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There is a similar question to this out there, but is NOT identical.

Does weight and/or body frame have anything to do with singing?

My question is : CAN fitness level and/or body size improve singing performance and sound quality? So the question doesn't refer to the initial body size, but to a change in size.

For example, swimming increases lung capacity + endurance, while bodybuilding can build a bigger core, maybe in turn increasing the resonance of the tone?

What are your experiences on this?

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  • Thanks! It's helpful to see the other question for comparison. Can you expand a bit on what's unsatisfactory about the answers to the other question? I'm wondering because while your question isn't identical to the other one, it's still quite similar and the other answers might apply equally well. If not, please be explicit about what's unsatisfactory about them.
    – B. Szonye
    Commented May 2, 2014 at 20:31
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    I find it hilarious that we've already thoroughly discussed the effects of alcohol consumption on vocal production, but a question about exercise gets tumbleweeds. I am reminded of a radio interview I heard with a sports medicine MD who had turned to treat musicians. When asked what the similarities and differences were between athletes and musicians, he replied that basically, musicians were athletes, only dumber. After all, no serious athlete would ever treat their body the way musicians treated theirs.
    – Codeswitcher
    Commented May 4, 2014 at 7:10

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Fitness level and/or body size will affect singing performance and sound quality. Instrumentalists would not equally ask "will changing instrument parts change the sound?".

Now the thing is that you need to adapt to such changes. There are people who are of the opinion that Maria Callas' voice started deteriorating once she got rid of a few dozen pounds in order to get more eligible for operatic roles, and she was not fully able to adapt to the change in support that this entailed.

Most muscles involved with breathing are quite stronger than your vocal folds. The better you train them, the more important it becomes to be able to control their amount of relaxation in order to have some basic elasticity in your breath support.

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  • What about core size / musculature?
    – Glorious Kale
    Commented May 4, 2014 at 9:17
  • What about them? Good singers come in all shapes and sizes. Obviously it is a handicap to run out of breath easily or to faint when excited.
    – User8773
    Commented May 4, 2014 at 10:22

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