Singing

Singing can be a very complicated task for some people. All throughout my years of school, I have been in a choir. Attempting to explain how to sing seems like it is much harder than just simply doing it. From what I’ve learned from my various choral teachers, warming up is the key. In order to feel prepared and comfortable, you must be loose and warmed up. Warming up consists of singing scales, doing various relaxation techniques, and sight reading. Sight reading can be one of the most challenging warm-up techniques. If you haven’t been involved with music for very long, sight reading can be your absolute worst nightmare. Fortunately, I was in band all throughout middle school, therefore I did much better at sight reading in high school. Once you feel like you have warmed up enough, it’s time to sing. Before you physically open your mouth, you need to know what pitch you are starting on. Normally, a pianist or teacher will play the first few notes to get you in the groove of things. Once those chords have been played for you, you can begin to sing. While singing, there are various aspects to look at. You have to pay attention to accents, dynamics, crescendos/decrescendos, tempo, and key changes. My high school choir teacher was awesome at pointing out all of these points to our class. We all learned so much last year about sight reading and dynamics. Singing can either be a natural talent, or be forced by a person. Overall, it's up to you whether singing is a strong or weak area for you. Hopefully this blog helped you learn a little bit more about how to sing!