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