New here and have questions

L

LAsera256

New member
Hi, I have been getting really into singing the past year and considered taking lessons but I cannot for a few reasons but one being that im very shy.
Anyway I've been practicing and researching singing techniques and have improved a lot. I've learned to relax your throat and to sing from the diaphragm to be able to sing properly, but
when I sing even though I can tell I hit a note correctly the sound doesn't sound right. Its not clear and maybe too breathy im not really sure. How will I know
if I'm singing correctly and how to sing without being so breathy. Also will your throat move at all when singing, even fast parts of the song?
I appreciate any help and advice I receive. :)
 
You might want to post this in the Singing & Vocals forum....maybe the mods can move it there.

Getting over shyness is not a big deal...start small, sing for a few friends or family you are comfortable with...then branch out. Hit some open mike clubs where all kinds of people show up, and let it rip...not a big deal.

If you could post some audio clips of your singing, it will be much easier for people to make suggestions on what you should work on.
 
I am terrified to sing in front of anyone, I have recorded with the artist singing and myself and sent it to a friend but it was hard to just hear my voice.
But I have recorded many times and no that im not great so would rather practice and improve it to be able to take that step. and I could do a recording but will probably still be with the artist but Ill have it turned down lower. Im a beginner and know I have a long way to go. Ill post it in the right forum though haha thanks for the response
 
If we report your thread, some mod will likely move it. So I'll just go ahead and make a mark here. Here come the questions:
What are you using for breathing exercises?
Are you having problems with chest or head voice or both with airiness?
What do you hope to accomplish with your singing?
 
LAsera256 said:
... it was hard to just hear my voice.
Click to expand...

Trust me....everyone has a similar reaction when they first hear their own recorded voice, because you normally hear your voice "internally", with all it's body/head resonances....but when it's recorded and played back, it sounds totally different to you.

Just get over that and accept it...that's YOUR voice.
Focus on your singing technique, proper breathing.
Learn to use your gut voice, throat voice and head voice, and how to move a sound from your gut up to your throat and then all the way up to your head/nose area,.
Work on identifying pitch and knowing when you are drifting up/down.

It will fall into place if you keep at it.
Everyone can sing....some people are just better at ti than others. :)
 
I haven't done many exercises or warm ups which is probably a lot of why its not sounding that good haha
I can get lower notes with my chest voice but I have to supply a lot of air in order to hit it so that's why that would sound breathy.
Sometimes I can hit the high notes I'm assuming from my head voice because it feels right and the note sounds clear but from practicing just singing the same songs a lot.
But hitting that note is rare and I believe i'm having trouble getting from my chest voice to my head.
And I hope to gain confidence and just be able to be comfortable singing with anyone and being proud of my singing voice. I dont plan on being in a band or anything performing wise
but just to be happy with the sound of my singing voice. I spend a lot of time in the car because of my job and a lot of the time its the only thing that keeps me going so when I sing badly
I get really discouraged and I feel like I will never get to a good singing level unless I have an instructor but as I stated that cannot happen at least for the next few years and thats pretty much why I got on these forums.
 
LAsera256 said:
I am terrified to sing in front of anyone, I have recorded with the artist singing and myself and sent it to a friend but it was hard to just hear my voice.
But I have recorded many times and no that im not great so would rather practice and improve it to be able to take that step. and I could do a recording but will probably still be with the artist but Ill have it turned down lower. Im a beginner and know I have a long way to go. Ill post it in the right forum though haha thanks for the response
Click to expand...

Then get over it, or put that dream away and become a recording hermit...
 
And another thing - singing ALONG with a song is MUCH different than doing it yourself solo. get some backing tracks (there's plenty of free ones out there, or buy some) and record yourself and then listen honestly.
 
To add or repeat. When you hear your voice as you speak, you hear it from internal and from a different angle. So there are two sounds you are hearing, plus your head still processes it differently.

Warm up, sing, listen, adjust. Singing lessons not only help to tell you the technique, but where you are off pitch or pitchy. Some of that you can do yourself. Listen, where you here it is off, do it again.

Some may disagree, but an autotune program can be used to visually show you where you are off and can be used as a tool. Look where it corrects, maybe even correct it and try singing to bring it inline with the correct pitch as a guide. I wouldn't look for pitch perfect, but you will be able to see how much you are off and based on feedback how much you want to correct.

Some thoughts to consider. But you have to either get over your shyness or stay a basement artist.
 
So your goals are just to be able to sing without being embarrassed by your voice. Take the free lessons.
Do you have ANY goals that we, as a board of home recordists, could help you with? Miking techniques? Mixing techniques? Mastering techniques?
I'm not sure what we can do for you besides give our (well at least mine is) limited knowledge of vocal techniques.
I like David's idea of using autotune to help you see where you're off. That's a very good suggestion. I wonder if there's a way to take the CV from an autotune device and hook it into a light or a buzzer so that when you get beyond 10 cents (or whatever setting you choose) out on the notes you should be singing it would let you know...could be good for vocal exercises. hmmm
 
DM60 said:
Some may disagree, but an autotune program can be used to visually show you where you are off and can be used as a tool. Look where it corrects, maybe even correct it and try singing to bring it inline with the correct pitch as a guide. I wouldn't look for pitch perfect, but you will be able to see how much you are off and based on feedback how much you want to correct.
Click to expand...

I do exactly this (since I use autotune on the final take anyway) while singing, to help me train my ear/throat to hold the notes stronger and in key. Seeing slow improvement as a result (considering track time is the only time I work on vocals any improvement means this method is paying large dividends).
 
BroKen_H said:
I wonder if there's a way to take the CV from an autotune device and hook it into a light or a buzzer so that when you get beyond 10 cents (or whatever setting you choose) out on the notes you should be singing it would let you know...could be good for vocal exercises. hmmm
Click to expand...

Autotune has the real time pitch meter, so as long as you can see the computer screen from where you're singing you can see whether or not you're pitchy.
 
Yes I agree and its a work in progress dealing with the shyness but I'm coming around. And yes I see your point in why do something that terrifies me, and only because i'll never be able to do it if I just give up because its something that's really hard for me to do. I live once in this life and I want to overcome this weakness of mine. I have a passion for this and am studying this every minute I have and practicing as much as possible. I joined this forum in hopes that I will be able to learn from people on a more personal level then just reading different things from different websites, and also would like to post a vdieo of me singing and get feedback from that since I cannot do the singing lessons. Id love to do singing lessons but since I cannot for now is it possible to get better by just doing exercises and warm ups. I do have the singing success cds and have been trying
to do that everyday along with breathing exercises but do I necessarily need a vocal coach to become better? Are there ways to know that I'm singing correctly?
Also what kind of autotune do you mean? Is it an app on a phone I can use, the only ones I've seen just make your voice sound funny.
And yes I would like to be able to sing and enjoy my voice and have others enjoy it as well. I do dream to sing a song in my friends band but that wouldnt be for a while until my voice improves if it even happens haha
 
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Can you learn to drive from YouTube videos?

I'm more concerned why you want to sing in public if it truly terrifies you? That's a weird word to use. You can be shy or lacking confidence and get there with some effort, and other people to help you, but if you are terrified by the prospect why do it, that's plain silly. If you are afraid of heights then don't be a crane driver, it's just not worth the worry,it's destructive. Lots of people play the guitar, not everyone can do it on stage in front of people.

Some people are lucky and can teach themselves. Singing is one of those things where if you are musical, and have a solid science or old fashioned common sense upbringing you can video yourself, hear the problems and then see what causes them. Some people only learn by doing, others prefer to read and watch YouTube. This may or may not help you. Even if for some reason, maybe money, you cannot afford a real teacher, maybe you have a friend who can sing? Listen to their advice on what you are doing right or wrong. But if you are terrified, I'd give up. These feelings will make your voice worse. Stress tightens the very muscles you need to be relaxed to sing properly. I want to be able to dance. However, I have no talent in that area at all, so pointless. If you can sing, move forward, if you can't, then reserve it for the car or bath.
 
LAsera256 said:
Yes I agree and its a work in progress dealing with the shyness but I'm coming around.
Id love to do singing lessons but since I cannot for now is it possible to get better by just doing exercises and warm ups. I do have the singing success cds and have been trying
to do that everyday along with breathing exercises but do I necessarily need a vocal coach to become better? Are there ways to know that I'm singing correctly
Click to expand...

Many people have taught themselves to sing and done pretty well. So you don't necessarily need a coach to become better. However, many people have either wrecked their voices or have not made any progress through teaching themselves, because either they have taught themselves bad singing habits or have not known what techniques to develop. So if you have any serious singing aspirations, then you should get vocal coaching. Professionals in any fields are always looking at others to continue their development (e.g. tennis or golfing coaches used by the top performers).
 
Yes I agree with the vocal coach and it is something I plan doing in hopefully a few months. But I still want to try to better myself before. So I'm with singing I have good pitch and I have learned to use the diaphragm and open my mouth when singing and have been making really good progress but still have tone issues. Any advice for helping to make the tone sound better? Or is that something a vocal coach has to help me with? Are there any exercises for that?
 
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