5 Practice Tips for Beginner Idol Vocalists

So I just started singing about a year and a half ago and I've learned a lot on how to see improvement within a short amount of time. I'm definitely not an expert, but I thought I would share in case it would help anyone else out.

1. Practice with both the studio version of your song and the live version.

When a vocalist records a song, they do not do it in one take. They either sing line by line or record several takes and pick the best parts from each one. What you hear is heavily edited and not representative of what a live performance would sound like. I recommend practicing with the live version for two reasons. The first is that it's intimidating to never be able to live up to the perfection that is a studio recording. The second is that singers often sing things differently live than in the studio. For example, when I sing Yakusoku from Idolm@ster for a recording, I am able to sing it in chest voice if I take breaks in between verses or lines. When I sing it live, however, I have to sing it partially in head voice because my voice will start to strain (I'm working on my mixed voice but it's not quite there yet). I learned this from practicing with Asami Imai's live recording. Listening to a live version is a way to see how the song will realistically sound live.

2. Practice in different places, even if it's just different rooms.

I know this sounds super weird, but I've noticed I sing differently depending on where I am. Maybe its the acoustics in the room, maybe its something psychological. If you practice in different places, you will notice different things about your voice. Its also good practice for a performance; you probably won't see where you're performing until the day of, and practicing in different places will make it easy to perform in new places.

3. Record yourself regularly.

What you hear when you sing is different than what other people hear-- and that can be a good or bad thing. I don't know what the science behind it is, if you're interested check out this BBC article:(http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130913-why-we-hate-hearing-our-own-voice) .

Record yourself so that you know what you actually sound like to make sure you have the correct pitch and intonation.

4. Practice every day.

Seriously. Even if its just ten minutes in the car. Your voice is like a muscle, it gets stronger every time you use it.

5. Sing through your bridge every day.

This is where I messed up when I first started out. I refused to use my head voice because it sounded bad so it never got better. At my San Japan performance in 2018 I ended up straining my voice because of audio difficulties, and my voice tried to flip to head voice to stop the strain-- except I had no head voice. Even if you don't like the sound of head voice (like me lol), its a good tool to have under your belt so that you have the option to use it.

Bonus: Take vocal lessons with a vocal coach.

I know, I know, most of us are broke. But hear me out: you can find vocal lessons for $40/hr online and Martha from Kira Kira Entertainment offers voice lessons for $20/hr (I take lessons with her and she’s great). Even if its just the occasional lesson it can make the world of difference in your progress.