8 Steps to Singing Karaoke

Singing karaoke!! What a fun way to spend an evening with friends and family, singing your heart out and just having a great time! Even those of us who aren’t the greatest singers in the world would love to have fun and feel good about entertaining the crowd with our best singing, wouldn’t we? And for others of us who may be seasoned singers, it is a fun opportunity to put into practice the skills we have worked so hard to develop. It’s exciting to have the chance to bring the house down, evoke emotion, and just flat sell a song. Let’s talk about  some strategies to be sure you are ready to do your best when you sing karaoke.

8 Steps to Singing 

1. Warm up your voice before you head out to the event.

It is imperative that you properly warm-up  your voice before singing and even before speaking first thing in the morning. Singing without warming up will cause you to sing with tension because most of us will sing with a tight tongue and jaw if we don’t loosen things up a bit first. This will put limiters and take away the freedom that comes with a warm and unrestricted instrument. Don’t skimp on this very important detail!

2. Choose a song with lyrics you can connect to.

How can you sell a song if you haven’t thought about the lyrics, or if you don’t connect to them in some way?  It has surprised me how often I can ask someone what they are saying in their song and they have no idea. It is obvious when someone really understands the lyric and has connected with the idea of the song. There is a whole different level of singing that happens by this one practice alone because the singer’s heart comes through. The whole point of singing is evoke emotion and move ourselves and others, so you can see that not really thinking about the lyrics can really lesson the impact of your song.

3. Be sure the song you sing is in a good range for you and that it stays well within your comfort zone.

Practice time is the time for testing the waters and stretching your boundaries. Stay within your comfort when performance time rolls around. As you improve during practice time, those boundaries will gradually be removed.  Singing is a life long pursuit.

4. You will want to have good pitch, so pay attention to staying in the center of each note.

It is amazing how many people come to me and sing a song for me completely. Listen to your own voice as you sing.  Relax your tongue and jaw and your pitch will greatly improve if you a having problems

5. Don’t push your voice. Let it freely sail and let the microphone  do the work.

Relax your tongue and jaw and practice your song on your favorite vowel to find ease in singing. Taking my lessons will really help you find your own free amazing voice!

6. Emotion, emotion, emotion!  Feel the song.  Open up and connect with and move your audience!

Let us hear your heart. Don’t be afraid to let down your guard and let us in!

7.  Sing through the entire phrase.

Don’t put the brakes on as you come to the end of each phrase. Place your pointer fingers on either side of your mouth.  Let the sound start and continue past your fingers. End the phrase out there, breathe, and start the sound past your fingers again. That way, every breath feels like your first and every phrase feels as free as your first phrase.  This will help you not to tighten up and have problems as your song or song continues. Your throat should feel only relaxed and the singing should be effortless. Most of us tend to get in our own way by trying to help our voices, or by trying to create a specific sound. It is when we relax and let our voices go free that we become great singers.