Demi Lovato. Alicia Keys. Even Nickelback. They've all had moments on stage, mid-note, when their voice cracked like a nervous teenager asking for a dance at prom. 

A cracking voice is something many singers have the joy of experiencing, from absolute beginners to seasoned pros. Vocal breaks can be frustrating and embarrassing, but they are completely fixable.

Read on to learn why voice cracks happen, and what you can do to prevent them. 

Ready? Let’s, ahem, crack on with it…

What is a Voice Crack?

Voice cracks are short, uncontrolled (and unintentional) shifts in pitch or tone that occur in the middle of singing or speaking. Your vocal cords do a sudden whoopsie - stretching, shortening, or tensing up - and before you know it, the note you were going for is rudely interrupted.

I say unintentional, since some (trained) singers intentionally introduce voice cracks into their performances, to add power and emotion, or a little touch of je ne sais quoi .

But we're not talking about those kinds of cracks. We're talking about the cringeworthy ones that test your mettle when they happen in front of an audience.

Why Does My Voice Crack When I Sing?

There's a range of reasons why your vocal cords might have difficulty producing normal sounds from time to time.

Vocal Fatigue

Voice cracks can happen simply because you've been singing/mouthing off for long periods of time without adequate vocal rest. Even if you've not been using your voice, just being physically tired can severely affect your vocal folds.

Vocal Abuse

The human body is a delicate thing, and overdoing it when it comes to your laryngeal muscles can cause lesions to develop. While these little beggars do heal, they leave hardened nubbins called nodules. Nodules can affect the flexibility and size of your vocal cords, leading to that uncomfortable sound - the vocal crack. If not treated, nodules can lead to more serious vocal conditions.

Laryngitis

The effects of laryngitis (inflammation of the laryngeal muscles) are generally short-lived if a result of infection or over-use of your voice. However, long-term causes like air pollution or smoking can cause irreparable damage to your voice box.

Hydration & Diet

Just like a fish, a voice box needs water to stay in top form. Lack of hydration can lead to voice breaks, as can certain food types like dairy and fried foods. As rock and roll as it may feel to sing your heart out while mashed up on 17 pints of Stella, it's not a great idea.

Tension & Anxiety

Singing is perhaps the most personal of all musical performances to undertake, so it goes without saying that your state of mind can drastically affect your singing voice. In fact, some voice teachers argue that your monkey brain is one of the biggest hurdles for a singer to overcome.

The jitters can rear their ugly head in many forms:

• Fear of committing to high notes
• Trying to over-control as you hit specific notes, leading to too much pressure on the vocal folds
• Nervousness about performing (or in my case, remembering the lyrics)
• Anxiety because your cat is angry at you

Any of these can cause tension in your body. And tension in your body equals tension in your voice. When you tense up you restrict your ability to move, and if your vocal folds struggle to move you'll experience - you guessed it - voice cracks.

Lack of Training

One of the most common causes of voice cracks is a lack of training. It's not that you can't be a self-taught singer; the problem stems from not fully understanding how the voice works, which can lead to issues such as:

• Singing outside of a comfortable vocal range
• Bad blending between vocal registers
• Poor breath support
• Tension in your neck and/or throat

Puberty

Yep. Growing up is hard to do, and as your body changes with secondary sexual characteristics, so do your vocal muscles. Unfortunately, vocal cracking that occurs simply because you're going through your teens isn't something you can work on. Just be kind to yourself, and things will settle down in time.

Understanding the Anatomy of the Voice

Knowing how the sausage is made can help you stop the sausage from misbehaving. An odd analogy, perhaps, but understanding what’s happening inside your throat while singing will give you insight into why your voice is cracking.

Vocal folds are two flexible bands of muscle tissue located in your voice box (larynx). When you sing, or speak, air from your lungs passes through them and into your vocal tract, making the vocal folds vibrate and produce sound. The vocal folds adjust tension and length according to pitch. Higher notes result in thinning and stretching, whereas a low pitch will make them get shorter and thicker.

Vocal cracks happen when this system isn’t balanced. Whether it’s from tension, poor breath support, or singing beyond your vocal range, the vocal folds separate and slam back together - a crack attack.

9 Tips to Stop Voice Cracks When Singing

1. Warm Up

Just as professional athletes warm up before plunging into their chosen activity, the same applies to singers. You need to wake up your vocal muscles to prevent injury, and to make sure you're giving everything your best shot.

Vocal warm ups help you sing higher, enhance breath control, improve clarity and articulation, and prevent injury.

2. Stay Hydrated

It's important to drink plenty of water, and not just before you start singing. Hydration improves blood flow, and that in turn enhances the flexibility of your vocal folds, reducing the risk of strain.

And obviously on a gig day, avoid pouring anything alcoholic or caffeinated down your throat - as tasty as they are, you'll end up drying out your vocal folds.

3. Get Professional Guidance

A good vocal coach can work wonders for your singing, including:

• improving pitch
• expanding your range - sing high notes and low notes you previously thought were unattainable
• boosting your confidence
• assessing any potential underlying issues
• helping gain control of your breathing

In an ideal world, we'd all be able to afford a personal voice coach to work with on a regular basis, but even if your budget only stretches to the odd session here and there, it's still worth it.

4. Get Some Rest

It's important to rest your voice on gig days, or any time it feels tired, hoarse, or tight. This includes speaking! Treat your throat as you would any of your other muscles and give it time to recuperate after screlting your way through a set.

5. Protect Your Assets

Beyond just resting your voice, it's also important to protect it from the countless small stresses that can contribute to voice cracks, such as:

• dry air
• over-talking/shouting
• weather

If you live in a dry climate, invest in a humidifier. If it's cold, protect your throat with a scarf/small pet. Avoid shouting or yelling in general. That's good advice for all musicians really.

And no sword-swallowing, period.

6. Practice, Practice, Practice

It's not just the sure-fire way to get to Carnegie Hall, it's a way of preventing voice cracks too! Just like playing an instrument, vocal folds remember what they're used to doing. When you place your voice in an unfamiliar area it's more likely to embarrass you, just like the guitarist who didn't learn the chords.

7. Exercise

This is really two tips in one; I'm talking about singing and breathing exercises, and actual physical exercise. Good lord!

VOCAL Exercises

Like warm ups and practice, a singing exercise will train the muscles of your vocal folds for heavy lifting in a certain area, for example transitioning between your chest voice and your head voice.

It's how you grow as a singer. With the right vocal exercises you can push your voice higher (and lower), expanding your normal range. Other exercises will help with breath support - another culprit responsible for voice cracks.

PHYSICAL EXERCISE

The flip side of the exercise coin is keeping your body in tip-top shape. Working out and generally keeping active is a great way to improve your breath support, strengthen your core, and boost stamina - all the good stuff that contributes to your well being as a singer.

8. Plan Ahead

A good way of avoiding voice cracks is to do some homework.

Song planning helps you determine where you'll be using your head voice or chest voice, and where you'll have to navigate the tricky mix register.

Carefully studying how you'll approach singing the song will also identify where you can breathe, how much support you need for a certain note, and identify areas where you risk putting too much tension in your throat (dang, those high notes) . All of which will reduce the chances of a voice crack occurring.

9. Free Your Mind

Finally, it's important to put yourself in the right frame of mind for singing, both in terms of feeling relaxed performing in front of an audience and faith in your ability to pull it off.

Remember, anxiety restricts your vocal folds, so whether you're worried about spotting your mother-in-law in the audience, or concerned about the high C that seemed so effortless for Freddie Mercury, find a pre-show routine that makes you feel comfortable and in control.

Final Thoughts

While all the above tips are great for preventing voice cracks happening to you, a key thing to remember is that voice cracks are not entirely avoidable ; they're a part of everyday life for singers. Even a professional singer will find themselves in front of an adoring crowd one day and have a blunder.

Embrace it, and learn how to move on. With practice and suitable vocal protection, you'll experience fewer voice cracks in your career. And when you do have them, you'll have a better understanding of why they happened.

Now, I've had a cracking good time writing this article - go forth and singeth the music!