How to Become a Better Singer by Mateo Baldeon - HTML preview

HOW TO

BECOME A

BETTER SINGER

Learning how to become a better singer is quite possible if you follow some

simple steps. Here is a list of the 17 best singing exercises and voice lessons

which are suitable for both beginners as well as for singers at an advanced

level. These vocal exercises are time-tested and proven to improve your singing

voice no matter what level you are at. Professional voice coaches teach these

simple and powerful tricks to budding vocalists to help them reach their full

potential quickly and easily.

#17 Become A Better Singer By Learning How To Breathe

Correctly When Singing

The first step to becoming a better singer is to breathe correctly when you are

singing. Let us take a look at one of the best breathing exercises for singing.

Diaphragmatic breathing or Belly breathing allows you to sing at full power while

maintaining a steady, high-quality voice. As you sing while breathing with your

belly, your voice rides on the exhaled air and creates the best tonal quality.

Belly breathing is especially helpful when singing for long durations of time and

so it is one of the most preferred breathing techniques for singers.

As you start singing, air in your throat starts vibrating and generates sound. This

air keeps on vibrating as you breathe out until you run out of air. If you breathe

only using your upper chest, your sound will be airy and weak and you will

quickly run out of air thus causing your voice to break.

Practicing the following breathing exercise will train you to belly breathing

correctly when you are singing.

1. Lay down with your back on the floor. Keep your knees bent and pointed

upwards towards the ceiling. Keep your feet flat on the ground and your hands

on your sides.

2. Keep a slightly heavy book on your stomach near your waist.

3. Now slowly take a deep breath in through your nose and fill your belly with

air.

4. Notice how the book rises as you inhale. Once you belly is full of air, hold

your breath for 10 seconds.

5. Then gently breathe out using both your nose and your mouth

and watch the book slowly go down. As you breathe out hum a note

or make the sound “Haaa”.

6. Repeat this breathing in and out for 10 more times.

7. You can hum a different note each time you breathe out or make

the same “Haaa” sound each time.

This is possibly the best breath control exercise for singers as it will

gradually build the strength of your abdominal walls and slowly

retrain you to breathe with your belly whenever you sing.

Once you have become comfortable with taking 10 in and out

breaths with the book on your belly, you can then switch to a heavier

book like the yellow pages. After you become comfortable with that

book, then start using multiple heavy books.

As the strength of you abdominal walls and your diaphragmatic

muscles gradually increase you will become much more comfortable

at singing.

Once you are able to comfortably breathe with you belly and sing,

then do this exercise standing up. Only this time instead of the book,

place your hand on your abdomen and press inward. Then breathe

in and expand your belly pushing your hand away from your body.

Remember to always sing a note on the out breath. This simple

breathing tip will help singers get a clear, strong voice of high tonal

quality every time they sing.

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#16 How To Be A Better Singer By Simply Changing Your

Standing Posture

Once you"ve learned to breathe properly when you sing, the next step to get a

better singing voice is to learn proper singing posture.

Standing the right way can make a huge impact on a vocalist"s voice. In proper

singing posture, your will observe the following features.

 Chin would be almost parallel to the floor

 Shoulders will be pulled back and down and chest held high in a relaxed

position

 Abdomen would be flat and firm and set in an position where you can

expand it easily

 Hands will be relaxed and motionless on your sides

 Knees would be loose, flexible and unlocked

 Feet will be shoulder width apart and one foot would be slightly in front of

the other

You can get a feel for what it is like to be in proper singing posture, by practicing

the below exercise.

1. Stand up against a wall with your head, shoulder, buttocks, calves and heels

touching the wall.

2. Notice how your spine stretches and becomes erect in this posture.

3. Now shift the weight of your body forward until you are almost standing on

the tips of your toes. Feel the sense of floating balance as you are in this

position.

4. Then step away from the wall, stand in a slouched manner and notice how it

feels different.

5. Step back to the wall and repeat steps 1 to 4 and take notice again of how it

feels to stand erect in an almost floating state.

6. Now step away from the wall, maintain this erect posture and practice

singing.

Proper singing posture is very vital for anyone who wants to learn how to

become a better singer. Don"t underestimate the power of this simple technique.

It is often the first thing taught in professional voice training classes by vocal

coaches.

#15 How To Get A Better Singing Voice Fast By Understanding

Your Three Voices

It is a common misconception among novice vocalists that head voice, middle

voice and chest voice are 3 separate registers (sections of voice) independent

of each other. This is not true. In reality there are four different vocal registers

but only one register, the modal register is used in singing. The modal register

is manipulated during singing to produce, the head, middle and chest voice.

You simply cannot flip a switch and turn off your chest voice and move into

head voice or vice versa. Believing that these 3 voices exist independent of

each other may make a beginner feel that it is quite difficult to manipulate their

voice during singing to produce the appropriate note.

There is a smooth continuum between head voice, middle voice and chest

voice. These terms don"t refer to 3 different registers, but a single register which

resonates in different regions of your body.

Before your voice leaves your body it resonates with different structures inside

your body. The kind of voice you produce will depend on which body part your

voice is in maximum resonance with.

Head Voice

When a singer in using their “head voice” it means they will feel vibrations

around the upper half of their face, because, during head voice the main body

part in resonance with their voice is their sinuses. However, this does not imply

that other vocal parts are not resonating. It only means that the most amount of

resonance is happening in their sinuses as compared to any other part.

Middle Voice

When a vocalist sings in their “middle voice” they feel most of the vibrations

around the lower half of their face, their chin, and upper neck. In this scenario,

the vocal structure in maximum resonance is their hard palate (roof of the

mouth). Again, this doesn"t imply that remaining structures aren"t vibrating. Their

chest and sinuses also contribute, but to a much lower degree.

Chest Voice

When a songster in using their “chest voice” most of their sound vibrations are

felt around their lower neck, and chest area. This is the voice most people use

during regular speaking. If you put your hand at the center of your chest when

you speak, you can feel it vibrating. This is the chest voice.

These 3 voices form a continuous spectrum with the head voice at one end and

the chest voice at the other end. With regular practice you will be able to carry

your voice comfortably from one end of the voice spectrum to other end without

your voice breaking. You can also mix you resonance areas, to produce all

kinds of mixtures between chest, middle and head voice.

Here are some fun exercises which will help you get a feel for your 3 voices.

 Hum a note, and slowly move the pitch of your voice up and down.

 Close your eyes and feel as the sound vibrations move inside your body.

Notice how the intensity and region of vibrations change as you change

the pitch of your voice.

 Sing each of the vowels A, E, I, O and U and notice in which body region

each vowel resonates most. Does “EE” resonate in a different area than

“O” or “A”?

 Pretend you are yawning as you are singing a note. Notice how it

changes the vibrations.

 Now pretend to buzz like a bee while humming a note.Play around with

you voice and notice the difference in each of these three voices. It will

help you become a much better singer.

#14 How To Get A Great Singing Voice By Building A Daily

Practice Routine

This may sound like an obvious fact but this is actually the most important

action you can take in your journey to becoming a better singer. Practice

singing daily. Practice truly does make you perfect. Repetition is the mother of

skill.

As you train your voice and mind over and over again, you will slowly hand over

the more difficult nuances of singing to your unconscious mind. In time you will

reach a point where you will be able to sing completely on auto-pilot with very

little conscious effort.

There is only one way to reach this level of mastery and that is through constant

practice. Recent research has revealed that every person who is a master in

their field has practiced their skill for at least 10,000 hours. Same is true for

world-class singers also.

These 10,000 hours may seem like a lot at first, but when you break this down

into regular practice sessions, day after day, month after month, year after year,

that target will seem smaller and smaller.

The trick to building a successful daily practice routine for singing is to turn it

into a habit. Pick a time of day and a place where you can practice singing for at

least an hour without any interruptions. Turn off your cellphone and lock your

door. Perform some warm up vocal exercises to get yourself into a singing

mood.

It is important to practice your singing at the same time and same place every

day, because by doing this, in just a few weeks, your mind wil get “primed” for

singing as soon as you enter your practice room at that time of day.

Once you have built a habit out of it, then you will no longer need to put as

much effort into your singing. Your brain will automatically bring you into the

perfect mental state for singing as soon as you start your practice.

#13 How To Improve Your Singing Voice Quickly By Modifying

Your Diet

Foods you eat on a regular basis and foods you consume immediately before

singing both have a huge impact on your voice as well as mental state. Some

foods can greatly help your singing while others can do great damage. One of

the simplest tips for singing better is to change your diet so that you avoid foods

that hurt your voice and eat foods that help you sing better.

Bad Foods That Can Hurt Your Singing Voice

 Alcohol: Alcohol increases the diameter of your blood vessels and

causes them to swell. That can be very harmful for your voice box. When

your blood vessels are swollen, blood thins out and arrives closer to the

surface thus increasing the chances of hemorrhaging your vocal cords

when you sing. Alcohol also dehydrates your body so you should drink

plenty of water on days you drink. Alcohol also delays your reaction time

and makes you lose co-ordination of your vocal muscles. You must

control your alcohol intake and completely avoid it on days when you

have a performance.

 Caffeine: Like alcohol, caffeine dehydrates your body by making it lose

water quickly. It will make your throat dry out faster. Dry vocal chords

make you sound hoarse and severely limit your vocal range and

endurance. If you do have to drink coffee, choose decaf instant coffee

rather than filtered coffee. Also make sure to drink plenty of water later to

rehydrate your body.

 Dairy Products: Milk, butter, cheese and other dairy products increase

the thickness of the mucous present in your airway making it more

difficult for your vocal chords to produce sound. Avoid any kind of dairy

before a show.

 Smoke: Any kind of smoke, from cigarettes or anything else will cause

inflammation of the tissue in your throat which will drastically affect your

vocal chords. Long term exposure to smoke can even cause permanent

damage to your voice.

 Spicy Foods: Foods that are too spicy will irritate your throat and

produce discomfort when singing.

 Sodas and Cold Drinks: These will fill your stomach with gas and make

it hard for you to breathe and sing comfortably. Drinking too many of

them can also end up giving you a sore throat.

Good Foods That Can Help Your Singing Voice

 Water: Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day to keep your vocal chords

hydrated, toned and healthy.

 Honey & Lemon: Both honey and lemons have anti-microbial properties

that help to kill any resident germs in your throat. They help prevent sore

throat and also sooth your vocal chords. Honey is also a good source of

energy that will invigorate you and put you in better emotional state for

singing.

 Ginger Tea: It can be a great substitute for coffee as it has the same

energy boosting capability of coffee without containing any caffeine. It

also has anti-bacterial properties that helps heal and prevent sore throat.

 Green Leafy Vegetables: These vegetables are a good source of

energy and they help maintain a healthy and strong voice. They reduce

swelling and inflammation of the throat and boost your immune system.

 Salt Water Gargling: Gargling with warm salt water every night before

going to bed is an effective way to avoid sore throats and keep your

vocal chords in top condition.

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#12 How To Train Your Voice For Better Singing By Re-

Conditioning Your Mouth And Jaw

Here is a voice training exercise that will quickly train your mouth and jaw to

make you singing sound better.

1. Stand in front of a mirror and say A…E…I…O…U. Watch your jaw

movement as you say each vowel. Did you close your mouth while

speaking any of the vowels? You most likely closed your jaw on E and U.

2. Now take the first two fingers of your left hand and put them in your

mouth. This will lower your jaw about two inches. If you don"t want to use

your fingers, you can also use a cork or bottle cap to hold your jaw open.

3. Speak the vowels once more and notice how your tongue and throat

move a bit differently this time. Now repeat the vowels five more times.

4. Then take out your fingers from the mouth and speak the vowels again,

this time taking care that your jaws don"t close on any of the vowels.

5. Once you can successfully speak the vowels then practice singing the

vowels in a single pitch. Again take care that your jaw and mouth don"t

close.

6. After you have successfully mastered singing the vowels with your mouth

open, now practice singing few phrases from a song keeping your mouth

open.

If you perform this exercise correctly and regularly, very soon you will notice an

improvement in your voice.

You will sound more resonant and louder. Also you will put lesser strain on your

voice when singing louder. This exercise will also release any unconscious

tension you may be holding in your throat, jaw or neck muscles.

#11 How To Master Singing By Adding More Emotion To Your

Voice

Every song has an emotion attached to it like happiness, sadness, anger or

guilt. Sometimes the same song can go through multiple emotions at different

verses. The seasoned vocalist knows how to bring the right emotion into their

voice when singing a song.

This may not feel like a vocal technique for singers but with just a little practice

you will quickly notice the difference in your voice.

First part of this trick to add more emotion in your voice is to simply change your

facial gestures and body language to match the emotion of the song you are

singing. If you are singing a happy song, put a big smile on your face. If you"re

singing a sad song, then make a sad face.

The second and more important part of the trick is to think thoughts that

naturally produce the appropriate emotion. So if you are singing a song about

sorrow and pain, think of a time in your life when you felt sorrow and pain.

See the things you saw at that time in your mind, listen to the sounds you heard

at the time and feel the feelings you felt in your body at the time. Live that

moment again in your mind and your voice will naturally change and produce

the appropriate emotion in it.

This may seem difficult at first especially if you are singing a song from memory.

It is better to read the song when you practice this technique so that you can

focus on just thinking the right thoughts.

After few practice sessions, you will be able to evoke the right emotion for the

right song and modulate your voice for maximum impact on your audience.

#10 How To Develop A Better Singing Voice By Feeling And

Improving Your Vibrato

Vibrato is a vocalist"s ability to produce a slight, steady and even tonal

oscillation of the center of a pitch.

Vibrato occurs when your voice changes quickly between two pitches. For

example, if you were to sing a C note, and then sing a C# and then sing a C

again, then a C# and then again a C, you would be singing with vibrato.

The secret to a great vibrato is the speed with which you oscillate between the

two pitches.

If you can change between the two pitches at a speed of