5 Steps to becoming a great Singer

Legendary Singer, Toni Braxton

In less than 5 minutes, you will discover the greatest secrets of developing a star quality voice- that voice you’ve always dreamt of. I hope you are not one of those who believe becoming a good singer is all about talent, you either have it or you don’t? That is one of the biggest lies I have had to help my students get off their mindsets. As a vocal coach who has trained over 1000 voices in about 10 years running, I can authoritatively tell you, everybody created by God can sing; what we can sing and how much we should sing are the only differences. If you take the next few sets of advice I’m about to give seriously, you will definitely be on your way to building a beautiful and commercially viable singing voice.

A. Discover your unique Vocal Identity

Who are you vocally? Can you give a concise description of your voice? What qualities make your voice sound unique? The first and most important step you must take on your way to building a star quality voice is discovering who you are vocally. For every unique person there is a unique voice. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to sound like who you are not and whom you are never going be. When you have a proper understanding of your kind of voice, you can effectively decide what to use it for- the kind of songs/music to be singing. Is your voice soft, husky, whisky, light, bright, tough, weak or rocky? It’s when you discover who you are vocally that you can really improve on your singing. Take some time to record yourself while singing over and over again. Play it to yourself and listen sincerely. What brand of voice do you hear, what do you think that kind of voice should be singing? Will you take a sincere decision or go ahead with your fantasy of becoming e.g a hippop superstar when you have soulish and tender voice. Embark right now on a journey of self vocal discovery. That is the foundation upon which every other thing will hinge as you work towards building a great voice.

B.     Develop Professional Singing Techniques through Training

Just like any other professional field, there are a set of principles guiding good singing. We call them professional singing techniques. You acquire these skills through a well structured vocal program. They include training on breath control and management, posture for singing, diction and dynamics, stability on key, vocal health, song interpretation, tone placement, vocal warm up exercises, and a host of other professional singing lessons. You can find some of these techniques illustrated and taught on ready-made vocal training CDs. You can also find some of them in singing books. But there is no process more rewarding than finding an experienced and patient vocal coach to put you through them. You cannot skip this step in your quest for an excellent singing voice.

C.    Get Mentored

The journey to vocal development is such that you can’t afford to be in all alone. You need to find a qualified instructor who believes in you to take advice from.  You should find someone experienced in professional singing to listen to you and correct you constructively, inspire you and answer all your questions. Your vocal mentor should be someone you are free with and someone you can always reach. And, be careful not to take conflicting singing advice from diverse sources. Also find your way around very good singers, they will inspire you. Styles and skills are contagious. They are better caught than taught. Don’t be a local champion!

D.    Use the Power of Control

Professional singing requires a lot of control and input of conscious effort to get the right sound rolling. You don’t just open your mouth to sing casually and expect the best tones to flow. You need to first determine what kind of tones you want to roll out; soft, loud, wet, dry, broad, narrow, or a whisper. Then you adjust everything within your system to give you that predetermined tone quality. You can sound ten times better than the way you sound now if you make up your mind to get all of your being involved whenever you sing- in your bathroom, on a walk, during a rehearsal or on a stage, put in your best control into use whenever you have the course to sing. Good singers don’t sing passively. You don’t allow your voice control the way you sound, shape and reshape every sound until you produce the choicest tone quality. That’s what makes you different from the average singer- the power of control!

E.     Use the Power of Dynamics & Expression

How does it feel to hear that nobody listens to music?! People feel music! The audience shares in your feeling when you perform. So, if you can’t feel anything or express your feeling about the story in your song, you can’t achieve a captivating voice on stage. Your voice gives its best when you have smoothly connected your voice to your heart. Every singer is a story teller, an actor and illustrator. Until you start to operate in this understanding, you will continue to sound shallow and shabby, and no one will feel anything when you sing. Dynamics in singing refers to inflections, the rise and falls, the altered nuances. You don’t sing on a particular volume or tone strength from the beginning to the end of a song. To sound interesting to an audience you must apply dynamics. Watch great singers perform; the likes of Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Fela Anikulapo, Stevie Wonder, Beyonce, Tuface Idibia, etc. You will observe the way they deliver the stories in their songs with great emotions and dynamics. When you sing that way, a psychological reaction will take place which will boost the quality of your singing voice.

Go ahead and SING, sing like a pro, sing because you LOVE it!

Article by Akapo Emmanuel