How to Improve Your Singing If You’ve Plateaued

As many of us embark on singing lessons for adults, we expect to be constantly progressing, excitedly learning a new skill. There are so many new songs to learn, vocal tips and tricks you never came across before. It all feels fresh and compelling…until it doesn’t.

Months or even years down the line, you may have reached a plateau. Once again, you are wondering how to improve your singing. Except this time, it’s not coming from a place of learning a new skill. You probably feel comfortable with your voice, you may feel like you’ve found your sound, your repertoire. And yet, something’s missing. You’re missing that excitement of a brand-new challenge and continued development.

Have You Actually Plateaued? Evaluate Your Progress

Often, vocalists are simply way too hard on themselves. You may notice quick progress in some areas of your voice, while others take a while to master. Maybe you’ve expanded your range quite quickly, but your belting notes need some work. Or, perhaps, you have achieved that perfect pitch, but are struggling to keep it up when singing quieter.

Whatever it is that you are struggling with, chances are, you might have already progressed without realising. That’s why it’s so important to record yourself singing for comparison and set new challenges, ones that may have felt impossible a few months ago. It is entirely possible that you’re not actually plateauing, but rather haven’t noticed how far you have come!

Make a Plan How to Improve Your Singing and Get Out of The Plateau

If you’ve decided that you have, indeed, hit a plateau, then it’s time to shake things up and move forward!

Firstly, you need to identify what it is that makes you feel stagnant. Do you find that maybe you are singing the same type of songs? Or, perhaps, you always rely on the same vocal techniques?

Is it that you’ve become very comfortable in your chosen genre and are wary of getting out there and exploring other options?

Plateaus can mean different things to different singers. Sometimes, it might not have anything to do with singing itself, but rather having the same routines, same work settings, similar projects…As creatives, we need stimulation, challenge and we need to get out there and try something new.

No matter how far you’ve come in singing, there will always be something you haven’t tried or something you can improve on. We take on so many roles as musicians and our ever-changing industry requires us to be versatile and adaptable.

So, take a critical and objective look at your current skill set and be honest with yourself. What is something you could improve on? How might that new ability help you advance your career? Perhaps there is a genre or area of music you’ve never ventured in. This is your perfect opportunity to do so!

Once you know your ‘blind spots’, make a plan to overcome them. This could include adding extra vocal lessons into your schedule where you focus on these issues. Or, maybe you want to set yourself a new challenge like writing a song each day or getting up on stage at the weekly open mic night at your local pub. Which brings us to our next point…

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone and Try Something New

You can’t get inspiration and motivation out of thin air! Think back to when you first started adult singing lessons – there were so many new exercises, new songs and challenges to explore. You need to maintain that same level of excitement to enjoy your voice and get rid of that feeling that you’ve hit a brick wall.

It’s time to shake things up. If you’ve always sang covers and never wrote an original piece of music before – start writing! If you’ve always sang pop and want to push yourself to learn new techniques – maybe it’s time to try rock, which will give you more dynamic power to work with or jazz for its intricate music theory and unusual melodic choices.

As musicians, we need to draw inspiration from our environment and it’s easy to feel burnt out and uninterested if you’re doing the same thing every day. We mentioned previously, getting out of a routine or a plateau might not even mean trying different singing techniques. It could be changing up your environment and trying something new that you’ve always been afraid of as a creative. For example, if you’ve always played live, you may want to look at how to improve your singing in a studio environment. Or vice versa, if you’ve always made music in your bedroom, it might be time to get booking some live gigs.

The adrenaline, feeling of accomplishment and excitement will inspire you to see your creative practice in a whole new light!

If you want to prevent routine from setting in, add challenges into your week on a smaller scale. This could be listening to a new artist each day, learning a new skill or technique, learning, or writing, a new song each week. Make sure it is sustainable and easy to fit into your routine, while challenging you on a regular basis.

A Vocal Coach to Keep You on The Right Track!

A vocal coach is invaluable to your progress, both as a musician and an artist. Someone with an objective opinion, who you trust and who has your best interests at heart can be instrumental to your success. At London Singing Institute, we specialise in delivering adult singing lessons in a comfortable, encouraging environment.

Our vocal coaches will approach your lessons without judgment, focusing on you, and your needs, as a vocalist. We will help you with motivation, continued progress and development so you don’t hit that dreaded artistic plateau. Lessons are available to suit all needs and abilities from group classes to individual and intense singing courses. You can learn in a style that suits you, including classical, musical theatre, jazz, rock, pop, and blues – or a combination of techniques. Our expert vocal coaches can impart their knowledge as experienced music industry professionals, helping you with live performance and studio work, while developing your musicianship. Contact us today to find out more about our adult singing lessons in Central London or live online!