Tip # 19

Singing artistically entails transporting the audience from the concert hall to imaginary lands and inspiring places. In order to do that, singers must be well read, and broadly so, because it takes various kinds of nutritive ingredients to produce informed and imaginative singers. Vibrant minds breed vibrant singers.

Tip # 18

Befriend your mirror as it truthfully reveals postural faults, facial expressions, jaw movements, articulatory tensions in the tongue, lips, neck, and shoulders. Vocal hygiene requires the faithful use of a full-length mirror like a toothbrush is needed in dental hygiene. Better yet, as technology covers more territory, capture your practice sessions on video and review every aspect of your singing with the precision of a neurosurgeon.

Tip # 17

Treat your collaborators like royalty. You need people in order to succeed; so, be likable and genuinely care for each colleague. Provide your pianist with legal copies of your music, ensuring that there is ample time for music learning and rehearsing before each performance. Use respect in all interactions with conductors, directors, teachers, coaches, other musicians, and fellow singers. Their trust in you and respect for you will enhance your own singing.   

Tip # 16

You need faith, a lot of faith in order to sing well. Unlike all other instruments, the human voice cannot be readily seen or touched. So, you get to train your mind to trust the air, educate your heart to value the process more than the product, and instruct your body to be supple and responsive to the directives of trustworthy teachers and coaches. 

Tip # 15

Commit to warming up slowly and meticulously before practicing, rehearsing, or performing in order to avoid vocal injury. A good warm-up regimen prepares the whole instrument -- mind, heart, and body -- for the rigorous event that singing represents.   

Tip # 14

Unless the music steps up from the page, unless the words become a part of one's physical and spiritual makeup, unless the relationship between performer and audience is seen as intimate and vital, singing merely adds garbled sounds to the cacophonous noise of the world. Music changes lives only when we share it as though it truly matters.   

Tip # 13

Singing to impress often wins competitions, receives accolades, secures a role, and even lands a good job. However, singing to express is the only way to win hearts.   

Tip # 12

The human voice is an incredible gift; it is the only instrument capable of conveying words. Therefore, spend ample time fine-tuning and sharpening your articulation -- poor diction equals poor singing.   

Tip # 11

Face technical issues with patience, grace, and determination. It takes a mighty long time to gain vocal proficiency. So, wait with perseverance. Give yourself the grace of trying again and again until mastery is achieved. Set specific and measurable goals, committing yourself to remain accountable to trustworthy fans and critics until those goals are reached.

Tip # 10

Singers gossip. 
Your singing will be reviewed constantly. 
Period. 

So, the golden rule is: Sing with the same awareness that should be present when emailing or posting online -- everyone will hear/read/see this. Therefore, perform only material that has been successful in lessons and rehearsals. Remember that it is success that breeds success.

Tip # 9

Use energy, courage, abandon, and primal charisma when singing. Yet, never sing so loudly that you are past the point of beauty. Singing is first and foremost an aesthetically pleasing art form!   

Tip # 8

Do not sing a note if the strings of your heart remain unplucked. 
Do not sing a word unless the text comes from your soul. 
Singing is a genuine act!   

Tip # 7

It is highly frivolous and never worth it to strain your voice -- singing (and speaking) too much, too soon, too high, too low, too loudly, too quietly, etc. Therefore, use patience -- warm-up well, slowly stretch your muscles, learn your music thoroughly, limit your amount of voice usage, avoid all excesses. Longevity, not levity, is the key!   

Tip # 6

Without rightly directed air, there can be no health and no solid singing. The first order of business, then, is to daily invest in maintaining full use of the lungs through adequate rest, ample exercise, good nutrition, correct instruction, and the avoidance of hazardous substances. 

Tip # 5

Have you relaxed lately? Stop. Smile. Stretch. Smell the flowers. Great singing derives from a spirit of relaxation and gratitude made possible by discovering and nurturing the divine gift of connecting with nature -- walking in the woods, sitting by the water, catching a glimpse of a breathtaking sunset, listening to the chirping of birds, etc.

Tip # 4

Singing is a privilege.
Embrace it with grace and gratitude.

Singing is a sport in terms of the demands placed on your body.
Embrace vocal training with the discipline and drive of an Olympian.

Tip # 3

Practice six days a week and take one day off. The practice session can be as short as ten minutes. It is helpful if practice is done twice a day when voices are young and changing a bit from year to year. Daily concentration on small sets of repetitive commands is best in most people.