Improve your singing voice

7 Parts:

Instructions

Sing with your diaphragm properly

The importance of hydration

How long does it take water to reach your vocals?

Tips Tricks & Warnings

Questions and Answers

Comments

This will help you improve the quality of your singing voice.

1. 1
   Avoid smoking and drinking alcohol (remember the Harry Nilsson incident during his "Pussycats" album with John Lennon)

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2. 2
   Eat the right foods and drink the right drinks

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   (Make sure you avoid foods and drinks that dry out your voice, or create mucus like milk products)

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3. 3
   Always breathe from the diaphragm instead of the lungs in order to give yourself better control over your singing and allows you access to more air

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   To breathe through your diaphragm, breathe in a way that causes your stomach to go out when you inhale, instead of your chest.

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4. 4
   Don't strain your voice

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   Take it slow because you don't want to damage your vocal cords.

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5. 5
   Try to use the same amount of air for low notes and high notes when you practice

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   Doing so will keep a smoother voice and dispose of breaks between registers. Ultimately, this will help you achieve a steadier tone.

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6. 6
   Always warm up with scales as you would with any other instrument

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   Even with experience scales still help you keep (or learn) your sense of pitch. It will also train your voice to reach higher range of notes. Avoiding doing so will limit your range due to a lack of vocal exercise.

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7. 7
   When trying to reach higher or lower notes do not strain your voice or rush yourself

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   Keep a steady pace and practice daily. A good starting point would be about an hour a day (adjust accordingly with time). Remember to keep a steady pace and stop at any symptoms of vocal stress such as pain or soreness.

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8. 8
   Record yourself singing

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   Even though many people dread hearing their own voice played back to them it is important in order to identify areas of weakness. Doing this will help you improve drastically and quickly. In fact, after time you will begin to recognize the things you do like about your voice.

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9. 9
   Be confident

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   Nobody likes a voice they can't hear! Also be sure to enunciate your words so that the people at the back of the room can hear you. This is mostly for when you don't have a mic or are singing in groups, however, regardless of whether you have a mic try to avoid mumbling.

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10. 10
    Listen to criticism

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    Perfecting your singing is a process and improvement is necessary. If you never improve then what is the point of practicing. If you notice a trend in your feedback then you should probably listen because it might be a good judgement. On the same note, don't let people put you down. There will always be people who are going to bad mouth you (no matter what you do) so just stand tall and show them what you've got.

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11. 11
    Follow genres and expand your auditory vocabulary

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    Some of the best singers picked up their quality from genres that were not even their own. However, do make sure that you try to identify with the genres you sing. While you are at it, talk to established singers or study famous ones of the past.

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12. 12
    Keep your originality

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    Experiment with different sounds, noise, texture, range, power, transition, and volume..etc.

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13. 13
    Ask other singers for feedback and help on developing your voice

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    (Vocal lessons can also be very helpful and important if you are serious about your voice)

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14. 14
    Stay positive

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    Your performance will always be better with confidence. If you don't believe in yourself then nobody can identify your talent or change your mind either.

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15. 15
    Find some diaphragm exercises

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    This can help make your voice louder and more powerful if you have a quieter voice.

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16. 16
    Warm water with lemon often helps relax your throat before performing or practicing.

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When you are singing through your throat you will often cause you discomfort, as when singing with your diaphragm you will take the pressure off of your throat to not face discomfort. Think of it as you are screaming how your throat will become sore after screaming for a long time for you are straining your throat which in turn can affect your singing. You will notice the difference in singing a simple tune using your throat only and then using your diaphragm. The throat will not give off a good sounding tune which is the issue that most singers run into when first learning how to control your voice. If you were to dig deep down into your diaphragm to sing you will not only notice a better sounding tune but also you will notice that you are leaving left strain on our throat. Also while singing it is important that you take deep controlled breathes in between so that you can properly expand the diaphragm, which will not only give for a better sound but also train your diaphragm to your singing style. If you are confused about whether or not you are using your throat or diaphragm then a simple test to figure this out will be to place your hand on your throat while singing and ensuring that you are not feeling too much vibration in that area for if you are then you are not using your diaphragm properly. Beware that the best thing for you to do before proceeding any further in singing will be to ensure that you are using your diaphragm properly because it can lead to you either strengthening your voice or causing more damage.

Vocal hygiene's most significant factor is hydration.Your singing voice will be at its best condition the more you drink water and any other fluids for that matter. During vocalization, water/hydration assure that the protective mucosal lining (the vocal folds coating) is kept from the natural friction. By being well hydrated, the vocal chord is kept supple and moisturized. This way, resilience will be achieved and the unhealthy swelling of the vocal folds will be avoided. If the vocal folds are not well hydrated and swollen, the vibration will not be as good as compared to those of the healthy ones, hence interferes with the voice ability. Swollen vocal chords could potentially harm the body as it could lead to possible long term damage. That is why, it is very essential to drink lots of water/fluids when singing as it plays the most important factor in having a good singing voice/condition. However, the fluids/water we drink do not go directly to the vocal chords; the vital organs get hydrated first off. So to be able to hydrate the vocal folds to keep it healthy, drink well enough water/fluids to permit the whole body to benefit from the hydration it provides.

If the body is hydrated very well, it will take about 20 minutes for the larynx to benefit from the moisture the body get from drinking water or other fluids. The moisture travels its way through the internal organs and body's system first. So it would be advisable to drink water or other hydrating fluids 20 minutes or so before hitting that stage with a mic.

How do you know if the body and voice are fully hydrated? Urine should be visually clear. If it is rich yellow in color, then the body needs to be more hydrated. Keep in mind the "pee clear, sing clear" policy of singers, and drink water and other fluids or get hydrated just enough for your body, as excessive drinking is not good for the health and singing voice either.

• For more information on how to eat/drink right visit VisiHow page "Prevent vocal cord damage and protect your singing voice by drinking the right liquids."
• Vocal lessons can greatly benefit someone looking into a career
• If you are serious about vocals then make sure you keep up your theory! No musician of any type is taken seriously who can't read music. If you can't read music it will also be hard to write it or share your written work with others.

I don't really understand why we need to sing using our diaphragm when (for me), it's easier to sing using my throat?

And how is it to affect the voice quality?

When singing, the more power and control you can put behind your voice, the better it will sound. Singing from the diaphragm increases this power considerably. For example, singing with your throat will be the normal person version of Bruce Lee's famous 'two inch punch', while singing with your diaphragm will be the 'Bruce Lee' version. Put another way, to achieve the same force and presence as someone singing from the diaphragm, you'll need to put in a lot more effort. That effort will tire you out faster, and can significantly increase your chances of damaging your voice.

If you are singing with a microphone, in a studio environment, then you're not always bound by the same traditional techniques professional singers use, and while you can succeed in a studio environment just using your throat, you won't be able to carry the same stage presence as those who use their diaphragm, or complete some of the more difficult and lengthy studio sets required to get a particular song 'just right'.

As I sing, my voice prevents to sing good because my throat is with full of cough?

I would like to get rid of all the cough which prevent me to sing better. How can I get rid of this cough and sing better with the good voice?

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