How to Sing Better: Tips That'll Take Your Singing Voice to the Next Level

A captivating voice is seen as a rare gift, something many admire but think is out of reach. But what if we told you that anyone can develop their singing voice with the right approach? Today, we’ll explain how to train your voice to sing better and start making beautiful music!

First off, we should mention that voice teaching approaches are different for male and female vocalists, and, according to Kay, it's different for each voice type (soprano, mezzo, tenor, bass) and for different ages too (kids, teenagers, adults).

So we'll divide our tips into two groups, and then share some common practices that will make you a vocalist of a whole new level.

How to Sing Better as a Female Singer

💡Kay's advice: "Find a voice teacher! Specifically, look for someone who sings professionally in the style that you are interested in. If you don't have a particular style, find a classical teacher. Classical technique is a great base for everything else.

A few things that anyone can do on their own without a teacher:

• Open your mouth! It should basically be as big as possible—three fingers-widths tall.
• Stand up tall. Roll your shoulders up and over and give your rib cage as much room as possible for air.
• Relax your tongue and keep it forward. The tip of your tongue should touch the back of your bottom front teeth when you're singing vowels.
• Sing through your mouth, not your nose. To check to make sure you're singing through your mouth: pinch your nose while you're singing; your sound shouldn't change.
• Warm up the three muscle groups of your singing instrument for 5-15 minutes first. Breathing muscles (abs, diaphragm, intercostal rib cage muscles), pitch-making muscles (vocal folds and the muscles surrounding them), and articulation muscles (lips, cheeks, tongue)."

We'd also recommend to keep your throat relaxed to avoid tension when singing low notes. Try humming at a lower pitch and gradually open up to singing full notes. This helps in producing a richer, fuller tone in your lower range. Also, practice singing with a sense of “forward placement,” where you feel the vibrations in your face and chest.

To improve your high notes, focus on gradually extending your range. Start with vocal exercises that lightly touch your higher notes, like sliding up and down a scale. Use a light, bright tone initially to avoid straining your voice.

Blend your chest and head voices to create a smooth transition between high and low notes. Try exercises like sirens or vocal slides to connect these registers. 

"Do not underestimate the importance of daily vocal care, in improving one’s singing voice. This means, paying attention to where voice production is coming from. We should be generating the power of our voice — for both speaking/singing — from our diaphragm, NOT our vocal cords. The muscles in our abdomen/core are far bigger and stronger than our vocal cord muscles (which can strain easily)," Jo Hayes.

How to Sing Better as a Male Singer

For deep-voiced male singers, the most challenging part is hitting high notes. Instead of forcing it, start by improving the breathy sound your voice makes at higher pitches. Practice by mimicking high-pitched noises and gradually work on transitioning smoothly to your speaking range. Daily practice with sounds like “ng” and vowels like “e” will help, but avoid overdoing it to prevent strain.

"The above tips work for male vocalists too! Find a male teacher who sings in the style you're interested in. Work your way up slowly to high notes. Don't just brute force your way up! It might sound breathy up there at first, but over time you'll develop the different set up muscles needed for those notes," Kay Barker

For high-voiced singers, low notes sound thin or breathy. To tackle this, relax your throat and avoid pushing it down. Keep your head in a natural position and let the sound resonate in your mouth. Practice singing lower notes gradually using sounds like “baa” to build strength without straining. Regular, gentle practice will improve your low notes.

But that’s just the beginning! Below, we have even more tips to help everyone improve their singing skills.

How to Sing Better: Tips That'll Work for Any Vocalist

"Avoid yelling/screaming in day-to-day life. This puts strain on one’s vocal cords, which impacts vocal quality. Keep hydrated. Like all muscle groups, our vocal cords, and vocal passage, need adequate hydration to function optimally. Spend time in a hot shower - breathing in hot air (a bathroom humidifier) is excellent to re-hydrate vocal cords. Consider purchasing a humidifier, and sleeping with it on, especially prior to a big performance. Be aware that airconditioners/heating can dehydrate vocal cords/passages. Caffeine also can dehydrate vocal cords - consider avoiding tea/coffee prior to a big performance," Jo Hayes.

Practice Regularly

You’ve probably heard that practice makes perfect, and it’s true for singing as well. Unlike guitars or pianos, your voice might seem like it doesn’t need much practice, but that’s not the case. Your voice improves with consistent effort. 

Even those who are already good singers can reach new heights with regular practice. So, if you want to get better at singing, make practice a daily habit.

Try New Things During Your Practice (Tech-Wise)

Try to practice without other voices masking yours. It’s tempting to sing along with songs or karaoke, but you may not hear yourself clearly enough to make necessary adjustments. Instead, use tools like LALAL.AI’s Vocal Remover or Moises. This way, you can remove lead or background vocals from any song and practice with a clean track. 

Alternatively, you can isolate background vocals to work on your harmonizing skills. For example, if you want to match your notes to the vocalist's, use the AI tool to remove the music and sing along with just the vocal track. This way, you won’t be distracted by the music and will focus entirely on matching the pitch and tone.

"Singing improvement is relatively low-tech, but you can use the Voice Recorder app to listen back to yourself. It sounds so different outside of your head! Vocalizer app is a great one for warm up exercises," Kay Barker.

Warm Up and Cool Down

There are many exercises you can do, no matter your age or skill level. Begin by relaxing your facial muscles — relax your lips and jaw by blowing air through your lips, massaging your face, sticking out your tongue, and making musical sighs.

Don’t be shy about making some noise during your warm-up. Allow your voice to move up and down through its range. After that, try humming or gently rolling your lips and tongue. Only start singing real notes once your face, mouth, and voice feel relaxed. This warm-up should last around 10 to 20 minutes.

After you’re done singing or performing, remember to cool down your voice to keep your vocal cords in good shape. You can sigh downward, yawn to relax your throat, and gently roll your lips to help your voice return to its usual range. Spend about 5 to 10 minutes cooling down.

💡Kay's advice: Breathing exercises are crucial and often overlooked by beginners. Here are a couple to try:

Avoid Singing From Your Throat

To sing well and keep your voice healthy, you need to use your entire body. Don’t rely on your throat to produce sound — your breath is the real power behind your voice, and it should come from your diaphragm. Focus on using your core to support your breath, keep your vocal cords relaxed, and allow your voice to vibrate in your chest, throat, and face.

"The thing I'm most concerned about as a voice teacher is singing that can damage the vocal folds. Don't push for notes that feel too strained. Stop if you feel any pain at all! If your muscles are sore after you sing, you're pushing too hard. Sing only in a comfortable pitch and loudness range for you," Kay Barker

"Think Core, Not Cords"

"Engaging our core, pushing the air up from our abdomen/diaphragm, will ease the pressure on our cords, allowing them to do their job better. Visualise your core/diaphragm as the powerhouse of your singing. That’s where all the power comes from.

"Pace your hand over your core/abdomen muscles as you sing. You should be able to feel your abdominal muscles constrict as you push the air out of your diaphragm. If you can’t, or it’s very weak constriction, the compensating muscle group is your larynx/ vocal cords, which will lead to vocal strain. Work at engaging your abdominal muscles more as you sing, and in general day-to-day conversation, lessening the pressure/strain on your cords.

"When it comes to vocal production, the more you engage your core muscles, the less pressure on your cords," Jo Hayes.

Master Mouth Space

Want to know how to sing better instantly? Simply open your mouth wide enough. Many new singers don’t open their mouths fully while singing, but that’s not their fault — they haven’t learned how to do it yet.

Here’s a way to understand and practice the right mouth space:

• Use a mirror or selfie camera to check if your mouth is open enough while you sing. 
• Place your fingers to gauge the space between your teeth. For different vowels:
  • For “i,” put your index finger between your upper and lower teeth to find the right amount of space.
  • For “e,” the space should be a bit wider than your index finger but not enough for two fingers.
  • For “a,” open your mouth so two stacked fingers fit between your teeth.
  • For “o,” the space is similar to “a” but with lips rounded into a small circle.
  • For “u,” the space should be slightly less than “o,” with room for a pinky finger between your lips.
• Use your hands to help open your mouth. Gently place one finger under your chin to help your jaw lower naturally. Place both hands against your cheeks to encourage a tall mouth space instead of a wide one.
• For vowels like “i” and “e,” pucker your lips slightly. Cup your hand to guide a proper pucker and make sure your lips aren’t tense. You should be able to wiggle them easily.

Sing the Scale

The next two sections may sound a bit more technical, but learning how to sing better for beginners should include at least some music theory. So, every song is built on scales, but many singers skip practicing scales, thinking they’re only for musicians. However, it helps improve your pitch and understand the musical context. 

To start, use a piano to learn the scale. Begin with the middle C and play all the white notes up to the next C. This forms a major scale. Sing each note after you play it, then try singing the next note in the scale without playing it first. For instance, play the first note, then sing the second note, and check your pitch by playing it afterward.

Once you can sing the scale with the piano, try singing it without any instrument — just start with middle C and sing the entire scale up and down.

Sing Random Pitches in the Scale

After you’re familiar with the scale, practice singing random notes from it. Start by playing the tonic note (C) and run through the scale to get the tonality in your head. Then, pick a note from the scale (like the 5th) and try singing it without playing it first. Check your pitch by playing the note later.

With practice, you should be able to sing any note in the scale after hearing the tonic note. This skill takes time and practice, so be patient and keep working at it.

Try Using a Microphone

When you sing into a microphone, your voice sounds a bit different than what you hear in your head. This happens because we perceive our voice differently when we speak versus when others hear us. Sound travels directly to their ears, while it has to bounce around inside your head before reaching your ears. If you record yourself with a mic, you get a clearer idea of what others hear.

Embrace the Learning Curve

It might sound strange, but accepting that you’ll make mistakes is part of getting better. When you start learning to sing, you might not sound great right away — and that’s okay! 

The key is to practice in a space where you feel comfortable so you don’t worry about others hearing you. Being too concerned about how you sound will hold you back from discovering your true vocal range and working on your technique. So, let yourself experiment and make mistakes.

More about the experts who helped us bring this piece to you:

Kay Barker is the Chief Education Director at Musicologie. She graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelors in Vocal Performance and Psychology and a Minor in Piano. Kay has 15 years of piano and voice teaching experience with students of all ages and levels. She began teaching private lessons when she was in high school and taught at her Bexley home until 2014 when she started Musicologie with her husband Joseph.

Jo Hayes is a world-leading etiquette expert/ consultant, Speech-Language Pathologist and founder of EtiquetteExpert.Org. She is the world’s only university-qualified etiquette consultant, having completed a Masters research thesis on manners and modern etiquette. Jo regularly provides international media commentary on a range of etiquette, speech/ language and lifestyle topics.