Anyone can Sing!
Whether your voice graces the shower or the stage, you are always a Rockstar of the show. Of course, some people are more skilled than others, but with a little pinch of practice and dedication, you can also sing like a nightingale.
So if you have just googled “how to sing?” or “how to begin singing?”, then this blog is just for you!
It may feel like there’s going to be a lot of things to remember as you start to learn to sing, but don’t worry, soon the fundamentals will become your second language. Once you start the learning process, you will begin to notice the smoothness and the sheerness in your voice. All it takes is some effective guidance and continuous practice.
Let’s get started!
Find Your Vocal Range
Vocal range is an assessment of how low or high a vocalist can sing. I bet even you would get frustrated when you can’t mimic your favourite artists’ songs. Rather sound like elevator music, all boring and monotonous? Meh… So the solution is to be comfortable in your own skin, find your own Vocal range with the help of a vocal coach or self-analysis. It’s time for you to know, How to find your vocal range:
- Start by playing middle C on piano. (Don’t have a piano? You can always use the Riyaz app to find your vocal range.)
- Then produce ‘ahh’ sound along as you move up and down the notes.
- Write the last note you can sing clearly and comfortably as your highest and lowest notes by moving up and down the piano.
Now the moment of truth, you should have two numbers and letters written down. For Example, Ariana Grande’s vocal range is four octaves and a whole step, approximately D3 – B5 – E7. Refer to the guide below to find which range and voice type.
| Voice Type | Notes | Range |
| Soprano | B3- A5 | High range of the female voice |
| Mezzo-soprano | A3- G5 | Middle range of female voice |
| Alto | G3- F5 | Low range of female voice |
| Treble | A3- A5 | Children who have not gone through puberty |
| Tenor | C3- C5 | Highest male voice type |
| Baritone | A2- A5 | Middle range of male singers |
| Bass | E2- E4 | Lowest male voice type |
Once you’ve defined your voice on paper, now it’s time to learn about Vocal Warm-Ups.
Vocal Warm-Up
One of the biggest enemies of a singer is vocal strain. If your voice is strained when you sing, no matter what you sing it will not sound pleasant to the listener. So it’s important to have a warm-up routine that can include various vocal exercises. As a beginner, our main focus should be to develop stability on each and every note. This quick singing warm-up can be done in just 5 minutes, and it should become an inherent part of your practice routine.
We will start with –Sa– (Indian musical notes) and will add one note at a time. Whichever note is added, that note alone will be extended. And we will rest on that note, let’s say for 3 counts.
Practice along with us-
Sa (3 counts)
Sa- Re (3 counts)
Sa- Re-Ga (3 counts)
Sa- Re-Ga-Ma (3 counts)
Sa- Re-Ga-Ma-Pa (3 counts)
Sa- Re-Ga-Ma-Pa-Dha (3 counts)
Sa- Re-Ga-Ma-Pa-Dha-Ni (3 counts)
Sa- Re-Ga-Ma-Pa-Dha-Ni-Sa (3 counts)
Once you are comfortable with the exercise you can move ahead with increasing the number of counts one by one and this will help you with warming up your vocal cords, expanding your lungs, and making your lips and tongue ready for advanced singing.
Breathing Exercises
Have you ever tried singing without breathing? If you’re trying it right now, I’m sure you won’t be able to go past 30 seconds. Breathing plays a crucial role while singing, just like fuel plays for a vehicle. Therefore, you need to perform breathing exercises in order to better control the pitch and duration of your singing.
Here’s what you can inculcate in your daily exercises-
- Breathe in and exhale making an ‘ah’ sound. With the help of a stopwatch, note how long you can exhale. You can start out quiet and finish loud and then vice versa.
- Light and hold a candle in front of your face. Take a deep breath and exhale, as you exhale blow gently on the flame so it flickers but is not blown out at the same time. Continue until you are out of breath and try to stay relaxed and sit upright throughout.
- Breathe in and exhale very slowly to a ‘hiss’ sound. Include the sounds of ‘h’ and ‘ssssssss’ and try stretching it as much as you can for better results.
- Experiment and even you can create some of your own breath control exercises.
As now your anatomy is in place, we can further move up to your body posture.
Postures
What is the most common mistake a singer makes? It’s their Wrong Posture.
A Good Posture is where you have an aligned spine, feet straight facing outside, relaxed jaw, neck straight parallel to your shoulders and joints not bent; irrespective of the fact whether you are sitting while singing or not.
It won’t be easy to correct your slouchy posture habits, but keep practising as a balanced posture optimises your singing, resulting in a better-sounding and easier-to-produce voice.
Know more about various vocal exercises to practice to win your game of postures.
Vocal Health
Your vocal chords are precious and should be well taken care of. Singing is not just about singing beautifully, but singing smartly. Your voice is arguably the most important instrument of singing and the most injury prone too. It may seem difficult to give your chords the break they deserve but thankfully we have a list of vocal health solutions that might help.
- Warming up and cooling down your voice before and after singing
- Drinking Plenty of Water
- Using Natural Throat Products
- Do not force your throat
- Getting quality sleep
- Taking vocal naps
- Breathe through your nose
Once you know the vocal health tips, you can put them all together to improve your voice and elevate your singing abilities.
Practice to Sing
Have you ever passed an exam without studying? If your answer is yes, then congratulations my friend, you are a lucky chad. But what if your luck stood you up? It is not possible to become a master vocalist by doing breathing and vocal exercises just once. These exercises and methods should be practised on a regular basis to make sure that your vocal chords are warmed up and stay strong before you begin to sing a song.
This does not mean that you have to practice for back breaking hours all at once. A tired voice is not mesmerising. If possible then set aside a specific time every day for practice. It is best to practice for multiple short duration sessions rather than a single long session. For instance, practice from 8-8:15, 10-10:05, and 12-12:05 every day.
You have to be persistent and disciplined to acquire the art of singing.
Sing Along to Songs
Now comes the easiest step. Singing! To make sure everything is moving in the right direction, we will now sing to the songs and practice.
- Singing along with songs is an effective method to be comfortable with the vocals.
- Try to sing a song without any music backing. This will let you know how deeply you understand the high and lows of the music.
- Sing along to the songs you love with a voice recorder nearby. Observe after recording whether you are singing in tune or not. You will be amazed to hear how truly your voice sounds than how you imagined it to be.
We have brought together a list of songs you can practice as a beginner which will let you experience a rollercoaster of vocals and genres.
Easy to Sing English Songs
1. Ain’t no sunshine – Bill Withers
2. Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd
3. Bubbly – Colbie Calliat
4. Love yourself – Justin Bieber
5. Knocking on Heavens Door – Bob Dylan
Easy to Sing Hindi Songs
1. O Sanam – Lucky Ali
2. Pal Pal dil ke paas – Kishore Kumar
3. Kaisi Paheli Zindagi – Sunidhi Chauhan
4. Dooba Dooba – Silk Route
5. Kya Hua Tera Wada – Mohammed Rafi
Public Performance
Humming in your bedroom is entirely different from singing in front of an audience. If you’re serious about becoming a singer, you’ll have to get used to singing in front of a large crowd. The most important thing which adds grace to your performance is your Confidence. If you are confidently rooted on the stage with a relaxed presence, you are inviting the audience in and showcasing an engaging performance. Don’t let anything hold you back. The more you perform on a platform, the more you will realise that this is where you belong.
No matter where this musical journey takes you, remember to have fun and sing your heart out.
Staying Motivated and Improve
The essence of the magical journey of music is motivation and improvement. If there exists no motivation, there is no song. Practice sessions should be fun and energetic rather than being more of a ‘have to do’. Create your own warm-up routines, try singing with nonsensical words, make a silly single warm-up song. It will be helpful when you spend a part of your session practising, performing in front of an audience.
Learning to sing can sometimes be overwhelming. There are no guides on “how to be a good singer instantly”. It just takes plenty of patience, motivation and the desire to learn and improve every day.
Get Guidance
While singing is a natural phenomenon, it’s a skill that still can be developed and improved with the right training and guidance. There is no such ‘perfect’ place when it comes to learning to sing, it is all about being comfortable in your environment, especially in the beginning when you are building your confidence.
If you can invest in growing your skill then you can always get guidance from a good teacher. But what if I tell you that you can start from the very second with a vocal coach who is always available to you in your pocket?! Yes, you heard it Right! You can download the Riyaz App and get (app features) for Free
Happy Singing!
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