First let us define what is “singing voice quality”? From a common listener point of view, it means to them having a pleasant, compelling voice and can belt ultra- high notes beyond human imagination. Really? For example, common listeners associate a certain voice quality to an established singer; such as comparing your quality to Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, etc. It also means that if you cannot sing LIKE them, you SUCK.
But is this really the meaning of “singing voice quality”? The anwer is NO. It is because, the following are the characteristics of having a quality singing voice (you cannot argue here, this is what so called as “technical skill” in singing):
1.) Can sing almost perfectly in-tune with a background music or in acapella.
Explanation: Singing is a gift or talent to radiate sound waves from your mouth that is in-tune with a background music. It is also an ability to perfectly radiate musical notes from your mouth and hitting the right notes such as in the case of an acapella.
This can be measured simply by having you:
a.) To sing a certain minus one at the original key – of course this is easy, this is what you are practicing daily.
b.) To sing again the minus one version of that song with a unexpected change of key (example – increase the key of the song 3 steps higher). If you can still sing perfectly in tune; chances you have good singing quality. Quality singers adopt the key right away and can sing in-tune no matter what is the key signature of the music.
c.) In case of acapella, you can sing at a certain pitch according to the vocal piece of that music.
What does this imply?. If you are recording artist or a singer that cannot live without Antares Auto-tune, you are really a bad singer. Or if you are a singer that are afraid to render vocal live performances and will just settle on a lip sync. Conclusion: Only hype or non-sense controversy can make you a popular artist.
What are the improvement tips in this case: Well, try to sing at a perfect pitch. Trying hard to practice “in-tune” with the music is 100 % recommended and more effective than a daily belting practice to be like Whitney Houston. Being to sing high notes does not equate quality, the important is to hit perfect notes!
2.) Trademark Voice! – this is the voice that you are to be known for what you really are, well how good is it depends how on many persons you have already impressed with your own voice. You do not need to sound like Mr/Miss Extremely-Famous-Celebrity-Singer because you have your own brand -your own voice, given by GOD.
Trademark voice is what makes Led Zeppelin, Beatles, Barbra Streisand, Elvis Presley become legendary singers without any marketing, publicity or recording label hype.
To measure how good your trademark voice, monitor your performance; say you made 50 shows and in these shows; 45 of them praise your unique voice. Well, that's a good indication that you have great unique voice.
To improve; just like any tradermark – you need to protect it; by developing more unique singing styles and performances. Do not copy styles of other singers, you will not be known for what you really are but for that certain singer you are copying.
3.) Repeat successful performance in a continual basis – if you are a singer, you should sing regularly just like a doctor working daily in a hospital.
Measure your performance success by having a lot of shows. If you made 20 shows and 18 of these shows always reveal your common mistakes. You need to practice some more. Only by “constant correct practice you can attain perfection”.
Do not afraid to commit a mistake because:
“Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention,
sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents
the wise choice of many alternatives.” -William Foster
You can never improve as a singer if you do not know what are your mistakes. By knowing your mistake; quality singing voice and performance is NOT an accident but it is a product of hard work, constant correct practice and determination. Sure it is NOT an overnight success, or even your own “physical looks” or the recording label million dollar budget cannot help to improve the quality of your singing. You might be popular but your singing still sucks, big time.
