what made u come this far?

My vocals sucked straight through both my first two demos but kept progressively getting better. Finally I'm at a point where after a decent warm-up I'm fairly happy with what comes out.

Part of what helps is knowing thats performers like Eddie Vedder don't really have great voices (I don't like his voice - too bassy) but he does know how to use it well.

Another thing is finding what keys and ranges work best for you. When I first started I would write music in any key that felt right instrumentally - no thought as to whether or not the vocal range was within my ability. Now I use a capo alot and experiment before settling for a key. The weird thing is that my speaking voice is low to mid range but I'm much more comfortable singing head voice or higher. Chest or low voice is difficult as I find it harder to support on a lot of lower keys, but that's between me and my practice space.

There's also knowing you can communicate emotion and not sound like some kind of robot singer. Liking your voice or at least it's potential when you're coming from no talent and no training helps as well - when I'm at my best I think I accomplish what I'm trying to do perfectly. Otherwise I would have just found a real vocalist to sing my music. Some songs are even at the point where the warm-up required to optimize on it is very minimal (like half a verse and I'm locked in).

Having a good ear to hear yourself and what you're doing at all times helps as well. You might screw up just a little bit in one tiny spot, while casual listeners won't notice, but at least you know. And you never ever kid yourself about any of it if you want it done right.

Man I used to suck at singing so badly. First of all I wasn't loud enough and when I was loud enough lets just say that wasnt good for anyone. But I bought this book called "A guide to finding your real voice: vocal technique" by dena murray and it was like night and day. The book first off gives convinces you of something very important and foundational to ever be a good singer. Your voice is not like everyone elses voice, certianly not like that famous singer you love with a 3 octave range. Even if you do develope your range all the way to 3 octaves (probably will never happen) you still will not be able to sing exactly like your favorite singer unless you just happen to have the same type of voice.

The important thing is if YOU want to be a good singer you must use YOUR voice. Even if you can struggle and hit those first few notes you will never hold the song together unless you start at the right place in your own voice. He was at the bottom of his range and is only gonna keep going up. Rather then trying to copy your favorite singers exact voice, try to copy the physical action he is doing inside his throat. If hes at the bottom of his range then you should be also, even if its 2 octaves lower.

It then gives you a very good physical picture of what is going on with your vocal chords and gives you pictures to imagine as you sing (it was a rubberband stretching over a pillar of air). This alone helped me tremendously. It then explains things like right breathing, and eventually you sing along with these scales that came with it on a cd. Scales do one thing (when sung properly that nothing else does. They teach you how it feels to sing ANY note. Feeling your voice rather then hearing it is the key to sounding great.

If you want to develope your range, power, resonance, and sustain then sing scales. Sing them low and high, with your chest voice and with your head voice, go quickly through them and then hold each note until you need to take a breath. Singing scales not only developes each muscle that controls your vocal chords seperatly (there are 2) but it also eventually teaches you how to quickly switch between them (without sounding like a yodeler) You will know exactly what to do to hit any note without giving it any thought because your body will remember. Singing scales is kinda embarrassing at first and it should be if your not sounding terrible then something is wrong haha. This is why the cds were great cause noone but you has to hear you in the car.

Singing scales is like working out, youll get stronger the more you do it. Singing a song is like playing a game, its the fun part (but only if your in shape) Trust me if you put some real work into it just singing some scales you will HEAR the difference. I remeber the first time i sang a song immediatlyafter singing some scales, I BLEW MYSELF AWAY for the first time in my life I not only liked the way my voice sounded, I couldn't believe the sounds that were coming out of my mouth haha. This introduces the concept of "warming up" it makes a huge difference and scales are a great way to do it. (though now I just sorta make my vocal chords do some crazy stuff but I only know this because of scales haha)

And if your intrested that book I mentioned is great, there are some other good books as well and a teacher will of course tell you all that same info along with what your doing wrong.

One last thing, record yourself singing. If it sucks then try to remember what you were doing and why it sucked so it won't happen again, say in a concert hall full of 300 people. If its awsome then again remember exactly what you did, remember how it feels, feeling your voice is the key to sounding great.

The first thing is practice, I sing all the time. When I'm in the car I sing along with the radio. When I practice songs with my guitar I sing the songs also. Secondly I joined a church choir. Singing choral music is very challenging, often a song will change key two or three times. Being around people who sing well sort of rubs off, your ear, brain and voice become more in tune with each other. When your in a group of people singing and everybodies on, you can feel it in your torso. Singing in a group you have the advantage of other people who know how to sing hearing you. It's nice to have someone let you know when your off, that's an advantage of singing with a group of singers.

But I bought this book called "A guide to finding your real voice: vocal technique" by dena murray and it was like night and day.

I bought the same book witht he 2 cds beginner and advanced. I read it and listened to it but don't practice it extensively. Unless you're looking to become a professional singer I think using your own songs to warm up and perfect is enough. The important thing about practicing on your own though is 1) making sure you don't injure your voice 2) having the ear to hear your pitch and know/control every nuance of what you're singing, 3) and having the energy to project properly. Some things came naturally to me over time, others I had to focus on a little more but the important thing is knowng how to practice correctly. Lucky for me I had a nazi in the studio who knew how to sing and the mechanics behind how to do so correctly.

What keeps me going? I love to sing. :D

It takes a little study to become a better singer. Some tips?

1) Be original. We already have a Bruce Springsteen, we already have a Johnny Cash, we already have a Kurt Cobain................. The greatest singers are original. They don't sing like anyone else. So discover your own voice and style. That is what people truly love.

2) Learn your weaknesses and strengths. You may have a high voice. You may have a low voice. You may have a small range or a big range. You have to learn what you can do well and what you cannot.

I am 5'9" tall. There is no way I can dunk a basketball. And I would be an idiot practicing 10 hours a day trying. It ain't gonna happen.

But I have a very good jump shot. Even short guys like me can do this well with practice.

You might watch American Idol. Often the judges will tell the singers they picked a bad song to perform. They are correct. These singers do not really know their own voice and what they do best. You have to pick songs you sing well and discard songs you do not sing well. People are under the impression that professional singers can sing any song well. That is completely false. Professional singers know their voice and carefully select songs they sing well.

3) Drink lots of water. The vocal chords must stay relaxed and lubricated. So drink lots of water every day.

4) Get enough sleep. This is also important to sing well.

5) Be relaxed. This is difficult, but very important to sing well. You must learn to completely relax when you sing. When practicing, don't be afraid to experiment and let go a little. Yeah, you will hit lots of bad notes. But with a little practice you will hit them. But you can't force it. You have to let your voice go there naturally. You will be surprised, you will start to hit notes that you used to try to force. But by completely relaxing you can hit them.

6) Record yourself. This is great. You can go back and listen to yourself. I do this all the time. Man, do I hear some horrible notes sometimes. Sometimes I hear myself hiss like a snake on a word with an S in it. Maybe I make a loud pop on a word starting with P. Maybe I don't hold a note long enough. I listen for all this type of stuff and try to work on it next practice. You have good ears. You can tell what sounds good or bad.

7) Keep vowels long and consonants short. Singing is completely the opposite of speaking. When we speak we stress consonants. But when you sing, you must stress the vowels.

So if you had to sing the word sweet, you don't want to sound like this:

SWWWW ee TTTTT

No, you want to sound like:

sw eeeeeeeeeeeeee t

I hope that makes sense. Keep consonants short, make vowels long.

8) Don't blast into a word or end with a blast. But also, don't whisper into a word or trail off with a whisper. Listen for this when you sing. You must have a balanced onset and ending to a word.

There are some good sites with free voice lessons. You can learn a lot. I learned many of these tips on sites like this. These kind of tips really help. So do a little study.

And like everyone said, PRACTICE.

i wanna thank u guys for sharing your knowledge, this will help me to a great extent.....lately i've discovered that i've a bit EDDIE Vedder kinda voice but i cant reach the high notes like he does, how can i overcome??
:?:

reynold

Hitting high notes can be tough. When I was young I could really sing high. As I have gotten older, my voice has gotten much deeper. I cannot hit the high notes that I used to. But, on the plus side, I can sing pretty low now. :D

I have read many articles on increasing your range, especially high notes. Here are some great tips that have helped me a lot.

1) Yawn. Yep, yawn. This does two things. First, when you yawn you naturally shape the back of your throat the proper way to hit high notes. Second, yawning is a great stretching exercise for your throat and vocal chords. In time you will be able to hit higher notes without straining.

One thing I have discovered is to place your fingertips on both sides of your Adam's Apple when trying to sing very high notes. You will probably notice that the muscles get very tight and hard. This is bad. You want to relax. Singing is all about relaxing. So, learn through practice to completely relax when you go for those high notes. You will be able to feel it with your fingers.

2) Yodel. Yep, yodel. You have probably heard the famous, "Yo-da-la-dy-who" yodel. This is a super-simple, but great practice yodel. You start the yodel with a note that is very easy and comfortable for you to hit. Let's say a C note just for example. When you get to the "dy" of la-dy you float up a 4th. So that would be an F note. So, you would sing C, C, C, F, C.

You want to start with a comfortable note, but the 4th of that note be just a little out of reach.

Do not push or strain for this 4th note. Just try to "float" up to it and hit it for one brief moment. At first you may not hit it. With practice you will notice that your voice starts to peak a little higher and you will hit it, though it may be a little weak. With more practice you will start to hit this note easily. In time this note will become very easy and strong.

I read this technique from a professional opera singer. I tried it and it really works. It is a great way to increase your range. But you have to be patient. Don't strain. Take your time and the high notes will start to come.

You will also notice that you naturally shape your voice like a yawn when you sing "dy" (sounds like dee or di). I have also read where teachers say you want the back of your throat to "smile" when going for high notes. Some say to let the note float through the top of your head. Kind of hard to understand instructions like this, but with a little practice they make sense.

Anyway, don't get the impression I am some super-singer, I'm not. I am pretty good, but the reason I know about these techniques is because I had the same problems as others. So, I studied for answers and tips to improve my singing. I still need much improvement, but I can honestly say these kinds of tips have helped me a lot.

Remember, RELAX when you sing. Very important.

thank you WES INMAN

i hope your advices will be of great help.....i want to know another thing from u, how can i get resonance....ive read articles but your simple words makes good sense to me, i play guitar 4 a longtime and im pretty good at it, only my singing is not good( a beginner singer ) thats why i cant get the satisfaction...you know playing and singing good is the ultimate thing...so help me out my man.

reynold

Thank you for the nice compliments. I am neither a great guitar player or singer, but I take both very seriously and try to do my very best. And I am always willing to learn helpful advice myself.

Here are quite a few articles on Vocalist.org about resonance. I would read all of them, I am sure you will find many helpful tips and exercises. I plan on reading them myself.

http://search.freefind.com/find.html?id=73670276&pid=r&mode=ALL&n=0&query=resonance