How Can You Become a Better Singer for Free?
Many people love to sing and have a desire to sing better, but not everyone can afford private coaching. If you want to improve your singing but don't have cash for a coach, try these techniques that you can do at home for free.
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Things You'll Need
- 8oz. glass of water
- CD player and CDs, radio, MP3 player and/or iPod and dock
- Chair
Instructions
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How to become a better singer for free!
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Find a space you can be alone and feel uninhibited when you are practicing. If you play any instruments, put them in your space along with your chair, your CD player and CDs, radio, MP3 player and/or iPod and dock.
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Each time you practice, take a glass of water to your space. Drink a little as you go to stay hydrated and energized.
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Stretch your body before each work session. Singing is a physical activity, and strain in the body causes strain in the voice. Roll your shoulders back; stretch your arms, legs, and back; and allow yourself to feel loose.
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Practice breathing correctly. Push your gut out as you breathe in, like you're filling up a balloon inside your body, and push your gut in as you breathe out. Do this at least four times per practice session, and try to incorporate it once you begin singing.
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Warm up your voice. Start by gently humming at a comfortable pitch--one that is not too high, not too low, and comes out with very little effort. To hum, gently put your lips together (almost like a kiss) and, with your mouth closed, try to make space in your mouth by raising your soft palate. (Basically, imagine you are holding a hard boiled egg in your closed mouth.) Make an "Mmmm" sound and try to send the sound forward through your nose. It may tingle a little, but that's good. Move the pitch up and down as you hum.
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Push your lips forward and try to get the clearest sounding "Eeee" sound you can get. Try to send the sound out through your nose and forehead (use your imagination) and practice proper breathing as you do. Make the "Eeee" move from high to middle to low and back up again. Vary it as you go, by visualizing that your voice is actually running on a real roller coaster track.
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Play a song that you like, know well, and have readily available. Sing along, but don't use any words; instead, use that forward "Eeee" sound you perfected a moment ago. Try hard to listen and match pitch with the singer, but don't try to imitate his or her voice. You want to be a better singer, not a cheesy sound-a-like.
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Go back through the song on the "Eeee" sound again, focusing on spots you had trouble with. Take those parts out and work on only them, alternating between the "Eeee" sound and the actual words. If you feel confident about your fixed spots, sing the whole song through again, this time using the words.
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Try a song that is harder for you, perhaps one with some higher notes. Repeat steps 7 and 8.
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Think "down" instead of up when attempting high notes. Most times, when people go for high notes, they "reach" for them. The chin goes out and up, head goes back, neck extends, and tension fills the body. This makes matters worse. Instead, think down. When a high note comes along, squat to pop the high note right out of you. Another choice is to use your chair. Put one leg up and lean into the leg on each high note.
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Try another song that is harder for you, perhaps one with some lower notes. Repeat Steps 7 and 8.
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Imagine that your mouth, throat, and body are parts of a cave for the harder-to -reach low notes. Your voice is ringing through this cave. Near the front, it is high pitched, light and bright, but as you go down lower, the tone is darker and meatier. Imagine your voice simply dropping into the lower ranges of the cave.
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Practice for at least a half hour. By the end, your water should be gone.
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Tips & Warnings
Listen to singers you admire and try to figure out what it is that they do that you like so much. Then, see if you can incorporate it into your practice.
Sing in the shower, in the car, while you cook, and while you work out.
Do a little research on the voice, singing, and how to teach adult singers, as well as how to teach a developing voice. Knowing how things work and seeing other people's techniques can make a difference.
Yoga and Pilates can help to improve posture and breath support which are both important in singing.
Always break things down and work on smaller pieces before putting together the big picture.
Try singing lots of different styles of songs from many different genres. If you limit yourself to one thing, it makes practicing boring and you'll never really see how far you can go.
Record yourself singing. When you play it back, first just listen, then on the second time through, be more critical and find things to fix.
Singing should not hurt. If it does, you are doing something wrong and need to change it, or you need medical assistance.
Whenever you self-teach, there is a chance that you can pick up bad habits; being aware of this may help you to avoid it. Also, having someone else listen to you practice can also help, as he point out any areas that need more work, any notes that sound off-pitch, etc.
Resources
- Photo Credit a singer and a stand up base silhouette image by Ana de Sousa from Fotolia.com
