Better Singing (with Pictures)

If you cannot sing very well, then there is no reason to despair; there are several things you can do to get better. This wikiHow gives you a few tips to help you sing better.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Mastering the basics

Step 1. Get the right posture

To sing well you need a good posture. You should stand or sit with your back straight. Your body should not tilt to one side or the other. Make sure your head is not leaning back over forward.

Step 2. Learn to breathe from your diaphragm

Proper breathing is one of the most important things in singing. During your breath, make sure you are breathing from your diaphragm and not from your chest. This means that when you inhale, your belly expands instead of your chest. When you sing, you press on your diaphragm as you ascend a scale, and release as you descend. Supporting your voice with your diaphragm is one of the conditions for being able to sing well.

Practice this by placing one hand on your stomach and breathing in through your nose. Your abdomen should expand and protrude as you inhale. Your chest should not move up or out. As you exhale, press down with your hand and tighten your abs. It should feel like a sit-up. Repeat until it feels natural when you sing

Step 3. Open your vowels

A quick way to improve your singing is to open your vowels. This is called open throat technique. To accomplish this, start by saying "ah" or "uh." Open your mouth without widening it. The intent is to separate your tongue from the palate and keep them separate while you sing. Your tongue should rest against your lower jaw. This will give your voice a better sound.

• Try A-E-I-O-U. Your jaw shouldn't join any of these customers. Hold your lower jaw with your fingers if you can't keep it down. Keep repeating the vowels until you can say them with your mouth open.
• Sing the vowels. Keep your jaw open as you sing them as you said them. Then sing a few words and open the jaw as you sing each vowel.
• This will probably take some practice to pull off, but it will definitely help improve your singing quality.
• This will allow your voice to develop.

Step 4. Tilt your chin down

Tilt your chin down as you sing higher notes and try to get more volume. Your head tends to tilt back when singing higher notes, which can cause problems with your vocal cords. Emphasizing keeping your chin low will make it easier to develop more volume and control your voice.

Step 5. Expand your vocal range

First you need to find your voice range. After you've done that, you can start expanding your vocal range. You will have to use the right technique for this. Use open vowels and the right resonance in your voice before trying to expand your vocal range.

• Expand your vocal range in semitone steps to a whole tone. Practice with short scales and until you can sing the new note well and easily, before trying to sing even higher or lower.
• Taking lessons from a singing teacher is the safest and most effective way to increase your vocal range.

Step 6. Alternate the different voice registers

Your voice is made up of 3 registers. Switching between these areas changes the resonance of your voice. Learning how to master this transition will improve your singing voice.

• The voice has three different areas: the middle register, the chest register and the high register (the head voice). Each of these areas refers to the range of notes that can be sung from that part of the body (the vibrations perceived there).
• The head voice is the higher register. When you sing high notes you feel them resonate in your head. Place your hand on the top of your head when singing high notes to feel the vibrations. The chest voice is the lower part of your singing voice. When you sing lower notes, they will resonate in your chest. The middle voice - or mixed voice - is the transition area between your chest and head voice. This area is where your voice shifts from the low to the high register to keep the notes singing well.
• When transitioning from high notes to low notes, you have to change from a head voice to a chest voice. Feel the notes move up to your head or down to your chest as you sing. Make sure the notes don't stay in the same place while rising or falling. Otherwise you will limit the quality of your voice.

Step 7. Drink water

Water helps keep the vocal cords moist so they can open and close easily. You can also drink an unsweetened, decaffeinated beverage for the same effect. Try to drink at least half a liter of water a day.

Lukewarm drinks are best for your throat. Drink something warm such as warm water or hot tea with honey. Avoid cold things, such as ice cream or chilled carbonated drinks, as they can tense your muscles

Part 2 of 3: Practice your voice

Step 1. Practice daily

If you want to learn to sing better, you will have to train your voice. This takes dedication. Practicing your voice a few times a week or month won't make much difference. Practice your voice every day. The aim is to train and develop your muscles so that you can improve your voice.

Don't forget to warm up your voice before practicing

Step 2. Practice humming

say "hmmm?" like your "mmm" (like you're not sure if you believe someone). Both sounds should change in pitch. When you practice your scales while humming, the idea is to feel it buzz around your nose, eyes and head, or down into your chest.

Hum Do-Mi-Sol on an ascending scale and then back to the Mi-Do. While humming, work on the correctness of your pitch

Step 3. Do trills

With a lip trill, you blow air between your lips, causing them to stand out and vibrate. It sounds like brr, like you're cold. If your lips are tense when you blow air over them, they won't vibrate. Try to relax your lips, and if that doesn't work, press the corners of your mouth toward your nose as you do the exercise.

Do tongue trills. This will help you relax your swallowing muscles so that you can relax them while singing

Step 4. Keep your larynx in the same place

When trying to hit the high notes, try to keep your larynx in the same place instead of lifting it. This gives you better voice control and helps prevent overload. To practice keeping the larynx still, say "mum" over and over again. Do this until you feel relaxed enough to say the word.

• Keep your thumbs slightly under your chin. swallow. You should now feel how your swallowing/throat muscles are moving. When you sing, the aim is to relax these muscles. Sing scales while making the "mmm" sound, with your mouth closed. Your throat muscles should remain relaxed.
• It can look a bit droll if you try to keep the sound in the upper part of your face. That's okay. Exaggerate the movement of your face and the noise if you have to. The most important thing is to train your swallowing muscles to stay relaxed as you work the scales.

Part 3 of 3: Work on your confidence

Step 1. Build confidence by singing when alone

One way to strengthen your nerves is to practice at home. When you practice, you will have to demand more of yourself than usual. For example: sing louder and more exuberant, try different moves or go crazy. Be sure of yourself before trying to be confident in front of others.

While practicing in front of the mirror (or while videotaping yourself), learn how to show emotion and passion on stage. It can feel a little awkward at first to be honest and vulnerable on stage, but some of the best professional singers are like that because they have the confidence to sing honestly and emotionally

Step 2. Get out of your comfort zone

One of the ways you can build confidence is by continuously stepping out of your comfort zone. You can do this in many ways. You can try to sing in front of an audience. This may mean learning how to expand your vocal range, or even start singing in a different genre. Develop your voice, try new things and learn as much as possible; this will help build your confidence.

Step 3. Sing to friends and family

After practicing and learning new singing skills, you should start singing for other people. Start singing to friends and relatives. Start with one person and then build up slowly. This can help you get used to singing in front of an audience.

Ask them to positively critique your performance. This can help you get better when you make mistakes

Step 4. Sing in your environment

Another way to build confidence is to sing around you. This is not as difficult or nerve-wracking as a concert or more formal event. See what you can do in nursing homes or children's hospitals.

Audition at the local theater or sign up for acting classes. This can help you gain the confidence you need to be on stage in front of an audience without singing. Then you apply that to singing

Step 5. Join a karaoke night

While karaoke with your friends isn't the same setting as a formal concert, singing in such a situation can boost your confidence. While it won't help improve your singing technique, it can help reduce your fear of singing in front of an audience.

Step 6. Sing a familiar song

The first two times you sing on stage, choose a familiar song. This will help you feel confident right from the start. Pick a song in your range that really brings out your voice. Don't try to do anything special with it; instead you just sense it as the original. What matters at this point is that you feel comfortable singing in front of other people.

If you are more confident in yourself, you can make the song more your own, find your own style and change it

Step 7. Position your body to hide your nerves

If you're nervous, get moving to hide your nerves. You can move your hips or walk around a bit to appear confident and focus your nervous energy elsewhere.

Look at a point above the audience if you are very nervous. Don't look at the audience. Find a spot on the back wall to focus all your attention on and ignore your audience

Tips

• If your voice starts to hurt, stop singing for an hour, drink water to warm up your voice, and try again.
• Record yourself and you will get better.
• If you can't hit the right note, try a lower note and work on making your vocal cords more flexible.
• Connect with other singers and compare your voices. You can also exchange experiences about voice exercises.
• Be open to criticism.
• Join a choir, school choir, or sing in a group so you can make music with other singers and learn more.
• Sing along to songs you like and keep practicing until you can.
• If you feel like you're getting out of breath, try exercising your diaphragm and lungs. This makes them stronger, so you can sing longer without breathing.
• If you're nervous, close your eyes and imagine yourself singing alone - sing like no one is around.
• Try adjusting your pitch if it just doesn't sound right. Sometimes you sing a song on a completely wrong pitch and don't realize it until you try a different pitch.
• Sing like no one is listening.
• If you're too nervous to sing in front of an audience, practice singing until you know the song much better. Then sing it to a close friend or family member and ask for constructive criticism and positive feedback.

Warnings

• Don't yell too often.
• Drinking very hot drinks can damage your vocal cords, so try to avoid that.