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Thread: 4 Questions - need your help

  1. #1

    4 Questions - need your help

    as you know singing is like a language, a body language.

    what can you do if you don’t have a good voice but want to sing?
    How can you improve your singing voice?
    What are the best singing tips out there?
    What should you focus on when you practice singing?
    Gustavo Woltmann : UK based rock band guitarist

  2. #2
    Forum Member DanTheBluesMan's Avatar
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    Re: 4 Questions - need your help

    fake it until you make it?
    "Live and learn and flip the burns"

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    Forum Member vinyl's Avatar
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    Re: 4 Questions - need your help

    Sadly, I would say write some great songs. Some of the best songwriters can't sing worth a crap.

    Kris Kristoferson
    Willie Nelson
    Bob Dylan
    Neil Young
    Paul McCartney, he used to be able to sing, but now he's over the hill, his voice is shot. Really hasn't written anything worth noting lately.

    There are others.

    Just because you can't sing doesn't mean you can't write a great song.

    Yes, there may be tips to improve your singing voice, but if you don't have range, or can't sing falsetto, Doesn't mean you can't write a great song that someone else can sing, or write a song that you can sing, even if it's not a great singing performance.

    Performance anxiety? For me, it was mostly singing. Can't sing worth a a crap. Not playing.

    In the meantime, don't give up your day job.

    In this day and age, I appreciate someone who doesn't sing "right on". Technology can compensate for that. I'd rather hear the flaws.

    I don't believe music is a cookie cutter process, although that is what is shoved down our throats.

    JMO,
    vinyl

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    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
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    Re: 4 Questions - need your help

    what can you do if you don’t have a good voice but want to sing?

    Start smoking. (Just kidding - I had a better singing voice when I was a smoker than after I quit. But I'll trade my health - including voice, throat, etc. - for a singing voice any day. Actually, the better answer, for me anyway):

    • Find songs in a key and range I can sing without straining my voice. Alternately (and rarely) use a capo, if necessary


    How can you improve your singing voice?

    • See above. Also, the tried and true advice applies: How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice!

    • (Or, just don't worry about it. Sometimes I just sing because I feel like singing. And I don't care how it sounds).


    What are the best singing tips out there?

    • I don't know. Best???

    What should you focus on when you practice singing?

    • I've been told breathing is the key. Proper breathing and using one's diaphragm will make singing easier (and better?).
    Striving to be ordinary

    Proud to be a TFF Dumbass!

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    Forum Member gibsonjunkie's Avatar
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    Re: 4 Questions - need your help

    Try different vocal styles until you find "your voice". I agree on singing in the right key, although when I was recording with Charlie Karp he kept pushing me to sing in other keys - not necessarily the most comfortable key, but to push the envelope a bit. The big thing is just keep doing it. Breathing is important, but sometimes singing a bit "nasal" with less emphasis on projecting voice can be the right sound - back to my suggestion to keep experimenting.

    Just remember Jim Nabors/Gomer Pyle!
    "We catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off sleepiness." Mark Twain

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    Forum Member Keefoman1's Avatar
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    Re: 4 Questions - need your help

    Take a few lessons from an instructor is always a good move. Practice of course, and then don't try to change your "voice". Work with what you've got, and perfect it. There are a lot of singers that haven't got perfect pitch or even a pleasant "tone", but have still made it big. Think of Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan and others.

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    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
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    Re: 4 Questions - need your help

    Quote Originally Posted by Keefoman1 View Post
    Take a few lessons from an instructor is always a good move. Practice of course, and then don't try to change your "voice". Work with what you've got, and perfect it. There are a lot of singers that haven't got perfect pitch or even a pleasant "tone", but have still made it big. Think of Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan and others.
    Bob Dylan once answered a heckler about his voice by saying (paraphrased), "What's the matter with my voice? I hit all the right notes!"
    Striving to be ordinary

    Proud to be a TFF Dumbass!

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    Forum Member Keefoman1's Avatar
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    Re: 4 Questions - need your help

    Quote Originally Posted by OldStrummer View Post
    Bob Dylan once answered a heckler about his voice by saying (paraphrased), "What's the matter with my voice? I hit all the right notes!"
    Yeah, the right notes... Of course not all the time, but who says that’s a critera?


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    Forum Member S. Cane's Avatar
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    Re: 4 Questions - need your help

    Your voice is your voice, you just gotta learn how to use it.

    You couldn't ask Chet Baker to sing like Mick Jagger, but each one of them did their thing and we love 'em both.

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    Forum Member dirtdog's Avatar
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    Re: 4 Questions - need your help

    Whatever you do, treat your voice well! I was a ham fisted (or perhaps ham throated) frontman by necessity for a couple of years and it really did a number on my vocal chords. I wasn’t half bad but now I can barely sing anymore. I used to think that Jack Daniels helped my growl. So I called it my singer’s medicine. And it did help at the time, just now the growl is with me permanently.

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    Re: 4 Questions - need your help

    I don't believe there is such a thing as a bad voice. There's definitely bad singing, but I think that just takes practice. Take my advice with a grain of salt, however, because I'm not that experienced with singing. Anyway, I was watching one of those make-a-wish type reality TV shows a long time ago and the person on the show always wanted to sing. So, the show hired a singing coach for the wannabe singer. I only saw a part of the lesson, but what the coach said stuck with me. They said (I'm paraphrasing here) the first step is to not let yourself get into the mind-set of trying to sing. In other words, don't try to consciously sing. Focus more on talking. Think about when you're talking and telling a great story in an animated voice. Something like, "Now get this, she says to me, 'Why don't you come over and sit next to me, honey?'" I'm sure you can imagine that the person saying that has an animated quality to their voice. They're telling a story and infusing it with tension and emotion. That is a major aspect of singing. Forget about singing and think about your best talking.

    My tips for singing:
    1. Start singing. Sing the songs you listen to in your car.
    2. Write your own lyrics and then try to phrase them like songs you already know. Any lyrics I come up with I try to phrase them to fit singing melodies of tunes I already know. Tunes like these.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRQ7ecvU56k
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKsxPW6i3pM (Heard another song on the radio that copied the singing melody in this song and realized how useful it would be to copy other lyric melodies with my own lyrics.)

    That's all I got.
    Last edited by Toast; 11-06-2020 at 12:32 PM.

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    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: 4 Questions - need your help

    Some people just don't have the ear to sing on key. In that case, the only solution might be to talk/sing to get a song across.

    The thing is this:

    We spend years learning to play a guitar. We learn about all aspects of guitar playing. We learn how to get diifferent sounds and tones. We eventually learn how to play more and more complex stuff. We play and play until muscle memory kicks in . As we learn, our proficiency increases. By the time we make it to a stage, we've developed some prowess.

    But most people just get up on stage to sing and hope for the best. Our voices are instruments and even if you are a good singer, you need to know about your instrument and train--just like we would with a guitar. The voice can improve with the right development.

    Today, there are lessons available on youtube, and it's easy with phones to record a song and play it over until you've gotten the vocals better. Record yourself singing and be prepared to cringe 1000x before you get over the vanity of hating to hear yourself, and get on with trying to improve. When you hear the weaknesses in your singing, forget the shame, and try it another 10x until you feel better about it.
    Last edited by ch willie; 11-06-2020 at 07:10 AM.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

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    Forum Member ch willie's Avatar
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    Re: 4 Questions - need your help

    BTW, I know I'm in a minority, but I love the honesty in the voices of Dylan and McCartney (god I wish they'd record a song together, something that would mesh both of their writing styles). I've seen them both live within the last 8 years, and their shows were so good and their vocals sounded a lot better live than they ever could on record.

    I like the aging voices--it's so honest and it is almost a rebellion against the corporate focus on the 16-26 yr old market. If nothing else, Dylan and Mc show that geriatrics still have something significant to offer. I disagree with Chuck about McCartney's later work. He's written some new classics, and they get no push, so they Their voices shot? or natural and strong?--sometimes those voices add gravitas to the serious lyrics they sing. Listen to McCartney's "On My Way to Work", "The End of the End" or "Jenny Wren" to see just how beautifully his voice works. Great these tunes --nothing cute or superficial about them. great melodies, the lyrics as profound as "Eleanor Rgby." Admittedly, Macca can no longer pull of the rockers he did when he was young. He should stop performing some songs. But I swear, when I saw him on the New Tour, he was better than the other times I saw him in the 90s and 01. 3 hours the man sang. He struggled with somethings with high note screams, but that was rare in that long show.
    If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison

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    Forum Member OldStrummer's Avatar
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    Re: 4 Questions - need your help

    Quote Originally Posted by ch willie View Post
    Some people just don't have the ear to sing on key. In that case, the only solution might be to talk/sing to get a song across.
    It worked for Leonard Cohen.
    Striving to be ordinary

    Proud to be a TFF Dumbass!

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    Forum Member gibsonjunkie's Avatar
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    Re: 4 Questions - need your help

    One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet, but can make a big difference is the microphone you use in a live or recording situation. I have found certain mics emphasize various aspects of my voice and, frankly, some make me sound better than others. Right now I'm really high on the Aston Stealth, which is a really cool mic. I also find the Shure Beta 58 is probably the best sounding mic for my voice.
    "We catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off sleepiness." Mark Twain

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    Re: 4 Questions - need your help

    I was cruising around Youtube looking for a guitar lesson. I saw this video (I think it was placed as an ad), clicked on it accidentally, and actually found it useful for singing purposes as well as ear training. Try it.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rrqk-gUahIE

  17. #17

    Re: 4 Questions - need your help

    Quote Originally Posted by Keefoman1 View Post
    Take a few lessons from an instructor is always a good move. Practice of course, and then don't try to change your "voice". Work with what you've got, and perfect it. There are a lot of singers that haven't got perfect pitch or even a pleasant "tone", but have still made it big. Think of Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan and others.
    well explained .
    in my opinion at beginners level you must launch a sound recording app on their computer or smartphone. then adjust the audio input setting so that it records a pure unaltered version of your voice. practice singing to various melodious songs and recording the outcome.
    karaoke songs are another option as well.there are songs out there that fit your vocal range and style.
    Gustavo Woltmann : UK based rock band guitarist

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