Top Singing Tips | Recording Artists Guild

Improve your singing with Successful Singing and free singing tips and resources as per Recording Artists Guild.

Whether you are a professional singer, sing in a band or community choir. Perhaps you join in at your local on the karaoke, or just sing in the shower, there’s something here for everyone.     Why not pick up a few singing and performing tips from our free guides, or browse the above tabs to see our large range of backing tracks, sheet music, song books, equipment and accessories.

The human voice is one of the most fragile instruments, and is incredibly difficult to master. If you want to learn how to sing well, it’s going to be a long battle, but here are some great singing tips to help you avoid some common pitfalls.

 Breathe from the diaphragm.

You really need to control the air that you’re expelling when you sing, and breathing from the diaphragm gives you more control to do this.  Breathe in so that you feel your stomach moving gently outwards when you inhale.

Practice your scales.

Yes they can be boring, but they really will exercise your singing muscles and help strengthen your voice and extend your range.  They will also help your sense of pitch.

Don’t strain your voice.  

Warm up before you start and don’t try to sing too loud or too high as you might damage your vocal cords. Take it slow and steady and you’ll sing well in no time. Keep your practice time to an hour or so a day, then move up if you feel like it. If you ever feel like your voice is straining, or if you feel soreness or pain, stop right away.

Seek out people’s opinion.

Learning to sing well takes a long time, and during this time you may hear people’s comments about your voice. Use their comments constructively and if there is something you can improve on, try to work on the problem.

Make recordings of yourself

This is the best way to hear your problems, because you can separate yourself from your voice and listen to what other people hear. You may not like the sound of your voice at first, but keep at it; you’ll improve vastly, and you’ll start to notice stuff you like about your voice and really expand on those things.

Talk to established singers.

Most of them will be happy to give you some tips and exercises that helped them out, and any time you need to ask for directions, the best idea is to ask the person that’s already at your destination.

Eat and drink well.

Eat healthy and drink plenty of water. Don’t do anything that’ will affect your voice and prevent you from singing well. Caffeine isn’t particularly good for you, as is anything that causes mucous build-up like dairy products (drinking milk before singing is a particular bad choice). Don’t smoke or drink too much alcohol as this can really affect your singing voice.

Sing for the style.

If you’re singing country, listen to country singers. If you’re singing rock, listen to rock singers, etc. Notice things that are the same in each style and emulate those. Be careful, however, to keep your voice unique, and not to simply copy another singer’s voice. Allow your personality and your voice to come out in your music.

 Experiment with different sounds. 

Play around with different sounds. If you sang something with a nasal sound or perhaps a growl, would it improve what you are trying to convey in your song.  Have fun too singing your songs in a different genre, or in the style of a different singer.

 Stay positive!

If you’ve had a bad session, that doesn’t mean your voice is going to be bad forevermore. Have a break, address the problem and try again another day. Don’t get down on yourself, and don’t think that your voice is bad, Mindset is definitely a big part of singing, and you need to be positive. If you don’t think you sound good, neither will anyone else.

Tips on Writing Music | Recording Artists Guild

 Write the Lyrics for Your Song

Many musicians write their own melodies as well as the lyrics. If you already have lyrics, consider them when writing your melody. Some questions to ask you before composing the music are: What words do I want to focus on? Are there note lengths or timing that will accommodate certain words better than others will?

Consider the following line: I DROVE my CAR down the HIGHWAY. The emphasized words DROVE, CAR and HIGHWAY give the listener an idea of what is going on, even if these are the only words they hear. On the other hand, if you sing the same line but emphasize different words: I drove MY car DOWN THE highway. The listener might have no idea what you're singing about.

You can emphasize words with a louder note, changing the note itself, a longer note or including a rest before or after the note. Experiment with your song and see what sounds the best

Listen to and Learn from Other Composers

There is something to be learned from every single musician or band out there. Listen to how your favorite musicians construct their songs—examine the style, the tone, how different instruments work together and so on and so forth. You can implement many of the same ideas into your own music or even take some of their riffs and tweak them to fit your style. This is a great way to come up with new melodies.

Use Music Composition Software

Music composition software can be a musician's best friend. These programs aid in the writing process by organizing your work and allow you to see what you're playing. Quality software packages provide features including a metronome to keep beat, playback, so you can listen to what you've composed, input, so you can hook your instrument or microphone directly to your computer and notate a song you play or sing and tons of editing tools so you can easily compose a riff.

Look for Musical Inspiration

Before writing a piece of music, it's critical to feed your mind inspiration. Inspiration comes from all around us: our emotions, relationships, nature, people and experiences—some songs are even about surreal situations. A big part of finding inspiration is putting you in situations that rouse inspiration and then recognize it when it comes.

We all have different people come into our lives; relationships have always been hot topic for songwriters. To generate other ideas get out of the house, go somewhere, and do something. This could even be something as simple as walking in the park or down the street. You'll be amazed where inspiration can be found.

Have Fun

You first started writing music because you love music. If you're not enjoying composing music, then do something else for a while. People tend to do what they love best.

There is No Wrong Answer in Music Composition

Writing music is one of those things you can do and never make a mistake. Some melodies are catchier than others are, and everyone will write some bad stanzas. It's all right; that's why we have revisions. Remember this while writing music: it will make you feel better and help you avoid writer's block.

Define Your Music Composition Goal

Are you writing music for yourself or for other people? This alone will totally change the tone and style of your music. If you are writing for yourself, you have more freedom to write what and how you want.

In contrast, if you are writing for other people, it is a good idea to identify your target audience and write music they will enjoy.

Seek Advice and Opinions

People are always willing to give advice and opinions; take their comments into consideration when writing music. Give your music to family members and friends to get their opinion of your songs. Though people close to you may be biased, their comments are still valuable.

Do Something Different

It's easy to get stuck in a rut and all of your songs begin to sound the same. Even if you've found a great combination of notes or a catchy beat, changing it can be good and help you grow as a composer.

An easy way to try something new is pick up an instrument you haven't played before. Sometimes you find yourself playing the same old keys or strumming the same chords on your guitar. A different instrument can lead you to melodies you may not have thought of otherwise.

Practice, Practice and More Practice

There is no substitute for hard work and practice—it is the only formula that will guarantee you will become a better songwriter.

Some Ways to Get Your Music Noticed | Recording Artists Guild

Like it or not, it isn't just about the music – it's about getting yourself noticed. If you're looking for ways to stand out, may Recording Artists Guild suggest the following:-

Shoot a video

Every website worth its salt now carries video, and that means you absolutely need a video to go with your music. But forget about hiring in Godley & Crème - the great news is that they're nowhere near as hard or as expensive to create as they once were. With a cheap video camera (£200) and video editing software, you'll have something half decent in no time.

The editing software will quite often resemble your music sequencer, so you'll soon be mixing, blending and adding effects just like the pros. As for the content, well that's up to you, but staring moodily across wind-swept moors and stone circles should be off the agenda. Try something different or play to your strengths. If you have an unusual image then focuses on that. If you're a great live band than simply film a good gig. If you're ugly, use CGI! There are so many great packages out there that you can make even poorly-shot stuff look presentable, so you really should go for it.

Rope someone famous in                

With millions of reality TV Z-liters all vying for attention, there's a good chance you know someone – or know someone who knows someone – who's famous. At least a little bit, anyway. And the less famous they are, the more likely it is that they'll want the extra exposure that you can promise them by appearing on your song or in your video. Got someone who used to be in a second-rate sitcom down the road from you? Washed-up soap star holed up in your local? Ex child TV star working in your supermarket? Get them in your video, write a song about them, and get it out there. It's an instant story that could help sell your songs (and ultimately your soul, but we won't go there).

Shock tactics!

Probably only for the desperate, this, but what the hell. Think of something that will have Daily Mail readers spitting into their Oval tine. Being incredibly juvenile here really does help, but we loved Apex Twin when he superimposed his hairy head on to a bikini-clad body for a cover (or did he?). Think along the lines of the Oxford Student Union and you'll get the drift. Court controversy, light the touch paper and stand back. Remember: there's no such thing as bad publicity.

Get a musical gimmick

Roping in a celebrity is a great way to go down the gimmick route, but if you think this cheapens your art, be a bit clever and go down the musical gimmick route to achieve notoriety. Shortest track? Longest track? Bowel-moving bass? You know the score. Use your music technology knowledge to create something that will spin into a story.

Go insane

There was a guy on a forum who would open up threads with comments like 'MY MUSIC IS GOING TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD'. He was shot down in flames, of course. But he posted so much, to so much angry response, that he actually generated publicity for his music – you simply had to check it out to see if it was as good as he said, or as bad as everyone else said!

This kind of tactic is annoying, and we're still not sure if this guy was playing people or if he really was mad, but he got results.

Get messed up

As Bill Hicks pointed out: if you're anti drugs, then chuck out your record collection. Indeed, many classic recordings were made under the influence of just about everything, so there's a good argument for breaking the law, getting high and making music. But be warned: for every classic album there's a shambolic mess that 'sounded good at the time', so while it might seem like a great idea, we're not advocating becoming a drug-crazed fool and landing you in trouble.

Get some help

It's all very well generating your own publicity but, let's face it, you're too busy losing it, getting messed up and making music for that, so, if you have faith in your art, get someone else to promote it. Get yourself a manager or a PR company. Both will spin stories for the media and both will cost, but you got to have faith.

Get on TV

Nowadays it's almost hard not to be on TV. There are now so many channels with so much airtime to fill that getting on the box is much easier than you might think.

Be warned, though, TV can be the quickest way to stardom but also the fastest way back down to obscurity, so if you play with fire, expect to get burnt and end up on a 'where are they now?' show.

Get a weird look

What do you think about when we say: 'Marilyn Manson'? Is it his pumping Goth music or the fact that he looks like he's going to kill you? And what about that band of 'monsters' who won Eurovision a couple of years back? Do you remember the tune? Thought not. They have a look that gained them notoriety but almost at the expense of their art – so you have to tread a fine line here. An image is essential, so push it as far as you can without detracting from your sound. The more extreme, the bigger the headlines, but for longevity you might want to tone it down just a bit.