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33 Most Effective Singing Tips 1
33 Vocal Experts Reveal Their Most Effective Singing Tips By
Katarina
Original blog post:
http://tips.how2improvesinging.com/effective-singing-tips/
Thanks to the ever increasing world-wide number of singing
shows, competitions and programs on various types of media, the
number of people with singing aspirations is on the rise. However,
new singers may be confused by the many different approaches to
vocal development. There is an abundance of singing tips for
beginners but often they contain conflicting messages. This may
confuse new singers who are at the beginning of their journey. To
help you find your way through this information jungle, I
approached world-renowned vocal coaches, voice teachers,
professional singers, musicians and singing experts to answer one
question: “When coaching beginners, what singing tip has had the
greatest impact on your students’ vocal development?” I sent the
question to many celebrity vocal coaches and experienced and
knowledgeable singing experts hoping that someone would answer. You
would not believe the overwhelming number of responses I received
within a few short days! I was extremely excited about each and
every answer I got. I loved every piece of wisdom that arrived to
my inbox. I received 33 amazing tips to improve singing! They are
all unique, practical and effective singing tips. You can start
using them right away and see improvements in your singing.
http://tips.how2improvesinging.com/effective-singing-tips/
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33 Most Effective Singing Tips 2
33 Most Effective Singing Tips for Beginners
Singing Tip #1
The Pulling Technique
“The fastest way I usually get a new student’s vocal ability
immediately improved is by getting them pulling instead of pushing
for power. This synergistic ‘pulling’ technique focuses controlled
breath most efficiently to power the voice through an open throat,
and on to the ear of the listening heart.” Judy Rodman
Singing Tip #2
Get Rid of Your Phobias
“The greatest impact for beginners is separating the facts from
their phobias. People who don’t sing well have lots of reasons why
that’s so. Debunking those reasons up front allows new behaviors to
jump right into the driver’s seat. Singing is easy – it’s managing
fear that requires practice.” Mark Baxter
Singing Tip #3
Sing Deep and Back
“The singing tip that has had the biggest impact for singers is
understanding that the frequency should not be perceived as “up /
down” & “low / high”… this creates a bodily response to push or
struggle for higher notes. Students should train their mental
imagery to perceive higher frequencies in training and singing as
“deep” or “back”… which is closer to the objective reality of the
situation because higher frequencies are achieved by learning how
to shift formants, or mastery of the acoustics of singing. Please
enjoy this video I produced on this point.” Robert Lunte
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Singing Tip #4
Singing is Speaking on Assigned Pitches ”Singing is an extension
of speaking. It’s really just speaking on “assigned pitches” for a
specific length of time. I know that sounds to simple, but it’s
not. We already know how to breathe, pronounce words and express
feelings. As you refine the foundations of singing, like posture,
breathing, diction and expression don’t let the real you be
replaced by only technical things. Also, this article on posture
and breathing is a very clear and proven way to build healthy
foundations while keeping the natural part of you intact.
Here’s the link: Ten Steps to Better Breathing for Singers.”
Chris Beatty
Singing Tip #5
Make a Joyful Noise!
“New singers often need to discover that they can develop ALL
the registers of their voice right off the bat. Even in a first
lesson, there is nothing stopping a beginning singer from
developing chest voice, head voice, falsetto, mix, and more. By
learning how to explore the wide variety of muscular functions and
resonance capabilities of the vocal registers, singers are often
amazed at how much progress can be made in a short time. Vocal
progress does not come merely by practicing, but knowing exactly
WHAT and HOW to practice. Becoming familiar with the registrational
possibilities of the voice is an effective tool for new singers to
start shifting their thinking and vocal practice from the limited
to the unlimited. Thus, it is an ideal way to discover untapped
vocal potential and, of course, to ‘Make A Joyful Noise!'” Justin
Stoney
Singing Tip #6
Simply: Lip Roll
“I would have to say the use of the lip roll. Students instantly
feel how they have to support through proper breath control.
Through the relaxation of the muscles around the larynx, they are
able to sing through their vocal range with no strain, and they
start to feel how the notes naturally move into the resonance
areas. Following on from this they can then learn to use these
techniques when singing without the lip roll.” Lisa Hugo
http://vocalcoach.com/blog/2013/11/ten-steps-to-better-breathing-for-singers/
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Singing Tip #7
Focus on the Quality of Your Own Voice
“I feel one of my most useful singing tips has been to remind
beginner singers that their ability to sing should not be measured
by how close they sound like a particular artist but on the vocal
quality of their own voice and vocal presentation…” Eve Soto
Singing Tip #8
Daily Practice is the Key
“The best way for beginners to improve their vocal abilities at
a rapid rate is to record their vocal exercises and then practice
them every single day.” Sarah Popejoy
Singing Tip #9
No More Shouting!
“Most beginning singers think they have to push a lot of air
pressure to sing higher, louder or longer. (They often think that’s
what it means to ‘sing from the diaphragm’). Too much air pressure
leads to straining, limited range, bad pitch and flat tone. It will
make you run out of air faster. Great singers make it sound easy
because they have learned how to keep relatively even air pressure
across their whole range. No more shouting!” Lis Lewis
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Singing Tip #10
Hear It in Your Head “One of the most common and basic signing
tips that help a lot of beginners is ‘hear the note(s)/melody in
your head before you start singing it’ – this helps to come in on
the right note and stay in tune instead of “fishing” for it and hit
a bunch of out of tune notes and slides in the process. Another
helpful tip would be on breath support – ‘use your lower stomach
vs. the area right at the base of the ribs for breath support –
this will give you a nice even vibrato vs. a goat-like shake.
Examples of these two breathing methods would be Leona Lewis and
Jessie J respectively.” Irina Fields
Singing Tip #11
Find a Good Fit and Learn to Breathe
“Great question!!! My answer has two parts: 1. I encourage my
new students and their parent(s)/guardian(s) to be very open and
transparent with me in our initial consultation to make sure we are
a good fit for each other. This may seem off topic, but as much as
I would love to take the money of every individual who comes
through Elevation Music Studio’s door, the ‘fit’ is ridiculously
imperative for both parties. No development or a subsequent break
in development is certain if this is not attended to initially. It
is important for the vocalist to find a coach who is a good ‘fit’ –
every individual, body-type, personal goal(s), voice etc… will be
different, they need to be paired with the right personality that
can help them to gain results or release the hidden potential. This
is not to say, one coach is better than the other, it is all about
the relate-ability factor. I can’t say this enough, “there is no
quick fix for being a competent vocalist; the best short cut is
having fun, doing it right!!” So tip 1 for vocalists and their
long-term development – ‘find a good fit.’ 2. Helping individuals
find their ‘voice’ can sometimes take lots of patience and empathy,
but one revolving pattern I have found in my 15 plus years of
working in the field of vocal development is that correct breathing
and body alignment has been responsible for seeing vast improvement
in the area of vocal consistency and dynamics. There is much more
to making a car go than putting it in gear and stepping on the
pedal; lots of synchronization and mechanics are involved. Proper
breathing/body alignment are paramount for maximizing the dynamic
range and attaining/improving control of the voice and tone. So
part 2 – ‘Learn to breathe correctly.'” Ryan Lewis
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Singing Tip #12
Open Throat and Open Pharynx “The most important part of
developing the young voice is teaching the open throat or open
pharynx. This allows for a healthy adduction of the vocal folds and
helps to develop head voice.” David Jones
Singing Tip #13
Warm-ups Are Crucial
“Always warm up! Every time! Whenever you sing on an unwarmed
voice you risk significant vocal fatigue and possible damage. Just
five minutes of low to medium impact warm-ups will give your voice
resilience and longevity. It’s the difference between singing cold
and losing your voice after 45 minutes, and warming up and still
singing strong after a three hour gig. I always start with lip
trills, ascending and descending two-octave sweeps. Start at a
medium to low note within your range (eg, C) and sweep up and down,
then do it again from the next note above (C#, then D, etc.) –
moving up, warming and stretching your voice. Daily sirens are
important too – bouncing within your range – from lower to higher –
using the “ng” sound. This teaches us how to release into the mix
voice, and shows us the sound vibration pathways within our head
and upper body. Also, when touring or singing a lot, vocally
warming down after performance or extended singing is a great way
to ensure your voice is in tip top shape, and ready for the next
gig. Sobbing down, like a puppy dog, for 2 – 3 minutes will do the
trick.” Simon Chate
Singing Tip #14
Get Comfortable
“Well – the first thing is to make [new students] feel as
comfortable as possible! They are here to learn proper technique
and new material but also to have fun at the same time. The great
thing about my studio is – I am the pianist as well as the vocal
coach and voice teacher. I can play anything and everything by ear
– all styles and genres of music – so that makes it so much better
for all of my students. So – the greatest singing tips for
beginners I would say are that I put them on the “path to
greatness” right away – the very first lesson. We discuss
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what they want to achieve – what they want to do vocally – the
things they want to audition for – what they have coming up as far
as performances, talent shows etc… Another great tip for beginners
is – I encourage them to take piano from me as well because today’s
artists have to be well-rounded performers – they have to be able
to play – in my opinion – more than one instrument – and have those
instruments mastered. There is more and more competition than ever
these days – as demonstrated on The Voice – and I always tell
students not to go up against “seasoned” vocalists without being
totally prepared – mentally, physically and vocally.” Melissa
Black
Singing Tip #15
You Are a Wind Instrument
“There are four major components to learning how to sing better:
breath support, breath placement, positioning (of the tongue,
mouth, jaw, larynx and palate) and of course, lots of ear training.
One of the best singing tips for beginners ever given to me was the
understanding that when I sing – I am a wind instrument. These four
pieces come together in that concept: how I position my instrument
and how I use the breath through it to make music. Here is one
beginner exercise I give to students and I hope it helps: Pretend
you need to make a comfortable and natural space for about a 1”
tube from your mouth all the way to the back of your throat. This
should open your mouth, release your jaw vertically, and help you
lift the palate, and lower your larynx. It is a “beginning of a
yawn” feeling. Then from your mid to lowest rib, allow the breath
to fall into your body. Attempting to keep this position (both in
the head and the lower core), just hold steady even notes on
varying short vowels (ah, ee, oo). Use a chromatic tuner, and make
sure you are matching pitches, and holding notes steady. Try
following motion with your eyes by either using your hand or a pen,
slowly extending as you sing each note. Keep your tone clear, not
breathy, for this exercise. Hold the notes steady with a consistent
volume as long as you can, but saving enough air to finish the note
before you run out breath. Make sure your ribs stay in position as
you begin the note, and try to leave them in position for as long
as possible.” Ruth Gerson
Singing Tip #16
Understand Your Unique Voice
“Take the time to discover your own voice, without trying to
imitate others, whether that’s your favourite artist or your
teacher. Every voice is unique and you need to understand your
own.” Andy Follin
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Singing Tip #17
It’s OK to Sound Bad! “Permission to sound bad! Most beginners
feel they have to sound ‘amazing’ in order to be able to sing at
all. Ironically, the quickest way to improve vocal skill is to
first allow yourself to sound ‘bad’ when vocalizing (training the
voice). This will allow the singer to relax and discover any vocal
imbalances they may have to work on.” Richard Fink IV
Singing Tip #18
The Secret is Simplicity
“Simplicity is the key to singing. Most of what you need to sing
properly, you already know how to do. Breathe and Make Sound. Start
with those two very simple but important things, and your voice
will work like never before. The more you try to add to those two
things, the harder it is to sing.” Kevin Richards
Singing Tip #19
Feel Good, Sound Great!
“This quick tip has literally changed the lives of my students
because of the rapid and obvious improvement that comes out of it
EVERY time. If singing feels good, it sounds great. When we sing,
we like to listen to ourselves. We think about how we sound, and
how we can make that sound better. And that’s actually a big
problem because our ears lie to us. Have you ever listened to a
recording of yourself singing or speaking? Sounded totally alien,
right? So why would we use those lying ears to assess our vocal
technique? Instead of worrying about how your voice sounds, focus
on how it feels. If your voice feels good (meaning that it is
increasingly relaxed and comfortable) it will sound good. So
instead of asking yourself, “how do I sound?” ask these two
questions: Question #1: How does it feel? How DOES it feel when you
sing that exercise, song, or high note? Question #2: How can I make
it feel BETTER? What is one small thing you could tweak, relax, or
move to make that exercise, song or note easier to produce? These
two questions have made more positive change in my personal
development than any other single question, tip, or exercise.” Ben
Harding
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Singing Tip #20
Air Management “I think the most common mistake beginners make
is in the area of air management. Everyone blasts too much air as
they ascend in pitch, which blows their vocal folds apart &
hikes their larynx. My solution is to first demonstrate and
implement proper diaphragmatic breathing, and then introduce
singing exercises for beginners that limit the amount of air, such
as lip & tongue trills, squeaky door, “ng” exercises, etc. Also
exercises that trick the diaphragm into dropping are good with
beginners too.“ Mary Walkley
Singing Tip #21
Work Out the Core Muscles
“My tip for beginners is to work out the core muscles and
practice breathing techniques every day for ten to twenty minutes.
I have seen incredible developments and everyone can do it at
home.” Sonia Jones
Singing Tip #22
The Upper Belly Magic Spot
“The one tip which seems to instantly help singers feel that
they’re in control of their voices is the “upper belly ‘magic
spot’” This is a region just below the sternum and can be felt with
two or three fingers. It’s job for singing is to firm OUT for every
note, high pitch or low, loud or soft. Though it’s not technically
the diaphragm, the ‘magic spot’ is connected to the diaphragm and
helps almost every aspect of singing control and consistency.” Lisa
Popeil
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Singing Tip #23
Place Your Voice
“The thing that makes most of my first time students drop their
jaw to the floor and their eyes light up is when I teach them about
resonance. The fact that they can place their sound in the mask for
their face to project their voices and sing without feeling an
ounce of strain on the throat is a huge revelation for beginners.
It gives them much needed hope and confidence because they love how
much a little buzz can free up and beautify their tone.” Kerri
Ho
Singing Tip #24
Find Your Natural Instrument
“When coaching a beginner I find the most important focus has to
be making the singing voice feel familiar and accessible to the
student. For me this begins with the primitive voice, connecting
safe, organic sounds in a way that feel ‘natural’ to the student.
The most useful piece of advice I feel my students respond to, is
the fact that the ‘singing’ voice could be considered to be more
‘natural’ than the speaking voice. Every day we respond to emotive
triggers by crying, whimpering, calling out, these are safe sounds
we make from the day we are born. Singing should be an extension of
these sounds and unfortunately can often be negatively
affected by the stresses and expectations of the world we live
in today. As a singing teacher my key aim is to unpack and reveal a
reliable, free and emotive instrument.” Lucinda Allen
Singing Tip #25
Stay Engaged and “In” Your Body
“I think the biggest help for a beginner is to understand the
power of the breath, not just breathing in correctly but learning
to engage their diaphragm so that the air is given direction. Air
is ALWAYS moving, either into your body or out, and when we sing or
do breathing exercises we always need to give the air somewhere to
go, and it needs to travel fast. Never stop to hold your breath
between phrases, you’ll lose momentum, and good placement. Always
feel like you are singing even when you’re not. Stay engaged and
‘in’ your body.” Dileesa Hunter
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Singing Tip #26
Breathing is the First Step “I work on breathing techniques with
all of my students, whether beginning, intermediate or advanced. If
I were to pick one thing that I tell a student in one of the first
lessons – Put your hands on the sides of your ribs, with your
thumbs to the back. Take a deep breath, starting in your belly, and
feel your ribs expand. When you sing, no matter how long, short,
high or low the phrase is, you want to keep those ribs expanded.
The belly will go in and out, but the ribs stay expanded. This way,
you don’t have to keep rebuilding the breath every time you take in
air.
I always give a ton of information in the first couple of
lessons, so I’ve got tips on vocal production, resonance and
relaxation – but coordinating breathing is the most important first
step.” Ellen Shea
Singing Tip #27
One Step at a Time
“Start off as lightly and easily as you can. Don’t worry about
volume or even your full range until you can easily just touch the
notes. Power comes from coordinating the elements of the voice and
not from force or pushing. Those elements are much more easily
learned when you have a light touch. For beginning singers having
pitch problems, First of all, there’s no such thing as tone
deafness. You can learn to sing in tune, no matter how far out you
might be coming from. But it takes patience and proper guidance.
With all of the elements of vocal training, you’ll save a lot of
time by researching and finding a very good teacher to assist you.
Voice requires a lot of guidance and adjustments to stay on course
and not develop bad habits. It’s hard to listen to yourself as
you’re trying to learn. That is a lot of what you’re getting when
you work with a skilled voice teacher. Someone that can identify
exactly what you’re doing and have the ability to communicate with
you on how to proceed with corrections. It’s a very “one step at a
time” process, and the more you are willing to have the patience to
do the steps, the faster your growth will be.” Breck Alan
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Singing Tip #28
Positive Approach to Learning “Here’s my singing tip – it’s a
positive approach to learning: Three areas to focus on: Groove,
Story, Technique. Participate in music for a lifetime – listen to
great singers and all styles of music. Get out of your way and
enjoy learning. With a positive approach to learning and working
with an experienced vocal coach who excites your learning – the
journey is absolutely the best experience.” Brian Farrell
Singing Tip #29
Support the Voice
“For me the best tip I have seen for my own development and
other students whether beginners or experienced singers has been
learning how to support the voice properly. It can take a little
while to get used to it, but once you do it you really start to
sing with an open throat, free from any interference. To me, this
is the foundation of good singing, or it could be described as the
engine room of the voice. Doing this helped me to access my head
voice and sing high C’s where before I could only sing an F#. The
ultimate goal for me as a singer is to achieve a consistent line
from the bottom of the range to the top, where high notes are just
another note in the line and should take no more effort to sing
than a lower note.” Andy Barnes
Singing Tip #30
Sing Like You Speak
“In Sing Like You Speak, the technique I developed, we always
begin with the fact that everyone has the perfect musical
instrument which is you, your body. So your body must be
well-aligned – posture strong and straight. Think of the inhale as
opening your perfect musical instrument. Begin by loosening your
jaw and think of the inhale as opening your instrument from the tip
of your nose to your bottom. The exhale becomes a release of breath
and sound.” Sally Morgan
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Singing Tip #31
Be Patient!
“I think the biggest tip I can give a beginning singer is for
them to understand that they can develop a great voice with the
right training, technique and direction. Most beginners will have a
mental block because they may have been told they don’t sound good,
are tone deaf, or have no ability. I get them to understand that
none of that is true and that all singing is physical and using
your body correctly. They can develop perfect pitch with practice.
I also get them to understand that they simply need to be patient
with the process and also when they work with a coach they should
feel definite results in each lesson.” Roger Burnley
Singing Tip #32
Work on Breathing
“Keep working on your breathing for singing until it becomes
habit. It takes time and repetition to form a new habit and many
students move on to other aspects of singing before their breathing
becomes automatic. It always comes back to haunt them down the
track and they find themselves struggling to sing certain
repertoire as a result. Do yourself a favour and get your breathing
for singing down pat first.” Nicola Milan
Singing Tip #33
Relax and Release!
“The first singing tip I give to every student, regardless of
whether they have had singing lessons before or are complete
beginners, is…relax! Breathe in slowly until you are comfortably
full of air, with an open throat and then just sigh into the sound
as you let the body deflate naturally. It sounds easy but can take
several lessons to get right and it’s crucial to do this properly
if you want the correct foundation for building the voice, in both
awareness of correct/incorrect tensions and the correct muscular
coordination to build a great voice. Often students will open their
voices up very quickly once they have totally released into the
sound. I have had students increase their range from 1 to 2 octaves
in one session and some even more.” Dylan Ball
Bonus Singing Tips:
I received two more vocal tips for beginners after publishing
this blog post. These bonus tips are as fantastic as the first 33
singing tips!
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33 Most Effective Singing Tips 14
Take Singing Off of its Pedestal “I would say the single most
important thing I’ve offered my students over the two decades I’ve
been teaching is the idea of taking the act of singing well off of
its pedestal. Many developing singers (and even professionals) view
the art of singing well as an almost mystical act, and sometimes
unattainable phenomenon. What they don’t realize is that when we
sing, we use the exact same anatomy and physiology that we use when
we speak. When done correctly, singing is performed the same way as
speaking — just more SPECIFICALLY and INTENTIONALLY.
During my first session with a new student, I usually
demonstrate by walking across the room normally, then turning
around and walking back in a silly, synchronous “Walk Like an
Egyptian-esque” dance. It usually makes them laugh and breaks the
ice. Then I explain that both the regular walk and the silly dance
used the same legs, arms, joints, etc…I simply chose to walk more
INTENTIONALLY the second time, moving my feet and swinging my arms
in time to an imagined beat. ‘Singing can be compared to speaking
in the same way. When we speak, we are merely sliding our voices
from one part of our range to another; when we sing, he hit
specific notes on purpose. When we speak, we speed up and slow down
at will, we take breaths whenever we want to, and we don’t really
care how our voices sound as long as we get the point across. When
we sing correctly and effectively, we follow very specific rhythms,
and feel a very specific pulse; we breathe only in particular
places, and we are much more conscious of how our voices sound, to
fit what we are trying to accomplish artistically, emotionally,
expressionistically. And just like comparing my silly dance to
walking, singing shouldn’t be any more difficult than speaking;
just more intentional.’ I find, when framing it that way for my
students, that they have a much easier time taking the act of
singing off of its pedestal and tackling it in much more down to
earth way. (: ‘I help people become the singers they strive to be.
It’s what I love to do, and it’s what I do well.’” Dan Parilis
Feel the Inner Rhythms
“Getting singers to sync their vocals with the underlying
instrumental music which will have at least one push in every bar.
Instead of ignoring the band why not let the rhythmic pushes cradle
your voice and carry the vocal accents forward? Simply feel the
inner rhythms and how the vocal line fits with accents—especially
the push-ahead part of the rhythm.” Renee Grant-Williams
What a fantastic list of singing tips! Now it’s your turn. Take
some singing classes, do some singing exercises, or just sing for
fun!
Thank you and happy singing! There are a lot more singing tips
here – so keep browsing.
http://tips.how2improvesinging.com/