How to choose a song for beginner singers

When you are starting your singing training, one issue that often arises is that the student has no idea of how to choose a song for beginners.

There are a couple of tips that can help you find a song suitable for you at this stage.

First of all, find a song that you like and enjoy, and that you can understand the meaning of.

Also, I would recommend finding one that covers your chest voice. Up to one octave, I would say, is good to start with.

This will allow you to work within a comfortable range, while expanding it a little bit, but also to apply the techniques you are learning without too much stress. It is about building a good foundation that later on will allow you to sing whatever song you like. Also, it will allow you to start feeling comfortable with your own singing voice.

Probably if you are just starting you won’t know how to choose a song for beginners that covers your chest voice range. You can simply find songs that you can sing without feeling that the notes go too high for you. Maybe a little bit high but not so much that you feel you can’t reach it without straining or flipping. This can also work as an ear training exercise! You’ll get better at it the more you do it. After selecting a song, you can check with your teacher that the song or songs you chose do cover your chest range without going to head voice yet.

It is also possible to pick a song you really like, provided that it doesn’t have a super-wide range, and change the key to suit your own range. Or if the range is higher than one octave, you can always modify the melody with the help of your teacher or by ear, so it suits your range.

I have made a little list of songs for my beginner students at Auckland Singing School, that could give you an idea of what you can look for if you are wondering how to choose a song for beginner singers:

Male songs:

• Losing my religion-REM
• Fragile- Sting
• Don’t worry be happy – Bob Marley
• Strangers in the Night- Frank Sinatra
• Enjoy the silence- Depeche mode

Female songs:

• Mamma mia – Abba
• The one that got away- Katy Perry
• La Isla Bonita – Madonna
• Lonestar – Norah Jones
• I’m like a bird – Nelly Furtado

Note that these songs are mainly based on a range of notes. It doesn’t mean that the songs are easy! there is so much more to a song than just the pitch. But it is good to get started with something that won’t stress and strain your voice too much.