how to improve your singing voice

If you want to learn how to improve your singing voice, one of the first things you should do is go get a few voice lessons with a really competent teacher. This part is super important because, unfortunately, there are a lot of teachers out there teaching singing who really shouldn't be because they're either not qualified, or even worse, HAVE qualifications from a university or what have you and STILL don't know what they're doing.

Another little tip to help you save time is to go to a university and contact some of the vocal instructors in the voice department. Look for somebody with a classical voice degree. That doesn't mean that they will teach you to sing opera. It just means that they have a very solid musical and vocal education and are intimately connected with the way the voice works. They can help you much better than most vocal coaches out there. Be prepared to pay up to $70/hr with a great teacher.

The other thing I'd suggest is to use some singing software to help you get good quick. A program such as Singing Success would be my first choice.

Since voice instructors are expensive, singers need a way to work on their singing efficiently from home. The solution is singing software that allows you to practice all by yourself. That way, you can listen back and get an honest listen to how you've sung.

singing lessons for beginners

Singing lessons for beginners help an individual learn the basics of singing. These can be taken by people who would like to become professional singers or can be taken by people who just love to sing.

Have you always wanted to become a singer? Many people dream of singing, but few take the steps required to learn. Here are some quick tips that will teach you how to learn singing, on your own or with assistance:

How to Learn Singing – Before You Begin

Before you begin, listen to a lot of different songs in many genres. This will help you settle on a style that best suits your voice and personality. Do you want to sing rock music? Opera? Maybe country and western or rhythm and blues suits your style best.

Next, start practicing to find your natural vocal range. Sing a note that you can comfortably hit. Then sing progressively higher notes until your sound quality decreases. Go back to the first note and then sing down the scale to find the bottom of your range.

This is an informal exercise, but it will help you get an idea of which notes you can comfortably sing, and which ones you need to work on.

How to Learn Singing – Self-Study

Many vocalists teach themselves to sing. Learning to sing by listening to other singers, without formal training, is called ‘singing by ear’. While some classically trained vocalists frown on this approach, it can lay the foundation for strong pitch recognition.

The problem with learning to sing by ear is that you can develop bad habits that are difficult to break later in life. Professional lessons can be expensive, though. Many singers find middle ground by using self-study courses.

Self-study singing courses typically contain videos or audio files that guide you through warm-ups and vocal exercises. They can help you expand your lung capacity, control your breathing, increase your vocal range, and sing smoothly across your vocal breaks.

If you decide to go this route, read reviews before you purchase a product. Some systems are better than others, so user reviews can be very helpful. You can find self-study singing courses online, or at your local library or book store.

How to Learn Singing – Professional Help

If you would prefer to do your learning face-to-face, consider signing up for singing lessons. Look for voice coaches in your area, or get a referral from friends who have had a good experience with a particular instructor.

If the cost of voice lessons is a little steep for your budget, try joining a choir at your school, church, or community center. This will give you access to an instructor and other singers that you can trade tips and techniques with.

How to Learn Singing – Advanced Techniques

After you’ve spent some time practicing, you might decide that you really enjoy singing and want to do more of it. It can be a little daunting to sing solo when you’re accustomed to singing with a group, but a little practice will decrease nervousness.

You can use your self-study course or your instructor to learn advanced techniques like perfecting your head voice, reaching into your falsetto range, and developing a vibrato. You will also learn to read music and transpose your favorite songs into a different key so that you can sing them easily.

Now you know how to learn singing without putting a huge dent in your bank account. Have fun experimenting with different musical styles and gaining confidence in your voice!

Vocal Exercises for Singing

There are a number of vocal exercises that you can use to improve the tone and quality of your voice. Some of these exercises can even help you develop a much broader vocal range. Here are a few classics to get you started:

Vocal Exercises: Warm-Ups

Your vocal chords need to be warmed up before you sing. Warming up helps protect your pipes from injury, and it also helps you sing a lot better.

To start, practice singing up and down the C chromatic scale a half-step at a time. This will force you to hit lots of subtle notes, and will give your voice a smoother quality.

The yawning technique is another approach. Open your mouth and sing a note. Now, without pausing for breath, keep singing the note while you change the pitch. Think of the way your voice gets higher when you yawn. This exercise should have a similar effect. Use it to go from the bottom of your range to the very top.

Try to spend at least 10 to 15 minutes warming up before you rehearse or perform.

Vocal Exercises: Range

One popular exercise to help you increase your vocal range involves playing notes on an instrument and singing along with them until you can’t sing any higher (or lower). With the help of a tuning device or a musical instrument, you can quickly identify your natural vocal range.

Other range-expanding vocal exercises focus on building a strong middle voice, which is a voice that combines the chest and head voices. Practice singing across your natural vocal break. As you sing, pay attention to where each note vibrates in your throat. Chest voice notes will vibrate lower in your vocal chords; head voice notes often vibrate at the back of your soft palate.

Practice these notes until you can routinely produce them with good quality and voice control. Go a step higher each week until you can sing well above your natural range.

Vocal Exercises: Pitch

Perfect pitch comes naturally to a rare few individuals. Most of us have to practice at it. Fortunately, there are vocal exercises that can help you improve your pitch.

The easiest way is to play a note on an instrument or in a sound software program, and sing that note as it plays. When you match the pitch perfectly, there will be a resonance that isn’t present when you sing off-pitch.

You can also practice pitch with other vocalists. Try harmonizing with another singer or two, with one singer taking the higher notes, one taking middle notes, and one taking lower notes. When you’re all on pitch, the result will be a resonating harmony.

Vocal Exercises: Volume

Volume is another important part of vocals. Sometimes you will need to sing at a higher volume, especially if you sing opera or rock music, or if you sing with a band that plays loudly.

Finding your natural volume is a lot like finding your natural range. Simply start out at a regular volume, singing in your speaking voice. Sing gradually louder until you can no longer sing comfortably. That is your natural volume range.

You can increase your volume by identifying your diaphragm (the band of muscle beneath your ribcage) and using it to push out your voice as you sing. Exhale sharply; the muscle that tightens when you exhale is your diaphragm.

These vocal exercises will help you identify and increase your natural range and volume, and add power to your notes. Practice daily to develop the best tone possible.

How to Sing High Notes

A good way to sing high notes is to start with singing as low as possible. This allows your vocal cords to stretch so that when you go to sing the higher notes you can increase the range you can sing. Caution though don't strain your voice when you are singing below your normal range because you voice will crack preventing you from hitting the higher notes.

Some people describe this voice as nasal, but that’s not accurate. This higher, thinner voice is known as the “head voice”, because it resonates higher in your head.

The point where this switch occurs is known as your vocal break. Beginning singers find it difficult to sing notes immediately above and below this break, but with some practice, you can learn to bridge this break and sing most songs seamlessly.

How to Sing High Notes: Improving Your Head Voice

There are two major steps you can take to improve the quality of your head voice. First, you’ll need to develop your “mixed voice”, which is a combination of your chest and head voices.

The mixed voice is the result of practice; most people don’t come by it naturally, but experienced singers incorporate it so smoothly that it’s impossible to tell when they switch from chest voice to head voice.

To strengthen your mixed voice, you need to sing the notes around your vocal break. As you sing progressively higher, you should practice using a bit less of your chest voice and a bit more of your head voice. You can practice this skill by paying attention to where each note resonates in your throat and mouth, and putting slightly more emphasis on the “head” notes as you go along.

Over time, you will learn to place the notes where you want, making the transition from chest to head voice very smooth.

How to Sing High Notes: Breath and Diaphragm Support

The second part of singing higher notes with ease is learning to use your breathing and diaphragm to support the high notes. Without breath and diaphragm support, your head voice will sound thin and reedy. With breath and diaphragm support, it will sound rich and strong like your chest voice.

Practice rationing your voice as you exhale a note, not letting it out too fast. This will help you sustain high notes and give them just the right amount of breath support.

Your diaphragm is the muscle in your stomach area that flexes when you laugh or exhale sharply. Practice flexing it as you sing to give extra support to your high notes for a more powerful sound.

With your full vocal range and the power of your breath and diaphragm behind you, you’ll soon learn how to sing high notes like a pro – and how to belt out money notes your audience will never forget!