What is a belt in musical terms?

Question

I dunno some people keep talking about a belt like while singing. so wut is it?

Answer 1

I think they mean belt as a verb. Like, "wow, she really belted it!"

It means that you sing with a lot of force and power.

Answer 2

haha i'm a trained singer and my vocal instructor always says i'm a belter.

it is kinda like a verb for force but its a little more than that.

A belter is someone who uses a tramendous amount of air to get super high notes out. Of course, they are loud when they do this and use lots of the diaphragm muscle to accomplish this.

The soft pallet in the back of the mouth is raised and controlled allowing more air to move creating a bigger sound.

I think the best example of a belter would be Christina Aguilera.

She hits extremely high pitches with almost no effort. Lots of air flow and extreme control over pallet and diaghrapm.

To be a belter takes tramendous hours of practice and years to finally hit certain notes. Don't force the note. If you feel a pressure in your throat, your singing wrong. Rib cage should be suspended, shoulders up, and your head should basically feel like its just perfectly balancing on your body. If you try forcing notes, it can ruin your vocal chords and can lead to surgery. No one wants that.

so yeah. hope this helps