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 can 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.
- 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.
- 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. Still, each word should be expressed exactly as the singer intends.
- Strong Support
One thing which can mark out a bad singer is that their voice seems weak or feeble. To sound like a good singer you must have solid vocal support for your singing. This lets you produce good clear notes which sound strong and don’t waver.
It also helps you to produce a broad tone rather than one which sounds thin and feeble. Although you might occasionally want to sing with a weak-sounding voice to suit a particular song, a good singer must have a voice which is capable of producing a strong broad tone.
Vocal support comes from a combination of good posture, proper breathing technique, and overall practice and development of your singing voice.
- Suitable Volume
good singers control their volume
This is another immediate tell-tale sign of a poor singer: they are either blasting out every note, or singing so quietly you can barely hear them. The listener is either deafened or frustrated by straining to hear. Either way, sing at a suitable volume or they won’t want to hear more!
Singing 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.
- 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 suit the style of music being sung.
Have you ever heard someone at a karaoke night try to sing death metal with a sweet and gentle voice? Or someone attempt to deliver a love ballad with a hoarse growling roar? Once you’ve stopped laughing, the chances are you don’t come away thinking they’re a good singer…
Good singers know how to adjust their tone, volume and overall expression to 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.
- Consistency
With all the characteristics above, it’s important to sing with consistency. If you sound good for a few notes but then terrible after that, the overall impression will be a bad one.
You’ve probably seen this before: the singer who shyly mumbles their way through a verse, and then reaches the chorus and sings a strong, powerful, accurate performance, before returning to their mumbling for the next verse….
Having a good voice means having a good voice throughout a song, not just now and then. It means having consistent volume, tone, pitching, support, and style at all times.
- Musical Phrasing
The human voice is perhaps the most expressive of all instruments – but it can also be the most boring! Good musical phrasing is essential for a compelling performance.
Phrasing means how the singer “shapes” each line of the song. It’s a combination of pitch, volume, tone, enunciation and more. Consistency is the foundation for a good performance but it phrasing which makes the singer sound like a person rather than a robot!