Learning to sing is just like learning any other skill. The more you practice and the more you put into it, the better your voice will be. Singing can be learned using a number of different approaches, but there are certain techniques that will help you become a better singer faster and more effectively.
Hi, I’m Ben from Live Aspects and in this guide, I’ll outline the most effective strategies for improving your singing voice. Whether you’re a complete beginner or a seasoned professional, these practical tips will help you become a better singer.
Here are our top 15 practical tips to help you sing better:
- 1. Sing From Your Diaphragm, Not Your Throat
- 2. Stand Up Straight
- 3. Learn Scales & Drills
- 4. Warmup To Prepare Your Voice
- 5. Focus On Your Breathing
- 6. Know The Difference Between Chest Voice & Falsetto
- 7. Record & Evaluate Yourself
- 8. Set Realistic Expectations
- 9. Stay Hydrated
- 10. Find Your Range
- 11. Drink Tea Before You Sing
- 12. Rest Your Vocal Cords
- 13. Be Confident
- 14. Practise, Practise, Practise
- 15. Take Singing Lessons
Without further ado, let’s get started!
1. Sing From Your Diaphragm, Not Your Throat
It’s important to learn how to sing from your diaphragm, not your throat. The diaphragm is a muscle right below our stomachs that helps us breathe. Singing from the diaphragm gives you more power, projection and control than singing from the throat. This may take some practice before it feels natural but once it does, you will notice a significant improvement in the quality of your voice.
2. Stand Up Straight
The secret to great singing is understanding how to use your whole body effectively. This starts with proper singing posture. Poor posture restricts the flow of air through the vocal tract, reducing the amount of support for your voice. This can lead to vocal fatigue and inefficient voice production.
3. Learn Scales & Exercises
Scales and drills are an essential part of developing your voice. They help you improve range, control and pitch. Scales are the building blocks of music and they help you develop a solid foundation for singing. Exercises or drills can help you develop specific aspects of your voice like breathing or diction and are often used as a way to warm up the voice.
4. Warmup To Prepare Your Voice
Warming up before you sing helps to reduce the risk of straining your voice and injuring your vocal cords. When you don’t warm up properly, it can cause damage to the muscles that allow you to speak and sing at your best. Warming up also helps you to hit notes with more ease and precision. Common warmup techniques include singing vocal sirens, gliding up and down octaves and lip trills.
5. Focus On Your Breathing
The correct breathing technique is essential to singing well. Good breathing habits can help you produce a fuller voice, project better and extend your range. Breathing correctly while singing will also keep your voice healthy by reducing pressure on your larynx and vocal folds. A combination of great posture and skillful inhaling and exhaling is key to breathing efficiently.
6. Know The Difference Between Chest Voice & Falsetto
In order to improve your singing, you need to know the difference between chest voice and falsetto. Chest voice is the range of notes at the bottom of your voice. Falsetto singing uses the thin and light edges of the vocal cords to reach notes above a singer’s normal range. Learning how to smoothly change between these two types of singing is crucial to developing a flexible and strong singing voice.
7. Record & Evaluate Yourself
When you’re singing, it can be hard to evaluate your own ability. If you’re not sure if you’re hitting the right notes, practice recording yourself singing and listening back afterwards. Doing this regularly will help you to quickly identify any mistakes you make each time you sing.
8. Set Realistic Expectations
Unfortunately, you’re not going to become a professional singer overnight. It takes lots of practice and patience to build your skills. Get into the habit of setting realistic expectations about what you can achieve with your voice. Setting unrealistic expectations for yourself can lead to frustration and disappointment when things don’t go according to plan.
9. Stay Hydrated
It’s important to stay hydrated before you sing, while you’re singing, and after you sing. This will keep your throat from getting dry, which can make it harder for you to sing your best. A lot of singers don’t realize that staying hydrated helps to improve articulation and clarity when you sing.
10. Find Your Range
As you’re singing, keep your range in mind. You don’t have to worry about hitting every note perfectly on the first try—just pay attention to which notes are easy and which notes you just can’t reach. If a particular song or melody is too low or too high for your range, try transposing it to a more comfortable key.
11. Drink Tea Before You Sing
Drinking a warm cup of decaffeinated tea before you sing helps your throat’s muscles relax. Once relaxed, your vocal cords gain more flexibility, making it easier for you to sing. With more control over your voice, you can reach higher notes with greater ease. One of the best teas for singers is ginger tea.
12. Rest Your Vocal Cords
While it may seem obvious, it’s important to remember that your vocal cords need time to rest. Just like any other muscle in your body, if you don’t give your vocal cords time to rest, they can become strained or even injured. Give yourself regular breaks from using your voice.
13. Be Confident
Confidence is key to singing well. Whether you’re singing on stage or just practicing in the shower, being confident in your ability will help you perform better and feel more at ease. When you’re confident in your abilities, it’s easier to push through those moments where things aren’t going as well as planned. Don’t let a small mistake or a bad performance get you down. Instead, take it as a learning opportunity and a chance to improve your skills.
14. Practice, Practice, Practice
Just like many things in life, practice makes perfect. There’s no magic method that will make you a perfect singer overnight, but if you can stay committed and consistent with your vocal training, you will be able to significantly improve your singing ability. If you can commit yourself to practicing every day (or most days), then your chances of success will increase exponentially.
15. Take Singing Lessons
Our final piece of advice is to take singing lessons. A vocal teacher can teach you far more than we can in a single blog post. A vocal teacher will be able to tell you exactly what you need to work on and help you develop techniques to improve your singing. Singing lessons are also a great way to get feedback on your voice which is crucial for developing your skills as a singer.
Want To Know More?
Here at Live Aspects, we have dozens of useful lessons and tutorials created to enhance your music production skills and help speed up the learning process. You can access our huge range of music theory lessons and production tips and tricks here.
1 comment
To practise every day