BELTING
By E. Perryman 9.26.26
Belting as a singer is exciting, precarious, and fulfilling but can be risky business. I grew up in a classical household where bel canto was prescribed as the superior singing elixir. At the time, it was the world of high Annie belt so this was less than popular. I was discouraged from belting as too often the voice is eclipsed; sounds are created using too much chest voice with a tight body from head to toe.
In my singing journey, it was only when I solidified my vocal technique that I was able to produce a healthy belt with balanced registers on the breath. Now my belt is formidable when I choose to use it.
Today, my musical theater student asked specifically to work on belt in their lesson after we had worked half of the lesson on bel canto technique. I gave them specific belt exercises through stepwise and wider intervalic patterns. Along the way, we worked on releasing the body and connected the earlier “classical” approach to finding the belt especially around Bb4 B4 and C5. This usually quiet student found their healthy belt under these conditions and got so excited by how it “felt” saying “I’ve never been able to do this.”
At the end of the day, technique is often a practice in the “wax on wax off” approach. You build the proprioceptive muscle memory with basic fundamentals eg. vowel clarity, breath connection, and focus. As a result and regardless of vocal style, you’ll have a core foundation in which to flexibly use your voice. EAP
