If you want to become a great singer, then you need to build a solid technical foundation for your voice. It’s that simple: great singing comes from great technique, and for the vast majority of people, great technique isn’t something that just happens.

Thankfully, there is a straightforward way to develop great vocal technique: vocal exercises. You can practice the right exercises in the right way to develop vocal capabilities well beyond what you can imagine for your voice right now. Not only that, but these exercises and the proper technical foundation for your singing will actually let you learn how to sing in a way that is sustainable no matter how grueling or rigorous your performance schedule becomes.

With so many professional vocalists in the news of late for needing surgery or other treatment for problems with their voice (Adele being the most recent example with her five months off from singing after surgery on her vocal cords), the need for solid vocal technique has never been more apparent.

There are lots of places you can go to get some vocal exercises to run through, but I do recommend that you find a great vocal coach to work with so you can really get things set up correctly at the beginning. A few sessions with a talented coach will give you clarity about how to build the foundation for your voice. And from there, you’ll be able to carry forward on your own if that’s what you want.