Common Singing Mistakes to Avoid According to the Experts

Whether you've been singing for a while or just started your singing career, there are a few common mistakes that most singers make, and you've probably been doing them too. To be a professional singer, you must be aware of these common mistakes so that you can avoid them and improve your singing skills.

Not knowing How to Hit High Notes 

Many singers believe that what makes them a professional singer is hitting high notes, even if their vocal ability can't handle it, and that going big and singing loudly will make them better. If during or after singing, you feel pain in your throat, it means that you were not hitting the high notes, but you were shouting and your vocal cords are not able to handle the strain. You don't necessarily need to shout or sing louder to hit higher notes, you just need info and advice from a professional vocal coach. If you believe that you have to shout to hit higher notes because you weren't born with it, you're wrong. Many professional singers learn to hit high notes with training and practice.

If you know how to hit high notes without shouting, but you still feel pain after performing, that's probably because you were trying to hear yourself along with the music, which made you shout while singing and harmed your vocal cords. To avoid this problem, you can use a high-quality in-ear monitor system, so you can hear yourself clearly without shouting, along with the music you're performing with. 

Not having enough Practice Time 

Knowing the song, having a good voice, and knowing how to hit all the notes is not enough for you to start performing — you need a lot of professional practice. Every talent needs nurturing and this means consistent practice. If you want to be a professional singer, you need to know the methodology, technique, and principles of singing before you perform in front of an audience. Practicing is knowing and learning how to sing and applying what you learned while singing. After that, you start singing the song over and over before you move to another one, to ensure you hit all the notes properly.

Singing Riffs and Runs Without Understanding Them

If you've been learning by yourself, you probably saw many videos on how to sing riffs and runs and you've been practicing a lot but with no real improvement. You may think that with more practice you'll get better and you'll be able to master it. However, you might make it worse. To know how to sing riffs and runs, you have to understand them and know what notes a person is singing in the riff. You can't just improvise it by yourself, you will need to study them and know when and how to sing riffs and runs before you start using them. 

Forgetting to Warm Up before singing 

Before working-out, running, or doing any physical activity, we have to warm up the muscles to avoid cramps or any other complications in the long run. Singing is a physical activity, you have to warm up your vocal cords before performing. Young singers might not feel any problems after performing without warming up, but it might affect their voice as they get older. There are several muscles involved when you sing, and not warming up and shocking these muscles will affect your smoothness while singing and your voice will not be the same after a few years. You can warm up your voice before singing by yawning and sighing, humming, straw vocalizing, lip buzzing, and loosening your jaw. 

Imitating other singers 

If you love a certain singer, you will probably learn everything they do and start imitating them. However, this will not allow you to enhance your talent and become like them. Imitating other singers is an effective way to learn how to sing and how to hit notes, but if you didn't learn other techniques, you will be limiting yourself. At some point, you will need to find your voice and style, and if you keep following other singers without finding your voice, you will not improve. Every successful singer has his qualities, ways, and style, and when you're ready, you will have to be different than others. To do that, you should study all the technicalities about singing, and find what makes a person a successful singer, and follow their path but in your way. It may sound cliche, but you need to find your voice.

Not Drinking or Eating enough 

Singing requires a lot of energy, and you need to refill that energy by eating properly and drinking enough water. Taking care of your health and avoiding soda and fast food will improve your abilities, and you'll be able to practice more. If you find you need to keep clearing your throat before or during singing, it means that your body is dehydrated, and your vocal cords are unable to perform as they should. This could damage your vocal cords over time and affect your voice. You need to avoid that and ensure that your body is hydrated all the time, even If you're not going to sing. 

Singing is just like any other activity; you need to have a lot of practice to be successful at it. However, many people don't understand the term “practice” and believe that singing a certain song over and over again is practicing. Obviously, that won't work. You need to spend a lot of time studying before you start practicing. And when you practice, you have to apply what you studied. You should also learn new techniques used in different types of music, whether it's classic, rock, or pop. Learning all styles will allow you to get better control over your voice and hit all notes perfectly.