How to learn to sing

[Hope209]

This sounds silly, but I've never learned how to sing properly. I mean I can project sounds through my mouth and(sometimes) hit notes, but I lack technique and generally sound like crap. I just ordered James lugo's instructional DVD but would love to hear any tips or suggestions from others

[ScumBum]

Practice singing with an instrument like guitar as a guide on what notes to hit , so your not guessing . Its like training wheels .

I figure out the whole vocal melody on guitar so I can reference it to make sure I'm hitting the right notes in the song .

As far as tone , thats way different . I go on Youtube and find Live performances of artists I wanna sing like and watch their mouth how they sing the words and try to imitate them in the mirror . Just KEEP practicing !! It takes awhile .

And Always try to keep your whole body relaxed , like it takes no effort to sing .

[TQP]

I'd say the best way is to find a good vocal teacher/coach and take regular lessons. Learning to sing is like learning any other instrument, takes a lot of practice to develop technique and become comfortable.

I'm sure James' instructional video is great and will help a lot. I'd also recommend checking out Mark Baxter's stuff at VOICELESSON.COM - MARK BAXTER VOCAL STUDIOS ...and like i said, finding a great teacher.

Good luck!

[Higgs]

carry-a-tune.com. Ignore the cheesy marketing, because it is a truly useful tool for learning to sing and improving pitch. It gives you a visual reading of your pitch as you attempt scales and songs within the program. I purchased mine new for around $20 on ebay a year or two ago.

The Lugo DVD is great too, as is the other advice that has already been given in this thread.

[Jrussell99]

sit at a piano, and train your ears...sing the note after you hit it...Its amazing how much this can actually help with your pitch

[davet]

I use this guys method The Seth Riggs Vocal Studio. It does work if you do the exercises. He has a book/CD called Singing for the Stars that you can use at home. There are also certified instructors that you can train with.

If you're bucks-up you can train with Seth in person or over the phone.

Josh Groban is one of his students. That boy can sing!!

DaveT

[vernier]

The only thing that can be done with a voice is to widen the range a bit. Other than that, what you have is what you will always have.

'

[malaclypse]

it's all about "letting go" and just singing! air support is very important. take a deep breath before every phrase(if the arrangement allows for this), and keep a steady stream of air coming from your gut while you sing. be aware of every pitch that is coming out of your mouth.
practice vibrato, starting on a note with a wide, slow vibrato, and slowly narrow it down and speed it up. over and over...
scales and arpeggios are important for any instrument, including voice.
pay close attention to style, phrasing and articulation, and always listen to every other instrument that is accompanying you(including drums).
there's so much more, and ultimately, i would recommend a vocal coach. go down to the local university music deptartment and find the vocal instructor. chances are, he/she gives lessons on the side

[wildpark]

go in a gospel choir take every concert they do(i was 5 years there),

and

try too imitate you fav singers and records at home as near as you can

work on it,

every day !

record that tryouts and make yourself your greatest censor (dictation machine}

then go too a pro non classik music ! vocal coach !! most open mindet ones are the jazz trainers out there,

led them judge the fine tunings.

[Hope209]

Great advice here! Haha, I know I'm definitely not a Josh Grobin and that I just wasn't born with an astounding singing voice. I have a pretty good ear for pitch, but when it comes to singing I'm either A. Too shy/nervous to really project 2. Dont know proper technique (breathing, how to sing from my diaphragm, mouth shapes, etc)

[lazzaro]

Look at the voice-training videos on
Eric Arcenaeux's YouTube site:

YouTube - EricArceneaux's Videos

Probably half of these videos are related to voice
training, the other half to his artist career. There
are a lot of good ideas in the voice-training ones,
many of them are videos of private lessons. Start
with the set of vocal-warmup videos (on the second
page).

[davet]

Originally Posted by Hope209

Great advice here! Haha, I know I'm definitely not a Josh Grobin and that I just wasn't born with an astounding singing voice. I have a pretty good ear for pitch, but when it comes to singing I'm either A. Too shy/nervous to really project 2. Dont know proper technique (breathing, how to sing from my diaphragm, mouth shapes, etc)

According to Seth you don't sing from your diaphragm, you use your voice at what he calls "Speech Level Singing". You don't have to project or sing loud. You'll gain tone over time and you don't hurt your voice in the process. It works, but you have to use the technique.
DaveT

[the_man361]

you know the sound when you put your lips together and go 'brrrrrrrr'...

if you practise ascending scales with this technique i think its supposed to improve your breath control, or something like that, my singer says it helps

[Steffmo]

I highly recommend this voice teacher.....

YouTube - MTV 52/52 Commercial 05

[wildpark]

then a gospel choir will be the best choice too warm you mentaly to loose all this

too find your voice (iam a atheeist but anyway i sing with this ppl) cuz its the bang bum whatever if you sing with 80 persons your voice isnt that much important

your just a part but can learn alot !!

Originally Posted by Hope209

Great advice here! Haha, I know I'm definitely not a Josh Grobin and that I just wasn't born with an astounding singing voice. I have a pretty good ear for pitch, but when it comes to singing I'm either A. Too shy/nervous to really project 2. Dont know proper technique (breathing, how to sing from my diaphragm, mouth shapes, etc)

[davet]

Originally Posted by the_man361

you know the sound when you put your lips together and go 'brrrrrrrr'...

if you practise ascending scales with this technique i think its supposed to improve your breath control, or something like that, my singer says it helps

Yup, that one of them. It's intended to help keep the muscles around your neck and face relaxed. There are some strange exercises in Seth's method.

[Beermaster]

Originally Posted by vernier

The only thing that can be done with a voice is to widen the range a bit. Other than that, what you have is what you will always have.

'

What a total load of BOLLOCKS !

learning from scratch how to stand properly, relax and breathe, Open your throat and focus the sound from all parts of your head and face and pallet can utterly and totally change the way and the sound of your voice. If worked on with guidance and practice can transform voice from a limited samey sound to a majestic, flexible, variable and utterly different sound.

Thats what working and practicing is all about. The human voice is the most flexible and diverse instrument there is. Not many people know how to use it nor how to get even 20% of the available sounds from it !

Beer

[vernier]

What a total load of BOLLOCKS !

learning from scratch how to stand properly, relax and breathe, Open your throat and focus the sound from all parts of your head and face and pallet can utterly and totally change the way and the sound of your voice. If worked on with guidance and practice can transform voice from a limited samey sound to a majestic, flexible, variable and utterly different sound.

Thats what working and practicing is all about. The human voice is the most flexible and diverse instrument there is. Not many people know how to use it nor how to get even 20% of the available sounds from it !

A non-singer turned into a majestic one? ...I'd someday hope to witness such a thing.

'

[edwonbass]

I'm pretty convinced that if you can't sing you can't sing. I'm saying as far as singing on pitch. If you have the ability to sing mostly on key then you can practice and get better. Some people are tone deaf and there isn't much hope.
I do feel that if you have some ability then you can develope it.
Having said that, you should record yourself and work on what you dislike about you singing. For instance I discovered that I was sliding into notes too much instead of singing solid intervals so I am working on that.

[creegstor]

Originally Posted by vernier

A non-singer turned into a majestic one? ...I'd someday hope to witness such a thing.

'

I've seen it done where there was an extremely focused student and a truly great teacher. It was a remarkable transformation that came literally overnight... but only after 2 years of intensive study while seemingly getting nowhere. The girl literally went from being someone who couldn't really sing to being a world class soprano. I'd never have thought it was possible until I saw it. Unfortunately occurences of this are rare because most students don't have the dedication but even moreso because 98% of singing teachers shouldn't be teaching anyone. Not that life's a competition but for the sake of illustration I destroy Seth Riggs (or Josh Groban for that matter) as a singer but I'd never dream of teaching anyone at the level I'm currently at.

A singer is better off having no teacher than a bad one.

[strings]

Watching this thread, need all the help I can get.

When writing songs, sometimes I have to replace certain words because I can't get them to sound right...like world for instance. It seems that words that start with hard consonance like c (catch, count etc.) are easier.
Is that quite standard?


p.s. hopefully this is just adding to the thread question and not hijacking.

[vernier]

I've seen it done where there was an extremely focused student and a truly great teacher. It was a remarkable transformation that came literally overnight... but only after 2 years of intensive study while seemingly getting nowhere. The girl literally went from being someone who couldn't really sing to being a world class soprano. I'd never have thought it was possible until I saw it. Unfortunately occurences of this are rare because most students don't have the dedication but even moreso because 98% of singing teachers shouldn't be teaching anyone. Not that life's a competition but for the sake of illustration I destroy Seth Riggs (or Josh Groban for that matter) as a singer but I'd never dream of teaching anyone at the level I'm currently at.

Classical and stage musical, yes ..but rock and pop, I think a guy like Mick Jagger is stuck with that voice, like it or not.
'

[gm5k]

i pretty much just try to emulate my favorite singers. if i find a vocal run that was difficult for me to do, i keep rewinding it and practicing it until i can get it perfectly and consistently. this works well for me because im lucky enough to have good pitch, so i can figure out how to do things vocally that i might not be able to do at first.

im honestly not sure if i have the best technique, but my brother who's taken tons of vocal lessons has told me it's fine. so yea, i pretty much just listen to my idols and try to get their styles and runs down. then you kinda amalgamate it into your own style. really its the same thing i did to get better at guitar.

like someone mentioned earlier though, it is very difficult to learn how to sing well if you don't have good natural pitch. just watch american idol auditions

[ALL*MYTEE]

It sounds cheesy, but this guy works with tons of pros and is very simple and easy to understand.

Amazon.com: Sing Like the Stars: Roger Love: Books

Here's another by the same guy that's very highly reviewed:

Amazon.com: Set Your Voice Free: How To Get The Singing Or Speaking Voice You Want: Roger Love,Donna Frazier: Books

[Mr. Liszt]

As a paid vocal coach I offer my thoughts on singing. It's in your mind and not in your throat. A very important thing is to simply be confident. After some confidence is established in a voice a singer MUST be able to discern these four very important things to resemble what most would call a "good" singer:

#1 - What sounds good

#2 - What sounds bad

#3 - What is unique

#4 - What is derivative

Once you can discern these then remove #2. This takes time. Follow this by the removal of #3 or #4 depending on if you are trying to develop your own manner or mimic in the manner of someone else. Both are very helpful. If you can't discern these four things then you are on a very uphill path.

Good singing is made up of very fast and precise corrections of not so good moments of the voice. Good singers detect and alter too fast for anyone to notice. A very fine ear and a very fine inner-ear is what the best singers posses. A singer hears exactly in their mind whatever phrase they are about to execute. If the physical sound does not match the mental image then the adjustment is made.

Some people do all this automatically and naturally. They will never even think about any of this. Some people do not think about sound in this way and have a hard time grasping these principles. They may try to pay an expert to guide them but it can take time and plenty of money. It is certainly possible nonetheless.

There are times when breathing and various singing techniques come into play but it's not very often. The mind is the most important.

[vernier]

Ability means nothing if God didn't give you a good sounding instrument to begin with.
'

[kittyboy]

Originally Posted by edwonbass

Some people are tone deaf and there isn't much hope.

This is absolutely false and has been proven so. Anyone--everyone--can sing in tune if properly trained. It'll be easier for some to do than others, but anyone can do it.


And the great instrument thing, a la Vernier?

Sure, some instruments are better than others, but I'd rather hear Pete Anderson/Jimmy Page/Leo Kottke play a crappy squier telecaster than hear an average guitarist play the greatest guitar in the world.

[u b k]

Originally Posted by strings

When writing songs, sometimes I have to replace certain words because I can't get them to sound right...like world for instance. It seems that words that start with hard consonance like c (catch, count etc.) are easier.
Is that quite standard?

it's understandable; plosives and hard consonants allow you 'pop' your breath out, giving you a strong start on the note and/or phrase.

starting on a vowel, starting in sotto voce (soft voice), starting off in one of the breaks of your natural range... these are all challenges in their own way, and good instruction can help immensely with the kinds of control you seem to be seeking.

changing words is not a longterm approach i'd recommend, it means your grasp of your instrument is limiting your artistic expression. learning to master your voice is, imo, a much stronger choice.


gregoire
del
ubk
.

[u b k]

as a total aside, anyone else ever notice that most singers who start a line with a 'd' sound actually scoop up to the 'd' with an 'n'? very few people ever do a totally clean 'd'.

nndon't say you love me!


gregoire
del
ubk
.

[Outlaw Hans]

If you are a grown up and you can't even sing in tune in a private surrounding (meaning that no one is around to make you self-concious) there isn't much hope for you. Yes, you may be able to keep in tune with the proper coaching and sing demo's but you won't be a singer. It doesn't matter. I know so many people who write songs and they're not singers.
I'm a singer. I'm not saying I'm pitch-perfect all the time and I don't have an extended range but I'm a singer alright. It's the easiest thing to do. It's takes practise to get better but just singing is really simple. Anyway, you need talent. No talent? Too bad. Now go and prove me wrong.