Learn How to Sing in the Fastest and Easiest Way
At eHow to Sing you will find everything that you need to learn how to sing like a pro. Find all of the lessons, tips, vocal workouts and techniques that you have always wanted, all in one single place. Our lessons are very easy to follow making learning to sing fun and enjoyable.
How to Sing: Discovering your Resonance When Singing
Recognizing resonance in singing is vital since it helps to broaden your vocal register. Some singers do not know what this is, but when you discover it you will realize that it is one of the most important elements of singing.
Resonance is one of the properties of sound. Sound is a wave that travels through the air. Resonance is related to frequencies. When sound goes through different mediums such as walls, roofs, glass, wood, metal, water, etc. it amplifies certain frequencies; the high or low frequencies may become more noticeable.
When you sing, sound that you produce travels throughout all of your body. Sound does not resonate exactly the same in each part of the body. For example, in your head it would sound different than in your thorax.
The best thing is to discover the best resonating parts of your body and use them when you sing to produce the high and low notes well.
Practicing is the best way to expand your vocal register, especially when you are first learning how to sing.
Vocal Resonance Exercise
Let’s do a short exercise to practice resonance.
Close your mouth and start to say the letter “M” like “mmmm” for a few seconds.
A) Try to make it sound only in your throat.
B) Let’s repeat the same sound, but now make the sound between your nose and your mouth.
C) Now let’s make the same sound but this time try to make it sound only in the center of your head.
You will start to notice that when you make the sound between your nose and your mouth, the high frequencies sound the best. The high sounds sound second best in the center of your head. You will see that the high sounds do not sound as clear when you make them from your throat.
If you still cannot seem to note the difference in the quality of the high frequencies, keep practicing until you are able to detect where to locate the best sounding high notes.
To broaden your practice, try to make the sound in different keys. You can also use the sound “maaa” while trying to reach higher notes each time within your vocal register. See how each sound resonates and how it sounds as you practice in the different zones and forms that we have mentioned.
We recommend using the area that is above your palate, between your mouth and nose, if you want to expand your vocal register, adding more high notes. Opening your mouth more and tensing up your facial muscles will help you reach even higher notes.
Once you have practice and have a good grasp on resonance, you will be able to better control where to send the high and low notes when you are singing.
How to Sing: Health and Care of the Voice
The voice is the main musical instrument of our body. For some people it is a tool used for work. Taking care of our voice is important whether we are professional singers or amateurs and are just learning how to sing. If we do not take care of our voice well, it can cause us problems such as respiratory infections, inflamation of the throat, etc.
We will now talk about some healthy habits and other things that we should avoid in order to maintain good vocal health.
Some good habits to always keep in mind are:
Drink plenty of water, at least 2 liters or 8-10 glasses per day, which is not only good for the body but will also keep the vocal cords hydrated.
Eat foods that are easy to digest such as fruits, vegetables, fish and chicken. Apples are great to help clean out the mouth. Citrus fruits are helpful in giving you a boost of vitamin C to keep the common cold away.
Try to sleep at least 8 hours a day, especially before a vocal performance; sleeping enough each day will give your body extra energy and will help fight off sicknesses that could ultimately affect your throat and vocal cords.
Sit up straight and maintain good posture for when you breathe. This will help your lungs fill to their fullest potential and help control your air intake.
Always warm up your voice before singing; this could stop you from injuring your vocal cords and will help to keep your voice more in shape.
Some things to avoid are:
Don’t eat spicy foods which could irritate the throat, especially right before singing.
Don’t wear very tight clothing, especially on the stomach, chest and neck which could constrict the air control and breathing necessary for a perfect performance.
Avoid being exposed to very cold winds; cold air tends to dry up the vocal cords.
Don’t drink cold or iced beverages which could cause your voice to crack easier, impeding on your voice’s full reach.
Try not to scream or talk very loud, this could cause you to lose your voice quickly.
Avoid going to places that are very loud which could cause you to talk over the noise, this could wear out your voice.
Do not smoke; everyone already knows that this, in fact, will ruin your voice little by little over time. It also is very harmful to the lungs and will not allow them to fill with oxygen to their full capacity.
Don’t sing too loud, forcing yourself to arrive at notes that are at a higher vocal register, this could tire out your vocal cords and possibly damage them.
If we want to sing well, we don’t only need to have good vocal techniques and methods but we also need to have healthy habits and take good care of our voice. Our vocal cords are like all the other muscles in our body that need good training, rest, and care so that they perform well.
How to Sing: The Right Way to Breathe
Knowing how to breathe during a singing session is one of the most important things. The sound of each note that we produce is related to the technique that we use to breathe; if we do not use the technique correctly, we can not reach an excellent vocal performance.
This is to say that the more you learn to control the air to sing a note, the better control you will have to sing. The voice is like a wind instrument and the air is what controls everything. When people first learn how to sing they typically use the wrong breathing technique, the sound that we hear can be unstable, broken, and the singer can get worn out faster.
Generally, the majority of people who try to sing do not know the correct form in which to breathe. Ideally, singing with the right breathing technique should be automatically programmed in your mind, without having to think about it each time you start to sing.
Breathing Techniques
To breathe correctly, you have to concentrate on the diaphragm which is located in the lower chest right below the ribs and above the abdomen. Normally when a person inhales, the upper chest inflates and the shoulders lift up. When we breathe normally, our lungs only inflate one-third of its capacity.
When we breathe deeply, possibly the maximum that it expands is two-thirds of its capacity. This is not the correct form in which to breathe when singing. When we practice breathing techniques we are helping our lungs get used to filling themselves to their full capacity.
When we breathe the right way, we will notice that our abdomen will raise when we inhale. When we see this, it shows that we are using our diaphragm to breathe. This may feel awkward to us at first because it is not the way that we normally breathe. We can practice this through various breathing exercises.
Breathing affects the interpretation and intensity of a song. When you use the correct breathing technique, your voice has the potential to carry much farther. You are not only using your throat to sing, but you are using your abdomen and diaphragm, which have much more power to make your voice soar and increase its strength. Your voice will be projected much farther and with much more control.
Practicing Breathing to Sing Better
The best way to start practicing is standing up. Look at yourself in the mirror. When you start to breathe in, focus on your diaphragm, below the ribs and on the top part of the abdomen. Concentrate on making it raise and inflate. When exhaling, notice that your diaphragm should deflate as you let the air out.
Try to make sure that the shoulders do not move. Practice inhaling for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 4 more seconds, exhale slowly for 4 more seconds. Repeat this process several times. This is a great way, when you are first learning how to sing, to get your body used to the correct way of breathing.