To the people who can sing, how do you do it?

Question:

To the people who can sing, how do you do it?

my parents wont pay for singing lessons and i want to be able to sing so badly. can you post me a step-by-step guide as to how you do it?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Sure, I can give some basic tips, but really, you should try to get a teacher (choir director, community chorus director, someone with knowledge) to listen to you, to make sure you're not creating bad habits that will hurt your voice. Maybe try asking students who take voice lessons, either at a professional studio or at a nearby college. Most of them have enough experience to tell if you're doing something wrong, and since they aren't professionals yet, they'd probably be more than willing to help just for the experience and for the joy of helping someone else to sing.

The most important part of singing for a beginner is learning to breathe properly. Stand up straight with your feet shoulder-width apart. Raise your arms above your head and then lower them while keeping your chest high. Keeping your chest high gives your lungs room to expand. Most importantly, stay relaxed - don't lock your knees, don't clench your shoulders or your jaw.

Now take a deep breath. Your chest should stay put, and your belly and lower back should expand. Think of the muscles in your abdomen as a hand holding a balloon (your lungs). If the hand tightens, the balloon can't fill, but if the hand is loose, then the balloon can fill up and expand. So if your stomach and lower back go out, you know that your lungs are filling with plenty of air.

As far as tone goes, females have two ranges - chest voice (lower register) and head voice (upper register). Where exactly chest voice becomes head voice is different for everyone (one more reason to get a teacher), but you'll probably know when to switch when singing in your chest voice becomes difficult - your sound will get strained, your throat will constrict, and it will probably hurt. Learning to switch between ranges smoothly takes years of practice, so don't be alarmed if your tones are a bit different in one range versus another. Head voice will feel like it is vibrating in your face and head (I used to tell my young students to "talk like Mickey Mouse" to get them to understand what head voice feels like).

Work carefully on your breathing, don't push or strain anything, and try to find someone who can listen to you and give informed advice. Good luck!