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Thread: How to learn to sing

  1. #1
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    Default How to learn to sing

    I have a good ear for harmony and pitch, but my voice is not trained very well for singing.

    How do you singers recommend a "vocal newbie" gets the right training?

    I would love to front my own band, playing all the guitars and doing the vocals!

    The problem for me right now is my guitar playing is about million miles ahead of my vocal abilities....

    Any tips or suggestions appreciated.
    The Law of Gravity is nonsense. No such law exists. If I think I float, and you think I float, then it happens.
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  2. #2
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    Some people can sing naturally, and others require voice lessons. In an old band, we took voice training, and it worked great. Our other guitarist brought a guitar along and transcribed vocal melodies and harmonies on the guitar, so we knew what each part was.

    Basically, lessons consisted of warm up, scales, and practicing tunes that we liked to sing. Having a coach there to point out the little sharps and flats was great.
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    Just over a year ago, I decided that relying on other people in order to make music was more hassle than it was worth, so I picked up my acoustic and just started singing along to songs in my range.

    I performed a few open mics, got lots of positive feedback, and just kept singing... in the shower, in my car, whenever.

    I'm not even remotely close to being Sebastian Bach or Pavarotti, but it works for blues. :-)
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    Record and listen to yourself. The voice you hear in your head is nothing like what you sound like to others. Take lessons for a few months. All you really need to learn is proper breathing technique. That makes a huge difference.
    Patrick

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    Quote Originally Posted by hubberjub
    Record and listen to yourself. The voice you hear in your head is nothing like what you sound like to others.
    Very true. You need to get used to hearing your own voice on a recording, so playback is critical. I guess that alone won't help you get better, but it will help you come to terms with the voice you have.
    Quote Originally Posted by Spudman
    Does anyone read the original post?
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  6. #6
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    There are about 5 thousand ways to go about learning to sing. Here are a few important points that I've found are almost universally true.

    1) The more you sing, the quicker you will improve. Just like others have said, sing in your shower, car, practice room. It's just like playing your guitar. The more you play the better you know your instrument. You start to notice little things about how it should feel when you reach certain parts of your range.

    2) Even though it seems tedious and unnecessary, vocal warm ups make all the difference in accessing the difficult parts of your range. I have a CD with a few basic warm ups (played on the piano) that I listen to almost every day in my car on the way to work. In the last 6 months I've gone from being comfortable hitting a G to being comfortable hitting a Bb and I attribute much of that to this warm up CD. 2 other warm up tips I use all the time are to warm up in the shower (because of the steam) and to eat something before you sing. Something about the contracting of the muscles in your throat helps your voice warm up quicker.

    3) Listen to a recording of your voice. Much like guitar, besides pitch, the most important thing that can change the sound of your voice is tone. It's really hard to hear the tone of your voice because of the way it resonates in your head. Listening to recordings helps with this very much.

    4) Never underestimate the many benefits to be had from taking proper vocal instruction. I wouldn't take lessons from anyone that doesn't have a masters in vocal pedagogy unless they have uniformly good reviews from his/her students. Bad vocal advice can hurt your voice in the long run. It's very important to protect your instrument.

    This is a link for the CD I use to warm up. It's crazy expensive so I just downloaded it from a torrent. I know this isn't legal or moral, but charging that much for a product is absolutely ridiculous.

    http://www.singingsuccess.com/

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    Quote Originally Posted by Eric
    I guess that alone won't help you get better, but it will help you come to terms with the voice you have.


    That's been one of my biggest problems singing.
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    Good advice particularly hubberjub, katastrophe & vroomery. The techniques katastrophe describes were what I learned a lot from working with a co-writer who was an ace with constructing harmonies. I find a piano or keyboard is a much better aid than a guitar for identifying intervals.

    But no matter how your voice sounds, pitch-wise, tonally...it's about breath control & techniques.

    Here's a link to a book/CD course that's very good. I got it for my daughter years ago on recommendation from her HS Choir teacher. Even though she's got a natural ear (pitch, harmony) developed from being immersed in music since she was about 4 yrs. old, singing in school & church choirs, etc., she wanted proper technique. And while she got that from her teacher at school, she wanted something she could practice with at her own pace, at home.

    Seth Riggs Book & CD Singing Course
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    If you are planning on doing the 80s metal type thing again, I'd suggest an extraordinarily tight pair of trousers.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Robert
    The problem for me right now is my guitar playing is about million miles ahead of my vocal abilities....

    Any tips or suggestions appreciated.
    Robert, we know you can shred. So all you have to do is scream along. I'd buy the album. ;-)


  11. #11
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    I always loved singing, since I was a little kid. But I didn't try singing out until the early 90's. I'm surprised and a bit disappointed in a way when after goofing around with guitar for 46 years that I sometimes get compliments from folks on my singing. LOL But it does take time, at least it has for me. I took a few lessons back when I started singing out, but just a few. It was too much trouble getting into Manhattan when I lived in NJ back then. But I remembered a few key pointers I got from my instructor. A few years later I was given a nice compliment from a friend who I consider a very good singer and harp player. He said I was starting to sound like myself. I think prior to that I had a very affected voice. Relaxing and working with what nature gave you will give you your own signature sound. Just like when you pick up the phone and hear hello. Chances are you instantly know who it is. Like when you hear one note and you know it's Albert King. I'm so thankful now that I have gotten into singing. I always have 'my instrument' with me. No tubes, no biasing, and I can do it in the car, anywhere. Have fun Robert, I'm sure you'll have a ball

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    Quote Originally Posted by marnold
    If you are planning on doing the 80s metal type thing again, I'd suggest an extraordinarily tight pair of trousers.
    I'd add to that spandex. It'll help with the high notes!
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    ESP M II Deluxe with a Tune-o-Matic bridge
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    Quote Originally Posted by marnold
    If you are planning on doing the 80s metal type thing again, I'd suggest an extraordinarily tight pair of trousers.
    Amazing advice. Disregard my previous post.
    Patrick

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    bcdon.. THANK YOU for the "pick-me-up".

    I miss Metallica.
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    Here's my tip.

    JUST DO IT! THROW ALL CONSTRAINTS OVER BOARD!

    The voice comes with the time. Especially for self written material there's no one in the world who could interopret it better than you. That's why guys like Clapton and Knopfler started singing their own material. Sometimes the authentic feeling you can put in songs weighs so much more than a perfectly pitched voice.

    Generally and this counts also for covers, it is the best if you understand the song, its message, and if you can interpret and express that. It sure takes some time to be able to do so, but hey, you are a guitar expert, a super photographer, a marathon man, founder of the best forum on the net, there's nothing you can't do Rob! Good luck with your plans! Looking forward to hearing the first takes. I am sure it will be very good.
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  16. #16
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    Thanks for the encouragement, guys!

    If Bob Dylan and Uli Jon Roth can do it, so can I!
    The Law of Gravity is nonsense. No such law exists. If I think I float, and you think I float, then it happens.
    Master Guitar Academy - I also teach via SKYPE.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Robert
    Thanks for the encouragement, guys!

    If Bob Dylan and Uli Jon Roth can do it, so can I!
    Also, you might want to consider going cookie-monster on all of the vocals -- even if your voice was horrible, nobody would be the wiser.
    Quote Originally Posted by Spudman
    Does anyone read the original post?
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  18. #18
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    Hi Robert,

    I'm the same way with singing. I always thought of myself as a guitar player who backs up other singers, who are the real vocalists. I've always hated my own voice.

    Over the years I've started in small steps to bring my vocal chops up a little. I started out by singing harmony parts behind the lead singers, which i still do. But I've improved my voice from just doing this.

    Then I started taking a few songs that I really like and singing them as the lead singer in our band. The more you do it the better you get at it. The biggest thing that it takes is shear nerve. You kind of have to psyche yourself up for it and just go for it. Sometimes you will suprise yourself, other times you will humiliate yourself, but you have to put your voice to the test and see what sounds good. Voices are kind of like amps. They have a different tone when you push them hard, verses playing them quietly. Some voices sound good pushed, others sound better with a more breathy softer tone.

    It helps to practice at home with your acoustic and record yourself singing some songs that you connect with. THen listen to yourself and see how you like your own sound. Try a few different styles and see what works well for your voice.

    Right now, I'm playing with a Beach Boys tribute band and doing a lot of the high falcetto parts. It's really fun, and very challenging to keep these in tune while doing the guitar parts, but it's loads of fun. In the process it has strengthened my falcetto sound a lot more just from having to cover these parts and stretch my capabilities.

    Good luck! --Jim
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    I'm a fair singer at best. I just wish I could sing and play at the same time. Not that I'm that great a player either, just not good at multi-tasking I guess....
    Ronnie

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