If you’re like most people, when your favorite song comes on the radio, you can’t help wanting to crank up the volume and sing along. You’re in the zone, and no matter what band it is, you’ll give your best shot at supporting them with your accompaniment. You may even find a few songs that you are decent at, but there are still some notes that you simply can’t hit like the original artist.
Perhaps you want to learn to develop your own singing style, but you’re not sure how you can do it on your own. Unfortunately, there are many people who don’t hire a professional voice coach because they either don’t have the resources or they can’t afford to pay a professional voice coach.
So, logically the only other option you have is to teach yourself with the variety of singing programs that are available.
Basic Fundamentals and DIY Singing Programs
The very first thing you must do is learn how your voice works. There are 5 basic elements for a great singing voice. They are as follows:
Breath Support
Though breathing is natural, breathing while singing is very different. Learning to properly control breathing by using our diaphragm you learn to relax your body and direct the air flow that passes across your vocal cords. This has an effect on your tone as well as how long you can sustain a note.
Diction
The amount of volume and energy in your singing voice may cause the pronunciation of some words to be difficult for listeners to hear. This is a skill that will require you to be aware of and practice your articulation and use of vowels.
Rhythm
Even if you do have great pitch, you still may need to do some work on your timing. A key to becoming a great singer is knowing where to start and stop in the flow of a song.
In addition, good rhythm will help you get into the groove and feel the song as you work it.
Pitch
Pitch is the quality of the note you are singing, which allows you to classify high vs. low sounds. When you sing a song, you want to match the notes of the vocals and remain on pitch as you transition from one note to the next. Avoid being too sharp or too flat. This is where “ear training” will come in.
Voice
One thing you must understand is that your voice is unique- it’s like no other voice out there. Your body, airway passages, age, gender, and other things will factor in to determine the sound and quality of your voice. In addition, it will determine your voice type and range.
Your Voice is an Instrument
Everyone in the world was born with a voice, but just because you begin to express it doesn’t mean that you know how to use it. From a very young age, the adults in our lives teach us that there are appropriate voices for every occasion you might be in.
We use our “quiet” voice at the library and our “loud” voice for cheering at a sporting event.
Our voice is very similar to a musical instrument and requires that we use a variety of techniques and skills to consistently and properly create the sounds we want to. Consider a guitar. In order to play beautiful music, you must first ensure that the strings are tuned properly.
The next thing you must do is know where to place your fingers and learn to switch one hand while strumming with the other. This requires that you know about the instruments and how to use it.
Even self-taught guitar players limit their ability to improve when they only try to repeat what they hear instead of trying to make it their own.
Like learning the guitar, learning how to sing involves developing your voices through taking lessons and practicing with proper warm-ups, exercises, mouth shaping, and other vocal techniques.
Learn to Sing at Home
Learning how to sing at home is going to require much more than simply singing to the radio with your favorite songs. When you consider teaching yourself to sing, you need to find the best singing programs to advance your skills.