Anyone can sing, but not everyone can sing well. As with any other instrument, singing perfectly requires learning the right techniques and regular practice. With concentration, commitment and attention to detail anyone can sing perfectly. Good singers have optimal posture, breathe through the abdomen and know how to modulate their voice to produce enchanting music.
Steps
Part 1 of 4: Correct Posture for Singing
Step 1. Keep your shoulders back and down
Do not hunch your shoulders forward and avoid hunching over. Your posture should be relaxed and confident. Use your shoulders to lift your chest up a bit, widening your lungs to let in more air. Think of Superman's triumphant pose.
- Don't assume this posture unnaturally. Simply focus on keeping your shoulders as far back as possible while still remaining in a comfortable position.
- Lie on your back and use gravity if you find yourself tense when trying to maintain correct posture.
Step 2. Keep your head up
The chin should be parallel to the floor. This is essential to ensure the passage of air in the throat: looking down or up narrows your vocal cords and limits your singing skills.
Step 3. Straighten your abdomen
Do not bend your torso forward or backward. Instead, stand straight so that your shoulders are in line with your ankles and your back is relaxed.
Step 4. Stand with your legs slightly apart
The feet should be about 6 inches apart, with one foot slightly forward of the other. This will shift your weight slightly forward when you sing.
Step 5. Relax your joints
Keep your knees and elbows relaxed and slightly bent so you are not too stiff. This doesn't just improve posture - a relaxed, soft body makes it easier for you to produce air and control your voice when you sing.
If you feel tense, sway slightly. Alternatively, lean forward smoothly as you inhale, then straighten up
Step 6. Practice proper posture in front of the mirror
The best way to notice your mistakes is to look in the mirror. Or you can film yourself singing and watch the video to analyze your posture. You can also train with a wall: standing barefoot, lean against the wall and focus on keeping your head, shoulders, buttocks and heels close to the surface. Remember:
- Shoulders back
- Chin parallel to the floor
- Chest out
- Belly in
- Relaxed joints
Part 2 of 4: Correct Breathing for Singing
Step 1. Breathe deeply and regularly as you sing
Under normal conditions, your breathing rate is light and rapid because your body needs less air than it does for singing. When you sing you need to be able to quickly inhale lots of air and exhale slowly and steadily as you sing.
Step 2. Use your abdomen to breathe, not your chest
This is the most significant change novice singers need to learn when it comes to breathing. Think of breathing "horizontally", which means that your stomach expands when you inhale and pushes in and up when you exhale.
- Imagine having a ring around your belly and waist that expands when you inhale and shrinks when you exhale, moving air from the bottom of your lungs to your chest and out of your mouth.
- Notice that when you breathe normally your chest rises and falls. When you sing, however, it must remain still.
- Push your belly out as you inhale. Place a hand on the abdomen: when you inhale concentrate on making it expand, filling the lower part of the lungs. The chest shouldn't move.
- Let your stomach retract when you exhale. Again, the chest should not move. With experience you will also feel your back expand slightly as you exhale.
Step 3. Practice breathing deeply
You've always been used to taking light, natural breaths up until now, so you'll need to practice proper singing breathing until it becomes a new habit. To perfect your breathing, try the following techniques:
- Lie on the ground with both hands on your stomach. Inhale through the abdomen so that your hands are raised above chest level, then exhale until you return to the starting position.
- Practice hissing. This requires a fine and regular flow of air. Breathe in while mentally counting to four and breathe out while counting to four again. Then inhale for a count of six and exhale for a count of ten. Continue with shorter inspirations and longer hisses, until you are able to inhale for a count of one and exhale for a count of twenty.
- The best singers actually use little air to sing long, powerful notes, so don't underestimate this exercise.
Step 4. Avoid typical breathing errors
Since breathing in singing is so different from natural breathing, there are a number of mistakes that beginners make when trying to focus on both breathing and singing at the same time. Avoiding them will help you sing well more quickly. Some of these errors are:
- "Stock up on air": try to fill the lungs as much as possible so as not to run out of breath. Instead of struggling to accumulate more air, focus on retaining what you have, exhaling as evenly as possible.
- "Push the air out": for good intonation, think about letting the air out of the lungs naturally instead of pushing it out forcefully.
- "Hold your breath": A more advanced mistake is to cut off the vocal flow between inhalation and exhalation. Learn to breathe "into" the note and exhale silently just before you start singing.
Part 3 of 4: Practice Singing Perfectly
Step 1. Sing through the chest
Most beginners hear their throat singing and feel pressure on their head and neck while singing. While this way of singing may sound natural, it is not the correct setting. Instead, focus on your chest so you can feel it vibrate when you sing. You should feel pressure on your chest as if the voice is coming from your pectoral muscles.
- This is easier when you breathe correctly through the abdomen.
- Think about singing from the diaphragm (the muscle under the lungs that controls breathing) if you have trouble singing from the chest.
Step 2. Aim to make the voice clear and resonant
Normally a beautiful song is simultaneously "clear" and "resonant". Everyone has their own definition of what is beautiful, but there is a standard that the best singers have in common. To develop your voice think about the singers you love and the type of music you want to perform.
- "Clear": the listener should understand the words and notes easily.
- "Resonant": resonance is a deep, almost unconscious vibration that reaches the best singers. Think of the powerful long, held notes that singers like Aretha Franklin or Luciano Pavarotti are capable of.
Step 3. Learn to refine your "resonators"
The ability to create resonance, that is when the notes you produce take on a complex and full sound, is the basis of singing. Listen to opera singers to hear how it is being used to the fullest. The voice resonates within the chest, mouth and throat and gains depth. There is a slight buzzing or vibrating sensation when the song resounds. To develop resonance, think about the "placement" of your voice. Where do you think the sound is coming from? How does it move when you open your lips or move your tongue? We are all different, but there are some tips to keep in mind:
- Start intoning the sound "i" with your mouth closed. Then "move" this sound up and down from the chest to the mouth: these are the resonators.
- Move your tongue down towards your lower teeth, opening your mouth as wide as possible.
- Don't "eat" the vowels and don't sing from the bottom of your throat. If you do, the voice becomes muddy and unclear.
- If you need help, use a spectrometer or an app like SpectrumView to determine how much resonance you produce.
Step 4. Sing songs that are easy and natural for you
Some people are uncomfortable singing too high notes, no matter how trained they are. Others, on the other hand, have no problem singing the higher parts as a soprano. With careful practice you will be able to find your vocal range, which is the series of notes that you can sing without straining too much.
- Sing the lowest note you can get out without breaking your voice or making it crackle. This will be the lower limit of your extension.
- Sing the highest note you can get out without breaking your voice or making it jarring. This will be the upper limit of your extension.
- Your vocal range includes all notes between these two limits.
Step 5. Talk to a singing teacher for personalized advice and assistance
This is crucial for novice singers because the things they can learn on their own are limited. A singing teacher knows the mechanics, the theory of music and knows how to identify problems that alone you would not be able to perceive. For others, your voice sounds different from what you hear, so expert guidance is needed to learn how to sing the right way.
- Try at least three singing teachers before choosing one.
- The teacher should make you feel comfortable and have a long singing experience or training in singing teaching.
- Work with the teacher to establish and achieve well-defined goals.
Part 4 of 4: Prepare the Voice
Step 1. Warm up your voice before singing
Just as athletes need to warm up their muscles, singers need to prepare their voice to avoid straining and damaging it. Don't start by singing a song or intoning vowels or consonants; instead, do simple ladders and breathing exercises. Here are some warm-up exercises:
- Humming with your mouth closed. This activates the breath without straining the vocal cords;
- Play trills with your lips and tongue to warm your mouth and jaw;
- It starts from a simple scale, ascending and descending (do-mi-sol-mi-do).
- Start with the simplest piece you prepare and wait 10-15 minutes to tackle the more difficult pieces.
Step 2. Stay hydrated
The vocal cords oscillate and vibrate to produce sound, so they must be well hydrated to move freely. Drink 4-6 glasses of water a day and keep a bottle nearby when exercising. On the night of the concert make sure you drink throughout the day and before the performance.
Make sure you start drinking at least 30 minutes before your performance so that your body has time to absorb the water
Step 3. Sleep for a long time
You need to be well rested to focus on singing technique and avoid straining or damaging your voice. Adults should sleep 6-8 hours a night to sing at their best.
Step 4. Avoid getting too much alcohol, caffeine and dairy products
Alcohol and caffeine dry out your throat, causing you to strain your voice. Eating or drinking lots of dairy products, on the other hand, stimulates the production of mucus, which can hinder proper breathing techniques.
Step 5. Try not to shout
This strains the voice by violently passing air through the vocal cords. Whenever possible, speak softly to protect your voice.
Step 6. Avoid smoking
Smoking damages the tissues of the lungs and should be avoided at all costs. Few other things permanently damage the ability to sing as much as smoking.
Advice
- Prepare the entry. The vocal cords need warming.
- Stay fit and healthy. This is useful because when you are in good health, you are able to hold your breath longer.
- Connect with the song you sing. Let the song give you the drive to sing with enthusiasm.
- Try to smile when you sing.
- Start taking vocal technique lessons if possible.
- Try to understand the song so you can sing better.
- Train continuously! Gradually the voice will improve more and more.
- Don't worry and don't worry about what other people think. Maintain good posture, inhaling and exhaling at the right time. Another thing you can do is imagine that you are singing in a room where you are alone.
