HOW TO PRACTICE SINGING: 10 WAYS

How Singing Practice Works

The old expression practice makes perfect certainly applies when it comes to singing.

Developing good singing techniques during your practice sessions will enable you to carry such develop skills into your performance.
Learning to sing takes considerable time, effort, and especially dedication. Devoting such time to expanding your singing abilities is a necessary requirement.
Not only repeating your chosen singing materials, but also rehearsing things like breathing exercises, mouth shapes, and various scales will help you perfect and hone in your singing voice.
As you develop these critical skills, they will play a major role in the foundation of great tone, pitch, clarity, and projection.
Make sure to set goals from the very start of your practice times. Commit to learning and doing what is necessary to nurture a great singing voice.

The Top 10 Ways To Practice Singing

If you are looking to get the most out of your practice sessions when singing, please consider some of the following suggestions below:

1. Your Location is Key. Before you begin any kind of singing practice session, you will want to locate an area of the house where you can have privacy and will not bother others.
Make sure you give yourself some space to move around and that’s open enough to carry the sound throughout the room. No dead space if you can help it.

2. Warm-up first. Always take the time to warm up your vocal apparatus. This includes stretching your body to relieve any tension, and of course warming up the vocal cords by including hunting exercises and practicing scales.
You should spend at least 10 to 15 minutes warming up prior to each singing practice session in order to prepare the body and vocal cords for their workout.

3. Use a mirror. Find a mirror in your bedroom, bathroom or closet and stare into it. Notice your posture, your breathing, and the position of your head.
It is important to pay close attention to the mechanics of your body when singing. Using a mirror can be a great way to monitor such things as your posture and the positioning of your mouth, making adjustments accordingly.

4. Connect your emotions. During practice, take the time to think about the premise of the song your singing. What is the feeling that is being created? Now ask yourself how you would express those feelings, and put them into your song while singing. Close your eyes and as you sing feel the words and the sounds, allowing yourself to connect to them.

5. Lie down while singing. Locate an empty space on the floor. Gently lie down on your back, arms to their sides, with your back flat on the floor. Keep your body parts aligned. Begin singing randomly, noticing the movements of your breath and diaphragm.
After giving you this a few minutes practice, try standing up now, close your eyes and imagine that you are in the same position you were while lying on the floor. This is the kind of posture we are looking for what we are singing. Your body will be perfectly straight allowing airflow without any restriction.

6. Break your songs down. When tackling a song, rather than rehearsing the entire song from start to finish. Why not break the song into parts, thus focusing on trouble areas first. As you work through each problem area, you can gently blend all the pieces together in harmony.

7. Learn the messa divoce technique. In Italian this means the placing of your voice. It’s basically a simple technique in which you take a single pitch all the way up to a crescendo. Then down into a diminuendo. You begin singing quiet and then work up to louder volume, and then quiet again all the time using the same pitch.

8. Get your timing right. Get yourself a metronome. Better yet, there are many apps you can choose from that are free.
Even if your pitch and tone are perfect, when your timing is out is very noticeable. Timing is a very important aspect of your singing practice sessions.
Especially when articulating and pronouncing words according to the tempo of the song similar to how it was written. You must stay in time.

9. Record your sessions. There are some fantastic personal recording studio mics on the market. But if you’re on a free budget, we recommend just using the microphone on your smartphone.
The idea is to enable you to review your practice sessions. Taking note of such things as your pitch, your tempo, your tone, and other areas you wish to improve on.
If you want to take it a step further, you can even video record yourself with a camcorder or your cell phone. This way you can even get a look at your posture and see if you can make adjustments in that area as well.

10. Hit more notes per breath. Being able to sustain notes for longer periods of time are the very foundations of the great singing voice. With that being said try the following exercise.
Take the deepest breath you can comfortably take and hold. Slowly control your exhalation using your diaphragm and muscles.
Move up and down a scale in order to incorporate supporting muscles while moving through the various registers.
Focus on the proper resistance of airflow while maintaining good pitch and a strong volume. Time yourself is necessary and continue to challenge yourself.

HEAD, CHEST AND MIDDLE VOICE

Head, Chest, And Middle Voice

There are three main contributors where your voice resonates and produces sensations:

> The Chest Voice: This is the sensation for low, warm, and rich notes which you can feel in your chest, throat, and mouth. It’s the voice we commonly use to speak with, unless you talk like Mickey Mouse.

> The Head Voice: This is the sensation for higher, brighter notes, in which the vibrations feel like they have moved from your throat and mouth, up through your soft pallet and traveled even further back and higher up, so that they are coming from the top or back of your head.

> The Middle Voice: As well as chest and head voice, we can alter resonance by placing sounds forwards. This allows for us to brighten tone by resonating notes around our cheekbones and either side of the nose, which is commonly referred to as the mask.

Using these resonating areas is what brings your voice to life. If you force the sound straight out of your mouth, it will sound dead and colorless. By focusing and mentally directing the sound, it will go there.

The goal of any singer should be to develop a voice that is clear and even, from the chest voice, up through the head voice. Many singers fear this transition. No fear, it’s simply a matter of blending and combining the joins, which we know as the middle voice.

It is much more beneficial for the long term health, agility, and appeal of your voice to blend the voices rather than reaching for notes that are too high for your chest voice.

Try singing from low to high, feeling the sound traveling out of your chest, while avoiding the larynx from tightening up. Stay relaxed and visualize the sound moving into the space in the high back of your throat.

From here you should be in a mix between your chest and head voice, your middle voice. As you sing higher, direct the sound with your mind, into your head, and let go of your chest sensation.

IMPROVING SINGING TONE AND RESONANCE

Improve Your Singing Tone And Resonance

Improving your singing tone will depend on your understanding of the components that make up good tone and what produces bad tone.



Tone is described as, “a musical or vocal sound with reference to its pitch, quality, and strength.” according to Dictionary.com.

Tone or timbre (which is the quality of a musical note, sound, or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production). In this case we are describing the sound of your singing voice.


Tone Color

Tone color is the characteristic that allows us to distinguish the sound of one voice or instrument from another. Described by terms like warm, dark, bright, or buzzy.

For example: a violin and a piano can be played with the same pitch and volume, but produce different tones. A piano will have a warm tone, whereas a violin has a bright or shrill tone.

Tone is not to be confused with pitch and loudness.

Just as two different singers could be singing a song with the same loudness and pitch, you could still distinguish them from their tone.

It’s described as the color of your voice. Is it warm, dark, ringing, shrill, or bright?

The tone of your voice changes with your moods or the emotions you are trying to convey.

Our tone is created through resonance which we will discuss in more detail shortly.


Common Tone Issues



Common issues with creating the appropriate tone is either it’s too breathy due using too much air too quickly, or the tone is too tight as a result of tension, and the sound is therefore squashed and restricted.

There are 3 basic categories that sum up the most common tone producing mistakes:

> Throaty Voice: described as heavy, thick, and deep, low, and seems to come from deep in your throat cuased by a constricting of the throat.

> Nasally Voice: or hypernasality occurs when there is too much nasal airflow or a lack of appropriate nasal airflow during speech and particuliarly when singing high notes.There are some who enjoy the nasal sound. However, it is not generally considered to be a desirable tone.

> Breathy Voice: Better known as hypofunctional. This occurs when the vocal cords are held apart, allowing a larger amount of air to escape between them. This produces an audible breathy, airy sound. Like a balloon leaking air.

SONG WRITTING

What’s involved in writing a song? Is there a simple formula that even a beginner can apply in order to begin writing songs without experience?

Where should one start? What are the parts that make up a song?

What are the 4 basic elements of song writing and why are these so important?

To find the answers to these questions and begin writing your own songs – please consider the following:

Elements Of Song Writing

The purpose of this discussion is not to identify all of the technical aspects of song writing, nor is it to endorse only one way of accomplishing this.

We hope to provide some basic ideas to identify the parts that make up a song and provide a model for you to fill in your own music.

To illustrate: Compare the structure of a song to that of a house.

Regardless of the building materials, colors, size or dimensions, they all share common features.

An enterance and a back door exit. A kitchen, a bathroom,a bedroom, etc…

Similiarly, the parts making up a song may be constructured more than one way.

You as the architect will structure your song with the main components, while using the freedom of your imagination to shape and color it with emotion.

A song has four basic elements: words (the lyrics) are sung to a tune (melody) which is supported by chords (harmony) and played to a certain combination of beat and tempo (rhythm and timing).

Keep in mind that there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to song writing and the importance of each element will depend upon the style of music you from which you build your foundation. Choosing the order of these elements is entirely personal preference.

The Lyrics

Some prefer beginning with the words as it can be a great starting point in developing the theme to your song. The story or what have you can be the basis of the mood you are creating.

Try laying out the lyrics in the style of a poem, using breaks between so many lines.

Rhyming is important but not always necessary.

Make sure to keep a book or journal of lyric ideas, even if they’re not finished. You never know when you revisit that unfinished business, when inspiration will hit.

You need only one verse and a chorus to get the basic structure of a song – extra verses can be added later.

One common structure would be: intro – verse – chorus – verse – chorus – bridge – chorus – outro. There are of course many varieties to this pattern.

The Melody

The melody has been defined as “an agreeable succession of sounds , a sequence of single tones”.

In other words, these are the notes that carry the lyrics. If it’s simple, catchy, and you can hum it nicely, it may be a keeper.

Paying attention to the melody in the early stages in a composition will encourage you to compose a more effective tune.

If you are able to develop your tune in a way that has an expressive quality, some pleasing movement and a catchy hook – it will sound a lot better when all the rest is in place.

Think of any great song. In most cases the tune alone sounds catchy even without being accompanied by instruments.

Repetition is another important aspect of songwriting as a song is little more than a pattern of phrases better known as the “hook”.

The Harmony 

Perhaps you are one who chooses to construct an appealing chord progression first, followed by the melody. This is known as “from the middle out”. This approach is especially favored by guitarists.

Try finding your way around various chord sequences, be it whatever instrument you choose.

It’s fairly simple and it allows your mind to play with the words and melody. Chord sequences can inspire and suggest emotion or mood that can be focused through a lyric and melody.

Recall any of your favorite songs. Can you pick out the chord progressions? Minor chords are sometimes identified as sad or gloomy. Whereas major chords are bright and happy.

A simple way to understand them is remembering that each key has 7 notes. From the various notes we form a chord.

For example: a 1,4,5 chord progression would start with the first note of the scale as a chord, the four notes from the first as the second chord , and finally five notes up in the scale from the first note in the scale as your third chord.

Begin choosing any note within the major scale and give it a try. Many great folk songs for example are based on 3 basic chords like G, C, and D.

Rhythm And Timing

If you choose to begin writing with tempo in mind known as the “bottom up”, you may want to consider acquiring a drum machine or some kind of electronic beat machine.

Depending on the type of song you are working on, the tempo will be faster or slower. For instance, you are composing a song people will dance to, it will require strong rhythmic presence, whether fast or slow.

Try playing and singing against a drum rhythm to give your melodies a greater rhythmic presence. Treat the bass notes as the foundation of major and minor chords, since a single note in the bass can imply a number of different chords.

Timing is everything especially when playing. Steadily laying your notes down on your beats , while remembering your breaks and so forth. Make sure to record.

Parts That Make Up A Song

A song is broken up into different sections. As with our earlier illustration of a house, the seperate sections of a song are like the individual rooms that make up the whole structure.

> Intro: The introduction of a song. Basically a short musical solo based on the song’s verse, chorus, or bridge. A great intro will draw your listener in immediately.

> Outro: also known as “codas”. They may be as simple as a reprise of the of the chorus or a repeat of either the final line of the chorus, the reapeat of the verse, or the repeated singing of the final line of the song.

> Verse: This is where the song tells the story. Either chronologically or through a series of recollections, descriptions of events, or possibly emotions. The verse sets up the melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic patterns to the song.

> Chorus: Also known as the refrain, generally repeated throughout the song. It’s the hook that everyone loves to sing along to and is generally how the song is remembered. Mainly because the chorus is in most cases based on the song’s title.

> Bridge: If all there was to a song was the constant repetition of verse to chorus, chorus to verse and so on, the song would become boring. This is where the bridge comes in. It’s kinda like the climax of a story. The bridge normally intensifies to prepare the listener for the reaaproach of verse and chorus with a different view.

Putting It All Together

Now that we understand song writing structure and the various parts to a song, it a matter of allowing inspiration to lead us into ideas for song creation.

What are you interested in? Do you want to express your feelings, or share an experience? What kind of mood do you want to set? Who are your potential listeners?

There are no hard and fast rules to song writing as long as it can be communicated in a way that will bring pleasure to your listeners.

Stick to patterns as people love them. Especially if you have a great hook. If it’s a great chorus, people will want to sing along with you.

Have fun and be patient. Enjoy the process of making little revisions along the way as inspiration strikes.

8 vocal techniques

VOCAL TECHNIQUES


All of us have a singing voice, but not everyone has developed proper vocal techniques in order to be sure where to find or how to use that voice. Not convinced? Head out to a Karaoke Bar one evening. Chances are you’ll witness a variety of passionate singers out there. All of them showing their confidence and courage to express themselves publicly.

But let’s be honest, some are less pleasing to the ear than others, and we love them anyways! The point is, that there are also many naturally good singers as well. Even these with proper training could very easily, not only raise their level, but also reduce the amount of effort involved in sounding great.

By the way, if you’ve ever considered yourself a “less talented” singer than some, have no fear! Continue reading and you will be guaranteed to greatly benefit from what you’re about to learn. Are you interested in improving your singing voice? If so, consider the following:.
8 Vocal techniques that will help you begin improving your singing voice fast:

Vocal Tip # 1: Posture

Perhaps there’s another secret as to why your mother constantly reminded you to stand up straight.The truth is..it makes you a better singer. How? It’s vitally important to align your body parts and prepare them to support your sound, while eliminating tension. Tension not only makes you feel uncomfortable and affects your mood, but can greatly restrict air flow, making singing a chore rather than pure enjoyment.

Exercise: Find a wall and stand with your back to it. Place your head to the wall so that your chin is parallel to the floor. Open your shoulders and roll them back to the wall. Without allowing your spine to touch, slowly move your back towards the wall to straighten. Arms to your sides. Feet shoulder width apart, find your balance. Try to relax. The only tension you create should be in your abdominal muscles that are supporting your singing. It is more effective if you do this in front of a mirror. This can especially help you to visualize your stance after you see and feel proper posture.

Vocal Tip # 2: Breathing
Try holding your breath and singing or even speaking. You get the point. Clearly air is a major component to singing. When singing a melody, the words are expressed quite differently than if you were to simply recite the sentences aloud. The volume, the pitch, the tone, and the tempo can have you gasping for air before you know it.

Learning and mastering proper breathing is one of the keys to instantly improving your ability to sing. Unless we are exercising, normally our breathing is quite shallow. As we begin training our body to sing, we need to take deeper breaths in order to sustain our sound loud and clear for our listening audience. At first you may even feel a rush of dizziness as the deeper you breath, the more oxygen that gets to your brain. But don’t stress it! Your body just needs to get used to proper and more efficient breathing.

Vocal Tip # 3: Tighten That Drum

It is absolutely essential to proper singing technique that you understand how the diaphragm, lungs, and chest cavity affect your singing. Think of these 3 combined as forming a drum. A drum that is tuned loosely sounds flat and boring, as it lacks resonance. So the idea is to expand your rib cage by flexing the muscles that pull your ribs in and out. Effectively tightening that “drum”. This will result in better tones in your voice as well as increasing your lung capacity, allowing you to take less breathes between verses, resulting in better control. If you a serious about improving this area, it is suggested that you begin exercising these muscles.

Whether you join a gym or work out at home. Always consult a physician before starting such a program. The main muscles to focus on are your chest, arms, back, and obliques. Keep in mind that building endurance will allow you to develop a stronger voice as well as last for longer periods of time. Believe me, after singing 20-30 songs in a night, when performing, you need to be in good physical condition. Do not over look the importance of cardiovascular exercise to increase lung efficiency. You don’t need to become a body builder or a marathon runner. Just try and keep in shape. Good singing health to you!

Vocal Tip # 4: Water…Drink Tons Of It!

It doesn’t matter if you meet a heavy metal singer, pop singer, or an opera singer. You can bet any one of these true professionals can appreciate the abundance of good ole H2O. It’ll always be within arms reach whether they are in the studio, rehearsal, or on stage. Some prefer drinking warm water, claiming that it better refreshes your throat. Others swear that ice cold water can aid in keeping swelling down, especially after a killer belting performance. Regardless of your preference. Just drink lots of it!

Some think that gargling water can hydrate the vocal cords. The truth is that the no food or water comes in contact with them as they are located in your windpipe. When liquid goes down, the automatic flap called the epiglottis closes to protect your lungs from being filled with water. This also covers the vocal cord every time you take a drink.

What happens when you get water in your windpipe? It causes a choking gag reflex. So really, the only way to hydrate your vocal cords is to drink water. Why lots? It is because the water has to enter your stomach, and is first supplied to all your major organs, like your heart, kidneys, etc.. Eventually, smaller organs like your vocal cords are supplied. And supply you must! Note: avoid smoking and foods or liquids that dehydrate the body.

Vocal Tip # 5: Flex Those Facial Muscles

As with other vital muscles that support great singing. The neck and facial muscles play an obvious role. Really the goal is to minimize the effort required to sing so that you may effectively control your tone and your pitch. Warming up can not be avoided. There are mainly 10 groups of muscles in the neck, head, and face. Each consisting of numerous tinier muscles all working in harmony to create the beautiful sound making up your voice. Here is a list in order of the types of movements you can perform on various parts to prepare yourself to sing:

1) Yawn

2) Jaw Stretch

3) The Pucker

4) Silly Smile

5) Eye Brow Lift

6) Eye Roll

Vocal Tip # 6 : Find Appropriate Singing Material
Finding the balance between your preferred taste in music and your voice type can prove to be a challenge. You may love the high pitched screams of hard rock, but your voice may actually be better suited to pop or country. What do you do? It is highly recommended that you NEVER strain your voice to sound like someone else. Within your favorite genre, you need to find artists that have a similar range or try singing their song in a different key. The other option is to explore the other side. If you are a laboring to sing that power ballad in the car, then why would you want to butcher it while you’re on stage. Explore all your options. But the rule is..you MUST enjoy what you’re doing or it will never be worth the effort.

Vocal Tip # 7 : Practice…Practice…Practice

As you move from the casual singer in the car to progressing toward live performances, you need to appreciate the importance of practice. Not only your chosen songs repetitively but your strengthening skills that lead you to master your art. You need to know: where, when, and how long to practice. Where is an easy one. Somewhere that you will not be disturbed and will not disturb others. You should be able to move around in a comfortable space. Preferably where there’s a mirror. When to practice is based on your own availability and circumstances.

Have a set schedule. If you write it down on the calendar, you’re more likely to do it. What time of day again is personal. But keep in mind that you need to remove any and all distractions like the T.V., the internet, computer, or cellphone in order to maximize concentration. Also, have your materials organized and ready for each session. How long depends on your skill level. If you are new, it is recommended to limit your time to 20-30 minutes per day. As those muscles strengthen, you can gradually move up to 30-60 minutes per day. Be patient. Remember that anything worth achieving takes persistence and can never be rushed. But it’s so worth it!


Vocal Tip # 8 : Find Quality Vocal Instruction
Learning how to do something right the first time is so important. Reading books on singing can definitely expand your knowledge of techniques and practice skills, but can feel a little lifeless and A bore at times. Hiring a vocal trainer can also prove beneficial.

VOCAL EXERCISE

vocal exercises

Just like an athlete stretches his or her body and muscles before a big game or practice, a vocalist must warm up his or her singing voice before a performance or rehearsal! All it takes is 10 minutes with these five simple warm ups to maintain a healthy voice. Here are some of my favorite vocal exercises that will work for both beginning and advanced vocalists.

1. Lip Buzz

Simply vibrate your lips together, without pitch at first. It may take a while to get used to. This will help build up your breath support and stamina while singing. Next, try adding a pitch to your lip buzz, and holding it anywhere from 3-5 seconds. Pitch can go up, down, or stay on one note. There should be a funny, tickling sensation in your nose, and your other resonators (forehead, cheeks, etc.). If you do not feel this, try harder!

2. Solfege

We all should be familiar with “Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do” from the The Sound of Music! Starting on middle C, sing through the solfege up and down the scale, taking your time and really listening to each pitch. See if you can also try this warm up without a piano (acapella), as this will help with your ear training! Practicing solfege is not only a great tool for your ears, but it will also help with your sight reading

3. “Mah-May-Me-Mo-Moo”

Remaining on one note (monotone), sing “mah-may-me-mo-moo” nice and slow, really pronouncing the Ms. I would start low, perhaps at A3 and sing up the scale to an octave above. Really take your time, and see if you can sing this exercise all in one breath. While you don’t have to sing the warm up pretty, focus on the tone and your intonation to create the best vocal sound. Don’t push – this exercise should be nice and relaxed.

4. “I Love to Sing”

This is one of the vocal exercises you can use to help with your range, as it includes an arpeggio. Starting low at around Bb3, you are literally going to sing “I love to sing” with a smile on your face! You will start at the root, then hit the octave, and come back down on the 5th, 3rd, and root of the chord again. This is a great way to test your range through big jumps; it can be done fast and should be done in one breath. And smiling while you sing will help you with a more clear and bright sound – give it a try!

5. The Siren

This is the easiest vocal exercise of all! Think of the sound of a fire engine passing by, and imitate it with your voice. Start at the lowest note in your range, and slide through every note to the top of your range. If you can sing the low notes and high notes, then you know you are in good vocal shape! This is a good way to tell if you are vocally fatigued; if you are unable to hit the low or high notes, then it’s best not to sing and push too hard. You can try this warm up in reverse, too, by starting with your mouth opened up wide, going from high to low.

These vocal exercises take as little as 10 minutes a day, and will help you tremendously.