Vocal Quirks - Why do I Sometimes Yawn, Hiccup, Burp, or Crack?

When we begin singing, sometimes the very strangest things can happen. You may start yawning or burping or getting the hiccups or even hear your voice crack.  Why do these things happen, especially when you first begin singing?  Let’s explore some ideas…

            Why Would Singing Make Me Yawn?  So, it’s true confession time.  I have always been told and believed that we yawn because our brains tell our lungs we need more Oxygen and so, initiate a deeper inhalation.  The yawn DOES cause a deeper breath and it IS a great way to practice deeper, voluntary breathing.  However, evidently the REAL reason we yawn is still for the brain but it is actually a “thermoregulating device”, which is to say the swift intake of air acts to normalize the temperature of your brain in the same way you might use a fan to automatically come on in your garage, if the temperature reaches a certain height.

            So, why might you yawn when you begin a voice lesson?  Well, if you’ve just come in from outside, your body has some adjusting to do.  If you’ve been running around, again, your body must adjust.  Like essentially everything else in life, you can’t simply shut down one thing and start another, full out.  This is why we must warm up, practice breathing, and discipline ourselves to get into the best vocal “habits.”  With this in mind, correct singing position does involve a lowered Larynx, which is achieved with a yawn, and it is also good to open your mouth widely, in order to be heard.  Therefore, it may be helpful to actually incorporate yawning and yawning into a tone into your regular vocalise exercise regimen.  The better you get to know yourself, the better you will sing and perform.

            Why do I sometimes burp during my vocal lessons?  If you know me at all, you can probably guess the answer to this but either way, the answer is breathing or your breathing technique.  If burping only results when you begin singing, you simply need to practice breathing and singing more consistently.  If, however, the burping continues throughout your lesson, you definitely need to tell your teacher, so that she or he can adjust your breathing technique.  Too much air is getting into the stomach rather than the lungs.  Usually, this would eventually work its way out of the lower part of your body but because you are engaging your diaphragm, the air gets forced back up and out, in the form of a burp.  You may need to adjust your breathing technique but you may also need to look at your diet before singing.  Anything carbonated encourages burping, as may more acidic foods and many carbohydrates like, beans, broccoli, fresh fruits, even hard candy, “sugar-free foods”, chewing gum, and onions.  An earlier blog, “How to Keep Your Singing Voice “Singing”, tells you to avoid MEOW.  Check it out and make sure to avoid these foods before singing.  NO smoking, as this draws extra air into the body in an unhealthy way.  Of course, if you struggle with heartburn or GERD challenges, take any medication prior to your lesson.  Lastly, avoid drinking or eating rapidly.  When we eat or drink quickly, you tend to suck in extra air and obviously, it has to come back out some way.  Think about it, life is so crazy, we often have to eat and drink on the run but when you’re headed to a voice lesson, you want to focus on relaxing and preparing for singing.

            Why do I get the hiccups sometimes when I sing?  There’s a simple answer; nobody knows.  Crazy, right?  I’ll tell you what hiccups ARE but, not even your doctor and the head of the CDC can tell you WHY you get them.  They are annoying, even embarrassing but they are also involuntary.  The reason we want to understand them, though, is that they are caused by the sudden contraction or spasm of the diaphragm, the muscle most important for our breathing.  This, then, causes a quick sealing of the vocal folds.  That makes the sound we associate with a “hiccup”.  Most of the time, we have eaten something too quickly or swallowed our water too fast, which fills and aggravates the stomach.  This, then causes the diaphragm to, unexpectedly, contract, and the process to continue until interrupted.  Sometimes it’s possible that a change in temperature or a very emotionally-charged situation will bring on hiccups, which is ironic, since the presence of hiccups adds even more emotional strain.  You’ve probably heard a hundred different “remedies” for hiccups.  If you can find someone to truly catch you off-guard and scare you, this might work.  I, personally, prefer to hold my breath long enough to make myself burp.  That seems to usually rid me of the dreaded hiccups.  I’ll let you know if I find any research results about a breakthrough on the cause of this inopportune affliction.

            What makes my voice “crack” sometimes?  The bottom line is that when your voice cracks you are pushing for it to do something it is not ready to do.  This could be a teenage boy not yet accustomed to his longer vocal folds, a girl trying desperately to belt out “Let it Go”, or a much older singer attempting to perform a song in the key he or she sang it in while young.  Any singer can fall prey to voice cracking but, once again, a big part of this situation has to do with proper breathing.  You will find that rarely do you “crack” on a lower note.  When you “crack”, for an instant, your vocal folds cease to function.  That stoppage is the “crack” you hear.  The higher you sing, the faster your vocal folds must vibrate, and thus, the more “fuel” or breath required to produce the sound.  However, it takes time and practice to understand how much effort you need to expend to achieve a given note.  Hitting a particular note is not only about pitch; it is about tone, placement, control, and finesse.  Most of the time when we “crack” on a note, we are attempting to sing it in a new way, such as belting it or incorporating it into a long phrase.  You haven’t had a chance to learn the best way to approach the note or sing the phrase enough times to be confident in your performance of it.  Several things can contribute to the possibility of “cracking”:

·      Maybe you didn’t warm up enough – so, stop and warm that area up until it is more comfortable for you to sing through this area.

·      Straining or Pushing – You MUST support these notes with enough “fuel” (air) but not TOO MUCH.  You MUST sing correctly, which means your placement must be high and forward; you CANNOT sing in your throat or attempt to use muscles other than your diaphragm for support, “reaching” for the note with your chin or tongue or anything else is a "no, no."

·      Nervousness – This is decently obvious but nerves cause tension, even in your throat, and you will remember from the last point above, you don’t want tension in your throat.  That is just asking for your voice to crack.

·      You COULD be singing beyond your range – You may THINK you can sing a song in a certain key because you have been singing along with it at home.  However, when you try to replicate that production at your voice lesson, your voice cracks.  Many times, students “listen” to their songs at such a high volume, they really can’t hear whether they are singing correctly or not.  They don’t “feel” anything strange, so they assume everything is alright.  Honestly, I have seen this time and time again.  Once the track from the original artist is removed, it becomes immediately apparent whether that artist’s key is the right one for the student.  There are no “brownie points” for singing in a particular key.  Your best key is the one you sound best singing.

·      Perhaps, it’s a Lack of Vocal Control and Breathing – Breathing should be an on-going discipline for every singer.  By this, I mean that every singer should be consistently and constantly working toward strengthening breathing and breath control.  Aerobic exercise is the number one best way to accomplish this but, as this may not be possible for some students, a voice teacher should be able to provide alternative breathing exercises as well.  Next, incorporated within all voice lessons, should be vocalises, which require focus and control, in addition to musical skill.  No matter what musical style a student is pursuing, control is always a preeminent characteristic that a student should strive to achieve.  It may not be necessary for every song but when it IS needed, it will be all but impossible to “create” unless it has been regularly practiced up to that time.  These exercises should begin working from the top down, concentrating on resonance, roundness of tone, pitch, volume, and control of vibrato.

·      Creating Too Great a Gulf Between Your Lower Chest Voice and Higher Head Voice – Some singers tend to power out their chest voice with such volume and boldness that when they must “switch” into their head voice, the change is so drastic from heavy to light and breathy that it comes across as a “break” or “crack”.

·      Overuse – If you have not strengthened your voice sufficiently through vocal lessons and daily practice, trying to sing, speak, or shout for long periods of time may take a huge toll on the voice, and one of the results may be voice cracking.

·      Abusive or Inappropriate Behavior – As has been mentioned in earlier blog posts, activities such as smoking anything, abusing alcohol, or even cheerleading (unless instructed by a voice teacher in ways to “yell” in a healthy way), can put great stress on the vocal mechanism and lead to problems, such as vocal cracking.

Finally, four things to help ensure your best and most productive vocal training sessions are:  water, water, water; snacks of protein and dried fruit; breathing exercises; and solid, stretching, but not too stringent vocalise exercises.  Most importantly, BE PATIENT WITH YOURSELF!  Don’t freak out if you crackor burp or yawn or whatever.  Just breathe, take a sip of water, take another breath and then warm up a bit more.  A vocal lesson is your “safe place” to make mistakes and learn all about your instrument, your marvelous voice.  Make certain that you learn something from every single lesson you take and that you practice what you learn multiple times during the week between lessons.  Thank you so much!  Sing it Forward!  Please check out my website and leave comments and/or questions below…http://www.SingitForward.net