OT: Singing

[kwyn]

Any recommendations for an online video singing course? I can hit notes... sometimes, but my voice isn"t strong and I also can"t 'pick out' harmonies. A live teacher probably won"t work right now.

[J. Dan]

I'm not formally trained so some may disagree. I AM a strong singer who sings strong leads and backups live and has been doing so for around 30 years. There is no substitute for doing it. It's like strength training. If you already have control of your pitch and breathing then just do it and you'll build your voice like an athelete builds their stamina and skills. Just make sure you're doing it right, which is where the importance of a coach comes in. Not sure you can get appropriate feedback from a YouTube video in that regard.

[Mr. Nightime]

I was fortunate enough to have a vocal teacher when I went to college in 75-76 as a music major. She taught me the basics of opera singing, which really help with the proper breathing.

 

It gives me the support I need to hit the notes.

[TommyRude]

I also can"t 'pick out' harmonies.

This is surprising, as I'm thinking most keyboard players are the best at this. Quite possible you're much better than you think.

 

One thing that helped me in this regard is picking a few popular songs that have harmonies, play the exact harmony notes on the piano, and sing each part (while you're playing) - rotating between the harmonies. i.e. sing the low note section all the way through, rotate up to the mid note all the way through, etc high note... repeating the sections over and over and over. With repetitive practice it will start to lock in and become 2nd nature.

[KuruPrionz]

I've always been in bands with lead singers who were much better singers than I was. I sang harmony often and took the occasional lead.

 

I also write songs and sing at open mics (or did until recently) solo with an acoustic guitar. We tend to be harsh critics of our own sounds, I know I've been. I am getting better at liking how I sound.

 

Pitch and phrasing are essential. Relaxing is also essential.

 

One day, I found this book at Goodwill - https://books.google.com/books/about/Full_throated_ease.html?id=IYoJAQAAMAAJ

 

Full-Throated Ease : A Concise Guide to Easy Singing Paperback â 1955

by James Terry Lawson (Author)

 

You should be able to find it for far less money, I would surf around and see what you can find. It's worth a fair price and then some. Certainly considered a classic on the topic.

 

James Terry Lawson was a Canadian MD (or whatever their designation may be) and an avid amateur singer.

He explains in detail with simple, excellent diagrams, how the parts of your body that affect your singing are used to their best when singing.

This book did not overcome all of my bad habits, I am still working on those.

It did provide a series of simple steps one can take make singing easier and improve all of your essential singing skills. It is multi-tasking, often internally.

 

I also record myself fairly often, working on making my songs into presentable recordings. Recordings have no ego and they tell the truth. Very helpful.

 

That and spending the last 5 years gigging with a fine singer who has outstanding mic technique, sets the bar high and then asks me to sing one has made me much more confident about my singing. I tell my stories, people seem to like it. I will continue to improve. I dig out Full Throated Ease every six months or so and go through it again. Cheers, Kuru

[kwyn]

Thanks. I'll try picking out the parts on the piano and look into the aforementioned book. Appreciated

[David R]

I don't consider myself "a singer" but I have had increasing confidence singing backups and even lead over the years. I firmly believe voice lessons are best done in person (post-social distancing) and failing that, one on one with a good coach who knows what they're doing and can see you. A quick tip is to not sing from the throat but to sing from the diaphragm and have breath support from your entire upper body.

 

In terms of ear training/picking out notes, you can do the following two things:

- as mentioned, listen explicitly to the harmony vocals of songs you already know and try to follow along

- pick an interval to a song or a part of a song that HAS NO HARMONY (3rd above, 3rd below, 5th up or down) and sing along on that interval as long as you can.

[kwyn]

- pick an interval to a song or a part of a song that HAS NO HARMONY (3rd above, 3rd below, 5th up or down) and sing along on that interval as long as you can.

 

This is a good idea. Sometimes, and even with keys, I can't hear parts with all the other stuff going on in a song.

 

Also, when singing a, for example 3rd harmony, let's say the song is in C, but the melody note is B, do you sing Eb (which would not be in C) or do song the 3rd of the chord the song is on as opposed to the melody note? I'm talking basic rock music

[RandyFF]

LOL, you can pick up

Full Throated Ease: A Concise Guide to Easy Singing

for $851

[PianoMan51]

Okay, a couple of suggestions.

 

1). Be very careful with voice lessons. The history of voice lessons comes from training opera singers. IMHO the ONLY technique from opera that applies in the 21st century is diaphragmatic breathing. You definitely want to master that. This is fundamental to successful singing. You can"t drive without gas in the tank, and you can"t control your tone without diaphragmatic breathing.

 

2). The human voice is incredibly versatile. We can mimic birds and trumpets and other voices. Your voice has the ability to sound like almost anything you want, with work and dedication. So don"t start out with 'this is the way my voice sounds'. Start out with 'I want my voice to sound like...' and then insert your goal. Maybe it"s some other singer, or maybe your goal is to achieve a sound that makes you feel a certain way. End up with a vocal tone that you desperately need, and every time you sing you"ll be paid back.

 

3). Just do it. A lot. If you don"t, then you really don"t want to sing.

[David R]

- pick an interval to a song or a part of a song that HAS NO HARMONY (3rd above, 3rd below, 5th up or down) and sing along on that interval as long as you can.

 

 

Also, when singing a, for example 3rd harmony, let's say the song is in C, but the melody note is B, do you sing Eb (which would not be in C) or do song the 3rd of the chord the song is on as opposed to the melody note? I'm talking basic rock music

Honestly you should try both, and it depends on the context of the note in the song. Generally in rock/pop music it should be a diatonic third (i.e. a third that moves given the scale or the chord that you're on in the present time).

[kwyn]

LOL, you can pick up

Full Throated Ease: A Concise Guide to Easy Singing

for $851

 

I found it for $451 on Amazon. I better jump on that deal ð

[KuruPrionz]

LOL, you can pick up

Full Throated Ease: A Concise Guide to Easy Singing

for $851

 

Plus...

$3.99 shipping

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

 

LOL, maybe I should make a copy of mine and sell the original!!!! I think I paid a couple of bucks for it, good margin... :- D

 

The other place I've found useful for working on my singing is karaoke. Very low pressure, a lowbrow form of entertainment that assumes mediocrity and laughter will result. So it's fun.

I never really "got" Elvis until I started trying to sing his songs at karaoke. Great singer, attempting to sing Elvis is a great challenge.

 

I like to try all sorts of songs, whether I like them or not. Some songs are just funny and everybody goes nuts. Charlie Brown by the Coasters, Dylan - Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 come to mind.

 

If you act stupid and have fun, everybody will clap. Once in a while a "ringer" will get up there and knock it out of the park, that's fun too. f you keep at it, you might get to BE the ringer.

[Stokely]

Singing is great fun!

 

I know enough to be dangerous. I realize my technique isn't great, specifically breathing and singing from the diaphragm and technical stuff like that. I've found being "successful" at singing is mostly about confidence. Yes you need to be able to hit the note too--I may have confidence I can hit a particular Stevie Wonder note for example, but that is misplaced confidence Everyone has a range, some larger than most. I'm a baritone and no matter what training I get, I'll never be able to hit those high tenor notes I've always aspired to. So find some songs in your wheelhouse so to speak. Record them if you have the means--be prepared for cringing, first of all nobody likes to hear themselves, especially at first. But recordings (without autotune!) don't lie.

 

I'm VERY good at picking out harmonies (even if my ability sometimes won't let me hit what my mind hears!). I credit this to decades of harmonizing in the car or anywhere I else I hear music, honestly. ANY song that comes on, I just have always tried finding harmonies, whether they have them or not. I especially love trying to find a lower harmony to the melody, which I have found is very difficult to do for many people. This is all very irritating to other passengers I'm sure! This developed my ear in the same way that picking out keyboard parts develops your ear. Certainly you need to be able to hear when a harmony or melody is not working though...I've played live with musicians that are great on their instruments but seem to be pretty tone deaf when it comes to harmonies. So I'm not sure if that is innate or can be developed by anyone, or if it's on a sliding scale between those extremes.

[kwyn]

I used sing a couple tunes in my old band. No one complained. I sang really easy stuff and used a mic mechanic with a touch of pitch correction. Anyway, I am not loud enough, sometimes miss notes, and would really be interested in getting better at signing some upper harmonies and be louded with the songs i do sing.

[tfort]

I have come across a few recommended voice coaches on YouTube that I bookmarked to check out sometime. Haven't watched or tried them, but check 'em out if you'd like:

 

Eric Arceneaux: https://www.youtube.com/user/EricArceneaux

Freya Casey: https://www.youtube.com/user/foundmydestiny74

Cheryl Porter: https://www.youtube.com/user/voicestudioit

Aimee Nolte: https://www.youtube.com/user/NolteFam, https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLH5JBL4j1-D25rBzed22Nu1dJTCEtOVQ7,

Ron Anderson: https://www.youtube.com/user/VOIXTEK

[RandyFF]

Singing! OMG! Can do passably well with wind instruments, keys, but I sound TERRIBLE singing! And I love singing. I've tried going for long sustain notes and being basic, but my TONE is not listen-worthy. I've been told it's just a matter of practice/training, but to me it seems impossible.

 

I've also heard that the combo of your throat/mouth/nose are a starting point, some people have a better starting point than others. Why is it some people, with no training, sound great?

 

Would love to hear stories from others who thought they had a BAD / NOT SO GREAT voice and were able to make it at least decent!