If you’re not a naturally good singer, you might find yourself despairing over your situation and giving up on singing altogether. However, there’s NOTHING that can’t be improved with practice, and the same goes for singing. You’re not stuck with a bad voice – you just need to train it up until it becomes good.
Of course, this will take a lot of effort, but if you know what to do and work hard, you’ll make it there eventually. In this article you’ll learn ALL the methods you need to employ to practice the right way and improve your singing voice.
Even those of you that know how to sing will benefit here since these techniques will help you learn how to sing better. So, let’s get started and learn how to sing!
The first step where most people go wrong when thinking about learning how to sing is that the FIRST thing they reach out for is a voice coach. These teachers can be incredibly expensive, and that’s a thing that puts a lot of people off even trying to get singing lessons.
However, while getting a vocal coach can be an effective way to improve your singing, it has some major flaws. It is expensive, as mentioned, but it’s also slow. The coach will be available to teach you only on certain days and for an hour or two at most. If you want to improve quickly, this is NOT the way to do it.
Luckily, online singing lessons have become more and more popular in recent years. With some of these programs, you can find great pre-recorded lessons as well as tips that will help you learn much faster. You will be able to practice as much as you can, and you’ll see tangible results in a matter of weeks.
The best part is that some of these online lessons cost next to nothing, or absolutely nothing – you can find a lot of free online singing lessons as well.
In this part of the article you’ll learn how to sing better and improve your singing voice, no matter how good or bad you are. There’s nothing that can’t be achieved with enough hard work, as you’ll see
To start training properly, you need to have a good base to start from. You can’t start singing opera pieces straight away. Lots of people start trying to master singing without paying attention to the basics, and then they wonder why nothing is working – you shouldn’t be one of those people.
Here’s some advice on how to properly start training your vocal chords.
First, you need to start by working on your posture. Most voice coaches might just tell you to “stand up straight” or “sit up straight,” but they will rarely explain what that entails.
Once you’ve got a handle on that, you’re almost ready to start singing. Still, there’s one more crucial thing you need to watch out for – your breathing. The one CONSTANT with bad singers is that they constantly run out of breath, but if you know the proper breathing techniques for singing, that won’t happen to you.
However, there’s more to it than just that. You need to practice your breathing thoroughly until you’re sure you can properly inhale and exhale. Over time you will get better at this and your lung capacity MIGHT even increase through the exercises you’ll see described below.
Another way to do this is something called “the book method,” which you can do by lying on the ground with a book placed on your stomach. Try to make the book rise when you inhale. Sing a note while you exhale and try to make the book lower.
Of course, you should train until you’re able to do this quickly since your backing music won’t wait for you to catch your breath.
Just with this simple exercise, you should be able to learn how to quickly fill your lungs with air and, over time, it will start increasing your lung capacity. Regular cardio exercise like running should also help with this.
You should also practice inhaling through your nose and mouth at the same time to keep your vocal chords healthy. If you inhale only through your mouth, you’ll quickly end up with a sore throat.
Of course, inhaling is not the only important thing – properly exhaling is just as important. This will allow you to avoid breaks and keep your voice nice and smooth while singing.
And there you have it! If you work on your posture and breathing using these tips and exercises, you should start improving in no time. Even if you’re already singing regularly, this might be helpful since many self-taught singers are hindered by poor basics and are straining too much when they don’t have to.
Once you’ve got that down, it’s time to move further.
Now that you’ve got your basics right, you can start training to sing. Of course, you’re not ready to start belting out full songs yet. Again, you need to start with some basic stuff and move up from that.
Before you do any singing though, even the most basic, you SHOULD warm up to protect your vocal chords from getting damaged.
Press your lips together and exhale, letting air escape through them, making a sound similar to a motorboat. Repeat it three times, starting at a certain pitch and then increasing or decreasing in pitch.
Start at a low note and make a siren sound, slowly moving up in pitch until reaching the end of your range, then moving down. Do this in one continuous sound, without breaks. Repeat it a few times while also stretching out your face.
This warm-up exercise helps you avoid stumbling over words when singing. Just do some regular tongue twisters that you can remember easily and repeat them a few times.
The tip of your tongue should be placed behind your top teeth and vibrate while you exhale. Start at a certain range then go up or down for the repeats.
This can be done for cooling down as well. Make sure your jaw and shoulders are relaxed and inhale normally. Then, hum the ‘m’ sound while exhaling slowly; you should feel a tickling sensation in your lips and nose.
With this, you should be sufficiently warmed up and ready to start working on some of your vocal basics.
One of the first things you could try is opening your vowels, also called the ‘open throat technique.’ With this, you’ll learn how to sing vowels more clearly without letting consonants get in the way, thus projecting more power and resonating better.
Learning how to identify them and properly sing them will help you massively improve the way you’re singing. If you’ve ever heard anyone sing unclearly and like they’re straining it’s probably because they’re not opening their vowels properly. If you’ve ever heard a local rock garage band, you’ve heard it.
However, you’ll avoid that by following just a few simple guidelines. Here’s how to open your vowels, one by one.
If you have any questions or would like to share your reviews on how to sing better, then comment down below. I would love to hear what you have to think.
So before we talk about why you should use an online vocal course, let's get right to our reviews of the best training available to you!
More About Superior Singing Method
People who want to get feedback on their vocal pitch, frequency, and intensity will truly love the concept behind Aaron Anastasi's SSM. This program has already become one of the Internet’s most popular downloadable courses and its no surprise why - I loved it.
It's very suitable for both beginners and advanced users alike. It is a video based online course that has supplemental worksheets and dozens of audio exercises for both men and women. All-in-all this is a really great vocal training program
However, the best part of this course is the fact that you have access to real-life support. You can ask Aaron questions about anything - something you're having trouble with, clarification on a certain concept, or whatever. It is the next best thing to actually having a vocal coach. I seriously recommend this product. You can read our full SSM review here first.
More About Singorama
Singorama is a software based program. This software was developed by world-renowned vocal coach Emily Mander, but she's since left the company. This is a complete course that has gained some widespread popularity on the internet and is pretty ideal for all kinds of singers, even beginners. This thing will definitely have you learning for a long time, but the rewards that await you at the end will be great.
The course covers all the basics and includes several exercises and warmups. The only downside to this otherwise great course is it is completely software based. This means you have to be by your computer to learn. If you don't mind that, then it's a great option for you.
The product is also risk free meaning that you will get a 60 day money back guaranteed period if you do not happen to like what you get from Singorama. So you will not have to worry about spending your hard earned money on a product that you might not like because of this awesome 60 day guarantee. Read our entire Singorama Review.
More About This Program
First up - Brett Manning's great program. Renowned voice coach Brett Manning is responsible for training the likes of Taylor Swift and Paramore’s Hayley Williams. He is a respected individual within the music community and he also happens to be the brains behind the course. This app includes 12 CD’s that all come with 17 different voice lessons. They are also considered to be the program's “meat.”
The audio quality of this online voice lesson is outstanding. You will have no trouble listening to what Brett Manning has to say and he also explains each topic quite well. The good thing about this is that the CD’s can be easily burned to your PC allowing you to store them in MP3 players so you can take them with you wherever you go.
Brett Manning’s SS is a great product for anyone who is looking to improve his or her vocal prowess. (Update: Make sure you read our review to learn about why you may not want to buy this product). You can read our full Review.
More About Hear And Play's Program
Personally, I love all of the products that come from the company HearAndPlay and their Vocal Mastery System is great. I first heard of them when I was trying to learn how to play piano. I bought their course and absolutely loved it. They way they teach you is like nothing I've ever seen before. It is basic concepts broken down in an easy-to-understand way without too much technical mumbo-jumbo.
The 10 DVD system is an absolutely stellar product. They go into many different areas of really controlling and mastering your voice. There is a lot of work on the fundamentals, but also advanced things like runs, riffs and more. So even if you're an experienced singer, you'll likely learn something new from this product.
The only thing that may throw some people off is the fact that HearAndPlay is a company that specializes in Gospel Music. Don't run away scared now, just because of that, doesn't mean they'll turn you into a Gospel singer. The fact is with the HearAndPlay system you'll learn how to master a soulful, full and powerful voice no matter what genre of music you sing. I highly recommend this product. Read our full Vocal Mastery Review.
If you purchase SSM or any other program through the links at TheSingersCorner.com you'll get a FREE e-book written by PBE Music about how to start a successful career as a professional singer.
The book is called How To Become a Singer or Rapper: The Ultimate Starters Guide and gives you real-world information on writing and recording songs, promoting your music, touring, making money and the truth about major label record deals.
This is bombshell information that you CANNOT live without if you're an aspiring singer. To learn how to get the free bonus, read one of our full reviews above.
If you're on this page then you're probably serious about becoming a better singer. And that's a great thing.
Most people want to become a singer, but aren't willing to invest in themselves to improve their craft. But you - you're different. You know that even the best singers in the world constantly work and learn to improve themselves - often with a professional vocal coach.
But a coach isn't for everyone. They...
Yea.. sucks I know.
When I first started taking this stuff seriously, I wasn't sure where I should turn. I knew I had to improve my voice to really compete with the amazingly talented singers already out there. But how?
Could I Do It For Free?
Like anyone, I tried looking online for free ways to improve my voice. I mean the Internet has everything right? Well... not exactly. Here's what I found
Practice Everyday?
Makes sense right? Just sing everyday - try new songs, practice going higher. Just DIY! (do-it-yourself)
Nope. I was so lost and didn't feel like I was improving AT ALL.
The problem was I had no idea HOW to practice. I didn't know the types of exercises I needed to do to make a real difference.
Personal / Private Coach?
A vocal coach didn't really seem like a good option. I wanted to be a REAL singer - someone who did this professionally. And being from a small town (read: not New York or LA) I didn't think any of the local song coaches could take me to that level.
I needed a professional, not a choir teacher...
So finally, after a bunch of frustration and getting nowhere. I decided to bite the bullet and try out some of the paid online singing lessons. I could go after the super expensive options like Berklee's full vocal course - I just couldn't afford it. So I set out and tried the cheaper lessons. To my surprise - there were some REALLY GOOD options, right up my alley.
See the reviews above to learn about what I found...
Well, that's it for me. Those are my absolute favorites for beginners and experts alike. I'd recommend looking at all of them and making your choice based on your preferred method of learning.
All of the courses themselves are great and will definitely take you leaps and bounds beyond where you are as a singer right now. All I can really say is DEFINITELY get one courses at least. And if you're anything like me, you'll want to get all three and learn everything you can because.. well... you love to sing.
But I want to hear from you too. What are your favorite lessons? Do you have any favorites that have helped you to become a better singer? I'd love to hear about it so feel free to leave me a comment below and share your thoughts!
And if you liked this post, please share it on Facebook, Twitter or Google+! I'd really appreciate it. 🙂
Here's to your success! Cheers.