Disclaimer

1. Being in Control

Certainly one of the most noticeable factors in whether someone seems like a good singer or not: are they in control of their voice?

Having good vocal control means staying “on pitch”. This means singing the pitch of notes accurately, rather than a bit sharp or flat. It also means not wandering off key or singing in the wrong key to begin with.

Singers with good vocal control are able to sing each note distinctly for the intended musical effect in a melody or harmony. They can also handle note leaps accurately, not jumping too far or not far enough in pitch whether they’re hitting high notes or low. Working on your control will help improve your singing.

Singers with a good voice have strong vocal control.

2. Good Tone

Singing tone is a combination of a few different factors, but it basically means “the overall sound of the voice”.

It’s almost always the vowels in words which are sustained in lyrics (i.e. “ah”, “oh” “ee” etc. rather than “ch” “ss” “th” etc.) and singers with good tone use clear consistent vowel sounds.

Tone also means the overall timbre (characteristic sound) of the voice. For example, is it hoarse or smooth, hard or soft, broad or narrow, light or heavy, and so on. To improve your singing and your tone, it’s a great idea to practice both your head voice and your chest voice, and be able to recognize when each is best to use – low and mid-range notes are often more comfortably sung in chest voice, while high notes require use of your head voice. It may also help to practice singing those sustained vowels to get the right tone in whatever register you are singing in.

Singers with a good voice have good vocal tone.

3. Clear Enunciation

It doesn’t matter if you’re hitting all the right notes if every word is mumbled. Good singers have clear enunciation, crafting each syllable precisely as intended.

Of course, in rock and pop music the delivery of lyrics is much more relaxed and you might not sing crisp syllables. Even here, each word should be expressed exactly as the singer intends.

Practicing your enunciation is an easy way to improve your singing voice, and get better at conveying your lyrical message!

Singers with a good voice clearly enunciate each word they sing.

4. Strong Support

One thing which can mark out a bad singer is that their voice seems weak or feeble. To improve your singing voice, you must have solid vocal support for your singing. This lets you produce good clear notes which sound strong and don’t waver. Vocal support makes you a better singer, and a stronger singer.

It also helps you to produce a broad tone rather than one which sounds thin and feeble, so you can sing certain passages and songs better. Although you might occasionally want to sing with a weak-sounding voice to best suit a particular song, a good singer must also have a voice which is capable of producing a strong broad tone. It’s better to have all your bases covered.

Vocal support comes from a combination of good posture (a hunched back is not conducive to good support!), proper breathing technique, and overall practice and development – all of which help improve your singing. This will also make it easier to hit those high notes over time, and they’ll sound better.

Singers with a good voice have strong support for their singing.

5. Suitable Volume

This is another immediate tell-tale sign of a poor singer: many people are either blasting out every note, or singing so quietly you may barely hear them. The listener is either deafened or frustrated by having to strain to hear. Either way, sing at a suitable volume or they won’t want to hear more!

Learning to sing at an appropriate volume is essential for sounding like a good singer. The volume must suit the music, varying appropriately with the musical phrasing, and be at the right overall level to match the other musicians and please your audience. Vocal control will greatly help you sing at a suitable volume and improve your singing.

Singers with a good voice sing at the right volume.

6. Suits the Style

The world of music is wonderfully diverse, and although we are all naturally gifted with a singing voice, these voices vary and they must vary to best suit the style of music being sung.

Have you ever heard someone at a karaoke night use a sweet and gentle voice to sing death metal? Or someone attempt to deliver a love ballad with a hoarse growling roar? Once you’ve stopped laughing at the sound coming out of their mouth, the chances are you don’t come away thinking they’re a good singer.

So what would make someone like our karaoke friend a better singer?

Good singers know how to adjust their tone, volume and overall expression to best suit the style of music. They also know to avoid genres which they aren’t (yet) practised in singing!

To put it another way: a good opera voice is not the same as a good rock voice or a good R&B voice. To improve your singing voice, practice singing in varying styles to become a better and more versatile vocalist. Vocal coaches can be very helpful for pointing you in the right direction of the tone and technique needed for a certain style.

Singers with a good voice sing in a style which suits the song.