words Alexa Wang
Singing is an amazing pastime and it can even potentially lead to a career but before all that you need to know your basics. Pretty much anyone can sing but to make it sound good is quite the art form.
Singing shouldn’t be seen as a single entity emitting from your body, it should be looked at in different aspects that you can improve individually. There are five main components of singing you need to master in order to find your true voice: breathing, pitch, rhythm, diction, and voice.
Whether you are singing on stage as part of a performance, on the street as a busker, or around the campfire, these singing basics will help you get started. Singing lessons are another option if you can find singing lessons near you. Alternatively, reading guides, watching online training, and practicing a lot is the next best way to improve your singing capabilities.
This article will go over the 5 basic components of singing so you can start your journey into singing in no time flat!
Breathing
Proper controlled breathing is the basis of singing so it’s something you should work on before learning any other components. When you breathe you’re working your diaphragm and your lungs so the more you work on your breathing the more you will strengthen these body parts. Simple controlled breathing exercises can be very easy to practice, all you have to do is breathe in as much as you can, hold for a few seconds, exhale and repeat! Breathing happens automatically subconsciously but by doing this exercise regularly, you can get a better conscious feel of your breathing pattern and even learn to make adjustments to it.
Pitch
To become great at singing you first need to get a good feel of musical notes and train your voice to be able to hit these notes flawlessly. Some people are born with a better sense of pitch than others but luckily you can train your ears and voice to develop this ability. Matching pitch is when you match your voice to a song you’re trying to sing so having your voice correspond to the notes the instruments are playing is key. If you have some trouble doing this sit down next to a keyboard, play some notes and try your best to match them with your voice. If you need further help with this download an app on your phone that measures pitch, then keep practicing until you match the notes you’re trying to.
Rhythm
Many great sounding songs have complex rhythms so it’s important to train your voice to be able to work within these parameters. You want to be able to hit the notes of a song on the beat so this is where rhythm comes into play. According to the experts at Become Singers, some people have a natural sense of rhythm but if you are not one of these people there are a few techniques you can use to help develop this skill. Listen to one of your favorite songs and stomp your foot or clap your hands to the beat. If you want to further develop your rhythm try stomping to the beat while simultaneously doing another task like eating.
Diction
Singing is just like speaking, in order to sound properly, you need to enunciate and properly pronounce your words. The reason for this is because when singing a song you want your audience to be able to understand the lyrics. If you have trouble with diction luckily there are some easy ways to help you improve it. Start by pronouncing words in everyday speech as properly as possible, this will help train your brain to start enunciating words subconsciously. Once you’ve mastered that step, try practicing your diction while singing, the more you practice the better you will become!
Voice
The final aspect of singing is your voice itself. You need to provide your vocal cords with practice in order to refine them as much as possible so you can produce a good sound. For example, opera singers spend plenty of time refining their voice when hitting high notes, that’s why they sound so beautiful when bellowing out those types of notes. The more you practice the better you will become over time but if you want to kick start your training consider hiring a vocal coach to help you find your voice.
If you’re a beginner singer and want to improve as much as possible you have to look at the basic aspects of your singing and develop them all. First, practice your breathing to be more aware of its pattern and learn to regulate it. Secondly, work on your pitch so you can start hitting the notes you want to hit. Third of all, work on your rhythm so you can start singing notes when they need to be hit. Next, practice enunciating words to work on your diction so people can better hear the words you’re singing. Finally, refine your voice so you can hit the vocal ranges you want to beautify. Singing is a great way to express yourself in a wonderful way and learning the basics isn’t as difficult as you’d think so why not give it a try!
