Help me!!! I want to sing!!!

[coday182]

Ok I'm not really as desperate as that sounded, but it got your attention right? Ok I love music. I listen to everything but country has a special place in my heart. I know most of you probably don't like country and think it's just about ex-girlfriends, dogs, and trucks, but it isn't. Anyways... I would love to be able to perform music. I am proficient in most instruments including the banjo. lol. Hey.. I said i liked country, right? Although I'm not currently in a band, I can usually figure out the chords and play my own acoustic versions of any song on the guitar, banjo, or piano. I can' also sing and play at the same time. THe only problem is that I can't sing. It makes me so mad. I can' figure out all these instruments, learn to read music, and all this other stuff, yet I can't sing. I am thinking about getting a voice coach, but I am having a hard time finding one in my area. So could you help me out?

1. First of all.. tell me.. if you aren't born with the gift, can you still become a good singer through work and practice?

2. Do you have any singing tips off the top of your head?

3. Do you konw any websites with good resources for singing? Maybe even a singing forum site kind of like macrumors?

Thanks a lot in advance guys.

[dllavaneras]

I know a few singers that have vastly improved from singing coaches (Simone Simmons from Epica being one), so yes, you can get better. Pronounciation and breathing are crucial to good singing. Those are some of the first things a coach should address.

Now, not everyone has the same tone of voice. Don't be afraid to be unique! If you try to imitate someone else you'll force your voice to sing at a different tone (be it higher or lower) than your normal tone. There are many unique artists because of their voice, not their singing talents. Axel Rose (Guns 'n Roses), James LaBrie (Dream Theater) and Jon Anderson (YES) aren't exactly the greatest singers ever, but their unique tone of voice made them both recognizable and famous. They take what they have and turned it into great, great music.

If you try to imitate someone elses voice, you might end up with a disaster like Trivium's latest cd, which bears an eerie resemblance to Metallica frontman, James Hetfield. The horror! :eek: When he sang in his normal voice, the came up with great songs. Imitating someone else just ruined it for me :(

I know this probably isn't your type of music, but my point is that you CAN get better with practice, and you have to try to find a way to make your natural voice work in music.

Then again, there are some people like me that their singing qualities are null :rolleyes: I don't have any intention to get better, though :p

[SMM]

A couple years back, I was talking with legendary blues singer Nick Gravenites. He told me I was a 'blues man'. I explained I had no talent. He told me, "Music is not about talent. It is that feeling that needs to pour out of you in music. Dylan had a terrible voice. But, he could captivate an audience with it".

A couple weeks later I bought a martin and became a 'blues man'. If I 'hold back, I sound like ****. But, when I just let it go, I see and feel the difference.

If you have music inside you, let it out.

[Killyp]

..."Music is not about talent. It is that feeling that needs to pour out of you in music. Dylan had a terrible voice. But, he could captivate an audience with it".....

Exactly. There are people at my school who can sing a song when asked to, but they don't put their soul into it. I find that when a piece of music really affects me (which seems to be all the time :p ), I just want to sing it as loud as I can, and I end up singing better because I'm really enjoying it...

My advice: sing, and keep singing. Don't push from your stomach, you should feel like all the energy is coming from your throat, you'll find you have a much larger range and you'll find singing easier. But do what I do, which is sing to your favourite music while your doing your homework (how old are you? That's something which really gets on my parent's nerves).

[OwlsAndApples]

But do what I do, which is sing to your favourite music while your doing your homework (how old are you? That's something which really gets on my parent's nerves).

Haha, quality advice! I have been singing absent-mindedly a lot recently, definitely during science :p I have been really inspired by the Nick Drake covers on YouTube, but there's still a long way to go :o

[Killyp]

Haha, quality advice! I have been singing absent-mindedly a lot recently, definitely during science :p I have been really inspired by the Nick Drake covers on YouTube, but there's still a long way to go :o

Now if I ever heard of anybody to aspire to, Nick Drake is one of the kings! Such a godlike musician, making some really beautiful stuff, and yet such a sad story... :(

[RufusSwan]

1. First of all.. tell me.. if you aren't born with the gift, can you still become a good singer through work and practice?

2. Do you have any singing tips off the top of your head?

3. Do you know any websites with good resources for singing? Maybe even a singing forum site kind of like macrumors?

Thanks a lot in advance guys.

Coday, some folks have an "ear for music" and everyone has enough of an 'ear' to enjoy listening to music. However, the gap between the two makes the Grand Canyon look like a crack in the sidewalk.

Let's assume that you have at least some of the "gift" of music, and an "ear" for it, as you say you can 'play' guitar and KB. I take it then your question is 'why can't I sing at least as well (or as badly) as I can play music'.

#1. The answer is NO. If you don't have the gift, you cannot learn it. That's why it's called a gift. However, as with anything in life if you practice/pratice/practice you should get better. So don't stop trying.

#2. The advice column:

Best advice is to sing from diaphram as suggested. Beginner's should learn breath and diaphram control, and ALWAYS sing standing up. {clear sinus'es also help, so keep antihistimines handy}. As you progress, singing from the sitting position won't hamper your diaphram.

Assuming that you can tell when someone is singing off key, the best vocal coach you will ever meet is called a CASSETTE DECK. Record yourself, hit rewind, and then be your own vocal coach. I do not know any pro singers who have not done this.

WHY CAN'T SOME MUSICIANS SING A DAMN NOTE ON KEY?

This is really pretty simple. When you vocalize you do not hear yourself the same way others hear you. What you hear is transmitted thru your bone structure, via your cranium, and on to your ears from inside your body. Everyone else in the room hears the sound waves from your throat, thru the air, and down thru the ears. For some people, the pitch heard 'internally' may not be the same pitch heard by others externally. Record yourself. You'll know in a flash where you stand. Practice will get you to the point that your internal pitch is on key with your external pitch.

You need to find out where your voice is "located" or where your "vocal range" is on the musical scale. Are you a tenor, baritone, alto, or do you sing best in falsetto? Best advice for beginners is to record your normal speaking voice. Start by singing in exactly the same range. Dolly Parton and Allison Krauss DO NOT sing in the same range as their speaking voices. George Strait does. So does Dylan.

Hope you find this a little helpful.

Now I'm curious as to whether you are correct in your self-assement that you cannot sing. If you post a sample I'd give you an honest opinion. If posting a short snippet is allowed here. Or email a sample direct to me at rufusswan@mac.com

Paz

[coday182]

^thanks for the advice. when i get my hands on a recording device i will email ya a snippet. By the way, I am pretty sure I can play and not just "play." My brother says he can play guitar because he learns his favorite songs from tab sites. Thats not me. I learn from books. I can count and read music efficiently as well as do scales and improv. Anyways, last night I picked up my banjo from guitar center for repairs and I also bought a $20 dollar interactive CD called "teach yourself to sing" It has all sorts of interactive exercises and what not. So I just thought I would update you guys.

[MacNut]

Find they key that is most comfortable to sing in, if you (bad example) listen to American Idol, you will hear that a lot of those people are so out of key that they sound horrible. A lot of it is picking a song that is in your range and go from there.

[macmama]

Just don't listen to this guy (http://youtube.com/watch?v=p3JGuNc48HY). Please.

If you're serious about it, you might be able to find a voice teacher through local church organists. Do you live near a college? A college prof would be too much for you at this point in your career, but perhaps they can refer you to an undergrad voice major who is looking to build up their studio. Good luck.

[rdowns]

http://www.wirelessestimator.com/wifi/images/uploads/Simon%20Cowell1.jpg

[MacNut]

Just don't listen to this guy (http://youtube.com/watch?v=p3JGuNc48HY). Pleaseahaha, thats classic you tube at its worst.:p

[lord patton]

try this (http://www.melissacross.com) It's not just for metal ;)

Of course singing can be improved with practice. You're human. That's how our species works.

[OldCorpse]

Can you learn to sing? If you can learn to play an instrument, meaning you are not tone deaf, and you have some control over your vocal cords, meaning you are not suffering from parkinson's, then yes, you absolutely can learn to sing.

But that's not the interesting question. If you just want to sing for yourself, go ahead, that's all you need to know - that you can.

The interesting question is if you can sing for other people...

And the answer is: we can't tell at this point. Because it does not mean you have to have an amazing range: look at Mick Jagger. Or a beautiful quality of voice: look at Bob Dylan. Or stay perfectly in key all the time: look at... well, most singers. Or enunciate beautifully. And so on.

But here's what you must have: SOMETHING. You may not have any of the above - range, clarity, tone, ability to carry a tune etc., but you have to have SOMETHING. You may have nothing else, but if you have a very distinctive voice you can still build a career. And having a distinctive voice is rare. Maybe you got nothing else, but you have amazing, original phrasing - that's enough to build a huge, huge career... because good, original phrasing is rare. Maybe you got nothing else, but you got amazing feeling: case in point... Billie Holliday - very limited range (especially later in her career, after massive drug abuse), technically quite shaky - but unparalled in emotive power.

In fact, I'd say the single most important thing for a singer is the ability to project feeling - emotive expression. Do you feel? The audience will forgive you all technical flaws, a poor quality voice and limited range, if you can really pull us in and carry us along on your emotion. The number one reason I hate listening to the vast majority of commercial singers out there is that I DON'T BELIEVE THEY ARE FEELING what they claim with their lyrics. I don't like country music - true, I plead guilty to that. You know why? Not because of subject matter ("ex-girlfriends, dogss and trucks"), but because I can hear they are FAKING their emotion. I can hear it in their voice. And I hate that - I hate that you think you are sneaking one past me, when you don't actually feel for what you sing - it's cheating. It's like bad acting. You pretend to feel - and I can hear that. Actually, there were country singers I like - but it was because I could here the emotion in their voice - either because they really felt it, or were brilliant at faking it... I don't care. What I care about is that it SOUNDS LIKE YOU REALLY CARE. There's a quote from David Bowie (whose singing I love) that goes to the effect that he rarely listened to his albums after he recorded them, and one day he heard an album of his at some apartment and said that he had no idea what "that guy" (i.e. himself) was singing about, "but it sounded like he really cared!". That hit it on the nose for me - SOUND LIKE YOU REALLY CARE. Now, Bowie hasn't always succeded with this in all his songs, but he succedes most of the time. OK, now, Bowie is a brilliant singer all the way around, so I don't mean to bring him up as an example here (we can't be all extremely lucky and supernaturally talented :)), but I brought him up because he summed up what it's 90% about - emotive power. Think of the songs that moved you most - chances are because you could hear the emotion in the singer's voice, as if he/she really cared.

Anyhow, once you got emotion (real or fake), you are 90% of the way home. The next is to have a distinctive quality to your voice - but that's something we are born with, can't really do much about that (though listen to what Tom Waits manages to do to his voice - over many albums, it sounds quite different... that's something he manufactured!). However, phrasing - that's so important, yet this is something that you CAN learn! Distinctive phrasing is enough to build a career!

And that's it: feeling (emotive), individual quality of voice, phrasing. The rest is icing on the cake: range, tone, enunciation ---> technique.

Now, it can happen that you got neither of these - welcome to the club of the vast majority of humanity. In this case, you can't sing for the public (and make a living at it). But you can still sing for yourself (under the shower :)).

[coday182]

^thanks. that is honestly some of the best info i've gotten. A good case in point is jason aldean's "amarillo sky." Now that I've read your post, I know what I like about it. You have to hear the song, but in short is is about a farmer going through hard times, and the way he sings it I can just feel what the farmers are explaing. It doesnt have anything to do with how good a singer he is (which by the way I think he has one of the most beautiful male voices in country)

[jenie.poo]

ok, first of all, DO NOT SING FROM THE THROAT. that is horrible advice from someone who obviously doesn't know what they are talking about. Singing from the throat can cause long term damage to your vocal folds and cause a whole slew of vocal problems such as nodules and callouses on the vocal chords. you should have no tension in the throat or face, all the sound should feel like its coming directly from the diaphragm. Also, Singing sitting down is fine as long as you're sitting tall. My voice professors call it "standing from the waist" keeping your back strait and off of the back of the chair feet firmly on the floor, chin parallel to the floor (you shouldn't be looking up or down). You are going to want to learn to sing from the diaphragm, but it is possible to do so sitting down it is not favored but is possible. proper breathing technique is imperative to good singing.

If you have determination to learn and learn properly you will succeed. singing is 5% talent and 95% determination. People are going to tear you down, tell you that you suck and that you're wasting your time. Shut out those voices, and follow your heart.

I, too, am a singer of country music. I am currently studying music in college, and although I am getting classical training, the skills I have acquired in my three years of study have improved my voice, my technique, my understanding of music theory and my knowledge of other instruments as well (piano, violin, flute, guitar, etc.).

I can give you any tips that you want, vocal exercises to improve range and intonation, music theory help, breathing exercises, anything. don't be a stranger :)

[rdowns]

Oh hai, jenie.poo.

This thread is 3 years old. And this is your first post. Weird.

[roadbloc]

http://www.celemony.com/cms/

^^ This enables Cheryl Cole to sing. Just try not to abuse it so you sound roboticly pitch perfect like she does. ;)

[Foreign Feeling]

I don't want to sound like a d bag, but if the whole singing thing never gets to you you can always just use autotune while you make songs.

[glowfly]

anybody can sing, just put your heart into it practice alot and get into the groove!

[IwantITbadly]

I need some help too! I'm 13 now (almost 14 :D ) and I wanna be a singer, you know, begin the career as younger as I can... I'm not sure if it's possible. I have no money and family support to go to some singing lessons, they're too expensive here( I live in Croatia). My family doesn't support me at all. That's the first problem. Some of my friends have heard me singing. They said I'm really good. I sing literally EVERY SINGLE DAY. I don't know since when, it just came to me. I was really inspired. Sometimes I used to watch some musicals, but they only got me sad, cause they're all like a fairytale, everyone's gorgeous, they know how to sing... I don't actually care about the look, anybody can look amazing with tons of makeup, I care about the music. My family has been cutting me down for a while, but I "ignored" it, actually pretended I'm not hearing their teasing. I have 4 sisters (yes, 4!!!) And all of them are teasing me. Today we've been watching some talent show and then my dad came and watched all those anti -talents and said "you sing better than them, but you sing solid. You don't have that much talent to be a singer, you're just solid." My mum doesn't say anything, sometimes she says something to make me more brave, but she doesn't give compliments just like that, too. If you wanna hear me sing, click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etv9FbjkqEs and TELL ME PLEASE can I do something with singing in life, cause I'm helpless. I seems I can sing only the slow songs, and I am the worst with he songs by Beyonce or Leona Lewis, their voices are so powerful... I don't know how to describe my voice, it's like it's weak, I can sing the "normal notes" well, but still haven't figured out how does my voice work cause I can't hit those high notes loud and with confidence. I really can't sing high notes, cause when I get up there, I sound funny. As simple I'll give you the song You belong with me by Taylor Swift. When I get to "why can't you see, you belong with me" I sound like a little girl or, oh, i just don't know how to describe it. I get quiet when I sing high notes and sound silly, like I have no confidence. Like I'm afraid. My family's teasing me cause I'm shy to sing in front of them and then sound silly cause I use to sing with the mp3, so I don't hear myself. But when I sing "acapella" I can hear my voice well and control it, but only if singing normal notes, not too high or too low. Can I be a singer with an OK voice? I'm afraid not :(