Mastering vocals can take years of work, especially if you’re still new to the practice. Being a singer is different than being a musician: you are more likely to sing wrong notes than you are to play a flat note on a piano, for instance. It’s a hard path to follow but it’s very rewarding, especially once you begin to see results.

People study for years before they begin to master their voices. If you’re interested in becoming a better singer, you’re going to have to work hard as well. However, there are a few ways to practice singing better that you can try in order to see more improvement quickly.

Sing Like You Mean it

One of the best ways to get comfortable singing anything in front of anyone is to always practice as if you’re performing for someone. There should be no in-between vocals that sort of just play around with the notes. Increasing your confidence means always being willing to sing as if you’re actually performing for someone. This will help you get comfortable with the loudness of your voice so that when the time comes, you’ll be able to get into it easily.

Get Some Accompaniment

Another great way to practice is to use backing tracks. These are instrumental tracks designed to be built around live vocals, yours specifically, so that you can get comfortable singing in tempo with the band or beat of your choice. Instrumental tracks, especially ones derived from famous pop songs, are perfect for getting comfortable with keys used by professional singers. If you want to sound like someone else in terms of pitch and timing, you can bounce back and forth between the backing track and the full track, singing along to each one separately every other time.

If you need to look for tracks to sing along to, start by looking online and find a website that has thousands of instrumentals for you to choose from, including different genres and musical styles. Vocal versatility is very important, so don’t be afraid to try singing something that’s not your normal style.

Practice with a Microphone

Singing with a mic is very different than singing naturally. Your voice will probably sound different when you can actually hear yourself. Additionally, microphones are very unforgiving, so you can’t get away with as many pitch errors. This is because a mic magnifies every tiny thing in your voice, so the better you are with a mic, the better you’ll be without one.

Get a Gig

One of the best ways to practice is to simply do it live. Get yourself a band, or even use a playlist containing some of the instrumental tracks you’ve already been working with, and go out and find an open mic night or a venue that will book you. The best way to practice singing in front of other people is to simply sing in front of other people. You might be nervous at first but after the first few times, you’ll get totally comfortable with it and be able to have fun.