How to sing

Most everyone loves to sing along to their favourite song - but do others enjoy listening to you?...
Here's some tips on how to get those notes right!

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Dedication
• practise
• practise
• practise

1. Ok - so here's the first thing you need to do:
   Warm up. There are several ways of doing it. I prefer humming.
   Why do we say that? Because when you hum it helps you to sound the note in the correct way. The sounds you make when you sing should be bright and forward and not from your nose or be stifled. You arent supposed to whine!
   So begin humming gently and when you feel the sound vibrating and then when you feel your lips tingling and itching because the sound is trying to escape you are getting it right!

2. Step 2: Sounding words.
   I have found that people seem to think that they have to sing in a totally different voice to how they talk. I have never found that to be the case when I sing. I sing with the same voice I talk with - the only difference is that I am doing it tunefully!
   So done put a fake voice on, unless you are really really good!
   start with sounding an "Eeeee" (remember the humming technique - try and make the sound bright and forward just the same) and then meld the eeeee into an ooooooo - keep it forward and bright.
   then try a youuuuu. (listen to how Celine Dion says "you" when she is singing - its very forward and rich, or if you are a guy - Frank Sinatra), thats the kind of sound you need to develop.
   Gradually as you learn to keep your notes forward you will learn to proncounce all notes in a way which sounds bright, rich and forward.

3. Dont shout!
   Thats something I always used to do, so although I was in tune I always sounded like a bull in a china shop when the more gentle parts of the song came up. So be conscious of the level of your sound and the intensity of the note.
   Sing a song like you were telling it a real person - like they are uour words and you will more than likely get it right!

Tips & Warnings

• Humm
• Be aware of making notes flat. Keep the sound forward and echoing in the roof of your mouth - the note should sound just behind your front teeth.
• Feel the song you are trying to sing. This will help you to be gentle in the parts which need a little emotion.
• Belting out huge notes isnt everything. Practise the notes you can already do by working on the above points and then move on to bigger and better!
• If you have a karaoke machine - this is very handy! You can listen to yourself back to learn where you need to improve.
• Most of what I learned has been through practise. I spent years singing along on karaoke in my room to Celine Dion - eventually I was able to match her notes and pronounce notes properly. You learn a lot from example! So watch them singing live on tv and how they place their lips and bodies for different notes e.t.c Then try it yourself!
• Never strain your voice by trying to reach a note which you arent ready to make yet. It can cause damage to your voice which will make it harder to work with in future.
• Try not to tense up when you sing. This can cause damage to your voice.
• NEVER sing if you have a sore throat.
• Keep your throat hydrated with water that is at room temperature. Not too cold!