- Singing is easy to learn online and has a wide range of evidence-based physical and mental benefits.
- Read our ranking of online singing classes to quickly find online classes from experts such as Christina Aguilera.
Singing is arguably even more basic to humanity than speaking. Not only is singing one of the best ways of expressing emotion and releasing the tension, but it has other uncountable mental and physical health benefits as well.
Improving cardiovascular function and breathing, strengthening muscles in the respiratory tract and neck region, and decreasing stress levels. These are only several examples of how singing can positively impact our well-being.
Because singing can have so many benefits, it is also crucial that we learn how to sing correctly to maximize our potential and, even more importantly, sing without harming our voices or interrupting our progress.
Learning how to sing online is one of the best ways to go about learning how to sing correctly. There are several great resources that will teach you the correct breathing techniques, vocal postures, exercises, and the other basics of singing.
This way, you can ensure that your voice remains healthy while you are still making incremental progress. As a plus, learning how to sing online ensures that you will never have to deal with performance anxiety. For a beginner to singing, this is a huge deal.
Considering that the internet has tens of thousands of resources on singing, it is not always easy to find content that will actually help your voice get better.
To help you out, we put together a step-by-step guide on how to learn singing online.
Learn How to Sing Online
Find your niche
Singing is a broad subject that is covered extensively in various online resources. Thus, you should be clear about your singing goals from the start. In the long run, this will save you a tremendous amount of time.
Allow me to give you an illustrative example of why figuring out your niche is so important.
Maybe you have dreamed of becoming an opera singer since you were a kid. That’s great, but opera is a very specific niche with its own set of rules and expectations from the audience. First, you have to learn everything there is to know about the history of the opera – know all about different kinds of operas, classical pieces used in operas, etc.
You probably already get the gist of why these kinds of lessons are not relevant to someone planning on taking an entirely different musical route. Put simply, the skills an opera singer needs to learn are not the same skills needed by a vocalist of a punk band.
One more thing – even if you are just planning on becoming a better singer for fun and no one will ever hear you, still narrow down your goals. It will make the learning process that much more simple and enjoyable.
Enroll in an online course
If you are starting from scratch or have very little prior singing experience, I would strongly suggest beginning your singing studies with a well-chosen online course.
The two main advantages of studying singing via an online course are structure and specialization.
True, YouTube and similar streaming websites will have useful and well-developed bits of singing lessons here and there. But, what these kinds of resources lack is structure – you will have to do the hard work of finding and bookmarking the lessons relevant to your experience and goals.
Not only is this time-consuming, but you also might stumble upon underqualified teachers and bad advice.
Another key advantage of an online course is specialization. Are you planning on becoming a singer-songwriter? A vocalist in a rock band? Maybe you want to dabble in production in addition to singing?
Whatever your goals might be, rest assured that it is possible to find an expert-led online singing course suitable to your specific goals.
For a quick look at some of the courses available, feel free to read our article on the best singing courses. In this list, you will find quick reviews of our favorite singing courses for various experience-levels, budgets, and specializations.
Learn the correct posture for singing
Most people new to singing think that it is only your mouth and throat that do everything important. This is far from true.
Nearly all parts of your body affect how your singing voice will sound. Thus, it is crucial to learn how to adopt the correct singing posture.
Correcting your body alignment will also provide a quick motivation boost – when you learn how to align your body correctly, you will see considerable immediate improvements in your voice.
So, if you are planning on learning how to sing online, choose a course that contains expert-taught lessons on body alignment. And, do not even think about skimming through these lessons!
Make it a habit to check your body every time before you sing.
Is your body leaning slightly forward? Is your neck streamlined with your spine? Are your shoulders relaxed?
Details such as this are small, but they DO make a difference. In fact, many people who consider themselves completely tone-deaf are shocked to hear how much better they sound after getting the posture right.
Learn the breathing techniques
In singing, getting your breathing right is just as important as adopting the right posture. A good vocal coach will put tremendous effort into teaching both of these practices.
Thus, if you want to learn how to sing online, you will want to find a course that will have lessons on breathing techniques.
Allow me to explain why correct breathing is crucial for singing:
- Voice maintenance – Your voice is like an instrument. Not taking good care of it will cause the quality of your voice to decline fast. Especially if you sing regularly. Breathing exercises are a great way of keeping your voice in shape.
- Pitch improvements – A new singer will notice immediate improvements in their pitch after doing expert-taught breathing exercises. Plus, your voice will carry the melodies that much better.
- Breathing correctly will support your voice – Have you ever wondered how some singers are able to sing for several minutes at a time without seemingly catching a breath? The answer is simple – correct breathing. Knowing the breathing techniques will help you sing for longer without loss in vocal performance quality.
Of course, you will not be able to hold 3-hour stadium concerts immediately after getting the posture and breathing right. But, learning how to fine-tune your body and breathing will set the foundation for getting the most out of your voice.
Pick a space dedicated to singing practice
It is unrealistic to think that everyone will have the resources and the space necessary for setting up a home studio. Luckily, it is not all that important, especially if you are only starting out.
Instead, try to make the most out of what you have. Try to find the room with the best acoustics in your living space. Room acoustics is a very broad subject that is impossible to cover in one paragraph. But, to help you with choosing a space suitable for singing, allow me to list 3 quick rules to look out for:
- Choose a room that is as large as possible.
- Avoid completely empty rooms. Instead, choose rooms that will have plenty of details like wall coverings, furniture, carpets, etc.
- Choose a room that is completely quiet. If this is not possible, try to find the most quiet area in your living space.
Record and review
My suggestion is to develop a habit of recording all your practice sessions. True, hearing yourself singing will be awkward at first, but it is crucial for your long-term success. Reviewing your recordings will help you evaluate your progress and know which areas you need to put more effort into.
Remember that keeping the right posture is crucial for your success as a singer. Thus, you will want to film yourself as well. Again, it will be weird looking at yourself in the beginning, but you WILL get used to it eventually.
I would advise against investing in audio/video gear. Especially at first. Your smartphone will probably be more than enough for tracking your progress.
Develop additional singing-related skills
As your vocal technique improves, you might want to consider developing other skills related to singing.
This is where the importance of knowing your niche comes into play. You need to figure out which skills will best complement your end goals. To give you some examples of what I am talking about, here are X side skills that singers should consider learning:
- Songwriting – Creativity, and self-expression go hand in hand. Develop your creativity and you will become better at expressing yourself as a singer. And, vice versa. Thus, you should consider experimenting with songwriting even if you aren’t planning on performing original material.
- An instrument – Knowing how to play at least one instrument will help develop your overall musicality and mental health. This, in return, will improve your vocal skills as well.
- Music production – In 2021, high-quality music software is more affordable and accessible than ever before. So, why not try your hand at producing with some free software? Who knows, maybe your efforts will lead you to become the next bedroom pop superstar.
Practice!
As with all skills, practice makes perfect. You will not sing like Ariana Grande or Whitney Houston after a month or two of practice. This is, simply put, impossible.
Instead, focus on persistence. Make it a habit of singing a little every single day (unless you are sick) and be on the look for constant improvement. Over time, your efforts WILL stack up.
Singing is a skill that is somewhat difficult to measure – you will not see daily improvements and it can be all-too-easy to get lazy, or even worse, give up entirely.
So, how about a little pro tip for when you are feeling low on motivation? Compare your recording from when you started to where you are now. The difference in the quality of your vocals will probably be massive.
As you get a little more confident about your voice, I would also advise getting feedback from other aspiring singers. There are several great online resources for getting feedback on your voice (depending on your niche), but my favorite community is the singing subreddit “r/singing”.
This active community is accepting of all types of singing and you can generally get constructive feedback from like-minded individuals. As a bonus, making your sessions public will also help develop your confidence as a singer.
