Learning to sing

[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

[SayItInAWhisper]

Per Bristow - Sing With Freedom . There you go my friend

[HDJK]

I'm singing everyday in the car to Brett Manning's Singing Success. I've never had any lessons, so as a beginner, I can highly recommend his programm

[mood_shifter]

The Art of Body Singing

New York City Voice lessons, vocal lessons, singing lessons NYC

[fret_burn]

Originally Posted by Squidy

I love Layne's because yes, he does sound like himself.

Yeah, he had an amazing voice - very unique. I think if you have a unique or distinct or whatever voice and you can sing in tune you have a massive asset. It's something to be treasured and embraced.

My advice would be to do lots of recordings and get to know your voice and what you can do with it, experiment and try new things.

Saying that your voice is not suited to any style of music is probably just your own misconception. I'm sure there are numerous examples of singers with non standard voices singing mismatched genres and sounding amazing.

[Fingerpicker]

I'm about to buy "Singing for Dummies" as I've had some great experience with "Home Recording for Dummies". It's got a cd to practice with and surely has to be a good place to start.

[windmillsound]

Originally Posted by Squidy

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.

That makes about as much sense as getting confident at driving before you get a driving instructor.

[chiimba]

Originally Posted by fret_burn

Yeah, he had an amazing voice - very unique. I think if you have a unique or distinct or whatever voice and you can sing in tune you have a massive asset. It's something to be treasured and embraced.

My advice would be to do lots of recordings and get to know your voice and what you can do with it, experiment and try new things.

Saying that your voice is not suited to any style of music is probably just your own misconception. I'm sure there are numerous examples of singers with non standard voices singing mismatched genres and sounding amazing.

Agree. Get to know your voice. Practice in the car to songs you know and enjoy singing. Record yourself a lot.

I felt the same way when I sang at first..I wished I just sounded like someone so that I could easily verify that I didn't suck. I was in tune but couldn't identify with any singer and hated it. Overtime I've come to like my voice and feel a lot more comfortable; i hit notes a lot stronger; use a lot more breath / chest in each note; and know my ranges for the most part.

That said; I'm still very critical of myself and don't believe I'll ever think I'm good enough for what I'd like to be.

[pinkheadedbug]

Lots of good advice in this thread, but getting used to your voice and the sound of it is absolutely crucial. Getting past the feeling of hating how you sound, and instead deciding what you like and dislike about your voice, and how you can change that, is crucial.

For example: if you have a grating voice, it may simply be pitch problems. If you're too breathy, that's easy to fix. If you run out of breath, that's easy to fix. If you can hit a note but wobble, that's easy to fix. If you can't hit a note, that can be fixed. You may never be a great technical singer but you don't need to be.

[oweng]

I could only do it at a very low volume

singing softly is harder than singing loudly - anyone can scream

I have a "distinct" voice,

this is also a plus - there are far too many parrots out there.

confidence is a big part of it,

it has more to do with confidence in _what_ you sing rather that a confidence in yourself as a person

ex - i like to do scales ...
i actually like it - call me weird - but i enjoy them.

sometimes instead of do ray me fa sol fa me ray do
i will belt
"shut your stupid hole you fuchen *****"

it makes a huge difference - because i can feel the energy of the lyrics
( it just gets worse and worse from there .... )

you can do the cd thing - but i have been assured my a vocal coach that you actually need someone - a real person standing right there ( usually with a whip of some kind ) to correct your mistakes - and... compensations.

doing a search for the disk now - i think i deleted it
might be thins one here
Home | Vocal Coach

it goes on and on about the mechanics of singing and proper form
... forget about actually sounding good - it has noting to do with that
it is about proper technique - and consistency - the good sound takes ..
2 -3 years to develop for a normal hard working person.

and yes - i said 2 -3 years - forget about doing anything before that
( i. e. sounding good - it is not about sounding good )

[Cgbravo]

Originally Posted by HDJK

I'm singing everyday in the car to Brett Manning's Singing Success. I've never had any lessons, so as a beginner, I can highly recommend his programm

This works!

[Squidy]

You guys are all legends, thanks heaps for all your advice

As for the driving instructor bit I kind of agree. However I'd like to be confident in my own voice before I go getting someone who's going to treat me like an idiot (That's unfortunately how vocal instructors are around here "Can't sing opera? don't waste our time")

I've gone to a few local instructors to talk about lessons and they've all pretty much refused to teach me because my goal wasn't opera. I said I wanted to learn vocal control and retain my own style, and they pretty much said if I sound like myself it's useless, I'll need to sound like an opera vocalist or whatever. I've found a few rock vocalists who offer training, and they love my voice when I'm just talking because I sound like me (read: nervous) and said they'll teach me, but all they ever sing (ie scream) is "yeah, whoa, woohoo! gonna get laid! one two, one two!"

And... yeah...

So, it's not that I'm opposed to an instructor, I just refuse to sound like everyone else, especially if I have to learn opera... when I hate that style.

[Big Boss Man]

If you are going to work on your own with a CD/DVD course, make sure you record and review your practices. One of the nice things about having a vocal instructor is you get immediate feedback. It can be difficult to get a good idea of how your own voice sounds without having a recording or an instructor to give feedback. I was able to improve a lot on my own by recording myself and then listening to see what areas were problems and then working on those problem areas until I got them right. If you are struggling with the basics though, I would be inclined to find a good vocal instructor.

Oh and regarding Layne Staley... he was one of the best. Most people will never reach his level of singing.

[Strangeland]

I never took vocal lessons, so being 100% self-taught I can let you know what worked for me. I think that trying to sing like someone else is a bad idea. In my early teens, I always tried to imitate whoever I was listening to even if their range was significantly different from mine. This was always a let down as you can imagine.

Since, I'm a guitar player, I first found it useful to tune up my voice by doing a bunch of oh's, and ah's, and iee's along with a scale, usually two octaves of G major and then a single octave of D major backwards and forwards increasing the tempo until the vocal notes stopped sounding distinct. My range is more akin to say Michael Stipe than Lane Staley so this are felt most comfortable to me.

I have to say that the most important thing that helped me improve was listening to myself sing over my own songs. This is where you hear and correct the things you are doing wrong, both consciously and subconsciously. At first, it was difficult for me to sing at an appropriate volume because I knew I didn't sound very good. This was mostly in my parent's house when I was a teenager. When I became a better singer sometime later, my dad said to me, "You mother used to say what the hell is he singing, but she doesn't ask that anymore." So I guess it is helpful to have someone serve as a gauge for your progress.

I would recommend singing in your car, maybe at night, to get a little more comfortable and to train your voice to work at regular volumes. I make it a point to practice a few scales every morning when driving to work. If anything, it helps to get the hoarseness out when you have to talk to people first thing in the morning. These are the things that worked for me and I never went the route of formal voice training, not that I wouldn't benefit from actual voice lessons, but for what I write and where I perform, I get by okay. Good luck!