Take singing lessons but be sure to seek out a qualified teacher. Check their references. Look at their training and/or schooling as well as their work history.

Practice singing in front of a mirror. This will help you notice posture, airflow, facial expressions, and overall how you appear to an audience.

Open your mouth! Yea, yea, I know... most people are trying to get you to shut up. Well, if you can learn to sing with your mouth "very" wide open, you will hit clearer notes and sing more strongly and cleanly overall.

Keep your vocal chords moisturized. Drink lots of water or liquids at room temperature.

Try not to hold your breath when you're singing. You want the air to flow freely through your diaphragm and back out.

Remember, your vocal chords are an instrument and it must be cared for like an instrument. Be sure to get proper rest and do not shout or scream for long periods of time before a vocal performance.

Sing with a karaoke machine. This is a great tool to allow you to "have the floor". It provides the words and the back-up musicians. Just be sure to balance it out later on with real musicians. There is quite a big difference when performing professionally and you need to get used to the live performance arena

Don't just mouth the words with melody. SING!...from the bottom of your heart and soul. Put heart, feeling, and emotion into every line and sing with conviction. This will translate into an outstanding performance for the listener.

Don't drink, do drugs, or smoke. These are the worst things ever for your voice.

Stay away from air-conditioning before a vocal performance.

You must sing 1 to 3 hours a day so your your voice will be clear and practice in hitting high notes -akaichu

Don't audition for American Idol. Its a joke and a slap in the face of real musicians who worked hard to get where they are. Leave the karaoke at the bar. You will learn to appreciate your accomplishments if you actually earn them, rather than winning a popularity contest.

Like any musical discipline, I think that listening to great performers helps you hone your sound and technique. I even suggest singing along with great recordings, trying to match the vocalist exactly. Then, after you've learned their way, you have some new techniques and the ability to create your own interpretation of the piece of music.

Don't forget about listening to recordings of singers from earlier times. For example, recordings of tenor Enrico Caruso are some of the earliest recordings of classical music.

Don't ask someone if they are a singer or a musician as singers are offended by this. (Singers are obviously musicians, too.) Ask instead if they are a singer or an instrumentalist. Or, you can ask whether they are a vocalist or play an instrument.

Just as instrumentalists should listen to singers to emulate the voice in their playing, singers can likewise learn new musical techniques from listening to and copying the playing of talented instrumentalists. Don't know where to start? Listen to some famous instrumental works or musicians and find what you like.

In classical music, the voice should have a "spinning" quality to the tone. Some of this is created by a natural vibrato. The rest is done by creating a resonance from the way your mouth is shaped that brings out well-formed overtones. Study with a vocal instructor can help.

Motions of the body and arms can help you to be more expressive and technically able in your singing, especially if you are a kinesthetic learner - one who learns by feeling.

If you sing pop, gospel, soul, rock, blues, or even jazz, even the occasional voice lesson from a well qualified instructor can put you ahead of the competition. Consider a classical instructor. You don't have to use everything you are taught in performance. If you can transfer some of the techniques, though, you can better maintain your vocal health and prevent nodules or scarring that will shorten your career.

Consider singing as part of a group, even if your main interest is solo work. It can really open up your ears to singing better on pitch and blending your voice to match other sounds.

Avoid strange remedies for your voice. If you train among singers, you will undoubtedly hear strange concoctions of beverages and even over the counter medications to improve vocal stamina or help a fatigued voice. These will do more harm than good. Sometimes simple vocal rest is needed.

It is very important to keep hydrated. It is a little known fact, though, that drinking excessive amounts of water just before singing can remove too much of the natural lubricant your body creates on your vocal chords.

While it is fun to copy someone else's singing style, be sure not to do so to the detriment of your physical voice. Very few people have vocal chords that lend themselves to singing like James Brown, Luciano Pavarotti, or Mariah Carey.

Most singers need to have some type of basic warm-up routine, even if very basic. Make sure your routine always includes the same basic passages or exercises so you'll be able to judge where your voice is in relation to where it normally is.

With vibrato, most vocal instructors agree that it is best not to practice it, but to let it develop and occur naturally. If you are singing with correct technique and your voice is maturing, it will happen. If it does not, it usually means that there is something to correct in your technique.

It has been said that singing is yelling on pitch. To a degree, it may be.

Here's a cool trick that can be used solo or by an entire choir. If you have a section of music that you are supposed to hum rather than sing with an open mouth, try this - with your mouth closed, touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth, then hum. You'll notice that the hum projects much better due to increased nasal resonance.

A nasal sound is usually thought of as being harsh on the ears. Truth be told, all great singers who really project have a good deal of nasal resonance. When you sing, does any air at all come from your nose? A little should. Experiment!

When singing notes that are very high in your vocal range, don't be afraid to modify the vowel sounds a bit of you are singing solo. For example, the "a" in "far" could be sung where it sounds like it is between an "a" and an "e".

If you have ever sung in a professional choir, you know how important it is that the group be uniform in their vowel sounds. This promotes blending in tone quality, and can help keep notes better in tune throughout the choir.

If you sing in a group, be open to shifting to a different place in the ensemble, even if it is not beside your best friend, and even if there is someone a bit taller in front of you, or vice versa. Some good choir directors will put people in different places according to the unique qualities of their voice and tone.

An old joke says that an alto is just a soprano who can read music.

While funny, and sometimes true in practice, it is ideal to be able to sing the voice part that your voice suits the best. For this reason, you will create more depth in your choir if you can learn to read music and sing harmonies. That way, if you truly are an interior voice such as an alto or tenor, you will be able sing it, rather than your director having to recruit someone who can read the music but whose voice may not be as well suited to the part.

The renowned Harry Bulow, a composer and music theory professor once asked his class in earnest why in the world J.S. Bach used the same melodies in so many chorales, simply reharmonizing the lower parts. He suggested that perhaps Bach just liked those particular melodies. A quick-witted music student remarked "Either that, or he just had really stupid sopranos!"

Overcome the stereotype, sopranos and basses. Don't let the ability to easily hear your part become a crutch - improve your sight-reading skills whenever you are able.

Pavarotti was said to have said that singing takes lots and lots of memory. Point taken to remain focused in concentration when you are performing. You will never be added to the list of those who have forgotten the lyrics when singing the national anthem.

Many singers have beautiful voices and technical ability. The very best also do a superb job of interpreting the lyrics. Tell a story! Always be thinking of how what you are singing lends expression to the lyrics and artistic thought behind the song.

When preparing for a performance, balance practice and rest. The last thing you want to do is tire yourself out, causing more harm than good.

While you don't want to tire yourself out, make sure you can sing a complex passage 5 to 10 times without a mistake if you are having problems with it and will need to perform it.

Many female singers have remarked that they have done some of their best singing when pregnant. Others have said that their baby's excited actions in the womb when singing made it difficult. Stay positive and keep in mind that it could happen either way.

A man's vocal prime is much later in life than a womans, many times reaching into the late 50s.