1. Pitch Inaccuracy. If you do not have pitch accuracy, read no further. It is the most important thing for a singer to attain. You might have beautiful tone, perfect breathing, strong projection, and a great sound, but if you perpetually sing flat or miss notes, none of that other stuff matters. Fix your pitch first. Pitches have a range. You may be singing the right note, but you are not hitting the pitch in the dead center every time. In order to sound in tune, you have to sing the pitch extremely accurately. No scooping, no guessing. If this is a problem for you, fix your pitch first before focusing on anything else.
3. Tension in your throat. If your voice is sound strained or thin, your throat is not open and relaxed. Many singers that do not breathe correctly overcompensate by using their throat muscles instead of their diaphragm. This can be a disastrous problem that could lead to severe vocal damage. If you feel like you are straining, you probably are. If your veins are popping out, and your face is red when you hit big notes, that is a problem.
4. Nasal. This is a complex issue that I cannot totally go into here. Unless you are a musical theater singer with a very forward sound, check the amount of air coming through your nose by plugging it and singing. If you sound somewhat normal, than it is probably not a big issue. If you sound ridiculous, then take note of how much air is coming through your nose. You are probably singing nasal. Try plugging your nose and sending the air through your mouth, if you can sound pretty good with your nose plugged, than unplug it and work on opening your mouth more and opening your throat.
5. No volume. If you can't sing out and project, first learn how to correctly breathe. Then think of breathing in as much air as possible, and then using your diaphragm and lower stomach and back muscles to push the air through with more strength and speed.
6. Strident tone. This is when the voice sounds harsh, not warm and resonant. Think of taking deep breaths and fogging a mirror as you sing. Use your breath to warm the tone. Keep the throat open and relaxed.
7. Tense Jaw. When you sing, you hold vowels. When you are holding out a note, look at how open your mouth is. I am not talking about it being open like a smile, but space between your teeth. As a rule of thumb, put a finger width of space in between your teeth. That should be a minimum amount of space for a full sound. If you are singing an Ahh vowel, you should have two finger widths of space in between your teeth. If you are blessed with large teeth and a big smile, guess what, you have to open even more.
8. Dropping off of consonants. When you sing, you should enunciate your consonants with clarity. You do not need to over emphasize them unless you are an opera or musical theater singer. Pop and Rock singers do need to make sure they are not dropping off the ends of their words.
9. Singing when your voice is hoarse. If you always rest your voice when your voice is scratchy or hoarse, then you will minimize the risk of damage. When you overuse your voice, your vocal folds may get a little tough spot on them like a callous. This little callous prevents your vocal folds from closing completely and will make your voice sound hoarse and airy. If you rest your voice, that little tough spot will go away. If you continue to sing, talk, and use your voice, that callous won't go away. You risk making that growth permanent. Many students have said to me that their voice is just naturally hoarse. Not so. A scratchy voice is always a sign of some vocal damage.
10. Not showing enough emotion with their voice. Good technique will only take you so far. If you have perfect technique but you lack passion and emotion in your voice, your perfect technique will not matter. Care about what you are singing. Remember that first and foremost, singing is communication. In order to effectively communicate, make sure that you have studied and you understand your character, lyrics, and mood of your song. Whenever your perform, know your purpose. Understand what you are there to communicate.
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