Singing Tips and Techniques

The Bible has over 400 references to singing and commands us to sing 50 different times — and in Zephaniah 3:17, God himself rejoices over us with singing. Singing is a big deal to God. Most worship leaders have natural ability (that’s why they handed you a microphone) but were never properly trained. Here are five tips to take that natural gift to the next level.

1. Learn to breathe correctly

Breathe into your diaphragm — your lower belly — not your chest.

• Push the air down and out so your belly comes out and gets firm. That’s a deep breath. Filling your chest (up) is a shallow breath.
• Proper breath support is crucial: it helps you hit both low and high notes, get more words out between breaths, and hold notes longer and with more power.
• Bonus: strengthen your lungs by exercising — runs, cardio, jumping jacks — for stronger breath support.

2. Record yourself as much as possible

Nothing will help you improve your singing like recording yourself — because recordings do not lie.

Get free recording software (GarageBand, Logic, FL Studio, Pro Tools free) — or just your phone’s voice-memo app. Put headphones on so the mic captures only your voice, and sing over your favorite songs with full live-church passion and inflection. Then mute the track and listen to your voice in isolation: Where were you flat? Where did you wiggle? How was your delivery and your emoting? Then record it again. Do this two or three times a week and you’ll see drastic improvement — it’s all about the reps.

3. Strengthen your timing

Every great musician has impeccable timing — and that includes singers. Many singers have nice tone but sloppy timing, which makes the whole band feel wobbly. Download a metronome app and sing your favorite worship songs a cappella to the click, locking your phrasing, words, and consonants onto the subdivisions. Tight vocal timing will tighten up your entire band.

4. Utilize dynamics

Your voice is an instrument — build a song with it instead of starting near full blast and going from loud to obnoxiously loud. Control your volume and your tone:

• Tone — start warm and full (sung from the back of the throat and chest), softening the edges. As the song builds, push the sound through your nasal cavity to brighten the tone so it cuts through and resonates in the mix.
• Consonants — your k, t, s, ch sounds. Soften them in the verse (barely touch your tongue to the top of your mouth); attack them hard in the bridge to push high-frequency energy and intensity out.

5. Learn to harmonize

When someone else on your team leads a song, standing silent because you can’t harmonize is a waste of a microphone on the stage. Harmony can be learned, especially if you’re musical. Alex’s best advice: get good headphones and listen to your favorite songs — pop or worship — focusing only on the harmony and background vocals. Ignore the melody, guitars, and drums; sing only the harmony parts along. Over time you’ll feel the relationship between harmony and melody. It takes practice, so don’t be discouraged.

Application

• Put your hand on your lower belly and practice breathing down and out. Does it firm up and stick out? That’s the support you want before you sing this week.
• Record yourself singing one song in isolation this week, listen back honestly, and re-track it. Schedule two or three reps a week.
• Pick one song and plan its dynamic arc — warm tone and soft consonants in the verse, brighter tone and hard consonants by the bridge. Then grab good headphones and start ear-training one harmony part.