HAHAHA I love you all.

And I guess it means I'm... sloppy?

I break my strings a lot.... I must be dangerous.

Hahahahahaha.

It would mean I'm overemotional.

i'm not a major vocalist (really just a guitarist) but i might end up doing the vocals for this one song

What song?

Hey guys, I can't sing and I want to, how do I start?

Open your mouth.

that's what she said

Thanks guys, now I truly know that everyone on this forum is a total ****.

^
Bah, don't take it so personal.

I've never taken singing lessons, nor do I've enough courage to sing in front of anyone, so, the only advice I can offer is do what feels good. Sure, if you're singing in a band or for someone, you might want to sound decent, but if you're singing for the sake of singing, by all means, feel it in your gut. I've a problem singing from my throat a lot and realized long ago how much better it sounds when I let the air come from my diaphragm. A huge part for me is simply letting go.

I have too much air in my voice. I've learned that working on your falsetto makes your voice stronger altogether.

Hi loose_lips_sink_ships,

As a novice singer (by which I mean I am someone who only recently has been trying to improve my singing skills), I have some tips to share with you, for what they are worth.

(1) Identify what it is about your singing that you don't like or that you want to improve If you can talk or make sounds, then (I feel) you *can* sing :) but the issue must be that something about the sound doesn't please you.

In my case, although I can (usually!) sing in tune, I am working mainly on control of the sound (so I can better control volume and whether or not I use vibrato on a given note, or part of a note). I am also trying to work on using a singing voice that feels very natural and relaxed, similar to my talking voice, but controlling the tone (a "mixed" voice or "speech level" singing, rather than "belting"). I am trying to avoid an airy, opera-like voice, simply because that is usually not the sound I want to have.

(2) Warm up. I've read that it is good to warm up at least for 10 minutes before you try to actually sing something. Ways to warm up include humming notes, doing "lip rolls" or "raspberries," and actually singing along with the piano, starting with low notes and slowly working up your range. The air flow needed to get your lips to flutter in "lip rolls" is the speed of air flow you will use when singing (except for really loud or quiet notes). A recommendation is to try singing the word "good" (because this vowel sound puts your adam's apple in a neutral position, neither super high or low), and singing sounds like "May, mee, my, mow, moo, muh" etc. After you are done singing, cool down by gently singing such things but starting with higher notes and working down to lower notes. I don't ever actually "cool down." I just read that this is what you are *supposed* to do. I don't usually sing long enough to feel like I need a cool down.

(3) Experiment with the shape of your throat and mouth to get the sound you want (or closer to it). For example, singers who are trying to do "speech level singing" try to keep their voice box (adam's apple) in a neutral position (as it is in speech). When you swallow, your adam's apple goes up. When you yawn, your adam's apple goes down. You want it to stay in the middle. I've also heard singers say that their throat position feels very open, much like when you yawn and the soft, lower part of your throat by your lower jaw drops down. This helps create a louder sound, I feel. Another tip: keep your mouth open enough to let the sound out well, such as by keeping your mouth in the shape of an oval, which is only achieved by dropping your jaw. Some people say you want to be able to fit two fingers into your mouth (from top to bottom) when you are singing (but obviously singers don't do this all the time, especially not on quieter notes). Another tip I just read about: if you say the word "sing" and linger on the "ng" sound, you should feel vibrations in your head behind your nose...your skull vibrates...and this is resonance that helps create your sound that you project out through your open mouth when you vocalize. Final tip: while singing, try pinching closed your nose to make sure your tone doesn't change, because if it *does* change, then this means some of your air is going out through your nose (making a nasal sound) rather than just out through your mouth.

A note on vibrato. Vibrato--a regular pulsating change of pitch--occurs naturally if your vocal cords (vocal folds, actually) are relaxed enough (but not too much) and the air flow is not too slow or too fast, causing the folds to vibrate in an oscillating manner (Understanding Vibrato). If you want vibrato in your tone, but haven't figured out how to get it to occur "naturally," start by just pushing in on your stomach (yourself!) in the rhythm you want to cause air fluctuations that cause a vibrato like sound. Note that this is *not* vibrato that singers like opera singers use...that occurs due to vocal fold oscillations...but the *feeling* of changing the sound rhythmically may get you used to the general feeling of vibrato. If/when I do actually sing using what I call "natural" vibrato, my voice wavers rhythmically even as I am blowing out air steadily. In other words, it is not fluctuating air flow causing the vibrato.

(4) Make sure you are taking a deep enough breath to have enough air to sustain the line you want to sing in one breath. The usual recommendation is to breathe in so that your belly bulges out as your diaphragm lowers, but your shoulders do not raise up...they stay stationary. Having enough air in you to support your notes is crucial to singing...since if you run out of air, well, you can't make a sound, of course. I saw one opera singer say that when she breathes in air, it is like a quick suck through the nose, as if you smell smoke somewhere and are trying to sniff in the air quickly (for half a second or so) to verify this. I thought the sound of the nose sniffing was distracting, but her point was that this quantity of air is all you should need for singing.

Supposedly, when you sing you should not feel like you are blowing out (much) more air than you do when you are talking. Singing ideally shouldn't sound or feel forced. If it does feel forced, I'd recommend relaxing, checking if you are blowing out air too quickly, and staying within your current vocal range. Again, the speed/amount of air you need to sustain a "lip roll" (vibrating your lips loosely) is a good speed of air for singing.

I've heard of people who like to exercise and try to sing at the same time, because they are breathing deeply during exercise (like on a treadmill), and they are warmed up, plus singing with control then is an added challenge, and your adrenalin is up...so this may simulate singing in front of others. I actually like to try to sing when exercising, for all these reasons. Plus, it's good exercise!

(5) If possible, find a vocal coach, maybe just for a lesson or two since I know it costs money, so that you can get some tips from someone who knows all about human anatomy as it relates to singing and sound.

Now, remember, I'm no expert, but the above summarizes what I've learned so far about singing. I hope it helps.
--Erica

Ah Erica.

xD

I love you too much.

Thanks for the great responses guys, uhh, I mean girls. I don't play piano, but guitar so I guess that'll work getting the right pitch n' everything. Once again thanks for the great tips.

I was just having fun.

I'm actually a trained singing teacher - but you did ask... :D


My number one tip to ALL singers is HUM.

There are a whole load of things you can do with this simple device - the first is simply to find a note you're comfortable with (and this can change from day to day).

Hum it while counting up to 4 and really listen to the quality of the note - does it stay the same or waver?

If it wavers, you need more abdominal support.


I could go on about using the hum to improve a huge amount of vocal technique really simply - it focusses your attention on the quality of your vocal tone, intonation, breath control, the various parts of your head in which tone resonates - and everything else that is important to a singer, but the best thing is if you discover how useful it is yourself.


Learn how to control your breath using your diaphragm - that's really important too, and will help you sing long notes, get good tone and control.

There was another good tip mentioned above - warming up is ESSENTIAL for a singer.

Humming scales works, before using vocalisations.

What if I have air in my voice? How do I fix that?

Mostly my falsetto.

Not sure I understand the problem here - air in your voice is essential...

Without having heard you sing, I'd guess you mean you have a "breathy" sound - which may not be a problem, as some singers cultivate that sound.

If it's "too much", then I can only guess that you need to work on the diaphragm, with the information to hand. That would certainly fix many issues with the falsetto range, which depends on you sending larger amounts of air through your vocal chords. You need to know where to send that air so that the tone is supported the way you want it.

The other physical aspect which will affect tones especially in this register is the palatte - the soft bit at the back of the roof of your mouth. It should be in a "raised" but not overly tight position for high notes.

Again, humming is a great way to get focus on the kinds of things you need to do to improve tone in this register. Try it - it works.

I need to do something about it. My voice doesn't sound clear enough when I'm in falsetto, and it was embarrassing during high school when I would have to sing in front of the class acappela. That's probably spelled wrong.

Thank you for the help.

Hi Certif1ed,
Your recommendation made me smile because it is exactly what I heard on an online singing tutorial video: the instructor said that some opera singing school only lets students hum during the whole first year! During the second year, they finally get to sing!

Aww...you are as sweet as sugar! If I were to name you, I would call you AwwSugar! Wait a minute. That sounds familiar. Oh.

I'm testing out my list of singing tips currently and will now add a sixth:

Tip (6): Sing with other people.

I have taken my own advice, because I just managed to get recruited to play a role in the reading/singing of a new musical. Doing this musical should be interesting, because my last acting experience was in 4th grade, when I had the lead role of Mrs. Santa Claus in a feminist 70s play about Christmas (ahh...the good ol' 70s!). Now I get to play a 19-year-old and sing 3 solos and a bunch of duets. I'm curious to see if I'll crash and burn during the performance, or whether my singing tips worked!

And now I must go hum, because we have a rehearsal in 40 minutes.

--Veg

Heh - that's a bit harsh!

I'm running a singing group at work, and we always start off by humming a note together for an indeterminate period of time until everyone is singing the same note and the group's tone is pleasing.

Sounds a bit wierd - but it's like getting an orchestra to tune up their instruments to a single note, so it's totally practical.

After that, we hum one of the pieces we're going to work on. This works really well, because when people are focussing on the music and not having to concentrate on the words as well, you can hear them adjusting their tone and experimenting with dynamic as a group.

To use a horrible business word, it creates a kind of "synergy".

truth of the matter is if you want to be a great singer (that is powerful AND consistent) you have to practise singing techniques for at least half an hour every day. it's like learning an instrument; the process is slow. you must do vocal exercises and it takes at least 6 months for good results. i went to uni and had vocal lessons however i never practised them, and i still don't. so i know the techniques but haven't bothered practising them. i'm too lazy. luckily my voice has a pretty good range naturally, but i still struggle sometimes with any note over A5 in my chest register (since you're actually meant to use mixed register) and an F#6 in falsetto.

the main aspect of singing effortlessly is keeping you larynx stable... focus on that and the rest really comes naturally. i've never run out of breath while singing.

Hello OceanAndSilence,
I feel your advice to practice at least 30 minutes every day is very good. During the last 2 weeks, while I was practicing for a musical, singing an hour every day helped me improve my consistency, such as my ability to keep my throat position stable as I sang lower and then higher notes (preventing a break in the sound as I switch from one to the other).

We finally had our two performances last Thursday and Friday, and I felt I was able to sing the songs much better than I was able to sing them 2 weeks ago, before we began daily singing practices. I will try to continue to practice regularly.

During run-throughs and the actual performances, I found I had to remember two things before every song: (1) take a full, deep breath, and (2) open my mouth quite wide (as if I were going to exclaim, "Ahh!") before the first note. I actually wrote "Breathe! Open!" at the top of each song to remind myself. It turned out we used microphones for singing, so I didn't have to project as much as I thought I'd need to, yet the deep breath and the reminder to open my mouth wide helped ensure I actually got a clean first note with my throat in more of an open, yawning position.

Octave range
 

Hi - my octave range is from D below middle C - 2 and a half octives and up to upper B.

I used to sing soprano, but now taking lessons in jazz, soul, and blues.

It's a lot of fun, but really hard for me in the middle register, which tends to "crack" as I go through my chest voice and up to head voice.

I don't have a great voice - I just love to sing!

I used to play a couple of instruments, again, fairly averagely, so can read, compose, and write music, which I think helps me with rhythms, and I just love the "off-beat", behind, or in front of the songs in jazz and blues.

Music is so important to me, and I just couldn't live without it.

I so admire the professionals in all music genres - they make it sound so easy, which it isn't! Years of hard work and dedication, not to mention talent!

Roseanne

I'm what they call a standard tenor.
My range is A2-D5.
I find I have the same range as Art Garfunkel, Gerard Way from My Chemical Romance, and Kenny Loggins (for the record I am not a fan of Garfunkel or Loggins)
My dad says I need more "power" in my voice to be heard over the electric guitars and drums. He says not necessarily volume.
How do I achieve this "power"?

i like to have a throaty croak when i sing

otherwise, it's a monotone deep register or a ridiculous falsetto

i think i'm mostly a punk singer

I also have this problem where I often have to clear my throat to keep the clarity going.

My practice range is F2 - C6. Although when I've been on stage doing al the bad ass **** you're supposed to do when you're a rocker, I find it comfortable to stay between F3 - A4.

Huh...I assume you're using a microphone while singing with electric guitars and drums? Do you have any recordings to share that demonstrate what your dad thinks is the problem?

Whoa. Your practice range is huge!!

This made me curious how my usable vocal range would be classified.

I found that with Middle C as C4, I can sing from F3 (the F below middle C) to F5 (two F's above middle C). I can sing E3 and G5 in tune but don't feel comfortable with those notes...and I really prefer not to sing notes above D5.

Looking this up on Wikipedia Vocal range - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, I learned that my vocal range is a perfect Contralto (F3 – F5), the lowest female voice. This makes me think I should probably exploit my lower notes more.

You achieve power, volume and and good cut-through EQ with resonance.
Put more of your resonance in your mask when you're singing. This will make it easier to hit the high notes and keep them full and round, instead of that squeezed, annoying tone.