If you want to learn to sing but you have no experience you are in the right place Because that was all of us at some point.

Maybe you’ve been told by some people that you’re just a bad singer or that you don’t have what it takes. Or that you kind of have to be born for that. While it is true that some people have it more easily than other people, it is also true that we all can learn.

Foundational singing performance skills for beginners

Of course, when we talk about singing, there are many levels of singing. If you are just starting out, what I always recommend is that your first milestone should be to sing an easy song on pitch and rhythm. And that is really important for you as a musician. A lot of people that want to sing, just think that singing is about reaching high notes and not. That comes later, and it’s part of the training to make your voice more flexible and resilient, and just an instrument with more possibilities.

The reality is that (even if) you can hit, three octaves, four octaves, if you want. If you don’t sing in tune and rhythm, then you’re not going to be creating good music (anyway).

So at least to me, learning those skills comes first. Now, a lot of people  get to adulthood without natural good pitch and good rhythm skills, and when they want to sing a song, they find it really hard. They don’t know how to start or where, and they just think ‘Okay, I’m just a bad singer, not for me’. Let’s talk a little bit about that. It is true that   pitch and rhythm come easier for some people. Generally, those people had some music training when they were kids. Not necessarily in singing, but maybe in another musical instrument. Or maybe they went to dance classes, or maybe they listened to a lot of different music in the house and they were exposed to a lot of music. And so the connections between the brain and the pitch and rhythm were there in a more natural way. And so those people grow up and they have those connections. They can sing with good rhythm, with good pitch, and they don’t have to think about it. Very lucky. They still have to train their vocal technique and many other aspects of singing, but they definitely have an advantage at least in the musicality aspect. However, if you weren’t that lucky, it’s not all lost. You can still train your brain to do it. I have taught adults in their 40’s, 50′, and more, that couldn’t sing one note in tune. After some training, they could sing whole songs in tune on rhythm, with no problem. So anyone can do it. But you do have to spend some time learning and practicing regularly.

How to start training your foundational singing performance skills as a complete beginner 

Creating positive associations with singing

The main thing I would recommend is that you try not to let negative emotions such as shame and embarrassment get in the way of your singing dreams.  I know that it is hard. Sometimes we associate singing with negative emotions due to some cruel comments from other people. It is hard to get rid of them. But if you practice being present and creating a more positive emotion at the moment of learning to sing, you will learn much faster. It is time to create some more positive associations with singing! Time to create some happy memories. Maybe you can create an environment in which singing feels fun!

Developing ear training for beginner singers

Another problem that people encounter when they go from zero to trying to sing a song is that they go from zero to a complex song. And that doesn’t work. The first step is to start connecting your brain with the larynx, to the pitch. So rather than starting by trying to learn a complex song, it is better to start by learning some short vocal exercises with just a few notes. This will accelerate your learning process (and allow you to sing full songs in tune earlier). 

When kids start learning to sing, they usually don’t start by being able to memorize a complex song. If you look at the air training exercises from early singing grades, their ear training exercises are about recognizing what is the difference between a lower note and a higher note.

So for example, the teacher plays two notes on the piano and they have to say which one is higher, and which one is lower.

Foundational singing training for complete beginners: developing good rhythm. 

The other component of learning to sing is developing rhythm awareness. The first thing you have to do is to start being able to recognize the beat of a song. The beat is a constant regular pulse. In some music is not exactly regular, but generally, it is. Let’s say that you are listening to a song and you start moving your head rhythmically, or you start tapping your foot on a regular pulse. That is generally the beat of the song.

And you want to be really good at listening to different songs, and clapping the beat or walking on the beat.

Developing body awareness around your vocal instrument

One of the reasons why people find it so hard to sing is because they are actually not connected with their own instrument. They don’t have sensations around singing. We usually don’t think much of it or we don’t spend time. So if you want to be in control of your voice, that is something you have to start doing.