C5, then gradually sing back down to C4 using the same pattern. (Any scale you play on your keyboard using this pattern will be a major scale.)

Exercise 4

Start by relaxing the muscles in your face and banging your chest with your fist while making noises (not loud noises). This is similar to Matthew McConaughey’s infamous chest-thumping scene in “Wolf of Wall Street.”

This will help open up your chest cavity so you can experience more resonance.

You can combine this exercise with exercise 2 by singing a major triad while banging on your chest, then gradually increasing the pitch with each repetition of the pattern 1-3-5-3-1.

Exercise 5

Select a vowel like “E” as your starting point, take a deep breath, and then slowly begin singing from the bottom of your range all the way up to the top right before your head voice, then back down to the bottom. Use another vowel, such as “A,” and repeat the process by singing it and sliding from the bottom to the top of your vocal range and vice versa. You will notice that the higher you go, the more you have to open up.

Exercise 6

This exercise focuses on your vocal cords‘ vibrations and involves making a series of grunting noises. Start this exercise by putting your hand on your chest and making a long-lasting grunt (kind of like imitating a gorilla.) If you experience chest vibrations, that means you’re using your chest voice. Repeat the low grunt while gradually raising your voice. It will become more difficult for you to feel the vibrations in your chest as the pitch rises. Remember that when you no longer feel those vibrations, you’ve switched to your head voice, and it’s OK to stop.

FAQ

Is it good to sing in a chest voice?

Yes. Working on your chest voice will help you build a stronger diaphragm, a fuller, richer, and more powerful voice, and it will also enable you to use your voice to the fullest extent possible. Additionally, it will help in the development of vocal stamina, which prevents you from becoming tired while performing and allows you to sing more songs without feeling exhausted or gasping for air. Improving your chest voice will also help you expand your vocal range so you can later work on your mixed voice, making it easier for you to switch to your head voice smoothly. A strong chest voice also results in a healthy belt voice, which makes the entire process of singing loudly and powerfully seem effortless. Therefore, the chest voice is the foundation for creating a great and powerful singing voice.

How do you switch from head to chest voice?

You can always connect your chest voice to your head voice, but you want that transition to be seamless and smooth, which is where things become a little more challenging. This is what is called a "mixed voice." This transition or passaggio generally happens around E4-F#4 above middle C4 for men and Ab4-Bb4 for women. In order to achieve that seamless transition and maintain a consistent mixed voice, it is crucial to practice and exercise your voice to achieve the results you're looking for. Some of these exercises include "vocal slides," "siren," and "singing scales."

Is chest voice deeper?

Yes. Chest voice refers to the vocal register we normally speak in. This usually consists of low to midrange notes and thicker and warmer tones created by thick vocal folds, while the head voice consists of high notes and lighter and breathier tones created by much thinner vocal folds.

Conclusion

You build your voice from the ground up, and since your chest voice is the foundation of building a powerful voice, it’s critical that this foundation be strong if you want to be able to belt out songs and sing effortlessly on stage or anywhere else you want to sing.

And to sound and feel great while singing and using your chest voice, it’s important to perform exercises that will strengthen your chest voice either by yourself or with your singing instructor. If you want to hear changes and improvements in your voice, you must put in the work and effort by exercising your voice every day. Performing these exercises just once or twice a week will only scratch the surface of reaching your chest voice’s full potential. Instead, do your best to do these exercises for at least 30 minutes to an hour every day, and we guarantee you’ll see amazing results in no time.