How Can I Make My Voice Sound Better

At-home recording can be challenging. In addition to avoiding outside interference, you’ll also need to work on your voice to ensure it sounds as good as possible. Luckily, there are several ways that you can improve your voice. 

You can make your voice sound better by warming up your vocals, getting a better-quality microphone, or practicing daily. You should also ensure you stay hydrated and coat your throat with honey or tea to keep it healthy. 

Let’s get into more detail about improving your voice. 

7 Tips To Make Your Voice Sound Better

There are many ways to make your voice sound better. We have compiled a list of some of the most effective ways you can. 

1. Vocal Warm Ups

One common way of making your voice sound better is to do vocal warm-ups. You can do this anytime throughout the day, but it’s most effective right before you start recording. 

Think of vocal warm-ups as stretching your body before you do vigorous exercise. Not only does this help your voice become more effective, but it also helps prevent vocal strain. 

You can do vocal warm-ups in a variety of ways. You can do it more traditionally as humming followed by singing. Or you can warm up your vocals by singing a song that you enjoy. Some people even make up a song specifically for warming up. You can get creative with it. 

If you aren’t sure where to start when it comes to warming up your vocals, you aren’t alone. We all have to start somewhere. So, we recommend starting with this 10 Minute Vocal Warm-Up YouTube video by Jacob’s Vocal Academy. 

This is a great way to start, as the notes are already there, you just have to match them. If you don’t have time for the full ten minutes, we recommend warming up for at least five minutes to give you the best possible results. 

Keep in mind that warming up your vocals will not instantly improve your voice. If you want your voice to get better, you will need to do this regularly. Back to the exercise example, one visit to the gym will not yield amazing results. You need to warm up your vocals regularly to improve your voice. 

However, if you want your voice to be clearer, doing a vocal warm-up will help prepare your voice. So it can improve your vocal clarity when recording and your overall vocal range when done regularly. 

2. Using Better Equipment

If you have trouble with your voice coming through clearly on recordings, you may need to use better equipment to help make your voice sound better. 

Even the best voice may not shine when recorded using outdated or cheap equipment. So if you are serious about improving your voice, you need the right equipment to make it sound as good as possible. 

Sometimes, the problem with your voice may be due to a cheap or mismatched microphone. If you notice distortions in your recording, you may want to consider a new microphone or change your approach.

For more information on how to improve the performance of your mic, you can check out this detailed article,  “What Causes Distortion in Microphones? How to Fix It?”. 

If you already have the right mic, then you may want to consider the technology you are working with. There are different recording programs out there, and they’re not all created equally. 

Some programs have vocal enhancers and different settings that you can play with to make your voice even better. Adding cool vocal effects to your recordings can help your voice stand out and sound more appealing. So, consider using a different recording and editing program if you want to improve your voice. 

3. Protect Your Voice

If you want your voice to serve you well as you make your routine recordings, then you need to take good care of it. Once you notice that you suddenly struggle to hit notes that used to come easy or you have to clear your throat a lot, then you need to start taking better care of your voice. 

There are multiple things you can do to protect your voice throughout the day when you aren’t recording. First, make sure you stay hydrated. If you drink alcohol or coffee, ensure you follow it up with plenty of water, as it will help the body recover. So, drink plenty of water to keep your voice in tip-top condition. 

You can also protect your voice by giving your vocals a break. If you are straining your voice by using it more often, you need to make sure you give it time to rest. This may mean that you don’t talk as much as you normally would or take a break from recording. 

While it may be frustrating not to record consistently, a short break can help you rest your voice and protect it long-term. If you continue to use your voice too much or strain it, you can damage your vocal cords. This can mean a longer period of not recording as your voice heals. 

Keep in mind that you can also permanently damage your vocal cords if you keep going and never rest. 

4. Do Not Tense Up

It is common for those struggling to hit a note or those without proper vocal training to tense when they sing. You may do this regularly or when you’re trying to hit an unfamiliar note. While this can make you feel more in control of your voice, it is actually bad for you. 

It can be difficult to determine if we tense as we sing without seeing our vocal cords as we sing. While you can consult with a specialist who can help you identify this, it may not be an option for everyone. 

If you want to determine if you do this when recording, take a few deep breaths to relax before recording. As you record, be aware of your body. Notice any stiffness in your neck and shoulders as you use your voice. If there is any, make a conscious effort to relax those parts of your body while singing. 

This may take some time to get used to if you are used to tensing when you sing. So, be patient and take the time to relax your body before you begin recording. If you continue tensing your body while you sing, you will limit your vocal range. 

Relaxing your body allows you to use your voice to the fullest possible extent. It will also prevent you from experiencing vocal strain or damaging your vocal cords. 

5. Figure Out Your Vocal Range

Finding your vocal range can be challenging, but it will help make your voice sound better. To do this, we recommend using an instrument that you can follow along with but also one where you can identify the note you are hearing. If you can’t do this at home on a piano or guitar, you can use an app or an online keyboard. 

Start by going as low as you can. You want to be able to sing the note for at least three seconds while maintaining it. Keep going down until you find a note that you can’t hold for that long and sing clearly. Once you find the lowest possible note that you can sustain for three seconds, that is the low end of your vocal range. 

Now, do the same thing with higher notes. Again, make sure you can maintain it for at least three seconds. It is important that hitting the note does not cause you any vocal discomfort. Otherwise, you are straining your vocal cords and can damage them. 

Once you have your two notes, that is your vocal range. You should be able to hit all the notes within that range. Now that you know your vocal range, you should be able to determine which notes to avoid and which you can comfortably hit. 

Now that you have your range, you can determine your voice type. See where your vocal range falls and identify if your voice classification is bass, baritone, tenor, alto, mezzo-soprano, or soprano. Keep in mind that not everyone fits nicely into one classification. So, choose the one closest to your range. 

Once you have your range and classification figured out, it will be much easier to determine the notes you can sing and those you can’t. Staying within your vocal range will give you the confidence of being able to sing without straining or damaging your voice. This will also help build your confidence, which can help your voice sound better. 

6. Critique Your Own Voice

If you are like many other people, you may not like listening to your own voice. This is something that so many struggle with, but it is important to overcome this as a singer. The best way to improve your voice is to listen to your voice and critique it. 

When you listen to someone else sing, you can pretty easily point out when they miss a note or strain their vocal cords. Why let that knowledge go to waste when you can use it to improve your own voice? 

So, take the time to record yourself singing and listen to it. Once you get past the discomfort of hearing your voice, it will help you improve your voice. Doing this can help you recognize notes that you seem to struggle with and parts in a song that is difficult for you. 

Once you know what you struggle with, it will be easier to fix it. If you struggle to hit a specific note, then you know what note you need to practice. Your voice is not going to automatically hit every note you try to. You will sometimes struggle to master a difficult note. So, listen to your voice, find where you’re struggling, and practice what you’re struggling with. 

This is how most singers better themselves. Hearing yourself sing is an important part of improving your voice. So, play your voice back and find areas you can improve. This will have you singing better in no time. 

7. Record With Emotions

Whether you want to improve your speaking or singing voice, a great way to do that is by recording with emotion. It can be difficult to project emotion into our voice, especially if it wasn’t our personal experience. However, that emotion can be the difference between a good recording and a great one. 

If you’re singing a sad song, your voice should portray sadness. Same with happiness, anger, and other common emotions. The more you believe what you’re singing, the more confident and better your voice will sound.

This doesn’t mean that you need to experience heartbreak before you can sing a song about it. But pulling from sad experiences in your life and using that emotion to project your voice will make the final result that much better. 

You’ll probably need some practice before learning how to relay emotions in your recordings. At first, just try singing songs corresponding to how you already feel.

If you are bored today, pick a casual song that doesn’t have a lot of emotion in it. If you’re feeling angry, you can channel that anger to give your recording that much-needed edge.

Over time, you’ll learn to feel the songs you sing. This will help you sound better, and it can help people who listen to it relate to you. This may come more naturally to those who write their own songs. So, try songwriting to help you feel what you are singing. 

For those who aren’t songwriters, you can still emotionally relate to songs even if you have not experienced the same thing. It all comes down to understanding your lyrics and trying your best to record with the required emotion. 

Final Thoughts

There are several ways to make your voice sound better. While our list captures a lot of common methods that recording artists use to improve their voice, there are always more options for you out there.

So, find the right methods for you, but don’t forget to take care of your voice. Just remember that too much strain and not enough rest can cause permanent damage to your vocal cords. 

Sources

• https://www.ensembleschools.com/grace-music/reasons-vocal-warmups-important/
• https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/taking-care-your-voice
• https://utswmed.org/medblog/vocal-cords-care/
• https://www.wikihow.com/Find-Your-Vocal-Range