I have been singing my entire life, and I am blessed to have an incredible range. Your voice is a muscle. Think of it like lifting weights. No one starts off being a world class body builder. It takes work, and time. It is so difficult to describe technique in text. Additionally, I could write a novel on all I know.

Start with this… Here are my suggestions. Try to practice every day, or at least several times a week. If you have an instrument around, start by figuring out your range… Low note to high note. Then begin to practice.

Start with your lowest note. Sing very softly using your diaphragm to support the note. Sing it evenly and hold it as long as you can. Then go up to the next note until you get up to the notes that begin to strain your voice. Back off to the note just before the strain, and work it. Sing it using different vowels and work to strengthen just that note. Work the muscle. As it begins to get tired, go down to your lowest notes and do the same. Strengthen your voice by hold them as long as possible, and by singing different vowels.

Now sing scales – Sing up five notes and back down. Do not use too much pressure. Sing very softly and start with just the E vowel. Singings very softly, hold the last note. Do this with different letters and vowels. It sounds boring, but it works. You will discover notes throughout your range that are weaker than others. In some cases it might just be the singing of some vowels along your range which are more difficult than others. Work Them! Work for perfection. Try to minimize the vibrato. Go for a controlled even pitch! Eventually, you should have enough control to approach those higher notes with more confidence.

Please remember… ALWAYS warm up your vocals before singing. At least fifteen to thirty minutes. Drink PLENTY OF WATER… All the time! Do sit-ups to strengthen your stomach and diaphragm. I really hope this helps. Good Luck!

You can start singing scales using all of the different vowel sounds – like do scales saying "ah", then do them saying "ee", etc. And breathe from your diaphragm (it's not really your stomach, but you use this giant half-moon shaped muscle right above your stomach). If you have trouble breathing like this, push out all of the air you can, and then let it all flow in as deep as possible – don't force it in, but let it come in naturally, allowing your stomach to swell up like a balloon. You may want to try this on your back just to see how to breath like this, but ideally you should stand when singing – good posture goes a long way.

Also, if you have trouble staying in key, you can try some ear training. There are some programs you can download that help with this, but you can just use a musical instrument (that is in tune) and play scales on it, and try to match the pitch with your voice. The more you hear the proper notes, the better your ear will develop, so it is very important for the instrument to be in tune. Also, try to listen to music that is technically correct – like opera, or anything where all of the notes are in tune.

There are a lot of other things you can do, but your voice teacher will teach them to you. Don't worry about sounding awful, because your teacher should not be judgmental – they are there to make you get better. Sometimes it's more rewarding to teach someone who has a lot to learn, than someone who is already very proficient (I'm a writing tutor, and that has definitely been the case with me).

EDIT: Oh yeah, and when you practice scales you should also use a piano or another instrument, because that will help your ear training. If you want to learn the notes, you can also sing each note as you play it instead of doing vowels. If you don't have a piano though, then there are piano simulations online.

Also, you should start as low as you can without straining, and go to as high as possible without straining. There is a difference between your head voice, and your chest voice, which is something I didn't realize when I first got voice lessons, so I was initially only trained in my head voice. Chest voice is kind of like your speaking voice, and head voice is more sing-songy, so you should practice both and try to integrate them – the teacher will help you even out the break (you'll have a break between the two).

1. Know thy voice.

Spend quality alone time with your voice. Take your voice out on dates, so to speak, and really get to know it. You might even try recording your singing voice to hear it more objectively. Find out the answers to these questions:

Is my singing voice big or small? Thin or full?
What kind of vibrato do I have? Fast, slow, medium, heavy, thin, non-existent? Am I able to sing both with and without vibrato? When I sing without vibrato, does it feel different in my body than when I do sing with vibrato?

What is my full vocal range? What range am I most comfortable singing in?
Where is my passaggio (the pitch(es) where the voice changes registers)?
How long can I sing without taking a breath? (i.e. How well do I support my breath?) What do I notice in my body and what do I notice about my tone when I start to run out of breath?

How does it feel in my body when I am singing well and when I am not singing well?
What kinds of food and drink affect my voice negatively/positively?
How long does it take for my voice to "warm up"?

There are no right or wrong answers to these questions—everybody's voice is different. The more informed you are about your own voice, the better you will be able to care for it and improve it.

2. Take care of yourself.

Your body is your instrument and you only get one. So, stay hydrated. Get enough sleep. Don't smoke.

3. Support your breath.

You've probably heard this before by every choral director and voice teacher you've ever had—and there's a reason for that. Proper breath support is imperative if you want your tone to sound the best it can. Unfortunately, it seems like every pedagogue has a different way of explaining breath support, which leads to a lot of confusion. This is an area where a personal voice teacher will come in handy for you. He or she will work one-on-one with you to help you learn or improve your breath support so that your tone is always supported. [Read: "Choral Cliché: Support the Tone."]

4. Keep your jaw loose.

A tense jaw will cause your tone to sound constricted and may even cause you to sing out of tune. So, reduce your jaw movement to only what is necessary and don't chew on your vowels. For example, if you are singing a major scale on "ah," there is little need to move your jaw while ascending from pitch to pitch. Keep your jaw as stationary and as loose as possible, and think of making the shape of the vowel inside your mouth rather than with the muscles in your lips.

5. Read ahead of the beat.

When reading music, always have your eye at least one or two beats ahead—that way you can anticipate what's coming next and you'll be less likely to be caught off guard when you encounter a curveball interval jump. This can be especially helpful when doing a cold sightread through a new piece of music.

6. Listen louder than you sing.

Aural multi-tasking—the ability to listen to yourself while simultaneously listening to other singers and musicians in your ensemble—is a challenge that every choral singer faces. Please: Do not plug up one earlobe to be able to hear yourself better. Why? If you have to do that to hear yourself, then you aren't training yourself to listen holistically.

If you're having trouble hearing yourself in the group, one trick is to angle your music book or folder in front of you (but without completely burying yourself behind it, of course) so that some of your sound bounces back to you as you sing. Use acoustics to your advantage.

The best way to avoid vocal straining is to sing correctly. No matter how experienced or inexperienced a singer may be, many have at one time or another strained their vocal chords. Whether you are singing once or twice a week or once a month, take care of your voice and use it properly every time you sing. The voice is a singer's instrument. Care for it the way a musician cares for their instrument.

The usual symptoms of vocal straining are tightness in the throat, a raspy tone or partial loss of voice or range. Many singers will experience vocal straining or partial loss of voice after long rehearsals, multiple shows or singing in higher ranges. If you prepare yourself for these situations, you will sing more comfortably and will not experience any straining. Below are 5 ways to help you recognize and avoid straining.

Breathing Correctly

One of the most important parts of singing is your breathing. If you are running out of air and still pushing out the notes, you will experience straining.

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