Learning to sing towards excellence: how to develop voice abilities

Mastering your voice is crucial for conveying emotions and thoughts through singing. Whether you sing in a choir, as a soloist, or just for your own pleasure, it demands dedication, perseverance, and the correct methodology.

This article caters to beginners embarking on their vocal journey. We will delve into the critical aspects of mastering vocals and provide valuable tips and exercises to enhance your singing abilities. It's important to remember that every voice is unique, so the answer on how to start singing for beginners should be tailored to individual needs and capabilities.

Mastering your voice involves a combination of essential elements. You can improve your vocal abilities and make the most of your voice by grasping and practicing to teach yourself how to sing with these fundamentals.

The key is to focus on diaphragmatic breathing, wherein the diaphragm, not the chest or shoulders, controls your breath. This technique enables more stable and controlled singing. Practice exercises that promote diaphragmatic breathing, such as taking deep breaths and exhaling slowly while concentrating on the diaphragm's movement.

Remember to practice your articulation —the way you pronounce sounds and words. Clear articulation is crucial for a solid and expressive voice. Various tongue, lips, and jaw exercises can significantly improve your pronunciation, making your singing more understandable and dynamic.

Having a good intonation means being able to hit and hold the notes accurately throughout the performance. Developing this skill requires training in musical hearing and coordinating your hearing with your voice, which can be done using ear training for beginners. Engaging in exercises that involve jumps in pitch and intervals can help you improve your intonation.

Starting with these essential elements, you will lay a solid foundation for further developing your vocal abilities and how to start learning to sing. Next, we delve into each point.

Just like any physical activity, it's important to warm up your vocal cords before doing intensive work. Vocal exercises help boost blood circulation in the muscles, lower the risk of stress and fatigue, and get you mentally and physically prepared for learning to sing. Regular vocal exercises also make your voice more flexible and enduring.

Deep breathing: Start by taking a few deep breaths and exhalations using the diaphragm. This exercise helps relax the body and prepare the respiratory system.
Soft buzzing: A buzz on the low notes with the mouth closed helps gently warm the vocal cords. Gradually raise the tone to warm up the whole range.
Glissando: Slide across your range from low to high notes and back. This exercise helps to warm up the voice and develop the flexibility of the ligaments.
Arpeggio: Sing the arpeggio on various vowels, starting with low notes and gradually rising upwards. This exercise helps to improve control over intonation and range.
Jab with lips or tongue: The jab with lips (blabbering) or tongue (trailing) helps warm the facial muscles and improves articulation. Pronounce sounds with a slight vibration of lips or tongue.

Learning how to sing with diaphragmatic respiration, you use the diaphragm, not the chest or shoulders. This allows you to control the airflow more efficiently, which is essential for maintaining the sheet music and volume control. To master this technique, you need to learn how to inhale deeply, feel the stomach slightly protruding, and then smoothly return to its original position at expiration.

Deep breathing: Lie on your back, place one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach, and take a deep breath through your nose, trying to lift only your hand on your stomach, not on your chest. Breathe out slowly through your mouth. Repeat this exercise several times, focusing on the movement of the diaphragm.
Inhale and exhale score: Stand up straight and take a deep breath, counting to four. Then, hold your breath on four counts and exhale on eight counts. Gradually increase your exhalation time to develop breath control.
Candle: Imagine a candle burning in front of you. Inhale deeply through your nose and then exhale slowly through your mouth, trying not to blow out the flames. This exercise helps to develop a soft and controlled exhalation.
Book on the stomach: Lie on your back and put a small book on your stomach. Breathe deeply, trying to lift the book on your breath and lower it on your breath. This exercise helps you visualize the work of the diaphragm.

Clear articulation makes your singing clear and expressive, helping to convey the meaning and emotions of the song to the listeners. Fuzzy articulation can cause words to sound illegible, reducing the overall impression of your performance and confusing learning to sing for beginners.

Tongue-twisters: Say tongue-twists, focusing on the precise pronunciation of each word. Begin slowly and gradually increase speed while maintaining clarity.
Articulation exercises: Perform exercises for the tongue, lips, and jaws. For example, move your tongue in a circle behind your teeth, make «chewing» jaw movements or protrude your lips, then stretch them in a smile.
Read aloud: Read the texts aloud, focusing on the clarity of pronunciation and intonation. Try to articulate every word, especially consonant sounds, clearly.
Mirror Practice: Sing in front of the mirror, watching the movements of your mouth, lips, and tongue. This will help you control and improve your articulation.

Sustaining an accurate pitch throughout a performance is crucial. Good intonation enables clean and harmonious singing, essential for a professional and pleasant sound. Developing intonation involves training in musical hearing and coordinating it with the voice.

Gamma and arpeggio singing: Start with simple scales (major and minor) and arpeggio. Sing them slowly, focusing on the exact hit of the notes. Increase speed gradually.
Listening and repeating: Listen to short musical phrases and try to repeat them as precisely as possible. Use the piano or tuning app to check your intonation.
Interval exercises: Practice singing different intervals (seconds, terces, quarts, etc.). Start with ascending and descending intervals, then move on to more complex combinations.
Singing with tuner: Use the tuner to track the accuracy of hitting the notes. Sing slowly and adjust the intonation as necessary.
Solfeggio: Solfeggio classes help develop musical hearing and intonation. Practice singing notes and note intervals to improve your accuracy in hitting notes.

So, how to start learning how to sing? let us give you a tip. Training regularly makes it much easier to track progress and make music a constant part of your life. However, allocating a few hours a week to attend classes is sometimes problematic, and the cost of musical supplies often leads to a mind blown. Nowadays, it is much easier to start learning how to sing for beginners simply using a singing lessons app without the need to attend lessons. For example, try the new basic music-learning app Talented!

Sing from your heart with Talented!