40 Proven Singing Tips for Beginners (From a Professional)

Are you looking to improve your singing voice? These 40 singing tips for beginners will help you learn how to sing better and achieve your desired vocal sound.

From warm-ups to breath control and throat care, we'll cover everything you need to know about singing correctly.

40 Proven Singing Tips for Beginners From a Professional

1. Be Your Own Voice

1. Be Your Own Voice

This is the most important on the list of singing tips for beginners I can impart. Discover your voice and hone your unique sound. Don't try to mimic other singers or compare yourself to them. Just be yourself and learn to love the voice you have!

If you do not have the vocal range of Rihanna or Beyoncé, that's fine! There are plenty of singers in history who didn't have traditional singing voices (whatever that means) or were told they could not sing but went on to have hugely successful careers.

2. Breathing Correctly

2. Breathing Correctly

One of the foundations of good singing is breath control. If you can't control your breath, you won't be able to hit those high notes or sing for long periods of time without running out of air.

Here are a few breathing exercises to help you get started:

  • Place one hand on your stomach and take a deep breath through your nose, letting your belly expand. As you exhale, push all the air out through your mouth.
  • Repeat this several times until you get the hang of it.
  • Try singing a scale on one note, inhaling deeply before each descending note, and exhaling as you sing each higher note.
  • Start by humming a scale, then move on to singing it out loud.

3. Choose a Singing Style Based on Your Voice

As I mentioned already, not everyone can sing like Beyoncé or Mariah Carey. That's OK! There are many different singing styles out there, so find one that suits your voice best.

If you have a powerful voice, you might want to try belting or rock singing. If you have a softer voice, ballads or folk songs might be more your style.

Experiment with different genres and styles until you find one that you're comfortable with.

4. Choose The Right Songs To Practice With

4. Choose The Right Songs To Practice With

When you're just starting, it's important to choose songs that are within your vocal range. Don't try to sing a song that's too high or low for you, as this will strain your voice.

As you get more comfortable with singing, you can start to expand your repertoire and try singing different types of songs.

5. Consider Having Professional Singing Lessons

5. Consider Having Professional Singing Lessons

My singing teacher was one of the best investments I ever made. Not everyone can afford to take singing lessons, but if you can, I highly recommend it.

A good singing teacher will be able to help you correct your bad habits, improve your vocal technique, and teach you how to sing with proper breath control and diction.

6. Don't Lift Your Chin as You Sing Higher Notes

One of the most common mistakes singers make is lifting their chin when they sing higher notes. This constricts your throat and makes it harder to sing.

Instead, keep your chin level with the horizon as you sing. This will help you maintain proper breath support and prevent strain on your vocal cords.

7. Don't Sing Too Breathy or Too Loud

Both singing too breathy and too loud can damage your vocal cords. You want to find a happy medium between the two.

8. Don't Sing Too Nasally

Nasal singing is often associated with beginners because it's the easiest way to produce sound. However, nasal singing will make your voice sound thinner and less resonant, reducing the quality of your voice.

To avoid this, try to focus on opening up your mouth and Sing From Your Diaphragm.

9. Find Your Chest Voice

Your chest voice is the lowest register of your singing voice. It's the sound you make when you speak in a low, deep voice.

To find your chest voice, try humming a low note and feeling the vibration in your chest. Once you've found it, try singing a scale in your chest voice to get comfortable with it.

10. Work on Your Head Voice

Your head voice is the highest register of your singing voice. It's the sound you make when you speak in a high, squeaky voice.

To find your head voice, try humming a high note and feeling the vibration in your head. Once you've found it, try singing a scale in your head voice to get comfortable with it.

11. Improve Your Hearing and Listening

11. Improve Your Hearing and Listening

Improving your hearing and listening skills, while it may seem like an obvious task for a singer, is often overlooked. If you can't hear well, you can't sing well. Make an effort to improve your hearing by attending concerts and listening to a variety of music genres. Also, get regular checkups from an ENT specialist to ensure that your ears are healthy.

12. Invest in a Singing Course

If you cannot afford private singing lessons, there are other ways to learn how to sing. There are many high-quality singing courses available online that can help you develop your vocal skills. Look for a course that provides feedback so that you can gauge your progress.

13. Keep Tabs of your Progress

Progress is essential when learning how to sing. Keep track of your vocal range, breath control, and tone quality by recording yourself regularly. This will help you identify any areas that need improvement.

14. Get Adequate Rest

14. Get Adequate Rest

Your voice is a muscle, and like all muscles, it needs rest to recover from strain. When you first start singing, you may need to take a break after every few minutes to avoid strain. As you get more experience, you'll be able to sing for longer periods of time without taking a break.

15. Learn from Online Video Lessons

Youtube is full of great vocal coaches with lessons and tips for singers of all levels. A quick search will bring up tons of videos on how to improve your singing voice. While some are better than others, there is no shortage of free information out there if you're willing to look for it.

16. Join or Start a Choir (If Not, Start a Group)

One of the best ways to improve your singing is to sing with a group of people. This will help you develop better blend, intonation, and pitch matching skills. Choirs are easy because if you already attend church, there is likely one already established. If not, starting your own group with friends is also a great option.

Of course, starting a group with like-minded singers is easier said than done. But, it is possible to find other singers in your area by searching online for singing groups or posting an ad looking for singers.

17. Enter Singing Competitions

17. Enter Singing Competitions

Singing competitions are a great way to push yourself and test your abilities against other singers. These competitions can also help you make connections and potentially jumpstart your singing career.

18. Enhance Your Ear Pitch

One of the best ways to improve your singing is to enhance your ear pitch. This can be done by practicing singing with a piano or any other musical instrument. By doing this, you will be able to identify the right notes and sing them perfectly. You can also try out different vocal exercises to improve your ear pitch.

19. Learn to Play an Instrument

19. Learn to Play an Instrument

Learning to play an instrument will help you understand music better and also enable you to create your own accompaniments. This will make your singing more interesting and enjoyable. You can start by learning simple songs on the piano or any other instrument of your choice.

You can also start to explore creative ideas for songs by creating your own instrumentals. This will help you understand how to structure a song and also give you a better idea of what works well with your voice.

20. Improve Your Flexibility

Increasing your flexibility will enable you to sing better and easily reach higher notes. You can improve your flexibility by doing some simple stretching exercises every day. Try to include some full-body exercises in your routine to improve your overall flexibility.

It might not seem as though it is important, but improving your flexibility is one of the best singing tips to improve your voice as a vocalist.

21. Drink Plenty of Water

21. Drink Plenty of Water

When learning how to sing, every vocal coach will tell you to drink a lot of water and stay hydrated.

Drinking plenty of water is important for maintaining a healthy vocal range. When you are well-hydrated, your vocal cords are able to vibrate more freely, producing a better sound. Drink plenty of water throughout the day to keep your vocal cords hydrated.

22. Avoid Smoking and Drinking Alcohol

22. Avoid Smoking and Drinking Alcohol

Smoking and drinking alcohol can damage your vocal cords and lead to hoarseness. If you smoke, consider quitting to improve the quality of your singing voice. Similarly, if you drink alcohol, try to limit your intake as much as possible.

23. Learn To Take Care of Your Singing Voice

Singers that take care of their voices tend to have longer careers than those that don't. If you want to be a singer, you need to treat your voice with care.

24. Want To Know How To Sing Better In 1 Minute? Learn Vocal Projection!

One of the most important aspects of singing is vocal projection. This is the ability to project your voice without strain or effort. Vocal projection is a result of proper breath support and diaphragmatic breathing.

While vocal projection is not easy to master, it is something that can be learned and exercised with practice. There are many exercises that you can do to improve your vocal projection. One of the best things you can do is to practice singing in different environments.

25. Make Sure You Are Not Tone Deaf!

25. Make Sure You Are Not Tone Deaf!

This falls in the category of “singing tips for bad singers”. Many singers don't realize how terrible they around, and are struggling to come to terms with the fact that no amount of singing tips and tricks for beginners will help them.

It might seem a bit extreme, but if you're tone-deaf, singing is not going to be for you.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for tone deafness, but if you think you might be afflicted, take an online test or visit a local ENT specialist to get confirmation.

Once you know for sure that you are tone-deaf, you may want to find something else to do with your time! But, if you still have your heart set on becoming a singer, you might find inspiration from this post I wrote about Famous Singers Who Were Told They Couldn't Sing!

26. 30-60 Minutes Daily Practice

Consistency is key when learning how to sing. The best way to improve your singing is to practice regularly. Aim for at least 30 minutes of practice every day. If you can, try to practice for 60 minutes or more.

Start by warming up your voice with some vocal exercises. Then, practice singing different songs that slightly challenge your vocal range. You can adjust as you improve.

27. Practice Scales

Scales are an important part of singing. They help you to develop a good ear for pitch and also improve your vocal range. When practicing scales, start with simple major and minor scales. As you get better, you can add more challenging scales to your routine.

There are many different ways to practice scales. You can use a piano or any other musical instrument to help you keep track of the notes. You can also find scale exercises online or in singing books.

28. Proper Use of Your Vocal Cords

Proper use of your vocal cords is essential if you want to become a better singer. The key is to keep them healthy and strong. Here are some tips:

  • Warm up before you sing. Just as you would warm up your muscles before exercising, you need to warm up your vocal cords before singing. A simple way to do this is to hum or scale up and down.
  • Sing from your diaphragm. This will help you project your voice and avoid strain on your vocal cords. Put one hand on your stomach and make sure that it's rising and falling as you sing.
  • Avoid yelling or screaming. Yelling puts a lot of strain on your vocal chords and can damage them over time. If you find yourself getting too loud, take a break or try speaking instead of singing.

29. Relax Your Jaw

One of the most basic singing tips for beginners, but certainly among the most useful. Any professional singer will tell you, one of the most important things you can do to become a better singer is to relax your jaw.

When you sing, your jaw should be loose and relaxed, not clenched tight. If your jaw is clenched, it will restrict the movement of your tongue and lips, which will, in turn, affect the sound of your voice.

So the next time you go to sing, make sure to take a few deep breaths and relax your jaw. You may find that your voice sounds better than ever before.

30. Relax Your Throat and Tongue

Another singing tip for beginners is to relax your throat and tongue. When you sing, your vocal cords vibrate to produce sound. The air that you exhale passes over your vocal cords, causing them to vibrate.

If your throat and tongue are tense, it can impede the vibration of your vocal cords and make it harder to hit the right notes. That's why it's important to relax your throat and tongue when you sing.

Once you get used to singing with a relaxed throat and tongue, you'll find that it's easier to control your voice and hit the right notes.

31. Self-Discipline

31. Self-Discipline

Mastery of any skill requires self-discipline. This is especially true when learning how to sing. There are no shortcuts to becoming a better singer. It takes time, patience, and practice.

If you want to improve your singing, you need to be willing to put in the work. That means setting aside time every day to practice, even when you don't feel like it.

It also means being willing to cut out bad food or habits that do not help your singing voice such as smoking or eating ice cream.

32. Sing Everything

I once met an amazing singer who told me that from a very young age, he would sing everything instead of reading it out loud.

For example, if he was reading a book, he would sing the words instead of speaking them. If he was in the car, he would sing the road signs.

This may sound crazy, but it actually helped him to develop a good ear for pitch and learn how to control his voice. So this could work for you to ensure you are getting enough practice hours in during the week!

33. Sing the Most Common Vowels

One of the most important things a singer can do is learn to control their vowel sounds. The five most common vowel sounds are “ah,” “ee,” “ih,” “oh,” and “oo.”

To produce these sounds, you need to use different parts of your mouth. For example, to make an “ah” sound, you need to open your mouth wide. To make an “ee” sound, you need to raise your tongue.

To get a better understanding of how to produce these sounds, find a vowel chart online or in a singing book. Then practice making the different vowel sounds.

34. Singing Diction

Diction is essential for any singer. When you sing, you need to be able to pronounce the words correctly so that your audience can understand what you're singing.

One way to improve your diction is to practice tongue twisters. Tongue twisters are phrases that are difficult to say quickly. They help you to enunciate better by forcing you to slow down and pronounce each word clearly.

Some popular tongue twisters for singers include “How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if the woodchuck could chuck wood?” and “She sells seashells by the seashore.” 

35. The Farinelli Breathing Exercise

The Farinelli breathing exercise is a great way for new singers to warm up their voice. By exhaling all of the air from your lungs, you force your vocal cords to vibrate at a higher frequency.

This produces a richer, fuller sound that is perfect for singing. The exercise is named after the 18th-century Italian castrato singer Carlo Broschi, better known as Farinelli.

Farinelli was renowned for his powerful vocal range and for his ability to sing for hours at a time without tiring. While the Farinelli breathing exercise will not give you his legendary vocal abilities, it will help you to produce a richer, fuller sound that is perfect for singing.

36. The Scared Breath

The breath is the foundation of all vocal production. Yet, for many new singers, the simple act of breathing correctly can be a challenge. The good news is that with a little practice, anyone can learn how to breathe correctly for singing.

The first step is to take a deep breath in through the nose, letting the belly expand. The diaphragm should then push down, filling the lungs with air. From there, the air should be exhaled slowly and steadily through the mouth. It's important to keep the jaw relaxed and allow the breath to flow out naturally.

When first starting out, it may be helpful to practice this breathing exercise with a partner. As you exhale, have your partner place their hand on your stomach.

They should feel the stomach expand as you take in a deep breath. With a little practice, you'll be able to do this on your own and be well on your way to singing with proper technique.

37. Tall Posture

37. Tall Posture

One of the most important things a singer can do is to maintain good posture. Not only does good posture help you to project your voice, but it also helps you to breathe correctly.

When singing, be sure to stand up straight with your shoulders back and down. Your stomach should be relaxed and your head held high. Avoid hunching over or slouching, as this can lead to shallow breathing and a strained voice.

If you're having trouble maintaining good posture, try singing in front of a mirror. This will help you to see if you're slouching or hunching over.

38. Throat Tea

38. Throat Tea

We have spoken about Throat Coat Tea and Throat Comfort Tea previously, both of which are great for soothing the throat.

Some of the ingredients in these teas include licorice root, marshmallow root, and slippery elm bark. These ingredients help to coat the throat and ease any inflammation or irritation.

Throat Tea is a great way to soothe the throat after a long day of singing. Be sure to drink it regularly to keep your throat healthy and hydrated.

39. Warm Up Your Voice Using Lip Trill

Lip trill is a great way to warm up your voice. It helps to loosen the muscles in your face and mouth, making it easier to produce sound.

To do a lip trill, simply close your lips and blow out through them as if you were trying to make a raspberry noise. Be sure to keep your tongue relaxed and out of the way.

Start by doing this for a few seconds at a time and gradually increase the length of time that you do it. Lip trill is a great way to warm up your voice before singing.

40. Vibrato Is Your Friend

40. Vibrato Is Your Friend

Vibrato is an important part of good vocal technique. It helps to add richness and depth to your voice.

Vibrato is produced by rapidly vibrating the vocal cords. This produces a wavering sound that is similar to the sound of a violin.

About Author

Arielle P

Arielle P

Songwriter | Music Producer | Engineer.

With a background in music production and a strong passion for education, Arielle is dedicated to helping emerging artists navigate the music industry. She has worked with a diverse range of artists, from indie rock bands to well-known hip-hop and grime artists. Arielle's unique approach to teaching focuses on empowering artists to take control of their brand, ensuring they retain creative ownership throughout their journey. In her free time, she enjoys experimenting with new sounds in her home studio and sharing her insights through music production tutorials and workshops.

📧 Email Arielle