Vocal training?

[chazz]

Sup ya'll.

I'm a soon-to-be-eighteen-year-old-kid trying to decide what to do with his life, which is a tough one.
I've always shared this huge passion for music but I've never really tried to sing myself (more than infront of my computer) and I have never learned to play any instrument either.
First I was into rap (mainstream all the way) and then I went over to MTV pop'ish shiz (totally mainstream) and now I'm only listening to InFlames, Linkin Park, KoRn, Ill Nino, Disturbed etc etc.
So I've gone to a more 'hard' style of music but still staying in the middle with Linkin Park and whatnot, hope I'm making any sense here at all.
Anyway, my biggest wonder is; Do you think it is too late for someone like me, my age and all, to take vocal training and learn how to sing?
And do you even think it's possible or do you believe in the "born with talent" crap?
I mean mostly when you read interviews with several bands they all go "yeah I've played the guitarr and been singing since I was 4 years old.." so you kinda start to wonder...

If it helps both of my older sisters can sing very well and have been doing some choir (spell?) shows locally infront of quite some large audiences, altough they have both school and work besides that so it's nothing they do fulltime.
If I can learn how to sing I would want to do a mix of KoRn and Linkin Park, harder and darker screams that chester does but also that soft voice he uses quite often (In the end etc).
ya well, that's about it..

 

[TheMonkeysAteMySoul]

it doesn't matter when you start learning, just as long as you have the dedication, and also for the bands you listed youu dont need to be a technichally great singer(you wont need any iron maidon style high notes or anything) but if you could say what kind of singing you want to do, that would be helpfull, my advice though, is try and get a good grounding in the style you want to sing and then try to find a band, experience in working with a band is really really important to any kind of musician

 

[ADS]

Anyway, my biggest wonder is; Do you think it is too late for someone like me, my age and all, to take vocal training and learn how to sing?

It's never too late, in my opinion.

And do you even think it's possible or do you believe in the "born with talent" crap?

Well, I do believe in being "born with talent"... as I have known many a people who were just naturally gifted at singing or playing. However, I personally am not one of those people ...and think that your abilities, talent, and what you get out of music in general is directly proportional to the effort you're willing to put into it.

I mean mostly when you read interviews with several bands they all go "yeah I've played the guitarr and been singing since I was 4 years old.." so you kinda start to wonder...

I didn't start playing guitar until I was just 2 or 3 years younger than you are now, and didn't start trying to sing until many years later (I'm 34 now). I don't think there's any general "rule of thumb" when it comes to being a musician. However, I think when a person is younger, that it's much easier to devote a LOT of time to music... lower risk, lower responsibility (especially those who are very young, like the 4 year olds you mentioned) ...and therefore I personally think it increases their chances of actually going somewhere in the music business. Me, I have a career (unrelated to music), a mortgage payment, etc... so it's difficult for me to really devote myself to music. But I do what I can, and someday will reach my goal of a full length album to share with the world. Will it really go somewhere? I don't know. Will be be successful? I doubt it. Will the outcome be related in any way to my age or how late in life I started getting serious about music? I doubt that too, except as I mentioned above, with my lack of ability to really dedicate myself to music. Will it make me happy as hell to accomplish this though? You bet

The bottom line is... you'll never know what you can do, what you're capable of, of where it can take you, unless you give it a try.

But... if you're going to go all out and really see if music can take you somewhere... just make sure you have a backup plan, just in case where it takes you is down a very short road with a giant chasm at the end of it

~Robert

 

[Gin_from_the_bottle]

i didnt start playing bass or guitar till i was 16, and didnt start growling (or singing at all for that matter) till i was 17. so its never too late to learn anything new.

 

[chazz]

Thanks so much for your answers.

Since I'm 18 years old (1½ month away) I figured that I could try singing for 1-2 years now and see if it's for me or not.
During the first year I only have school at the side so I can still devote as much time as I want on singin and during the second year I will only work on weekends so then I got even more time to spend on it.
My plan was to first get some opinions about the matter and if I got a positive response I would try to learn singin for about a year and then if I notice that I'm starting to sound somewhat good and if I feel that I can become alot better then I would spend that second year on finding a band and get some experience.
I mean after a year of singing I should be able to notice if I can become good or not right?

Random info;

Style: I dunno if there's names for it all but kinda like Chester from Linkin Park, both be able to scream and sing with a darker voice like he does and then switch over to a more soft/pop voice (alá backstreet boys or something).

Purpose: As I mentioned before I've always loved music SO much for as long as I can remember and even if I might no have any skills I've always dreamed of being on stage performing infront of thousands of people.

Goal: If I can learn how to sing then my goal would be nothing else but to go all the way ofcourse and I would/will(?) definatley go for it 100%!

 

[MFJ]

Although I don't really respect many of the bands that you mention, I will not deny the fact that Chester from Linkin Park has a good voice, so you're aiming certainly in the right direction. What I can say isn't anything different from what you've already heard, its never too late to start with music. I myself started Guitar about six years ago, bass about three years ago, and I've started singing since new years. Things keep getting easier actually... so go for it. Just all the advice I can lend is PRACTICE as much as you possibly can- that's what counts.

 

[chazz]

Question is though; should I go for a teacher right away or try to develop 'myself' for some time first?

This is bothering me because of these facts;

- Most, if not all, teachers where I live are old ladies who would train you for opera och musical singin (like Hair and so on, you know).
- Everyone that I know (my sisters for example) who have gone to a teacher have already been able to sing before they did, they used the teacher to get better and reach their goals.

You know as I see it (but what do I know?) if you know the basics and can use a listenable voice at least, then it's easier to go to a teacher and show what you can do and tell them where you want to go, rather than showing up sounding like a screaming cat and saying 'teach me how to become a star', you know?
But maybe I'm wrong..?

And despite the fact that most 'teach yourself' courses are crap I found one that I tend to like, maybe you can check it out and see if it's just another stealing-your-money scheme or if I should invest those 30 bucks (that's nothing too) and practice for awhile at home before spendind loads of cash on a teacher.
http://www.vocalrelease.com

 

[ShadowOfDeath]

You won't need vocal training for those bands. But if you want to have an outstanding voice you can. Just try singing before you take classes or anything. It may be a waste of money if you're already a good singer. Like i can somewhat sing as a natural talent, not spectacular mind you but i have been all right. Especially for what i'm doing

http://firec0re.net/apocalypse.wav

Anyways, just try it out. If you want to be better go with the vocal lessons. It's never too late to get into music. I started on piano at 5, i'm 13 now but i know many adults who get into music at this age and are very talented, it's mostly dedication to remmeber.

 

[chazz]

Kind of hard to hear your voice on that wav file Shadow, do you have another one?

 

[ShadowOfDeath]

Nope. But i'll probably record some more soon.

 

[chazz]

Alright, cool!

Doesn't anyone have any opinion about vocalrelease?
Would truly appreciate it!

 

[TekChef]

I say if you want to do it, do it!

You are young enough, if it turns out you are not into it, or just don't want to do it anymore in a few years, you can sill go to college, trade school or whatever.

You won't know till you try.

BTW...If you learn to sing opera, you will end up being a POWERFULL singer. Many VERY GOOD singers in rock/metal have opera/classical training.(although she's not quite hard rock/metal, Pat Benatar, for example is a classicaly trained singer..even if you don't like her..you have to admit..she can sing pretty damn good!)
If you want to have power and hit the high notes..it's the way to go.
You just have learn to let go of the classical stiffness when you are not singing classical stuff. If you find you like singing that much, once you have the basics and are developed, for example, you could take Jazz vocal lessons for more style and feel.

 

[TheMonkeysAteMySoul]

I would take a few lessonns, just take llearn to sing without damaging your voice and learning to ge all the power out of your voice you can

 

[chazz]

Thanks for all the replies I've gotten!
I will order the course from vocalrelease and then practice for some while until I feel that I can show my voice off without totally embarressing myself and then record something and upload it on this forum to get some criticsism.

Thanks once again!

 

[xOrdinary_Storyx]

one of the hardest things about singing is not being hesitant. if you are, then you're going to sound terrible. once you get over that, you can only go up