What’s the best way to practice? What if I’m finding a song difficult?
Slow it down
Use Practice mode to slow songs down. You can also select Pause and sing what’s on screen at your own pace. This helps you to build the muscle memory needed, to sing songs up to speed.
With Auto tempo mode, Yousician reduces the speed to 50%, and then goes up or down depending on how you sing. If that feels too fast, you can move the slider down to 25%.
Practice in parts
It’s most efficient to learn songs one part at a time, focusing on just that section until you’ve got it down. You can pick individual parts from the song start screen. The first part is unlocked when you start a new song. You can move on to the next part once you’ve unlocked the previous one.
Practicing one part at a time breaks the song into bite-size pieces, so you’re not trying to focus on too much at once. It also makes it easier to spot the repeating chunks of music that make up most songs. For example, chances are that each “Verse” section is very similar, each “Chorus” is similar, and so on.
You can break things up even further in Practice mode. Move the sliders to loop difficult sections. This way, you can really focus on a specific trouble spot.
Once you've mastered all the parts, you can sing the whole song. You can access the whole song by selecting the Practice or the Play button on the song start screen.
Move on, then cycle back
Here’s the best way to make progress in the long run: do your best for now, move on to other things, then cycle back later to build mastery. Move on, cycle back.
Aim to get reasonably confident with each song, e.g. collecting most silver stars. Move on to the next song to give yourself some variety. Then cycle back later to collect missing stars, build mastery, and keep your skills fresh.
Mix it up
If you’re feeling stuck, try singing something else for a while. As an example, you can cycle back to earlier missions, and review some of your favorite songs or collect missing stars.
It’s also a great idea to practice songs outside the missions – it’s lots of fun, and helps you build mastery over the skills you’ve learned in the missions. Try going to the Songs tab, and pick a collection based on your interests. Select the Filter option and set the level(s) you want to work on. You can also use song search and use the filters to find more songs to sing.
If you are having trouble running out of breath or hitting certain licks or runs, try out the pre-singing warm ups and games found under the Workouts tab. These can help you build proper vocal and physiological technique, to keep your voice and body healthy and strong.
Tips for effective learning
Be mindful - Practice every moment
- You can practice even when you are not singing. Pay mindful attention on your breathing, posture, and the way you speak. For instance, speaking with a nasal tone - as an 8 year old kid would - is a great way to practice singing with a nasal, Axl Rose style quality.
- Learning is a social activity, so share your knowledge and learn from others. Try to play and sing with people who are a little better than you - that can help tremendously. You can cultivate good habits from watching more seasoned singers and seeing what they do.
Tone production and staying on pitch
- Stay loose and relaxed. You should try to minimize any tension in the head, face, neck, and stomach when singing.
- By forcing yourself to try to sing outside of your range, you may strain your voice or wear yourself out. If a song has high notes or low notes that you can’t hit, don’t be afraid to transpose the song up or down.
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Sing with as natural a voice as possible when starting out, to focus on singing the correct pitch. Be relaxed and don’t push too hard.
Posture & Breathing
- Try to begin every singing session with a warm-up to get your muscles and body parts ready for vocal production.
- You can find warm-up videos and other exercises in the Workouts tab.
- Stay loose, stay limber! Singing is fun, don’t be tense!