Fun fact, Taylor Swift – one of the most famous pop music stars to ever catch the public eye at a young age – started karaoke at the age of ten. She is a great example of people who have thrived in the music industry by starting behind a simple microphone, and you too could be on the same path as her. Regardless of whether you are doing karaoke for leisure or to build on your voice, it can be an exciting experience.
Watching people cheer as you hit a high note can be exhilarating, not to mention the confidence boost that comes with it. With the right karaoke machine, you can perform both at home parties and bars. However, your chances of success when it comes to amazing crowds will trickle down to the songs you choose. While it might feel like an uphill task, choosing the right song is all about understanding your voice.
Here’s a guide to discovering your voice type to pick the perfect song:
Start With a Shower Test
Do you unconsciously find yourself singing in the shower? If yes, then paying attention to your voice as you sing is essential when looking to add a karaoke machine to your next party. In most cases, these are usually songs that you love and have a personal connection with, but they might not always be the best to sing during karaoke nights.
To start off, record yourself while singing in the shower. Later, compare your voice to the voice you expect to hear. If both are at par, then that’s a perfect match. Otherwise, you will have to assess your voice further to determine the best songs to sing.
Identify Your Vocal Range
How high or low can you take your voice? There are many factors for identifying your vocal range, with gender being included. Generally, females will typically hit a higher note than males. As a result, look for a song that has high and low notes to identify where your voice lies.
If you can sing most of the song in synchrony with the singer, then that song is a good match for your voice. For the few high or low notes that you have trouble singing, a simple transposition will help.
Value Genres That Are Natural To Your Voice
Everyone can sing, it just takes time to build your voice into one that can sing any genre of music. Start by trying out different genres. In case one seems to blend in well with your voice, you can focus on it first.
This will allow you to identify your limits and strengths once you think of verging into new genres. The more comfortable a song is, the easier it will be to vary your voice to fit perfectly into its range. You can then try out other related genres while increasingly changing your voice and tone.
Perfect Your Craft
Songs will not always be easy in the first trial. While you might perceive slower songs to be the best, you might at times lose your place within the rhythm. Other songs will require different types of breaks to handle them.
Simply do not give up within the first trial of your practice session. Commit to perfecting your craft to ensure that you can sing your target songs without making simple mistakes. As long as you can hit the high and low notes with little transposing, then you can switch to as many new songs as you want.
Additionally, singing involves muscle memory. The more accustomed your vocal cords are to hitting high notes, the easier it will be to do so consistently. This muscle memory also makes it possible to increase your vocal range. Here’s a dive into how you can improve your range.
Start With Identifying Your Aim Range
Once you are well aware of your comfortable vocal range, start looking for ways to increase it. You can aim to reach a certain high and low note by the end of a few sessions. During your karaoke practice sessions, look to reach and even go beyond this limit.
However, this will mostly be possible if you use the right technique when practicing, and practice a step at a time instead of setting unrealistic goals. Remember, overworking your vocal cords can easily result in voice issues down the line. If the practice sessions put too much strain on your voice, then it might not be worthwhile.
What is the Proper Practice Technique?
When practicing, ensure that you maintain an open throat throughout the practice sessions. Maintain complete airflow as you practice different vocal ranges. Your jaws should also be relaxed while your tongue lies at the top part of your bottom teeth. Avoid making any changes to your normal airflow routines when practicing notes outside your vocal range.
In most cases, beginners tend to force too much air into their throats, which almost always leads to the jamming of their vocal cords. Others restrict air which makes their voice sound breathy. Make use of your routine voice to maintain the same appeal. You should also consider starting practice while concentrating on the high notes as the low notes will make your voice sound too heavy.
A Little Bit of Agility Exercises Will Suffice
Agility exercises are valuable when it comes to increasing the speed of your voice to shift from one note to another while making it more flexible. Additionally, it is great for expanding your voice range and is especially helpful in navigating tough voice transitions. However, you ought to be careful while setting your agility training goals.
The best approach is to improve your voice one tone at a time. Only move to the next one once you can consistently sing the previous one without any vocal issues. It might at times even take months to notice any significant improvement in your voice range, but it is worth it. The result is that you will have much more flexibility when it comes to choosing a song to karaoke to.
Conclusion
Thriving in karaoke is all about finding the perfect song for your voice. While at it, you can also embrace the glory of the moment as your audience cheers you. Make sure you have a great karaoke machine to dazzle your audience even more.