Learning to sing is, of course, discovering and assimilating the different vocal techniques that allow you to master your musical instrument: The Voice. But learning to sing is also deepening self-knowledge… The art of singing consists of mastering techniques to be able to use them to express emotions. Singing is also feeling, vibrating, daring, letting go, offering, sharing… Learning to sing is learning to express yourself fully in music.
Learn to Sing The Basics
As with learning to play any musical instrument, it is essential to start with the basics.
Proper breathing
It is very important to understand that the raw material that allows us to make sounds, and therefore to speak and sing, is air. Knowing how to breathe well and knowing how to manage your breath is therefore the first stone of our foundations… To learn to sing, you will therefore have to start by learning to breathe. I invite you to read or reread the various articles on this subject.
Finding your voice
This expression could be heard both literally and figuratively… Singing is above all about expressing emotions and to do this it is imperative to agree with what we sing, find our style and our musical universe, what touches us, and makes us vibrate… But finding our voice in the literal sense means finding our vocal register. That is to say our true voice, the one that allows us to be comfortable, natural, and above all to be ourselves.
The accuracy
Intune is one of the first elements that make those around you say that you sing well… or not! It is imperative to understand that the ear and intune are closely linked. Indeed, we reproduce what we hear, so if we hear “wrong” we reproduce “wrong”. This is the reason why learning to sing in tune is above all learning to listen well and even learning to refine and sharpen your hearing.
Sign in rhythm
Another very important basis for singing well is rhythm. Nothing is worse than someone who has a beautiful voice but is unable to match the music and tempo..!!! It is very important to understand and feel the rhythm and tempo of the music on which you will have to express yourself. These elements allow you to identify the cadence and speed that you will have to adopt on each song to agree with the other instruments that compose it.
Learning to sing The different methods
There are several methods for learning to sing, but also various practices for accessing singing learning.
Learn to sing for free
It is possible to find content to learn to sing for free. Just search a little on Google or YouTube, for example… But let’s be clear, these free resources are often quite limited in their content and do not always allow you to deepen your knowledge or experiment with different practices. In addition, it is sometimes very complicated to find your way through all these tutorials and advice, some of which even contradict each other! So learn to sing for free, why not? But be wary of “Learn to Sing Beginner” which promises you to become Celine Dion or Freddy Mercury in a few free lessons…
Take lessons with a teacher. I am preaching for my parish, but the best way to learn to sing is to take real singing lessons with a teacher or vocal coach. Even if each singing teacher is different and teaches their method, you can be sure that the basics and techniques will be the right ones. To learn to sing well, you need to be well-supported and well-guided in putting in place the different elements that will allow you to master this art. A singing teacher has the skills and know-how that you want to learn and will know how to use their teaching methods to pass them on to you.
Learn to sing online
For a few years now it has been possible to learn to sing online, either live via applications such as Skype, Zoo,m, or Hangout or by purchasing or subscribing to video training courses. In the first case, it is simply singing lessons with a teacher except that they take place remotely so there are no big differences with singing lessons in a school, provided you have a good connection of course…!
In the second case, you are offered to follow a complete training or on specific modules, in video. If these trainings are offered by a real singing teacher, I mean one who really practices and that their contents are clear and detailed, you will be able to learn to sing as well and easily as in a classroom. In addition, these online training also have the advantage of allowing you to learn at your own pace and according to your availability. Be careful, however, that its content and resources are consultable long enough to allow you to come back to it when you need it and especially to be able to complete your training…
In conclusion
It is obvious that everyone can sing without having taken singing lessons and that even if the result will be more or less interesting, or audible, depending on the person; this will not take away in any way the right and the pleasure of doing it… This reminds me of a proverb that says: “If in the forest only the most gifted birds sang, the forest would be very silent.”
However, it is equally obvious that singing well is more enjoyable for the one who sings and even more so for those who listen! So if you want to sing well, you will have to learn to sing. We cannot know everything but we must know that everything can be learned…