Do you want to extend your vocal range so you can sing and hold higher and lower notes?
Or do you want to fine tune your vocal pitch so you can always sing in tune?
Want to improve your confidence when singing in front of friends, family, or in your choir or band?
Your vocal ability doesn’t have to be hit-and-miss anymore. Not if you have Singorama, the complete guide to teach yourself to sing like a professional.

There are a many vocal exercises that you can use to improve the quality and tone of your voice. Some of these exercises can even help you develop a broader vocal range. Here are a few of the most effective excercises to get you started:

Warm-Ups

Your vocal chords need to be warmed up before you sing. Warming up helps protect your pipes from injury, and it also helps you sing a lot better.

First, practice singing up and down the C chromatic scale a half-step at a time. This will force you to hit lots of subtle notes, and will give your voice a smoother quality.

The yawning technique is another effective approach. Open your mouth and sing a note. Now, without pausing for breath, keep singing the note while you change the pitch. Think of the way your voice gets higher when you yawn. This exercise should have a similar effect. Use it to go from the bottom of your range to the very top.

Try to spend between 10 to 15 minutes warming up before you rehearse or perform.

Vocal Exercises for Improved Range

One popular exercise to help you increase your vocal range involves playing notes on an instrument and singing along with them until you can’t sing any higher (or lower). With the help of a tuning device or a musical instrument, you can quickly identify your natural vocal range.

Other range-expanding vocal exercises focus on building a strong middle voice, which is a voice that combines the chest and head voices. Practice singing across your natural vocal break. As you sing, pay attention to where each note vibrates in your throat. Chest voice notes will vibrate lower in your vocal chords; head voice notes often vibrate at the back of your soft palate.

Practice these notes until you can routinely produce them with good quality and voice control. Go a step higher each week until you can sing well above your natural range.

Vocal Exercises for Secure Pitch

Perfect pitch comes naturally to a rare few individuals. Most of us have to practice at it. Fortunately, there are vocal exercises that can help you improve your pitch.

The easiest way is to play a note on an instrument or in a sound software program, and sing that note as it plays. When you match the pitch perfectly, there will be a resonance that isn’t present when you sing off-pitch.

You can also practice pitch with other vocalists. Try harmonizing with another singer or two, with one singer taking the higher notes, one taking middle notes, and one taking lower notes. When you’re all on pitch, the result will be a resonating harmony.

Vocal Exercises for Improved Volume

Volume is another important part of vocals. Sometimes you will need to sing at a higher volume, especially if you sing opera or rock music, or if you sing with a band that plays loudly.

Finding your natural volume is a lot like finding your natural range. Simply start out at a regular volume, singing in your speaking voice. Sing gradually louder until you can no longer sing comfortably. That is your natural volume range.

You can increase your volume by identifying your diaphragm (the band of muscle beneath your ribcage) and using it to push out your voice as you sing. Exhale sharply; the muscle that tightens when you exhale is your diaphragm.

The above vocal exercises will help you identify and increase your natural range and volume, and add power to your notes. Practice daily to develop the best tone possible.

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This article comes to you courtesy of Singorama:
http://www.singorama.com

If you are serious about being the best singer that you possibly can be, then you really need to have your own copy of Singorama.
It is the ultimate singing guide for vocal training, no matter if you are are beginner, intermediate, or advanced. It offers many more features and functions than other learn-to-sing packages, and
it does it better. See for yourself:
http://www.singorama.com

Sing like a professional starting today!
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If you want to be a better singer, there can be no more frustrating thing than not knowing how to practice in order to make improvements. You may have the passion for singing, but that is not always enough. You want the confidence to be able to really perform. You may want to sing in a choir or a band, but feel your singing isn’t at that level yet. I have something to share with you that’s going to take you to your desired level and beyond, and change forever the way you feel about singing. It doesn’t matter what level of singing you are at, you have to see how it can help you.

Many people dream of being great singers, but very few really take the steps required to learn. Here are some quick tips that will teach you how you can learn to sing better, on your own or with assistance:

How to Learn Singing – Before You Begin

Before you begin, listen to a lot of different singers performing songs in various genres. This will help you settle on a style that best suits your voice and personality. Do you want to sing rock music? Opera? Maybe country and western or rhythm and blues suits your style best.

Next, start practicing to find your natural vocal range. Sing a note that you can comfortably hit. Then sing progressively higher notes until your sound quality decreases. Go back to the first note and then sing down the scale to find the bottom of your range.

This is an informal exercise, but it will help you get an idea of which notes you can comfortably sing, and which ones you need to work on.

Self-Study

Many vocalists teach themselves to sing. Learning to sing by listening to other singers, without formal training, is called ‘singing by ear’. While some classically trained vocalists frown on this approach, it can lay the foundation for strong pitch recognition.

The problem with learning to sing by ear is that you can develop bad habits that are difficult to break later in life. Professional lessons can be expensive, though. Many singers find middle ground by using self-study courses.

Self-study singing courses typically contain videos or audio files that guide you through warm-ups and vocal exercises. They can help you expand your lung capacity, control your breathing, increase your vocal range, and sing smoothly across your vocal breaks.

If you decide to go this route, read reviews before you purchase a product. Some systems are better than others, so user reviews can be very helpful. You can find self-study singing courses online, or at your local library or book store.

Professional Help

If you would prefer to do your learning face-to-face, consider signing up for singing lessons. Look for voice coaches in your area, or get a referral from friends who have had a good experience with a particular instructor.

If the cost of voice lessons is a little steep for your budget, try joining a choir at your school, church, or community center. This will give you access to an instructor and other singers that you can trade tips and techniques with.

Advanced Techniques

After you’ve spent some time practicing, you might decide that you really enjoy singing and want to do more of it. It can be a little daunting to sing solo when you’re accustomed to singing with a group, but a little practice will decrease nervousness.

You can use your self-study course or your instructor to learn advanced techniques like perfecting your head voice, reaching into your falsetto range, and developing a vibrato. You will also learn to read music and transpose your favorite songs into a different key so that you can sing them easily.

Now you know how to learn singing without putting a huge dent in your bank account. Have fun experimenting with different musical styles and gaining confidence in your voice!

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This article comes to you courtesy of Singorama:
http://www.singorama.com

If you are serious about being the best singer that you possibly
can be, then you really must have Singorama as part of your
singing toolkit. It’s the ultimate in vocal training, no matter
if you are are beginner, intermediate, or advanced. It offers many
more features and functions than other learn-to-sing packages, and
it does it better.

Many people email Singorama telling them they’ve increased their
vocal range by an octave. Others have fine-tuned their vocal
performance to take out competitions and excel in choirs and bands.
Check out the success stories on their website. The next success
story could be you!

http://www.singorama.com

Sing like a professional starting today!
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Many piano players favorite site for piano sheet music has added a section with advice about how to play pop songs on piano. The website is Piano Street (pianostreet.com) and some useful advice can be found on the pop piano page.

There are instructions on how to use lead sheets versus ready piano arrangements and a top list of the most popular songs among piano players.
Currently Adele seems to be unbeatable but it is interesting to note that not only regular pop singers but also pianists like Yiruma with the hugely popular River Flows in You are on the top list.

Technology has fundamentally changed the music business. Online music services, iPods, affordable production methods, social media and more have made this industry far different in the past year alone for both consumers and the people who make music. What does the future hold as we continue our musical journey into the high tech future? Here’s a series of posts about changes affecting the entire industry and where things may go in the near future.

The Death of Physical Media: The compact disc hit the market in the early 80s. It’s hard to believe it’s been 30 years. Unlike how discs replaced records in a similar lifespan, there is no physical media emerging right now that will overtake CDs. This is because physical media is dead. All physical media will vanish as going to a store and picking up an actual copy of a release becomes a quaint reminder of the old days. Legal digital downloads have become far too cheap and easy just as smartphones, iPods and MP3 have grown in popularity, creating a lethal combination for physical media.

The Rise of Services: Just as digital file formats have killed off the CD, digital content services will slowly mark the death of the concept of downloading tracks. Cloud services are the big thing in the business world, especially “software as a service” models where companies rent access to applications online instead of installing software. We are simply becoming more used to the idea of renting instead of buying, especially for convenience. Streaming services like Spotify and Pandora go hand in hand with this trend as the future will see consumers just listening to tracks they want to hear on demand instead of going through the hassle of buying individual songs.

Lower Barriers to Entry: Independent musicians today have it good. In the past, a musician had to buy equipment, get a following and then hope to be noticed by a record label willing to pay for studio time and distribution. These barriers to entry to the music industry are now gone. Any musician with a little bit of money and a decent computer can build a digital audio workstation and then distribute tracks to iTunes, Amazon, Spotify and more using any number of affordable online distribution services. Of course, there’s a downside…

It’s Getting Harder to Really Break In: There’s a flip side to these technological advancements. It may be easier than ever for a musician to get their sound to consumers, but that means more competition. Indy musicians will have to work even harder to get noticed among the multitude of folks with a computer, a few dollars and a dream. They will also face resistance from established acts and labels, jealously guarding their share of the market in an industry where it’s getting harder to make a profit.

Even More Gigs, Even Fewer Sales: Musicians have always made their money on the road, not in the studio. It’s well known that the majority album sale profits go to the label, distributor and various other intermediaries and this will get worse as the industry changes to a single-based model. This isn’t the early days where a hot single would push album sales. Rather than buy an album for $15 to hear a good single or two, fans now pick up an individual track for a dollar or less. If they’re not just streaming or pirating it, that is. As profits from music sales go even lower, artists will have to boost income through performances even more in the future.

Social Media Changes: Lost on many industry PR types is that Facebook has changed the marketing game. It used to be that promoting music meant constant shilling. Paying for advertisements and even airplay was the norm as marketers did everything to hit fans over the head with their message, “buy this album!” Social media has now changed the dynamic. Musicians aren’t selling something anymore. Instead, they are establishing relationships, even if they are tenuous and likely false. Musicians will need to relate to fans on social media and share more than just release dates to cultivate a lasting, meaningful following. Being a friend, not a salesperson, will be the key to success.

More Mobile Efforts: With streaming services on the rise, the smartphone will become the music delivery device of choice for the majority of consumers. Labels will spend more time working with Spotify, Pandora, Rhapsody and other streaming services in order to meet the demand of on-the-go listeners. Instant gratification is becoming the norm and more music labels will find themselves focused on forming and promoting working relationships with content delivery services. Old concepts like “street dates,” working with radio program directors and managing relationships with bricks and mortar retailers will become an afterthought.

Stay Agile: The music industry has done far better than the film industry in one major area. When faced with two alternatives, lose sales to piracy or change the business model, they were agile. Sure, it took a little while, but the industry made gains by offering quality tracks, convenience and affordable prices. The industry stayed alive by shifting away from physical sales and embracing digital media. As the music landscape continues to change, the industry will face the constant challenge of evolving with it. To keep making money and stay in business, the music business must embrace change and move with it. They were slow to shift to MP3 and saw major losses because of it. They need to be ready to make the next shift much faster.

When discussing the future of popular music in a global perspective, it’s always intersting to look back. Great song, but how about the video?

“The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, also known as “Wimoweh” and originally as “Mbube”, is a song recorded by Solomon Linda and the Evening Birds for the South African Gallo Record Company in 1939. It was covered internationally by many 1950s pop and folk revival artists, including The Weavers, Jimmy Dorsey, Yma Sumac, Miriam Makeba, and The Kingston Trio. In 1961, it became a number one hit in the U.S. as adapted by the doo-wop group The Tokens. It went on to earn at least 15 million US dollars in royalties from covers and film licensing. Then, in the mid-nineties, it became a pop “supernova” (in the words of South African writer Rian Malan) when Warner Bros. promoted Ace Ventura franchises and licensed to Walt Disney for use in the film The Lion King, its spin-off TV series and live musical, prompting a lawsuit on behalf of the impoverished descendants of Solomon Linda.

Here is a list from comrz.com with the music trends of the future:

• Some artists will move away entirely from Album releases; Rihanna is currently the most successful singles artist (47.5 million downloads since 2005), and I believe several artists will move to just releasing singles and then compilations of singles rather than proper albums
• YouTube will continue to grow in relevance as a music discovery resource – it is after all the new MTV
• Artists will embrace more technology in their music delivery – in a similar vein to Björk’s Biophilia – expect to see more interactive albums and artist / album apps
• 2012 sees a make or break renaissance for MySpace – but is it too late to take on YouTube, SoundCloud, Spotify and Facebook – which have each taken over a part of MySpace’s key areas of expertise / influence?
• We will see more apps – in both internet and tablet-based form – to allow even easier music production / collaboration and remixing, along with simpler, fully-integrated music publishing and distribution platforms
• 2012 will also see more entrants into the group sharing / interaction category of music – along the same lines as Turntable.fm
• A leading electronic musician will employ Kinect-type technology into their core music-making and performance activities
• There will arise at least one new significant music-sharing platform, with a very innovative means of revenue generation / sharing which holds enormous appeal for both musicians and fans
• Spotify will strengthen its position as the leading music streaming platform – with yet further apps and integrations
• Music unit prices – i.e. median album and single prices will be streamlined further in 2012
• We will see even more free-to-download mix-tape type albums – DatPiff could become a household name!

Read more at:
http://www.comrz.com/blogs/my-blog–stefan/the-future-of-music-online-2012