How to train your voice to sing beautifully: exercises at home

September 30, 2019
Life style
Suleimanova Svetlana

How to train your voice at home? This is quite possible, but most people believe that singing is a gift from nature. Either we were born with it or we weren't. However, this is not at all true. Yes, genetics affects musical ear, voice, timbre, and so on, but a good voice is a skill that can be learned and mastered, like the others.

What exercises to use for voice training? Let's look at this in our article.

Voice training

We need to start with the basics. Let's explore voice training exercises and also get acquainted with professional tips to help improve your singing. Here they are:

1. Warm up the ligaments. This will help prevent injury. When a person sings, his vocal cords constantly vibrate. Therefore, before the process itself, you need to warm them up, just like the muscles before training. To do this, you need to inhale and exhale through your mouth for 2 minutes.

2. Drink water often. This advice is useful not only for those losing weight, but also for singers. When singing, your throat dries out faster than when talking. If you drink a lot of water, your ligaments become “lubricated”, like a mechanism in a car.

3. Take the correct posture. We think that singing is only influenced by the vocal cords. This is wrong. The diaphragm also takes part in this. To sing beautifully, you need the right posture. You need to pull your shoulders back a little, straighten your chest as much as possible, and keep your body straight. In this case, it is necessary to relax the muscles.

4. Record your voice. What is it for? When a person hears his voice in a recording, he can more easily determine what is wrong in order to identify his weak points and not repeat mistakes in the future.

5. How to train your voice for singing? Play your favorite musical compositions more often. To do this, it is better to choose one genre and not change it. This way you can practice and learn the basics of singing. In addition, this activity always lifts your spirits.

YouTube channels

Sometimes a good theory must be supported by practice. In voice production, it is also very important to clearly understand what is required of you. Therefore, I have prepared several YouTube channels where you will see lessons on vocals and speech training. You will understand how to breathe using the example of a video with a teacher, and learn other vocal nuances.

Vocal Academy
John Kalligan
Vocal Zen / Vocal Lessons
Nikolai Fokeev Vocal School / Vocal Lessons
Voice Workshop of Sergei Vostretsov

Exercises for voice and speech development

We found out how to start learning to sing. Now let's talk about diction. To sing beautifully, you need to train your voice for speech. You can do the exercises yourself at home. The words in songs can be difficult and intricate, but you need to move from line to line smoothly, without stuttering. To learn this, you need to do the following exercises for voice training and correct beautiful speech:

As you begin, pay attention to the position of the organs in your mouth. The tongue should not be too raised, and the lips should not be spread wide. Keep an eye on this while singing and talking.
Practice words with repeating sounds. Try to have them at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of words. The sounds being practiced must be paired. For example, the combinations “p-b”, “g-k”, “z-s”. You can also combine sounds with vowels, for example, “dbi-dbe-dba” or “gzi-gze-gza.”
Practice sounds to such an extent that you pronounce them very clearly and quickly.
Practice pronouncing tongue twisters. Forget all the ones you are already good at. Purposefully look for new ones, pronouncing them with different intonations.

These exercises for voice and speech will help you at the beginning of your creative journey

Recommendation from the author of the blog – Pavel Butor

Friends, if you want to learn how to sell coolly through voice, then you need to go to Mikhail Kravchenko. He is an expert in the art of public speaking.

I met Misha on Fr. Bali in January 2021 at the Accel anti-conference. Incredible charisma, voice and presentation. He instantly captured our attention - we met and talked.

Me with Mikhail Kravchenko on Accel

I'll tell you what Mikhail will teach. You will never again:

be afraid to go live;
worry about speaking in public;
prohibit yourself from speaking confidently;
sell for small checks;
Drain audiences on webinars;
eat words;
avoid recording videos and Stories;
be ashamed of your own speech.

Why doesn't your webinar bring in 1 million?

And if it brings, then why doesn’t it bring 2, 3, 5?

Most experts lose money right here, on the webinar! Weak engagement, retention, completion, low number of registrations and, as a result, shortfall in payments.

No one comes to a topical webinar if they are not interested in the topic and are not ready to buy. And then the question is only for you: “Why did 100 people come to the webinar and buy 10, and not 50, for example?” Mikhail also has such cases.

It's all about you. More precisely, in your sale. Submission. The ability to involve, grab the audience “by the metaphorical balls” and bring it to the end - to the offer. After all, this is obvious: in order for your offer to interest a potential buyer, he must first hear it.

Mikhail Kravchenko helps experts and online schools with a turnover of 1 million rubles increase audience engagement and retention at webinars and increase conversion to applications and payments up to +30% in 2 months through voice training and detailed development of a sales speech.

Misha will teach you to speak in such a way that people, listening to you, will not only stay until the end of the webinar, but will not even leave the computer to go to the toilet. So that they feel as if “an angel has descended from heaven” and is whispering in their ear. Not less.

It will reveal your individuality, charisma, natural charm and magnetism. Will teach you how to control your voice in order to better convey key meanings to the audience. Your performances will have a hypnotic effect.

Mikhail works with the best and only individually. His clients:

Nikolay Mrochkovsky is one of the founders of the online education market in Russia and the holder of the Guinness record for the largest online business training;
Vitaly Kuznetsov – founder of the Federation of Online Business and the best expert on startups in Russia;
Sergei Teplykh - man of the year according to JQ, performed at the Olympic Stadium for 25 thousand people;
Ajit is the highest paid tantra trainer in Russia and the founder of LYAM-DOM.

All of them are participants in Misha’s individual coaching “Voice in a Million”.

After all, a webinar that brought in 5 million can bring in 10. And voice is one of the most important criteria that most players in the market do not take into account. But the best ones are used.

Your voice and its sound are your personal signature. This is a brand that is expensive. This is a status that inspires trust.

Sign up for a consultation in the header of Mikhail Kravchenko’s Instagram profile.

Ear for music

Why develop it? Without an ear for music, it is impossible to grasp the motive or sing the correct verse or chorus. That is why it is necessary to develop hearing. Here are some exercises that will help with this:

You will need a musical instrument or an appropriate application on your phone. With its help, you need to reproduce: “do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-si-do”, while singing them, trying to hit the notes. Play scales from the very beginning to the end, and then in reverse order: “do-si-la-sol-fa-mi-re-do.” In one approach, this action needs to be done about 30 times in order to remember and feel each note.
An exercise called "Echo". It is suitable not only for adults, but also for children. Listen to the song and then try to reproduce it yourself. Do it out loud. You can learn line by line. Repeat not only the words correctly, but also the motive. Don't move on to the next one until you get the previous one right. This is done in order to hit each note clearly and correctly.
Musical notation. Learn to read notes, compare their sound with the melody of the song. Then this will help the ear for music begin to develop faster, and the reproduction of sounds will become more meaningful and understandable.
Sing intervals. To complete this exercise you will need a musical instrument. An interval is the distance between two notes. For example, “do-re”, “do-mi”, “do-fa”, “do-sol”, “do-la”, “do-si”. Climb up the note “steps” and then go down them.
Singing adjacent notes, for example, “do-re”, “do-si-do”.
Studying the classics. When we strive to succeed at something, we become more interested in that subject. Interest in the classics will arise just when learning the basics of singing. It happens that a complex chord is much easier to remember if you memorize the motive in which it is contained.

Proper oral hygiene

Every person’s morning should begin with brushing their teeth and tongue. But if he is faced with the task of improving his voice, then this must be done with special care.

In the morning, it is imperative to get rid of excess saliva and mucus in the oral cavity, which accumulate during the night and interfere with the ability to clearly pronounce sounds. This is why your voice may sound hoarse or squeaky after waking up.

Improving your speech and its sound will be much more effective if in the morning you not only brush your teeth, but also treat the surface of your tongue.

Beautiful voice

How to train your voice? This question is often asked by those who want to learn to sing on their own. Once you have learned to speak clearly and quickly, you should move on to singing exercises. At the same time, the voice itself will become lower, the range will expand, and the pronunciation will improve several times. The main thing is that before starting exercises to develop your voice, record how it sounds in the first lesson, and after several weeks of training, compare it with what it sounds like. You need to do the following:

Stand in front of the mirror and begin to pronounce vowel sounds in the sequence “ee-a-a-o-u”, stretching out each of them until you can’t breathe. Why this particular sequence? The fact is that this exercise begins with the sound “i”, which has the highest frequency. All other sounds follow as this indicator decreases. Each sound has a unique feature. For example, “and” when stretching will cause you to feel a slight vibration of the skin when you put your hands on your head.
Now activate your diaphragm by making the sound “m” with your mouth closed three times a day. At the same time, it must be pulled out as if it were a vowel (“mm-mm-mm”). Pronounce the sound quietly the first time, then a little louder, and then very loudly, so that the vocal cords tense. If after exercise the next day they hurt, then next time you need to pronounce the sounds less loudly, reducing the range of sound.
The sound “r” gives the voice an assertive sound, energy and strength. Prepare for the exercise by raising the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth and making the “r” sound. You should get some kind of growl. After this, begin to pronounce this sound expressively and with different intonations in the words “role”, “steering wheel”, “ruble”, “ring”, “snout”, “risk”, “lynx”, “rhythm”, “product”, “ cheese", "cook", "frost". Use words in which the sound is in different parts of the word and is also repeated, for example, “terrace”.
Exercise "Tarzan". You must do it without fail if you are interested in how to train your voice. It is an effective completion of the tasks we described above. You need to do exercise number 1, making sounds in the same sequence, but at the same time you need to hit yourself on the chest with your fists (just not too hard, so as not to harm yourself).

All exercises will give a more effective effect if performed in the morning. In addition, you will be charged with positive energy for the whole day, and your breathing will be easy.

Treatment

In case of hoarseness, vocal rest is required. You can't talk at all, especially in a whisper. Such speech strains the ligaments more than trying to speak loudly.

Recommendations for voice restoration:

Drink plenty of warm drinks to moisturize the ligaments and remove toxins released by the cold pathogen.
Herbal infusions - chamomile and thyme help reduce inflammation, and ginger tea relieves hoarseness.
Humidifying the air prevents the ligaments from drying out, which speeds up the return to normal voice.

If hoarseness appears against the background of an acute respiratory viral infection, you can use drugs for symptomatic treatment. They will help you recover faster and regain the ability to speak normally.

Medicines:

Antibiotics are necessary for acute laryngitis and high temperature from 38.5°C for longer than 3-5 days, as well as for tuberculosis infection.
Anti-inflammatory sprays - Hexoral, Cameton and others reduce the severity of inflammation.
Lozenges for resorption - Falimint, Strepsils and the like have an enveloping effect on the ligaments, relieving pain.

If you follow all the recommendations and follow the prescribed treatment, your voice can be restored in 3-4 days. Other remedies - cognac, raw eggs or hot beer - give a quick but temporary effect. It will last for an hour or two, after which the cords will feel even worse, and the voice may disappear completely.

Dear patients! Remember that only a qualified doctor can make an accurate diagnosis, determine the causes and nature of the disease, and prescribe effective treatment. You can make an appointment with our specialists or call a doctor at home by calling 8-(4822)-33-00-33

Be healthy and happy!

How to increase your vocal range

This indicator changes for each person throughout his life. It is possible to expand it until the age of 9, but it is useless, since children are just developing their vocal cords. After 10-12 years, you can start exercising, because at this age the chest expands and the voice becomes more mature. You may have noticed this in your children or remember it happening to you yourself. How to train your voice to increase its range? To do this, you can use the following exercises:

Start with a simple chant. Please note that each person has his own primary zone. This is the range in which he is comfortable singing and speaking. Start chanting from this zone. Your singing should be light and free, without tension. Breathing should be taken after moving to each link. Work your way up gradually to the highest notes and then start moving down. Make sure your voice is natural. Notice how it changes in different parts of the chant, after which notes does it become completely different? Notice when the voice goes over the chest. Are you comfortable singing in this tessitura? If so, then this is the lowest part of your range.
How to train a beautiful voice? Choose a chant in the octave range and sing it only on vowel sounds, for example, on the syllables “la”, “yu”, “mu”. It is in the upper notes that this chant will help expand the range.
You can choose a song with big jumps and a wide range, like “Ave Maria.” Start in a tessitura that is comfortable for you. This will also help expand it. In addition, you will learn the limits of your capabilities.
Sing in one manner, but at the same time make leaps from top to bottom by sixth. It may be difficult at first, but after a few weeks of hard work, everything will work out.

These tips will help to significantly expand the range of your voice, and you will be able to sing any composition beautifully.

Speech method of singing ↑

Long and persistent breathing training is needed if the vocalist performs in academic genres - for example, singing in opera. Pop performers approach singing from a different perspective. They use the so-called speech method - when the vocalist sings with the larynx, achieving complete relaxation and immobility. In this case, the sound flows more freely, and the vocal cords do not experience excessive tension. For singing in a speaking position, vocal breathing exercises are really not particularly relevant. Much more important is the ability to control the muscles of the larynx.

Training articulation ↑

How to learn to speak beautifully

Now let's turn your attention to the main voice. It, like singing, also needs to be trained. There are special exercises for this. They will help you understand how to train your voice to speak beautifully. You need to do the following:

Find a random tongue twister on the Internet and say it so that only the consonants are heard. Do the same with vowels. They should be drawn out, but at the same time dull.
Say the same tongue twister, but now in a completely different tone, intonation and voice. Listen to your words. Try to determine the epicenter of your own voice, to understand in what tone it sounds more natural. Do the exercise again, but adding, for example, tilting your head in any direction.
Read the tongue twister, placing your tongue on your lips, changing the pronunciation of vowels.
Try reading some text in one breath. Exhale. Next, inhale through your nose in the passages where you need to pause.

After these exercises, read the text in a normal voice. Try to feel the difference before and after exercise.

Advice from professionals

One singer was asked how he achieved such a beautiful sound in his voice. “How did I train my quiet and slurred voice?” - he asked again and talked about the exercises that helped him with this. It turns out that you need to do this:

the essence of this exercise is to open your mouth and begin to move your jaw in different directions;
lean in any direction, pronouncing vowel sounds and stretching them out, then rise carefully and smoothly, then start leaning again, but in the other direction;
to stretch your tongue, move it quickly for about 3 minutes, but it should not protrude from your mouth;
open your mouth, stick out your tongue, then lift its tip and touch each tooth.

Take a hearing test online

What does a hearing test tell you?
An online hearing test allows you to quickly and easily determine your hearing status. In just 3 minutes you can determine its spiciness. The result of the hearing test is called an “audiogram” and is an indication for doctor’s prescriptions.

We suggest the following hearing tests: signs of hearing loss; online frequency hearing test; hearing test in noise; speech recognition; modeling signs of hearing loss.

Take a hearing test

What to do if your speech is slurred

A slight speech impediment can be observed in people who have problems with the articulatory apparatus. Pathologies can be congenital or acquired. They cause people to swallow individual sounds and entire syllables during conversations, making them difficult to understand. In many cases, the defect can be eliminated with the help of special exercises:

say long words with many vowels several times a day;
recite poems out loud. At the same time, watch the rhythm.

These exercises will help correct slurred speech, and others will begin to understand you.

How to Improve Speech Clarity

If during a conversation you often have to repeat the same words, and the interlocutor does not understand you, then we can conclude that your speech is unclear. This needs to be fixed. Here are exercises that will help you:

You can't rush during a conversation. Control your breathing. When you take a breath, start speaking. Exhale slowly while doing this. Then breathing will occur in unison with speech. This will cause you to take your time.
Take your time when speaking. During public speaking, many people speak quickly and haltingly. To prevent this from happening, take a short break and calm down. Then continue the conversation.
Swallow excess saliva in your mouth. Its remnants prevent us from pronouncing the letters “k” and “s”. It is important to remember that you should not swallow saliva in the middle of a sentence, as it will come out unsaid.
Think about everything you want to say. Clearly spoken words are as important as the message you want to convey to people.
Rehearse. If you have to give a speech, anxiety may prevent you from saying what you intended. You may also begin to speak confusingly, jumping from one topic to another. Rehearsing will help you overcome these difficulties.
Repeat those words that seem difficult to you. Learn to pronounce them correctly. Then you won’t have an “accidental” reservation in the company.

Common mistakes

When learning to sing at home, people often make the following mistakes:

They try to repeat the performance of the song in the same way as famous singers do. There is no need to do this, you are not parodists. Above we looked at how to train a beautiful voice. Expand its range, perfect your ear for music. However, sing in your own voice.
Classes are conducted on a case-by-case basis. This problem occurs frequently. If you study one day a week for 3 hours, you will not achieve significant success. If you practice 5 times a week for an hour, the results will be much better.
Psychological constraint. You won't succeed if you always think you're doing something wrong.