Singing confidence tips for adult beginners

Confidence is the foundation of our success. It’s the state of mind that lets us persevere in spite of fear of failure and helps us keep going towards our goals. As you embark on your singing lessons for adults, you may feel insecure about your voice, struggling to sing in front of others or record yourself. Many musicians go through this but, because our voice is also a part of us, vocalists often feel much more vulnerable to criticism and fear of failure. If this is you, do not fret – follow these singing confidence tips to unleash the self-assured performer you’ve always wanted to be!

Fall in Love with Your Sound

How are you going to feel confident if you don’t even like the sound of your voice? We know it’s easier said than done, especially if you’re a complete beginner. But you need to get to know your unique tone and best and worst qualities of your voice. Confidence comes from a mix of self-awareness and self-acceptance, so you need to be aware of your singing voice first in order to embrace it.

Many students who begin our singing lessons for adults often want to sound like someone else, usually, the singers they admire. It’s so important to acknowledge that the reason we love these vocalists if because of THEIR unique sound. Which means, you have it too!

A great place to start is a vocal assessment. Your vocal coach can give you an objective evaluation on your voice, your range and identify problem areas as well as its best qualities. From here, you can start to work towards developing your sound, without comparing it to others. By playing to your strengths, you will also learn to love what your voice can do instead of getting upset about what it can’t achieve just yet.

Practice Makes Perfect

How do we avoid stumbling and messing up on stage or in the studio? A solid practice routine is one of the most important singing confidence tips! Practicing regularly and deliberately, by targeting any problems in your performance and working towards your goals will add a buffer for situations that make you nervous.

You might have a moment of feeling lost and nervous as you’re about to perform. In that moment, your practice routine and muscle memory will help you carry on and deliver under pressure. Over time, you may feel like you’re able to improvise more on stage, but as you’re starting out, practice everything in your set. This includes audience interactions, your movement, facial expressions, as well as the lyrics and the songs themselves. Knowing your performance inside out will make you bulletproof when it’s your time to shine!

Focus on Your Mindset

Often, our lack of confidence as vocalists stems from a fear of being judged. It can affect us so much, to the point that we think our audience is made up of Simon Cowells who have already seen us at our worst and are expecting to be disappointed.

This is not at all the case. Think of any live show you’ve been to – you’ve definitely booked tickets because you want to see the artists, or, at worst, you happen to be on a night out and wanted to check out some live music. That’s who your audience will be made up of. They are either already enjoying you as an artist or feel openminded to what you have to offer. So, if you’ve followed our first two singing confidence tips, you’re comfortable with your voice and feel confident in your set, you’ve got nothing to worry about!

Our minds can sometimes come up with the most bizarre ideas, but that’s just how we’re wired. Our brains are designed to protect us from danger, so they may discourage us from stressful or unfamiliar situations. That’s okay. It’s up to you to acknowledge that this fear is not always rational and go out there and follow your goals instead. Even if things go wrong, it’s not the end of the world. Those people will forget soon enough, and it shouldn’t stop you from pursuing your singing dream. As long as you treat failure as an opportunity to reassess and learn from it, you’re onto a winning mindset.

Keep Yourself Accountable

This tip is an extension of our previous one. Confidence is a journey and keeping yourself accountable is key for continued development. It’s not about thinking you can do no wrong but understanding why you’re not where you’d like to be and how to change that.

If you’re unhappy with your recordings or live performances, you need to identify why that is. Could it be just a confidence issue or are there some things you could genuinely improve on? If so, what are they and what steps can you take towards improvement?

It’s also important to understand the type of criticism you should acknowledge or dismiss. If someone is giving you constructive criticism and reasons why they think you could do better, that is perfectly fine. You don’t have to follow it through if you think they’re wrong, but there is also no need to take it to heart. On the other hand, you should simply dismiss negative comments and bullying language. All of us experience it from time to time, especially online. If they’re not giving you any useful advice, chances are the dislike is not even directed at you specifically.

Acknowledge How Far You’ve Come

This is one of the most important singing confidence tips! No matter where you are on your journey, you need to celebrate how far you’ve come. Even if you are completely new to singing, think of other times you have accomplished something you didn’t think you could. Use that to drive you forward and give you the confidence and motivation to overcome any obstacles in your way. You’ve got this!

Develop Your Confidence with London Singing Institute

Our expert teachers at London Singing Institute will help you feel your most confident with singing! We specialise in singing lessons for adults, and we work with singers of all levels from beginner to advanced. At all stages of your singing career, you may experience some insecurities about your voice, stage presence or feel unsure of yourself as an artist. We are here to provide you with impartial, professional advice in a judgment-free environment. This way, you will tackle any issues that stop you from achieving your goals and overcome them with a positive mindset. Contact us today for your first lesson – we teach all genres online or in person at our stunning Central London premises.