As someone who's been learning to sing mostly on my own (though I've taken a few local workshops that have helped a lot), here are the things I've found most he

As someone who's been learning to sing mostly on my own (though I've taken a few local workshops that have helped a lot), here are the things I've found most helpful: * commit to the notes you're singing: singing tentatively makes it harder to evaluate yourself * sing along with a recording and emulate the singer--every ornament, every nuance in timing--you can find your own voice (so to speak) once you know what you're doing * repeat a song or even chorus or line over and over, especially singing along with a recording * record yourself: everyone hates doing this, but again, it's much easier to evaluate what you're doing * if you're having trouble with a specific line, find the notes on an instrument and sing along (though make sure you're not just locked in to fixed pitches--a lot of the beauty of great singing is exploiting the marvelous glissando capabilities of the human voice) * drink water and don't hurt yourself