Ep.7: What Does it Take to be a Great Singer?

What Does it Take to be a Great Singer?

A great singer, in my opinion, is being able to sing well enough to accomplish your personal singing and performing goals.

Whether it’s being good enough to sing your child to sleep, or to impress at a karaoke party, or win a lead singing role at your community theater, or get a college scholarship, or sing on Broadway or the Met, or win American Idol, or be a famous recording artist or rock star, if you accomplish your goal (and your singing technique helps you maintain your vocal health and your career), that’s singing success.

You take singing lessons improve your singing. Why? So you have the vocal foundation to achieve your singing dreams.

Remember, no matter what, your voice is what inspires your audience and motivates them to pay to listen!

Every Singer Needs Must Do These Things to be a Great Singer

So here’s the minimum foundation you need as a singer, no matter what your goals are. These are the things every singer needs (in my opinion) to reach all your singing goals:

You are able to sing from your chest voice (low notes) into your head voice (high notes), with beauty, confidence, ease and power without breaks, cracks or sudden shifts in tone quality.
When using vibrato, it’s consistent and not too fast or too slow.
You have excellent pitch on every note without strain or reach.
You have a complete awareness and understanding of your voice, how it works and how to maintain your technique under all demands and circumstances.

Non-Singing Things You Must do to Become a Great Singer

Becoming a great singer is more than just having a great singing technique for the music you love to sing.

Some of the world’s most popular performers aren’t great singers but they have style, attitude and passion that connects them on a deep, emotional level with their fans.

Here are some important “non-singing” things you must do to be a great singer-performer!

1.You must have an emotional connection to your lyrics and your song and be able to share that with your audience. You must tell a story.

2. The more musical you are the better. Studying any instrument will help improve your musicianship, especially the piano. Understanding how to read music and knowing the fundamentals of music theory will always be helpful.

3. Listening to many singers of all genres is vital. Also watch others perform. As you begin singing, it’s ok to mimic the best singers’ styles. Sing different styles and genres of music. Mix and match with your own sense of what you like as you’re finding your own unique style.

Eventually, it’s best to stop trying to sound like your idols. It’s great to have influences, but just as important to find your own voice and style. Otherwise, you are nothing special.

4. You must develop an attitude that seeks the truth about yourself and your voice. You must accept that there are things about you that are holding you back, both in your voice and in your personality, and you must get honest feedback about those things and not take it personal or be offended.

Go to work on your weaknesses to eliminate them. Invest time and effort to develop and grow your strengths.

5. You must practice until you can do it very well. You cannot be casual about practice.

6. You must perform, perform, and perform. It doesn’t matter if it’s for 1 person, 40, 400, or 40,000…just perform. Make each one better than the one before it.

7. You must get the help you need, you invest the time and money necessary, and you work with the best until you accomplish your singing and performing goal.

By combining the singing and non-singing performing foundations above, you’ll accomplish your singing goals and become a great singer and performer.

Do you know your vocal type? I’m not talking about whether you’re a soprano, alto, tenor or bass. Your vocal type is what you tend to do when you sing. Once you know your vocal type you can begin eliminating weaknesses in your voice and get the singing voice you want.

Visit PowerToSing.com. Take the PowerTest and the quiz. Immediately you’ll discover your vocal type. Explore the Knowledge Center on Power to Sing’s website. Learn all about your vocal type and the exercises that will help improve your unique voice.

I’m Chuck Gilmore with Power to Sing. You can sing higher with beauty, confidence, and power.

I’ll see you inside the next video.