Some personal singing tips I've developed over the past 15 years of singing growing up...
In no particular order. I'm going to try to be relatable. All self taught
Copying is good for learning pitch accuracy and a good guide on what option(s) you could approach for the song but don't let it be the only thing you rely on when learning how to sing.
The more variety you copy, the more versatile you'll be with style / genre. You'll eventually be able to borrow from one thing you learned and apply to another and mix together into one without even realizing it.
I guess copying gives you good and bad habits. Depends what you copy. If you copy a shitty artist your entire time singing then your habits will probably get worse and harder to undo.
It's important to be aware of what you're doing and how it feels because singing has a lot of spontaneous decisions need to be made and rehearsed choices.
Because a vocal exercise sounds silly. It doesn't mean it won't work. Try them all. It's okay to laugh. Don't avoid because it sounds horrible. You need to experience it at least once. Maybe it is the key to helping you improve?
Don't just use your ears to decide things. Try it!
Sometimes doing it another way would sound better than the original artists originally sung it.
Without the same instrumental backing track, you can have more singing choices. You dont have to sing it the same way because some artists really push their voice in an unhealthy way!
Yes, if you use the same instrumental backing track then it will likely sound bad when you cover the song and not sing it the same way as the original. Comparing SUCKS.
Go back to 8. If you know how to make your own backing track your singing instantly sounds better because the sounds in the new arrangement will compliment your voice better than the original one. 😂
Knowing how to use editing software and setup mic takes you a long long way ahead from others who dont know how to do that! But you cant polish a turd! Gotta sound decent enough or you cant really work with much. You can tune the pitch but that's it. The more flaws the more robotic it gets.
You can use ai to copy your real voice and apply it to other artists songs to hear how you might sound if you sung those songs before learning them.
Falsetto or heady sounds are not to be avoided even if it sounds silly. It's actually key to singing higher: belting / learning to mix voice. You lean towards it over time and the sound grows the more you practice it over time to eliminate obstacles. (SOVT EXERCISES, being louder, fixing vowel shapings, loosening up muscle groups, etc... breath control).
Rather than think of strengthening the voice like building muscles - think of it as like learning how to speak in a new language.
Practicing in a spot where you aren't allowed to be loud and get scolded in IS A BIG NO NO. It won't help you get any better. You need to be in a place where you can be loud enough to practice and be fearless of others shaming you and getting in the way!
I recommend learning the basics of piano or any instrument you can use as reference for helping with pitch and exercises without need of having someone else doing it for you.
Focus on the connection with your body, the throat and how tense it gets. Kinda like how when you do workouts properly, you don't think about how many reps eventually - you think about the movement and mind connection.
Don't rely too much on vibrato after you learned you can do vibrato. Sometimes a straight tone sounds better especially for certain songs. Use vibrato sparingly 🤣