How to Sing

I'm a firm believer that ANYONE can learn to sing! How many legendary voices -Pavarotti's, Aretha Franklin's, Celine Dion's- are out there, lying dormant inside of people who forever told them selves and others, "I can't sing!"? Granted, for some, obtaining the ability to sing is an effortless task, but for most of us it takes hard work and determination.

Essential to anyone's vocal pursuit is an understanding of the process of singing..

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Yourself
• Music to sing

1. 
    

   Volition- This is the first and most important step in singing; your mind's involvement in the process. Your brain is responsible for initiating and controlling all of the intricate movements inside your body when you sing. It is also responsible for the attitude you take in the process.
   
   In order to succeed and progress you must approach singing with a relaxed attitude; fear and stiffness will only hinder you. Give yourself time to become better, don't expect to sing exactly like Kelly Clarkson right off the bat. Don't be afraid to sound terrible as you are experimenting with your voice. Laugh at yourself. Don't take it hard if someone says something rude about your voice, you are learning! While you don't want be too nonchalant, where you sing without any care as to what you sound like, you also don't want to have an overly critical attitude either, where you are too afraid to make a mistake so you don't ever take a risk and let your voice loose. Find that balance, it is perhaps the most important step you will take in your vocal journey.

2. 
    
   Breathing Diagram

   Respiration- Breathing! Your breath is the power, the substance behind any voice. It is like the fuel in a car, without it the car would go nowhere.
   
   A simple description of respiration is this: Your diaphragm contracts, pushing against your viscera (all the organs in your stomach), creating more room for your lungs and causing a suction effect. Almost simultaneously, breath fills your lungs, is then used by your body, and is then exhaled.
   
   For the singer, we must learn to harness this breath and use it effectively to produce the best sound possible. For myself, when I was first starting I got advice like: your stomach should come out when you take a breath in, your shoulders should not lift up, and you need to use your diaphragm. While I realize now that this was all basically true, for me it was a bit misleading; I was too concentrated on artificially trying making my stomach pooch out and trying to figure out how to control this elusive diaphragm that I was using my breath incorrectly for a long time. Instead, I think it is best to concentrate the focus on the actual breath, of it filling up your lower lungs, naturally causing your stomach to come out a bit and then learning how to use as much or as little as you need while you are singing (for instance, high pitches require more air, low pitches need less).
   
   Much of this comes through trial and error at first. A good rule of thumb is that the air should feel almost "fluid," when singing. If the sound is breathy (bad!), you are using too much air, if you have a pressed feeling (also bad!) in your throat, you aren't using enough. Your voice should never hurt, even if you sing for an hour or more, if it does you are causing damage to your vocal chords, which can be irreversible.
   
   Remember, practice and experimentation are your best friends here, eventually it will become effortless, like second nature.

3. 
    
   Vocal Chords

   Phonation- Finally, converting that air into sounds! It starts in the vocal chords. Whenever you sing or speak or make any sort of noise, what is happening is that your vocal chords are tightening and pinching together, so that when the air comes through it vibrates. High pitches mean that the chords are pulled tighter, making faster vibrations. Lower pitches mean the chords are looser, with slower vibrations. Once again, this area should never hurt.

4. 
    
   Soft Palate

   Resonation- Without resonation, the sound your vocal chords make would just be a dull flapping noise. It is the process by which the sound is amplified as it resonates around your head, inside the cavities and bone structures. There isn't much you can do about the bone structure you've been given, but there are little things you can do to give the sound more space to resonate in. The first is simple, open your mouth wide enough while you sing. The second is by lifting your soft palate; to understand this feeling, make yourself yawn. Notice that wide open feeling in the back of your throat? If you can maintain that while singing, you're in a good place.
   Also, avoid making the dreaded nasally sound!

5. Articulation- This the final step, forming that sound into understandable language by using your teeth, lips and tongue. If you are studying classical singing, this is an entire subject on its own and I have not the space to devote to it. If you are learning to sing modern pop/rock/whatever music, this is one of those things that is unique to you and you alone. Just be sure that you are being clear and understandable.

6. 
    

   Finally.. Perspiration!!! Ok.. Maybe I was just looking for another "-tion" word, but honestly, if you are serious about singing, it takes a lot of work. That is why so few people "can sing," because most just aren't willing to put themselves out there, risk the embarrassment, or put in the amount of effort it takes! Your voice is in there somewhere, let it out! And have fun!

Tips & Warnings

• You may need to listen to yourself on a recorder; oftentimes it is hard to know what we actually sound like, because we sound differently inside our head then we do to others.
• Remember, anything that you are doing to cause soreness or pain to your voice is bad.. very bad. Don't force anything. Keep experimenting until you have that wonderful free, flowing, unhindered and uninhibited feeling in your throat when you sing.