engaging stomach muscles?

Hi!

I have a quick question. In the "Healthy Strong Belting" course it's mentioned to engage your stomach muscles. Does that literally just mean tensing up my stomach muscles or is it something else? Should my voice sound punchier?

Thanks in advance!

I also actually had another question thats completely unrelated to the one above, so might as well ask it here.

Is there such thing as a mix between male falsetto and head voice? Because I've heard some male singers with really strong falsetto that sounds quite supported and not shaky at all, and mine is the complete opposite of that. Is it because they have some sort of mix, or is it just plainly because they have it developed more? Either way, how could I develop my falsetto more?

Thanks once again!

Hi, Noah! I teach engaging the belly by gently pushing/flexing it out (not tensing inward). However, it's also an option to let your low belly squeeze inward and keep your upper belly soft and relaxed. Here is a lesson on that! Try both methods and see what works better for you - but I don't know any teacher who'd recommend squeezing your whole abdomen. That will quickly lead to a pressed, tense sound!

The current understanding is that falsetto and head voice are functionally the same, but head voice has a stronger sound due to more vocal fold contact. So I'd suggest that if you hear a strong, supported falsetto sound, it may have more vocal fold contact (which some people would call head voice). 

Regardless of what you call it, we can strengthen our falsetto/head voice by training on something semi-occluded (like straw singing or lip trills) - my favorite for head voice is the NG sound! This will help you to balance the air pressure above and below your folds, making it easier to sing and control. Hope that helps!

Alright, thank you so much!

You're welcome, Noah!