How to Sing in Front of an Audience

Rehearsing for Your Performance

Practice. The only real way to successfully perform is practice. In the weeks leading up to your performance, make sure you make time each day to practice. If you've rehearsed well, you'll do a better job the day of your performance. Incorporate practice time into your daily routine. Take an hour or so to practice each day. Challenge yourself a little more with each practice session. At first, you may sing while reading the lyrics on the page. As you continue to practice, try to rely more and more on memorization alone. To study your stage presence, try singing in front of a mirror and studying your facial expressions. You can also record yourself singing and play it back to yourself. You can identify any weak spots and focus on those in another practice session. EXPERT TIP Halle Payne Halle Payne Singer/Songwriter Halle Payne has been writing songs since the age of eight. She has written hundreds of songs for guitar and piano, some of which are recorded and available on her Soundcloud or Youtube channel. Most recently, Halle was a part of a 15-person collaboration in Stockholm, Sweden, called the Skål Sisters. Halle Payne Halle Payne Singer/Songwriter Halle Payne, Singer/Songwriter, tells us: By the time I get on stage to perform a song, I always want the lyrics to come to me like muscle-memory. If you find yourself having to think about the lyrics when you're practicing, keep practicing — it should feel automatic!

Study the song. Performing a song is more than just hitting the right notes. You want to know what a song means so you can deliver the lyrics with the right resonance. As you prepare for your performance, strive to learn about the song. Think about the speaker behind the song. How does the speaker feel and why? With a song from, say, a musical this can be easy. You can look into the character's history. With a song with a more abstract narrator, however, the information you have about the singer is limited to the song. Read through the lyrics and try to analyze what's happening emotionally. How does the narrator feel? Why? Try to learn a bit about the writer of the song. This can help you better understand what the song may be about. If a writer has a sad romantic history, for example, knowing this brings a lot of added context to a love song.

Go to a few karaoke nights. If you're nervous about singing on stage, try attending a few karaoke nights with friends or family members. Karaoke can present you with a low stakes chance to test out your skills to a small audience. This can be especially helpful if you're singing a popular song that's likely to be an option for karaoke selection.

Make sure you memorize the lyrics. One of the most important aspects to a live performance is making sure you remember your lyrics. If you're nervous, it's easy to slip up and forget a line or two. There are a lot of tricks you can use to memorize lyrics quickly. Focus on one verse at a time. Trying to memorize the entire song in one sitting will be too stressful. It can help to walk fast as you recite the lyrics. Reciting the lyrics quickly, with quick body motion, forces you to say them without thinking. This can help the lyrics become an automatic response. Focus in on the lyrics you typically forget. There may be a certain pattern, and being aware of this pattern can help you remember when to focus more during a performance. For example, you may have pronoun issues. You may have a tendency to say "I" and "me" instead of "you." Try to be conscious of this as you proceed to sing for an audience.

Rehearse in front of an audience. Feedback can be a great way to prep yourself for a performance. A listening audience can provide you with tips and advice on where to improve. It can help to choose people who are not afraid to be constructively critical. You want to sing to someone who's willing to give fair feedback. Do not select someone who's overly positive or overly negative. You should also pick someone who knows something about singing. If you have a friend or family member who sings as well, this could be a great person to listen to you perform. EXPERT TIP Halle Payne Halle Payne Singer/Songwriter Halle Payne has been writing songs since the age of eight. She has written hundreds of songs for guitar and piano, some of which are recorded and available on her Soundcloud or Youtube channel. Most recently, Halle was a part of a 15-person collaboration in Stockholm, Sweden, called the Skål Sisters. Halle Payne Halle Payne Singer/Songwriter Halle Payne, Singer/Songwriter, adds: "One trick is to practice in front of an audience, and ask them to try to be a little bit distracting. Have them cough, whisper, or take pictures, and practice staying in the zone while they do that. Most performances don't happen in a quiet perfect bubble, you have to create the mental state yourself."

Singing on Stage

Keep the song's meaning in mind. When you go up on stage, think back to the song. Remember the song's meaning before the music starts. Ask yourself a few questions about the song to get yourself in the proper mindset to perform. Who is the speaker in the song? What is he or she thinking? Where has he or she been? Where does he or she hope to go? Who is the song for? Is the speaker singing to a generic audience, or is this song directed at a particular person?

Think about your audience. You should also think about your audience as you sing. Try to feel the energy in the room. If you're playing a rock song to an audience who's getting wild and excited, you should play to that energy. Sing with more charisma and intensity. If you're playing to an audience who are quiet and respectful, try to tone down your delivery slightly.

Use the microphone wisely. How you sing into the microphone can affect your sound on stage. Make sure you sing into the microphone in a way that produces a desirable sound. Hold the microphone by the shaft instead of the head, as not to muffle the sound. If you're singing at a lower frequency, sing close to the mic. If you're singing louder, or in a more booming voice, keep your head away from the microphone. If you don't like the sound you're getting, try switching the angle slightly. This can help tweak the sound just slightly.

Combat stage fright while singing. It's perfectly normal to feel stage fright when singing for an audience. There are steps you can take to combat this sense of stage fright. Prior to taking the stage, do some exercise. Go for a walk or a run. Do some stretches. Exercise is great at stress reduction. Pose questions for yourself before each line that ask about the line's context. This is a trick that allows you to pretend you're answering an individual's questions instead of singing to a big crowd. For example, say you're singing "Eleanor Rigby" by the Beatles. Before the line, "Eleanor Rigby, picks up the rice in the church where the wedding has been," imagine someone asking you, "What does Eleanor Rigby do after the wedding?" If you're feeling insecure, remember any compliments you've received for your singing in the past. This can help fuel your passion and keep you focused on stage.

Take deep breaths. Practice deep breathing on stage in order to make sure you have enough energy to sing. This can also help calm your nerves on stage. Breathe deep into your stomach over your chest. Momentarily tense your muscles as you breathe in, and then relax them as you breathe out.

Performing While Singing

Incorporate spontaneity wisely. It can be fun to add a bit of spontaneous movements on stage. People may get tired of watching someone simply sing. Try to add a few fun moves to your routine, like pacing on stage or gesticulating with your hands. You can try walking and then changing direction every time the speaker has a new line. This can help show you're moving through thoughts on stage. You can also try moving your hands to the rhythm of the music.

Be aware of your body. While moving on stage can help, you want to make sure you're aware of your body. In order to help yourself navigate turns, try doing something called spotting. This means you focus your gaze on something off stage, like a member of the audience. This can help keep you grounded in the moment and prevent you from losing track of yourself in the excitement of the movement. You should also focus on what your body is doing. Strive to be aware of your hands and face as you sing. Avoid distracting gestures, like playing with your hair or picking at your fingers. Also, be aware of your posture. Try to stand tall when singing. Not only does this convey confidence, it can help elevate your voice.

Move around when you feel yourself shaking. You may feel nervous on stage and shake slightly. Try to move when you feel this sensation. This can help ground you, and add a little spice to your performance. Swing your hips and do a small dance. This can help make you look like more of a performer, while simultaneously distracting you from stage fright. Try to dance to the beat of the music. Tap your feet and wiggle your shoulders slightly.

Be aware of your facial expression. It's a good idea to strive for an appropriate facial expression when singing. You don't want to be grinning during a sad song or looking weepy during a happy anthem. Try to be aware of your expression. Think about the song as you sing it. You'll be more likely to use the appropriate expression if you're really invested in the words. It may be a good idea to sing in front of a mirror in the weeks leading up to your performance. You can use the mirror to gauge whether you have a tendency to grimace or make an unpleasant face while singing.