If Only

Sing louder. Dylan can't sing either but he's made it work.

Budget version:

Find a friend who can. Then ask how they did it and learn. Better still, find a girlfriend who can - you can learn harmony at the same time.

Well-paid version:

Take private lessons.

The budget version is probably far more fun unless you want to share a stage with Pavarotti.

Best,

A :-)

Minus Human

Do not be discouraged. You can sing. If you can make noise with your voice (talk), then you can sing.

But you may not be able to sing like your favorite artist, as much as you would like to. This is where people go wrong. They try to sing like Kurt Cobain and can't. Then they think they can't sing at all. Not so.

Your voice is determined by the size of your vocal chords. You have no more control over it than you do the size of your feet. You may have a deep voice, a high voice, or somewhere in between.

The secret is to look for songs that fit your NATURAL voice. This is what ALL professional singers do. Professional singers will try hundreds and hundreds of songs to find the ones that bring out the great qualities in their own voice. They WILL NOT sing any song that they cannot sing easily and excellently. You just think they can sing any song. Not so. Their voice has limitations just like yours. They are just smart about it.

Musenfreund mentioned Bob Dylan. Bob Dylan doesn't have what anyone would call a great voice, and yet he is a great singer. Bob Dylan once said, "I can sing any note I want to". He's telling the truth. But what he really meant is he only wants to sing notes that makes him sound good.

You can take lessons. A good teacher will help you discover your own voice and lead you in that direction. They will also teach you good breathing techniques, posture... all sorts of things that will help you get the most out of YOUR voice.

There are some free sites as well. Read the lessons. They really work.
And practice, practice, practice.

Voice Lessons with Mark Baxter

Listen to the intro. All those different voice are Mark Baxter!

READ THIS LESSON!

YOUR VOICE

Vocalist. org

Jeanne Deva

Do not blow some of these off because they do not sing the style you like. The techniques still apply. There are many other sites as well if you search.

This is somehing i've tried to avoid asking seeing as the answer might seem rather obvious to some. But seeing this is something i kinda need a brutal honest answer to ie yes, no, you have better chance becoming avril's groupie that type of thing.

If there's one thing i wish i could do it's sing :oops: now honestly i've tried it and i think i SUCK what can i do?

Minus Human

Just about everyone hates their own voice I've found. Especially when you hear it recorded. My wife's the singer, but I've sung a few.

As few as possible, lol.

The way I looked at it when I was starting out is that if I couldn't even sing in the range of McCartney (I'm a baritone), then forget it completely. I never even tried, but now, with an emphasis on low-tuning (for some), it sorta brings the range of the music down, and lower voices would fit a little better.

The suggestions above are great though! The one thing you have to get in touch with is placement, and use of the diaphragm. With that you can bring out your own voice and have it powerful and strong and steady, no matter if you're a tenor or baritone. You have a voice, and with a little help and a couple of pointers from a teacher or friend, you can find out how best to use it. I mean, why waste it, right?

Best

You know its funny, Im sitting here right now going through some quotes I have that really rack my brain, and usually make me smile.

"I am a self taught player, I have no formal teaching." Segovia

"Im not in it for the girls or the money" Steve Vai
Van Halen
Mcjagger (lots of others)

"I never know what key Im in, it just falls together." SRV

"You either got it or you dont" Earl Jelson

"I dont think Ive ever played a proper chord before, I just hit notes at random and they are songs." The Edge

"I play how I feel, and feel what I play" BB King

I only beleive only one or two of those qoutes is actually true.

Theres alot to be said about this.

Sing what you want, how you want when you want. You will get better with practice. Lessons are smart, practice is smarter.

You gotta bat to play ball, get to it.

Kido

Thanks for the kind words guys.

when i'm trying to sing even at my own pace i'm not always paying attention to if it sounds ok or not, just to get a feel of what to do but after trying to sing for about 5 min my vocal chords or something really hurts. if i'm going slower or softer it takes longer but it still comes.

Should i try singing in the car on my way to work ?? 8)

thanks for links Wes !!

Minus Human

-human

if you think you can't sing, just take a look at my sig. - it don't lie!!!

Sing.
Sing a song.
Sing out loud.
Sing out strong.
It dosen't matter if you're not good enough
For anyone else to hear.
Sing.
Sing a song.

Sesame Street.

I agree with Wes in that I beleive that anyone with a voice can sing. It's a matter of finding the right tune, or the right style for a given song. Who says you have to sound like the artist who recorded it.

If you get pain, soreness of a tired voice you may be trying to sing outside your range, or with a tone or inflection you may not be able to get. Try to sing in your own voice, not imitate another, that can be a severe strain on the vocal chords. For example if I try to sound like Chad Kreoger (sp?) I tear my throat to peices. When I sound like me I can belt it out, it sucks, but I can belt it out comfortably.

Lastly, sing everywhere you can. Every time I drive (alone) I sing at the top of my lungs, no reservation, no critique, I just let it go. You'll get some odd looks at traffic lights, but hey, shag 'em if they can't take a joke. Sing at home, at the office, walking down the street, where ever. You don't have to impress anyone, it not a performance, but it will help you find "your" voice. Your unique sound, whatever you want to call it. I've heard comments from "don't quit your day job" to "I didn't know you could sing like that". Usually the comments are the former, but what the heck I like my singing. (Now if I get the nerve to playin public I'd be fine).

Bottom line, sing everywhere, in your own voice and sing like you mean it.

(Sorry for the rambling reply, geez I'm long winded).

Minus Human

Do not make your voice sore ever!

You are doing one of several things wrong, maybe all of them.

You are PUSHING. That is wrong. You do not push when you sing. Just the opposite. Total relaxation is the goal. When you sing properly you fill your lungs just like a big ballon. You don't have to squeeze or push the air out of a ballon do you? Of course not. You just release the nozzle and the air will come out by itself. Well, this is how you sing. Fill your lungs (read the article on power breathing) and let the air come out of it's own pressure.

You are STRAINING. You may be trying to sing notes that are way too high for your natural voice. You will strain your voice like this. Do not do this. In time, with proper practice your range will increase and you will be able to hit higher and lower notes than you do now. But still, we all have our limits. Never strain your voice. You can permanently damage it.

Your voice is out-of-shape. Your voice is no different than any other muscle group. You have to train and build endurance. When you feel your voice getting tired or sore, stop. There is always tomorrow. Many professional singers take a day off each week where they do not do any singing of any kind.

Drink lots of water. You will be surprised how that will help your voice.

Something I would recommend:

Sing along with any lead lines you do (if you can, alot of times it will be beyond your range). This will help your pitch, develop your ear and whatnot.

You are STRAINING. You may be trying to sing notes that are way too high for your natural voice. You will strain your voice like this. Do not do this. In time, with proper practice your range will increase and you will be able to hit higher and lower notes than you do now. But still, we all have our limits. Never strain your voice. You can permanently damage it.

One of the downsides in teaching myself everything is that I realized this too late. Im getting to points when I'm singing along with songs and when I get to a certain range it sounds like I'm going through puberty with a sore throat. I'm almost postitive this came from trying to 'build' my range. I apllied what I learned playing trumpet to my voice: you have to strain to build up the muscles so you can play higher. Dosen't work with the voice I'm afraid. :(

just rock it man.

find your style, find your voice... not many people can sing nowadays in bands, but its not really about technical ability, its about telling a story, sending an emotion, if you can do that in a song better than anyone else, then your the greatest singer to ever live!

Oh the pain i will be inflicting on the people around me will be something terrible.
Better still, find a girlfriend who can - you can learn harmony at the same time.

Thanks Alan !

I'll add singing as a new requirement for starting new relationships :wink:

picking up on that point how many of you guys are singers and what did you do ?

Minus Human

I've been doing the choir thing for a while, but I have always enjoyed singing with my guitar, it's really a whole 'nother world of playing, and a whole 'nother world of enjoyment.

Luckily I was handed a classical training on a silver platter since my school has such an awesome choir teacher, but learning with the guitar was mostly a personal effort which I was no more than prepared for.

What did I do? I sung, I sung horribly, then badly, then poorly, then well.