Practice

Posted in Category Singing Basics
  • R
    Rezs 3 years ago

    Hello.
    I have problem to sing in tune , how can solve this problem .
    And how can to realize my tone , my vocal range???
    Do you send tuturial like video or we have online class???
    And how do you check our singing.???
    I would like to sing Persian pop songs , is it ok???

    Do you have tutorial for solfege???

    How long does it take to be good singer???

  • C
    Camille van Niekerk 3 years ago

    You can sing any style! Healthy technique is the foundation for any style of singing. 

    We do not cover solfege yet, but I'm a big fan of solfege and would love to do tutorials on that in the future.

    I'll include an article below this comment on improving your intonation and addressing the question of tracking your improvement. 

    To find your vocal range, start by reading this article I wrote on finding your range + voice type: https://www.30daysinger.com/blog/finding-your-vocal-range.

    You can also use the "find my range" tool on this site: http://www.myvocalrange.com/yourvocalrange.php and check that you're singing in tune using https://tuner.ninja/

    SingSharp (for iOS and Android) also has a range finder function with a chromatic tuner built in: https://www.singsharpapp.com/.

     

     

  • C
    Camille van Niekerk 3 years ago

    How to tell if you're singing in tune: using free websites + apps to improve your pitch accuracy

    Camille van Niekerk

     

    Online video lessons allow you to learn at your own pace, review previous lessons on demand, and access instruction on any topic, any time. But there’s one component that video lessons can’t easily account for: the ability to measure your pitch accuracy. Within a private, one-on-one lesson (either in person or online), a skilled teacher is the one providing feedback on your pitch accuracy. Chances are, you’ve chosen video lessons for both the convenience and the cost. So how can we get that feedback without a teacher?

     

    Good news: there’s an abundance of technology that you can use to analyze your pitch accuracy and train your ear - at no additional cost. Read on to learn how!

     

    1. Use a virtual keyboard and chromatic tuner to improve your pitch matching. 

     

    The simplest way to begin training your ear is to work on matching pitch. Remember, pitch is the “highness” or “lowness” of a note, and it is notated with both a pitch letter name and an octave number. For example, “middle C” on the piano is called “C4” in scientific pitch notation. A soprano’s “high C” refers to the pitch “C6”. And most orchestras tune their instruments to the pitch “A4”. You can hear what these pitches sound like by using a virtual keyboard with scientific pitch notation: https://www.harpkit.com/online-tuner.

     

    To match pitch, you must sing the same pitch that you’re playing as a reference. For example, if you play a C4 and then sing a C4, then you are matching pitch correctly. To determine which pitch you’re singing, use a chromatic tuner like this one: https://tuner.ninja/

     

    *Note: chromatic tuners like the one above are very sensitive, so you may see that you’re close to the reference pitch, but are not 100% “on”. With this particular chromatic tuner, the pitch will turn green when you’re perfectly in tune. But as long as you see some green, you can rest assured that you’re “close enough”. In fact, a singer can be a few “cents” flat or sharp before most listeners would notice they’re “out of tune”. Give yourself a small margin of error and look for at least “some” green on the tuner, even if the pitch name doesn’t stay green the whole time.

     

    2.              Practice matching pitches within your comfortable vocal range. 

     

    You’ll have a much easier time matching pitch within your comfortable singing range! If you haven’t yet determined your vocal range, walk through the steps outlined in this article: https://www.30daysinger.com/blog/finding-your-vocal-range. Ensure you’re singing the correct reference pitches with a chromatic tuner (like Tuner Ninja). You can also use the range finding tool on the SingSharp app: https://www.singsharpapp.com/

     

    Here’s a general range guide for your reference:

     

    Soprano: C4-C6

    Mezzo-soprano: A3-A5

    Alto: F3-E5

    Tenor : B2-A4

    Baritone: G2-F4

    Bass : E2-E4

     

    3.              Use a pitch app to check your accuracy on vocal exercises and songs 

     

    Both of the apps below contain vocal exercises and songs for you to practice, while providing real-time analysis of your pitch accuracy. As you explore these apps, note the “range” listed and adjust as necessary. Remember, these exercises do not provide any instruction on vocal technique: they’re just for ear training and improving your pitch accuracy! They’re great for this specific purpose, but I don’t suggest upgrading to the paid versions (unless you want access to more exercises). 

     

    Both iOS and Android: SingSharp https://www.singsharpapp.com/

    iOS only: PerfectPitch https://apps.apple.com/us/app/learn-to-sing-perfect-pitch/id1409450884

     

    Another good iOS app for ear training is called SingTrue http://singtrue.co/. If you want to purchase add-ons in this app, they are useful!

     

    Note: the above apps require you to use headphones while you practice. This is so that your phone’s microphone doesn’t pick up on the exercise or reference pitches, only your voice. 

     

    4.              Use a karaoke app to practice songs and analyze your pitch accuracy

     

    It’s one thing to match pitch and sing in tune during vocal exercises. It’s another thing to stay in tune while you’re singing a song! This is where many singers struggle, because the melody is not typically played as a guide (as it is during vocal warmups). 

     

    To ensure that you’re staying in the correct key with good pitch accuracy, use a karaoke app like Smule, which displays the melody on-screen and analyzes your pitch in real time. Higher on the screen denotes higher pitch, whereas lower on the screen denotes lower pitch. The rhythm of each lyric (or syllable) is displayed via the length of the bar. 

     

    You can learn more about Smule and download for iOS or Android here: https://www.smule.com/

     

    Final thoughts:

     

    As you adjust your singing according to the feedback you receive from tuners and pitch apps, you’re training your ear and your voice to coordinate better with one another. As we’ve mentioned before, the vast majority of singers are not “tone deaf”. Rather, they’re untrained and inexperienced when it comes to hearing pitches and singing them back (pitch matching) or learning melodies and singing them without a guide vocal (singing “on-key”). Eventually, you won’t need to rely as heavily on a chromatic tuner or pitch app to tell you when you’re in tune or not! The ultimate goal is to train your ear, so you can tell the difference between “in tune”, “flat”, and “sharp” - and make the necessary adjustments to sing in tune.

  • C
    Camille van Niekerk 3 years ago

    Getting better fast: when will I hear improvement in my voice?

    Camille van Niekerk

     

    It’s a great question, and one that many new students ask. This article will give you some guidelines for realistic expectations!

     

    When can I expect to hear results?

     

    It depends on what you mean by “results”! There’s no magic vocal exercise or mental trick to “transform” your voice. All vocal “skills” are just coordinations between your brain and body, similar to any other physical skill.

     

    Most people, when they ask that question, want to hear a dramatic difference in their tone, or a huge expansion in their range, or the ability to “belt” high notes with ease. 

     

    Here’s the truth: improving your tone involves skillfully adjusting your articulators, including your soft palate, tongue, jaw, and lips, on top of singing with good breath support and healthy cord closure. Range extension is similar to stretching: your vocal folds must be trained to continue vibrating while they elongate, and many times, vowel modification needs to take place at the upper and lower extremes of your range. Belting requires excellent breath support, body engagement, cord compression, vowel modification and relaxation to avoid strain or damage. None of those skills appear overnight! They take dedicated practice. 

     

    With that said, you should absolutely begin to hear more consistency with your voice as you get into the habit of daily vocal exercise. You should hear a difference in your tone when you employ proper vowel modification, when you sing with a relaxed jaw, when you lift your soft palate to create more resonant space, or when you use a recommended exercise to achieve a specific purpose (like finding your mixed coordination with a NYAH exercise or increasing your cord closure with a GUH exercise). 

     

    The more specific your goals are, the easier it will be to track your progress. If your goal is just to “sound better”, how will you know when you’ve achieved it? “Better” is subjective!

     

    It’s frustrating and disheartening to put time into practicing and not hear results. We know that. We also know that you will increase your vocal ability with dedicated practice. Each lesson has a specific focus, with exercises to help you improve on that skill. Knowing why you’re doing a certain exercise is key to your success, and it’ll help you track your progress as you go! If you ever have questions about which exercises to use for a specific goal, or what the purpose of a specific exercise is, please feel free to ask in our instructor-moderated forum!

     

     We also encourage you to record yourself and listen back. Very few people like the sound of their own voice at first (including professional singers!), but it’s really helpful to help refine your goals and hear the results you’re working for. 

     

    Here are some elements and goals you can track as you go along:

     

    ·       Comfortable range: note your highest and lowest comfortable pitch at the start of the program, and see how you gradually increase that range

    ·       Tone: was your untrained tone overly nasal, or overly dark? How has it changed, as you’ve learned to adjust your jaw, soft palate, and amount of compression?

    ·       Vowels: have you achieved a more consistent tone when changing from one vowel to the next? Have you learned how to modify vowels for the best possible tone?

    ·       Registration: can you find (and comfortably sing in) your chest voice and head voice? Are you starting to identify mixed registration?

    ·       Posture: are you maintaining good posture when you sing?

    ·       Breath support: are you able to sustain pitches for longer than before?

     

    Those are just a few ideas! If you every feel stuck, or you don’t know which exercises to use to train a specific skill, ask a question on our forum or book a live lesson with an instructor for individual feedback.

     

    I really want to get better fast. How can I speed up my progress?

     

    There’s truly no benefit to rushing through the beginner course - we promise! In fact, we’ve heard the opposite from students who rushed through: they watched several lessons per day, hoping to get better FAST, and they ended up disappointed and vocally fatigued. As we’ve mentioned, the skills and coordinations that make up vocal technique take time like any other skill. But those same students - the ones who tried to fit a 30-day course into less than a week - tried it again, spacing out their lessons, and are now seeing the progress they were hoping for. 

     

    To progress as quickly as possible, we recommend rounding out your practice time with more than just singing. Incorporate ear training and active listening into your practice! See below for more specifics on how to do that, from another article for beginners: ‘One lesson per day? How to practice for the best results’

     

    What should my daily routine look like?

     

    Most importantly: get into the habit of exercising your voice every day. A complete warmup/exercise routine can be about 10-15 minutes and should start with easy, gentle exercises like lip trills, humming, or singing on an NG. You want to gradually open up to syllables that start with a consonant (like MUH or NO), and end with open vowels. It’s okay if you don’t always follow this format, but your warmup (and singing in general) will be easier if you start with gentle, closed exercises (including lip trills, MM, NN, singing through a straw, etc). You can find a variety of warm-up routines on our warm-up page! Day 2 of the 30-day beginner course also contains a complete, gentle warmup you can use daily. 

     

    Once you’re warmed up, you can follow along with a new lesson video. If you want more practice on that specific skill, feel free to repeat the exercises within that video. 

     

    If you have more time and want to keep practicing, here are a few ideas:

     

    1.     Active listening + analysis: listen to your favorite singers to analyze their style and technique. Look for live performances (no lip syncing!) and take note of their posture, mouth shape, vowels, etc. 

    2.     Listen to music from different genres: there’s something to learn (and hopefully something to like) in every style of music! It can be especially instructive to listen to the artists your favorite singers have cited as their influences, and see if you can hear similarities. 

    3.     Train your ears: to start out, use a virtual keyboard to get a reference pitch and see if you can match that pitch. See how close you can get with a chromatic tuner. We like https://www.harpkit.com/online-tuner and https://tuner.ninja/

    4.     Consider using an app like SingSharp (android + iPhone), PerfectPitch (iPhone only), or a karaoke app like Smule (android + iPhone), to analyze your pitch accuracy as you sing.

     

    For beginners especially: pay attention to how your voice feels! If you’re experiencing vocal fatigue, cut back on your vocal use and incorporate more listening into your routine as you build stamina. And if you’re ever experiencing a sore throat, please rest your voice! Return to singing when you feel healthy.

     

    Final thoughts:

     

    As with any new skill, you can expect the best results with focused practice in shorter sessions, over a longer period of time. For example: ten minutes a day for one week will produce better results than a single 70-minute session once a week. The more often you return to new skills and coordinations, the easier they sink in and start to become second nature. 

     

    That’s our ultimate goal: training healthy technique as we grow our skills so that healthy technique becomes muscle memory. That’s how we prevent injury AND ensure that even in a high-stress situation (like an audition or performance), our body will know what to do. So while it’s true that building muscle memory takes time, good singing technique can benefit you for the rest of your life.

     

    Best of luck, and happy practicing!

  • R
    Rezs 3 years ago

    Thank you very much indeed for your defination.❤️

    And my last question is , how many courses should we pass???

    Do you tell the next course to us???

     

  • C
    Camille van Niekerk 3 years ago

    You're welcome!

    We have 3 30-day beginner courses, which you're welcome to try out. Some students stick with one instructor, but many students like to try another instructor's course after completing one.

    Since each singer has different goals (and experience levels, even following the beginner course), the program is self-guided. I encourage you to look through each section on the site and see which tutorials interest you! Similar to regular in-person lessons, you can tailor your "program" to suit your needs and your future goals. 

    Outside of the beginner courses, we currently have 49 tutorials on the site, each with 3 main lessons (plus an intro + conclusion, and some also include a quick warmup). We are always busy developing new curriculum, and we typically shoot 1 new tutorial a week - we're just on hold temporarily (due to covid-19). You can expect more lesson series in the future, but in the meantime, please subscribe to our Youtube channel for new weekly live lessons (one hour of free instruction): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzENK0ja2bdwGkrIvaoLZxw

  • D
    Daniel Williams 1 year ago

    Your article answered my questions the impossible quiz about this topic, thank you very much for sharing the useful information. drift boss 

Please login or register to leave a response.