How to improve yourself as a singer

[Trilliumlady]

Title is pretty self-explanatory!  I’m curious to know if people aren’t born with a beautiful voice, have they been able to improve it?  I don’t think I have a terrible voice, but would like to improve.  I’ve started singing at church which is requiring me actually moving my mouth closer to the mic (imagine that!) which I have NEVER done before, ever.  This is sort of a fast switch, so I’m feeling a bit like I’m in a whirlwind and wondering if there is actually a chance to sound/feel more confident.  What do I need to know??

[Scarlett]

8 minutes ago, Trilliumlady said:

Title is pretty self-explanatory!  I’m curious to know if people aren’t born with a beautiful voice, have they been able to improve it?  I don’t think I have a terrible voice, but would like to improve.  I’ve started singing at church which is requiring me actually moving my mouth closer to the mic (imagine that!) which I have NEVER done before, ever.  This is sort of a fast switch, so I’m feeling a bit like I’m in a whirlwind and wondering if there is actually a chance to sound/feel more confident.  What do I need to know??

I would love to know too.  I love love love to sing and would very much like to know if I am ok or need help. 

[Tap]

Sure. Take voice lessons. They will teach you strategies to manage your breath, maintain clear sounding words (sometimes cutting words shorter makes them clearer), posture, and what ranges you sound best in, and how to manage tough notes. 

Edited December 7, 2019 by Tap

[fairfarmhand]

Join a choir with a good choir director. Church choir community choir...whatever. You can gain confidence without being on the spot.

also...for church music. Hymns are generally “better” musically than certain modern tunes. Some of the modern ones are like 3 chords. 

Do you have a piano? Start doing scales. 

[Trilliumlady]

I do play the piano so that’s a good idea idea. We’re pretty rural so might take awhile to find a voice coach but was considering asking at schools to see if the choir instructor might be willing. That might be my next step. Any other ideas??

[wintermom]

2 hours ago, fairfarmhand said:

Join a choir with a good choir director. Church choir community choir...whatever. You can gain confidence without being on the spot.

also...for church music. Hymns are generally “better” musically than certain modern tunes. Some of the modern ones are like 3 chords. 

Do you have a piano? Start doing scales. 

Totally agree! Choirs are great places to learn to sing, and they are usually really fun and social. I would spend time and energy on this route before taking lessons for a couple reasons:

- lessons can be expensive and kind of lonely;

- choirs are fun and the sound and energy of a group singing is amazing to experience;

- you will have the potential to learn a variety of things in a group singing environment like learning to sing harmony; 

- choirs usually have regular practices (and performances) which means you won't have to feel guilty about not practicing on your own at home! 😉

- choir directors choose music and do the work of setting up the arrangements so that you can just show up and sing for fun. If you're on your own you have to find the music, change it to a key that works comfortably with your voice, learn to play the piece on the piano while at the same time trying to sing with good breath, posture, etc. That's a lot of work!

All the best in your pursuit of singing! I love to sing, too. There are usually a variety of choirs you can join with all kinds of music. It's a wonderful way to meet people, have fun and explore different music styles.

Edited December 7, 2019 by wintermom

[wintermom]

12 hours ago, Trilliumlady said:

Title is pretty self-explanatory!  I’m curious to know if people aren’t born with a beautiful voice, have they been able to improve it?  I don’t think I have a terrible voice, but would like to improve.  I’ve started singing at church which is requiring me actually moving my mouth closer to the mic (imagine that!) which I have NEVER done before, ever.  This is sort of a fast switch, so I’m feeling a bit like I’m in a whirlwind and wondering if there is actually a chance to sound/feel more confident.  What do I need to know??

Based on my years of using a mic at church, moving closer of farther from the mic is something that involves a lot of experience, as well a bunch of technical elements that you shouldn't have to worry about when you're just starting out. The type of mic, whether there's a sound board and someone making adjustments, how many people are on mics and what kind of mix is desired between the voices and the instruments are all things beyond your control. I would just focus on your singing staying in tune and right timing and forget the mic for now unless you are a soloist.

Edited December 7, 2019 by wintermom

[Carol in Cal.]

I have improved my voice by singing often (daily) and not loudly enough to strain my throat.

I know this is true because our choir takes off during the summer, and afterwards my voice used to be really rough for the first couple of weeks in the fall.  Once I started singing a little bit each day, that did not happen anymore.  I know a lot of hymns and I sing them in the car, but also devotionally I have been using a psalm book and chanting psalms pretty often.  My psalm book is called the Concordia Psalter, from Concordia Publishing House.  It has all of the psalms with two tunes each, and an accompanying prayer.  I love this for a quick devotional break.

For really difficult classical choral work, I often buy Rehearsal Arts CDs to play and sing along with in the car.  These have the major, toughest choral works with your specific part emphasized.  For instance, I sing first alto, and so I buy sets that play the entire piece with a good alto singing a little louder than the rest.  If it weren’t for those, i would NEVER have mastered Beethoven’s Ninth.  The fast parts left me in the dust, LOL.  

[Matryoshka]

I used to think I could never sing in public because I could hear myself going off key and I thought I had a tiny range.  But I love to sing.  When my kids were babies, I sang them to sleep each night, and I could tell my voice was getting stronger and I was able to keep on key and hold notes.  Then when my kids were still little, we all joined an intergenerational chorus - that's where I learned things about things like 'head voice' and 'chest voice' - turns out where I thought was the top of my range was just the normal place where my voice switched from one to the other.  I've actually got quite a decent range.  Vocal chords are a muscle that can be strengthened and toned with use.  If I don't sing for a while, I can hear the difference, so singing often to keep things toned is important.  (The one type of person who probably can't get better from practice and training is someone who's tone-deaf - as in, can't hear that they're off-key.  That's a whole different problem...)

3 hours ago, fairfarmhand said:

Join a choir with a good choir director. Church choir community choir...whatever. You can gain confidence without being on the spot.

also...for church music. Hymns are generally “better” musically than certain modern tunes. Some of the modern ones are like 3 chords. 

Do you have a piano? Start doing scales. 

This is my advice too.  I could never afford private lessons, or at least it felt indulgent.  But a good choir director will teach you about the whole chest and head voice and how to use them, use of breath, phrasing, intonation and articulation and all sorts of other stuff.  I'm now singing with my church's choir - we just got a great new director, and I usually sing in a community Christmas Chorus.  I'm still learning!  But it's so much fun to sing. 

[G5052]

Yes, joining a good choir will help. Now is not the time, but I'd love to join a local choral group or play in an orchestra again someday. The local choral group doesn't require auditions and meets weekly for twelves weeks before a December and May concert, and that's it.

I actually did take voice lessons though in the last two semesters of graduate school (STEM) degree. I needed a break from computers and numbers. They had a 1-credit voice class that i found very helpful that cost very little. It was a lot of fun. 

Edited December 8, 2019 by G5052