I've been trying to sing over the last few months, teaching myself from youtube and what not. I dunno, I find I can probably keep in tune most of the time but I feel like my voice lacks something or doesn't sound quite right. Maybe it is a bit weak.... I do warmup exercises etc.... and I sing regularly.
Please if any of you are good singers can you give me some tips/advice based on these vids I've uploaded (Theres about 6, and I know the Aeroplane over the sea one has my voice cracking) but I mean more generally over all the videos I think I need advice how to improve. This is genuine and I'm not at all looking for more youtube views, I'm just trying to improve and can't really afford singing lessons.
Some may question why post this on TL...it's because I've been around long enough to know there are a lot of smart, talented folks hanging around TL all the time in all areas of life and I'm sure singing is one of them.
Thanks again. Oh and I'm open to being PM'd with advice if one finds that more appropriate.
i think we're on a similar level. let me ask you one thing. how much do you practice?
you know how you need to play a lot of SC2 to become really great, right? i bet my ass that exactly the same is true for singing. seems like you're basically asking for build orders now, while all you lack is a shitload of practice. i could tell you my opinion about why i think your voice seems to lack power in certain parts, but i'm only mediocre myself. haha. such a person shouldnt give advice, sc2 has taught me.
well, actually. here's my opinion, because there's a chance no one will ever give you a better answer. to me you often sound like you'd be holding back your voice, as if you were afraid of "screaming" and being really loud. it's a thing i struggle with myself. : D
look at this...
... i swear this is exactly my problem D::: ... even though eddie is obviously much more practiced than me and sounds awesome even without having "found his voice".
1. practice scales/arpeggios with a piano. Musical typing on Garageband works as well. Play the note and sing it at the same time to develop pitch/tonality. 2. when you sing, don't move your adam's apple. People tend to move up their adam's apple with high notes -- don't do that. Also use sufficient air when you sing, but not too much. You'll find the right amount where it's really comfortable; ease + comfortability = right 3. watch all of these videos. no need to purchase; you're probably a smart guy so you can use these and extrapolate what you need. http://www.youtube.com/user/SingingSuccess/videos?view=1
I'll ask my two friends who are singers for you next time I see them (one is classically trained as a male choir second tenor, the other is a contemporary musician), this post is to serve as a reminder to me every time I look through my recent posts.
What you do is sort of yawn to compensate. It starts muddy but after you get more control you can smooth out the tone yourself. This video will explain well:
I'm a full time professional singer/guitarist and a vocal coach. I can tell you straight up, Learning to sing can not be done over the internet. You can practice all you like, follow tutorials blah blah blah but unlike playing an instrument, your voice is a very personal thing.
If you are serious about learning to sing then you need to find a singing teacher or join a choir (if you have no money, joining a choir is the best option). You would be shocked how many people who are "singers" that are ruining their voices because they don't have proper technique. You need a real person stood there watching and listening to you and correcting you, that can't be done over video because most of it requires a hands on approach where you literally have to touch them to correct things. Trust me, I've tried using tutorial videos as a teaching tool and they simply don't work.
If you want to get better without having to go through the rigors of proper training, you will plateau and then begin to hurt your voice. This is what happens to most people who can sing naturally but never have formal training, your voice is a delicate muscle that needs proper training or else it will break eventually.
I can give you some tips on how to control your voice better, but without being in a room with you.... it would be difficult to know if you are doing them right lol. This is the trouble....
1) singing is 90% breathing technique. You must learn to breathe using your diaphragm and learn how to control airflow. Using your diaphragm is fairly easy, when you breathe you will notice your stomach moves up/down and in/out. Proper breathing feels unnatural to someone who is just learning, it is uncomfortable and makes your abdominal muscles hurt like hell... thats how you know you are doing it right. Eventually the discomfort and pain go away, except for when you are working extremely hard.
2) Sing with your entire body. every part of your body from the tips of your toes all the way up to your hair. Standing correctly, with your feet shoulder width apart, relaxed but controlled. When you tense up, you constrict airflow and make it harder to control your voice. your shoulders should be relaxed, your knees slightly bent and your breathing slow and controlled.
3) soar over the notes, do not force them. if there is a note you find hard to hit, the worst thing you can do is try to force it, by forcing it i mean trying harder. If you try to push more air out or scrunch up your body, you are only hurting yourself and your voice. To hit notes that trouble you, relax, drop your shoulders, tilt your chin up slightly and soar over the note. Use your diaphragm, not your thoat.
4) My favorite. Power does not equal control. Control equals power. People often think you either have a powerful voice or you don't, this couldn't be further from the truth. Many rock singers sound like they have a powerful voice when in fact they are just shouting, they have poor control and thus need to shout to sound powerful. Truly great singers have good control and know how to project their voice, allowing them to sound powerful without needing to strain their voice. Control is key to being a good singer.
I'm not trained as a singer but as a professional actor. I have found that whether acting or singing, the most important thing beyond anything else is the breath.
There are two primary kinds of breath, "control" / "sustain" breath and "release" breath. The former is about controlling the out-breath so that the exhale is at a constant pressure, which is ideal for singing. The latter is used much less often in performance but is key to expression big feeling in an acting scene.
For the feeling of it I would definitely experiment with both kinds of breath. With release you take a breath and then let it "fall" out of you. It will always stop before you have completely exhaled all the air - there's 15% or so air left in your lungs. You can, with release breath, actually sustain very long and powerful sounds without any effort at all. This experience is something you can translate into your sustain breath while you sing - it gives you the feeling of how you can produce a lot of sound without much effort. Of course with sustain breath you take in a full breath of air, and then let it out slowly at a constant pressure and strength - that is what singing is about after all.
I'd say work on building up the strength and control you have over your breath. You could take up a heavy aerobic exercise schedule for one, I've really noticed that extending my lung capacity in the past (I used to run medium/long distance).
Another fantastic one for lung capacity is to start by breathing in over 5 seconds, and then out over 5 seconds, rinse and repeat. When you can sustain that indefinitely increase it to 6 seconds, 7 seconds... up to 30 seconds or more. I'm pretty sure I've heard of people going to 60 seconds but that is intense. That is a really nice exercise because it teaches you control as well.
The breath is definitely the key, I'd say, but then there's also what's happening in your face. Sometimes you can be producing a lot of sound but it gets "caught" in your nose, mouth, throat, or cheeks. I used to do an exercise before I went on stage where I'd make an "eee" sound and purposely make it all nasal and caught in my face, then an "eeeehhh" sound and force it to get stuck in my cheeks/sinus and then finally open my mouth and do an "aaaa" sound letting it all out. It was the only way I could physically feel that "release" start to happen, otherwise I'd tend to be nasal. It's amazing, it seemed to increase my sound presence by 2-3 times on occasion.
Finally, going along to a voice or singing lesson, or even a choir or singing group can be really helpful. That regular singing around other people helps out a lot, but only if the group is right for you. Can be a bit tricky to find someone to give you lessons unless you can get a recommendation.
As long as you're enjoying your singing, that's the main thing. Hope I've been some help. I've been out of the acting game for about 3 years now (working in IT, started a family, life just... changed) but it's something I'm really looking forward to getting back in to from a non-professional capacity.
The breathing exercise listed in the post above is a great one, singers generally do it with a slight adjustment though. Breath in for 5, hold for 5, breath out for 5. I do this exercise every day but doing it at in for 40, hold for 40, out for 40. I've also seen people go further, but you don't really get much benefit from it... i mean who ever needs to hold a note for more than 40 seconds? ;p
On June 21 2012 12:03 emythrel wrote: The breathing exercise listed in the post above is a great one, singers generally do it with a slight adjustment though. Breath in for 5, hold for 5, breath out for 5. I do this exercise every day but doing it at in for 40, hold for 40, out for 40. I've also seen people go further, but you don't really get much benefit from it... i mean who ever needs to hold a note for more than 40 seconds? ;p
Oh yes you're quite right! I meant to say hold the breath as well. It's an amazing exercise + it's pretty relaxing as well.
I think the most I've done is 25/25/25 but it's been a long time. 40/40/40 is pretty impressive...
EPT
