Singing?

[Line666]

I've always wanted to be able to do it well, but in terms of my own voice I'm consistently tone deaf, I figure this is like starting out at guitar and trying to find out how things work, but I cant really get as much information on singing (and a lot of freely available stuff seems to be misinformation generally), and I really can't afford a teacher.

So to all you folks out there that can actually hold a tune, how did you get to that point and are there any exercises or tips you can share?

Cheers guys.

 

[Metaltastic]

I'll +1 this, though in my case my pitch isn't the problem, but rather my range (or lack thereof, whenever I try to sing along with pretty much any tenor it gets pretty horrid )

 

[updog]

Also interested... I like singing every now and then, and while I think I've gained enough volume (I wasn't able to sing too loud before at all) I'm not always really happy with how it sounds. It seems it sounds okay to me when I'm just doing it, but when I'm recording it it's slightly off tune and sometimes I notice I emphasize my pronounciation of the english language in annoying ways. I hate how recording yourself always shows you how fucking crap you are.

 

[LeSedna]

I don't feel a problem in tuning but rather in finding a good way to sing any type of growl/screaming vocals. I just can't get it, I'm sure it's mainly a technical problem, eventhough I understood a lot about singing with all the readings I made (moving parts of your body and throat the good way, letting the air flow eaisily, not stressing or tightening the voice, etc), I just can't figure out how to do it properly.

The best first advice i could give : sing contracting your belly (dunno how to say it in english), the air must flow a lot and yet get controlled not to loose it too quickly (as a flute player would do because he does not need to blow all his air to create a note) and try to understand the difference between the basic different type of voice and the way the throat moves, and where the sound resonates in your buccal parts.

EDIT : you should therefore feel some fullness from your sound, and also more control leading to better tone.

Also, you need to sing louder than you would at first try. It should be relaxed, but still contracting your muscles. It's like playing guitar if you play it : when you get good, you have some force in your fingers and yet be more and more relaxed. The same goes to singing : to control your sound you have to control your body a lot, it's all about muscles and not only in your throat or mouth. You have to articulate, open your mouth a lot, etc. You have to make a path to the air.

i'm not singer, but this is what I got

 

[Petrocker]

Well some basic stuff, first thing to do is to discover what youre in. Try "sing" (sing "ah" or lah" or some random vowel shit) along with a piano and see how high/low you can go.
But dont let the range-thingy be to a limit. It's just some general guidance lines.

• Tenor: C3 – C5
• Baritone: G2 – G4
• Bass: E2 – E4

Once you know youre range you can start sining along on some tunes you like that's in your register.

As tonedeafyness goes, i recommend start singin a lot on your own. And if it doesnt dissapear in a while, take some lessons.
Also, record yourself a lot. It will make huge improvements on your ability to hit notes.

 

[Line666]

Well some basic stuff, first thing to do is to discover what youre in. Try "sing" (sing "ah" or lah" or some random vowel shit) along with a piano and see how high/low you can go.
But dont let the range-thingy be to a limit. It's just some general guidance lines.

• Tenor: C3 – C5
• Baritone: G2 – G4
• Bass: E2 – E4

Once you know youre range you can start sining along on some tunes you like that's in your register.

As tonedeafyness goes, i recommend start singin a lot on your own. And if it doesnt dissapear in a while, take some lessons.
Also, record yourself a lot. It will make huge improvements on your ability to hit notes.

Cheers. I'm definitely a baritone, I checked this before, because thats pretty much my range, starts cracking up around F4 though.

 

[Metaltastic]

Yeah, F4 is pretty much the top of my range too, but am I really just stuck that way? I feel like I've heard plenty of tenors with speaking voices as low as mine, if not lower, so I was hoping it was a technique/strength issue (I can't stand baritones singing metal, with the sole exception being Matt Barlow)

 

[Line666]

Yeah, F4 is pretty much the top of my range too, but am I really just stuck that way? I feel like I've heard plenty of tenors with speaking voices as low as mine, if not lower, so I was hoping it was a technique/strength issue (I can't stand baritones singing metal, with the sole exception being Matt Barlow)

As far as I've heard baritones have room for pretty much the most vocal extension. Apparently Axl Rose is a baritone but decided when he was a kid to piss his choir teacher off by singing tenor instead, so thats how he developed all that nasally upper note stuff.

 

[ParsonsMatt]

I've been in the same boat... My girlfriend (sings in choir and also for my band) is helping me a lot with technique.

My pitch has also been awful. BUT I've been improving it! What I've found helps a shitload is just playing notes on a keyboard, and then matching pitch. It took me a few months of practice like that to even reliably hit notes, and I'm still really slow at it, but I can actually do it. Once I can hit a note pretty much spot on, I'm going to start doing interval training, where I hit a note, then play a 2nd/3rd/4th/etc. on the keyboard and jump to it without sliding. Ideally once I've got all that down, actually singing won't be too far off.

 

[Kazrog]

I highly recommend [ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AVZVTY?ie=UTF8&tag=backmask-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000AVZVTY"]The Zen Of Screaming[/ame]. It helped me immensely with both growling and melodic vocals and having a daily routine that keeps my voice in shape. 15 minutes a day is all you need to get your voice in shape and keep it there.

As far as range - you're born with what you have to an extent. It's not to say you can't get your voice to sound better, or get a few extra notes with some practice, but you have to really learn to embrace the strengths of your own voice - which will never be the extremities of your range - so it's not likely that you will sound like your vocal heroes unless you naturally have a similar voice.

 

[Skinny Viking]

(I can't stand baritones singing metal, with the sole exception being Matt Barlow)

M E S S I A H ____ M A R C O L I N!!!!!!

 

[Petrocker]

Yeah same with Freddy Mercury, he has a pretty low speeking voice and speeks like a baritone.
A friend of mine who started out singing, couldnt go higher than G4, a year after vocallessons he can now hit like D.
Dunno if its a matter of technique or just some individual voices that can pratice towards a higher range.

 

[AudioPhile777]

in terms of my own voice I'm consistently tone deaf

No one, who has the ability to hear, is tone deaf. Fact.

 

[Damian B]

Yeah, F4 is pretty much the top of my range too, but am I really just stuck that way? I feel like I've heard plenty of tenors with speaking voices as low as mine, if not lower, so I was hoping it was a technique/strength issue (I can't stand baritones singing metal, with the sole exception being Matt Barlow)

Funny story... my brother was taking voice lessons a few years ago, and he was doing fairly well with it. A few weeks later he started doing death metal backup vocals for our band, and when he went to his voice lesson his range had expanded 4 or 5 notes down from where it was before His teacher was amazed!

 

[Line666]

No one, who has the ability to hear, is tone deaf. Fact.

I know this man, I'm far from actually tone deaf, I have a fairly trained ear, otherwise I wouldn't be on an audio engineer/musicians forum. Just I have pitching problems in relation to my own voice that I find difficult to hear.

 

[AudioPhile777]

I know this man, I'm far from actually tone deaf, I have a fairly trained ear, otherwise I wouldn't be on an audio engineer/musicians forum. Just I have pitching problems in relation to my own voice that I find difficult to hear.

Yeah. I figured you knew that, just wanted to make sure...

People who consider themselves to be tone deaf or who say "I can't sing", simply lack the ability to control pitch and tone... in essence, can't sing in tune.

Just a matter of training your ear and your voice... its like the muscle training you do when learning/playing guitar... you learn to know when its out of tune and you fix it...

A good exercise is to sit with a piano and hit random notes and match it with your voice... doing this for a half hour a day can dramatically improve your "pitchyness" and note recognition.

 

[iHate]

practice a lot

with a monitor so loud that you can't hear yourself in your head

with a bunch of delay

record your progress, and you can go into auto tune and see how much you are off pitch. a year later when you are down on your singing go back and listen to some stuff, you will be amazed if you have been improving.

long hours with a piano and monotonous scales help, but really the best thing is singing songs that you like, emulating different singers, and discovering what you feel comfortable with.

 

[slashvanyoung]

Warrel Dane (like him or not) is another baritone who has a ridiculous range. Just compare the Sisters Of Mercy cover "Lucretia" from his solo album with "Battle Angels" from the first Sanctuary. Insane.

He has a really low speaking voice, too. I don't know at which note he goes into falsetto but at his example you can see what a baritone is able to do with the right (operatic/classical) training and the right genes.

 

[Charlie E.]

A teacher I had once said something that I fully agree with.

"Volume is a byproduct of good technique"

Don't ever try to push past your limits because you will cause more harm than good. People seem obsessed with volume. More is better! Well fuck that!

The only tip I can give you regarding breathing is the pencil trick.
Put a pencil against your belly. If your belly doesn't push the pencil out before singing, then you aren't breathing properly. And if it contracts before you're done singing a phrase then you aren't exhaling properly either.

If you can't afford a teacher you might want to try volunteering for some chorus group or church group. Often these groups have a director who will coach them and point out their deficiencies.
My sub par singing came about mostly through joining the men's chorale at my university and just being musical and attentive.

 

[NoDestiny]

One thing that always helps when you are in doubt, push on the tragus of your ear with your index finger. Seems to help find the pitch (for me, at least).

(in case you don't know what it is... I didn't, had to look it up! )
http://www.infovisual.info/03/048_en.html