It’s no secret that many of us have been in some form of lockdown now for the best part of 4 months. Whether you are working from home or are on a government-supported furlough scheme, why not take advantage of the additional time you have free to finally learn to sing! In this article, I’ll outline a few of the best tips you can take on board to advance your vocal prowess. When the next karaoke night finally rolls round, you’ll be the undisputed king (or queen) of the mic!
1) Learn to Warm up properly.
It’s no secret that when you want to run fast, jump high or get that killer serve firing in a game of tennis, you have to warm up before doing so.
Otherwise – your mind and body are just simply not ready to go. Well, singing is no different! Jumping straight into a hearty rendition of Living on a Prayer (Bon Jovi) without warming up is undoubtedly going to be too much, too soon on your vocals. Learn to warm up first, and you’ll be able to hit the notes not only more easily, but with less strain (and potential damage to your vocal chords), as well in a much cleaner tone.
Our favourite drill is the lip, or bubble trill. Learn more about how to complete this exercise here –
2) Choose songs that suit your range.
Many people make the mistake of trying to just sing the songs they enjoy the most. Now this may sound a bit mental on the face of it – of course you need to be a fan of a song to sing it well. But just because you like Celine Dion, doesn’t mean you can blast out a successful rendition of My Heart Will Go On (the theme tune from Titanic) without clearing the room!
Instead, try to find songs that work with your vocal range. And most importantly, try to sing them in your voice. That means, don’t try and imitate the artist’s singing voice. It might sound good to you when you do this, but all you’ll actually be doing is straining and putting additional load on your vocal chords. This will greatly accelerate the path to vocal burnout, and can even cause lasting damage in the form of nodules.
3) Find the right teacher for you.
It’s no secret that you can learn a lot of the basics of singing just by following online resources. But if you want to take your vocals to the next lesson, it’s definitely worth taking some singing lessons. The right teacher will not only be able to determine which range your voice fits into (soprano, tenor, alto etc), but will be able to realise exactly where you are with your development – and where you need to go.
One thing I’ve learnt on my singing journey, is that practice does not make perfect. Practice makes permanent. I had so many bad habits with my voice for so many years, and it’s only now, with the help of a pro, that I’m finally putting them right! I’m enjoying my singing more and more, and you certainly can too.