Improving your singing voice is something that anyone can do with a bit of time and practice. Singing comes naturally for some people, yet others seem to struggle with carrying a tune. For those who sing well, though, maintaining a good singing voice does not happen without practice. People who are excellent singers or those who perform must continue to practice their methods to maintain a good singing voice, or their performance will be minimized. Even for those who want to enhance their skills a little, practicing a few singing techniques are essential.
There are several methods that can be done to improve your singing voice:
1. Monitor your breathing techniques while singing
2. Relax the body and maintain your posture
3. Monitor your diet and fluid intake
4. Practice singing
5. Work with a vocal coach or take singing lessons
Breathing Techniques
Whether you already are a vocal performer or if you cannot carry a tune, all singers need to focus on their breathing while singing. You can improve your singing voice by monitoring how you breathe. Breathing muscles that are used for singing are actually centered on the abdominal muscles and the diaphragm, which is the large muscle between the lungs and the stomach that controls breathing. Breathing while singing does not only come straight from the lungs or larynx as is usually assumed.
Take a deep breath and allow your abdominal muscles to help push the air out to make sound while singing. You can monitor this by placing one hand on your stomach. If you breathe in and your stomach expands, you are using these muscles in the right way for singing. Then, while exhaling, try singing using the muscles of the abdomen. Utilizing these muscles instead of those in the shoulders will help control the notes you sing and give you more depth and power behind your performance.
Relax the Muscles
Relaxing the body is another key method for improving your singing voice. When tension builds in the body, it can affect the use of abdominal muscles and even the muscles of the face and mouth. The soft palate, the area in the mouth composed of the soft part of the back of the mouth, controls air flow while singing. When this area is not relaxed, singing can sound nasal or winded because air exiting the body is uncontrolled and may be coming out of the nose. Relaxing these muscles can control how air is expelled.
Sitting or standing with good posture while singing allows the body to take in more air while inhaling. There is then more air to exhale while singing, giving your sound a powerful background. Singing while in poor posture limits air flow and the singing voice is minimized.
Check Your Diet
Monitor your diet and the amount of fluid that you drink. This doesn’t seem like it should affect singing, but poor nutritional intake and lack of fluids can disrupt vocal quality. Think of singing as a form of exercise: muscles of the body are used and breathing is regulated. The body needs proper nutrition to maintain health while exercising, or it will not function as well. When you deprive your body of good and healthy food, your singing voice will be negatively affected. Drinking fluids maintains adequate hydration for the purposes of exercise. While singing, the use of the mouth and soft palate can lead to dry tissues. Drinking fluids will keep these tissues moist, preventing a dry or scratchy sounding singing voice.
Practice
After monitoring breathing, posture, and diet, it is time to begin singing. Practicing singing seems to be an elementary idea, and part of it is. Practicing is the obvious way to improve your singing voice.
You may begin with vocal exercises, such as singing and holding the note of a chord to increase the strength of your voice. Practice singing scales of notes up and down, going slowly at first and then increasing in speed. A piano or guitar is helpful for this to find the notes to sing. Practice listening to music, starting with very basic and simple songs to perfect your technique. Continue your singing with songs from the radio or those that are faster or have inflection. Practicing singing is the most effective method of improving your singing voice.
Consult a Professional
When you feel you have practiced and improved some of your singing techniques on your own, you may want to consult a vocal coach or take singing lessons to improve even further. Vocal coaches can listen to your voice and monitor your breathing and posture to help you as you sing. A vocal coach or music instructor can listen as an outside ear, since you are only used to hearing yourself sing. Having another person listen helps who can hear or see mistakes that you may be unaware of. Music teachers can listen for pitch and help you modify your sound if needed. They can teach inflection, vibrato, and other singing skills to further enhance your abilities.
Singing is something that many individuals enjoy, as music enhances peoples lives. The ability to sing well is a gift for others to listen and appreciate. Anyone can improve their singing voice by practicing and putting proper techniques to use. While not everyone will sing well enough to call himself or herself a professional vocalist or will receive an album deal, anyone can modify their methods to improve their singing voice.
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