Healthy Belting is absolutely possible if understood correctly. Many styles of singing - from pop to rock - need a very firm sound in order to express the musical text and deliver a performance that is strong and exciting. Healthy Belting provides this very firm sound and can do so safely. That said, there are some misconceptions surrounding “belting” that need to be cleared up.
Belting, if misunderstood and practiced without care, can cause vocal harm. Unhealthy Belting happens when the singer uses a heavy chest sound throughout their range without allowing for vocal muscles and vocal cord adjustments - focusing on firmness but forgetting flexibility. This type of belting leads to pushing or shouting using "volume blasting and breath blasting" in an attempt to "hit" notes with power. Unhealthy Belting has the symptoms of inaccurate pitch (flat or sharp), a very large mouth opening, distortion of vowels, throat tension, and running out of breath more frequently as the vocal cords become dilated. Pushing or shouting to “hit” notes occurs when the firm chest register functions without help from the flexible falsetto register.
Unhealthy Belting can be described as:
Unhealthy Belting is when vocal muscles are severely imbalanced. The closer muscles create the sound called the chest register and gives the voice firmness. The stretcher muscle creates the sound called the falsetto register and gives the voice flexibility. Singers need balance between the two registers so the voice is firm and flexible. Without some sort of balance then vocal muscles get stuck, and you feel like you are moving through thick hardening cement.
The vocal muscles are also responsible for closing and stretching the vocal cords - and these adjustments cause the vocal cords to be bigger for low pitches and smaller for high pitches. When the vocal cords are not allowed to adjust their length, width, and depth as the pitch ascends, then basically there is a situation where the closer muscles are doing all the work and the stretcher muscles are not able to do their job.
The result is that the singer cannot truly sing on pitch, and there is risk of damage with too much vocal cord vibrating for the pitch attempted. There is an overloading of the closer vocal muscles and the vocal cords which leads the singer to try to boost up the pitch using excessive volume and breath blasting. Without proper engagement with the stretcher vocal muscles and vocal cord adjustments, then singers must try to push or force their voice, which will cause strain, pain, vocal fatigue, and even vocal damage.
Healthy Belting is possible through proper vocal training utilizing vocal technique. If a singer “belts” while allowing the vocal muscles (closers and stretcher) to have some sort of balance for both firmness and flexibility - plus allowing the vocal cords to adjust for pitches - then the singer can reap the powerful rewards of “belting” without strain or pain or risk of vocal damage.
In healthy belting, there are also other factors at work just like in any other type of singing:
Registration is the key to healthy belting. Registration describes the process where the vocal muscles are working together to shift the voice from heavy to light sounds with the vocal cords being adjusted for pitch, volume, and vowel. Registration can be set up in different ways to meet the demands of various musical styles. The three main types of registrational setup are: balanced registration, chest dominated registration, and head dominated registration.
In a balanced registration, the two vocal muscles (closers and stretcher) brace and and even pull against one another to set up an equilibrium where neither muscle dominates the other but equally shares the job of adjusting the vocal cords with a feeling of balanced flexible firmness. In a chest dominated registration, the closer muscles (chest register) control the process with emphasis on firmness and increased volume with less dynamic variation and agility.
In a head dominated registration, the stretcher muscle (falsetto register) controls the process with emphasis on flexibility and agility plus access to greater dynamic variation. Healthy "belt" sounds utilize more chest register activity and are created by a chest dominated registration with an emphasis on increased firmness, closure, volume, and power.
The heavier chest dominated registration does incorporate strong chest register (closer muscles) involvement but also engages the falsetto register (stretcher muscle) so that the registers are still shifting with adequate vocal cord adjustments. Healthy belting can be achieved by exercising the chest register in the lower pitch range plus building up the falsetto register into a "pharyngeal" falsetto that is bright and brash.
Once the chest and falsetto registers are developed and coordinated then three areas of sound emerge: chest voice, mixed voice, and head voice. The process is similar to other registrational setups, but with healthy belting, the closer muscles control the balance.
So, there is still a middle voice and head voice in a chest dominated registration - you will still feel shifting from heavier to lighter sounds as well as adjustments for different pitch “steps” - whether you are in the bottom, middle, or top of your range. The major difference is that the balance is tilted towards firmness with sensations of bright forward resonance in the face or mask, and a strong yet lighter feeling of “calling out” (like “calling out” to someone across a room) as you approach the top of the singing range.
Healthy belting requires a chest dominated registration - heavier and more firm. However, too much of a good thing can become, well, a not so good thing. If the chest dominated registration balance begins to “tilt” too far towards exclusive chest register activity then there is a risk of getting stuck with the vocal muscles and vocal cords being less and less able to move and adjust.
So, there must also be a focus on staying flexible with register shifting and pitch adjustments. To do so, make sure you exercise the lighter falsetto register, and monitor both volume levels and heaviness to avoid the "too much" extremes. Of course, this can be a bit complicated at first, so it is always wise to seek expert guidance from a functional voice teacher or vocal coach who can help you learn how to achieve and maintain a chest dominated registration so that your “belting” can be free and healthy with no strain, no pain, and no fatigue.
Exercises to warm up the voice and encourage proper technique are essential for preventing vocal fatigue and ensuring the singer can naturally produce a powerful, healthy belt sound. As exercises do their job, then muscle memory is developed and the body can be trusted to deliver a firm chest dominated registration while also being able to maintain flexibility for movement.
Vocal Exercises that emphasize the firmness and closure needed for healthy belting will usually focus on a vigorous volume using the [ah] vowel, employ helper consonants like N or B, and can be sung on 3-tone scales (1-2-3-2-1) or 5-tone scales (1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1). These exercises can be done in both the lower heavier chest voice and the higher lighter falsetto/head voice to activate the closer muscles and develop a firm belting feel that is chest register dominated.
Vocal Exercises that emphasize the flexibility needed for keeping the registers shifting and vocal cords adjusting for pitch will usually focus on a decreased volume using [ee] or [oo] vowels, employ helper consonants like Z or F, and can be sung with a quick rhythm on descending scales like (5-4-3-2-1) or scales that oscillate like (1-3-5-3-5-3-5-3-1). These exercises can be done throughout the range to activate the stretcher muscle so the singer can still move freely.
Healthy Belting that arises from a chest dominated registration is used by vocalists around the world in various styles. The chest dominated registrational balance can be very effective for singing popular music styles like rock, pop, r&b, gospel, and musical theater. It can also be used when singing classical music or opera as it offers a different tonal color and emotional effect when needed. Healthy Belting offers the singer the ability to express musical text with firm power and deliver performances that are strong and exciting. Remember to seek out a functional voice teacher or vocal coach if you need help in exploring healthy belting as part of your singing journey. Stay vocally free, be firm and flexible, and above all - have fun singing!