If you want to become a better singer, you should learn a few singing techniques. The right vocal techniques and exercises can have a huge impact on your sound.
Keep reading to learn some essential techniques and why they matter.
Warm Up Your Voice
One of the most important vocal techniques is a warmup. Warming up your voice is vital because it means you won’t jump right into singing a difficult opera. A warmup gives a singer time to ease into singing for the day.
Good exercises to do include scales, lip rolls, and humming. Spend a few minutes on a warmup routine before a voice lesson or rehearsal. Make sure the voice feels comfortable and fluid before moving to harder exercises or repertoire.
Sing From the Diaphragm
The diaphragm is a muscle that sits right under the lungs. As the lungs expand, the diaphragm moves down to allow more air to enter the lungs. When breathing out, the diaphragm expands up to help push air out.
Breathing from the diaphragm can help a singer with breath support and control. The more the lungs can expand, the easier it will be to take a deep breath. Then, that will help you sing longer phrases without needing a breath in the middle.
On the other hand, breathing from the chest can lead to a lot of tension. It’s better to learn proper breathing techniques for singing sooner rather than later.
Practice Breath Control
Along with how to take a deep breath, every singer should learn breath control. This means you don’t just breathe in and out like normal. It’s a more conscious action to help fill the lungs and empty them as completely as possible.
A good exercise to help with this is the 4-7-8 exercise. Breathe in for four seconds, then hold the air in the lungs for seven seconds before breathing out for eight seconds.
You can also take a deep breath and aim to sing for four counts, eight counts, or any other number. That’s a great way to decrease the frequency of needing to breathe.
Work on Posture
A singer could have the best breath support in the world, but it won’t matter if their posture is poor. Good posture means standing or sitting up straight. This allows the lungs to expand in all directions.
As the lungs expand, more air can enter. While it’s possible to sing while sitting, standing is the ideal position. Make sure you take a deep breath before starting to sing while in position.
Experiment With Volume
Singing at the wrong volume can make one’s voice fall flat or crack. It’s important to spend time singing at different volumes to find what works for you and your voice. Once you find where your voice is most comfortable, stick to that level.
Singing too loudly or too softly may also damage the voice over time. Fortunately, you can use a microphone to amplify your voice without having to push it on your own. Then, you can sing with louder instruments while still being heard.
Understand Your Voice Type
Beginner singers don’t need to know their voice type just yet. However, they can still learn their current vocal range, including their top and bottom notes. After a bit of practice, learning one’s voice type is more important.
The voice type includes aspects like the vocal range. However, it also considers factors such as one’s tessitura (where the voice sits) and what part of the range is the most comfortable.
Knowing your voice type allows you to choose the right songs to sing or the right parts to audition for in musical theatre and opera. That way, you won’t have to risk singing outside of your range.
Learn Vibrato
In music, vibrato is a singing technique where you slightly vary the pitch of a note. The change isn’t as drastic as moving to the note above or below. However, it involves quick alterations to the pitch above and below the note written.
Vibrato is a huge part of opera as well as pop music and other genres. While it’s not as common in early music, Renaissance and Baroque music can use vibrato as an ornamentation.
Learning to use vibrato helps add character and color to one’s singing. Be sure to learn how to do fast and slow vibrato as well as narrow and wide vibrato.
Study Diction
One of the most crucial singing techniques to learn is diction. This refers to how you pronounce words when singing. Diction in singing can be a bit different than when speaking, so consider working with a voice teacher on this.
It’s especially important to learn diction when singing songs in foreign languages. The pronunciation may vary. Be sure to take lessons or listen to other singers performing the music you want to learn to get an idea of how to say the words.
Practice Tempo
To sing songs well, it’s important to learn other aspects of music, like tempo and rhythm. Tempo refers to how fast the music is. For example, a slow song may be at about 60 beats per minute, while a fast song may be at 100 to 120 beats per minute.
Rhythm refers to the length of each individual note. Combining tempo and rhythm allows you to sing better and stay in time with the music. Work on singing different rhythms on the same note, then sing the given melody of whatever song you’re learning.
Try Different Genres
Maybe you enjoy singing pop music the most. While that can be a great starting point, consider singing other genres, such as classical music. You can learn different singing techniques based on the genre.
Then, when you return to your preferred genre, you can apply what you learned. For example, maybe you learn how to enunciate certain words better. When you go back to pop songs, you can use those new skills to improve your singing style.
Keep Water on Hand
While this isn’t a singing technique per se, it’s essential to drink water before you start singing and during your practice. When the throat gets dry, it becomes almost impossible to execute proper singing techniques.
Fill up a water bottle and bring it to lessons with a vocal coach and to any choir rehearsals. You can also drink water when practicing alone at home. If you know you’ll be singing later, drink water throughout the day to stay hydrated.
Cool Down Your Voice
Many singers understand the importance of warm-ups before singing, but cooling the voice down can also be a good choice. Use the same exercises that you use to warm up your voice when you’re done singing for the day.
This can help keep your voice in good shape. The next time you sing, you may not need to spend as much time warming up before you can get into singing.
What is the best singing technique?
The best singing techniques vary from singer to singer. For some, the best technique is vibrato because that offers different tonal colors. However, other singers may prefer to work on breath control to improve their singing.
Be sure to learn some common vocal techniques. Then, you can determine when to use different techniques based on the needs of the music.
What are the 4 types of singing?
The four types of singing parts include soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. You’ll find these parts in choral music.
However, they’re not the same as official voice types. While soprano, tenor, and bass are voice types, alto isn’t used outside of choral parts.
What technique is used in singing?
Many techniques are used in singing. Most of the techniques have something to do with the lungs, larynx, and other body parts that singing requires.
What are the 5 steps to singing better?
Five steps to help one sing better include:
- Learn your vocal range
- Work on breathing
- Take private lessons
- Choose songs that you enjoy and that make sense for your voice
- Warm up your voice before you practice
What are the 8 vocal skills?
There isn’t a list of eight vocal skills singers should learn. However, some good skills to master include diction, vibrato, and breathing.
What are the 7 voice types?
The seven voice types include soprano, mezzo-soprano, and contralto, which are the three female voice types. Male voice types make up the remaining four: countertenor, tenor, baritone, and bass.
Who has the best vocal technique?
It’s impossible to state that one singer objectively has the best technique. However, some of the best singers of all time include Beyonce, Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, and Freddie Mercury. Classical singers with good technique include Maria Callas and Jackie Evancho.
What is a vocal technique?
A vocal technique can cover breathing, posture, tone, range, and other fundamental techniques of singing. Singers combine these elements to form their own unique voices when performing.
Final Thoughts
Learning vocal techniques is crucial. Many singers can easily skip over some of the basics, such as breath support and control. However, learning these fundamentals can make a huge difference in one’s singing voice.
