Improving vibrato and breath volume in singing, in my early 20's

Question

Some people say that vibrato is a gift acquired by birth while some say vibrato has to be practiced and gained before puberty and once puberty (10 - 12 yrs) is attained and male voice changes to a low pitch one, vibrato is no longer achievable.

I am 22 year old and have an intense need to improve my vibrato. How do I do it?

Also In the world I need to perform, we need to recite for more than 35 secs in a loud voice in a single breath. At present I can hardly do that for 15 secs. Please help me increase my breath volume by suggesting some routines and exercises.

Thank you

Answer 1

Well, I don't think the first claim is true. I didn't know how to do vibrato until I was 19. I'm 23 now and I'm still improving it. And I have a very low pitch voice. My dad learned how to do vibrato only in his 50s.

But, I don't really know how I really learned it. I was experimenting with my voice one day, and it got easier the more I played with it. It's like riding a bicycle, once you get the hang of it, it gets easier.

It sometimes happens automatically when I'm running out of breath. But I can trigger it at will too, but I don't really know how technically. But it's definitely important to use your belly breath (instead of chest).

Now, on how to increase breath volume, I swim. Swim without re-breathing as long as I can. But, I also realize that singing alone helps too. So, if you can do 15 seconds now, try do it longer next time. Challenge yourself, until you can smell your lung (it happens, it smells like fish's gill).

Answer 2

I am 14 years old and I absolutely love singing. But it seems like everyone in my class has a better vibrato than me. Vibrato majorly increases your singing performance, so I HAD to improve. What I usually do is get to a note that I am comfortable with. Since I am a 1st soprano, a comfortable note for me is probably the C one octave up from middle C or anything higher. I will start with an easy note and make sure my vibrato sounds good. Then I will slowly move down or up from that note, still keeping my vibrato. I do that everyday and it has majorly helped me.