[Squidy]

My weakest part of songwriting is my singing. Easily.

For years I've wanted to sing, but very rarely tried. When I tried, even when no-one was listening I could only do it at a very low volume and even then it seemed more like I was singing "in" than "out.

Another problem is I have a "distinct" voice, which probably won't suit much (read: any) music. I sent some demos to a friend of 30 years and he's like "you need to sing on this" and I told him I can't do it. He said "why not, you have a distinct voice" which made me paranoid as hell thinking "ok, he's noticed too... who else has noticed??" and I freaked out.

We got together, he was bugging me to sing for ages, I got all angsty on his arse and we both came to blows... over what... My not wanting to sing.

I know confidence is a big part of it, hence the incredibly low volume even when no-one is home, or even next door, but I've never been trained either.

I was with that friend again recently and he again pointed out my distinct voice and I got sh*tty with him and he laughed his balls off and goes "why are you taking that as a negative? Think of how many vocalists try to emulate everyone else, even when they're talking sometimes, by distinct I mean you sound like you." He went on to point out a list of vocalists who sounded like themselves and I think Layne Staley was included. I love Layne's because yes, he does sound like himself.

After hearing this I'd like to give singing a go. I'd like to avoid a "professional" singing coach until I'm more comfortable/confident.

Given that I've never sung before, can anyone recommend any good DVDs etc I can buy to learn how to sing?

p.s. sorry for the backstory, I'm bored at work