Let us be real for a second here – singing like a superstar is not an easy task. It is not all about someone’s innate talent either. It is about technique, dedication, and discipline. To become a great singer, you’ll need to improve on a wide array of areas, including but not limited to:
- Performance techniques and confidence
- Vocal Registers (singing from your chest, head, or a combination of both)
- Clarity, Projection, and Power (ensuring that you are heard)
- Resonance and Tone (Your voice’s unique quality)
- Strain (ensuring you do not hurt your vocal cords)
- Dynamics (creating the ability to sing loud and soft)
- Breath Control (not having to gasp for air in between notes)
- Vocal Range (what is the range of notes you can sing?)
- Pitch (your singing tune)
As you can see, that is a whole lot of things you have to worry about.
Worry not, though, because the exercises and information below, if done every single day, can help you improve on all the areas listed above. Just keep one thing in mind as you dive in – “This is just the beginning of your journey.”
Do not do these exercises for just a week and give up because you do not see the results you desired. This is a marathon, not a sprint.
Without further ado, let’s jump into it.
Exercise #1: Siren Glides
Just as this exercise’s name suggests, you want to try your best and imitate a siren here using the ‘ooooo’ sound. You can either start high and descend in pitch or go for the vice versa as well. You can even start from somewhere in the middle, either pitch your voice below and above the note.
The bottom line is you should try a wide array of emergency service sirens until you get to a point where making the voices feels like second nature. Here is another tip I suggest that you try.
Do you own a piano in your home? If you do, then I suggest that you pick a note, then glide your voice up the octave. Note that you shouldn’t sing the notes one at a time. Instead, your voice ought to transition from one frequency and then onto the next without giving any discernable motion.
Also, focus your body’s exhalation process on your nose and constantly practicing exhaling through your nose instead of the mouth.
Exercise #2: Humming
To do this exercise, you’ll need to make an “mmmm” sound in your normal, spoken voice. It should sound like you are agreeing with someone or as if you have spotted something delicious that you’d love to eat.
While making the sound, you should feel a gentle vibration on your lips as well as your throat. Once you have mastered this first step, you should move on to the next step and start humming through a wide array of scales, both high and low. I teach my students to do this with broken up notes, as well as long ‘mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm’ notes.
Another thing worth noting while on this exercise is that you should avoid starting the humming with an “H”, because this indicates that you are overusing your breath and aren’t pulling on the back of your throat as you should.
The reason I love this handy exercise is that you also have the freedom to do it while on the go or doing something else, and those around you won’t think that you’ve lost your mind. A few months ago, a young man seated next to me was doing this exercise over and over again while browsing the internet for the best online casinos without deposit needs. When I struck up a conversation with him a little later, he pointed out that he was an aspiring singer. No one seated around us thought what he was doing was weird.
Exercise #3: Croaking
The notes you sing rely not only on your vocal cord closing and opening but also the amount of control you have over the entire process. With that in mind, while singing every day, release as little air as possible, and you’ll notice that this makes you let out a creaky sound.
Doing the exercise over and over again should help improve the amount of control you have over your airflow while at the same time keeping your vocal cords in their’ closure position.’
Exercise #4: The Lip Bubble
As you do this, try not to laugh, because I’m 100 percent sure that at first, you will feel a little bit silly doing the exercise. Believe me, though, this singing exercise does work and is, without a doubt, one of the best vocal exercises that you can do while at home by yourself.
Now, to do this exercise, you’ll need to sound like you are mimicking the sound made by car engines. Squish your lips together into a loose pucker, support your face around the jawline with your fingers, and gently blow the “buh” sound into your lips so they start vibrating.
Once you have mastered this, start using up and down slides and go as high and as low as you can to toughen up the exercise even more. To know that you’ve done the exercise for long enough, you should feel your lips start tingling afterward.