Harmonize Your Voice: 9 Essential Tips for Singing Better

Having a beautiful voice is something many people envy but also believe is a trait they can’t acquire themselves. Would you believe it if we told you that ANYONE can sing? Let’s analyze this issue below.

You may wonder if any adult can learn to sing. Well, studies show that unless you are part of the 3% of the population born with amusia (tone-deafness) or have a sweeping vocal disability, you can learn to sing. So, with that clarified, here are nine useful tips on how to sing better.

1. Choose Your Style

So, first things first, what do you want to sound like? Do you want to be a country singer? Metal? Pop? R&B? You need to decide what style and tonality you want; this will help you figure out everything else. In doing this, you should choose your favorite artists from the genre you want to emulate, not your favorite songs.

You need to build some consistency in your tone, so if you’re a woman, choose a singer you want to sound similar to; the same goes for men. This doesn’t mean that when you choose Ariana Grande, you’ll sing exactly like her, but it will help you learn the lightness, air, and tonality with which she sings.

2. Practice Daily

If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a million times: practice makes perfect. Many people don’t realize that this also applies to the voice and think that because it’s not an instrument you can see (like a guitar or piano), it doesn’t require, or shouldn’t require, much effort to be good at.

We’re here to tell them that’s not true; bad singers become good by practicing, and good singers become great by continuing to practice. This is the #1 thing that will teach you to sing better.

3. Be Willing to Sound Bad

What? Sound bad? Isn’t it about sounding good? Of course. However, like everything else, sometimes you have to sound bad before you can sound good. The best way to do this is to find a place to practice alone so you don’t have to worry about being heard.

Being aware that someone might hear you while learning is a sure way to hinder your learning. You won’t be able to properly find your range, where your voice has power, or where your limit is at the high and low ends of a scale or octave.

4. Don’t Sing Over Other Voices

One of the best ways to learn to be a better singer is not to sing over other voices. Sure, it can be fun, and it might feel a bit safer, but in the long run, you are hurting yourself because you won’t be able to hear yourself properly and, therefore, make the necessary adjustments. You might think the option is to sing karaoke, but that can be just as bad.

When learning, it’s beneficial to have the instrumentation behind you to keep you in the right key, note, etc.

5. Train Your Ear

Ear training is the ability to hear a note and sing it back. For example, someone plays an E on the piano, and you sing it back to match the same pitch and tuning. This trains your brain to associate that sound with that note and, simultaneously, teaches you what doesn’t sound right, so when you sing off-pitch, your brain can tell you something doesn’t sound right, and you can adjust accordingly.

One of the fastest ways to do this is, in fact, by learning an instrument, such as piano or guitar. You usually learn faster as you have to train your ear to develop your understanding of music or play along with other musicians.

This is just one of the added benefits of playing an instrument, check out our blog if you’re interested in knowing more benefits of playing an instrument.

Also read: Top 21 Acoustic Guitar Songs to Improve Your Playing Skills

6. Learn to Breathe

The importance of breathing is astronomical. Have you ever tried singing a song while jumping or dancing? It usually doesn’t sound very good, so how do professional singers perform during concerts? It is very simple: they work on breathing. The main point is to learn to control your breath, so you’re not gasping in the middle of a note.

Breathing from the diaphragm is a good technique to start with. Place your hands on your belly to feel how your stomach expands, breathing from the diaphragm, not the chest.

7. Practice Scales

Along with using breath in your journey to be a better singer comes practicing scales. This is a great way to use several tips simultaneously; you’re training your ear, practicing daily, and using breath. Although it may seem overly simplified, it’s a great place not only for beginners but also for expanding your range, that is, the notes and octaves you can sing before it’s too high or low and your voice breaks. Below are some examples of vocal warm-up scales in major and minor.

8. Don’t Strain Your Voice

It may seem obvious, but if something hurts (throat, chest, etc.), you’re doing something wrong. Unlike other instruments, which can be played for hours and hours, vocal cords can’t withstand that much. Experts say between 30 minutes and 2 hours per day at most, with an average of an hour.

So, to increase your skill and talent, you must practice daily, but do not overdo it. You don’t want to damage your vocal cords.

9. Try Singing into a Microphone

Some people don’t realize until they experience it that you’ll sound different from what you’re used to when you hear your recorded voice. This is because when we hear ourselves speaking, we hear a different sound than others.

Sound travels in a straight line, so when it comes out of our mouth and reaches someone else’s ears, they hear our true voice, whereas when you hear yourself, the sound has to travel around your head to reach your ears, causing changes in frequencies.

This doesn’t make it a bad sound. It just makes it different from what we’re used to. Singing into a microphone and hearing yourself can help you hear how you sound and adjust things accordingly.

We hope this gives you the confidence to believe anyone can learn to be a better singer, including you! Have we left out any tips or tricks? Let us know in the comments.