When you’re a budding vocalist and you seriously want to learn to sing at your best, how much time each day should you put into it? In my work as a session vocalist and top vocal teacher in Nashville, Tennessee, I get this question a lot, and I want to give you a quick and simple answer so you’re clear about what to do to improve quickly.

Here’s the quick and dirty answer: 30 minutes a day. The thing with the voice is that it is a living, breathing organic instrument. It is part of your body. And if you overdo it, your voice will give out or even become damaged. You hear more and more about professional vocalists having to go under the knife to repair damage they’ve done to their vocal cords.

If you have a solid battery of vocal exericses to work on, then give those attention every day for about 30 days. You can take one day off a week, but make sure you stay on top of this regular workout regimen, because what you’re doing in the beginning is undoing all those old bad habits you’ve developed with how you use your voice. If you don’t stay consistent with this stuff, then your brain will take you right back to your old habits.

30 minutes a day of vocal practice. That’s what you need to do if you want to improve as a singer.