How to Sing in Front of an Audience

For those of us who like singing, one goal is to sing in front of an audience and show off our talents.

But just because you are a good singer, it does not mean that you know how to sing in front of an audience.

Even though I love to sing and make singing a part of my everyday, I do sometimes get a bit nervous when I am singing by myself in front of other people.

Growing up, I sang in the school choir and found this to be fun and every time I would perform with the choir, I would get a thrill and instant rush. But singing in a choir is different from singing by yourself.

The first time I sang in front of an audience, was when my family was having dinner with some family friends. The restaurant that we went to was a karaoke restaurant and anyone could get up and have a go singing.

Before I went on stage, I was extremely nervous and my hands were shaking. But I managed to sing alright. At least the audience clapped for me!

I found that the main thing that you need to overcome when you sing in front of people is your nerves. Confide in one person, either a good friend or loyal relative and tell them that you want to sing in front of an audience. Tell that friend or relative to be honest with you and ask for their honest opinion about whether you can pull off a song in front of people. If they are honest, then if you don't have the best of voices, then they will tell you that and maybe you might be best not to sing in front of an audience until you improve.

But if they say that you are a good singer, then you are ready to get up on that stage.

So following are some tips that will teach you how to sing in front of an audience.

1) Take any opportunity to practice in front of an audience.

I would suggest that you take your close friends or relatives to a karaoke singing club. For those of you who have never been to a karaoke club before, a karaoke club basically has a number of rooms and in each room there is a TV and comfortable lounge chairs. You book in your time and are given a room and booklets of song lists. You choose your song that you want to sing to and using the remote, just like a TV, you choose the song that you want to sing to. Then the song will come up on the screen with a video of the song and at the bottom of the screen are the lyrics. As the lyrics pass, the writing changes colour so that you know what you are singing to.

When I was in university, I remember going to karaoke clubs often and we would book a room and my friends and I would have a great time singing the night away.

By singing in front of people who you are familiar first, you are building up your self-confidence and this will help you to sing in front of an audience. After you have started to feel comfortable singing in front of your close friends or relatives, your next step is to sing in front of a live audience.

2) Prepare before you go on stage.

By preparing, you will need to clear your mind of all distractions and just envisage yourself nailing your song. You will need to overcome your nerves in order for you to sing nicely. Before you are due up on stage, drink some warm water to relax your throat. Then close your eyes and take some deep breathes. Inhale in for five seconds and then exhale for another five seconds. Do this for about one minute and this kind of meditation will help you to relax. Imagine yourself on that stage with the audience clapping for you and you will begin to feel happy and confident. Then do some light vocal exercises, like scales. This will help to warm up your voice.

3) Choose an appropriate song

When you are singing on stage in front of people, I suggest that you choose a song that is easy to sing and that is not vocally challenging. Most likely, you will have some nerves so you don't want to make yourself even more nervous that you miss a note when you sing in front of the audience.

A song that you find easy to sing will come naturally to you so you needn't worry about hitting the notes.

Wear nice but loose clothing so that you will not feel restricted by a tight collar or a tight waistline.

The best thing about singing in front of an audience is that it will increase your confidence and will you give you more experience singing in front of people. You might still get the jitters every time you get up on stage but after a few times, you will get used

to it. The first time is always the hardest but after that, you will be able to sing confidently. The more experience you have of singing in front of an audience, then the more confidence you will have.

So next time you are going to sing in front of people, please take my hints above and you will knock their socks off!

How to Sing Better - 3 Tips for Immediate Results

If you want to learn how to sing better, engaging in daily singing practice is the best long-term strategy for improving your voice.

That said, it is possible to learn how to sing better almost immediately, by following the three tips outlined in this article. The tips address three things that too many singers are

not aware of, yet each of them have enormous impact on the quality of your voice.

If you correctly put these three tips into practice when singing, you will notice a significant improvement in the quality and tone of your singing voice in a very short

space of time.

Tip #1: Breathe "naturally"

Many singers get confused about how to breathe when singing. They end up doing all sorts of strange things that feel weird and uncomfortable, because they hear

instructions like "expand your ribs" or "pull in your stomach" and don't entirely get what body actions are required.

Try this. Lie down on your back, and relax. Gently place one hand on your stomach, and one near your lower ribs. Try not to think about the breath, just let it happen.

Start to pay attention to the parts of your torso that move as you breathe, and those that don't. When you breathe in singing, you should be breathing the same way, naturally, only with deeper breaths. Your lower ribs will expand and move out, while your upper

body will stay still because you're filling up the bottom of your lungs, and not shallow breathing up the top.

Breathing should never cause strain. Relax, and breathe naturally when you sing.

Tip #2: Keep your tongue on the floor of your mouth

It sounds a bit funny, but sometimes tongues have a habit of getting in the way when you sing. Most of the time you don't notice them, but if you tense up when you sing and the root of your tongue gets tense, it can result in a strained sound and tightness in the

voice and the throat.

Try putting the tip of your tongue on the back of your bottom teeth, and then feel the sides of your tongue against the insides of your back bottom teeth. It should feel

relaxed, not tense.

As you sing, try to keep your tongue down in your mouth. Don't press it down hard, or tense it up, just be aware of keeping it low in your mouth. It will move a little as you sing,

but keeping the tip near the front of your bottom teeth can make a considerable difference to your sound.

Tip #3: Memorise your music

If you're singing and reading music, or lyrics, at the same time as you sing, then a large portion of your brain is not focused on singing. The act of reading music or words takes

up a fair chunk of processing power in your brain. If you're trying to sing at the same time then you're only half concentrating on singing.

The key is to get away from your music. Memorise it. Learn it by heart. Use repetition and song memorisation games when you're not singing, just throughout the day,

whenever you think of them. That way, when you come to sing a song, you can focus purely on the act of singing, without reading. You will be surprised how much better your

singing is when you are able to completely focus on your performance.

Summary

The process of becoming a singer involves constantly learning more about how your voice works, and putting into daily practice each thing that you learn. To improve your singing voice, make it your goal, today, to implement these three tips into your practice

routine. You will notice a difference in a short period of time.

Learning to sing better means being open to try new things and take advice from more experienced singers. Remember that you will always progress faster and sing better

with the assistance of voice lessons, either from a local singing teacher or a high-quality singing training program.

Good luck with your singing journey.

Other resources

Singorama

Song Writing