No doubt we know singing makes us happy, healthy, boost immunity….the list goes on.
But to truly get the benefits, you need to sing right!
Here are key tips on how you can get the basics right, by yourself.
Practice #1: Building up your breath support muscles
Your breath support muscles are – front, side abs and back muscles.
Like a ring around, below your navel button.
This is crucially important because you’re ‘playing’ a wind instrument when you sing/talk. Activating these muscles will let you keep the air in control = voice in control.
Do loud burst of ‘sss’, ‘sss, ‘sss’.
You should feel your front, side abs and back muscles working; They are pushing outwards.
Exactly the same feeling during your morning bowels time. 😉
Try to hold the ‘sss’ as long as you can with a consistent stream of air. Aim to hold it for 30 secs.
Next, relate to this when singing a song’s phrase:
- Before your start the phrase, you breathe…
- Activate the muscles and support the breath while singing a phrase…
- After finishing the phrase, you relax the muscles.
* And repeat again for every phrase.
And voila!
Build up these muscles, this momentum, you’ll realise that it works wonders!
Practice #2: Singing is a muscle memory
Things to note when singing Scales: Practice singing scales with vowels (Choose Ah, Ee, Wu, Eh ,Oh) slowly.
(Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So ~ Ascending or Descending)
Start in the middle of your range and sing up as far as you can whilst still being comfortable
Then start in the middle again and sing down as far as you can whilst still being comfortable.
That should establish your comfortable range.
Things to note when singing Songs:
Always start with singing songs you feel comfortable and slowly work up the difficulty.
Always keep your posture in checks and mouth shape. Our mouth space is a good space for your sound to amplify too! Face mirror as you practice. You will realise you don’t open your mouth as big as you thought you did!
If you feel that you are doing it wrong, don’t be stubborn and keep on doing it!
It’s because singing is a muscle memory, you may cause your body to ‘lock-in’ the wrong sensations!
Instead, take a break, sing other stuffs that makes you feel good and comfortable.
Practice #3: Recording your singing
Finally, record yourself as you have done, with a good microphone.
Your Action Steps:
- Record the ‘pre-practiced’ version of your favourite song.
- Do some practice (20 mins or so) every day for a week. Singing on scales, songs, breath control exercises.
- Then re-record yourself and see whether you can hear the difference.
Learning never ends!
* Having a coach to guide you definitely help to accelerate the exploration process. However, not many have the luxury of time/money to go for coaching sessions.
Therefore, we hope by following these 3 simple tips, you can self-monitor your progress as you sing leisurely. 🙂
Do, remember to make corrections along the way and you’re definitely on your way to a better voice!
With better singing techniques, you will soon feel/gain:
1) Happier
~ because singing releases endorphines, the brain’s ‘feel good’ chemicals.
2) More Confidence
~ because you sing in front of a crowd (includes karaoke sessions)! Having it has great effects of general well-being too.
3) Better Immunity
~ because good singing uses deep breathing which activates your diaphragm. This promotes healthy lymphatic system.
4) More Feel Good moments
~ because it improves your posture and tone tummy muscles.
5) Improved Stress Management
~ because it’s hard to worry and sing at the same time. 🙂
So, plan a singing session and have fun exploring!