The modern world is full of unique talents, capable of singing even the iconic performers of their genres. Every season you can watch talent shows, where very young and unknown participants demonstrate a wonderful voice, perfectly performing well-known songs, shocking professional singers. Many people think that such people are just lucky to be born with a memorable and melodious timbre, giving them such a significant advantage over the majority.
And, although this factor also plays a role, do not underestimate the importance of their own abilities as well, because the right training and exercises can often unlock the vocal potential even in those who considered themselves hopeless. In this material we’ve selected a number of useful recommendations and tips that will give you the opportunity to learn to sing at home from scratch, spending no more than a few hours a day on this activity. Let’s analyze the main components of successful singing in order.
The importance of a good ear for music
This may come as news to you, but people who have connected their main life activities with music hear melodies at a slightly different level than many others. To the uninitiated, it may seem as if any song consists solely of writing a suitable minus (read: musical accompaniment) and performing its lyrics.
In fact, behind every iconic work can be months of long work to create a good composition that is pleasing to the ear and fits the beat of the lyrics. To do this requires the ability to distinguish by ear the notes that exist, as well as their combinations and transitions between them. For the beginning vocalist who wants to learn to sing beautifully at home, this talent is just as important as it is for the composer.
Based on the above, you may have already guessed that listening to melodies and songs will play a major role in the development of musical hearing. Most people have a relative perception of melody, where each note stands out only in the background of the others, allowing them to roughly catch the change in pitch in a composition. The absolute musical hearing will give you the ability to feel all the notes and their combinations put into a piece by the author. To become the owner of such a talent you will need:
- Familiarity with terminology and relevant materials, including literature, audio, and video recordings, on the subject. Rarely are skilled singers able to learn to sing by intuiting music and not knowing at least 12 notes (we haven’t met any such people).
- Find information on the Internet about the creation of famous songs and compositions, pay attention to the behavior of the vocalist during the recording sessions.
- Listen to a variety of music on a regular basis. Don’t get hung up on one genre, because musical aptitude knows no boundaries. Discover new forms of performance of familiar and not-so-familiar songs.
- It’s good if you have people in your circle whose field of work is related to music or singing. You can ask them to coach you or monitor your practice. Their advice and guidance will help you avoid mistakes in the initial stages.
Setting the Breathing System
Even a three-minute song with all the licks and a few verses of the chorus requires the performer to calculate his or her strength properly. You don’t need an excellent ear for music to feel if the singer is exhausted and runs out of tempo. You can avoid this by learning how to properly load the respiratory system. In addition, the development of appropriate breathing and a positive effect on the vocal cords, protecting those from tears or a cold.
Fortunately, nothing prevents us in the process of learning to sing beautifully at home and watch the pace of our breath.
Breathing
Breaths and exhalations should be as silent as possible so as not to disrupt the rhythm of the singing. Accordingly, we should avoid oxygen deprivation and shortness of breath by accustoming ourselves to short and vigorous inhalations and exhalations during the performance.
The best advice to support the previous point will be a technique for breathing with the abdomen. Since most people today are used to breathing in and out through their chests and mouths (due to the fast pace of life, which makes the oxygen inhaled through the nose insufficient), you should learn to redistribute the load on your stomach so that your air consumption does not affect the timbre of your voice.
Try to align your posture and watch your abdomen as you breathe. Practice singing and breathing this way at the same time, minimizing the use of your chest and mouth in your breaths.