Everyone can sing.; and if you can talk with inflection, which almost everyone can, then you can sing on key as well. Our modern society with professional singers recorded in professional engineering studios has set the bar of excellence so high that ordinary people feel inadequate by comparison. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t sing. Granted you may not have the talent of some of the superstars, but who does? And why should it matter? Singing used to be a way of expressing one’s self in a more private or intimate setting. It can be again, at least for you, if you let go of your inhibitions and learn to sing better. Below are five tips to help you get there.
1 – Sing. Just like anything else, the more you do it the better you get. Sing along with your favorite recordings. Sing a-cappella in the shower or anywhere else where you can hear some echo. Sing with friends or with your kids. Whatever it takes, sing more. The major reason you can’t sing as well as you’d like is from lack of practice. So, get to it, start singing.
2 – Record yourself. You know how your voice always sounds weird or different when listening to a recorded version? Well it will when you hear yourself singing as well. But this is a good thing. Listening to yourself sing can help you be a little more analytical about how you sound. It’s easier to hear if you’re going off pitch for example when it’s not coming out of your mouth.
3 – Get lessons. If you truly want to get better at singing, then you should probably consider singing or voice lessons. But don’t feel bad about it, virtually ever professional singer today has a voice coach with them every time they open their mouths. A voice coach can teach you the fundamentals of singing, give you things to practice that will improve your range and ability to stay on key, and will give honest criticism of your abilities.
4 – Get over yourself. In the old days, before radio and tv and all that, people used to sing whenever they felt like it. Singing was as normal as humming or tapping your foot to the beat of some happy music. That’s all changed. Now, if you sing, people expect you to sound good, and if you don’t they are quick to offer criticism. Don’t listen. If you feel like singing, go ahead and sing. You don’t have to sound professional or engineered. All you really need is the courage to believe in your own true voice.
5 – Go to church. If you don’t attend church, pick one that does a lot of singing. There is no better way to improve your ability to sing than by doing it with other people. Church is one of the few, if not only places where regular people are allowed to sing without ridicule. By singing with other people, you learn to hear when you’re a little off, and it’s this constant adjustment that teaches you how to stay on key.
These five helpful tips on how to sing better can be used by anyone who wants to sing better than they already do right now. If you are such a person, I hope you will take to heart the real purpose of singing and find the pleasure and delight that can be found within your own voice. Take care and good luck.
