So over and over, the same regime is fed to me. It seems nobody truly understands what I'm after.
Each and every single time I've asked, I get the same response: Record yourself and play it back. Well doi, I've been doing that since I learned to use a cassette. Though I must say, it has brought attention to my "radio" voice :P
What I am searching for is a general idea of what my singing voice will sound like before I waste time paying for lessons and such only to find I sound like Bob Dylan, at which point, all hope is lost.
So, is there an exercise that will give me an instant range of sounds that would be most like my singing voice, which has yet to be discovered? Somebody told me to stand with my head between my knees and start singing an "a", then hold the position of my palette how it is, and turn upright slowly. What a bunch of malarky, nothing changes upside down, or with an egg in the back of my throat, or when dropping my...whatever it's called. I just sound like Justin Beaver the whole time, and while that may be enough for 12-year-olds to be excited about, it's not satisfying to me at all.
"Talk-singing." That's all I hear from myself. I just need to break into REAL singing once so I can gauge my sound. I understand that ranges and tonality can change, but overall, some characteristics can not be treated. Michael, for instance, has that sort of ringing sound, like he's a walking french horn, and no matter what style or genre he sings, it's there, even in the Diana Ross days.
I'm not a jerk, I've just lost patience. I've been through a LOT, I've learned patience is time and money lost. Sure I have patience if I'm walking 250km throughout five days through San Luis Potosi in search of San Bartollo, but if there's no goal, there's no use in a trail.
Thanks for reading my wall o' text. All input is welcome.
I'm not a singer but I did stay at a Holiday Inn. Seriously though maybe you should spend the money for one or two lessons instead of struggling to find your voice on your own as you say.
With that said and again I'm no expert but I would think the tone and sound quality of your voice is kind of set by the physics of your anatomy such as size of vocal chords etc so no matter how much Bob Dylan sang he would never sound like Pavorotti.
But with a teacher you should be able to understand what your singing range is, possibly increase it with steady practice and learn to sing in tune.
Then you maybe can understand and use your voice to your advantage.
Just my two cents.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
Thanks so much for replying.
Again I have to make this clear because for the xxxth time it has been misconstrued.
I do not believe I will learn to sing on my own or soon, I'm not blind to reality. All I want is to get a basic idea of the sound of my singing voice. I don't care about range, just the characteristics. If I don't like my vocal characteristics, I'm going to do something Ashlee Simpson and just about every other modern pop singer should have done and spare humanity the suffering.
Of course when I listen to my voice, it ALWAYS sounds like talking, it's the most frustrating thing I've encountered in life and I've been homeless since I was 16, so that says a lot.
I just want some sort of vocal exercises or the like that would display the basics of my singing characteristics, that's all.
Thanks.
don't slag dylan. nobody else in the world can sing like him.
you'll sound pretty much like yourself now. practice will probably make it sound richer and you'll be able to manipulate it more, but no one's psychic. we can't tell you how you'll turn out any more than you can know how fast you'll run a marathon before you start training.
If I'm understanding you, you want to hear what your voice will sound like after developing it through lessons--but you to hear this before you take the lessons?!? Ain't gonna happen, I'm afraid.
A vocal teacher (or people on this list) can perhaps help, however. Just as an expert can taste raw wine and then predict the quality of wine that will develop through aging, so can vocal coaches and other singers can give some insight. Why don't you post a clip?
You yourself are likely to be an inadequate judge, as people tend to dislike the sound of their recorded voices because they are used to hearing their voices "inside"--i.e., with the sweetness of bone conduction, inner resonance, etc. It's like suddenly unplugging the external speakers from the laptop--leaving the music to the cruel mercies of the built-in speakers! But other people can judge more accurately because they don't have access to your inner resonance.
The reason we advise people to record themselves is to learn to overcome the negative impact of having internal resonance. After a while you'll be able to hear your recorded voice almost like others can--and then you'll become a better judge of its quality.
And, by the way, don't be dissing Bob. I understand that he may not be your cup of tea, but he is one of the fine American vocalists of his generation--though his singing, I admit, is off the normal grid, his power and emotional appeal is unmatched. FWIW, I think he's a much better singer than Michael Jackson.
