Singing in front of other people can be a scary experience, even for big stars who perform regularly. Many of us don’t have a problem singing when we are alone in the car or the shower, but suddenly freeze up when standing in front of a few people. Fortunately, there are ways to get around this – read on to learn a few tips that will help teach you how to sing with more confidence.
Practice Until It’s Effortless
The first tip is an obvious but important one: you should truly know your piece before you perform. Do some research if you don’t know who originally wrote the piece or why it was written. Make sure you know the words backwards and forwards by the time you perform, which will help you sing with confidence.
Another key to having confidence when learning how to sing is simply practicing. Many of us don’t have any confidence because we don’t practice; we don’t go through our drills or sing every day. Sitting down to practice just 15 to 30 minutes a day will make a huge difference. Once you’ve practiced singing confidently by yourself, it will make it much easier to sing in front of others!
Confront Your Fear
This is another tip that also may seem obvious but really does help: Sing in front of as many people as possible. Start off with people you know. First sing for your family, and then start branching out to friends, karaoke clubs, or open mic nights. Practicing with a vocal coach is another great way to confront your performance fears. He or she can teach your strategies to calm your nerves, like deep breathing and positive visualization. As you continue to sing in front of more people, your confidence will grow, and you’ll feel less stressed and experience less performance anxiety.
Focus on Your Message
One trick that some professional singers use is to concentrate more on the message than the actual singing. With every song you sing, you should be trying to get across an idea or emotion to your audience. If you focus on the message more than how you sound or your technique during a performance, you will feel more confident. This is a great tip that can really make a difference!
Learning how to sing with confidence is something that will come with time. You might always feel a twinge of stage fright when you first step on stage, but over time, you’ll learn how to suppress and control it. A confident and bold performer is much more fun to watch on stage – so start working today to become the best you can be!
Photo by InSapphoWeTrust
Megan L.