Hey all,
I have been trying to learn to sing for a month and a half now, and i can honestly say that the timing and pitch of my voice are pretty good, as long as it is within my vocal range. My biggest problem is the timbre of my voice, most of the time i sound really nasal or throaty and i'm really afraid that this is just my voice and i can't do anything about it. I have had voice lessons for 4 weeks now and learned mostly about breathing.
I record myself a lot and everytime i hear myself i think it sounds awful, i think i'm getting close to giving up...does anyone know some good techniques to avoid this "Bob Dylan-ish" type of sound?
one_four_five
Hmmm.... not really sure what to tell you. I have a pretty raspy Bob Dylan type voice myself.
I think you are already doing the right thing. Record yourself and listen, and try to eliminate what sounds bad to your ears. This is what I do too. Man, I hear a LOT of bad stuff. :D
Also realize that most singers including very famous professionals rarely like their own voice.
But like Clint Eastwood said, "a man's gotta know his limitations". I am 5'9". I have never been able to dunk a basketball and never will. But I got a pretty good jump shot.
Perhaps a professional teacher can teach you to sing in a smooth voice, perhaps not. But look at all the great singers with rough voices like Rod Stewart, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Mark Knopfler, and on and on.
Nasal? How about Jimmy Durante?? (Hope you're old enough to know who that is).
Hoarse? How about Louie Armstrong??
A voice does not have to sound pretty to be a great voice. If you communicate your feelings to people when you sing, this is the greatest gift a singer can have.
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
Stick with it and don't worry about not liking your voice. I've been told my voice sounds like Willy Nelson. I can't stand to listen to a recording of it. But my wife love hearing me sing and I get comments about what a great talent I have all the time. Not liking the sound of your voice is a very common occurance. I don't worry about mine unless I make some noise that sounds like a squalling cat, which happens from time to time :lol: . I'd stay with the voice lessons for a while. Your voice is like any other instrument, you got to learn how to play it.
Tim Madsen
Nobody cares how much you know,
until they know how much you care.
"What you keep to yourself you lose, what you give away you keep forever." -Axel Munthe
