Best Online Singing Courses: Learn to Love Your Voice!

Anyone can learn the art of singing. There is this pervasive myth that every person is either blessed with a divine voice or born with a terrible voice that can’t be changed. It’s a myth; it’s not true. Your voice is just like any other instrument. You would never look at a violinist and assume they were born with the ability to read music and draw a bow, so stop assuming that of singers.

That’s good news because it means that if you want to learn to sing, you can. This guide was made for you to do exactly that. We have a short section to help you choose a class, and then we list five of the best courses you can find online, alaong with our thoughts. In the end, we answer some of the most pressing questions about singing and cap off the whole thing with some tips and tricks.

Finding the Right Singing Course for You

There is no such thing as the perfect singing course, but there is a course that suits you the best. In this section, we will go over the primary things to think about and follow up with more specific information in the reviews themselves.

Experience Level

This is the most fluid category and is meant more as a general guideline to help you find your skill level. The truth is that beginners can learn a lot from advanced courses, and professionals can still benefit from the basics. There are three basic levels.

  • Beginner: You like to sing along with the radio but have no formal training or experience.
  • Intermediate: You sing in a choir or band and want to take your voice to the next level.
  • Professional: You are comfortable singing for an audience or recording for-profit and looking to expand your knowledge base.

Each of our reviews highlights a course’s intended experience level.

Course Type

The most common type of online singing course is the video series. Here, you will be presented with a series of videos in a specific order that guides you through progressive lessons. Some methods deviate from that formula, though, and use primarily text or audio. It’s enough to be aware of this distinction; just remember to double-check that the course you’re considering is a video course if you prefer video.

Structure

In addition to how singing courses are presented, they can be structured in different ways. They can even lack structure entirely; courses hosted on platforms like Skillshare and YouTube will allow you to bounce between segments and topics.

You will need to really ask yourself whether or not you need a strict curriculum to stick to or if you would rather choose your own path. We’ve included both options in our top course reviews.

Other Considerations

Online classes are comprised of hundreds of parts, so it’s impossible to cover everything here. However, there are a handful of things that can really make a difference to your learning experience, in addition to the experience level and course type. Here are the most crucial considerations.

  • Teacher: You are going to want a teacher you can connect with. This is likely more important than their experience because if you don’t want to hear their voice, it won’t matter how much they know.
  • Price: Courses vary in cost and price structure. Make sure the course fits your budget before becoming too attached. The good news is that most platforms offer free trials. We’ve highlighted pricing information in each of our course reviews.
  • Extras: Some courses come with extra resources, like programs for recording or the ability to video call the professor. If you are having trouble deciding between a couple of courses, these extra resources might help you put one above the other.
  • Topics: There’s so much ground to cover when it comes to singing. So topics that are covered by one course might not be covered by another. For instance, Singorama covers music theory, while 30 Day Singer doesn’t. However, 30 Day Singer covers singing songs while playing guitar, which isn’t offered in Singorama.

As we get into the reviews, remember that your own goals should dictate which course you choose. If you don’t care about music theory, you aren’t obligated to care that we feel the subject is important. Singing is an expression of art, and no one has ever claimed art wasn’t subjective.

The Best Singing Courses at a Glance

  1. Singing Made Easy: Best for beginners and people that want to choose their own path. Our #1 pick because you also get access to all of the other courses on the Skillshare platform.
  2. 30 Day Singer: The best course for people who want to join a digital vocal class. The one-on-one sessions set it apart from the rest.
  3. Christina Aguilera’s Masterclass: Christina Aguilera teaches the ins and outs of singing and performing. Fast paced and casual.
  4. Singorama: If you want the most in-depth singing course you can get, this is it. Just be aware that it’s more like having a textbook read to you than a traditional video course.
  5. YouTube: If you are willing to put in the extra work, YouTube is full of excellent singing tutorials. It’s also full of bad advice, so you’ll need to know where to look.

Top 5 Online Singing Courses 2023


1. Best Overall Course: Skillshare’s Singing Made Easy

  • 42 minutes (level 1) $19 per month, $99 per year Our rating  
  • Course Highlights
  • Skill Level: Beginner-Intermediate
  • Course Type: Video Series
  • Extra Materials: Hundreds of other related courses via the Skillshare platform

Why we like it

The Singing Made Easy course is one of the best introductions to advanced singing that you can get. Plus, with a Skillshare subscription, you can get other courses for free, learn from different teachers and do deep-dives into specific techniques.

The Biggest Advantages

When you buy a subscription to Skillshare, you can access their entire collection of courses and tutorials. To us, that gives it an edge over everything else. Unlike YouTube, where the quality can vary greatly, or Singorama, where you only get one teaching style, inside Skillshare there are multiple high-quality singing courses taught by teachers using different methods.

We recommend the Singing Made Easy course. It’s one of the most popular music courses, and a great way to improve your singing through practical exercises. Plus, if you find you don’t like the teacher, Gabriel Burrafato, you can just click over to Advanced Singing by Eve Williams. Since you already have the Skillshare account, it’s that easy to switch directions and tailor your experience to your needs.

Our Thoughts

Gabriel does a great job outlining why anyone can improve their singing and follows this up with the exercises to practice and achieve that improvement. Honestly, a lot of advice he gives is something even professionals need to hear. It doesn’t matter if you are belting out the anthem for the next Dodgers game or just singing karaoke at the local dive; the breathing exercises he teaches are perfect.

What this course lacks is music fundamentals. It’s one thing to learn that singing on the vowels will keep you on pitch, but that’s meaningless unless you know what pitch is and how pitch relates to music. You can get that theory from a separate course, though. Here’s a comprehensive one. As we said above, that’s Skillshare’s main advantage; you aren’t limited to just one course.

What You Might Not Like

People who prefer having greater structure won’t like Skillshare. There is no homework to complete, you don’t have any obligation to watch the lesson’s in order, and no one will tell you what the next step is. Some people hate that, which is why there are far more comprehensive courses on our list. The 30 Day Singer is more like a school classroom than a lecturer’s auditorium, and if you value that structure, you’ll get a lot more out of 30 Day Singer than you will Skillshare.

Pros

  • Relatively inexpensive
  • Skillshare offers hundreds of other courses that you get access to
  • User-friendly interface

Cons

  • It can be difficult to know how to advance
  • There is no way to get direct feedback


2. Best Classroom Feel: 30 Day Singer

  • 30 days (1 daily lesson) 14 days free, then $29.95 a month Our rating  
  • Course Highlights
  • Skill Level: Beginner-Intermediate
  • Course Type: Video series
  • Extra Materials: Forums, worksheets, video conferences

Why we like it

30 Day Singer is a very comprehensive, good quality course. It also includes tools like one-on-one feedback in the form of community forums and a very generous free trial.

The Biggest Advantages

30 Day Singer is an entire online classroom dedicated to learning the art of singing. It goes beyond the incredibly structured lesson plan, though. With this course, you can actually book one-on-one sessions and get real-time, relevant feedback. The value of being able to work with someone live cannot be overstated.

The structure and design are what really sell this course, though. This is probably the biggest reason you would choose 30 Day Singer over something like Skillshare or Masterclass; the entire program is dedicated to singing. Every single lesson is centered around improving your voice and understanding of music.

Where that really can benefit you is that you can focus on specific tracks that suit what you want out of your singing experience. There are specific tracks for singing while playing guitar and specific lessons for singing a capella. You can tailor the lessons towards genres, too; there are R&B classes, opera courses, rock workshops, and more. After you finish a genre overview, fine-tune it by discussing it with others in the forums full of fellow students.

Our Thoughts

If you are serious about learning, 30 Day Singer is amazing. It’s not the perfect system, though, and it does have a lot of minor issues that you might find annoying. For example, it has a variety of different instructors. All of them are good, but sometimes you get attached to a certain voice only to find out that their lesson ends, and you then have to switch instructors.

Second, and this is even more minor, they don’t get into theory as much as we’d have liked. One of the advanced courses is called “Runs and Embellishments.” They talk about the major scale and give you a fill to practice, but there wasn’t anything in the beginner classes that actually breaks down what the major scale is. That may not be a big deal to you; thousands of world-class musicians know very little theory. We just wish there was the option to dive deeper into it.

As you can probably tell, we had to stretch a little to find a few minor complaints. That speaks to how good this system is. If you know you want to take singing really seriously, though, 30 Day Singer really is your best option.

What You Might Not Like

Some people prefer a more traditional system. 30 Day Singer is great, and it’s very easy to use if you are familiar with the internet and using apps. If you are not comfortable with streaming videos or being part of the constantly connected society, take a look at Singorama instead. Singorama is a bit cheaper, and it’s a lot more like a traditional “buy a book and learn” style of class.

Pros

  • Offers one-on-one feedback
  • Is very comprehensive
  • Very easy to use

Cons

  • Not as structured as other courses
  • It’s a little expensive


3. Best for Advanced Students: Christina Aguilera’s Masterclass

  • 3h 34m $90 for just this class, or $180 a year for access to the whole site Our rating  
  • Course Highlights
  • Skill Level: Intermediate-Advanced
  • Course Type: Video series
  • Extra Materials: None

Why we like it

To teach you to sing, this course brings out 5 times Grammy Award-winning vocal superstar Christina Aguilera. She does a great job hitting on some of the finer points of both singing and performing.

The Biggest Advantages

Getting an industry leader to teach a class is a perfect way to make relevant, entertaining classes, and who this course draws upon to teach you to sing is none other than Christina Aguilera. With Grammy Award-winning songs like Say Something, Beautiful, and Moves Like Jagger, you can know for sure you are getting a highly-qualified teacher. That’s what Masterclass brings to the equation.

Christina’s class is much more than a singing class, and if you are already singing regularly, you’ll really appreciate the glimpse into the life of a singer performing for millions and recording with other award-winning artists. In fact, we really suggest this course if you are beyond the beginner level and don’t need to learn things like basic breath support or singing on the vowels. It’s a fantastic introduction to taking your singing to a much higher level.

Our Thoughts

There is a feeling you get when watching Christina’s class that you can’t get from other classes. It’s hard to describe, but the gist of it is that it feels raw. It feels like you are getting the unfiltered experience of a world-class musician dumped into your skull. It lets this course transcend a simple lesson and become a way to glimpse into the life you could have if you pursue singing to the highest degree.

It’s not for everyone. This class feels personal; she talks in a very down to earth “this is how it is” way that some people will find comforting. Some people will really hate it, though. By comparison, the instructors in 30 Day Singer are always encouraging you to do better with positive words. Christina is telling you that you better do better, or else.

Where that mentality really shines through is in the pace of the course. There is a ton of information, and it comes at you fast. If you lop off the intro and her life story, there are only 20 videos. Each video averages about 10 minutes. The course starts with the basics like warming up and breath support and ends with tips on singing live in front of large crowds. To say that it covers a lot of ground in a short amount of time is an absolute understatement.

We have one final little thing to mention, and we left it to the end because it’s not super important for learning, but it is noticeable. The episodes are shot beautifully. It’s one of the things Masterclass does well, and it’s part of the reason they outshine most of their competitors.

What You Might Not Like

Masterclass is expensive. Even if you just buy this one single class, it costs the same as an entire year’s worth of Skillshare. That makes it a really tough sell for any beginner or person who just wants to learn the basics, especially when Skillshare is largely the same format. You just get more regular people and fewer celebrities.

Pros

  • Taught by a world-famous singer
  • Offers more advanced information than many courses
  • The videos are incredibly high-quality

Cons

  • Relatively expensive
  • It’s very fast and offers little extra help


4. Most In-Depth Course: Singorama

  • ~7 hours $67 one-time purchase Our rating  
  • Course Highlights
  • Skill Level: Any
  • Course Type: Audio series
  • Extra Materials: PDF workbook, forum

Why we like it

Singorama is a much more traditional, audio-only course with a delightfully old school charm. Don’t let the charm fool you, though; this is one of the most comprehensive courses you can take when it comes to learning to sing.

The Biggest Advantages

Singorama starts by assuming you know nothing. Then throughout a whopping 28 lessons, it builds you up to the point where you will feel comfortable performing. That is a massive amount of material. Even other dedicated, comprehensive courses like 30 Day Singer don’t have the level of detail that Singorama has.

What may be an even bigger advantage is that the Singorama program uses a traditional style of teaching. You will get a textbook with the course, and you even have the option to buy a physical copy of the textbook. The lessons are audio-only, and there is “homework” for each lesson.

That’s a really great thing for people that prefer the traditional learning experience or want to learn at a much slower pace. Everything else on our list emphasizes learning quickly. 30 Day Singer expects you to become an expert in 30 days, and Christina’s Masterclass is over in a little over three hours. That’s a tall order no matter who you are, and most of us can’t dedicate the amount of time needed to practice and become proficient in a short amount of time.

Our Thoughts

To give you an idea of how comprehensive this course is, we often complain about courses that don’t include any theory. Singorama has an entire section dedicated to just learning music fundamentals. If you are already a great singer but don’t know how to read music, you can still get a lot out of this course.

There is a bit of a quirk to the system, though. It’s something that will cause a lot of modern internet users to walk away from Singorama. We said before it has an old school charm, but that’s sugar-coating it. The website and material look downright dated. The lessons and material are absolutely top-notch, but they are embedded into a site that looks like it’s straight out of Windows 95.

The price is fairly low; it easily has the lowest cost per minute of all the lessons and only requires a one-time purchase. If you can get past the fact that it feels very traditional, or especially if you prefer that, then Singorama will treat you very well.

What You Might Not Like

As we mentioned above, if you are comfortable with modern digital classrooms, you would probably prefer 30 Day Singer over Singorama. 30 Day Singer does not get as in-depth as Singorama does, but it is still comprehensive. It also gives you the freedom to deviate from the curriculum and functions more like YouTube and less like an audiobook.

Pros

  • Great value
  • Very comprehensive
  • It’s good for people that prefer a traditional learning experience

Cons

  • Can be intimidating
  • It feels very dated


5. Best Free Alternative: Learn for Free Using YouTube

  • Varied Free Our rating  
  • Course Highlights
  • Skill Level: Any
  • Course Type: Independent videos
  • Extra Materials: None

Why we like it

It can be a bit difficult to navigate, and there’s a lot of variation in quality from video to video. However, it is possible to learn to sing for free. That makes this option able to fit anyone’s budget.

The Biggest Advantages

There are two things that make YouTube a phenomenal learning platform. First, it’s free. A lot of people will be turned off from lessons because of how much they cost. When it comes to learning on YouTube, there’s no excuse.

The second significant advantage is that there is no end to the amount of content you can learn from. If you want to learn Tibetan Throat Singing or how to sound like Freddie Mercury, you can just search it and learn it.

That big advantage is also one of the biggest weaknesses, though. Just be aware that without any structure and the ability to search for anything, you won’t be getting any meaningful curriculum. You are your own captain when it comes to courses on YouTube, which can lead to wandering far away from core principles and developing bad habits.

Our Thoughts

Unfortunately, there are many people that, shall we say, are not the best teachers. That means it takes a lot of work to get the most out of YouTube. You have to be vigilant and vet the teacher a little before committing to learning.

The series we linked above is a great place to start. There are also many stand-alone videos that can help you on your journey, including introductions to music theory and breathing exercises.

Realistically, what it’s best for is getting your toes wet. When you are just starting out and don’t know if you want singing lessons or are not yet sure if you like the style of online lessons, you can use YouTube to find out.

What You Might Not Like

You absolutely can learn a ton for free, but if you value structure at all, get a different course. The Skillshare course also has a lot of benefits, including the ability to learn related skills using a variety of different videos. It’s why we recommend it so highly, in fact. It just costs a bit, so try out YouTube first, and then when you get frustrated, start that Skillshare free trial.

Pros

  • Free
  • Can be used to learn specific styles
  • Offers a huge variety of teachers and topics

Cons

  • Can be hard to use
  • Quality can vary greatly


Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, you can, but we need to qualify this statement. You can absolutely learn the fundamentals of singing, music, and singing technique. There are biological limitations, though. If your vocal range starts on a high note and continues up off the piano, it will likely be impossible for you to sing a recording accurate rendition of a Sinatra song. You will be able to sing a beautiful rendition transposed up a couple octaves and with your own flair.

That depends entirely on what you want from your voice. Do you want to destroy everyone at karaoke? Then yes, singing lessons are worth it. Do you want to sing with the Philadelphia Orchestra? Then yes, you should probably get a vocal coach.

Are you content to just sing along with the radio and don’t really care about keeping pitch with the songs? Then you probably won’t really care. The good news is that most classes have a try before you buy feature so you can get a feel for whether or not lessons are for you.

When we sing, what we hear is nothing like what actually comes out. Your vocal folds are near the base of your skull. In order for the sound to get to your ears, it has to travel through meat, bone, and fluid. When someone else hears your voice, it’s traveling through air and is emphasized by your breath. That’s why so much of singing is learning the “shape” of a sound and not what it sounds like to you.

It’s both. That’s a disappointing answer, but it’s the truth. There are people who are more naturally gifted in the vocal department. They have a huge range and can push out a ton of air because of the way their bodies are shaped.

However, anyone can learn to maximize their voice and learn the fundamentals of singing. Maximizing your voice and using it to sing at your greatest potential is a skill you must practice and develop.

Learning to sing without lessons is the norm, not the exception. Most famous singers only start getting vocal lessons after they have already begun their singing career and reach a plateau.

Taking lessons can speed up your process significantly and prevent you from developing bad habits. It’s the same with any skill; you can fumble your way through learning guitar without ever knowing what an Am chord is, and you can learn to sing songs and sound good without knowing what your diaphragm does. It’s just a lot easier if you do know those things.

If your voice is bad because you have the flu, don’t sing. It will put extra strain on your vocal folds, and you risk damaging them.

If you mean that your speaking voice isn’t pleasing or you don’t like the sound of your singing voice, then don’t worry about it. There are plenty of examples of people who have “bad” voices who are very successful singers. Bob Dylan, for instance, has a whiny, nasally voice and is very hard to understand. No one would ever say he’s a bad musician. More to the point, you should sing because you want to. You should sing



Tips, Tricks, and Other Resources

Once you are enrolled in your class of choice, we want you to have the best experience possible. The following section is a collection of tips and tricks that can make your journey more enjoyable.

Everyone Can Learn to Sing Better

One of the most common questions when it comes to singing lessons is whether or not a person can learn to sing. It’s so common we talked about it in the intro and answered it twice in our FAQ.

Here’s the harsh truth: there are people that will never be able to sing their favorite song. Biological factors like vocal cord length and mouth shape will limit the number of sounds you can create, and some people were born with a body that doesn’t lend itself to singing well. Some people have hearing damage that won’t allow them to stay on pitch, and some people simply have damaged lungs that don’t allow them to get the air they need.

man singing into a microphone

You Can Make Music

All that being said, anyone can learn to make music with their voice. You can absolutely learn techniques and skills to improve your singing no matter what your base level is. You may not be able to learn to sing exactly like Eddie Vedder, but you can learn to make a song inspired by his music using your own voice.

The most common excuse people will use is that they are tone-deaf. The technical term is amusica, and the trait is found in about 4% of the population. Even if you are in that small category, you can still learn to sing. It’s often curable with intensive pitch training, and even if it isn’t, you can still make amazing music. Beethoven was deaf, so not being able to discern pitch isn’t an excuse. You can learn to sing better and create music.

Take Care of Your Voice

Your voice isn’t like a clarinet. If your “reed” snaps, you can’t just reach into the case and pull out a new one. As a singer, you have an extra burden because your voice is part of you all the time, so you have to protect it all the time.

There are some obvious things you can do to help. Smoking will damage your throat, so it’s best to avoid that. Singing while sick can also damage your voice. The thing that’s most relevant to you as a new singer, though, will be to remember not to overdo it. When you are practicing, especially when belting out high notes, it’s easy to strain your voice. Remember to relax, and more importantly, stop if it begins to hurt.

Warm-Up

The best way to avoid being too tense and straining your voice is to warm up before starting. Every course we suggest has great warm-up exercises. It is a skill that will help you throughout your entire singing career.

Items That Can Help You Practice

One of the best things about being a singer is that you don’t need anything other than your body. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t things you can get to help you out, though. The following items are things you can add to your music kit over time that will help you learn and improve.

  • A Piano: Piano and keyboards are incredibly useful because they are intuitively laid out, and you can play them while you sing. It doesn’t have to be fancy; a cheap Casio is just fine for practice.
  • A way to record yourself: You’d be amazed at how different you sound on a recording vs. what you hear in your head. The only accurate way to make the changes that will make you sound better on a recording is to record yourself frequently. You can start with your cell phone, but eventually, you’ll want something like a Zoom H1.
  • A mirror: A major part of singing is making faces to accommodate different vowel shapes. Practicing in front of a mirror is silly but very useful when you are learning correct posture and shape.
  • A humidifier: Having a warm, relaxed, and moistened throat will save your voice and prevent you from injuring your vocal folds. A general-purpose humidifier is fine, but if you are on the go, they make personal ones that you can travel with.

Sing On

Singing is a universal human expression. Making music transcends culture and geography, and there are more genres and styles than sprinkles on a donut. It doesn’t matter if you are standing in front of a packed stadium or just rocking a baby to sleep with a lullaby; if you are passionate about singing, singing lessons can help. We hope that we have inspired you to try and reach your full vocal potential.